August 5, 2011 · 5:00 am

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This is my favorite time of year. College football starts in a few weeks, autumn is sure to be around the corner (although I live in GA so it’s usually late October before we begin to see a break in temps) and school is starting.

The stores are all hustle and bustle with parents and kids armed with school-generated lists of supplies necessary for the child to function appropriately in the classroom.

Moms are running wild trying to collect all the necessary supplies, kids are dreading the end of summer, and some teachers are groaning about returning to the classroom.

I love school.

I always have, I’m sure I always will.  I was the kind of kid who begged my mom to take me school supply shopping in July, and then I’d carefully organize my supplies, label my folders, and prepare with hope and excitement for a new school year weeks in advance.

And nothing changed when I became a teacher. 

Being a teacher only added to the excitement for me.  I couldn’t wait to meet the kids whom I would have the pleasure of teaching.  And because I taught high school, with each new semester, I got to do it all over again!

There is something so exciting about a fresh, new school year.  It’s full of anticipation, hopefulness, and the desire to be accepted, whether you are a student or a teacher.

This is the time of year when I miss teaching the most.  I miss everything about it, from the paperwork and relentless meetings and workshops, to the actual classroom time and relationships I built with my students.  I even miss the challenge of a class from you-know-where.

To my teacher friends, I say, God bless you this year.  I pray that God gives you patience, wisdom, and the ability to realize that each precious child represents the opportunity for you to be a light to an entire family unit.  Each child represents the hope for our future.  And no matter how annoying or uncontrollable that child may seem, each child has been given to you by God for a brief span of time– make the most of it.  Pray over each one of them.  Love each one of them.  Remember the old adage that you may be the only glimpse of kindness, love, joy, patience, or Jesus Christ that the child ever sees.

I wish you a Happy New Year!

Share with Me: What did you or do you most love and hate about the Back-to-School time? Were you the kind of student to keep your desk or locker organized, or did the dog constantly eat your homework?

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August 3, 2011 · 5:00 am

Constructing the Perfect Man- Hey Good Lookin’

I was reading along on my Facebook feed the other day and noticed that a writer friend posted a question about romance books.  One of her friends replied to her post something like, “I don’t read romance because the guys in those books are never the kind I’d go for.”

And it got me thinking. In romance novels, there’s generally one kind of “hero.” He’s often (although not always, of course) tall, dark, and handsome, and in some way rugged, often a jack-of-all-trades, most often muscley, strong, loyal, and at least by the end, loving. He’s the perfect man.

Right? But maybe not. All women are different. All of us are attracted to different kinds of men– the bad-boy, the outdoorsy-type, the funny-man. All of us are attracted to different physical features as well.

And because I’m a writer, I’m always looking to please the reader and reach outside of that cookie-cutter hero to create a character who is attractive to a broader audience.

Now while we know that no man is perfect, we also all know that the “perfect man” is made up of a lot more than just looks.  There’s a lot more to creating a character that a reader can fall for, but I want to focus on one element at a time.

Reader-friends, writer-friends- I need your help.  I want your definition of the perfect man, one trait at a time.

Generally there is a formula that is followed for creating a hero-type, so we are going to break it down over the next few weeks. I want NEED your responses.

Today in Part 1 of this series of posts, let’s talk about physical features. I think we can all agree that in general, there’s a definition of what’s physically attractive. However, we are all attracted in different ways.

To prove the point, let’s talk for a sec about James Bond. While his “character” remains the same, I think that every lady out there is attracted to a different James Bond. For me, it’s Sean Connery all the way.  Possibly followed by Timothy Dalton, then Pierce Brosnan and so on. But Daniel Craig? Ew. I don’t find him attractive at all. And what about you? Which Bond do you find the most physically attractive?

Or if you need another example, let’s take the ever popular vampire.  Since vampires seem to be the “trendy” man to fall in love with, which vampire would you choose? Edward Cullen from Twilight? Stefan or Damon from The Vampire Diaries? Or how about Bill or Eric from True Blood? All of them are different physically, yet offer the same appeal.

What is the first physical feature you notice about a man? Eyes? Lips? Hands? Smile?

I find that my eye is generally attracted to men who fall into that “dark” category. Dark hair and eyes, and 90% of the time, I’ve noticed that the men I find handsome usually have a dimple in their chin. Weird, huh?

But what about you? When you are reading a romance novel or watching a movie or TV show, what kind of man do you find physically attractive? Are you in the tall, dark and handsome group, or the sandy-haired, tanned beach guy? Or how about a man with rough hands from working outside?

Share with me: Thinking physical features only (we’ll do personality, emotional, etc., later) what do you find attractive in a man? What is the first physical feature you tend to notice? Can you give me an example of someone (other than your spouse or significant other because that’s a given) that you find physically attractive and why?

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August 1, 2011 · 5:00 am

I Had a Bad Day

I had one of those days. 

One of those “the-regular-dose-of-Tylenol-to-kill-this-headache-is-not-enough” kind of days.

Not the kind of day that happened to me, but the kind of day that happened because of me.

The kind where I ended it as a failure at life. I failed as a wife, I failed as a mother, I failed as a friend, and I failed at everything I tried to do for the 24 hours I was given.

I don’t say this for pity’s sake– I say it because it’s true.

My attitude was so bad for the entire day that I did absolutely nothing of any worth to contribute to the world in any possible way. I took out my negative feelings on everyone around me.

For any steps I had taken in forwarding my life toward the good work of the kingdom of God in the past few weeks, in one 24 hour period, I took 500 steps back.

And I have no one to blame but myself.

I actually said to my husband, “If today was my last day on earth, this is not the way I would want to go out.”

I think we’ve all occasionally had this kind of day.  I think we’ve all gone to bed at night and looked back over the day and said, “what a waste,” knowing that we could have been productive, but we allowed our emotions to get the best of us.

And I know we’ve all had the sort of day when all we can do is drop to our knees and beg God’s forgiveness for the mistakes we made, and the feelings we allowed to drive those mistakes.

This is why mercy is so important.  Days like this are proof that God’s mercy is constant, unwavering, and undeserved. 

Days like this are why I am so incredibly grateful that God’s mercies are new every morning, and that I get my do-over with the next sunrise.

And I’m not going to waste it.

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.   Lamentations 3:22-23

Share with me:  Have you ever let your emotions dictate the path of your day? When is the last time you had a bad day? How did you overcome it?

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