Thank God I Do

A few weeks ago, I was asked to share my testimony at a women’s Bible study brunch at the end of April. It’s been difficult to find the time to sit down and figure out what I want to share with the ladies in my church. I haven’t shared my testimony in a formal setting

Please stop saying that COVID isn’t a big deal

I am generally a pretty healthy person. I remember only a few times being really sick. During my honeymoon, I got bronchitis so bad that one night I didn’t feel like eating anything else but canned green beans. My husband took me to urgent care the next day to get antibiotics. In college, I had

Ode to Lexapro

I’m about to go out on a limb here and tell you that I love my antidepressant. Since I started taking Lexapro almost four years ago, my mental health has improved to such an extent that I vaguely remember what it was like to spiral into the oblivion of anxiety. A few years ago, I

TBH: Teaching in a Hostile Environment

Recently, I have had a few conversations with fellow teachers that have caused me to, once again, consider why it is that I have dedicated my life to public education. To be honest, I don’t know if I would stick with teaching if I was just starting out today. The pay on average is not

The Pattern of Death and Life

Over the last year, I have been thinking about getting a tattoo. Most people who have tattoos start when they are pretty young. My brother, for example, got his first tattoo (as far as I know) when he was seventeen while my sister starting tattooing herself (with India ink) at a much younger age. I

A Balanced Christian in a Public School Setting

For a Christian woman, I have an odd job. I have been teaching in public schools as an English teacher for twenty years. Now, on the surface, that might not seem like such a strange job. Plenty of Christians are public school teachers. However, I am not your usual Christian public school teacher because I

The Heroes of the 20/21 School Year

This school year has been incredibly difficult for so many reasons. Teachers needed to learn new ways to reach their students, including learning management systems and virtual conferencing. For those of us with technology flowing through our veins, that wasn’t the difficult part. The difficult part was figuring out how to maintain relationships with our

Life of a COVID-19 Teacher: The Truth

As more schools are beginning to return to in-person instruction, many are going to be adopting a hybrid or blended model which usually includes a “day off” from students so that schools can be cleaned and teachers can plan and grade. Don’t be fooled: this is not a day off for educators. We are still

Even Though…

The last five months have been difficult for most of us. Over the last five months, many of us have experienced a trauma that we never expected to experience in our lives. We have undergone different stages of grief because our “normal” lives have been upended. Along with the changes to our “normal” lives, COVID-19

An Open Letter to the Class of 2021

Dear Class of 2021, Last spring, the class of 2020 had a very difficult ending to their senior year. They missed their senior trip. They missed prom. They missed graduation practice. They missed senior picnic. They missed a traditional graduation ceremony. They did not get to say good-bye to their favorite teachers and staff members.