Here They Are, My Eight

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My Eight

I'd like to share with you some of the wonderful qualities that I observed in my eight students last year. Some students display similar qualities, but I hope mentioning them won't take away from the individuality of each young person. They are all wonderful people whom I love with all my heart!

Abbie - creative, hard-working, helpful, great with little kids, makes great posters

Alex - incredible artist, attentive to detail, great sense of humor, knows alot about history and wars

Christian - deep thinker, hard-worker, generous, great sense of humor, likes to help

Gillian - kind, diligent, sweet spirit, encourager, loves to have fun, has a great smile

Kaitlyn - fun, honest, helpful, patient with people, good basketball player

Keith - fun sense of humor, respectful, creative writer, unselfish, energetic

Macie - positive attitude, honest, hard-working, great at memory verses

Sarah - thoughtful and creative writer, easy-going, honest, strives to do right,

Camp Outta Here

At the end of the school year, for the last two years, I have been in charge of an elementary event known as Camp Outta Here. It is two half-days of fun and games for the kids during the last two days of school. It is a big event and a stressful one for me to plan. This year especially, I saw God working to help me and calm my worries. Here are some lessons I learned about myself, about life, about people...

1. Though organizing big events like Camp does not come naturally to me, this has been a great experience to tuck away for future use in other schools, youth groups, etc. Another "card" to file away to be pulled out again someday if necessary.
2. I cannot do everything on my own.
3. It's okay to ask for help.
4. Other people have good ideas, too. In fact, most of them are better ideas than mine!
5. A little stress is okay because it motivates me to get things done.
6. Working ahead is a good thing - procrastinating is not, it just adds to the stress.
7. I can be organized if I really want to be.
8. It's okay to change plans if a better idea comes up. I need to be more flexible.
9. Most people will get involved in some way or another, I just might have to ask instead of wait for them to offer.
10. God knows what I need and He's going to help me.
11. I need to start trusting people and relying on their help more. Not everyone is going to let me down.
12. "Busy" is good, it keeps me from being lazy and wasteful of my time.
13. When it comes down to it, all that matters is that God is pleased with how I've conducted myself throughout the planning process and the event. Not everything will go perfectly, but God is always good and I can still respond in a way that honors Him.