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I was recently introduced to the world of Bible Art Journaling. What is Bible Art Journaling? It’s a way of creatively recording/expressing God’s truth. I must admit, when I heard “Bible Art Journaling” I was hesitant to jump right in. I’m a big fan of the Bible and enjoy journaling, and while I love looking at artwork, I would never consider myself an “artist.” My drawing skills probably align with those of an elementary student. If we were playing a game of Pictionary, you wouldn’t want me on your team. So why would I ever sign up for a Bible Art Journaling class? The main reason was because I knew the instructor was amazingly talented, and Bible Art Journaling has helped her draw closer to God. I figured if anyone could “draw out” some artistic ability in me, it would be her. Plus, it’s good to step outside your comfort zone and try something new. Before I went to my first class, I had to buy some art supplies. Off to Hobby Lobby I went with my list of recommended supplies in hand. One of the items on the list was a Watercolor pad. I didn’t even know paper like this existed. Then I faced the long aisles of artist pens and paintbrushes. As the cashier was scanning my items, I realized, “She probably thinks I’m an artist and I ran out of supplies. The truth is, I have no idea what I’m doing.” I then continued my shopping on Amazon, as I was looking to purchase watercolor pencils and watercolors with a waterbrush, two more items which I previously never knew existed. I was already learning so much! This was definitely going to be an adventure. After a few Bible Art Journaling classes I realized:
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 I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but when I saw the cover of Annie F. Down’s latest book, Looking For Lovely: Collecting The Moments That Matter, I had a feeling I was going to love this book….and I was right! Annie is one of those authors who, even though I’ve never met her, I’m convinced if we did meet in real life we would be friends. Reading her book felt like sitting down with a close friend - honestly sharing what’s going on in our lives….the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Unfortunately, Annie wasn’t REALLY sitting down with me, so the conversation was definitely one-sided. :) In Looking For Lovely, I learned a lot about Annie through her personal stories. Her stories were filled not only with moments of laughter and joy, but with struggles and heartache. But in the midst of all the moments, Annie has learned how to look for evidence of God’s presence and love: “I want us to learn to look for the lovely all around us and collect it, hold it close, and see how God drops beautiful things into our lives at just the right time to help us step forward on our own paths.” For me, looking for lovely is easy on a day like today – blue skies, 80 degrees, and sunny. It’s easy when I’m out in nature and surrounded by colorful flowers, trees, streams, and waterfalls. It’s easy to find lovely when I’m eating at a favorite restaurant or going to a concert with friends. It’s easy to find lovely when I’m laughing or riding my favorite roller coasters. It’s easy to find lovely when I’m surrounded by my close friends and family. It’s easy to find lovely in beauty, but Annie encourages us to also look for lovely in the midst of brokenness. That is much harder, and doesn’t usually come naturally, which is why we need to purposely keep our eyes open for it. What does lovely look like in brokenness? For me, it’s God putting someone in your life to help support and encourage you when you need it most. It’s having a friend who is willing to listen or sit in silence with you. It’s when God brings a specific verse to your mind to remind you of His love and truth. It’s being able to take a nap when you feel exhausted. It’s connecting with the lyrics of a song. It’s finding a picture that brings back good memories. It’s remembering that when we’re broken, God knows how to put all those broken pieces back together (Psalm 147:3 – “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”). Looking For Lovely reminded me that God gives us glimpses of hope and evidence of His love, goodness, and faithfulness each and every day. They are there, but we don’t always see them because we are distracted by so many other things. Let’s slow down and look for lovely together. I’d love to hear what you find!  As I stand here and say What happened today? I can see it in your eyes Something just isn’t right Would you like to share with me What’s on your mind? Or would you rather be alone? That’s just fine I know what it feels like To carry a burden around I know what it feels like When answers cannot be found I know that there’s More to this world than we can see And I know that there Are many good memories So hold on…. As you start to talk I begin to see That this won’t come easy And I realize how much pain you’re in It breaks my heart There’s just one thing I want you to know It’s not your fault Understanding may be absent But I’m not I know what it feels like To carry a burden around I know what it feels like When answers cannot be found I know that there’s More to this world than we can see And I know that there Are many good memories So hold on…. So please hold on... I pray... That you’ll be filled with hope Tomorrow’s a brand new day  I love teaching. I love laughing. I love looking for ways to have fun in the classroom. When I saw we were going to be in school on April 1st, I knew I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play some fun jokes on my students. Like any good teacher, I started researching and planning. I even collaborated with other teachers. What's more fun than doing one April Fools' Day joke? Doing three of them! Of course, all the jokes would have an academic connection. I was so excited to carry out my plans and fill our classroom with laughter. Here are the 3 jokes I played on my students this year (I found all of these ideas online): 1. Lirpa Loof (Science/Literacy connection) – After reviewing migration and hibernation, I told the students that there is very rare bird that migrates to our area at the beginning of April. Then, I passed out this handout from another teaching blog. We read, discussed, and completed the activity together. I told my students we were going to go outside to see if we could find a Lirpa Loof. I reminded them that the birds respond best if we chant/sing its name repeatedly while waving carrots in the air. I then passed out baby carrots to everyone, and we went to the field behind our school. There’s nothing like seeing a group of elementary students running around, waving carrots, while chanting, “Lirpa Loof, Lirpa Loof." Some students claimed they even saw the Lirpa Loof's nest! After about 5 minutes, I let them in on the joke – That “Lirpa Loof” is really “April Fool” spelled backwards. The look on their faces was priceless. Prank #1 was a success! 2. Spring Word Search (Literacy connection) – This is a classic April Fools' Day joke – give the students a word search where none of the words are in the puzzle. It works better if you have the students put up "privacy folders/dividers" while trying to complete the word search. This way, they don't realize that no one else is finding any words either. Prank #2 was a success!  3. “iPad / Eye Pad” (Technology/Literacy Connection) – Earlier in the week, I set a gift bag on my desk, but didn’t say anything about it. I thought this joke would be more believable if the gift bag was seen in our room prior to April Fools' Day. It’s all about building anticipation! A day or two later, I mentioned that I bought the class a gift, and they would find out what it was on Friday. My students started wondering what was in the bag…was it chocolate? Books? I told them they would find out on April 1st. Today we opened the bag (they had been asking about it all throughout the day). They were so excited to see an “iPad!” We already have 1 iPad which we use in class, so this would be a 2nd one. Their excitement soon changed to shock (and then laughter) when they opened the box and found an “Eye Pad.” We then quickly reviewed the importance of understanding homophones (because then the joke was funny and educational). Prank #3 was also a success!  Today, in the midst of our regular assignments and tests, we had some fun. We learned a lot, but we also laughed a lot. Time to start planning for the next April Fools' Day.... |
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