A work in progress

What a semester....what a year. Over the last week, I've been thinking about the Hiemlich maneuver quite a bit. Strange, I know, but let me try to explain. During the cold winter months in Prague, many moons ago, I had lunch duty at school. One of our 7th grade students was choking on a piece of pasta. It terrified me - her lips were turning blue and you could see the fear in her eyes. Selfishly, I hope she didn't see the fear in mine when I turned her around, hoped my fist was in the correct spot, and started the Hiemlich. It worked. She took a few minutes to recover and finish her lunch, then went out to play with her friends. I, on the other hand, took a little longer to recover. The scene has been playing over in my head ever since a read a passage in Hebrews. In Chapter 5, the author paints an unfortunate picture: Believers who should be mature enough to eat solid food, but can't move past the infant milk phase. That's me. The reason I know it's me is because, ...

I was tempted to wait until November 2nd to write something new. Not that I have much of anything to contribute today. 30 was great - completed 8 years of teaching, set foot on a new continent, connected with some great old friends and some great new friends, completed my second half marathon, used a belt sander for the first time. I must admit that I enjoy getting older. Life certainly doesn't get easier, but it's richer, more purposeful, more meaningful. As I learn to rest in my Savior and trust the leading of the Holy Spirit, I enjoy each day - good, bad, and ugly. He is faithful to complete the work He started and I'm grateful for the journey. Teaching year #9 begins on Monday and I'm excited, praying I make a difference. And after a week of saying I'm 31, I'm hopeful that this year's journey will be a great one with the Lord.