Tales from Thailand and beyond

Friday, January 2, 2015

Books read in 2014

Here are most of the books I read in 2014. My goal was 50 and I made it thanks to audio books. I think I will keep the goal at 50 books for 2015 and try to get all the rest of the Newbery award winners read as well.

Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Lord of the Rings-Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Lord of the Rings- Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
Crispin by Avi
M.C. Higgins, The Great by Virginia Hamilton
The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
Dreams and Visions: Muslims' Miraculous Journey to JESUS by Rick Kronk
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Loser by Jerry Spinelli
Ida B. Katherine Hannigan
The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm
If you want to Walk on Water, you've got to get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg
The Fault in Our Stars John Green
Know Fear by Ed Young Jr
The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Traveling Light by Max Lucado
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Anna of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Frindle by Andrew Clements
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Reliving the Passion: Meditations on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus as recorded in Mark by Alter Wangerin
The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Lord
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
Radical by David Platt
Follow Me by David Platt
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper
Accommodating and Educating Somali Students in MN Schools by Mohamed Farid and Don McMahan
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Jolly Rancher

What is a single Jolly Rancher worth?

not much....maybe a few pennies

Yet, it depends on how you come to get that Jolly Rancher...

Walking down the hallway of a school crowded with children...

A 5th grade boy giving you a hug and handing you a Jolly Rancher out of his coat pocket.

"Why are you giving me this Jolly Rancher"

"Cause you are the best"

"Oh thank you, I think you are the best."

Not sure why or when he decided to give me that Jolly Rancher- probably just popped into his head at that moment, but....

This is a boy with emotional problems.

This is a boy whose family lives with others with no place to call their own.

This is a boy who gets picked on daily.

This is why I wanted to teach...

This what makes the hard days worth it....

So this one Jolly Rancher- it is priceless

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Break my heart...

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God."

Bob Pierce, World Vision founder

I love this quote and really want to be able to say it honestly, but oh it hurts so much!

There is so much hurt in the world....how can my heart not be broken by things happening not just across the world, but in my own backyard:

kids with no home to call their own

kids who yell, kick, and hit as their way to cope with abuse

kids who swear and threaten others because of ????

kids who have no one to love them

kids that are bullied

kids that feel like that they will never succeed

kids who don't get a good meal at night

kids with disabilities that struggle to learn each day

It is reality and it is not just far away in another country. I don't want to believe it. I don't know how to deal with it and make it better.

I feel like I am not enough...I am weak...I am unable...I am overwhelmed...

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Thankful....

So many things to be thankful for....

Being able to celebrate birthdays with family for the 1st time in 3 years!

A 9 year old birthday party for a nephew and a 90th party for my Grandma

Meeting college students from Brasil!

Fall leaves pretty on the trees and fun to kick on the ground...

Books on CD.....

Family in the same time zone

Hugs from students....especially on the rough days

Co-workers who understand and take the time to give good advice, etc

People making decisions to follow the Lord

New and old friends in St. Cloud and the Cities

Voting in person for the first time in 3 years

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Adjusting...

I haven't posted much since get back to the US.

I think it is a mixture of a few things:

no interesting photos

no different culture stories to tell

not sure how to explain what it is like to come back to your "home culture" to live after 3 years

not sure who would read my blog now

laziness

poor internet connection

These are the reasons, but hopefully soon I will figure out the direction of the blog.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Summer photos....

I haven't disappeared and I still hope to use my blog to update everyone on my life, share stories, and hopefully challenge myself as well as others.

Of course applying for jobs, washing dishes, and babysitting doesn't make for that exciting of posts....but here are a few fun snapshots of my summer...