The Island of Ngemeliis

I FINALLY got good enough internet to upload and save pictures to this post, so here it is!!

Labor Day weekend the teachers and staff at the SDA Schools here in Palau all got together for the yearly Spiritual Retreat. We take the time to refocus and re-energize by escaping to the beautiful island of Ngemeliis in the Rock Islands.

Ngemeliis is literally the paradise you have always imagined. The Palauan blue water, the sunsets, the palm trees, the coconuts. Whoa, the coconuts. There are coconuts on every palm, ripe and ready to drink. Shout out to Mr. Paloma. The man could be on survivor and win the whole thing. He got down all the coconuts we wanted that weekend--thank you!

Most of all, I love unplugging and recharging with Jesus. Being in the middle of nowhere, under thousands of stars, always brings my wandering heart back to Jesus.

Sabbath afternoon we lathered up in sunscreen and walked around the island. On the walk, we took a hike up to the Ranger's Station and got an amazing Bird's Eye view of the island right as the sun was beginning to set. I'm a sucker for warm breezes and breathtaking views. It reminded me of when I climbed to the top of the Duomo in Florence, Italy in 2011. TAKE ME BACK.

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You would think that living on an island, thousands of miles away at sea, without a TV and much internet, you wouldn't be very distracted. And it does help to refocus your life, but distractions happen to everyone. 

Sitting under thousands of stars made me feel so small. And yet, I had to remember that the God who spoke stars also holds me with His mighty hands. If He can hold the universe in place, He can sure take hold of my crazy little universe I call my life. 

I'm so glad that I had the chance to escape from our little town of Koror and the busy life of a teacher, to find my quiet place with Jesus. 

Look for Him in everything. 

Find your quiet place with him. 

xo, rachel 

Classroom Tour, Beginning of the Year

I am so excited for this post! I've been dying to share pictures of my classroom. My classroom is my pride and joy. It's where I love to work. I take so much joy in creating student-friendly environments and I am ecstatic that I got to bring a little bit of that to Palau this year. 

This is my darling Reading Corner. I made a "bookshelf" out of the podium in my classroom and have a basket on the side for our NEW books! A HUGE thank you to Kathy and her class for donating 20+ wonderful books for my kids to dig in to! They are PUMPED!

On the wall are anchor charts to help guide their reading. I have up Fiction and Non-Fiction posters, how to read with Stamina, Making Connections, and a "Reading is Thinking" poster. I found all of these brilliantly colorful and helpful posters on Pinterest. Get some markers out, turn on some tunes, and get coloring! These posters make GREAT mini-lessons.

This is the Writing Center. The 5 posters on the right teach different Leads that they can start their writing with. The TAG poster is a Partner Conferring acronym, teaching students how to give helpful advice on someone's writing. The black chart on the right will become their Writing Goals where they can choose what area of growth they want to focus on for the day in their writing. 

Here is an up-close of the Writing Center table. There is a cup full of pens for colorful editing and proofreading and mechanical pencils so their writing doesn't have to skip a beat. A clip board is there to help suit the writer who loves to work on the floor. I put cards and envelopes in the baskets so they can practice writing and sending letters and writing prompt cards on a ring if they are stumped. The "Wreck This Journal" is strictly for fun. :) 

Here is what this part of the room started as...Thank you Jesus for inspiration!

Xo, Rachel

I Sought the Lord

I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalms 34:4

I remember being 4 years old with my eyes tightly closed and sweaty hands clasped together, reciting this verse. This was the first bible verse I remember learning. My mother said it at the end of every prayer. No matter who was praying, at the end of each prayer, we would all join together in saying this verse.

I recently found a watercolor painting of this verse and used every random minute of free time I had this weekend to paint my own.

Inside of this verse are 3 beautiful promises that I will always cling to:

The Lord answers me.

I sought the Lord and he answered me. God doesn’t just listen, he answers. He’s never too busy for me.

The Lord will deliver me….

He will. That is His promise.

from ALL of my fears.

Not some of them. Not the ones that He finds worthy…but all of my fears. As a kid, this part of the verse meant so much to me. But even now as an adult, it means even more. As adults we fear and worry about our parents growing old, loss of friendships, the well-being of our children, safety, economic and financial fears and worries, the list goes on and on.

The Lord delivers us from all of them.

Seek the Lord. Let Him deliver you from all your fears. 

XO, Rachel