I reported last week that I made some great successes and walked a couple days in a row without my braces. I'm happy to update that I continued the successful solo large loops around the nearby buildings without my braces. I didn't get out there today because I was prepping for the final quarter of the year - the home stretch of my fifth year at BFA before my totalization. I'm ready to go for these last couple months in my classroom, but there are still a lot of other details to sort out in my life.[...]

When I was student teaching, I got to read the book Wonder aloud with a class of rambunctious seventh graders. That is a powerful text, and I was so excited to hear it was made into a movie. Since I was away the weekend it played at the Kandern theater, I jumped at the chance to watch it at the Bryans this week during our normal Taco Tuesday dinner. For those unfamiliar with the plot, it revolves around a young boy who has complicated medical conditions that leave him physically deformed. He has a beautiful soul that everyone recognizes by the end, but it's a narrative thick with body image and social struggles. [...]

Growing up, I'd regularly hear my parents start a story with, "George Wood, the guy who married us..." I mean, this was probably once a month. And I'm not exaggerating that every time he was introduced into a story my parents had to add that critical detail. This guy was a big deal in their faith walk, and it was important that my sister and I know he was the one who united them in marriage. Well, when my dad recently told me, "George Wood, the guy who married your mom and I, is going to be in Kandern," I jumped at the chance to connect with him.[...]

There's a story recounted in two of the Gospels about the Pharisees asking Jesus for a miracle. He replies with a measure of sass according to the Message translation: "All you want is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles."[...]

Sometimes teenagers are punks who try to test boundaries and stress out the adults who love them. Sometimes adults are equally obnoxious as they struggle through new personal growth.[...]

Sometimes my cultural analogies are lost on students. For example, yesterday I tried to tell a student my seemingly tedious assignment to him was his "wax on, wax off" task that would make sense later. His roommate had never seen The Karate Kid and had no idea what that meant. Once I explained the finer points of martial arts and window cleaning, it sort of stuck. (Full disclosure, I don't know the finer points of martial arts or window cleaning.)[...]

So I really love cheesecake. It's delicious. 

One of my students found out and promised to make me a boss cheesecake. This escalated in importance when I found out he'd never made a cheesecake before, and four other students have now made me three separate delicious cheesecakes. The delightful initial student planned to come over today after church with three of his friends to make me this crowning cheesecake.[...]

If you haven't listened to Rend Collective's latest album, you're wasting your life. I'm currently obsessed with several songs, but "Counting Every Blessing" resonated pretty well with me tonight. As I was thinking through what happened this week, I was struck by the amazing gifts I received in the previous several days of students reaching out and affirming my work as an educator - specifically in educating them about the Christian faith. [...]

First of all, I want to give a huge thanks to those who prayed through my birthday prayer requests this weekend. I warned you my post this week might be late but epic, and I don't want to disappoint.[...]