I have had this post swirling around in my head for a little bit, just trying to figure out how to put down "on paper" what I've been thinking about this subject. I've had conversations with several friends about this and have seen other friends post similar things. So here it goes...
There are lots of different "mirrors" that we use to view ourselves through. The particular "mirror" the title refers to is social media. It has been weighing on my heart and mind lately how things are portrayed on social media. Sites and apps such as Facebook and Instagram can be great and definitely have a place in today's world. I, honestly, probably spend more time on both than I should and like using both of them to keep up with what's going on with friends and family both near and far. I love your posts and pics of your babies, your pets, your dinners, and the like. I truly do! And I'm sure if you follow me on either platform you know I like to post the things going on in my life right now, especially the things I cook and bake! Sorry if that gets annoying, but I enjoy those things and like to share them. Ha ha!
The struggle that I sometimes face, and I feel others face too, is I forget that most of what is posted on social media is filtered. It's edited. It's fixed to only show the good parts that people want shown. I'm just as guilty as the next person. Sure, you'll see that pic of those yummy cookies I just baked but very rarely will I include a pic of the mess that my kitchen became in the process! It's easy to post a picture of us and our significant other that's all roses and sunshine but it would be rather surprising to see one where we talk about the argument we just had over how to load the dishwasher and who hogs the covers. And that's fine, because it is our prerogative to share what we want and how we want.
The "problem" I sometimes have comes in when I forget about that filtering and editing and careful choosing and let the seeds of things like jealousy and comparison take root. No one has the perfect house, perfect spouse, perfect child, etc. no matter how we portray it. And I don't want to let my time online keeping up with my friends and family turn into a depressing time where I start to doubt aspects of my life or feel like I don't have it as "easy" as the other person.
It's at times like those that I have to remind myself that God has a plan for each of us. And it may not include what we want exactly when we want it. And we shouldn't let social media lead us to a place where we are not content with what we have. We all have messes and ugliness and moments that would not make those cute "Top 9 of 2016" posts that a bunch of us posted recently. And that's OK. It's all part of the bigger picture where Jesus meets us in that mess and that ugliness and loves us just how we are, picture perfect life or not.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Friday, January 13, 2017
Rebranding - Friday Funny (Come Again?)
Hello All! It is Friday again. Thank goodness! And since we have all made it to the end of the week in spite of the fact that today was both a full moon (or the end of it) and Friday the 13th, I thought I would celebrate with a "Friday Funny." As a teacher, I have so many stories of things that students have said or done that definitely fall into the "You can't make this stuff up" category. So, here's the first one. I'm hoping to make this a pretty regular thing. And teacher friends, if you have any quirky stories that you would be willing to share please send them on! I will give you credit or keep things anonymous to protect the guilty...err...innocent. ;)
This goes back to three years ago during my very first year teaching. It was towards the end of the day and the bell had just rung to signal a class change. One student was writing on my board on her way out the door and she quickly scribbled "I love you Ms. Pannell - BM." I actually hardly noticed because this was something she did on a pretty regular basis. On this day though, my first student in the door for my 7th period class did notice. We'll call him B. And he made an observation that I never would have thought to make!
As he walked to his seat, B looked at the board to see what the assignment was for the day. I heard him start to chuckle and asked what was so amusing to him. He said "Oh, just those initials. Who wrote that?" I told him and he replied, "Well, I feel sorry for her. I wouldn't want those initials." Not really following where he was going with this, I asked why. And he explained as if it should be as clear as day to me: "BM, Ms. Pannell. Ya know, BM. Like bowel movement!" I got a little tickled over this and just shook my head at him and reminded him to be polite.
By this time a couple of more students had trickled in before the tardy bell. One of those students overheard this conversation and looked very perplexed. Not wanting to miss a chance to repeat his observation, B was all too happy to try to catch his classmate up on the joke! But my second student, Z, still looked confused. Then he said "But those wouldn't be the initials. It's VM." At this point both B and I gave Z a confused look of our own! I tried explaining, "No, dear, those are the correct initials," but Z wasn't having it. He was sure it should be "VM" and even went on to explain that it should be "VM for valve movement."
At this point, I was having trouble keeping my composure because this poor kid was convinced that this particular bodily function was a "valve movement" and not a "bowel movement"! I tried to explain that no, it is most definitely "bowel movement" but that I could see why he could hear someone say the term and mistake it for "valve movement". He continued saying that he was sure it was "valve movement" because it was a "valve" that everything went through. Oh my!
As luck would have it, the Biology teacher walked by my classroom. I was able to flag him down to help explain to Z not only the correct terminology but also the correct physiology! Ha ha! The Biology teacher got Z set straight and gently reminded him that they had covered all of that the year before in Biology I. After the impromptu science lesson we were able to get back to English, which I was much more comfortable with. I guess this was one of my first experiences learning that kids really do say the darndest things and boys of any age love good bathroom humor!
This goes back to three years ago during my very first year teaching. It was towards the end of the day and the bell had just rung to signal a class change. One student was writing on my board on her way out the door and she quickly scribbled "I love you Ms. Pannell - BM." I actually hardly noticed because this was something she did on a pretty regular basis. On this day though, my first student in the door for my 7th period class did notice. We'll call him B. And he made an observation that I never would have thought to make!
As he walked to his seat, B looked at the board to see what the assignment was for the day. I heard him start to chuckle and asked what was so amusing to him. He said "Oh, just those initials. Who wrote that?" I told him and he replied, "Well, I feel sorry for her. I wouldn't want those initials." Not really following where he was going with this, I asked why. And he explained as if it should be as clear as day to me: "BM, Ms. Pannell. Ya know, BM. Like bowel movement!" I got a little tickled over this and just shook my head at him and reminded him to be polite.
By this time a couple of more students had trickled in before the tardy bell. One of those students overheard this conversation and looked very perplexed. Not wanting to miss a chance to repeat his observation, B was all too happy to try to catch his classmate up on the joke! But my second student, Z, still looked confused. Then he said "But those wouldn't be the initials. It's VM." At this point both B and I gave Z a confused look of our own! I tried explaining, "No, dear, those are the correct initials," but Z wasn't having it. He was sure it should be "VM" and even went on to explain that it should be "VM for valve movement."
At this point, I was having trouble keeping my composure because this poor kid was convinced that this particular bodily function was a "valve movement" and not a "bowel movement"! I tried to explain that no, it is most definitely "bowel movement" but that I could see why he could hear someone say the term and mistake it for "valve movement". He continued saying that he was sure it was "valve movement" because it was a "valve" that everything went through. Oh my!
As luck would have it, the Biology teacher walked by my classroom. I was able to flag him down to help explain to Z not only the correct terminology but also the correct physiology! Ha ha! The Biology teacher got Z set straight and gently reminded him that they had covered all of that the year before in Biology I. After the impromptu science lesson we were able to get back to English, which I was much more comfortable with. I guess this was one of my first experiences learning that kids really do say the darndest things and boys of any age love good bathroom humor!
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Rebranding - One Word for the New Year
Happy New Year! 2016 has officially ended and 2017 is off to a great start. Well, it's just the first day but let's hope it is a great start. Watson and I spent the first day of this new year going to church, having a nice lunch out, and beginning the process of taking down all of those Christmas decorations that were excitedly put up just a few short weeks ago. The taking down is way less fun than the putting up. It just doesn't have that same excitement or spark. Anyways! 2016 definitely had it's ups and downs and there are some moments I would not want to revisit, but on the whole it was a pretty great year! I got engaged to and married my sweet husband, gained a whole new family through that, got to become an "aunt" again to a precious little girl, started a new job, moved to a new town, and joined a great new church. As you can see, lots of new!
In true New Year's fashion, I have some things I am setting out to achieve this year. A couple of days ago I wrote a post about some podcasts I've been listening to. One of those is "Happier with Gretchen Rubin." Rubin has a couple of books out that I've had on my "to read list" since my sister-in-law mentioned it to me early in December. While I haven't checked out her books yet, I have enjoyed listening to some of the episodes of "Happier" and one from December 11 caught my eye, or my ear in this case. In this short 5 minute "Holiday Hack" Rubin posed the question of "What is your one-word theme for the New Year?" She and her sister offered some suggestions such as novel, travel, rest, etc. Rubin said that her one word theme for this year was going to be re-purpose and went into detail about the whys and hows of her word choice. I'll let you listen to it to get the full picture.
But the episode got me to thinking and I decided that rather than a traditional set of "New Year's Resolutions" which inevitably get thrown by the wayside after about a week, I would choose my own one word theme for the year. So this year, my theme word is going to be "disciplined." I know that sometimes this word can have a negative connotation, but for me it doesn't. I see being "disciplined" as a good thing. To me it means to be focused, diligent, and deliberate in what you do. To have put in the work, time, and effort to accomplish the things you have set out to do. This is an area that, honestly, I need to work on. My mom jokes that I need to go to "finishing school" because I tend to start things that never really come to fruition. The half-completed craft projects still littering my parent's house are a testament to that!
So this year, I'm setting out to be more disciplined. To make schedules for myself and stick to them. To really try to work out consistently for my health and maybe actually be able to RUN a 5K or 10K race this year. To make sure I'm getting enough protein and water in each day. To write some every day and improve my writing and hopefully accomplish some personal goals there. To not procrastinate on things that I know I need to do - like grading. To read my Bible study each day and reflect on it in the new journal I ordered. I want to feel like I'm living up to my potential and using my time more wisely. That I am being a good steward of all that has been entrusted to me. To see something through from beginning to end and feel that sense of accomplishment that comes with knowing that I finished what I set out to do. What would your one-word theme for this year be?
In true New Year's fashion, I have some things I am setting out to achieve this year. A couple of days ago I wrote a post about some podcasts I've been listening to. One of those is "Happier with Gretchen Rubin." Rubin has a couple of books out that I've had on my "to read list" since my sister-in-law mentioned it to me early in December. While I haven't checked out her books yet, I have enjoyed listening to some of the episodes of "Happier" and one from December 11 caught my eye, or my ear in this case. In this short 5 minute "Holiday Hack" Rubin posed the question of "What is your one-word theme for the New Year?" She and her sister offered some suggestions such as novel, travel, rest, etc. Rubin said that her one word theme for this year was going to be re-purpose and went into detail about the whys and hows of her word choice. I'll let you listen to it to get the full picture.
But the episode got me to thinking and I decided that rather than a traditional set of "New Year's Resolutions" which inevitably get thrown by the wayside after about a week, I would choose my own one word theme for the year. So this year, my theme word is going to be "disciplined." I know that sometimes this word can have a negative connotation, but for me it doesn't. I see being "disciplined" as a good thing. To me it means to be focused, diligent, and deliberate in what you do. To have put in the work, time, and effort to accomplish the things you have set out to do. This is an area that, honestly, I need to work on. My mom jokes that I need to go to "finishing school" because I tend to start things that never really come to fruition. The half-completed craft projects still littering my parent's house are a testament to that!
So this year, I'm setting out to be more disciplined. To make schedules for myself and stick to them. To really try to work out consistently for my health and maybe actually be able to RUN a 5K or 10K race this year. To make sure I'm getting enough protein and water in each day. To write some every day and improve my writing and hopefully accomplish some personal goals there. To not procrastinate on things that I know I need to do - like grading. To read my Bible study each day and reflect on it in the new journal I ordered. I want to feel like I'm living up to my potential and using my time more wisely. That I am being a good steward of all that has been entrusted to me. To see something through from beginning to end and feel that sense of accomplishment that comes with knowing that I finished what I set out to do. What would your one-word theme for this year be?
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