To My Students - Thank You!

Although this past week was filled with warm, wonderful holiday memories, it was also one of the most challenging weeks for me as a teacher. As I sat down to read the student's journals, a small part of me was feeling deflated, wondering if I was truly answering God's call and teaching these kids anything at all? As I began to turn the pages of each journal, it was as though God was telling me, no, yelling to me to keep on keeping. It seemed as if each student had written something that touched my heart in some small way. I could have written an entry or two from each student, but because of time constraints and an increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, I had to limit it somewhere! You will see however, more than the usual number of entries posted for this week ~ enjoy!

"In the sacraments, we meet the risen Christ - we become the Church. Thank You Lord for allowing us to become whole. We are holy in these ways...by going to Sunday worship or mass every weekend, praying and doing acts of kindness."

"We thank You God for a rainy day that turned into a beautiful day!"

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help to guide me in the choices I will make. Some of the choices I will have to make will be to do something good or bad."

"I am grateful for the ability to freely choose with God's help. If I didn't have God's help, I would make a lot of stupid mistakes."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance! The abundance in my life is energy!"

"I am grateful for the ability to freely choose. With God's help, I am grateful to be able to choose these things: to go to school and have friends."

"I am grateful for the wisdom of the church! Some ways that I can work for a just society are by praying for the strength to do good deeds."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance. The abundance in my life is knowledge."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance. The abundance in my life is love, church and being caring."

"I am grateful for the ability to freely choose. With God's help, I am grateful to be able to choose to make friends, keep the planet clean, and be a strong leader in my community."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance. The abundance in my life is happiness, joy and having my family."

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help to guide me in the choices that I will make. Some choices that I will have to make will be to choose to be a leader or a follower and to choose between good and bad."

"Thank You God for my family, friends, teachers, guardians, and for being alive!"

"We thank You God for friends who make us laugh!"

"We thank You God for the Eucharist!"

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help guide me in the choices that I make. Some choices that I may have to make will be to do something a friend may think is cool, but it is not healthy or good for you."

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help guide me in the choices that I make. Some choices that I may have to make are saying no to peer pressure that I will face in the future."

"Thank You God for everything that you have graced me with!"

"In the sacraments, we meet the risen Christ - we become the Church. Thank You Lord for allowing us to become whole. We are holy in these ways...because we are sons and daughters of Christ and God is as holy as you can get!"

"In the sacraments, we meet the risen Christ - we become the Church. Thank You Lord for allowing us to become whole. We are holy in these ways...by having good thoughts!"

Tis the season to be grateful!

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I enjoy seeing all the posts of gratitude by my friends on Facebook; only, I wish gratitude wasn't just thought about or practiced this time of year. My prayer is that we can all take a lesson from these wonderful middle school students and be thankful everyday, all year long!

"Thank You God for knowledge, because with out it, I wouldn't be able to write this sentence."

"Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be to stand up for them, hang out with them and play with them."

"Thank You God for knowledge, I am grateful for knowledge because it allows us to truly appreciate God's creations."

Lord, You speak to me in different ways, thank You! Some ways in which You speak to me are in my heart and in my soul."

"Ever present God, I am thankful for You. I pray to you in these ways and for these things...through prayer and for my family, friends, my health and to make the right decisions in life."

"Lord, You speak to me in different ways, thank You! Some of the ways You speak to me are by prayer and when I have a choice and I do the right thing."

"Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be by finding the best in everyone."

"Lord, You speak to me in different ways, thank You! Some of the ways You speak to me are through prayer, meditation, and caring people in my life."

"Ever present God, I am thankful for You. I pray to You in these ways, by praying through Lectio Divina for peace."

" Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be by not criticizing."

"Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be by helping them get a question right, or greeting them nicely with an act of kindness."

Life is to short to not have fun, or be grateful!

We learned that just one person can make a difference in this world. We can also have fun while making a difference! God wants us to have fun! In a world that forces us to grow up too fast, it is refreshing to read what the students do for fun - simple and delightful!

"Thank You God for fun! This is how I have fun; I play soccer and paintball, I can go outside and play baseball at my friends house and during the fall, I can go outside and see how many leaves I can catch before they hit the ground or make a big pile to jump in. During the winter, I make really cool snow forts and snow men and have snowball fights!"

"Lord, thank You for the people who have made a difference in this world. Some people that I know that have made a difference are our teachers!"

"Lord, thank You for the people who have made a difference in this world. Some people that I know that have made a difference are the priests that encourage us to keep the faith."

Life is a gift, but we often take it for granted. Lord, thank You for giving me life! Things that I will try not to take for granted is just waking up in the morning."

"Lord, I am grateful to to be a voice for the poor. I can be an advocate for justice by raising awareness and boycotting."

"I can be advocate for justice in these ways... by putting on workshops about the poor and helping them get the materials and love they need."

"Life is a gift, but we often take it for granted. Lord, thank You for giving me life! Things that I will try not to take for granted will be my brother, because he is really cool and nice to me. He is a great brother!"

"Lord, thank You for people who make a difference in the world. Some people that I know that make a difference in the world are U2 and the president."

"I am grateful for the opportunity to meditate because it allows me a chance to cool off."

"Life is a gift, but we often take it for granted. Lord, thank You for giving me life! Things that I will try not to take for granted will be nature, love from parents and having friends!"