the prayer problem-or lack thereof

so...the past couple of days we have been in the training room at school with different grade levels working on data and intervention plans.which basically means it's been a little like this meme for me. i totally welcomed the occasional texts this morning for help with the MAP testing, and excused myself to go up and help in whatever capacity possible!! oh, you need to use the bathroom? sure i can come up to relieve you! no worries!!

yep, true story. 

today i was informed by a precious friend at school that she did not feel i was myself. 'not the firecracker, spunky julie' i think she may have been right, but i'm working through that. i am actually in the middle book about prayer that is taking me back to when i used to actually prayer journal-i was am a huge becki tirabassi fan, and 'my prayer partner' was a huge deal to me! i went through that binder and the extra packs of paper... i was consistent-and God was faithful! when did i stop doing that? what caused me to lose that focus? obvious answer here, but i really miss that, and i am actually going to begin to do this again, because one of the things that strengthens my relationship with God more than anything is that communication and awareness of my need and that he truly is the only one who is always there-no fail-

and to be honest, when i am not in a cycle of prayer, my focus is dimmed and blurry...my passion watered down. i begin to let things that shouldn't bother me, bother me. i need to settle myself and fall in love with my prayer life again. 

so today my knee was still a bit stiff- it felt kinda like something had been strained-perhaps just over-worked..i tried to start my walk with a run, but two steps and i was convinced that it was just going to have to be a walk, so we took off (me and the band...you didn't realize NEED TO BREATHE were into walking?) guessing that people didn't really appreciate me singing at a certain point with one of the songs i may or may not have had on repeat for the last half hour...deal wit it! it was a beautiful day and i couldn't keep myself from smiling! and amazingly enough, by the end of that walk, i didn't even notice my knee, so hopefully it's just as good tomorrow as it is right now (says me as i sit on the couch exerting 0-force) that's what fresh air, positive music and exercise will do for ya!

i'm missing excitement. my life was never meant to be boring...i am in dire need of something. not sure what, but do you ever just kinda feel antsy but with no real reason why? totally me. something's gotta give. 

goodnight!

julie

i'm not a great co-pilot, but it's ok, i don't have to be any more!

dad drove me to my doctor's appointment this morning, and i was not a very good guide, and i got frustrated as i was giving directions. i need to work on my patience. they've been so great with me, and i was not very appreciative. i must work on this.

well...today was the day- i've been released!!! (don't worry, i still have to follow the guidelines for about 4-6 weeks of no bending, twisting or lifting anything over 10 lbs...so i'll carry a scale around with me-no i won't).

when the doctor's assistant walked in, she said they had to scrape out a whole lot more than they thought, and she was quite impressed that i hadn't needed pain meds. ummm, i believe the phrase was "you are one tough lady" i should've told her that i really felt that the recovery went so well because of prayer.

released but restricted...at least i can drive!

so, i'll be asking my students to help me move things and prepare for the summer close-down! that is if the benefits department clears me. so my doctor's assistant said when do you want to go back? i said thursday would be great, so the assistant wrote it down and faxed in the document. now i am just waiting for them to send the information to my principal. when that happens, i get to go back.

if that doesn't happen this week, i guess i will have an extra long weekend.

after our appointment, we went to panera for lunch, and i tried the strawberry poppy seed salad-which was amazing! new fav! then we stopped at walmart and we picked up items to replenish my fridge and pantry.

when we took the boys for a walk, mom grabbed these fruit things that i see all of the time. she explained that if you put these things under your couch or bed or wherever, they have something in them that keeps spiders away. that was news to me! so we brought some home.

anyone familiar with these or use them in this way? i'll be sure to let you know if they work!

so with me on the mend, mom and dad are taking off tomorrow morning so that they can continue to work on their new house.  like i said, it has been great having them here. although i will be honest, i was ecstatic when i was cleared to drive and dad gave my keys back...(i'm a bad co-pilot). i think we might be going to the original house of pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. i've been craving it for a bit, and i didn't have bacon thawed for them while they were here, they had to suffer through my banana-coconut pancakes with turkey bacon...

i guess i'll have to think of some things to do this week if they won't let me come back to work...i wonder if dr. hughes will let me work on some of the mural painting...well, farmer's market might be more fun, or finding some dog-friendly places to visit.

blessings,
julie