Spain 2010

In just under 12 hours we (14 SLCA students and 4 adults) will be leaving for a whirlwind tour of Spain. Our cities include: Madrid, Cordoba, Granada, Tetouan (Morroco), Seville, Valencia, and Barcelona. ¡Vámanos!

Book # 12 The Lightening Thief

Book: The Lightening Thief
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Author: Rick Riordan
Acquired: SLCA Bookfair

So, I should be packing my bags right now, but as usual there is some mental block that makes packing a suitcase an extremely painful and long process. There is something in me that doesn't want to commit to the clothes that I have laid out until the last possible moment. What if I change my mind?

In honor of my procrastinating, I have decided to write a blog.

Book #12 is underway. I was inspired to choose it by reading book #8, Edith Hamilton's Greek Mythology (which I am still working on). And, seeing that there are now two Greek Mythology movies out right now, it seemed appropriate. See Lightening Thief trailer here and Clash of the Titans here (don't think I will see this one....looks really violent)

Cooper River

This weekend was the Cooper River Bridge Run. It was a fun weekend in Charleston with one of my students and her mom and grandma. YAY :D

Two minute PR. Still not as fast I want to be, but at least it was faster than the last one!

Mexico vs. Iceland

Mexico played a friendly match against Iceland last night here in Charlotte at the Bank of America stadium. So fun! I don't know if I have ever seen so much green or heard so many enthusiastic fans. One guy even took it a little too far (read about it here).

Lindsay and Trish


Josh and the luchador mask

The field and the fans.

;

Enthusiastic Fans

That Your Faith Might Grow..

As you know, I teach at SouthLake Christian Academy. Two weeks ago we had our yearly Mission's Week dedicated to raising awareness about and praying for Missions. We have chapel every day with special speakers and worship and skits done by our Student Missions Fellowship. We also pick a project to raise money for.

This year was a different year. The Student Missions Fellowship prayed before each chapel. We simplified a lot of things and decided not to have any prizes or competitions between classes to raise money. Instead, we told our teachers and students that we wanted to trust God to move on the hearts of our students to give even though they wouldn't receive a prize for their class giving the most money. We wanted them to give from their hearts, knowing their treasure is in heaven.

Our project this year was to raise 12,000$ for Double Harvest, a ministry in Haiti started by one of the families from our school (http://doubleharvest.org/index.html). On Thursday morning we had only raised 6,000$. I think all of us felt a little nervous. We didn't want the kids to be discouraged and we didn't want to guilt them into giving. We wanted it to be God's work in them.

Friday morning the Student Missions Fellowship students were collecting the final money. As they stopped by my room they said, "Miss Jackson, our buckets are so heavy. This is exciting!" I told them to come in so we could pray together. We prayed that God would not only meet the goal, but more, so that HE would be glorified and the students would know that God was the one who did the work!

That morning when they announced the totals, it was OVER 12,000$!! The kids all cheered! By the next Monday there was almost 16,000$. This is the most money that the school has ever raised for a missions project. There were no gimmicks or prizes, we just prayed!

God was truly glorified, and later that day two students gave their hearts to Christ with two different teachers. One of the conversations began specifically because of what God had done regarding the money!

It is true, God delights for us to ask Him and trust Him because when He answers, He is glorified!

John 14:13-14
¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Book # 3: Quote

"Unforgiveness is the poison we drink hoping the other person will die."

My Teacher is a Pirate

Last Friday I was listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack while grading lots of papers (some good and some...mmmm.....not so good). The following poem resulted:

My Teacher is a Pirate
by Trish Jackson


My teacher is a pirate.
I know it's hard to tell.
Her red pen is a sharp, sharp sword,
Her car flies a dark, dark sail.

They say she went to pirate school
to learn the art of terror.
"Fail them all, fail them all,"
Squawks her evil parrot.

She pillages our papers
until there's nothing left.
Her sword pen slashing, cutting,
her pirate mark- a giant X.

Test day is the day of doom,
my mind comes to a blank.
I dare not try to face her sword,
I'd rather walk the plank!

Book # 8: Pan

Did you know that the word panic comes from the lesser Greek god Pan?

Pan was the son of Hermes (Mercury). Part human form, part goat. He was often thought to cause mischief and mysterious sounds in the forest causing travelers to tremble (panic) as they passed through.

Book # 8: Mythology by Edith Hamilton

Book: Mythology
Author: Edith Hamilton

So, this is where the inner nerd makes its appearance. When I was in elementary school I used to check out books on greek mythology, just for fun. When I saw this book for three dollars in a used book store a few years ago, it was impossible to leave it on the shelf.

The book includes Greek, Roman, and Norse Mythology. Before you laugh, it is a well known fact that CS Lewis was very fond of mythology (Have you read Til We Have Faces?). I also just verified this fact on wikipedia :)

Happy Reading!