every year i tell myself that i will begin shopping early. yet, here i am again. it's the final days of christmas shopping and i've only bought two presents. ugh!please don't misunderstand - i really do love giving gifts. there's nothing quite like that feeling of giving to another person. yet, at this time of the year, it's so easy for me to blindly bustle through the days. i find that the older i get, the more deliberate i must be about slowing down and just really enjoying the season. i have found myself musing a lot lately about one of my favorite movies and it's message. i hope that i can keep that message close to me in the weeks to come and remember what this holiday, at it's core, is all about...the gift of love. i have been reading an amazing book (seems like i've said that many times before!), unchristian by david kinnaman and gabe lyons. david kinnaman works for the barna research group. gabe lyons commissioned the barna group to conduct research on why 'busters' (or generation x which are those born in the late 60s through the very early 80s) and the 'mosaics' (or generation y which are those born mid/late 80s through the 90s) are leaving the modern church in droves. this book has utterly fascinated me. it seems to take so many of issues that i struggle with as a christian seeking a church home and honestly discusses them. the book has helped me to really think about what being a christian means to me and how i will live my faith. this is one of the hardest areas of my life for me in trying to get my bearings. i wish i knew an easy, quick fix. but in reality, i think that this will be an area of my life i will be exploring indefinitely.in the spirit of getting my bearings, i have had two recent revelations about myself. one happened earlier this week - during a field trip to the ussrc. five years ago, i had the opportunity to spend a week there for the space academy for educators. it was truly one of the best experiences i've ever had - in part because of wonderful people i met. but for a learning junkie like me, the immersion in science and history and...well, everything...was like feasting from a smorgasbord! i came home from the experience mesmerized by space science. not only did that benefit me as a teacher, but it also gave me some conversation topics to discuss with my dad. my dad retired from the space industry after 30 years of service. pictures of projects he worked on as well as space shuttle paraphernalia were fixtures in our home. i guess that when my experience at ussrc collided with my lifetime spent around memories and mementos of rocketry, an affinity for and awe of our country's era of space exploration naturally blossomed. but as time passed, separating me from my academy experience, i lost that euphoria and whatever it was that excited me so much about studying space. during the field trip this week, i remembered it. when you look at pictures like these...
it becomes easier to put your problems and heartaches in perspective. at the end of the day, you are part of something so much bigger than you can imagine. really - we are just mites in god's enormous, beautiful infinity.
yet, he still knows the number of hairs on my head (matthew 10:30). amazing... the other thing that i discovered about myself came via a talk given by andy stanley. he was discussing the story in exodus of moses advising the israelites in their matters and settling their daily disagreements with one another after he had led them out of egypt. one day his father-in-law, jethro, tagged along to see moses in action. he discovered that moses was basically kind of overwhelmed and inefficient in his work. he suggested to moses to use his strengths in his work, but then delegate the rest of his work in the areas that he wasn't as talented. andy used this example as a biblical way for us to view our professional lives. he emphasized that you must figure out, say, two or three things in your professional skill set that you are really good at and enjoy doing. then, zero in on your work that applies those skills. it may not be easy to do or a quick fix - but the bible shows that this plan works and can give you some professional margin in your life.
so i got to thinking...what am i good at? what do i enjoy about my current job? it didn't take long to narrow down to two things. i believe that i am compassionate and i connect to and easily build rapport with my "clientele" or my students. now clearly, a classroom teacher is required to do far more than use these two skills. perhaps then, finding a profession that really allows me to work in my zone with these two strengths would bring me less stress? i thought it was an interesting idea to ponder. i just don't know what profession that might be. any ideas???
enough musing for now. i hope you have a fantastic week, dear reader.
blessings to you,
dana
certainly beauty can be all around us - and it was yesterday. 
