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Remembering Who I Am

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A Letter to Myself: Remembering Who I Am For a long time, I felt like I lost myself. Eight years of stress, trying to please everyone, carrying too much, and feeling overwhelmed slowly changed the way I saw myself. I became focused on surviving instead of enjoying life. Fear became loud, and I forgot what peace felt like. Then someone came back into my life at a time when I needed a reminder of who I was. His presence brought back feelings I thought I had lost — peace, confidence, joy, and the feeling of being myself again. He reminded me of a calmer version of me, the person underneath all the stress and fear. I was nervous. I didn’t know what would happen. But I made a choice: I said “hey.” It was a small moment, but it was a brave moment. I realized: “I can be nervous and still be brave.” “I can take a step even when I’m afraid.” “I am still capable of connecting.” “I am still me.” That moment showed me something I never expected: I could do something outside of my comfort zone. I c...
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A Keepsake Letter to Myself

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  Dear Tiffney, I want to remember what I learned from this season. An old friend unexpectedly reminded me of something I didn't even realize I had lost. I thought I was simply happy to see someone from my past, but over time I realized it was much deeper than that. Being around the friend brought me a sense of peace. I felt happy, confident, and like myself again. For the first time, I realized how much fear had quietly taken over during the previous school year. I hadn't even recognized it until I experienced the contrast. What surprised me most was that this friend didn't have to say anything special. The friend may not even realize how much the impact had on me. Yet this friend's presence reminded me of who I was before fear became so loud. This old friend reminded me of: - My joy. - My peace. - My confidence. - My connection with children. - The teacher I know God created me to be. I realized that what I missed wasn't just teaching—it was the connection with ch...
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Schools Don't Run........

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😮‍💨 PEOPLE SAY SCHOOLS RUN ON FUNDING. THEY DON'T. THEY RUN ON TEACHERS WHO KEEP THE WHOLE THING FROM FALLING APART. That's the line missing from every school budget. When something isn't funded... It doesn't magically disappear. It lands on a teacher. Not enough classroom supplies? A teacher buys them. Not enough staff? A teacher covers another class. Someone calls out? A teacher loses their planning period. A student is in crisis? A teacher figures it out. Technology doesn't work? A teacher finds another way. A program gets cut? A teacher fills the gap. Another responsibility gets added? A teacher squeezes it into a day that was already full. It's amazing what schools can "afford"... When they know teachers will quietly make up the difference. Not because they have to. Because they care too much about the kids to let them go without. That's the part people misunderstand. Teachers aren't keeping the system running because the system is worki...
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What 20 Years with Children have Taught me Ideas

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I have the idea of writing a devo book with the things that I have learned in the 20 years with children. I can put a little story of what I have learned, reflections, prayers, and a Bible verse that goes with that story/lesson. I have taught in so many different settings with children and because of that I have learned so much in my 20 years. I have some titles for it like: 20 years with Children: Lessons from Little Hearts, Little Moments, Lasting Lessons, 20 years of watching children grow, or Through the eyes of a preschool teacher. I also already have some lessons ideas: the power of encouragement, the joy of watching a child finally get it, children taught me to forgive quickly, children taught me to find the joy in the simple things, every child has a unique path, sometimes the best thing we can give a child is our time and presence, and children teach us to slow down. This can be the main idea: every child is a different kind of flower and all together, make this world a beauti...
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Summer of Peace- A Poem

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I was going to write an entry about the peace that I felt this Summer but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be fun to describe it in a poem since I haven't wrote a poem in awhile. It is a prefect topic for one and I think it would also be easier because I wouldn't go on and on about it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Summer of Peace   Summer of Peace.  What does that feel like? If you would have asked me  That two Summers ago  I would have been like, "I have no idea" but Now I do. Summer of Peace is It is where you might  Start to worry if you  Are going to have a  Hard and busy Summer. It is where you just Have hope that things Will get better after Things calm down.  But Guess What? Summer of Peace is A Summer where you  Don't have to worry  About a thing.  It is a summer where You can get rid of that  Fear that you have  Held on for what feels  L...
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The Lessons I Learned in Eucador

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The Mission Trip to Eucador-Part 2

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I wrote about the reason we went to Eucador. This entery is about the other side of this adventure. The side when we actually toured the country and learned about it and its people more. The side that we spent a whole day and a half exploring. The Sunday that we were there we went to church in the town that we were staying in and that we were helping out. The pastor of that church was the pastor that was trying to get the gospel told in the mountains and we were helping him get that started. We were one of the 1st few groups of people there, if not the 1st, to help him. We went to the church to see what it was all about. It was a pretty building inside made of all wood and had plastic chairs to seat in. You would have no idea that it was a church from the outside because it looked pretty small. I think it was one of the few churches even in the city because we stayed right by a really big Catholic church on the square and it was a very fancy one inside. Anyways, after church, we went...
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