Midweek Confessions

Happy week after Christmas!!!

Okay, so this has become one of my favorite things each week--confessions!!! I'm linking up with E, Myself, & I for her Midweek Confession little par-tay!

--I have been a in a complete lazy state lately. I had such a relaxing Christmas and I can't snap out of "relaxation mode." Although I am back at work, all I think about all day long is how excited I am to go home and put on my pajamas. In fact, if I could wear my pajamas to work, I would. Having to go anywhere makes me whine a little bit! Ha!!

--My room mate went home for Christmas and dug out her Super Nintendo. Yes, you read that right--the one from 1996 or something like that. Y'all, this is better than the Wii. Or any console for that matter. We have had Nintendo marathons every night. The graphics on this thing are hilarious. And to think that back in 1996, those fuzzy mushrooms were considered HD. Good Times.

--I may be the only person in America who STILL has her Christmas decorations up, but I happen to still like my Christmas tree. I have always taken it down on New Years. But, I also don't put up my tree in October, so I am not tired of it quite yet.

--Speaking of Christmas, why is the Christmas music gone! For some reason, I'm not tired of it yet!!! :)


--If you read my last confession post, I spoke of that F5 tornado going through my bedroom. The damage has now been cleared and it is all clean. It makes me happy to have all of my clothes hung up and put away. Next up: my car!

--I start student teaching on the 13th of January. I am excited AND nervous!!! I am going to be with 12 graders and I hope I can handle them. I've been practicing cracking the whip--hopefully this will be a good experience...I know how 12th graders can be. They have potential to act like they are tyrants. haha.

This was fun!

Midweek Confessions

I thought it would be fun to do a little link up with some confessions today! I'm linking up with E, Myself, and I for her Midweek Confession Link Up!
So here they go:

1. I haven't blogged in--oh, about 4 months maybe? I'm actually not sure how long it has been. I read blogs every day, but never take time to blog myself. What's interesting to me is that I chose to do a confession blog to break the cycle!

2. I have bought a lot of Christmas presents, but haven't wrapped the first gift. In fact, I do not have the first box to put a gift in--and I think I only have one roll of wrapping paper.

3. My room looks like a F5 tornado whipped through it. My house is pretty much tidy, but my room-not so much. Between laundry, stashed Christmas presents, and heaven knows what else, -- it pretty much needs some serious help.

4. I have been so scattered lately, and I cannot get things together. I have things that need to be mailed off, and I have walked out of the house the past 3 days with them sitting on the counter. My life seems like that lately---just forgetful of a lot of things and it drives me CRAZY. It definitely is stressing me out....hopefully I can remember to take some pictures of my Christmas decorations for a link up this week!

5. Every week I say I am going to start running--and every week I do not go for a run. What. the. heck. Oh well--maybe next week.

5. I'm sure I could go on and on and on...but hey...those are some of the major confessions this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Y'all I'm so Excited!

I have so much excitement in my heart and I am SO thankful for what God has brought me through-that I just have to share. (This is kind of long. I'm just saying.)

Most of you may know this, but in case you didn't, I am in college to become a history teacher. I was scheduled to graduate in May of 2011, but I did not pass the Praxis exam, so I could not student teach nor graduate. Another semester came and as I continued to take the Praxis and continued to not pass it, August came. And that meant another semester of not student teaching or graduating. Y'all, I literally thought I had lost my mind. So many emotions came over me. Have I missed something? Will I ever see a diploma? Is this even worth it? Does God have something else in mind?

I pulled myself together and realized that I needed to be thankful for where God had me. I have a wonderful job that supports me and I am still young. Graduating at 26 is not a bad thing, and I still have lots of life to live, and I need to enjoy this season of my life rather than letting it pass me by while I wait.

One Friday afternoon, my boss walks in the door and calls me back to his office. In 2.5 seconds I was informed that due to the slow business, that beginning the following Monday, my hours were being cut from 40 down to 15. Yes-15. As in barely working. In 2.5 seconds, my stable mindset was all shook up. Like how was I going to survive off of that many hours? And who even does this kind of stuff? Why in the WORLD is nothing fitting together?

The Lord is so good.

I began looking for other jobs to supplement my income, but nothing seemed right. My heart would not let me take a full time position while knowing it was only temporary. Afterall, graduating was on my top priority. My boss increased my hours slowly, but honestly I believe it has been the Lord who has taken care of me because I haven't had to worry about one single thing this whole time.

And this is the best part.

On September 17th, I took the Praxis ONE more time. I paid the $150 ONE more time. Y'all, I was so over this test. This was the 9th, yes NINTH time I had taken it.

Fast forward to Tuesday, October 11th. Score result time. I had told myself that I was not going to get upset if I didn't get a passing score. I was just going to get on the website and look at the score and move on. Keep in mind that I was half asleep (because it was 6:30 in the morning) and I was a nervous wreck, but I was trying to keep it together.

154. Yep, that's the score. And that's a PASSING score! I literally started screaming & crying in the same moment. I cannot describe the excitement! This meant so much more to me than a passing score. This meant that I was going to graduate this upcoming May. AND this meant that I was this much closer to a dream that I have had since I was a little girl. This meant that God had not forgotten about me. This meant that His plans always prevail. This meant that the ministry that I felt God had called me to do through my degree was finally within reach. The number 154 was a number that opened up doors for me to go and be and do what God had called me to do. (You can read more about my dream here )

I say all of this to say that I believe this struggle did not happen by chance. I have said before that I believe God has called me to the classroom to be an encourager. To encourage students to not give up. To believe in their dream. To have a plan. To keep fighting even when you feel like you can't stand. And I have walked through that process. My words will not be empty with no meaning. They will be coming from someone who knows what it feels like to fight. I feel like I have conquered a battle--and that makes it so much more special to be able to tell a classroom full of students that they too can dream. And with a lot of determination, their dreams can come true. 

Now, these have a whole new meaning to me! :)

Thanks y'all for praying for me!!

Dream Chaser

I have always had a passion to encourage people to believe in their dreams and to work hard to achieve them. I hate to see people with huge ambitions and goals let them go down the drain because of compromise and the 'ease' of settling for the 'norm.' I believe each person has it in them to achieve whatever they set out to achieve. We just have to believe in ourselves. And trust God when we can't see the big picture--because in the game of life, the 'big-picture' is not always in our sight! (Thank God!)

Sometimes dreams come easily, and sometimes they come with a fight. I know this to be a fact.

I have many dreams. One of them is to become a teacher. This dream is so important to me. I want to become a teacher to encourage students to believe in their dreams. I want to be the teacher to believe in her students when no one else will. I want to be the teacher to tell her students that they are worth something, when they have been told that they amount to nothing. I want to be the teacher to encourage her students to keep dreaming when everyone around them tries their best to kill every dream they have. I want to be the teacher that tells her students that a dream without a plan is still a dream--and that fulfilling anything in life requires a plan. I want to tell them to always fight for what they want, and to never, ever, ever give up.

I want to make a difference in the lives of the students that I teach.

This dream of mine is not coming without a fight. And at times, I feel like it is the hardest fight of my life. I have one extremely large and difficult test standing between me and my graduation date. I have taken this test multiple times, and even pushed my graduation date back because of it. It's something that I do not understand at all. It literally makes zero sense why I cannot conquer this. If I could describe the way I feel about this test, I would say it is like a giant. Something bigger than me.

But then I remember that I shouldn't expect any less. My dream is bigger than myself. It is a passion that is bigger than me. And I shouldn't expect that to be handed to me freely. It is a dream worth fighting for. It's worth giving it all I've got.

Yesterday, after I found out that I did not pass this test (again), I stood with such a feeling of defeat. And then I heard the sweet Holy Spirit speak and say "your passion for your dream MUST remain greater than the obstacles that stand between you." In that moment, I gained a strength to keep fighting. God is so good. I know that my desire to be a teacher is more than just a career. I truly feel like this is God's will for my life. And I will fight until I get there.

I have been discouraged, and I have been stressed. I have been angry, jealous, bitter, and just flat upset. I often find myself having "pull-it-together" moments in which I come to grips with the situation, and allow the Holy Spirit to re-align my thoughts. It keeps me going through my most frustrating moments.

So, let me encourage you. First of all--believe in yourself. Trust that God does see worth in you, and that you are of the utmost importance to Him. Second---believe in your dream. Start with a plan. It is not impossible. It will not come without work. Take it one step at a time. And thirdly--don't give up. Keep the vision close. Remember why you are doing what you are doing. And keep your passion alive. It will get frustrating--but God is so good to hold us close. Lean on Him every step of the way, and no matter what---do NOT settle for the norm.

Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. Keep fighting. You will get there!

Spring Has Sprung

Happy Spring!! This was yesterday in the beautiful square downtown! It was picture perfect weather!

I wore my yellow dress to celebrate! :)

With every season change, I feel like I need to re-decorate. I just simply cannot leave things the way they are when things are changing outside. Problem is, I want to change everything up, but it takes me about the entire season to finally find what I am looking for. I annoy myself sometimes. And I have a love/hate relationship with Hobby Lobby. I mean you can decorate every room in Mobile just in that one store. It's a one stop shop--but how do you decide??

Last week was full of lots of celebration! My sweet friend Jessica celebrated her birthday. I love birthdays, and I love to celebrate big. We had a sleepover the night before her birthday and watched the Bachelor and stayed up late and talked like we did when we were teenagers. Speaking of staying up late, we ended up taking pictures on our phones...and we laughed so hard until we were crying.

(This is what happens when you try to self-remove double-chins, ha!)

We were both off on her birthday and we did what girls do best: Shop & Eat! Saturday, we celebrated some more at Paint & Pal's studio. It was SO much fun! I am not an artist, but I thought my painting turned out pretty good!

This Saturday, I am running the Azalea Trail Run. I had planned to train better for this race...maybe if I go buy new running shoes it will give me a little boost when I run...cause I sure am not ready for this!!! Ready or not, it's a really fun day full of lots of people and beautiful scenery. It's like one of the top 10 races (I think!), and it's here in our hometown! I love to run, even though I do not make time for it often...and running races are a good way to stay motivated while supporting a good cause. Plus you get a free t-shirt, and they always have fun designs.

Spring is here, and so is the weather! My plants are starting to bloom, and although I think that they are beautiful, I am going to do my best to keep them alive! I didn't do anything to make them bloom, I wonder if that same principle works for keeping them alive! Ha!!!

Here is a little nugget for you this week: "But the wisdom above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accomodating, full of mercy & good fruit, impartial & not hypocritical." James 3:17

It's a mouthful to read---but it is so true. Wisdom from the Father never waivers. He isn't wishy-washy. He is constant. In Him there is pure stability. He is the Source. Amen!

A Little Bit of this, a Little Bit of That

It's been a while since I have blogged. Lots of life has been going on! :) Since the last post, here are a few things that have happened:

The Lord blessed me with the opportunity to keep my job, and I am so very grateful. It was an up-in-the-air fiasco for a few weeks due to me not student teaching this semester, but I'm very thankful that I did not have to find another career for the next 8 months. The Lord is my provider. He takes care of me, and knows exactly what I need.

Speaking of work, we have been so busy lately, I am flat exhausted come 5:00. This is what my desk looks like most of the time:

I love Post-It notes. Love them. They are the perfect little "reminder slips." Problem is, sometimes when I am in a hurry, I don't write everything I need to remember--so when I need to be reminded of something I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. Probably need to work on that a little! ;)

The Spring Ladies Bible Study is about to launch! I'm really excited; I love meeting with the women and discussing what God is showing us through His word. I haven't completely decided which book we are going to do, but I'm thinking about this one:

I've heard really good things about this study so I'm leaning toward learning lots from Jonah!

I have an itch to bake. I've been following the blog and this girl bakes some of the cutest stuff. I have bought some Valentine cookie cutters, and I'm ready to bake some cookies with some of the super fabulous Royal Icing, and hope that they turn out looking like a Valentine cookie! :) Stay tuned for the results, ha!!

Baby Micah is here! Whitney & Luke are fabulous parents, and Micah is beautiful! I think I'm going to call him "Little Sweet Cheeks" because that's what he is!! Here is a quick shot of my visit with him last night:

Isn't he the sweetest thing ever! Congratulations Whitney & Luke!

I want to leave you with a verse of scripture:

"Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." Proverbs 30:5

I love the Lord so much. His word is filled with so much life. Every promise He's given. It's true. Every thing He said He would do. It's true. He never fails me. It's true. I love Him so. It's true!

Happy Weekend!

Bucket List Frenzy

First of all, does anyone know how to title the blog post? Mine is not showing up anywhere and it is quite annoying. Any tips would be appreciated :)

School starts today. A semester that seems sort of a waste; however, I keep telling myself that nothing in this life is a waste. Not even an extra 5 months in school, and extra semester of tuition, or a graduation date postponed 7 months. Nothing is a waste. May 14 was going to be a glorious day of celebration; however, it has now been moved to December. That's okay. More celebration for the holidays! :) Psalm 65:11 says that "He crowns the year with His goodness; His paths drip with abundance." I'm reminded daily that the path that I am on is His. It's about living for Him. And no matter what season I'm in on the path, He promises abundance. Because HE is more than enough in all situations.

Bucket List. Do you have one? I've never made one. I honestly didn't know what one was until the movie came out (which I have yet to see, ha!). But, I think there are a few things that deserve to be on this list (other than the obvious finish school, be successful, etc). Here is one:

Run a half marathon

Not just any half marathon. I want to go to a big city and run for a big cause. I'm not so sure why I feel the need to run 13.1 miles for any particular reason other than I just want to. I'm not sure why it looks so fun. Who knows? I do love to run, and I am not so sure why I always take breaks from it because I always have to start over (which is so hard). However, I love the feeling of lacing up my Nike's and hitting the pavement and putting lots of distance behind me. I love the feeling of sweating ridiculously in the summer heat, but being able to finish the course ahead. It has been something that I never thought I could do, but once I tackled one mile, I was addicted to make it to the next, and the next. Obviously not too addicted because I always take breaks, hahahah :).

So, I'm not sure when I will cross this off of the good ole bucket list, but I have some sort of a goal in mind. ;) I'm pretty sure it starts with actually lacing up the faithful Nike's and pulling my huge pile of running clothes out of the top of my closet. :)

Fresh. New. Year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Beginnings are always full of different emotions. They are fresh, but sometimes uncertain. Exciting, but sometimes reserved. Change is a constant in our lives and that will never change.

This past year has been an interesting one. I have felt just about every emotion possible (College will do that to an individual). I have fought. I have struggled. I have prayed. I have cried. I have wanted to give up. I have laughed. I have been overwhelmed. I have held on.  I have trusted. I have exercised faith. But one thing is for certain, the Lord never let me drown. He always kept me floating. He is so good like that.

I love to encourage people to dream big. I believe that God gives us dreams to achieve; yet, I believe that so many of us give up on our dreams and settle for the norm. Speaking of dreams, this year I am reaching one of my dreams. I am finally graduating college. I realize that a degree isn't that big of a deal in society today, but my degree means more than a piece of paper or a status label. Being a teacher has been one of my dreams in life, for more reasons than owning a teacher's edition textbook and a SmartBoard (although those are fancy!). I have a desire to make an impact on the lives of students by encouraging them to succeed and to believe in themselves. And seeing the finish line within reaching distance is a GREAT feeling.

There are lots of things to look forward to, and I have lots of goals that I am setting out for this year, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I believe that God knows the desires of my heart, and as long as I put one foot in front of the other towards Him, He will get me where I need to be. 

Whatever your goals are for this year, set after them. Make a plan. Don't give up. Believe in yourself. And know this: The Almighty believes in Y-O-U. He wants to see you succeed more than you do. He loves you. 

Beth Moore suggested this verse for the beginning of the year:

"You crown the year with Your goodness, 

And Your paths drip with abundance." 

Psalm 65:11

I love it. I'm thankful for the Father above who cares for me. His path drips, drips, drips with abundance. Get on the path. He never forsakes us. He never, ever, leaves us lacking. Abundance. 

And that, dear, is sweet bliss. Soak it up in 2011.