coffee shop

Sitting at one of my favorite cafes, Momos. If any of y'all come and visit, I will bring you here. There's nothing China about this place, but I love the drinks and atmosphere :) I'm taking a much needed break from all of the grading and commenting and planning I've been doing to write a catch-up post. It's been a busy few weeks with the quarter ending and report cards being due. I was also sick last week with a stomach bug and missed the last two days of the quarter. Unfortunately, that resulted in spending the better part of my weekend with a pen in my hand marking up large stacks of tests and compositions and cursive sheets that were assigned during those missed days. Third grade is hard work!

Here's a quick snippet of the past month:

• September 30th was Mid-Autumn Festival here in China. The following week was National Day holiday, so we had that week off from work. I spent that first weekend in Beijing with one of my favorite Tianjin families. They were house sitting for a friend who lives on an expat compound, so I had a little vacation away from busy city life....and, honestly, a nice break from China (which I find I need from time to time). I loved staying in a house. I loved the little "neighborhood" that felt like being home--a ritzier version of home, but close enough :) And I loved the family time I got to have, including some cuddle time with their new baby!  We went shopping at a really neat charity thrift store called Roundabout. Always great to see places like this, especially in China.
• I unpacked the last two boxes that have been sitting in my room since I moved. I printed out pictures. I put them in frames. I hung them on my walls. 15 months late, but I finally settled. 
• Despite the busyness of life, I've been able to spend some quality time with my close friends here--families, accountability partners, dear sweet friends. Had a date night with one of my favorite 4 year olds. Got invited to a family dinner/movie night with another one of my favorite families. Went on walks, enjoyed delicious homemade meals and cafe drinks, and had some great talks and prayer times. I get to share life with some really incredible people. Wish y'all could be here to know them, too.
• Started reading Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle. I haven't picked it up in awhile, but what I've read so far is interesting. Anyone else read that book? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

That's about it for now. When I get around to charging my camera battery, I'll post some pictures of my classroom and apartment. Check back in a few weeks ;)

meet murphy:

my new little China buddy :)

scribbles

My gramma sends me cards every few weeks. I'm so grateful for them. They have divine timing, just like the one I had waiting for me in my mailbox this afternoon. Her cards always make me smile, but this particular one gave me a good laugh. When I opened it I found two newspaper clippings, and one of them was called 'Mood Meter: Tips from experts for getting happy.'*  She left a few subtle markings next to one of the items on the list:

Not quite sure what she's trying to tell me, but I thought it was worth ignoring my stack of grading to post about it ;)


*Apparently the government is trying to measure happiness levels? The UN has already published a World Happiness Report, too. Read it here--http://earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2960

thankful

Tomorrow is Thankful Thursday. We have Thankful Thursday every week in my classroom. We take the first few minutes of our day to write down the ways God has blessed us--in big ways and small ways--during the week: birthdays, fishing trips with dads, new dogs, not having dogs in school because they're scary (said by one of my students last week!), letters from friends, etc.

I thought I'd make my list a day early. Here are a few things that I am thankful for today:

•  gorgeous fall weather
• catching the early (3:30) bus home twice this week 
• healthy check-up at the doctors
• my renewed love for reading
• naps
• homemade beef jerky
• quality time/talks/walks with some of my favorite China friends

 Thankful for so much more, but that's a good summary of this week :)

in the name of science

Today's chemistry lesson was about mixtures and solutions.

What better way to grasp the concept of solutions than to watch your teacher doctor up her cup of coffee?

Number of substances mixed together: four (realizing they may have been simplified a tad)

Names of substances: coffee, sugar, creamer, and the germs of ten third graders

After my students were wow-ed by the coffee, we ate the home-made trail mix (made up of pretzel Goldfish, gummy bears, chocolate chunks, and walnuts) that was used as our mixture manipulative.

What we learned today: A solution is a mixture of substances that cannot be separated. Walnuts look like butterflies and brains. And Miss Farrell will still drink her cup of coffee even after ten little noses sniff over it.

psalm 37

I've been thinking over and rereading this paraphrase* by EE and how I really want my life to be a reflection of this...

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Dwell in the land (make your home, settle down, be at peace where God puts you).

Delight in the Lord (make the Lord your only joy) and He will give you what your heart desires.

Commit your life to the Lord.

Trust in Him and He will act. 

Be quiet before the Lord.

Wait patiently for Him, not worrying about others.

...this year especially.


*taken from Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliot, parentheses included.

cozy cato

requests

I wrote this back in March:

Learning. I'm still learning: to give up my expectations; to be "fully here" even when my heart doesn't want to be; to not miss those God moments; to fight back when the enemy tries to make me stumble; to enjoy my season in China; to rely on His strength and not my own; to live one day at a time.

That pretty much sums up where I'm at right now (again). And I'm wrestling with these life lessons that seem to be magnified as I enter my second year in China and forth year teaching overseas.

I'd really appreciate your prayers--
-to have joy in being here for another year and remember that God has me here for a reason
-to settle in to my new apartment and new teaching year
-to be motivated to finish my grad class (taking it for credit towards my teaching license)
-to not think about the "what's next?" after this contract so that I can focus on serving well this year
-to trust that God knows what He's doing when it comes to my life, even when I don't
-to spend more personal time in prayer about these things

Thanks in advance.