First Field Trip :0) Last Week :'(

My first field trip was last Friday. We brought all our special 2nd graders to the zoo. It was full of exploring, questioning, and laughs. I love being able to experience things that we are learning about in the classroom.

I have learned so much from these children and Ms. Cash. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye on Friday. She has become such a great friend and someone that I can learn a lot from.



I can't wait to have a class of my own soon! I have so many fun ideas in my head that I'm ready to use!


Please pray for jobs to open up so that I will be able to teach next year. The district is having a hard time finding the funding to hire new teachers. Please keep all of us graduates in your prayers.

life lessons...

As life goes on, lessons will come as well. I have learned that God's timing is perfect and that He knows exactly what we need to learn and when we need to learn it (even if we don't always agree with His choosing of those times). I went to Passion 08 and to a new church in Atlanta this weekend. I learned a few very important life lessons...meaning things I will need to remember for the rest of my days.

1. People should not only be known as Church goers, but as people Consumed by the Holy Spirit. There should be a drastic difference in our lives...we are going from death to LIFE!


2. We are promised two things by Jesus in John 14: In this world we WILL have troublesome times AND God has overcome those troubles. When in those hard times, keep your eyes on the cross because that is the best example of a troublesome time being used to become the most glorious of times!! I do not think I have experienced a truly troublesome time -of course growing up I thought I experienced one every week :0) . This allowed me to feel at peace and somewhat warned before those times come.
   
3. Beware of my mouth (James 4). Our mouths are referred to as "a spark that can start a wildfire". We must realize that those short, sharp comments can have Huge and unrepairable damages. This made me reflect on conversations with family and students. We should all, Myself DEFINITELY included, remember that our mouths are "loaded weapons" and that we should be the responsible owner of them. One thing the preacher said when referring to James 4 was "we all have sparked a fire with words, but it's what you do afterwards that reflects your heart. Take responsibility. Say I'm sorry. And then stop talking...all those explanations just add gasoline to the fire." This sermon spoke so directly into my life, my heart, and my weakness.

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I must add that I was able to experience this wonderful weekend with my wonderful and encouraging fiance, whom I grow to love more everyday.

Joy doesn't rely on this life!

"I'm too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed.I refuse to be discouraged, to be sad or to cry.I refuse to be down hearted and here's the reason why:I have a God who is almighty; who is sovereign and supreme.I have a God who loves me -- and I am on His team.He is all wise and powerful; Jesus is His name.Though everything else is changeable, My God remains the same.I refuse to be beaten or defeated.My eyes are on my God.He has promised to be with me, as through this life I trod.I am looking past my circumstances, to heaven's throne above.My prayers have reached the heart of God and I am resting in His love.I give thanks to Him in everything.My eyes are on His face.The battle is His; the victory is mine; He will help me win the race.I repeat!I'm too blessed to be stressed!"

-Author unknown

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation."

April Showers...

We had our first shower and we both loved it! Justin loved it because it was a tool and gadget shower! Lots of new toys :) I loved it because I got to meet so many of his Auburn friends. Having your first shower is a big event...you come home with all these gifts, sit them on the table, and wait....as if you're not anxiously awaiting anyway ;)

Psalm 9:1 "I will praise you, Oh Lord, with all my heart!"

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.