Read Angie's Thoughts

I love my job at Trinity Lutheran. I can honestly say that most mornings I wake up thinking, "I get to go to school" and rarely does the thought, "Time to get ready for work" cross my mind. I've always said that I consider myself very blessed to have found a job I love so early in life. I have had jobs in the past where I would wake up and wonder how long it had been since I called in sick and if it could feasibly be 'sick' again. I love to watch my students learn and grow, I love that I get to take Maggie to work with me and although I keep the same routine in my classroom each day, there's always a new adventure waiting around the corner. I also believe that because I teach at a private school, I get the opportunity to get to know my students and their families on a more personal level and I really love that chance to get involved in more than just their life in the classroom. I really am blessed! This year I am teaching my biggest class since I...

The end of October will mark 20 years since I told my dad about the sexual abuse I had endured at the hands of my grandfather, beginning when I was a very little girl. It's hard for me to believe that it's really been that long...20 years can seem like an eternity! One might think that in a span of 20 years, a person who had experienced such abuse would be able to have moved on. I wish that were true for me, and for all survivors, but I honestly believe that healing is a life-long process. Sure, there are some aspects and issues of the abuse that I have made peace with, moved on, and never looked back. Issues like anger and unforgiveness were resolved years ago, and I say that with total joy and peace in my heart because there has been such freedom in letting those bitter feelings and thoughts go. But I do still struggle with other issues. Not all the time, or even most of the time, but there are days when issues like body image, shame, or intimacy issues pop up and must be dea...

There are times when I sense a storm looming on the horizon and I almost get overwhelmed with the intensity of what could be coming. Lately, I've had that foreboding feeling in the back of my mind and the corner of my heart. I move through each day content with what life has brought and I try to stay focused on the here and now. But in the quiet moments, tears cloud my eyes and I sense the storm moving slightly closer. Since getting the diagnosis of major depression about 28 months ago, my medication does a pretty good job of keeping me stable. I still have 'down' days, but they are noticeably less dark as they were before I started taking that one and a half pink pill every day. But even still, major lows tend to sneak up on me and yank the rug called 'life' right out from under me. The last one was almost a year ago, right after school had started. I can still remember getting ready for school that first morning of school and crying for reasons I could not expla...

A couple of weeks ago, the experience I had been waiting for all summer finally arrived - my best friend Amy and her kids Peyton (3) and Lola (1) came to visit. We had been planning their visit for months and when the day finally arrived for me to go pick them up at the airport, I was so excited! I know I've blogged about Amy and I's friendship before but the one thing that constantly amazes me is just how comfortable our friendship is. With her, I can completely take off my masks, let down all my walls, and be myself without having to hold anything back. We can go months without seeing each other and when we finally do, it's like we just saw each other yesterday. I was excited to see her kids and how much they had grown as I've only gotten to see each of them about once a year since they were born. We had a great time with them here. It was pretty busy and unfortunately, that made the time fly by too fast. I was housesitting the first few days Amy and the kids were...

The Israelites were an interesting group of people. They witnessed some of God's greatest miracles and yet turned away from Him time and time again. I've often wondered what it would have been like to live untouched during the plagues in Egypt, walk the dry ground under the parted Red Sea, and be fed by God's mysterious manna every day. How awesome! Of course, there was another side to the Israelites. The were prone to wander away from God and turn to idols of their own choosing, even after all the wonderful things He had done for them. They seemed to cycle through a pattern of following God and submitting to His authority and then turning just as easily, seeming to forget all that God had done for them until something, usually painful, happened that turned them back to God. I've often wondered how they could have been SO blind, having God right there with them doing these amazing things and then purposely turning to worship golden calves. But, if I'm honest with ...

Almost 14 years ago, I had just started my junior year of high school. My dad and his second wife had recently divorced and for whatever reasons, she got to keep the family pets - a dog and two cats. One night after a volleyball game, my dad's ex wife asked if I would follow her out to her truck because she had something to give me. It turned out to be this little orange kitten that I immediately named Christopher. I don't know why but I loved the name Christopher when I was growing up and many stuffed animals, pet frogs, and other objects bore the name. :-) I was so excited to have a kitten that was mine and immediately took Christopher home where he settled into life with my dad, younger brother Mark, and I. Christopher lived at my dad's house until I moved into my own apartment after my third year of college. Since then, he was with me through two moves, the addition of another cat and later, a dog, and watched as various other pets came and went - turtles, guinea pig...

I don't know why, by for the past few days the topic of friendship has constantly been on my mind. I will be busy doing tasks throughout the day only to find I am again thinking about friends I have had - past and present. I've never been one of those people who has a lot of friends. While most people have hundreds of 'friends' even on Facebook, I have less than 100. My best friend is the type of person that has a lot of friends, I knew that from the first day we met. At her wedding, she had 5 bridesmaids and a maid of honor. When they were planning the wedding, she told her fiance that he had a year to go out and make a bunch of new friends so he would have enough groomsmen for all her attendants! I've often joked to people that if I ever get married, I hope my husband-to-be has sisters because I can only name one or two people I would want to stand up with me at my wedding. As I've thought back over past friendships recently, I've come to a conclusion. W...