Twenty-12

God is good and He has shown this in many ways this year - both in the large, small and minuscule ways.  Full of surprises, heartaches, miracles, blessings, realizations and all sprinkled with the Lord's faithfulness, hope and goodness.

For a blog post, there is far too much to write without overloading the computer.  And I know once my fingers start-a-typin', a book may appear.  Therefore, I shall keep this snappy and short.

Every new year brings me great joy and anticipation, to begin 'a fresh'.  I feel like I get a fresh start every summer, every school year, and it's nice to have another point of freshness in January.  I am eager to see what great things the Lord has in store for my life, and for those around me.

A few reflections of 2011...
...the passing of my dearest Grandpa, who I still greatly miss and occasionally grab my phone to give him a call.
...the finale to my university career as I finally began my teaching career, and was blessed with a job for the fall
...my dream road trip half way across Canada, where I got to drive through the beautiful prairie flat lands and reconnect with dear friends and family
...turned 24 :)
...a delightfully cute niece, Ella-Sophia, who I still have yet to meet in person, but absolutely adore from afar

New Years Resolutions?  No, thank you.  Yes, I do have dreams and goals to aspire to, however, that happens all year long.  The newest?  To learn ukulele.

Blessings to you all as you start off a brand new year.  May the Lord be your center and solid foundation, your deepest desire and greatest joy.  And may we all have eyes that are open to the world around us so that we may stretch out our hands to love.

JJ

It's Christmas Time!

I can hardly believe that it is Christmas time and that the school year is wrapping up for the break.  It is delightful :)

I have absolutely loved this time of the year with my kids.  We have had a blast writing to Santa, making snowflakes, creating snowmen, and doing 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' as a Readers Theatre for the parents.  Tomorrow, I get to be in with the kids and we are having a sweet fun-filled day of Christmas fun.  I'm stoked.

The whole believing in Santa deal has been a bit of a conversation topic in the classroom these days.  While I was working with a small group of kids earlier this week, I overhead one of the kids say to another student,
"How dare you say Santa isn't real!  How dare you say Santa isn't real!"

I shook my head and hoped the question would never be directed at me.  However, the next day, it came...
"Miss Jacobson, is Santa Claus real?"

Um...alright, inside my heart even I still want to believe in the Christmas magic of Santa.  Nevertheless, some people consider telling children that Santa exists is a horrific lie.  Thus I responded with, "Well, what do you think?"  He obviously responded with, "Yes", and I said "There you go!"  And he seemed content with that, thankfully.

Later in the week a special delivery of cold letters from Santa, with glitter and snow, arrived at the school for the kids, I think they all were convinced he is very much real, and that makes me happy.

I am collecting an excellent repertoire of comical stories.  The students never cease to make me laugh out loud, shake my head, or make me scream inside.  In short, I successfully dealt with my first vomit situation, learned about following recipe instructions so that Science experiments work properly, and that I need to remind my class more than once then importance of being kind to each other.  Every day is a fresh start to something unexpected, and I love it.

Very Merry Christmas to you if you are reading this.  I plan to provide an update of something other than the teaching portion of my life.  I assure you all is well and I am enjoying life :)  God is good.

Until next time...
 JJ

Breathing a little easier...


Many who live on the island, or those who simply love the island, will know exactly what I mean as they read what I am about to write.  At this moment, I am experiencing that special feeling.  That moment of complete refreshment as I relax into a chair, gaze out of a slightly dirty or scratched window, stare out into the ocean, and feel the gentle motion of the ferry taking off into the open waters.  I feel as if I'm leaving every stress, every 'to do' list, and every worry behind me.  I can breathe easier.  I cannot hide the smile on my face.  In fact, I probably look odd, sitting here alone, smiling.  

I am going home.  

I am going home to my beloved island, home, family, friends, my beloved retreat.  Each time I take this journey, I travel to the place that renews my spirit, and I have often found my joy even causing happy tears to brim on my eyes.  Unfortunately, these cheerful feelings only accompany me one-way on this trip.  I have yet to feel this happiness travelling back to the mainland, and I find that I have to psych myself up each time for that trek back to the city lights, miles of traffic, and busyness.  I do suppose my perspective is completely biased, but I'm okay with that.  At least for now, my heart is overjoyed as I enjoy my cruise in solitude across the pacific at sunset.  I can hardly contain my excitement to first smell that  clean island air, to hug my family, and to stroll along my favorite beach breathing in the salty air.  

Yes, these are the moments I love.