Life lately

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." ~Dan RatherThis quote has definitely rang true in my life. I'm not the smartest person, but I know that I wouldn't be where I am today without teachers who cared. I have had the privilege of learning how to care for all students this semester; even the ones who just want to give up. The successes and growth I have seen in my students absolutely amaze me. They are children that thirst for challenges and have a drive for learning new things. Their creativity has no end! It has definitely been a great semester so far...

now with that being said...



I'M ON SPRING BREAK!!! YAY!!!



They say the students get Spring Fever, but I'm pretty sure the teachers do as well :)



I am very happy to say that I get to spend my spring break with some dear friends and my wonderful fiance, down in Auburn! We will be having our first shower and I can't wait! We're also going on some airplane rides and hikes!! (I must admit I will be missing the students' smiling faces and random comments.) Justin was home this past week on his Spring Break. We got to celebrate his Birthday and Easter! It has been great to spend some time with our families, friends, and each other.

Easter is just a few days away. We decorated our Easter egg tree today and my class had their "Spring Celebration", but I just can't end without focusing on the significance of this day. The Lord and King of the Universe created himself in human likeness because that was the ONLY way for us to have the opportunity to spend eternity with our Savior. He gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we did not have to.

Isaiah 53

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

let's not forget...

"Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body." "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own. For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."

When I think of self-control, I think of three areas: Our words from our mouth, the food we put in our mouths, and the things we do with our bodies.

I also believe that the reason so many of us struggle with these three things is because it is hard to understand how to lean on God for strength. We are deceived into thinking that this is our body. But this is simply not so. This is such a hard lesson for myself and others to learn. We try so hard to have this self control on our own, but we will fail. We must realize to daily...and I'll say it again, DAILY, rely on Christ's strength to get us through these battles.

Words, Food, and Passion should not control us...God should control those things in our lives.

Thankfully we have a patient God that never gives up on teaching His children.

it's official!

Justin was officially accepted into a pilot slot for the USA Air Force today!!!

What an answer to prayer!

I'm so proud of him and so thankful to our Father for answering prayers and dreams.

What a good day :)

Yep...he's pretty amazing.

My soon-to-be husband gave me a wonderful gift this weekend. He and two of his guy friends flew up to Columbia just to have dinner with his family and me! We spent a couple hours laughing and enjoying each other's company at Five Guys Burger Restaurant! It was full of laughs and stories! I thought that it was going to be another whole month of not seeing each other, but tonight's surprise was perfect! It was also the first time for his parents to see him fly!! I'm so proud of him and thankful for another wonderful memory made :)

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."
Author: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7