Bite Back

After finding out the today was World Malaria Day, I decided to buy a $10 net through Compassion's Bite Back Campaign and asked my 3rd students if they would like to do so as well.  Within 60 seconds, I had $60 in my hand.  Not only did they give generously, but some of them gave sacrificially.  One girl in particular really ministered to me today, and she probably doesn't even know it.  (Pardon all of the pronouns...Obviously I can't use her name.)  She works at a local restaurant where she doesn't get tipped well, and customers get mad at her for talking to her grandmother when she is seated at one of her assigned tables.  She walks home from work every night after dark and then works on things like research papers and reading The Great Gatsby.  Oh yeah, and she pays most of the bills for her family.  She gave more than anyone else in the room.  Praise God for these kids and their compassion.  I love campaigns like this where you know exactly what your money can do.  It is empowering for my students to know that they bought 6 mosquito nets for 6 families.  I pray that they remember these things along with all the similes, metaphors, and symbols that we discuss everyday.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Today my juniors discussed the American Dream and how it has become corrupted into what is now just the pursuit of wealth.  After many admitted that their ultimate goals revolve around material comfort (which I know is not a bad thing in and of itself), they realized that maybe they should alter the ways they define success.  They all seemed to agree that it is much better to pursue happiness.  But I wonder, is that really any better?  Isn't that equally as self-absorbed?  And my life has proven that happiness is a fleeting emotion.  Happy one minute, angry the next...  I delicately insinuated that maybe there is something even bigger than happiness out there.  I think most of them understood what I was saying while I could not really say it.  One of my favorite comments of the day was from an always insightful student who said that men will never be able to make themselves happy because we live in a fallen world.  Amen to that.  My daily challenge is to remember my purpose for this life...not happiness or wealth, but a life that honors Him. 

Life Is Good

Even though Andrew and I aren't in the best of financial situations with him being in school right now, I am always amazed at God's provision for us.  Every weekend when I sit down to do our finances, everything seems to balance within a few dollars.  Only the power of God can explain that.  

This weekend was wonderful.  Friday we got an unexpected call from some friends from high school that are getting married this summer.  They asked us to go bowling, and seeing how we were asleep on the couch at 6:00 on a Friday night (and we are 24 years old) we decided we should go!  Though it was definitely worth spending our blow money, I must admit I was surprised to find that it costs $20 for two people to bowl two games.  And, by the way, I beat Chuck, the most athletic guy in our high school, in our last bowling game.  He was a little frustrated to say the least.  

Saturday we hung out with Kenny and Angelina and watched a $1 rented movie.  If you haven't tried the Redbox machine at Wal-Mart, I highly recommend it.  $1 per movie per day.  You can't beat that.  

Today I talked Andrew into going to the outlets with me to get him some clothes.  This is quite a big deal.  I am thinking he agreed to it because of the immense guilt he must have felt after leaving a pen in the washing machine that ruined an entire load of laundry last week.  Needless to say, we were in need of some replacements.  

Even more exciting, we are going camping at the end of May, going to Paris for a week at the beginning of June, and I am going on a road-trip out west with my family while Andrew visits his in California at the end of June.  Life is good.  God is good.

Malapropisms

A malapropism is the incorrect use of a word by substituting a similar-sounding word with different meaning, usually with comic effect. (Thanks wikipedia.) You can imagine that in grading roughly 800-900 essays per semester, I happen to run across a few of these. They are quite often the highlight of my day because I tend to get a little grumpy when grading essays. No, I did not become an English teacher because I like to grade research papers. In fact, I just finished grading 60 rough drafts that take at least 10 minutes each. I was quite excited when I completed the last one until I realized the final drafts are coming in on Monday. Ugh.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a humorous post. I keep a running list in my gradebook of the malapropisms my students use in their writing. I refer to it when I need a good laugh. Wouldn't these make a great book one day? I threaten my students that I will publish a book with their name attached to their malapropism.

• kicked out of bounce (bounds)
• another words (in other words)
• repetitive things really get on my nervous! (nerves)
• don't take it for granite (granted) **I have seen this one twice.
• across the border (board)
• cold slaw (cole) **incidentally Cole Slaw was my nickname in high school
• lactose and tolerant (intolerant)
• spinning image (spitting)
• tidbid (tidbit)
• goat cars (go-carts)
• Sixteen Chapel (Sistene)
• ro-model (role model)
• heart-ranching story (wrenching)
• in the mitts of (midst)
• pass-time (pasttime)
• kitten caboodle (kit and) **I must admit this one is mine!

Hopefully you are beginning to see my dilemma in trying to decide how best to improve their writing. Where do I even begin?

Classic Tennessee Moment

When we pulled up to Andrew's sister's house Saturday, this is what we saw.  Jake is probably too young to remember this down the road, but I thought it was just a wonderful image to illustrate his relationship with his dad, Russ.  Luckily I never go to Melissa's house without my camera!  She lives in Maryville, and their house is surrounded by gorgeous fields and a beautiful view of the mountains.  It is absolutely my favorite place to take pictures.  I think Andrew was right when he said Jake was more excited that we saw him on the tractor than he was about actually riding the tractor!  

Lane Cake

Always looking for a good excuse to bake, I decided to try the Lane Cake mentioned by Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird.  I offered it to my freshmen as extra credit assignment, and one of them attempted it along with me.  My fourth period feasted on it after they finished their test Friday.  One of my juniors who shares my passion for baking actually brought me the recipe from Cooks Illustrated magazine.  I love using their recipes because their testing lab ensures that you are given the best possible recipe for even simple things like mashed potatoes, biscuits, and macaroni and cheese.  I'm not normally a fan of coconut, but I liked it in this cake.  And I substituted amaretto for the bourbon, and it was quite tasty!  Sorry I can't offer you a piece; Andrew's family put away the rest of it tonight!

6 Girls!

Avery, Sophia, Isabella, Emma, Lilly, and Kaitlyn.  What beautiful names for these babies that I just can't wait to meet!  We found out today the all the six babies (in mine and Andrew's families) that have either just arrived or are coming before September are girls!  We thought surely that Matt and Morgan would have a boy, but it looks like the pressure will be on us for the masculine presence in our families.  For those of you who often ask when we will be adding to our family, this is just one of the reasons we are waiting a little while!  We definitely feel a desire to have children, but now is just not the time.  Besides, most of the hands will already be full at all of the family gatherings!  We talk about it often.  In fact, it is one of our favorite things to talk about.  We are trying to be obedient to God's timing...not ours.  This is obviously a difficult thing for the type of person who likes to plan things years in advance!  God is blessing us with many babies to satisfy those desires for now.

My New Favorite Thing!

Just add 3/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon Dunkin Donuts medium roast espresso, skim milk to the marked line, 1 teaspoon vanilla syrup and a dash of cinnamon and you have yourself a delightful cappuccino.  It might sound like a bit too much work for 5:30 in the morning, but I'm telling you, it's worth it.  And I think I just might be in the running for the best wife award for making this for Andrew every morning...well, for two mornings in a row at least!  Give me a break, it took me about 4 tries last week to figure out how to use this thing!  

I always told myself I didn't like coffee drinks (because I had never tried them), so I was able to resist the Starbucks obsession.  However, over Christmas break, while out ice skating with friends, I succumbed to the pressure and tried a vanilla latte.  My world was changed in an instant.  As a water-only drinker for the last, oh I don't know, 10 years, this was a BIG DEAL!  Luckily, my lovely mother gave me all the Starbucks gift cards that she got from her students for Christmas.  I allowed myself one latte per week, so the gift cards lasted about 2 months.  But being the penny pincher I am, when the gift cards were gone, it meant my Starbucks runs were too.

Then around mid-March the Williams-Sonoma catalog arrived with this Bialetti Mukka Cappuccino/Latte Maker on the cover.  As any wife would do, I promptly told Andrew that if he needed to find a $100 gift for me, this would do.  As any husband would do, he promptly asked to borrow $100!  Anyway, as I crossed the finish line of the half-marathon, my doubly lovely mother surprised me with this!  If only she liked cappuccino, I would make her one to express my gratitude.  And, by the way, I have continued to realize as I get older that I just might be a little spoiled...  But a grateful heart counts for something right?  

So this is my official invitation for anyone interested in a homemade cup of cappuccino.  Lets pull up a chair and sit a spell.  I just might slice you up a piece of friendship bread as well!  

I Love My Job!

And any time I say otherwise, you all can remind me about this post!  I had so much fun teaching Friday and today.  Friday I did an assignment with my juniors where they had to write a list poem and a definition poem.  I tell them I don't expect them to be poets; I don't pretend to be one myself.  So, we write more accessible kinds of poetry.  They haven't turned in the definition poems yet, but this is my favorite list poem they turned in.  They got so excited doing these that they actually wanted to read them aloud.  Usually they are too embarrassed to do that.  You can also get a glimpse into the kinds of things they do at home---I haven't even heard of some of these shows.

(TV Shows)

"Date My Mom." She's a 

"Desperate Housewife"

"Who Wants to be a Millionaire."

But it's "The Read World"

and she's "Married With Kids."

Every "Two-a-Days" she walks

"The Hills" trying to be 

"The Biggest Loser" so she can be

"America's Next Top Model."

"So Let's Make a Deal" and 

you will no longer be "The Bachelor."

Today I was wrapping up To Kill a Mockingbird with my freshmen.  I can't imagine ever getting tired of teaching that book.  It is such a classic.  In an effort to illustrate one of the themes of symbolically walking around in another person's shoes before passing judgment on them, I had my students do an activity where they imagined the person who would be wearing the shoes pictured above.  We talked about their possible professions, their home lives, their level of happiness and their potential struggles.  They really began to catch on as they realized that the businessman might look like he has it all together (shout out to Jill Phillips!), but he might actually be miserable working in a cubicle everyday.  I even had them describe what it would be like to "walk in my shoes."  They guessed correctly that it must be difficult to try to keep their attention for 90 minutes at the end of every day and that it is likely annoying to have to tell them to pay attention so often!  Then they said I guessed correctly that they often think, "When is that woman going to shut up so we can go home?"  Anyway, by the end of the activity, they knew that this was connected to the theme of the book.  One of them even said, "Thanks for the lesson today Mrs. McAffry."  I don't often hear such things from freshmen!

Phillips & Gullahorn Concert

If any of you are trying to decide whether or not to come to the Jill Phillips and Andy Gullahorn concert tomorrow night at Powell Church, please go here and listen to the song "That Guy."  I was going to post a youtube video of it, but it seems to take away from the lyrics of the song.  If this doesn't get you there, nothing will.  You might want to get your tissue ready.  It gets me every time.  Jill Phillips has so many songs that cut straight to my heart that I can't even direct you to one.  Just come and you'll see!

Girls' Night Out

Girls' Night Out at Family Bowl!

Amanda cheering for knocking down 2 pins in 1 bowl!

Angelina after explaining bowling techniques to us amateurs.

Me cheering for breaking 100!

Last night was a much needed night out.  We went to Olive Garden then to Family Bowl.  It went against every intelligent cell in my brain, but I put on the nasty rented bowling shoes and had a blast.  Somehow, I even won the first game - scoring 116.  I have a picture to prove it for those of you who might have bowled with me in the past!  I don't know what happened, but I even threw a few strikes!  The true Sarah returned though in the second game as I guttered several times.  We had wonderful conversation at Olive Garden as Amanda shared how God is moving in her life.  She is going through quite a fire right now, but her faith in the Lord is so encouraging.  I kept thinking, we are supposed to be here to encourage her, and here she sits encouraging us!  Thanks for your friendship girls!  Looking forward to the next outing at Melting Pot!

Dispensational Premillennialism

What was I thinking? My small group is studying the book of Daniel with Beth Moore's study guide, and we are getting into some pretty deep stuff. For some reason I volunteered to do some research and to bring it to group next week so we can look at other perspectives as Moore encourages us to do. So we are learning about theological issues that I have never even heard of...and I heard quite a few sermons in my lifetime! Dispensational premillennialism ring a bell for anybody? It sure didn't for me. Anyway, the image above illustrates the four beliefs as simply as they could possibly be expressed - but it is still really complicated. My question is this: does anybody know much about eschatology, the study of the end of times? If you do, please help me. I have started searching the internet, but there is so much out there that I don't even know where to begin. Any thoughts or book or website suggestions would be appreciated.

One more question that might be a bit disturbing. Do we go to heaven immediately when we die? I have always believed this to be true, but apparently some disagree and think that our spirits aren't resurrected until Christ's return to earth. Are we just selfishly trying to comfort ourselves by saying we go immediately to heaven? Check out 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 for the scripture people use to confirm this belief.

**Disclaimer: I don't think any of these issues are fundamental to my faith, but I would really enjoy learning more about them.