Category Archives: Rest

Slower Pace of Life: Being Present in the Moment

I have found a slower pace of life. While my days and nights are still full of activities and projects, the demands and pressure are different. I can truly appreciate this season.

I’m so thankful for these two books which have influenced me greatly. I highly recommend them if you would also like to learn how to savor the moment:

Whispers of Rest by Bonnie Gray

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist 

Here are a few examples of how I treasure the time I have on this earth:

  • Taking care of mom and filming her Facebook Live Videos each week: Frankie’s Encouraging Words, has been a huge blessing to mom and to me. We love hearing from old friends from Gaffney and reading how she is inspiring people from all over the country.
  • Working on education initiatives with the greatest school district in the world fulfills my souls’ longing to help students be successful in life.
  • Supervising well-prepared student teachers from the most reputable clinical education program in our state allows me to advise eager young teachers and partner with talented Mentor Teachers in our district.
  • Spending quality time with Roger is such a gift. We absolutely love going downtown to listen to live music and explore different restaurants with our good friends.  Roger had Melanoma surgery in March and we are ever so thankful he is cancer free!
  • Walking Ruby each morning and evening is the perfect way to spend time with neighbors and enjoy time in nature.
  • Celebrating special occasions with Jake, Brancey and Nick makes me appreciate every minute I get to spend with them.

Thank you for reading and let me know if I can help you on your journey!

 

Comfort, Help, Quiet Love

Spending time with loved ones, eating yummy healthy food, dancing with neighbors as we celebrate marriage, walking in the park with Roger and Ruby, meeting students each am as they arrive at the park, and most importantly, taking mom to see her friends, “fixing” her hair, writing her cards, paying her bills, and making her precious videos: these bring me comfort and as you know: I LOVE to help.

I continue to read the same messages from multiple sources. I need to:

  1. Slow Down
  2. Be Still
  3. Be Quiet
  4. Enjoy God’s love for me
  5. Quit striving
  6. Realize I am His Beloved

Mom’s video this week was about me. We told stories of how much I loved playing sports and about my teaching career and SYNNEX.

Frankie Tells Fran Stories

Feeling grateful for neighbors and the opportunity to spend time hanging out and playing with our dogs in our backyard.

Here are my Top 3 Spiritual Gifts according to the test I took.

Be Still, Be Quiet, Slow Down, Quit Striving, Know that I am His Beloved and Enjoy God’s Love are my next steps.

Delight, Beloved, Joy

A well loved woman who chooses joy naturally blesses others like a river being filled by a refreshing spring rain.

Each week, Mom’s videos showcase her contagious joy and have blessed hundreds of people via social media. Last week we featured School Stories, A Trick the Dr. Played on Dad When Johnny was Born, and Beauty Secrets. (Vaseline and Cotton Ball sales increased in the Upstate!)

Frankie’s Stories

Whispers of Rest reflections and activities required drawing yourself as a little girl with all the experiences, people, color, places, foods, and music that brought you joy. As I drew mine, it reminded me of our VIP interviews in first grade and the graphic organizers we made as we interviewed our Star of the Week. We wrote sentences about the VIPs favorite things and each student wrote something we liked about that person and bound it into a book. I hope my students still have theirs.

Spending time with April from church and talking about how amazing it feels to rest and breathe and listen was a treat as we enjoyed breakfast at Biscuit Head. I’ve had the BEST time talking to friends and just being in the moment.

Reconnecting with my first grade teaching buddy, Pat Sandzen, and her family brought back so many great memories. She has the gift of hospitality and just walking into her house just makes you feel warm and welcome. What a great mentor she was to me at Palmetto Primary and in life. Loved celebrating Sig and Alice’s engagement with them!

Hiking at Paris Mountain State Park each am with Ruby was amazing!

I even saw my Paris Elementary students there! Also, I was able to watch Dr. Julie Hartman teach her Masters Students from Anderson University about the ecosystem as we hiked Sulphur Springs Trail

Dr. Bill Taylor is mom’s Doctor and is the kindest man. We love to visit him. She had a good report then off we went to celebrate at Happy Hour.

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Today, I was able to take mom to her Bible Study at Gail’s House. It was lovely and we studied the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians on Love and spoke of Spiritual Gifts. I’m so glad I was able to meet mom’s friends who had been praying for me, unbeknownst to me.

I’m so glad to hear from many of you who are taking time for TLC and rest as you restore your soul.

Thank you for the opportunity to share!

“Better” and the Story of Frankie and Johnny

This past week I was supposed to travel to Sonoma Valley and train customers, a trip of a lifetime.

Instead, I chose what was “Better.” I went to a Retina specialist appointment, to the Audiologist (again) and to the Beauty parlor with my mother and took her to visit friends.

We recorded the love story of how mom and dad fell in love at Limestone College in the video of the week Frankie and Johnny Part 1 and Part 2 and wrote cards to her friends.

Our sweet neighbors came over and brought their dogs and children to play in the backyard while we sat and chatted. I literally have not done this in years. Children and dogs and good friends on a beautiful day. #noregrets

I even convinced Roger to go to Caesar’s Head with me after he got home from work one day. He told me my retirement is messing up his after work nap schedule, but agreed to go!

Mentoring through the Mentor Upstate Program has helped me keep my foot in the door at schools and interact with students over the last 4 years.

My Mentee loves dogs (her puppy died) so I brought sweet Ruby to meet her this week. I would say it was a huge success!

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My long time friend and teaching partner, Dr. Julie Hartman, visited on Friday and we shared our hopes and dreams for children in Greenville County.

Roger and I istened to music in downtown Greenville on Friday night and saw my dear friend who I vacationed with each year growing up. Our dads were best friends from the Spartanburg Herald Journal.

Finally, we walked in the Heart Walk with Roger’s sweet friends from Greenville HeartLife and enjoyed a leisurely brunch laughing and eating tons of yummy food.

Being so intentional with my time as I choose what is “Better.”

Questions:

What is one thing you can do today that brings you peace and joy?

Spend time on what really matters- love, relationships, and nurturing your soul. Listen to music that inspires you, enjoy nature or exercise or read, watch a movie, rest.

Thanks for your time! I hope “better” days are ahead for you.