Feeling a bit unprepared

          If you saw Neil's Facebook status a few days ago, you may already know, but in case you don't, we got word Friday that a position opened up on the Lakeland campus so we now have a permanent placement!!

          Definitely exciting, but to be honest, I was a bit stressed at the news. The way that news translated to me was I had one week to prepare myself to be a good leader and mentor for 8 teenagers! Yeah, the house that we got placed in is mostly teens with both boys and girls in the home; a perfect age for having good discussions about life, but also the perfect age for them to trample all over us if we aren't prepared. I mean, I know that is what we signed up for, but I just thought we would have a bit more time to prepare our game plan. One thing I learned in my education classes is that the first week sets the tone for the rest of the year. That is our time to introduce the kids to who we are, to explain to them what they can expect from us, and what we will expect from them, and to show them that if they step outside of the boundaries or structure that has been established then there are consequences (I feel like I sound hard nosed, & I want to go into an explanation about the importance of structure & consistency within Love, especially when raising children, but I'll just have to save that for another day). All that I'm trying to say is that for that first week, I needed to establish a plan, and I didn't have one. 

          Later that day I found out that I got all stressed out about nothing. I talked to my new supervisor, and learned that we will still get about a month of training before we start in the home. I felt like the balloon in my chest released all its air as I let out a big sigh of relief. 

          Well, all that to say that that whole little mini-drama really got me thinking about how prepared I am for this. I mean that little stress caused me to be totally unproductive until I talked to my supervisor a few hours later, and Friday, I could afford to loose a few hours due to stress, but starting on Monday (our first day of training!) and thereafter, I won't. My goal in this new job is to bring glory to God, and to teach those under my influence to do likewise. That is truly what I'm passionate about, and why I'm so excited about this new opportunity, but recently I've been thinking that maybe I'm not as prepared as I thought. One of the most important parts of teaching others is to model in your own life the truths that you teach, but if a little change in the plans turns my day upside down, how can I say to those kids that I'm really trusting in God? And if I'm not modeling a life that trusts in God, how can I expect them to? Consequently, that is what I've been thinking and praying about lately: that my life would truly model one that follows after God and one that believes what He has said in His Word. 

          I've also been thinking and praying about other ways to teach them how to live a life that glorifies God. Effective teaching goes beyond modeling what one teaches; it of course includes explaining the information needed to understand the concept, but it also includes presenting various opportunities for practicing the concept, correcting errors made during planned and unplanned practice time, and reviewing the lesson taught, multiple times if possible. I've thought about planned and unplanned opportunities that I could use throughout each day, routines Neil & I could establish, topics we could discuss, and ideas we could highlight to teach them to love and glorify God. I know there are so many ideas and methods that people have used to teach others to love and glorify God, and I feel like those I have come up with are just a sprinkling in a river of ideas. I know that some ideas may seem great, but in the end have little impact, while others may seem insignificant, but have life-changing results, so I thought maybe you could help. What things have impacted your spiritual development, or what are you doing to positively influence those under you?

Packing & planning & packing & planning & packing & planning... Oh, & Partying :)
Jenna