In 2007 I felt led by the Lord to start a website to share about real beauty; the kind that comes from the inside. I believe I am suppose to use the acronym GLAM because that is a word our society frequently uses to describe extreme beauty. GLAM Inside and Out is dedicated to redefining beauty; with an emphasis on what our Creator determines to be beautiful and graceful. GLAM is an acronym the Lord gave me for God’s Love And Mercy.
( see the fourth meaning here on Acronym Finder)
It has been one year since I have written in this blog. My main excuse is that I have been substitute teaching and very busy. Two weeks ago, an incident occurred that I thought might help you have greater insight into why I feel least qualified to speak on glamour. In addition, to having always felt like a plain Jane, I’ve never felt graceful in any way. This story is very typical as to why. If it can help anyone else understand the greater dimension of true beauty, then let my embarrassment serve a purpose.
I do truly hope that you are having a wonderful fall season, 2014. This fall, I fell down, in the classroom, in front of the children. I broke my wrist, now that’s GLAM! NOT!!! Seriously, I am thankful for God’s Love And Mercy during this difficult time. I am re-learning many things like how to be patient with myself, how to use speech to text, and how to type with my left hand. Most importantly, I have been reminded that my loving, heavenly Father truly does see every sparrow that falls. He has sent friends and family to take care of me. God’s Love And Mercy is surrounding me every day. I pray that you find this to be true in your life as well.
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”
Ps 90:17
Here is the story about my fall if you would like to read specific details about it .
A New Teaching Perspective
Or, How to Teach From the Floor…
On Friday, September 12, 2014, I found myself looking up at a sea of wide eyed first-grade faces, from the floor where I had just landed. Apparently, I tripped over one of the little munchkins’ backpacks. I knew immediately, from the pain, that something was wrong and probably my arm was broken. Based on my years of teaching experience, I also knew that, for the sake of the students, I needed to keep my composure. So, with that in mind, from my newly acquired position, I pleasantly reassured the students that although I was hurt, everything would be fine. Then, I asked one of my classroom helpers to come to the phone to call the office. About that time I remembered that every afternoon the phone line in this particular classroom had been going off-line, so I tried to explain to the little boy standing by the phone that he could not call, after all. Instead, I quietly explained, he would need to go to the office to tell them what had happened and get help. (It was hours later, probably about the time they gave me the shot of pain medicine, I realized I probably should’ve sent him next-door to Mrs. Wagner’s class. But of course that would have made everything too simple)
Now, apparently this little child, who previously seemed to be one of the brightest students in the class, was having difficulty processing this information, because he continued to stare at the phone which prompted the other classmates to begin shouting, “you need to go to the office, you need to go to the office!” Finally, I asked another student to go with him and they left on their mission.
Feeling nauseous and fearing I might faint if I tried to get up, I remained on the floor. I encouraged the children to stay on task at their desks with the math graphing lesson we had just finished. They tried very hard, still I heard one of them blurt out, “but we have never seen our teacher fall down before!”
Now, in my inevitable pursuit of a silver lining in every dark cloud, I began to think that this might not be such a bad situation after all. It might actually turn out to be a positive, if an administrator had to come to the room, then they would see how well behaved the children were being in the middle of this crisis. My ability to manage the classroom and to keep everything under control, even from this uncomfortable lateral position on the floor, might be an impressive notch in my substitute teaching belt. A feeling of calm began to quiet my fears, and I didn’t feel quite so nauseous, after all. Unfortunately, that was when the fire alarm rang. The administrators hadn’t been able to notify every one of the planned fire drill. “Just lovely,” I thought.
So while gripping my wrist, I somehow managed to stand up. I told the children, who were now beginning to seem a little more than panicky, to calm down and line up at the door. We exited the room quickly. The other first grade teachers took the children while I headed to the office to get medical help. That’s about the time that I saw my longtime friend Michelle Miller, the vice principal, flying around the corner to see if I was okay. She had pushed the fire alarm just as my two students had managed to reach the office and announce my plight. Ironically, two days prior, I had helped her up when she tripped and fell in the parking lot. Thankfully, we managed not to knock each other down and made it to the nurses’ office without further incident.
GLAM INSIDE & OUT 