If you would have asked me...

If you would have asked me even a year ago if I felt called to teach in a Christian school I would have said no. I honestly didn't feel a call to ever teach in a private school. It's funny how God always has his own plans.:) I have been radically blessed by my job at Moses Lake Christian Academy this year. I thought I would share this article that I had the privilege to write for our donor newsletter back in December. It's just a small glimpse into how blessed I am to be teaching in a school where I get to share Jesus.

Jesus is in the Classroom!

By Mrs. Tiffany Ellis, Second Grade Teacher

What a joy it is to share the good news of Jesus with my students! During the weeks
leading to Christmas, we talked about the real reason for this Christmas season, to
celebrate the birth of Jesus! We also talked about the life of Jesus and the ultimate
sacrifice he made for us so that we may be part of his family.
When I asked my class if they knew how to become a member of God’s family and
spend eternity with Him, I found many of my students were surprised to hear that we
need to ask Jesus into our heart. Together we talked about what a big decision it was
(the biggest of our lives in fact!) to ask Jesus into our hearts and the importance and
meaning of the words in the sinner’s prayer. I encouraged my students to think about
the sacrifice Jesus made, the love He has for us, and the blessing that comes with being
in His family. Many of my students became very quiet (that’s unusual!), and I could
sense God working in their little hearts. As we ended our Bible lesson on this day, I told
my students that if they felt they wanted to make the decision to be a part of God’s
family they could talk to their own families, a pastor or teacher at church, or they could
come and talk with me and I would be happy to talk and pray with them.
The next morning, I had the privilege of leading four precious students in the sinner’s
prayer. What blessed me so much was hearing the sincerity in their voices; I believe
they weren’t just repeating the words. They believed them. In my class, we have a
tradition of doing “happy dances” when we accomplish something. After we finished
praying, we decided that this momentous occasion called for a happy dance! One of my
little ones looked at me and exclaimed, “I am a member of God’s family!”
This is a day I will never forget for the rest of my life and one on which I was reminded
why God has placed me at Moses Lake Christian Academy. I know it wasn’t about
anything I did this day but only that God is working in this school and in the lives of the
students.

I am proud of myself because...

Each week my 2nd graders are given 2 journal prompts and complete two journal entries. This past week one of their journal entries was, "I am proud of myself because..." It was kind of funny because some of my kids instantly knew why they were proud of themselves and some of the others struggled. One of my students even asked me if it was okay to write about why you are proud of yourself or if it was considered prideful. Recently, we have been talking a lot about humility and he couldn't possibly understand how he could be humble AND write about why he was proud of himself. I explained to him the difference in taking pride in your accomplishments and being prideful. Having my kids write about what they are proud of really got me thinking about what I am proud of myself for. I encouraged them this past week to not be shy about their accomplishments and take pride in them, which is something I don't always do myself. There are quite a few things I consider big achievements in my life, like completing college and getting my Master degree. I am very proud of myself for those things; they took a lot of hard work and determination. However, I think I would choose to write about something different if I had to and that is why I am writing this blog.
Yesterday while I was running at the gym I got to thinking about my weight loss journey and how proud of myself I am. People who have met me within the last four years probably don't know about my journey. Four and a half years ago I weighed 176 pounds and wore a size 16. I am only five feet tall, so 176 pounds on me was in no way, shape, or form healthy. Here are some old pics of me before...(just a side note, posting these is not easy for me!)

Before

Now I won't bore you with too many details because that's not really the point of this post, but I will say that I do not get all the credit for losing the weight. At 15 I was diagnosed with an endocrine disorder (you can read more about that here) and that diagnosis forever changed my life. Along with that diagnosis I found out that because of that disorder I was insulin resistant. I have struggled with blood sugar problems ever since. It doesn't even matter if I am doing everything I am supposed to do, sometimes my body just does not cooperate. I was on oral medications until I was 22. In 2007, the FDA approved a new drug (injections) and my specialist (who had been waiting for a couple of years for the approval by the FDA so she could start me on the medicine) immediately had me start giving myself 2 shots per day. The medicine immediately helped my body regulate and I was able to start losing weight (blood sugar problems can really prevent the body from being able to drop weight). It helped too that in the beginning the injections made me very sick, so I was literally only eating to keep energized, not because it was actually enjoyable. Along with the new injections, I really cracked down and started working out about 90 minutes a day, six days a week. I was running/walking about 22 miles a week. I changed my eating habits and cut out a lot of processed foods. I wouldn't say I was a frequent fast food eater, but I did eat it sometimes and I completely stopped doing that except for the occasional In n Out Burger. Nowadays the thought of fast food completely repulses me. I can't go near it (except for In n Out and Chick Fil A!). Within 5 months I had lost 40 pounds and felt like a whole new person. I had self confidence I had never known before. I not only felt lighter, but stronger. I think the best feeling was when I tried on a pair of size 8 jeans and they fit. I hadn't been able to wear a single digit size since I was in junior high.
Four and a half years later I have been able to maintain that weight loss and I am proud of myself for that. It is not always easy. I have to constantly think about what I put in my mouth. I have made exercise a discipline in my life, even though it is sometimes the last thing I want to do. I can honestly say I never regret my workout once I finish it! Working out isn't an option, it's a necessity. Sometimes it feels like torture that I can't have a lot of sugar...I like sugar.:) However, it's not worth compromising my health and my life. I never feel like I am on a diet, I am simply living a healthy lifestyle. Tyler and I eat organic whenever we can (milk, eggs, meat, produce, etc...). We don't buy junk food. I try to limit processed foods in our diet as much as possible. If I really want some ice cream when we are out, I have it. If I want a piece of cake at a birthday party, I let myself have a piece. I order sugar-free "skinny" drinks at Starbucks. I don't feel deprived; it's all about moderation. It's all about choices. God commands us to take care of our bodies for they are a temple...it's not a suggestion...it's a command!
Now, I know that according to the world's standards, I am no where near skinny. I get that. I still have a nice little pudge around my middle.;) You know what though, I am okay with that. For me, a jean size of 8 is okay. It's not a 0, 2, 4, 0r 6 but that's okay. I am proud to wear a size 8. I have love handles and that's okay with me. I am curvy and that's okay with me. That's how God made me.:) I do have days where I obsess over how good it would feel to lose 10 more pounds or wear a size 6, but it isn't healthy for my thoughts to linger there. I have to quickly remind myself that I have worked hard to get where I am and I should be proud to be here. Writing this post is a big step for me. I am often embarrassed to look back at pictures of the "before" me or talk about my blood sugar problems and all that entails. However, I thought that if I am going to encourage my students to write what they are proud of, I should take my own advice and do it too.:)

After

This was just recently taken on my birthday in January

"I can do all thing through Christ who strengthens me."
-Phillipians 4:13

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures....

In November Tyler and I had a photo session with the very talented David Frandsen (from Redding). I would highly recommend David to anyone in the Redding area! He made us feel comfortable and was so easy to work with! Here are some of my favorites from our shoot!

Some Words to Describe 2011

What a blessed year Tyler and I have had. Over dinner tonight we had the opportunity to discuss our highs and lows of 2011. We have done this for the past 3 years over New Year's Eve dinner. God's faithfulness has once again been evident in our lives this year and we know it will continue to be in 2012.

Here are some words I think describe 2011 for us:

NEW (New town, new jobs, new home, new roles, new friendships...lots of new for us this year!)

BIG (Big move, big changes, big faith)

EXCITING (All of the above was very exciting!)

SCARY (All of the above was scary too!)

GOODBYES (Or should I say "See you laters?" Yeah, let's stick with that! Lots of hard "see you laters.")

HOMESICKNESS (This word probably applies more to me than Tyler. The first few months were hard, but it has gotten much easier.)

BALANCE (This word also probably applies more to me than Tyler, but boy have I had to learn about balance the last half of this year. I am still working on it.)

JOY (2011 has brought us so much joy! We have a plethora of joyful memories from 2011!)

LEARNING and GROWTH (I believe we have both learned a lot this year and have both grown as individuals and a couple, a big move and new jobs will do that to you. It's been very humbling.)

COMPLETION (I completed my Master degree! Big sigh of relief!)

LOVE (We have felt incredibly loved this past year and have had the opportunity to show love to others around us. Our love for each other has grown this past year as well.)

FAITHFULNESS (God has truly been very faithful this year. He has provided for our every need. I feel ashamed for sometimes doubting. We serve such a good God.)

HOPE AND DREAMS (I love that God has given us the ability to hope and dream. We were reminded to take each day as it came in 2011 , but also encouraged in our hopes and dreams for the future. Ultimately, our lives are in God's hands and we continue to put our hope in Him and what He has for us.)


We pray that your 2012 brings you and yours love, joy, peace, and many precious memories!
Happy New Year!!

-Tyler and Tiffany

It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas Around Here!

Us Ellises love Christmas! It's truly the best time of the year!

Here are some pics of our decorated apartment!
Our living room with tree #1! The real tree!Tree #2! Our fake tree with childhood and mismatched ornaments!

Our mini tree!

November...

November seriously flew by! What a fun and busy month!

ROCK Bowling on Veteran's Day...
We had the priviledge of attending the National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta. It was four awesome days of jam-packed learning. We had a great time and came away feeling encouraged about our calling to youth ministry. The convention was held at a really cool hotel in downtown Atlanta. That was where we stayed. We got in late the night before the conference started and found out that they were upgrading our room to a suite. It was huge and had a beautiful view of downtown! We were so busy with the conference that we really didn't spend much time in our room but it was fun to come back late at night to a spectacular view!Thanksgiving 2011 was spent in Redding with my wonderful family! We had a great visit! I miss my family so much and the 3 days we had with them flew by. I always shed tears when we leave. It's been 3 years since I moved from Redding and I still miss it.

Fall 2011

We are thoroughly enjoying Fall here in Moses Lake. There is actually a Fall season here and both Tyler and I are loving it! A few mornings we woke up to 14 degree weather...so different than So Cal! I remember wearing sun dresses in November last year! I love being able to wear sweaters, scarves, and comfy boots!



Tyler took these pics. The leaves have been so beautiful! The pic on the left is of the sidewalk outside our apartment, the one on the right is a pic taken outside of my school. There are huge piles of leaves all over our campus...the kids love playing in the leaves at recess! The picture on the bottom right is a snapshot of the temperature gauge in our car a couple weeks ago...chilly!

Here are some pics of Ellis happenings in the last few weeks...

We carved pumpkins! It's one of our family traditions. This is year #3!

Our finished pumpkins. Mine was polka dots and Ty's was the Buffalo Bills logo!
This past weekend Tyler spoke in "big church" for the first time. He preached in all 3 services at our church and I must say he did an amazing job (you can listen to his message through podcast on livethecall.org). He worked so hard to prepare his message. I am incredibly proud of him. God is truly using him and working through him. I am beyond blessed to be married to a man who wholeheartedly pursues the Lord. Tyler's mom wanted to be here for the big weekend so she flew out from California! We had a wonderful time with her. What's nice about her visiting is she comes from a place where she has access to everything, so while she was here she was perfectly content just relaxing! We had a great time watching Netflix, sleeping in, playing Sorry, drinking lots of coffee, eating TONS of good food, and having meaningful conversation. We haven't seen her for 8 months so we had a lot to catch up on! Tyler's dad really wanted to be here too, but it was a big weekend at the Grove so he couldn't make it for this trip. Maybe next time!

After church
It was hard to say goodbye to Mom Ellis yesterday, but in a couple weeks we will see my family for Thanksgiving and at Christmas we will see Ty's family. I love this time of the year. I love holidays. I can't wait to spend time with the wonderful people who we love and miss dearly.