Life and Times of the Sharp Family

Today was not a peaceful day. It was rushed, stressful, and full of obstacles and turmoil. I'm ashamed to say that I was short with my kids, and I worked on school stuff when I should have been snuggling with them. I'm so thankful that each day is a new start.  Perhaps even more thankful, though, that God promises us peace. Tonight at 10:30 while I was making lunches because, yes, I was just getting to that, I decided to listen to a Joyce Meyer podcast. Turns out, God wanted me to know that I could have peace.  In fact, he was promising me peace.  All I had to do was decide to pursue it. So tomorrow, my goal is to chase after peace and to rely on him, who never fails or breaks a promise.  And who loves me no matter how much I screw up. Thank God for these promises of peace!

After a very long day, capped off with a cross-country meet in Marshall, I decided to go for a run.  The meet was pretty short, and I had driven there due to having a couple of different meetings and obligations to take care of after school.  This gave me the opportunity to lace up my running shoes and take a run around the beautiful old town of Marshall instead of riding the bus home. My legs were hesitant, but it was clear after just a couple of miles in that this was going to be a great run.  I think part of it was running in such an amazing place: the old houses, the giant, ancient trees, the neighborhood streets full of history but empty of traffic.  There were just enough hills to make things interesting and the sun was just starting to go down.  It was truly ideal.  I got a chance to clear my head and headed for home feeling aglow. Thank God for a run in Marshall!

Today I spent a long time going through videos to use for my weekly "Feel Good Friday".  I found a lot of good ones.  But what I'm truly thankful for is that by searching through these videos, my heart is encouraged and uplifted every time I find one.  It's a better kind of satisfaction than you typically get from just finding what you're looking for.  I get a renewed sense of faith in the goodness of others and the love of God that moves around and through us.  I get a revitalized conviction to spread that love to those around me.  I smile.  And I can't wait to share them with my students. Thank God for uplifting stories!

Today I ran to Breslin's first fall ball game. 45 minutes after I arrived, as I was stretching, I got stung twice by what I thought were bees. Normally, I have a pretty severe allergic reaction to being stung.  I have had to get an Epipen twice and neither episode was a pretty situation.  I quickly swell up out of control at the site of the sting and I cannot breathe within a minute. Colby was on the other side of the ball field complex, picking up some stuff from the car when it happened, so I was all alone with the girls watching the game. I tried hard to brace myself and not panic.  I instructed Dharia to call her dad as I laid down.  AJ held my hand and told me a story.  By the time Colby returned from the car, I was breathing normally.  And although you could clearly see where I was stung, there was virtually no swelling at all. I don't know if those weren't really bees, or if all of a sudden I am no longer allergic, or if God just decided to...

So, there's this kid on my cross-country team.  He's all kinds of cool, and I'm so thankful that I get to be his coach and his teacher. Today, he ran incredibly well, and I was proud and awed of his performance. The best part, however, was when he came through the finish line chute.  It was fenced off, so I was about 30 meters away from him, but I yelled and cheered for him anyway. The reward for my efforts?  He gave me a huge smile and made a heart with his hands for me. Later, when the girls raced, one of our runners was struck with an asthma attack mid-race.  I shouted to this young man for help via text message.  Despite already having run a hard race, he sprinted all over the course in an effort to find an inhaler and get it to this young lady.  When I thanked him profusely afterwards, he shrugged it off as no big deal. Things like that make the extended hours away from my family totally worth it.  After a breathtakingly difficult and ex...

There’s nothing quite as satisfying, in my opinion, as seeing your kids develop a love and passion for something.  For my AJ, that seems to be ballet. Today marked the first day of her official class, and it was a long time coming.   This summer, she participated in “Princess Dance Camp” at the Academy of the Arts in Spring Arbor.   Since the last day of camp, she has anxiously awaited this day.   I thought her heart would explode when we got to class early and I bought her a pair of tights and a pink ballet skirt to wear over her leotard. I am so happy and thankful that she has found something that brings her such joy. Thank God for my little ballerina!

One of the things that I had forgotten about with back to school is how much fun it is to pick AJ up from daycare. That girl acts like you are a rockstar when you walk through the door.  She squeals and runs and jumps into your arms. It brings a smile to my face and gives me a boost at the end of each day -- no matter how rough it was or how tired I feel.  She makes me feel better just for showing up. Thank God for my happy pickup!

For years I have been trying to figure out the morning routine.  I always feel rushed, frantic.  This results in stress, anxiety, and irritability. For the first time ever, I believe I am starting to get it. I am waking up a full hour earlier than last year.  Despite the early hour, I have been so pleased to be able to wake up nice and slow: take a long, hot shower, drink two full cups of coffee while sitting in a comfy chair, do my devotions, and get my kids ready.  I'm ashamed to say that last year there were several mornings (okay, let's be real...more mornings than not) where my kids went to school without their hair or teeth being brushed.   Even though it's only been two days in the new routine, it has made just an absolutely huge difference.  I arrive at school feeling confident and ready to face the day instead of pressured and overstretched.  This morning, I was so relaxed that I had time to eat a bowl of oatmeal in the teacher's...

It always bums me out that I'm not able to see my kids off on their first days of school. Since Bres was in kindergarten, I have had to wait patiently throughout the entire first day of school, eagerly and anxiously awaiting to hear how it went.  This is usually to find that by the time I got the kids home, they are always exhausted and not in the mood to give me lots of details. I've had visions of holding Breslin and Dharia's hands as I walked them to their kindergarten and first grade classrooms.  Due to the fact that I have to teach my first day of school at the same time they are starting theirs, however, makes this impossible. But, even though I have first day jitters and anxiety, it turns out that my kids all play it pretty cool. I'm thankful that they aren't really very needy.  And, despite my guilt at being absent from this momentous occasion, the fact of the matter is that it doesn't seem to matter at all to them that I'm not there. It de...