Quiet Moments

School has been over for a week now and today it is only Nate McFarland and I here in the office. We are preparing the end of the year mailing, stuffing large manila envelopes with report cards, calendars, summer reading lists, school supply lists, and other vital pieces of information. It has been rather quiet here today, so far, and we are enjoying the freedom from neckties and clanging bells that summer affords to us. 

I am not wearing socks (gasp!) and in two weeks I will be leaving for an all-too-brief summer vacation. This year my plan is to visit my family in Maine and then travel with my parents to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island for some rest and relaxation. My idea of a vacation is good friends, good books, good food, and quiet moments to enjoy them all. 

School is very hectic and takes a lot of energy out of me each day. I realize this now that all the staff and students are gone, because I go home with energy to do things at the end of the day; I don't feel as though I need a nap before I can think about what the evening holds. Before school ended, the idea of mowing my lawn was inconceivable on some days, but now that school is over, I don't mind doing it and even find it almost pleasurable. Almost. It depends on the heat and humidity.

Next week, convention will be in full swing and Paula Lange and I will host a morning session for teachers again this year. Last year we had a great time discussing literacy, but this year we are tackling the topic of Christ in the classroom - Is it possible for a school to pursue both academic and spiritual excellence 100 percent? This should be a fun topic of discussion for all of the educators in attendance. It is what we are attempting to do here at GGCA. We don't believe in a 50-50 split. We want 100-100 and think it can be done.

Well, it is time to write out some birthday cards. School ends, but the students are still having birthdays, and we want them to know that though they are out of sight, they are not out of mind and they are much loved. Have a great vacation everybody! Do your summer reading! Don't have any? Assign yourself some!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IKEA Trip (For My Friends in GGCA's 7th Grade)

Image
Recently, I received a package of letters from the 7th grade students in Greater Grace Christian Academy in Baltimore. Their letters asked questions like, "Are you having fun?" "Have you eaten anything really weird?" "What is your greatest challenge living there?" "What are you doing for the holidays?" "How were your trips to other countries?" I sat down yesterday and wrote an email that included a response to each student's question or statement, and I promised that I would send them some pictures of the trip I had planned to the new IKEA store that opened in Gwangmyeong. Instead of an email to the class, I think it is easier to blog my trip, so here it goes... This is a picture I took in my room before I left the apartment on Friday afternoon. My orange inhaler and my gummy vitamins are on the bureau along with some other things I couldn't be bothered to clear away. I had my L.L Bean winter coat on with a pair of gloves
Read more

A Week in the Life...

Image
This is the house where I am living. I am on the first floor. That is the upstairs neighbor's dog. It is Thursday night here in South Korea, and maybe I should close my eyes and go to sleep, but I have decided that it has been too long since my last blog entry, so I am writing. This week marks my first full schedule of work here with Bible college classes, Bible studies, and services, and I am getting a sense of what a typical week will be like. Monday: Wake up, prepare for the day, head out the door at 8 AM to pick up a lady named Jenny to bring her to Bible college. Arrive at the church at 9 to prep for class and have a season of prayer. Teach Church History from 9:30 until noon. Eat lunch, then return to my office to read, preview video classes, perhaps nap, work on a message for Wednesday service, etc. Eat dinner and then teach the same class again from 7:30 - 10:00 PM. Head home and arrive my 10:30 PM (I hope) and go to bed by 11 PM. Tuesday: Same as Monday. Wedn
Read more

Days of Fog and Fruit

Image
What can I say? It has been too long since my last blog entry. Much has happened in the past month, and that is partly the reason for the delay in my writing. I will attempt to tell about the past month without writing something that will take you a month to read. Our church family members, some of whom you can see above, celebrated birthdays, first for the months of September and October... ...and about a month later, for the months of November and December. At the end of October, many church members went hiking on a nearby mountain after church.  I used the oven in my house for the first time and baked a blueberry-raspberry crisp. The weather grew colder and we had our first frost. I continued teaching Bible college classes. And then word came from our landlord that everything in our house had to be packed up and Pastor Sejun and I would have to move out while he repaired the leaky, inefficient ondol floor heating system.  Pastor Sejun a
Read more