Monthly Archives: May 2014

A Crown Of Glory

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Anabelle asked a question about loving God more than anything. As a teacher, I believe  great questions are a gift from the student. It gives us the privilege to share, though our experiences, and compliments us, through them showing interest in the subject matter we are passionate about teaching. Questions help us to learn and grow. Matthew 7:7 teaches us to, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

With Anabelle’s question, I was able to share with our class, my personal story. Years ago, while giving my four year old daughter a shower, this thought came to me. “Whom do you love more?” I stopped for a second, as I thought about that. So, I started to pray, “Lord, I love you more. You gave her to me and without that gift I would not have her.” As my daughter got out of the shower, she looked up at me and asked, “Mommy, who do you love more, me or God.” I smiled, and thanked God for preparing me for that question. As I knelt down and looked into her eyes, I said, “Honey, I love God more.” As her eyes widened, I continued with, “Because God gave you to me. If He didn’t, I wouldn’t have you. And, I am so grateful that He has blessed me with your love!” With that she smiled.

As we age, the more we can share. With experiences, come a greater understanding. As each day unfolds, I find myself relating more to Proverbs 16:31, “Gray hair is a crown of glory…” And you can’t buy that! “For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.” Psalm 92:4

To my students:

Through all our class’s great moments this year, I had the wonderful opportunity to get to know Alexa, Lucas, Ryan, Chase, Nicholas, Joseph, Anabelle, Adrienne, Lily, Dominic, Colin, Gianni, Siena, Anjali, Isabella, Sebastian, Ella, Ian, Matthew, Nicolas, Mark & Ben. God made all of you very special. Just remember always to say, “Present” when your name is called, because you are a gift! I will miss you all very much, as you move up to the second grade and prepare for your first Holy Communion. May God bless you always!

“Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”     2 Timothy 3:14-15

Many blessings,

Deanna Danielle

Here is our latest and greatest iMovie, on YouTube.
You can view it at:
201 Boulevard 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Lih3Feitk

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Class of 20014, you did a great job! Keep up the good work!

A Leader, A Hero, A Life Changer

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I’ve heard it said, “Inside every child is a leader, a hero, a life changer.” I have to say, my class proved that to be true. As we filmed 201 Boulevard, our 2014 class video, I saw some extremely impressive moments. Picture this. Twenty first-graders, after a long day in school, arrived at religious studies class. When I took them to the pre-K classroom, they were surrounded by a huge collection of “old-fashioned” toys, just imagine, blocks, cars, action figures, puppets, dolls, doll houses, forts, legos, etc! And me, with script and a little video camera in hand, trying to capture their attention in less then an hour and a half!

Nonetheless, through all the craziness, I saw the leader, the hero, the life changer who wowed me as I looked around and through the small lens of my camara. As Nicolas got up to read his lines, and hesitated a bit, Ryan jumped up to help him. When I asked Gianni to read, Ella came to me asking to read with him because his sister wasn’t there to help him. Ella’s a twin, and so is Gianni. Ryan, too, is also a twin. I don’t want to forget to mention, the continued leadership of all the kids helping not only each other learn their lines, but also helping me, make this film happen. The compassion that I saw was more then mature, it simply blew me away.

When I view life, this is how I believe it should be, with each of us using our God given gifts  to serve one another. The best part about film, is you don’t miss a moment. I’m very proud of my first grade class, with all of their big hearts. They did an excellent job! Speaking of which, I would like to like wish all the Moms a very blessed Mother’s Day. In you all is the little girl who became the great leader, the super hero, the life changer and I want you to know that, your doing a great job!!

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her; “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:25-30

“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:10

May God bless you always,

Deanna Danielle

Artwork done by Gianni

Artwork done by Gianni

 

Lil’ Stories, Big Lessons

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As we gathered around on the class rug, I shared a story about three women who were arguing over the best way to pray. In the story, one woman said, “The best way to pray is on your knees.” Another woman said, “It’s best to be praying while you are standing.” The third woman said, “It is definitely best to pray while laying down.” As they shared their views, a gentleman working on the telephone lines over-heard them arguing.

“Ladies,” he interrupted, “You have it all wrong.” He proceeded to tell his story; “Do you see this pole? Three weeks ago, I was fixing the wires at the top, when I slipped. On my way down, head first, one of the loose wires wrapped around my ankle. I was hanging 10 feet off the ground, upside down. I know for a fact, that is the position you pray your best in!” To my surprise, the boys in our class thought this was the best story. Through their giggling voices, all they keep saying was, “Tell it again, tell it again.” I guess slapstick comedy never goes out of style.

When we think about the moral of this story, it holds great truth. Sometimes we spend a lot of time bickering over things, while forgetting the most important parts. In this case, it is not how we pray, but that we pray. With that, may we, like my 1st grade boys, find the joy and laughter in our everyday. May we never loose the child that lives within us.

Jesus used many parables as a means of illustrating profound, divine truths. I remember one year while teaching an 8th grade class, I read to them, Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” One of my students responded, “He’s selfish.” Taken a back by his response, I said a little prayer for God to give me the right words. With that, I smiled and said, “You are right. God is selfish for you and me. He will go all the miles to find us, because we are that important to Him. Even if it meant going to the Cross.

A reading from Matthew 18:1-4 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And He said, “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

It has been said that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Lil’ Stories, Big Lessons.

May God bless you always.

Deanna Danielle

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