Contemplations of a Mommy "Monk"

I have been reading less and less these days, unless you count math books, statistics tests and geometry notes. But, last weekend when I needed a real break, I sat down with Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey's newest release: The Swiss Courier. What a treat (kind of like Swiss dark chocolate)! The story is set in the last days of WWII, with a touch of espionage, nuclear physics and love. The central character is a regular girl, who is a half Swiss, half American young woman trying out her feet in the world and making discoveries about true love from the two men who are vying for her attention and her simple godly parents. I enjoyed this unique perspective on stories from that time in history and the realistic internal struggles the main character faces. I don't think I've read anything from the perspective of a Swiss (neutral) national being involved in the war or about the building of the atomic bomb. The historical elements tied together with the real life experiences ma...

Have you ever been in a situation where you realized that people were talking about you behind your back? I remember the moment I discovered that my so-called friends had been criticizing my every move when I wasn't there to defend myself. It was my first year teaching (16 years ago) and things hadn't been going very well for me...at all. I didn't have a classroom and the teachers sharing their rooms with me were hostile and irritated with my "new teacher" mistakes. I had more students than I knew what to do with (150+) and to top it off, I didn't get a lunch break, but instead spent lunch monitoring students. I remember sitting down at 3:30 for the first time all day, feeling completely spent and very overwhelmed by everything. And in the midst of all this, my friends were doubting my ability to do the job. They were kind to my face, but when I was gone, they talked about my weaknesses and criticized my character. Read the rest of the story at Laced with Grac...