“There’s something weird about playing games in the wake of terrible tragedies, but really, games are always played in proximity to tragedy.” John Green Friday morning, while I read about the new adaptation of Jane Eyre, my iPad clinks to life with a pop-up news alert. These are the alerts that usually wake me up in…
Author: Kristi
Teacher. Writer. Traveler. Learning to see God everywhere.
Hillside United
…So take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so…
“I’m Not in the Book!”
Supplies: Pen or pencil Journal TEXTBOOK! “Wait, what?” Students filter in slowly from the hall, rummage around in backpacks for pencils and journals, then do double-takes. “What’s this textbook business about?” “Can I go get mine? It’s at home.” “Um… we have textbooks?” I nod and start to pull the class set out of the…
Sharing and Chocolate Economics
I don’t teach sharing all that much. It’s not that I don’t believe in it, I promise. I just get the impression that it’s a huge lesson in elementary school–getting kids to share the scissors and markers without too much drama–but since I never went to elementary school (gasp!) I can’t be sure. By the…
On Doing Hard Things
And I’m convinced that if the Christian church loses this generation, it will be not because we didn’t entertain them, but because we didn’t dare them… with the truth of the world. And it won’t be because we’d made the Gospel too hard, but because we made it too easy, and we just played games…
Sie Versteht Alles
Kristi, sie versteht alles… I’m seated at a table at the Ochsen, a guesthouse at the end of town, where I’ve just finished my first rehearsal with the Kanderner Frauenchor, or women’s choir. I’ve been invited with the rest of the choir to the 70th birthday party of one of the other singers, so I…
So… what’s a Pep Band?
“So, Ms. R is forming a Pep Band, so if you’re interested come to the meeting after school…” I look across the circle of desks at my students, who listen to our Vice Principal’s voice over the PA system with frowns on their faces, as if this were news to them. It’s seventh period, and this…
A Monday Tuesday
“It’s like this giant Monday.” I’m walking to school with my roommate, Anna, on this clear Tuesday morning, the first day of second semester. “I mean, I’m always a little lost on Mondays, like I’ve forgotten how to teach. And this… this is way worse.” This is a different “first day back” than any I’ve…
Things that Made Life Better This Year: 2010 Edition
The sun is sparkling through the windows of my childhood home in Seattle. It has been a week of rest and reconnection, so much so that I woke up today, surprised to find that it’s the last day of the year. And of the decade, for that matter. I’m neither old enough nor wise enough…
The Way Home 