A Letter to My Students On the Last Day of School

It is Thoughtful Thursday and the only thing going through my mind is that it is the last day of school. I am so excited for summer break and having some extra time to do things that I enjoy doing. However, it is quite bittersweet for me. Each year, the last day of school becomes emotional. After being with my students for 36 weeks, we have grown together in many ways and shared many special memories. Thinking of them going off into 4th grade is hard for me. So... as a way to cope with these emotions this morning, I have decided to write a letter to my students on their last day of 3rd grade.

My sweet third graders,

I have so enjoyed having you in my class this year. I am so thankful that I was given the chance to be your teacher and get to know you the way that I have. You are a blessing to me. As you go off to 4th grade, I pray that you don't forget the joy we shared in our classroom and the things that you have learned.

When you came into my classroom almost 36 weeks ago, my first impression was "Wow! These kids really love each other." It has been a joy to watch your friendships expand and mature and the way you love one other is absolutely amazing to witness. I have often told you that we were a "classroom family". With that being said, we had times where we shared frustrations and joyous occasions, but like a family we stuck together through it all.

My favorite thing about our class this year is how you allowed your brain to think about God. You challenged me to think about Him in ways that I never thought about Him before. We were able to engage in some great, meaningful discussions about our Heavenly Father. I was always in awe of the insightful things you had to say during these discussions. I hope that you carry some of these discussions with you as you grow and mature in your relationship with the Lord.

As you become 4th graders, my hope is that you leave my class feeling one thing...loved. Because each of you are. Not only by me, but by our Creator. You are loved more than you will ever know. You were created to be exactly who you are and you are loved because of who you are. Don't let this world try to change you. Be you. You are beautiful, smart, compassionate, and hard-working. Work hard in all that you do and do everything for God's honor and glory.

And lastly, I want to thank you. You all are always thanking me for what I do, but I should be thanking you. You challenge me each day to be a better teacher and a better person. Thank you for that. Thank you for your sweet hugs and kind words, especially on days that are a bit harder than others. Thank you for laughing with me and putting up with my random thoughts and stories that I just have to share when they pop in my head. Thank you for teaching me what life looks like through your eyes. Many adults grow up and forget what it is like to be a kid, but I got to experience it each day because you shared it with me. Thank you for sharing the last 36 weeks of your life with me. Thank you for giving me the gift of your laughter and for sharing your excitement with me. Thank you for praying with me when I needed prayer and allowing me to pray with you when you needed it.

Are you crying yet? I know I am. I expect each of you to come back to see me at some point next year and share with me what is new in your life. I can't think of a better way for the legacy of our class this year to continue than to have you share at least a small part of your future with me. You may not all be in the same class next year or in my class, but a part of my heart is reserved for Mrs. Johnston's third grade class of 2017-2018...that's YOU!

With lots of love,

Mrs. Johnston

Writing Prompt Wednesday - Tears are Words

Thank you for joining me on our first "Writing Prompt Wednesday." I am so excited to see what words come out with this prompt. If you come across a prompt or have something you would like me to write about on a future Writing Prompt Wednesday, leave it in the comments or send it to me privately through the contact form. I would love to read your ideas. Thanks!

Prompt: Paulo Coelho has said, "Tears are words that need to be written." What always brings tears to your eyes?

I am a teacher and now an aunt-mom to three beautiful kids. Most recently, I have been guilty of shedding buckets of happy tears. When I first read the quote above by Paulo Coelho, it was like a light bulb went off. This quote rings so true for me. The moments that I am experiencing extreme pain or happiness, the moments that draw tears to my eyes, are the moments that I tend to write about. These are the moments that I need to write in order to work out my feelings and process what is happening in my life.

In my role as a teacher, this is the time of year that I tend to shed the most happy tears. Tomorrow is the last day of school. My class and I have now been together for the last 36 weeks. We have shared laughter, love, frustration, and yes...tears. Each year is like a new adventure. We begin the year as strangers and end the year as a piece of each other's hearts. When I look back on the year and I see how far my students have come and how much they have grown, tears are always brought to my eyes. Happy tears. Proud tears. Bittersweet tears.

I am blessed to teach where I do. I not only get to witness my students grow physically and academically, but I get to guide them in growing spiritually as well. This is by far the most rewarding part of my job. When a student tells me at the end of the year that I helped them grow closer to Jesus, I know that I did my job exactly the way I was supposed to in spite of the long nights, parent meetings, and frustrations throughout the year. Pretty much every time a student says something along those lines, the tears start flowing. It is like each tear represents a happy memory and when I look at it like that, my tears are really gifts. In happy or sad times, when we cry, each tear is a gift from God. Our tears mean that we have experienced love. When I cry happy tears for my students it is because God has given me the chance to love and be loved by them in a way that fosters physical, academic and spiritual growth within them. When I cry sad tears, it is usually because a loved one has passed or that I am in the midst of a disagreement with someone. Those tears also mean that I have loved and have been loved. It means I care enough to be sad about that situation.

Many times tears are seen as bad, but I think that God has beautifully designed us in a way that our tears heal our hearts. I guess to give a straightforward answer to the prompt above, I would have to say... having experienced an overwhelming sense of love. This is what always brings tears to my eyes.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

A Year Later...and a Special Announcement

Let me start by being honest with you, and prepare to be shocked....I took a break from writing. Insert wide-eyed gasp here. It has taken its toll on me for sure. Writing is my outlet. It is the thing that allows me to feel and helps me to work through my feelings and thoughts in a healthy way. So, needless to say, as time went on without writing, I began to feel passionless and numb to a lot of things I would normally feel very passionate about. What bothered me the most was that I was beginning to feel numb in my relationship with my Savior. I could shrug off feeling numb and passionless about everything else, but this, to me, was just not okay.

Last night, I was feeling pretty down about this passionless me and I came across a blog post on Pinterest that talked about how to draw closer to God while writing. It was like God had started ringing a bell in my mind to make sure I understood that He was telling me that I needed to start writing again. And now, I'm sitting in front of my laptop screen at 5:30 in the morning with a renewed sense of passion and purpose typing out these words for you to read.

Before I get to the special announcement, let me fill you in a few things that have happened over the past year. This will help you to understand the announcement a bit better. My husband and I moved into our first home together in January of 2017. I was still writing then, but wasn't sure if you knew that. Then, in July, I began my third year teaching third grade. We have had permanent legal guardianship of our nephew (who will be referred to as A) July 2016 and in February 2018, we were given temporary custody of our two nieces (A's sisters), who will be referred to as H and K in my blog. H is a rambunctious and sassy 3 year old and K is a rough, but affectionate 4 year old. My life has changed drastically in the past year. I have transitioned from a bright-eyed newly wed to a coffee drinking, messy haired and pajamas wearing aunt-mom of three.

My writing style may be a bit different now as I begin to want to talk about how my life has changed and how God is working in the midst of the chaos that is the life of being a wife and aunt-mom. What hasn't changed is my reason and hope for writing. I hope that my words help someone out there who may be going through a similar season of life, who may feel like no one understands, or someone who may just want to laugh with me as God reveals some pretty funny thoughts through the lips of a three year old and cry with me when we have had time out after time out and major meltdowns in the span of one bad day. Regardless your reason for being here, I appreciate you. Thank you for reading my words and I pray that God would bless you today in ways that you never knew were possible.

And  now for the special announcement...

I like to write about many different topics, so instead of starting a different blog for each topic, which is not realistic with my chaotic life at the moment, I am going to be writing about a different topic each day of the week. Through this, I hope you will find something that really clicks with you and you should be able to follow the tags to find other posts about the same topic as I write more on that topic. The schedule is below.

Aunt-Mom Monday: On Mondays, I will be writing posts about my life as an aunt-mom of my three amazingly rowdy kids. This will include fun activities I do with them, parenting wins (and fails), and a journal of our legal journey.

Teacher Talk Tuesday/Bible Truth Tuesday: On Tuesdays, I will be writing about one of two things. I may be writing about my life as a teacher. This could include things that have worked in my classroom, reflections on lessons or other teaching topics. I could also be writing about a Bible truth that God has revealed to me in the past week.

Writing Prompt Wednesday: On Wednesdays I will search for a writing prompt online and respond to it through my blog post. I would also encourage you if you are a writing to respond to it as well. Some prompts may be just for fun and others could be seriously thought-provoking.

Thoughtful Thursday: On Thursdays, I will be writing about something that has been weighing on my mind recently. This could really go in any direction and could get quite interesting I think.

Freebie Friday: On Fridays, I will be sharing with you a helpful document that I have made to organize the craziness of my life. This could be something related to being a wife or aunt-mom, being a teacher, or could just be something to help with Bible study and drawing closer to God.

I am so excited to begin this journey with you and share with you more about my life. I will begin this journey tomorrow with Writing Prompt Wednesday. No matter what day it is, I will be including Bible truths and Scripture that applies to each topic and situation I am writing about. God is everywhere and can be found in everything. So, I hope that in returning to writing I will draw closer to God and that by you reading these words you will too. Or at least that you will be inspired by something that I write to do something that you are passionate about in an attempt to draw closer to Him as well.

Remember to...Rejoice in the truth of God's grace and love each and every day!

Hugs and Kisses,
Brianna