5 minute Friday - VACATION

I traveled a few miles this June.  School let out for the summer, and I left for Spain and Italy with a group of students and co-teachers.  We had a blast!  Here are a few of my favorite pics:

Parque Guëll in Barcelona

Las tres profesoras en Toledo

Roma

Roma

Island of Capri

Next, I hit the road to celebrate my parents' golden 50th anniversary!  Kudos to them for staying together for the long haul.  I am proud to be their daughter.  We celebrated at my brother's new home/farm in Springfield, MO.

Next stop, Ohio!  Another anniversary--my husband's parents celebrated a 60 year milestone which Google tells me is the "diamond" anniversary.  Amazing. We spent the weekend swimming, barbecuing, and eating homemade ice cream. A lot of it.

Finally, my family and I went to Michigan--to Macinac, Island and the Upper Peninsula. This was our first time in the area (except for me when I was six years old so it still felt new).  We enjoyed ourselves!  I can't even begin to tell you how relaxing the bike ride around the island was. I loved it!!
I highly recommend it for your next get-away.

Our bike ride on Macinac Island

Upper Peninsula

I have more photos of my experiences on Instagram at @mindybakerbooks.  It is such a treat to travel and see new sights and places with the ones I love.  I treasure each moment! Where have you been lately and what have you been up to?  I would love to hear about it!

5 Minute Friday -- INCLUDE

Even though it is late Saturday afternoon, I am still going to write my Five-minute-Friday prompt. I really enjoy seeing where each word takes me as I do the writing exercise for five minutes and then “tweak” my thoughts into a post. 

This week the word is INCLUDE.

This is the opposite of exclude. Seems obvious, right?

Have you ever thought of how good it feels to be included? 

And how bad it feels to be excluded?

• Friendship groups of all types
• Work cliques
• Sports teams
• Social media networking
• Neighborhood get-togethers
• The list goes on and on…

Let me give you an example of a powerful offer that is for all people...

Jesus came to give forgiveness and eternal life to anyone who believes.  

ANYONE! Now that is inclusion!

It doesn’t matter your race, your gender, your shoe size, your talents, your intelligence, your “coolness factor.”  You are included in this offer.  

“For God so loved the word that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life!” John 3:16

The offer of everlasting life is for ALL who believe! There are no strings attached. No special qualifications.   The gospel message is for everyone!

As for me, I gladly receive this offer. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin and for the sin of the world, and I thankfully receive this gift of eternal life.  I am so thankful that I am included!

What about you? What's keeping you from believing in Him?

5 minute Friday -- ADAPT

The first thing that comes to my mind with the word ADAPT is my teaching career.  

Way back when, long, long ago, I graduated from college and became a teacher. After teaching 5 years, I had a baby. I tried teaching AND mommying for a bit, but ended up becoming a stay-at-home for 12 years with my kids. After twelve years as a stay-at-home mom, there was a change in our family's situation. At that point, for a variety of reasons, I decided to go back to the classroom. 

Once I landed the big job, boy was I in for a surprise. EVERYTHING had changed. 

When I left, I was excited to use a color transparency and a dot matrix printer. When I returned, my old manila file folders that I had kept all of my “great activities” and “useful documents” were laughable.  I HAD SO MUCH TO LEARN!

 I had to ADAPT.  It was necessary. TO SURVIVE!

What was my process?

• First—I panicked (I’d be lying if I didn’t include this—it happened)
• But then, I humbled myself, and began to ask questions.
• I prayed for God's help and asked other people for help.
• I tried new things.
• I made mistakes and experienced frustration. 

But I didn’t give up!

• I pushed through the quitting points and made it to the other side.

And the things I am doing now in the classroom…are pretty cool. 

Way better than the “back in the day” stuff :) 

What’s the point in telling you all of this?

I'm just wondering if anyone out there might be stuck living out of a manila file folder when God wants to "wow" you with a new thing that seems a little "out-of-your-comfort-zone?" 

If so, maybe this small story of my teaching experience will encourage you to ADAPT.

I'll keep adapting if you will, too! 

P.S. I'd love to hear about how you've had to ADAPT in some way.

Five Minute Friday -- RELEASE

Making a simple list today:

Things to release into God's capable hands:

• Fear

• Worry

• Doubt

• Resentment

• Bitterness

• Anger

• Problems I'm trying to solve on my own

• Answers I'm waiting for (that are taking way too long)

I'm reminding myself that my joy does not depend on my circumstances, 

but rather...

It comes from choosing to live daily in God's presence.

So, I'm loading up this hot air balloon with "my list" and releasing it up to God.

Time to walk by faith and not by sight!  Pretty sure the rest will fall into place.


**P.S.  How about your hot air balloon? What do you need to release to God today?

Five Minute Friday - ROUTINE

Is ROUTINE a positive or a negative?

I love my MORNING ROUTINE

• 5:30 alarm goes off--
• I “rest” a bit more, then shuffle down to make my coffee.
• That Keurig I was sure I didn’t need is probably the item I use most in my kitchen. (Thanks, Doug!)
• Cup of coffee under the covers while I “think/pray” then off to wake up the kids, take a shower, and rush off to work. 

That’s what I do. Monday through Friday.

Day after day after day.

Then there is WORK ROUTINE

Classroom routines are a must.  You know, the "ways" that you do things so students know that you are organized and what to expect. 

• I have a "greeting"
• I have the "sonrisa de hoy"  (a daily meme)
• I have the "daily conversation questions" (most days)
• I have a way I stamp homework, and a system of points for completion and partial credit.  
• Homework always "counts."
• I have an agenda I keep on the Canvas Calendar.

The list goes on...

But in the classroom, I don't want to get so "routine" that my students dread coming to class.

So I work hard to be creative, trying to keep it fresh--doing different things, in different ways, appealing to different learning styles. I incorporate technology and student choice.  I connect content with culture. I give comprehensible input.... You get the picture...

So enough about teaching!

Can a ROUTINE be negative? 

I think it can. If my life is in such a pattern or box that I never glance around to see what others are going through, then that is a problem or at the very least a red flag.  I never want my routine to keep me from seeing people the way Jesus sees them. And I especially do not want to miss opportunities to be light and life to those who are hurting and in need of someone who cares.

The bottom line--

I want to say yes to routine to prevent chaos, 

but I want to be willing to

drop my routine when God places a person or task along my path for a reason.

What about you?

5 minute Friday -- BEAUTY--The beauty of a cup of water given in Jesus' name

"I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward."

 Mark 9:41

There is BEAUTY in thinking of and in doing for others.  From the greatest of tasks to the the smallest of tasks, acting in kindness towards others matters and it is BEAUTIFUL.

In the last several weeks I have been the recipient of several refreshing cups of water.

• Snowpants, lent to me so that our family could have a beautiful day on the slopes near our home (Yes, there is skiing in Indiana.  It is called Perfect North)  

•  A handwritten note to tell me that someone was praying for me

•  An invitation from a friend for coffee and conversation

•  A text message, sent to say a friend was prompted to pray for me

                                       

You may not think it's much, but when you are the recipient of such blessings, it means the world.

I pray that God rewards each person for the kindness and beauty they showed me.

Now its my turn to go out and do the same for others.

Who's thirsty? 

Five Minute Friday (or Saturday) - SIMPLIFY

The word this week is “Simplify.”

Honestly, writing about “simplify” gives me heart palpitations and a nervous sweat.  I put so much pressure on myself to once and for all “get organized.” I think of my closets, my drawers, my schedule…

I would love to be able to open each drawer or cabinet of my home and proudly say things like, “Here are my cleaning supplies, alphabetized by name brand.”

or

“In this drawer are my socks, coordinated by color and outfit for which I might need them.

or

“Here is this month’s calendar…all perfectly coordinated with no double bookings or emergencies.”

But honestly, that is not how I live. And probably never will.

So how could I possibly have anything to say about the word, “Simplify?”

I went to the expert—my 14 year old son. I asked him what was the first thing that came to mind when he thought of the word, “simplify.”

His answer made me smile.

“Math,” he said. 

“What?” I asked.

“You know, fractions.”

 

Simplify fractions.  I love it!  It was enough to get my brain moving in a different direction.

Maybe my post doesn’t have to be about organization!

And I thought of Jesus. What would he have to say about this topic?

Jesus told Martha, the queen of all organization, that only one thing was needed.

ONE THING!

That was sitting at his feet and spending time with him.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

So that is my challenge to you and to myself—
Have I done the one thing that is the most important? 

I’m pretty sure the rest will fall into place.

5 Minute Friday - MOTIVATE (My title: Know Your WHY)

I am back in action with the Five Minute Friday Blog Link-Up.

Today’s word for five-minute-Friday is MOTIVATE.

Recently at school (I’m a teacher) we had a training that helped me unlock MOTIVATION on several levels.

            First, we were talking about motivating our students. 

            This also transferred to us as educators.  We need motivation.

The big idea was the importance of knowing your “WHY.”  

When you know WHY you are doing something, and you buy into that reason, you become very motivated to do it!

-Students need to know WHY they are learning or studying certain topics.

-Teachers need to define WHY they are in the classroom each day.

-All of us, for whatever task we undertake, have a WHY, but maybe we have never taken the time to define for ourselves what it is.  

Knowing your WHY (or even reminding yourself of it) can make all the difference in the world.

Two quick examples:

            

My teaching:  Being a teacher requires a wide skill set.  Not everything I do is enjoyable. But here is my why—I’m there for the students. To help nurture them into becoming adults who will reach their potential.  Reminding myself of that flips a switch in my heart while I’m doing some of the “not so pleasant” stuff.

My writing:  My why is to PLANT SEEDS OF TRUTH in young hearts. That gives me focus, even as I’m selecting the topics I want to write about. Also, If I’m just out to make a name for myself, despair is going to set in quickly. But my WHY keeps me motivated to continue.   

In conclusion,

                       

Knowing your WHY…it’s a game changer!  It MOTIVATES!

What is your WHY for the task God has given you to do?