Friday, August 01, 2008

School looms

It finally happened. August came. It had been threatening to come for a while, but I denied its existence in my poor little brain, trying to eek out those last few days of sleeping in! Nevertheless, and not surprisingly, it is here. This means that school is about to start. Wednesday.

So, yesterday, I took Keri Lynn off to her high school to fix a schedule change that supposedly had been fixed at the end of last year. Then, we went to the DMV! First time that I've taken a child to the DMV to get a learner's permit. I can't believe it, but she took the test and the eye exam, passing both easily. Since she's already 17, she'll only have six months with a learner's permit before she can go ahead and get her license. To practice, we went for a drive around the neighborhood, where all there is to hit are curbs and mailboxes. She did not come too close to either. And she was driving our 15-passenger Ford Club Wagon, too!

We're also in the midst of getting much needed school supplies. Pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, folders, etc. I already knew that Big Lots was cleared out, so I stopped by Office Depot, wasn't happy with the price offerings, and then headed off to Wal-mart where I found 17 cent glue and 22 cent crayons and all kinds of crazy deals. I escaped with $77 worth of school supplies, which isn't too bad when you break that down for seven kids. That's $11 per kid!

I love the excitement of those first weeks of school, especially the first day. The kids are starting to get excited about getting back to school, too, which is a big deal. They were dreading school a few weeks ago. But now I think that vacation has been just long enough to make getting back into a routine a nice thing.

The older kids are all gone right now on a Back to School Bash with the youth group. First they're going to a Braves game, then they're coming back to the church and staying until 1:00 in the morning. This, for Kathleen particularly, seemed especially fun. I guess once upon a time it was fun for me to be up until 1:00 in the morning, but now it's fun to get to bed early! Whoo-hoo!

I've gotten a big kick out of seeing several of the kids while out and about that I've had in class while substituting. One kid said to his mom, "That's the best substitute ever!" Another one approached me at Wal-mart, "Are you going to be subbing at Newnan again this year?" And seemed pleased when I said yes. This furthers my desire to go into teaching as a career.

Then, there's the idea that has been percolating for several years. I started it in motion awhile back and didn't follow through. Each summer I have wanted to do something, but didn't. And now that I can't get to Bible study during the school year because of work, I need it more than ever. Women's Bible study. For all of you that receive this that pray, would you please pray for this study. I'm sending out fliers in the next few days to ladies in the neighborhood, and I'm planning to start the first Monday after school starts, August 11, 8:00 to 9:00 pm. The idea is to make it as easy to get to it as possible. Dinner time should be over and kids settling down to bed. We'll start off meeting at my house, but then make a round robin around the neighborhood with whoever wants to host. We'll be reading through the Bible and discussing as questions come up. I'll be presenting basic themes of Scripture, asking questions and having a time of prayer.

Does anyone have any ideas for the Bible study flier? I want to get across the idea of sanctuary, a safe place to meet the Lord, learn about Him, find out about the amazing promises in His word, but I don't want it to sound sanctimonious or foppy. Leave something in the comment section if you have any ideas.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jackie,
I have heard of great success with the book "Stranger on the Road to Emmaus" . This book you do together, I think, and is very wise in presenting the truth of the Gospel in the whole of the Word. Oldsters loved it, too. Consider it as a possibility.
June

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that summer vacation for kids is almost over. Now its time for back to school.

Twilight Sky said...

Hey Mom!

I can't believe it's time for school to start up again. I'm happy and sad at the same time. I like the routine of it, but not so much the work of it. Oh well. I think it will be a good year though. I can't wait to see what God has planned for me this year!

Keri Lynn

Anonymous said...

How was the first day of school? Will you get to sub soon? I started back to school too! We have 20 days of professional development before the kids get back. We are praying that you guys will have a blessed school year!

Love,
Dan and Jes

Jackie said...

School starts on Wednesday. Subbing will likely start next week -- depending on the need. Hopefully very soon!

Twenty days of professional developoment? Yikes! Our county's teachers returned to school on Friday. : )