Driving

I do a lot of driving for my jobs. I think I've seen more of rural Vermont in the last month than I had ever before while living in Vermont. Well, except perhaps for the 2 years I lived in Vernon. Then I lived in rural Vermont, so I saw it a lot. ;-)

You might be wondering, "What does she do during those 12+ hours a week that she spends driving?" Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. Leaf peep. Don't worry--I have been watching the road more than the leaves, but this has been delightful this year. The leaves have been beautiful.

2. Watch out for deer and moose. So far, I've seen one deer and no moose (not that I'm complaining about that!).

3. Check out what other animals I can spy by the side of the road. I've noticed lots of cows and horses, some pigs, some sheep/goats, and I think an Alpaca or two.

4. Listen to sermon CDs/tapes. I've caught up on a few that I missed this summer. I just got an Alistair Begg series on evangelism from the church library. I'll start that tomorrow.

5. Listen to music. I do this a lot. I'll put the radio on "scan" until I find a song I like. Then I'll stop and enjoy. I'm particularly happy when I find good Christian music or 80's tunes (for the nostalgia value). If I'm in the mood, I sing along.

If that doesn't yield good music, I'll hit the CD button and listen to mine. This is currently the Beatles' One CD, so I'm enjoying all their #1 songs. Before that, it was a Rebecca St. James CD.

6. Listen to NPR. That way I catch up on the news, or interesting stories about other countries. Or sometimes an interview with a celebrity.

7. Pray. Yep, I do that a lot, too. I pray about work. I pray for people at church. I pray for church ministries. I pray for my family; I prayed for my sister in San Diego a lot last week because of the wildfires. (She's fine, by the way!)

8. Memorize Scripture. Usually I just work on one verse, sticking it to the steering wheel and meditating on it while I drive.

9. Drink caffeinated beverages and/or eat. 'Cause I need to stay awake and/or I'm hungry.

So there you have it. I'm toying with idea at some point of picking up books on tape. However, I generally enjoy reading books rather than listening to them. If I need something new to do, though, this is a possibility.

What I'm Reading

Well, since my life has gotten really busy (and a bit tiring, but in a good way), I realized that it's been over a month since my last post. So here I am again. :-)

There's quite a bit of reading involved in being an ESL teacher. Since I'm supporting students in their regular coursework, that often involves reading at least some of the things that they have to. So, here's an update on what I'm reading:

1. In the Bible--studying Job (on my own) and the life of Paul (for my church small group). The latter has lately taken me in quite a bit of Acts. Also memorizing Colossians 3. I'm up to verse 7 or 8.

2. I just finished The Giver by Lois Lowry. It was interesting. On tap next to be up-to-date with the 7th grade English class--Witness by Karen Hess.

3. United States History: Reconstruction to the Present (multiple authors, published by Pearson Education, 2008). High school U.S. History textbook. I'm working my way through the Roaring Twenties so that I can help my students get a sense of the important points (since this book is extremely difficult for them to read!).

4. Also recently read The Crucible by Arthur Miller for the first time. I need to compile some vocabulary for the students. For a high school English class. In the future, this class will also include works such as short stories of Poe, Huckleberry Finn, and The Great Gatsby.

5. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper. This one is for my spiritual edification; I read a chapter each Sunday. Today I read the one on prayer. I highly recommend it--or anything by Piper.

6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I use the term "reading" very loosely. Technically, I'm re-reading this just for fun. However, in practice, I don't have a chance to read for fun very often, so it's going very slowly.

7. My student's 5th grade math and science textbooks (I don't have them with me at the moment, so I can't quote the titles).

8. Various ESL books, vocab books, etc. For lesson ideas and materials.

Whew! No wonder my fun reading is on the back burner so often!