I See the Light!!!

I know….I dropped the ball BIG time with this whole blog thing. Once I started classes, I had to get focused and stay focused on my first goal. My first goal would be to finish this semester strong. I see the end of the tunnel coming next Friday, December 12th. Working part-time and going to school full-time has been a challenge. I am taking Master level classes, and each class is so fast paced. Just to give you an example of how fast, I started a new class this past Tuesday and it ends next Friday. Plus we don’t have class tomorrow. Instead of class I have my CAP meeting. CAP stands for Candidate Advancement Plan. This is where I have to fill out several forms and evaluate my progress in the program. Once I fill out the forms I send them to the MAT Program Director, and he meets with the Education faculty and they discuss what I wrote and share what they think I need to work on. With that said, I have my CAP meeting tomorrow. I am not sure of the exact time, but it will be between 8:00 am and 12:30 pm. You can say a little prayer for me and my fellow students as we all go through this.
Well, I better get back to working on something….I just have to decide on which thing to start on first.

Yeah....Can you tell?

I know....I know....Things have been kinda crazy in my life. I am sorry that I have not written in about 20 some odd days (that is for my three readers out there).

Well, I started school last week at Columbia International University. I have to say that I have been very impressed with the staff and the faculty at this fine university. They have totally kept me in the loop on things, and they have totally prayed for me through this change in my career. I mean a couple of weeks ago, I got an email from my new admissions counselor letting me know that she was praying for me as I start this fall, and she also wanted to know if I had any prayer requests. I think that is totally awesome!! We all need someone praying for us, and it is good to have someone from school ask how they can pray for you.

Well, I am going to school full time and I am also working 30 hours a week at a local church. Needless to say, it is a little crazy. Keeping up with work and grad school, but I know that He has called me here for this moment in time, and I am grateful for it! Hopefully, by the end of the week I can share something else with you guys....just pray for me this little "unspoken request." I really apprecaite it!

Anyway, I taught my first lesson last week. Grad school wastes no time putting you into the fire....I LOVE it!!! My first lesson, went really well, I used a PowerPoint presentation that I made, and also included my other two classmates in the lesson. My professor told me that I was a gifted teacher. I just hope I can keep up with everything. My first class is Classroom Assessment, and it only lasts for two weeks, then I move on to another class for 10 weeks, and then on to the final class for the last two weeks of the semester. I will then be completed with Block 1 of the program, and that means I only have three more blocks to go (and only two more blocks before I do my student teaching).

Well, I will try to keep this updated, but if I don't....I am sure you guys won't miss much. Now I am off to do some school work.

True Life

For all the crap that MTV shows, there are a couple of shows that I just love. One is, Made, the other is, True Life. The premise of Made is someone wants to reach a goal, and MTV gives them all the tools they would need to reach this goal. Even with all the tools each person is given, they still always hit a wall…they want to quit, but I have never seen someone totally give up and not complete the task which they have chosen.

The other show is True Life. I was watching this show last night. It has more of a documentary feel. MTV follows people around and it showcases things, and experiences that people go through. Last night’s episode was about people who are deaf. It followed one girl, who was trying out for a dance team, and one guy who was 16. The girl that they followed I think she could hear some things…she did wear a hearing aid. The 16 year old guy could not hear anything.

Both of these people have obstacles, but they want to live a normal life as possible. The young lady did her best trying out for the dance team. She did make it through the first couple of cuts, but in the end she did not make the team. She was very upset, but she did not let that disappointment keep her from going after what she wants, and that was to dance. So, at the end of the show, it said that she tried out for a professional soccer team’s dance team…needless to say she made it!!! She never gave up!!

The guy they followed, had a procedure done, were they put a Cochlear implant in. I am not going to lie…I cried watching this guy. When they turned his implant on, he was amazed….He could hear the sound of his mother’s voice for the first time in his life. When he got outside he could hear cars ride by, the wind blowing the leaves…music…people talking. For the next few days he just went around touching everything to see what kind of sound it would make. It was amazing to see his face light up when he would hear these things.

Seeing these people overcome a huge hurdle made me realize, that I should not take anything for granted…hearing, seeing, walking, talking….these are all gifts!!

After seeing this show, I really would like to learn some sign language, so if God ever places someone in my life with a hearing disability, I would still be able to communicate with them.

Always a Bridesmaid…Never a Bride

One of my old friends from high school said that to me last year….I have to admit that I got pretty heated when she said that. When she said that, it made me feel like I was incomplete by not having a husband. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to get married some day…but I am content right now just being solo.

I have been in so many weddings….Let’s see...countless times when I was a little girl, I was always asked to be the Flower Girl. Since high school, I have been in Melissa’s wedding, Edythe’s wedding, Chelle’s wedding, Melissa’s second wedding, Mary Beth’s wedding, Kevin’s wedding as an honorary bridesmaid, Eric’s wedding as a greeter, and my brother, Dale’s wedding. I was asked to be in my cousin, Anna’s wedding, but I could not commit, because I was going to be in Texas. On August 2nd, I will be in my best friend, Chara’s wedding. I cannot wait!!! I am so excited for her and Nate.

I started to think about what each person means to me, and I am so happy that I could be a part of their special day. I am happy to have been in so many weddings. I am so thankful for each of these people in my life. Hopefully one day they can be a part of my special day.

So…right now…I am happy with, Always being the Bridesmaid, and Never the Bride!

You Were There

Songs speak to me. One song in particular that has stood out over the past few months is Avalon’s, “You Were There.” This just lays it all out…even though we don’t know why certain things happen; He knows….in the end that is all that matters. He is just asking for us to be obedient to Him. Below are the lyrics:

I wonder how it must have felt
When David stood to face Goliath on a hill
I imagine that he shook with all his might
Until You took his hand, and held on tight

'Cause You were there, You were there
In the midst of danger's snare
You were there, You were there always
You were there when the hardest fight
Seemed so out of reach
Oh, You were there, You were always there
You were always there

So there he stood upon that hill
Abraham with knife in hand was poised to kill
But God in all his sovereignty had bigger plans
And just in time, You brought a lamb

'Cause You were there,
You were there
In the midst of the unclear
You were there, you were there always
You were there when obedience
Seemed to not make sense
You were there, You were always there
You were always there

So haven't I learned that my ways
Aren't as high as Yours are
And You alone keep the universe
From crumbling into dust
You are God and though we would
Not have understood You
There You were

Hanging blameless on a cross
You would rather die than leave us in the dark
Every moment, every planned coincidence
Just all makes sense
With Your last breath

You were there, You were there
During history's darkest hour
You were there, You were there always
You were the Victor and the King
You were the power in David's swing
You were the calm in Abraham
You are the God who understands
You are the strength when we have none
You are the living, Holy one
You were, You are and You will always be
the Risen Lamb of God

You were, You are and You will always be
The Risen Lamb of God

Miss Clean

Have you ever been in the mood to clean? On rare occasions I get the urge to totally clean things up. So, on Sunday afternoon, I start washing all of my clothes, I cleaned my bathroom and my roommates….I am talking about wiping down the walls, sweeping floors, everything from taking the glass globes off the light in the living room and washing them. I talked to my mother on Sunday night, and she said, “Why don’t you ever get the urge to do that when you visit us?” Like I said it was a rare occasion.

Well, I will make this one short and sweet….and go home and clean some more.

Break-ins, Wrecks, Not boring at all.....

Yes…it is 6:00 in the morning on a Saturday, and I am writing a new post. I woke up this morning at 5:00, and I could not go back to sleep, so I thought I would write.

I work at a local church in the Columbia area, and if people think that working at a church is boring it is not. This week has been crazy. When I came in on Monday, apparently there was a break in over in the gym. Someone broke in about 5:30 that morning. Nothing was taken. Then on Thursday, there was an awful wreck that happened in the parking lot of the church. At the church were I work, it is built going down a hill, and we have an upper parking lot and a lower parking lot. Apparently this guy was teaching his 17 year old daughter how to drive. Well, she was attempting to Parallel Park, and she was going to back up but forgot to put the car in reverse. She laid down on the gas and over the embankment they went and landed in the lower parking lot, upside down. God was with that father and daughter. They landed upside down; the cab of the truck was completely crushed.

Needless to say that reminded me of another accident that I actually saw happen when I worked at First Baptist in Kershaw. The pastor, another youth pastor, and I were leaving the church to attend a conference in Columbia, when we were crossing the street a lady pulled out in front of a truck. It scared me to death. I do not do well in those kinds of situations. We called 911, and help the lady out of the car. Everyone was ok; she just had a few cuts from the glass. I took her to the restroom and bandage her up.

Well, I think that my burst of morning energy is leaving me, so I am going to try to go to sleep.

What a Rough Life!

This is one of my favorite pictures that I took at the beach!!!

It is of the Birthday Boy and his first grandbaby.

Just one more day...PLEASE!!!

Have you ever come back from vacation and feel like you need to take another day of vacation just to recoup from your vacation? After last week I feel like I need to do that.

Yesterday morning I had to make myself get up at 7:15 AM and be ready to leave my house by 8:00 AM. If you know me and you know how long it takes me to get ready to go somewhere you would totally understand. My roommates laugh at me, because I have this process of getting ready. First get up, get my clothes together for the day, and then jump in the shower. After that eat some breakfast while watching the “Today Show” (I start watching that show and get wrapped up in whatever they are doing and it takes me longer to eat my breakfast.). Then I do my hair and makeup, and then I am out the door. Well, yesterday morning there was no breakfast or watching the Today Show. I had to kick it into high gear….and I did not leave my house by 8:00…it was more like 8:10. Ten minutes makes a huge difference when driving from Lexington to Columbia.

I have got to get my body back on a schedule….a schedule of when to go to bed and when to wake up and get moving. For about a year now I have trouble falling asleep. I have tried everything from reading to washing my sheets in that Lavender Vanilla detergent. Nothing seems to help. Got any suggestions?

I know that I will have to be on a schedule once my classes start at Columbia International University this fall. Taking 10 hours and working 30 hours, I will have to be on top of things. We will have to see how it all works out…

Ocean Lakes Golf Cart Parade

Here is my niece, AJ before the parade.

The twins in our family, Keaton and Kelsie.

Here is my little cousin, Grant...He is a mess!!!

I am trying to post some video of the golf cart parade, but I am having some trouble. I will try to get it up ASAP.

More pics from the beach....

As promised, here are some more pics from yesterday. This is my brother, Dale, his wife, Tiffany, and my niece, AJ.

This is my mom and AJ at the ocean.

Well, I hope you all have a great 4th!!! Tomorrow is the famous golf cart parade. I will try to get some video and pictures up tomorrow night from that HUGE event.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my DAD!!! Today he turned 70!! He does not look like he is that old, but sometimes he acts like it!!! Just kidding Daddy….well, maybe not.

We started things off today, with a great breakfast and then headed out to the ocean. Below is the little beach bum all ready to go in her strawberry swimsuit. Isn’t she cute!!!

Well, I am currently having problems uploading pictures, but hopefully tomorrow I can get some more up.

Too much to do...

Do you ever feel like there is not enough time to do all the things that you need to do? It is one of those weeks for me. I am only working two days this week, and then I am heading to the beach. My family camps at Ocean Lakes in Myrtle Beach, SC. In fact, my parents pulled the camper down on Friday, June 20th, and they are returning home on Monday, July 14th. It seems like they have been down there forever. I am heading down there after work tomorrow. My brother, his wife, and my niece went down this past Saturday. It is my niece, Adriana’s first trip with our family. So later this week, I will be posting some pics and video of my dad’s birthday get together, as well as the “famous golf cart parade” here. We always have a great time. There are so many relatives from both sides of my family down there. It should be fun!!!

Taco Tuesday

Sometimes it is hard for me to talk to people that I don’t know, but I am working on that. I remember in high school that I usually just kept my mouth shut, but as I have gotten older, my mouth has gotten bigger, and I have gotten bolder.

My roommate, Michelle, and I are going out this weekend to meet our neighbors and invite them over for dinner on July 8th. You see about a month ago she bought a Wii, and we started talking about inviting people over for “Taco Tuesday.” So far we have had some college students, friends, and co-workers over. Our next step is to invite our neighbors. Our prayer is that we can minister to the people that surround us, by building relationships with them. So this weekend, we are going to make some flyers up and go meet our neighbors and get acquainted with them. I am really excited about it!!

Please pray for us as we open up our home and ourselves to our community. Please pray that we will be able to show them Christ in not only our words, but our actions.

You Asked For It!!

Ok...So, I love to read Perry Noble's blog. I have never met the guy, or been to NewSpring....but I know that God is using Perry and NewSpring to draw people closer to Him. I am so excited about the new sermon series he will be starting on July 13th. You need to go and check out today's post to find out more info about it! If I can't make it there in person, I will be watching it online.

Don't Flip Out on Me

Ok…ok…I will admit that I LOVE reality TV. I don’t know why, but I just love it. Anyway, one of my favorite shows came on last night. It is called, Flipping Out. It comes on every Tuesday night at 10:00 PM on BRAVO. This show just makes me laugh. The guy's name is Jeff Lewis and he flips homes in California, and I must say he does an excellent job. He basically will take a house and gut it down to the studs, and completely changes the layout of the home. Anyway, below is one of my favorite clips. Hope you enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhwTVJHaRKw

Life is Fleeting….Are You Ready?

Many of you know that I worked at Wedgwood Baptist Church, for my brief stay in Fort Worth, Texas. Wedgwood Baptist Church may ring a bell with several of you. Below is taken from Wedgwood’s website regarding the incident that took place:

Wedgwood Baptist Church is often remembered for the event that occurred on the evening of September 15, 1999. Just before 7:00pm that evening a crazed gunman entered the building and interrupted a youth activity, a "Saw You at the Pole" prayer rally. He fired over 100 rounds from two different handguns, and exploded a homemade pipe bomb. Seven young persons were killed, and seven others were wounded before the gunman ended his own life.

In the event's aftermath the victims' families, friends, the church, and other people around the world have had to deal with their grief, struggle to recover from the terror, and have agonized again and again over the unanswerable question. "Where was God while all this happened?" On the related links below, Dr. Al Meredith's sermon, "Where Was God?" is provided for your listening.

Through this tragedy we have gained a new understanding of what is meant when we say, "God is sovereign." He was there during the shootings. He comforts us today as we grieve and as we continue to recover. Through trials He brings understanding; He strengthens our faith when there can be no understanding.

And through it all; in every tragedy, there is Hope, and His name is "Jesus Christ."

My office was directly behind the sanctuary, and went out into the choir room. Even though repairs had been made you could still see where the bullet holes were. To get to the main office from my office, I usually took the shortcut through the sanctuary. In the beginning, it was just strange to think that a shooting had taken place here…that seven people lost their lives…that seven others were wounded. I would walk up and down the aisle where the crazed gunman threw the pipe bomb. A few of the staff that I worked with were actually shot by the gunman. Then it really made me question myself, that if I were to die today, would I be ready?....Am I living a life that totally glorifies Him?...Am I doing all I can do for His Glory?

You are probably wondering why I am just now writing about this, but it has just been on my brain this weekend that…God is enough for me….God is bigger than I can imagine…..God is there…through the joy in our lives, and through the pain. He never lets us go…I guess that I just needed to be reminded of that….

If you would like to know more about the incident that took place at Wedgwood, and how God healed them, you can read about it here.

Back in SC and loving it!!

Well, as many of you probably already know, I moved back to SC. After a lot of prayer, and soul searching, it was the best decision for me. God keeps reaffirming my decision to leave everyday. Currently, I am working at a church in Columbia, SC. I am working on getting things in order to start a Master of Arts in Teaching program here at a local university.

Well, I am going to try to write in this thing everyday, and in a year see just how far I have come. There are few things going on in my life right now....1) see paragraph above, 2) I became an aunt on Feb. 5, 2008, 3) I have lost about 20 lbs. since March 3rd, and I hope to lose more over the next year.

That is all I have to say now....stay tune for more later....