I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since I posted last! WHOA! I always think about how I want to sit down and post, but there's always something else I need to do. And then when I start writing (like now) I wish I had great pictures to share.

Which brings me to my first point. I have been AWFUL about taking pictures this year! REALLY AWFUL! Every year I make a "year in review" photo book, and here we are with April TOMORROW, and I feel like I have 5 pictures from the first three months of the year. I guess the good news is that in this digital age, I can always get pictures from friends and family. So, I guess my shortage of pictures will turn out fine in the end. :-)

One of the major things that has been filling up our time these past few weeks is that we have had a young girl staying with us. I won't go into much detail, but suffice it to say God is moving majorly in her life, and has set her free from all sorts of things. She will probably only be with us another week or a few days, but it has been very healing for her, and nothing but a joy for us to have her in our home. We are so thankful the Lord continues to bring about opportunities to use the home He has given us: whether mentoring and counseling, (like tonight) having small groups, (like yesterday) hosting a party, (like next week) or being able to have people stay with us for a long or short period of time. Jordan and I realized the other day when we were talking that we've have about 7-8 people stay with us over the course of the 3+ years in our home, some over a year, some just a week or two. It is neat to stop and think back on how God's been able to use this house, just as we have prayed and continue to pray that He would.

Well, so much more to say, but as always, need to move on. Little bit more reading and then off to work. I pray you are abundantly blessed today!

We have had a great weekend so far, and it's still continuing for us! Friday we had a pre-marital appointment with a couple we are counseling, and then Jordan and I enjoyed a relaxing night at home...stayed up WAY TOO LATE watching "Return of the King." (We forgot how long it was and vowed to never ever watch it in one sitting ever again)

Saturday started off marvelously with a frisbee game at the park. IHS played Blackman and beat them: 14-10! It was a little chilly with the wind, but really a gorgeous day, so we very much enjoyed that. We napped that afternoon and I had another counseling meeting that went great. Again, had a relaxing evening as I cooked for Sunday and that night and Jordan finished preparing his message for Sunday.

Sunday (yesterday) was just fantastic! We had full house at church due to several visitors and Jeremiah Pearson's dedication. It was such a special time to celebrate God's faithfulness, and there was overwhelming joy in everyone's hearts as we rejoiced together. If you've never heard Al & Martha's story, click HERE to download the podcast from 2/28/10 and fast forward (or listen to Jordan's fabulous message) until you get to them sharing their testimony. VERY INCREDIBLE!

We then enjoyed a HUGE Mexican fiesta after church. We do a meal after church on the 1st Sunday of each month at each New Song congregation, and it is such an amazing time of fellowship and connection, and yesterday's was extra special because of the dedication.

We finally left church close to 3:00 in the afternoon. (It's amazing how quickly 8 hours passes sometimes...seriously. I was there from 8am-3pm) :-) Ran home, changed, cleaned up, packed up, and jetted off to quickly stop by a friend's birthday party before getting back to the church at 4 to help People's Church Spring Hill youth group, Fusion, get set up in our facility for their youth meeting. They are going to be using it on Sunday nights for the next few months until their new building is finished. We are so excited to be able to partner with them and so thankful for the connections the Lord has brought about in the city of Spring Hill. We left there close to 6 and headed up to the condo in Franklin, where Kyle & Janelle & Ethan met us for homemade BBQ Chicken and Turkey Pepperoni pizzas and some seriously good times!

LOVE THIS KID!!

Today looks VERY promising! Jordan and I have had a super relaxing morning at the condo, and are meeting up with Kyle & Janelle to spend some time in the Hillsboro area today, where they are multiplying a New Song congregation and moving in a few months. Later, Jordan and I may do a little date night movie (Alice in Wonderland) and dinner (Carrabba's: courtesy Erin and Dan) I'm off school today for a teacher inservice day, which is why I can hang out like this today.

So, whatever you're doing this week, I pray it is full and blessed and exciting and wonderful! God is good!

Be Blessed,

A Couple of Quick Tidbits...

- my brother scored a 97 on the second (out of 4) leg of his CPA exam. Yes, he really is that smart. (But he works extremely hard as well) We are so proud of him!

- I sprained my ankle last Wednesday and have been hobbling around...kind of funny. Not fun for me though because I just want to go RUN!

- I got to see Ferris this week. It's been too long, so it was good to see her!

- JT & Christy had their baby yesterday! I cannot wait to see her: Karis Elise. I know she's going to be gorgeous!

- we get to meet Noah Phillips today...we're taking dinner over to them and I can't wait to hold him. :-)

- I lost my voice this weekend so I haven't been able to talk. I pushed myself through 2 days of teaching this week and took today off because I didn't think I could make it through. It's slowly getting better.

- We had a great meeting with our IVF doctor last week. Still not sure exactly what the next steps are, but we found out some encouraging things.

- Life is good! God is great, and there is much to rejoice in and be thankful for!

Be Blessed!

Just So You Know...

Ladies, if you haven't checked out "Just So You Know," I would highly encourage you to do this! This is a weekly webshow that our senior pastor's wife, Joan Evrist, and a good friend of hers, Carol Maxwell, as well as one of my closest friends, Janelle Kellums, do every Friday. The website also has all kinds of fun tips and great deals for online shopping! :-) Each webshow is about 10 minutes long, and DEFINITELY worth checking out each week.

Check it out by clicking HERE.

Make sure you check out all the links at the top, including the "Get Maxwellized" link to see the latest Carol Maxwell makeover. (Carol is a style guru who has worked in the music industry with all sorts of stars- she's great!) Also check out the "Tips of the Week." They are awesome beauty and do-it-yourself tips that every woman can relate to!

I liked Erin's post, so I am copying her with a few things I'm liking these days...some just recently, and some for a while!

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO

I've been listening to NPR for a while, and it can sometimes be a little bit on the liberal side, but I enjoy the news many mornings while driving to work, and I love, love, love the classical music!

MY UGGS

I absolutely adore my Uggs. I got the white ones for Christmas this year and I picked up the brown ones a few weeks ago. They are one of my favorite things about winter and one reason I am actually dreading the end of winter. (although the warm weather will be nice) They are just so comfy and warm!

LOOSE LEAF TEA

Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows I love my tea, so I couldn't very well leave it out, now could I?

THE BIBLE (AND MY JOURNAL)

God has spoken so clearly and powerfully to me through His Word countless times, and especially these past couple of weeks, it has been amazing to experience what He has been revealing to me through His Word!

OUR GAS FIREPLACE

This is another reason why I will be sad for winter to be over. My favorite time of the day is in the morning when I wake up, get my coffee or tea and go turn on the fire to do my reading. I LOVE it!

READING

Though I haven't been a huge fan of most of the books my professor's assigned, I do love all the reading I am getting to do for my Adolescent Lit class. I love reading and it's been a long time since I've done much "extra" reading, and even though it's classwork, it's been fun to stir up that passion again. :-)

THE OLYMPICS

They end on Sunday night, and Jordan and I have, for the past 6 years, loved watching the summer and winter olympics together when possible. It just amazes me what people are able to do, and I love watching sports of any kind. It is amazing how many different sports/athletic events there are out there, and how hard people have worked. It's an amazing thing.

Ok- so now your turn? What about you?

A little change...

Since I had a little extra time today, I took a bit and played around with my blog layout. Not quite as polished as some, but I did it myself. (Go HTML editing) :-) I added a few elements, so check out some of our "new" stuff over to the right.

Be blessed!

Weekend Update

First weekend without football...boo! That's always a little bit sad to me, but it turned out to be a good one anyway. Here's how the basic rundown went:

Friday: after I got off work, I was seriously in the mood for hot chocolate. I decided to make some when I got home, but, a funny thing happened. I got home and as I pulled out the unsweetened cocoa box, I saw a recipe on the back for delicious chocolate cake. So, what did I do? I made an entire chocolate cake, just so I could eat one, little piece. I wish I could blame it on being pregnant, but, oh well. I told Jordan those were the pitfalls of loving to bake. Most people wouldn't go through the "trouble" of baking, I love it and think it's pretty easy, so I make an entire cake!! WHAT?! (It was good though) We stayed home Friday night and watched a little of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and did some reading.

Saturday: we woke up bright and early...like 4:50am bright and early...and headed to meet up with the rest of the Ultimate Frisbee team and drove to Chattanooga, TN for an all day frisbee tournament. I, of course, was not playing, but very much enjoyed cheering on our team who finished out the day 3-1! They did great and I was very proud of them! We got home a little after 9 o'clock that evening.

Yesterday (Sunday) we had an incredible service in the morning and a wonderful training for our Word groups afterwards. Once Jordan and I got home, we threw around some ideas, watched a little Olympics, read a little bit, rested and generally did nothing :-) until we finally decided to rent a movie and make dinner at home. I made chicken marsala, green beans and asiago potatoes and might I say, it was yummy!

We have taken it very easy today. Surprise...schools are closed again for snow! I LOVE the snow, but I am getting a little sick of not working. That's what happens when you love your job! I am so thankful for that. But, I certainly can't complain, since we slept in this morning, made whole-wheat pancakes, and I'm getting ready to do some reading and then work on a paper for my class.

All in all, a wonderful, fun filled and relaxing weekend.

If you're interested, check facebook videos under our name and check out the video that one of the boys put together of the tournament. Pretty funny stuff. :-)

Be blessed!

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

In some ways, this is a difficult post to write, but in many ways, it isn't. As many of you who read this already know, we found out last Friday night that our in vitro cycle was unsuccessful, and much to our disappointment, we are not expecting a baby.

And then as many of you probably do NOT know, also, Friday was my last day teaching at Page Middle. Kind of a long story, but to make it short, I had been asked by the principal to stay through the end of the year, and she had told me that the powers that be were fine with me, a not-yet-fully-licensed teacher, being there. Well, that was not so. A few weeks ago, they put their foot down and forced her to hire another teacher. So as of tomorrow, I will go back to substituting.

So, a lot of change and disappointment in the past couple of days. I could stop there. But you see, I can't...because I serve a God who is so much bigger than our circumstances and sadness. He is so much greater than the sorrow of today, and He brings us the great joys of tomorrow, time and time again.

As Jordan and I sat together on Friday night, not saying much, not really crying, and really just listening to Lord, God met us, as He has before in these past couple of years as we've faced the some of the most difficult things we could imagine. He has filled us with great expectancy for what's ahead, great hope for the future, and great excitement for tomorrow AND today, knowing that with God all things are possible and He will continue to lead us on this great adventure.

I am always reminded of a journal entry I made about 2 and a half years ago during some time with the Lord. I was thinking of all of my "heros" in life: both those I know and those I admire, and I was realizing that the reasons I admired them were not for their successes or amazing talents, rather it was their great faith and determination in the midst of some of the most horrible circumstances: death, poverty, famine, destruction, pain, betrayal, persecution, etc. And I wrote right then and there: "God, if I need to go through the fire in order for my life to be an overwhelming example of Your faithfulness and promise, I am willing to do it. I want to have an amazing testimony for You, so I am willing to go through the tests."

Have I regretted writing that?

Not for a moment!

Sure, the pain is real, sometimes so thick you can grab it and squeeze it. But, in the midst of the deepest pain, I've experienced God in ways I just really can't describe: He is so real, His voice so clear, and His words so life-giving.

I encourage you: no matter what you are facing or what life looks like or you think it will look like for you, do not fear stepping into the unknown because of the potential pain it could cause. God brings about situations we cannot imagine if we truly will trust Him.

He asked us Friday, "Do you believe me." Because we know He is faithful, we were immediately able to answer with confidence, "Yes Lord, we believe." We know not what it looks like at this time, and we are still diligently seeking Him for some clear direction for the next steps, but we are confident in the end result and what the finish line looks like.

So go for it, with all that you have!

(If you would like, click HERE to read my journal entry from Saturday, Feb. 6, the morning after we found out)

If you live in Tennessee, then you are experiencing exactly the same thing as me. If you don't, then you may not have had the pleasure of the wonderful 4-6 inches of snow, plus the thick layer of "wintry mix," (code for ICE) that we received yesterday and this morning. It's pretty amazing...or not amazing, depending on how you look at it. Most people I know think it's pretty amazing! Of course school got cancelled yesterday, and rightly so, so yesterday was a nice and restful day off for those of us educators. Actually, most people I know ended up getting home early from work, no matter where they work. I got a couple of errands run in the morning before the snow started, and the rest of the day was spent totally relaxing! I wasn't feeling well yesterday- came down with a silly head-cold, so I blew my nose a lot, made taco soup and guacamole, and we watched "Hoosiers."

Today, I feel much more "clear," and am thoroughly enjoying day #2 of being "snowed in." I am taking advantage of not being able to leave my house by doing all of the housework things that typically have to be CRAMMED in: things like cooking, clothes washing, cleaning, organizing, etc. I decided to go ahead and plan this week's meals and cook as much ahead of time as possible. So, here's what I planned for our week:

Sat. night: BBQ chicken pizza

Sun. lunch: Thai chicken and veggies w/peanut sauce/edamame

Mon: Ham & potato soup/Arugula salad

Tues: Baked cajun tilapia/rice and veggies/homemade bread

Wed: Baked chicken/ haricot verts/spicy black eyed peas

Thurs: Low-fat ckn alfredo/haricot verts/homemade bread

So, here's what I have made for the week

- 4 rounds of whole wheat pizza dough, 2 that have become pizzas: 1 to eat tonight and 1 to freeze (yes, you can make your own healthy frozen pizzas! The other 2 doughs will be frozen for later pizzas- we LOVE homemade pizza) :-)

- Tomorrow's lunch: peanut sauce, brown rice, chicken and veggies (will combine all tomorrow)

- Ham & potato soup

- Rice & veggies

- Haricot verts (cooked and flash frozen, ready to be reheated)

- Spicy black eyed peas w/red bell pepper and jalepeno-mmmm!

- Alfredo sauce and chicken (frozen and ready to be heated)

- Homemade loaf of 4 seed whole wheat bread (this is actually still baking-it's smelling great!)

It's basically my own version of what you do at the places like "Super Suppers." The idea is to prep everything so that during the week you can simply thaw, or heat up things you have already made. I LOVE it because I love to cook, and I make pretty much everything we eat from scratch, so having the time during the week is challenging, and this is much better option.

Next on the agenda: grading Direct objects and predicate nominatives quizzes!! Yay!

Have an awesome day, whatever you are doing!!!

So, it's been a pretty busy week around here, and at the same time, not busy at all. Why, you may ask? Well, I shall tell you. Jordan and I are smack dab in the middle of our in vitro cycle. I began my hormone stimulating injections a couple of weeks ago, and this week was full of ultrasounds, checkups and blood work. I went in on Thursday (yesterday) for my egg retrieval. I don't really want to post a whole lot on here, but just know that everything is going very well and God is so good. We aren't going to know for a few weeks the full outcome of everything, and I have one more big procedure to go next week, so please be in prayer for us for the health of my body and our little embryos.

God is so good and SO faithful!!

I just love Trader Joe's. I was so excited when we got one in Nashville a few years ago, and although it's not near as close as I would like it to be, I'm glad there's one around now. If you've never been to a TJ's, it's a combination of a World Market, Fresh Market, Regular grocery and Whole Foods. It's not as big as a Publix or Kroger, and it's not fully organic, but the Trader Joe's store brand is awesome, they have TONS of great options and most things are either totally natural or organic. We were down in Nashville today for a frisbee tournament, so I made a stop there and at Teavana. Here are some things I got today:

-Ground beef

-Ahi tuna steaks

-Salmon

-Mahi Mahi

-Brown Jasmine Rice

-Whole wheat Couscous

-Natural Peanut Butter (I always stock up when I'm there)

-Blueberries

-Hummus

-Flaxseed Tortilla Chips

-Frozen Green Beans

-Bean and Barley soup mix

-Tons of Edamame (another thing I stock)

-Sunflower seeds

-Turbinado: couple of kinds

-String Cheese

-Apples

-Green tea

-Bananas

-Arugula, salad ready

-Thai Red Curry sauce

...and I'm sure a few other things that I am forgetting.

Best of all, it's an AWESOME price! So, if you have one in your area...get over there- totally worth it!

Two posts in one day?! Are you kidding?

I wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know about something that I just found out about and am really excited for! One of my friends, Jessica, and my OB/GYN, Dr. Rupe, are in the process of publishing a pregnancy guide, written from a Christian perspective. Jessica has PCOS and had a very difficult time and long journey conceiving her first child, Hope, and is now beginning the journey to conceive her second. Dr. Rupe is the incredible OB that God totally directed me to several years ago, right before Jordan and I found out about some of our own infertility issues. She has been such a blessing, and I simply cannot WAIT for her to deliver our little miracles!

But anyway, they have started a blog and Jessica is journaling her journey toward pregnancy as well as this book. I am SUPER excited about this and definitely encourage you to check it out:

http://thepregnancycompanion.blogspot.com/

One of the funny things about being a teacher has been to learn how teachers think and act about certain things that you never realize as students. (Or maybe you do) Some of those are snow days. Around Page Middle School, everyone's been freaking out because the forecast has been calling for 1-3 inches today or tonight, and in Williamson County, that means no school for a minimum of 1 day! I grew up here, so I know how quickly they call it off. Even though we just started back Monday from Christmas Break, the students were SO excited. But that's just the students...I personally think I saw more begging and pleading from the teachers than I did the students. It was funny.

Yesterday at school, me and the math teacher on our team decided we were just going to act like we were definitely having school, so all day we were telling the students we couldn't wait to see them tomorrow, and "don't be made if you're here tomorrow;" basically stuff like that :-) One of the teachers who was holding out for snow big time, and not shy to say it, ran around outside the building during the last class of the day putting snow flakes on our windows that read "believe." Pretty funny stuff!

So last night around 6:30pm I got a call on my phone that school had been cancelled for today. Pretty funny stuff, considering not one flake had fallen, or has fallen to this point. Yesterday the radars had been showing that we would get snowfall in the middle of the school day, and I'm sure the superintendent felt he would rather take his chances in cancelling then deal with the circus of an early dismissal at all the schools. It's pretty hilarious now though because it looks like we're not going to get much of anything. :-) I personally will enjoy the day off, but am a little more concerned about getting the work done that we need to. So all in all, I am sure the kids will enjoy their day off, but I think they'd like it more if they had snow to play with. Oh well! I certainly enjoyed the sleeping in. I mean, I am sitting here typing this in my pajamas when I would have been teaching paraphrasing and summarizing right now. :-) Have a great day!

Something struck me this morning as I was reading the paper. There was an opinion column directed towards retailers, with the sole intent of letting them know the "Top 5 Pet Peeves" shoppers have with retailers during the holiday shopping season. The article bugged me, because I have a very different view on shopping and retail.

Just follow me on this...

If you are going into a store, whether it's a grocery to get weekly food items, The Gap to purchase a present for someone, Target to get toiletries, Carrabba's to get dinner, or Walgreen's to pick up a prescription, you are purchasing SOMETHING FOR YOU! Yes, that's right...it's food YOU need or want to eat, a gift that YOU want to give someone, or medicine that YOU want to make you feel better. I know that sometimes stores are crowded, I know that sometimes sales people aren't in the best of moods, I know sometimes the price is different than was advertised and that stock sometimes runs out, but come on- WE are the ones walking out of the store with something that we wanted in the first place!

I just really hate the entitlement of American shoppers: the attitude that it is the retailer's or store's job to make it the most pleasant shopping experience possible because we are spending our precious hard-earned money. The truth is, we are getting things to satisfy our desires, wants and needs. No one is forcing you to spend your money. I'm not saying that's a bad thing- we all have needs and wants for things. I am simply saying that we really need to check our hearts as we go about the remainder of this holiday season. Sure the grocery store may be packed, but does it REALLY take that long or mess up your day that much to wait 10 minutes in line. Sure the item you wanted may be no longer on sale or not in stock, and you might have to change your plans for dinner or a gift you were going to give, but again, is it really that big of a deal? Sure the salesperson might be chomping on their gum right in front of you, or they may be flat out rude to you, but again, does it REALLY mess up your day THAT much to have 1 little rude thing said to you...really?!

I just challenge you, as you shopper to have a completely renewed mindset as you shop this year, and go about your daily routines. Please do not go into a store with the attitude that you deserve to be served, and they should act a certain way for you. Please go in with the attitude that YOU want to serve them. Really that's what we're doing anyway. If we don't purchase their products, they don't stay in business. But again, we are the ones walking out with something in our hands. So if you struggle with this, allow the Lord to help you this Christmas season. Don't lose sight in the little things and keep looking for how YOU can be a blessing- everywhere you go!

I am going to make an effort to blog a little bit more, and I figured that taking a quick break in the middle of writing my second paper of the weekend is as good a time as any. This weekend has been my "Final Paper Writing Weekend." I began Friday night, doing some research and pre-writing. Saturday I worked on it all day, taking a break to get my hair cut and see our New Song Kid's Christmas Production. (Which was wonderful!) Finished Paper #1 last night. It was another paper on "A Good Man is Hard to Find;" A precis to be exact. I chose to make my topic the correlation of the Misfit to the Apostle Paul. I personally think it's a really good idea; we'll see what my professor thinks!

Today we had church, and then went to a friend's house to watch the Colts beat up on the poor Titans for the second time this season. Yes, my dear Titans' fans and friends, you knew, deep down that it was coming, despite your best wishes and hopes that it wouldn't be this way: it was! I figured I wouldn't get any work done with the game on anyway, so why not watch it fully. (Hey, at least I clipped coupons and made my grocery list while watching)

After the game, I came home, put some potatoes on the stove for potato soup (have to have dinner tonight!) and got to work. This second paper is on John Keats' poem, "The Eve of St Agnes." It's an interesting poem, and I am certainly not thrilled about writing on it, but out of the options I had, it really was the best choice. Right now I am researching Medievalism and getting ready to say a bunch of things about how Keats handles issues of human motive, why colors are important, and explore the sensory imagery. Blah! I love literature, and I love grammar and I love writing, really I do. But I don't love writing papers on things that I think are without purpose and frankly, a bit silly.

So there you have it: my view on this paper I am writing. :-) Okay, enough rant for now, must get back to that sensory imagery!!! Yay...........

Oh, and in other news, my little man, Ethan Kellums, started CRAWLING TODAY!!! YAY for Ethan! So cute!

Hello, world! Are you still with me? I'm here, I'm here, I promise! :-) "I'm not dead yet." (cue British accent in Monty Python movie) Sorry, I'm kind of out of it here. It's 7:00 on Friday night and I am deep in the throes of a precis on "A Good Man is Hard to Find," my third paper of the semester on this particular short story. But I love it, which is why I chose it for my 3rd and 4th papers in this class. On the agenda for tomorrow is a paper on John Keats' "The Eve of St. Agnes." Ahhh.....I love literature! But my purpose in composing this post is not to bore you with details of my end of semester finals and papers, but to announce that I am now a FULL TIME ENGLISH TEACHER!

After some time of deliberating before the Lord and praying and dialoguing with my husband, we made the determination to accept the job offered me by Page Middle School as a 7th grade English teacher for the 2nd semester, which goes from January through May. Most of you know, if not directly, at least from reading this blog, that I have been working Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at the school already, but a couple of weeks ago, we found out that the permanent teacher would be unable to return for the duration of the year, and I was subsequently offered the job. I apologize if you are finding out about this directly from my blog, but I know most of you knew that this was an option and that I was considering it. Anyway, it is just a ridiculously crazy thing that the Lord has opened up and orchestrated and I'm super excited and scared to death all at the same time!

Anyway, I'm sure I will have more to post in the future, but I wanted to let everyone know what was going on. AND....in more AMAZING news, I will probably get to start my IVF meds again within the next week. YAYAYAYA! I am super pumped for that!

Oh my gosh- I love teaching!!! I love it! These students already have such a special place in my heart, and I have such a burden for them...to see them learn, to see them connected- I spent my whole planning and focus (study hall) blocks today having "mini conferences" with kids who are behind...going over things with them, helping them, catching them up, etc, and I am really looking forward to the improvement I know I am going to see in them by the end of December. I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks and I only have 5 and 1/2 left! Seems so short. Time flies during the day. I was there for over 10 hours today and it felt like 2! Unreal how quickly it goes by. But, there comes a point where you have to realize, "I will not get it finished today" and be able to move on....

.....on to William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Jonathan Swift that is. I am currently taking a "brain break" from studying for my British Lit midterm tomorrow. I am SO excited to get past tomorrow in the world of MY studies. Recently, I've had 3 midterms, not counting the one tomorrow, a paper on Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (which is kick butt awesome, by the way! The story, not the paper) a paper on the political & social satire contained in Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" and still to be turned in, a paper on American dialects, particularly Creole and Cajun, which I chose to do. And all within 2 weeks. It has been CRAZY lately, and I have been forced to do things last minute that I NEVER do. I am totally one of those work- ahead, prepare for the future type students. I do NOT procrastinate, but lately, especially adding the teaching, I have found that there simply IS NOT TIME. And I don't mean that I am putting it off....I mean- IT'S NOT THERE!!!! So, I have to pray, ask the Holy Spirit to guide me, and prioritize according to how He's leading me. We shall see how it turns out for grades, but I certainly feel like I'm learning things: abundantly!

So, there's your update. Okay, back to Wordsworth and his ever changing self. (He went through four major stages in his life and writings, if you didn't know....)

Just when I begin to think I have it all figured out, things change on me. Yet I realize that even that type of thinking is wrong. Is it really changing, or could it be that it's how it was supposed to be all along? I tend to think of things according to how it all works in MY plan, rather than how it plays out according to God's! From that perspective, things are perfect. Always. From mine, they're all messed up. Every season of my life, I seem to learn more and more what it looks like to not only trust God's perfect timing, but to see it as the only way, and to keep from setting in motion my own idea for the timing of things.

Is it any coincidence that these lessons come primarily through my waiting for children? I think not. It seems to me that if, when we have kids, I begin to craft "plans" in my mind for our children, those will be crushed and altered time and time again. I believe God is strengthening us as parents now, though we do not yet have physical children in our home.

Therefore, this can't even be called a "waiting" time. I want to challenge that mindset. Because in my life, I am truly NOT WAITING! That gives the impression that when that time comes, it will be more important that the one I'm in. Yes, we will physically have the joy, honor, responsibility, and weight of a life in our hands, but if I am now simply waiting, I'm not active- and our lives in Christ are all about activity! My life is anything but waiting. Actually, I have 120 7th graders and a slew of faculty that God is calling me to pour my life into and build relationship with. I have a neighborhood with whom I need to be shining light and make myself available to, and I have a church family to lead and link up with to see the city reached for the King.

If you sense some aggression in my tone, that's exactly what I have. I think part of the enemy's tactic can be to get us focused on a "waiting" time, and we begin to fall back on our heels instead of being forward on the balls of our feet. We get comfortable and inward focused, instead of being poised for a sprint, and I want to be ready to jump at whatever the Lord lays before me. And I am determined that will be, and is my stance!

Geez Louise, what a week it's been...here's the quick rundown:

-School: going great, but CRAZY right now. This week I had three midterm tests and a big paper due. Then for the next couple of weeks, I have two more papers and two projects/presentations...so it's been full. But it's amazing how much I am learning. Going back to school has been an incredible experience. I am soaking it in, it's just SO applicable and I know the information is much needed for my abilities as a teacher.

-Job: this has been amazing! I had been subbing at various schools since August. Well, as of Monday, I am teaching 7th grade Language Arts three days a week. They asked me to do all 5 days, but agreed to work with me since I am in school. The situation was one in which their permanent teacher has been out this entire semester, and the interim wasn't going to be able to stay. It's been amazing to see God place me right smack dab in the middle of the situation. It's a lot of weight and responsibility, but my organizational radars are going off like crazy as I get that classroom back in order: both the room itself and the students, plan with the other teachers and LEARN A TON!!!! God's grace is all over it, the students have been incredibly receptive to me and it's just awesome!

-In Vitro: As everyone knows, we have had a slight delay, because I had surgery about three weeks ago (it seems like much longer than that) to take care of some polyps. That kind of delayed things...in order for my body to heal. We are still set to go, and anxiously awaiting, but at this point, it's basically up to when my body gets ready! (I'm sparing you the major details!) The downside is that we could run into the issue of the office being closed for Christmas. The whole thing is very exact and very timed, so there is a chance I am going to have to wait until January now. The circumstances are completely out of our control, but I know entirely under God's, so I am fully at peace with this and awaiting whatever He reveals as the perfect timing.

-Church/Friends: Jordan and I are just LOVING living in Spring Hill. I mean, we've been here almost three full years now, and working in the city even longer than that. There are connections and relationships popping up ALL OVER THE PLACE! We are having a chili cook off on Sunday evening for the neighborhood, and we've had a great response so far. It is just so on our hearts to connect people, not just with us, but with each other, and watch God work as people learn to live in community.

Okay, I'm signing off...need to study for my advanced grammar midterm before I head off to class this morning. Blessings!