Love your life :)

Wow! It's been such a long time since I've gotten on here :)
Lots of things are the same, but some things are different! For example, the fact that I'm engaged now!! The proposal was absolutely perfect! Spencer took me stargazing (something we used to do a lot, because I'm absolutely fascinated with stars!) and popped the question :D Of course I said yes! Can't wait to marry the man of my dreams on May 15th, 2011! Through the engagement so far, I have learned that there is a lot of planning that goes into having a beautiful wedding, so hopefully I will remember to do everything. Also, I am hopefully going to start looking for dresses soon. I'm trying on my mom's dress first, just to see how it looks :) Who knows? It might get it's 3rd wear! (It was my mom's and my granny's!)

On a slightly different note, I'm still interning with a sweet (but insane) first grade class. I'm in the middle of my two weeks of just me teaching, and I'm actually really enjoying it! Even though my internship has been crazy, I have learned so much and I love those crazy little kids! Everyday I feel more and more that teaching is what I'm supposed to do with my life, even though it absolutely exhausts me :) I always leave that school with a very happy and content heart.

I hope that you're having a terrific day and thanks for reading my short and simple blog/life update!
God Bless :)
Nighty night!

Changes.

Well, I can certainly say that this has been a very different semester than any I have experienced before. I am learning so much about how to be a teacher, and I can say that I love each one of those little first graders (even though they sometimes make me want to pull all of my hair out). Kids really do say the most random, funniest things, and that's one of the things that makes teaching so enjoyable. I learned last week that I have to start applying for teaching jobs in October. That's next month. I'm sort of freaking out at this point because I just can't believe that I am that close to applying for my job. My REAL teaching job. I really hope I can get something... I don't feel old enough to be doing this, and it's just nerve racking because at this point, I have no idea where my life is going to take me. Next May, after graduation, who knows what's going to be happening? This has really been testing me lately and I know that I need to put all of my faith in God and understand that he has a marvelous plan for my life. If He wants me to get a teaching job, He will provide one for me. I just wish I could get a sneak peak of what's going to happen so that I would be a little less nervous. I know more than ever that I want to be a teacher, and I also have a newfound appreciation for teachers. It is such hard work. I seriously want to fall asleep by 9 every night, which is very uncharacteristic of me. But, despite everything, it is my passion and I can't imagine doing anything else with my future.

That's all.
Peace out homeskillets ;)

Peace out, Summertime.

Hey everyone! Long time, no blog. So I was just sitting here thinking about my life at this point in time. My band prayers were finally answered and I am marching this fall! Although, on that note (haha, punny)I really don't want to go to band camp. It isn't that I'm not looking forward to another wonderful year of marching and seeing all of my homies, I am just not looking forward to the indescribable HEAT that has seem to taken over Alabama. It's going to be a scorcher, and probably a lot like my freshman year.
Last night I met my internship teacher and all of my sweet little first graders and their parents. One word to describe my teacher: AMAZING. (That goes for the students too!) I am so excited about this fall now! I really think that she is going to teach me so much about being a good teacher and can't wait to get some more experience under my belt. I can't believe I'm about to start my internship... I can't believe I'm about to do my last year of band... I can't believe I'm about to do my last fall semester at Auburn before I graduate in May... I can't believe I'm turning 21 next week! Wowsers. Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was a scared little college freshman, not knowing what was going on. I'm watching my sister go through that right now because she's starting at AU this fall! Yay! I'm so excited for her because I know that she is going to love it just as much as I do. We get to move her into her dorm tomorrow and then she is going to start sorority rush :) I know she's going to love it, even though I thought rush was torture. She won't be doing it at the same time as band camp like I did, though ;)
Well, I have had my time to write my thoughts out. Thanks for reading!
Peace out, Summertime. It's been real. Next time I see you, I will hopefully be getting ready for my first teaching job! AAAHHH! :)

Life in the fast lane.

Wow, it's been about a month since I've done one of these. I suppose I'm a little "jetlagged" because I have been going to bed at around 3 a.m. for the past 2 nights. Today I got back from the KKPsi officer's retreat, which was in Orange Beach, FL at Richard's beach house thing. It was a lot of fun. We got a lot of planning for the upcoming year done, and got to ride around in his boat. Despite the oil spill, we even did a little swimming! Unfortunately, we did encounter some oil. Going down there was such a reality check. You hear and see all of this news about the oil spill on TV, but it is soooo crazy to see it all in person. This oil spill sort of breaks my hear and makes me angry at the same time. It breaks my heart that so many animals and forms of sea life are dying and losing their homes over this. It breaks my heart that so many families are having to move from their homes because they no longer have a way to support themselves. It makes me angry that BP could be so careless and not have like, 5 gazillion backup plans if something like this were to happen!! Really, people?? I guess when it comes down to it, I sort of wonder what God is thinking while he is watching all of this happen. I'm not mad at him for letting it happen, just sort of curious about the lesson he is trying to teach us. I genuinely believe that God does everything to teach us something. He gave us free will and we have to deal with the consequences of that sometimes. If he wanted this oil spill to be fixed already, it would be, but I think there is something bigger to all of this. I think part of it is that He wants us to realize that we can't control everything like we think we can. Our society seems to have fallen away from our dependency on God and has for some reason started to think that we can do everything by ourselves. Maybe this is God's way of showing us that this is simply not the case. It kind of stinks, though. This sort of reminds me of the phrase, "one person can ruin it for everyone." Because a company with an oil rig decided to be careless, everyone on the southeastern coast has to suffer. I promise this isn't a ranting type of blog, I'm just thinking. Maybe you agree, maybe you don't.
On another note, my mom and Kenzie flew in from Belgium today! Kenzie is going to Camp War Eagle this week and I am so excited for her. I can't wait for her to start her Auburn journey because I know that she will come to love it as much as I do. We drove past her dorm tonight and she got so excited and I just thought it was really cute and sort of refreshing. It's weird to think that I am one of the old people on Auburn's campus now. I'm a senior. Wow. That feels really weird to type. I really wonder where the time went. It feels like I'm still a freshman... still learning the ropes around here.. I've been taking classes this summer and even watching this summer makes me realize how fast time goes by. Every time I just sit still and realize how much time has gone by. Days, weeks, months just seem to melt away these days and remind me that my time here is limited. Thank goodness we have something to look forward to--- eternity :)


This has to be one of the spazziest blogs I've written yet, so congratulations if you made it through! I need to head to bed now. I have a pretty early morning ahead of me, and another super crazy week!

Nighty night, folks :)

Stop focusing on the wrong things.

Do you ever just wish you knew what was going to happen with your life? What God's plan is for your life? I wonder that all the time. This summer is moving so fast, and next thing you know, it's going to be Fall, then Spring, then... Graduation.. I don't know if I'm ready to be an adult. What if I don't get a teaching job? They're kind of hard to come by right now.. Or so I hear. I'm worried that I am going to end up in some town by myself. I know that God has amazing plans for me, but why can't I have a little sneak preview of what that's going to be? I guess that would ruin the surprise. Sorry if none of this makes sense. I don't want to be a waitress, or work in retail, or even be a substitute for a year (have you seen how kids treat subs?). I just want my own class. I want to teach. I want to do what I'm working so hard towards right now. I feel confident that this is the direction God wants me to go in. Especially since a fortunate series of events happened to cause me to turn away from my long-lived hopes of becoming a veterinarian. I actually was planning on being a vet until my second semester at Auburn. I did NOT want to be a teacher when I was growing up. Then I got placed in classrooms and it just felt.. right. Like that was where I was supposed to be. Now I love it and it has become what I'm passionate about. I'm just thinking about it, and what if my hopes that I have had for next year don't happen? If I don't get a job, if I somehow wind up alone.. I don't know. I guess none of it matters right now, but since time seems to be going by at a supersonic rate lately, I couldn't help but think these things through, maybe a little too much. I wish I would stop focusing on the wrong things. I know that we need to focus on what is unseen-- eternity. That's what really matters. But for some reason, what happens during my time on Earth still means a lot to me. Is that wrong? I don't think so..

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. Congratulations if you made it through all of that mumbo jumbo.

Nighty night.

Band anxiety.

So, for some reason, I just started thinking about the fall, and I started getting really anxious. I am going to be doing my Elementary Ed. internship in the fall, and I am also attempting to do band. I guess what's making me nervous is the fact that I am questioning my ability to handle both. I feel like I could, but I'm just worried that something will come up at the school that I have to stay for and I'll be late or miss band and get in trouble. I doubt a scenario like that would happen (often), but it's always a possibility and since I have a tendency to over think everything, of course that would come up. I wish I could just see a preview of the fall and see how I was handling everything. You know? Just to know that I'm making the right choice. I've prayed about it but I'm just nervous I won't see the answer if it's dangling right in front of me. I don't know why I do this to myself. Aahh. It's frustrating to be nervous about something that doesn't even matter right now. Sometimes I stress myself out over what seems to be silly stuff to other people, but for some reason it always really matters to me. Even though I try to empty my mind and just let it go, it just sticks. Quite frustrating. Okay, well I have an early morning tomorrow, 6 a.m. will get here faster than I know it. Better attempt to get some ZZZZs. Wish me luck. Lots of it.

Nighty night.

Kids say the darndest things :)

Tonight, kids church was insane, but so much fun! We had a night of worship, fun and competitive games (girls vs. boys, of course!), and lots of food! Seriously, tonight I had a cup of coffee, a cupcake, a coke, AND ice cream (all in the time span of 2 hours at church). Anyway, we were in the middle of lesson, and the question was asked "Does anyone know who Indiana Jones is?" Now, these are 1st through 5th graders, and a lot of them raised their hands. I was pretty impressed. The best part, however, was when one kid said (very knowingly) "There are stories about him in the Bible!" It cracked me up. Indiana Jones in the Bible? Haha :) I mean, sure, there are lots of adventurers and daring men in the Bible, but I don't think he made the cut, or time period. It just made me think about the mind of a child. Everything in their head is so simple, and that's one of the things I love about them. Adults and teenagers have a tendency to over think and judge everything so intellectually, but to kids, the answers always seem so simple. I love it :) One of the many reasons I want to be a teacher is because I am fascinated and delighted by the way that kids think.

Anyway, I'm off to do some reading and homework.
Nighty night :)

Life's little gifts.

We've been having a lot of rain and thunder lately. Tonight I was driving home from small group (like a Bible study) and I kept seeing all of these flashes of lightning off in the distance. Have you ever just thought about how beautiful a storm can be? It almost makes me excited when a storm is coming, because I know that I can get cozied up in my apartment and just hear the powerful rain and roars on the outside. Tonight, our small group (which is working on Ruth) started getting off on a tangent (typical) and we were wondering if when you get to Heaven, if you just know all of the mysteries of the Earth. We talked about evolution, outer space, life before Jesus, God's wisdom, stuff like that. Well, I left there feeling very analytical. I started wondering about the lightning. I honestly started wondering why God made lightning. There's not really a purpose for it. It doesn't water the earth. I was thinking about it, and I realized that it just adds to the power of a good storm. Storms always remind me of the amazing power of God. You can't control a storm. They wipe out whole towns in a single instant and there is nothing we can do but watch. It's kind of crazy. I feel like God made lightning to amaze us, and remind us of his presence. Remind us just how powerful he is. You hear about Greek gods like Zeus throwing lightning bolts down at the earth, well, maybe God really does do that. Not necessarily to harm anyone, just to show us that he controls light.. electricity.. He can harness a power so great. Something tells me I dug a little too deep into that one, and I'm probably wrong, but it's kind of fun to think about it. Even though lightning used to terrify me, now I kind of like it when God gives us that little reminder. And, in a way, it's a fun and pretty darn incredible light show :)

On the topic of small groups, I absolutely love them. I love being able to get with a group of girls and just be able to talk about God and the mysteries of life. We just started working on the book "The Gospel of Ruth", and I'm really excited about it. Ruth was such an amazing woman. I can't help but be so grateful that God put such amazing women, like Ruth, on the earth so that later generations could see that there were strong women in those days. Women who bent the rules of society to obey good. Ruth had so much obedience and trust in the Lord. Not only was she a woman, but she was a foreigner and a widower. Not such great prospects for a woman in that time period. This story just shows that when you obey God and love and trust Him with all of your heart, you can be greatly rewarded. I can't wait to see what I learn this summer about an incredible woman of God. I am so grateful that I live in a country that allows me to freely worship with a group of girls and have such deep and meaningful conversations. I am blessed. I only hope that someday I can bless someone that doesn't have that same privilege... Really, I do.

Alrighty, well this has been fun :)
Nighty night.

Love never fails.

Today in kids church (I'm a leader, don't worry, haha) we learned all about loving everyone. Our theme verse has been Luke 10:27, which basically says to love the Lord with everything you have and love everyone the way you love yourself. First off, let me just mention that sometimes I get so much out of the lessons we teach these kids. I realize that sometimes it is SO hard to love certain people. But God didn't say to love only a few people. He said that we need to love everyone. No exceptions. The way that I think about it is that we probably get on God's nerves all the times, just because we're always messing up, but in the end, He loves us sooo ridiculously much. Who are we to receive that love and then tell others that they aren't good enough to receive our love? Also, when you decide to be mean to someone, or not love them, you are deciding not to love one of God's creations-- better yet, one of His children.. I don't know about you, but I do not want to mess with one of God's kids. He probably wouldn't like that too much. When I think about loving people, I automatically think of my INCREDIBLE family and friends. He has blessed me so richly, and I forget it so often. It always bothers me when I fall short of His expectations and the expectations of those I care about. It really does. I get impatient with people sometimes and inside, I always wonder why I can't just have more tolerance. I have this incredible tolerance for kids, but for some reason, it doesn't always hold over to the people I care about most in the world. I want to be that beautiful, kind, patient woman that God created me to be-- I always have to remind myself that it is a process and that someday (hopefully) I'll grow into that.

Today's generation just makes me sad.. Literally. It feels like the media, and just the world in general, are robbing people of the friendships and intimacies that we were created for. Worst of all, we are being robbed of our innocence earlier and earlier. We live in an upside down world that lives according to what feels good and what works best for us, often forgetting what God's intentions are for our lives. Pray, people! We need an awakening! Something that will shake our society up and get us going for God! AHHH. It drives me nuts. I mean, I'm not saying I'm perfect by any means, and I am definitely not saying I'm any better than the world, but where did our motivation to be like God go??? We need to stop getting so distracted by the busy world around us and get focused on the big picture. Eternity. Make God proud, people.
Love God. Love People.

Oh, and I totally didn't mean to preach. Like I said, this is just a blog for my thoughts. Hope I didn't offend anybody :)

I think I'm done for the night. Nighty night :D

Wowsers.

Hm. Can't believe I'm going to start blogging! But, I have decided that I have far too much going on in my head to just keep it in. Even if nobody ever reads this, haha, I think it will be an adventure. Thoughts.. Gosh. I have a million a minute. Right now, I can't help but think about the future. What I want to do with my life more than anything is be a teacher. It is just so rewarding and I love seeing that lightbulb moment when kids learn something. The only thing that scares me is wondering if I'll actually be able to get a teaching job or not NEXT YEAR!? Oh my goodness. I can't believe I only have one year left at Auburn. Am I ready to be a real grown up? I guess I'm just hoping that everything I've been learning here is going to help me get a job and be a good teacher in the future. I also really want to know for sure that this is the career that God wants me to follow. I feel in my heart every time that I teach, or every time that I'm leading kids, that it is what I'm meant to do, so in a way I take that as confirmation, but it's still unnerving to think that God has another plan for my life and I'm taking my own way. Can you see why I am trying to Blog? My mind has so much scrambled up in it that I just need to write and get some of it out. Sometimes I think so much it keeps me from sleeping, which is never good, because then I just turn into a cranky pants. Trust me, you don't want to see that side of me. Speaking of not getting enough sleep, I just looked at the clock. Goodness gracious. Time flies when your mind never seems to stop. Better go to bed. Until next time, nighty night!