Word for 2026--Still

My word for 2025 was Intrepidez (yes, in Spanish), basically meaning fearlessness. I wanted to face the future without fear and let God take me on adventures that I may have shied away from out of fear or anxiety. I'd say I definitely did that and am thankful for the adventures, the memories, and the relationships built in those adventures. 

I didn't even start thinking about my new word for 2026 until a week or two ago. I've actually really struggled to keep up with life and teaching more this last semester than most. I seem to fall behind more easily or at least am not ahead of the game like I normally am. Partially because I'm learning from my teammate who has taught 2-way Dual Language more than me, so I'm leaning on her to guide the way for this first year that we're working together. However, feeling behind (or not ahead) can leave me feeling quite anxious and flustered. This year God is teaching me to take things one day at a time and to give myself (and others) grace. 

Though I haven't blogged much, I have been journaling a lot. I bought myself a journal that says, "Be still and know that I am God." When tempted to write anxious thoughts, the cover of the journal reminds me to only focus on things from above and to remember that God is always the One in control, guiding all things. 

Here's what I got from AI when I looked up the Biblical word still. 

"Be still, and know that I am God" is a powerful biblical phrase from Psalm 46:10, calling for quiet trust and surrender to God's sovereignty, especially amidst chaos, urging believers to cease striving, acknowledge His control, and find peace by recognizing Him as the ultimate power, even during times of war or personal struggle.

It's an invitation to pause frantic efforts, be vulnerable, and trust that God is at work, promising He will be exalted.

Meaning & Interpretation

Context:

Written during times of conflict, Psalm 46 speaks of the earth shaking but God being a refuge.

The verse is a divine command to stop fighting or worrying.

"Be still" (Hebrew: raphah):

Means to stop, cease, let go, or relax.

It's a call to lay down arms and become undefended.

"Know that I am God":

A call to truly acknowledge, be aware of, and experience God's presence and power.

Core Message:

Stop struggling and realizing that God is in control and will ultimately triumph.

How to Apply It

In Chaos:

A reminder to find calm when life feels overwhelming, like the rising waters in the Psalm.

In Striving:

To recognize when frantic effort is counterproductive and to trust God's timing.

In Practice:

Take moments to breathe, pray, listen, and center yourself, letting go of the need to control everything.

This verse encourages a deep, quiet faith, reminding people that God's power is present even when circumstances seem hopeless.

While focusing on stillness, I am going to also focus on calmness. Ecclesiastes 10:4 stays that calmness can lay great errors to rest. A calm answer. A calm response. A calm posture. A calm heart and mind. 

Calmness expresses trust in Someone Else's control and sovereignty. 

 

Christmas 2025

As long as David's still around, the tree is still full of presents. 

Mostly from him! I always cherish the way he's so thoughtful with every gift he picks. This year, among other things, he got me a pink rocker camping chair because I'm always scrambling to find a chair for a needed event and a corner shelf for my hallway. 

We "attended" two Christmas Eve services together as a family this year. First we watched LakePointe's service online on Tuesday and then attended our own service at Terrace Lake Church on Wednesday night. 

Pizza after church, in keeping with tradition. 

The cats got their stocking first. :) We normally get some kind of toy, but this year we just put treats in their stockings. 

Boots liked the big empty box. See, he didn't need any special toys to enjoy himself. 

I bought myself a coloring book to travel with. It's all about coffee! More pages to color, laminate, and put up in my "coffee-shop" classroom. I don't have time to color at home, but it's the perfect activity for traveling. 

Creative. An IOU gift for jeans at Boot Barn. 

A card from my parents that had a picture of one of my Dad's latest paintings. 

So neat! And a gift inside. 

These are the softest, fuzziest socks ever!

Fun stocking stuffers. 

Good stuff!!!

Just what I've been wanting! And perfect for a Christmas trip to Texas!

Boots saw a suitcase and got nervous. 

My collection of nativity ornaments is growing!

The greatest gift of all. 

We stayed up late watching a Christmas movie, then had a brunch later this morning of our own homemade kolaches and eggs.

Five hours till my flight takes off to head to Texas to see Juan (and others) and give him his gifts. There's something special about being able to see all my immediate family on Christmas, even if it's in the last few hours of the evening. 

 

Wrapping up 2025

Well, it's been a year full of adventure. So much adventure that I haven't been able to find the time to blog since basically September. I could beat myself up over that or give myself grace that some years are just like that. I think I'll choose the latter. 

However, I'm taking advantage of my last day to myself for the year as Mike and David are both working, I have no appointments or last minute shopping or baking to be done, and the house is quiet to at least write one final entry to wrap up the year. I say it's my last day to myself because tomorrow is Christmas Eve, meaning church, pizza, and our family gift exchange in the evening. Then Christmas Day I am flying out to Texas to spend time with family and friends there. I can't wait to see my son and hug his neck. :) 

I did enough blogging about all of my spring adventures (our annual women's Gathering, our trip to the Dominican Republic, the counseling conference in Texas, camp, and my trip to Puerto Rico.) Here are a few of the highlights from this last semester:

These kids and my teammate are truly the highlight of my life. Last year I taught one section of Dual Language and two sections of traditional sixth grade. Not exactly what I was hired for, but it definitely gave me a better perspective of the culture of the school that I am teaching in. It was also quite a culture shock from teaching in Texas to teaching in Indiana. But all in all, I grew quite a bit as an educator and learned a lot.

This year, we had two classes of Dual Language, meaning I got.a new teammate and have been able to just teach those two sections of Dual Language students that I share with my teammate. We decided to both teach all subjects, but to switch our students midday and teach the opposite class in the opposite language. I am learning much more about how a 2-way Dual Language program works, and I am really enjoying it. I am loving both of my classes, too. The Math curriculum isn't my favorite and has been hard to figure out enough to make it my own, but little by little it's getting easier. It's such a complicated program that I can't let a single night go by without previewing the entire lesson for the next day.

We switch back and forth between modules so the kids are getting instruction in absolutely everything in both languages, with even a touch of Math in Spanish to support those with less English skills. We also do several projects, which gives the kids a change of pace and lets them work more creatively. My teammate took the lead on that aspect, and I am learning a lot from her. 

Some of our kids worked a fundraiser for the Puerto Rico trip, which unfortunately got cancelled due to not enough people signing up (because a small number jacked the price up too high). So we're not quite sure what kind of activity we'll end up doing with the funds they did raise. 

Another highlight of this year is that we have teamed up with Pre-K, putting the youngest students with the oldest students and letting them for a sweet relationship. Our students read and do fun activities with the Pre-K students every Friday, and then we also joined up with them for their Christmas program and celebrated with them. The fun part of that for me is that my closest friend's son is in the Pre-K class that we help with, so I get to send her selfies of us every week. :)

Mi amiguito, Mason

Me and Mason's mom, Hannah

I took on the role of being the Spell Bowl Coach at my school this year. I had one fourth grader, one fifth grader, and all the rest sixth graders on my team. We didn't end up placing or anything for the final Spell Bowl (run quite differently than the Spelling Bee we had in Texas), but I had a lot of fun hosting the kids in my room for practice after school on Wednesdays. I am beginning to feel much more a part of my school now, which really helps. I enjoyed getting to know the kids in a different setting when we weren't just in class together. I do have lots of ideas of how to make it even better next year. 

The other big highlight to our year was that we gained a future daughter-in-law! Juan started dating Loren just a few months after we moved away, and he took the step to propose to her this fall. She's a beautiful girl with a huge heart, and she brings out the Latin side of Juan that he's been missing since coming into our family. I'm pretty sure they decided on a fall wedding in 2026!

Colombia is known for its emeralds, so he had some friends bring back an emerald stone from Colombia, and he had her engagement ring made with that emerald instead of a diamond. So incredibly thoughtful and unique. So very Juan. :)

We've been trying to wrap up the year on a calm note, so we ordered a puzzle to do together on Thanksgiving Day. That puzzle took a bit longer than expected, especially when our fun cats knocked part of it on the floor! So we've been working on smaller puzzles since finishing that one. They are a relaxing way to spend time together, to just sit and talk, to work on while watching Christmas movies or listening to music, and they are good reminders of how life is a puzzle and every piece matters. 

This puzzle came with an extra piece! (Which must mean someone else's had a piece missing. So sad for them!)

We just finished a coffee cup puzzle and are now working on a circle puzzle of a farm scene. I even cleared off a puzzle table at school so my kids can work their brains on puzzles there, too.