What becomes of the broken hearted?

Have any of you ever suffered from a broken heart?

I hear a unison "yes" coming on...

I have only felt it a few times in my life, in varying ways with varying circumstances, but it's not fun. You feel empty. You feel incomplete. You feel a deep burden of something you can't control. You feel like everything you try to do to be happy still is not real happiness and you find yourself faking it till you make it.

I am in that fake mode right now. Remaining optimistic about life, yet feeling like I don't know how things will ever work out and how I will ever be truly happy. You wonder why the Lord can't just make the broken heart go away even though you pray mightily for it every night.

So my question to all of you is: What becomes of the broken hearted? How have you overcome your broken heart(s)? Mine still feels like it's shattered to pieces, but I know that they will be put together again and that my heart will be whole. Is it just a matter of time?

Thoughts?

A you tube video worth posting.

So this is my friend, Sheryl. She is in my ward and is also an inner-city teacher (though I wonder if her job may be a bit more challenging that mine.) She is awesome and thought that this video is definitely blog-worthy. She is just one example of the amazing people that I surround myself with out here in DC.

A heart full of love

Fellow blog readers,

I have one of those moments that I just want to express love for my dear friends and family members. Obviously not all of them follow my blog, but I won't hold that against them. :)

As many of you know, I have these random outbursts of love. When I have them, I embrace them and quickly share them with those around me.

Tonight my heart is so full of love. And I want to thank you for the love that you show to me.

Albeit impersonal, I can't help but share the following:

Thank you for your prayers on my behalf
Thank you for your vote of confidence
Thank you for spending time with me
Thank you for your friendship; the conversations, the tears, the hugs, the advice. Truly, I am overwhelmed by your goodness.
Thank you for your examples and for emulating Christ-like characteristics. I want to be a better person because of you.

I love you and hope that you know that I am here for you whenever you need it. I pray for many of you. You are not far from my thoughts.

Most of all, I love you and I know that God loves you. <3

Suz

Gearing up for Guatemala

So it's official. This summer I bound for Guatemala. I was just accepted to be volunteer in one of their villages; building homes, teaching, and helping in whatever way possible to build the community and teach life skills.

To say I'm psyched would be an understatement. I am ecstatic to do this. I have always dreamed of having an opportunity to use my time, money, and talents to aid those in need. Also, after teaching about the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas, I actually get to go to their place of heritage. So so cool.

Yay for service. And yay for summer vacations that allow me to leave for a period of time.

More updates to follow, I'm sure.

In case you forgot where Guatemala is, here ya go. It's the country in the light pink. ;)


Service that I'll be participating in. Woot.

Cute kids to meet and serve. So exciting.

This will be awesome.

Yep,

I still love DC. In case you were wondering...

That's My Boo.

This is what happens when you run a half marathon with 3 other girls and bring along a token boy. Yep, we start calling him "Boo" and now we call each other "Sister-Wives." And to prove the hilariousness of the joke, we now have this creepy picture that actually looks like the real thing.

(BUT it's NOT)...so don't start worrying.

At least I'm wife #1...

Feudalism Fun!

Who knew Feudalism could be so much fun?? Do you even know what it is? Go look it up.

As many of you know I am teaching World History this year (not my favorite), but what I have been looking forward to ALL year long is the simulation that I came up (with the help of my awesome student teacher, Aimee) that would bring the students back to the Dark Ages. With the simulation, students were given roles: serfs, knights, nobles, and king and would role play their status in Medieval Europe. We discussed how feudalism changed as a result of the Crusades, Black Death, and Magna Carta. It was a blast. Students were stoned, and killed off by the Black Death. The King forced the students to dance in front of the class and to open his king size Snickers bar. Not only did I get to become a Pope and Aimee a monk/Muslim for the simulation, but I also got to use my horrid English/Aussie accent and say to my students things like: "Shush, serf, you are the scum of the earth. Your opinion means nothing to me or to God." It was awesome to be so dramatic and the students got into it.

Here is the Pope and the Monk. I know, I do look horrid in this picture, but I only share for memory sake. Don't judge me on my teacher looks...


And we did get a picture of one of my students who came DECKED out as a knight. He told me later that he has never had so much fun in history class before. My heart melted...

If I teach this class again next year, you bet we are doing the simulation, but it will be new and improved since I'll know how to make it better.

This is what makes teaching fun. Hooray for feudalism! Even if it was a wretched existence...