6 months!

I haven't updated my blog in a while-- so here goes! On Thursday night David and I got the chance to go see Casting Crowns, Nichole Nordeman, and Josh Bates in concert at the Bi-Lo center. It was a birthday present that I gave him back in February, and it was worth the wait! It was an awesome experience! Josh and Nichole did a great job of talking and performing. I had not heard a lot of Josh Bates before then, and I was very impressed with him all around! Casting Crowns was, of course, amazing. It was great to see some of the songs that I've heard on the radio performed live. It was more amazing to see how God worked in the lives of people that night. I am not sure how many people came to know Christ at the concert, but it would not have been in vain if only one did! Needless to say, I had a great time!
It just so happened that Friday was six months since me and David started dating, so we got to celebrate a few hours early. Neither of us had eaten dinner, so we were hungry. Here is the funny part. When you go to a concert that get's out at around 10:30, not a whole lot of restaurants are still open. Because I had to be up at 5 in the morning, I didn't have a lot of time. So, we decided to go for fast food or something like that. We ended up going to Jack in the Box. They weren't open to eat inside, just the drive through. It will go down in history that we celebrated six months in a car in the parking lot of Jack in the Box eating dinner :) But hey, it's a fun story to tell! I wouldn't trade it! So-- happy six months babe! It has been more than I could ever ask for or imagine. Hey, that sounds like a verse in the Bible, huh? God has blessed me with that! Love :)

The Warrior

I'm just gonna do the typical rambling about what's going on in my so called "life" right now. Today was a good day. The kids in my k-5 class were pretty calm. This was surprising, seeing as though they had a long weekend this past weekend. I'm really needing a break right now. I say this because I haven't had a day off since January (well, technically I had one, but I was in bed all day sick-- I don't count that). Spring break can not come soon enough. I have a big obstacle in my way, however, before that comes. My two weeks of full time student teaching. I am sure that this time will come and pass without too much of a problem. There will be challenges, as there are with anything worth acheiving. I am more than grateful for the incredible people who are already supporting me through this time. I'm not sure what I would do without my boyfriend, my roomates, friends, and family. All I have to do is talk to any one of these people and I instantly realize that things are not nearly as bad for me as I sometimes like to make it out to be. I am learning, however, to depend on God more and more through tough times. Over the past couple of weeks I have felt a whole range of emotions. I've been very happy, tired, frustrated, upset, and burned out. It is only when I take time to praise God that the thing I really need comes, peace. It is amazing to me how God can bring that peace into my life when nothing else can. When I truly focus on Him and look to Him for help and encouragement, He speaks to my heart over and over again saying "You have given this time in your life to me, don't be afraid!" I would be lost without Him in my life. In my life that is so full of chaos, noise, and stress...time with God is absolutely crucial. I learned a valuable lesson last week at FCA-- approach the throne of God boldly. Jesus died on the Cross so that we have that privelage. We do not have to timid in prayer, appologizing for praying for anything. Pray like a warrior or a lion, God will honor that. Your heart will be convicted if you are praying for the wrong thing, God will let you know. So, my prayer for you is that you will boldly approach the Throne of Grace and let God know what you need. He i s ready and waiting to give you what you need--JUST ASK!

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry, to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand.
Till He returns, or call me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
-Newsboys

This One is for David

This blog is for David because, like some other people, he teases me about not updating my blog. All I have to say is that I warned you I wouldn't be good at updating (See first post) :P

Well, I have been CRAZY busy and having fun too the last, oh, 2 months. Student teaching for me is in full swing. I have 23 pretty amazing, energetic 5 year olds to teach and take care of 5 days a week. As I expected, I've been sick just about as much as I've been healthy this semester. Probably shoulda taken the advice of some professors and gotten that airborn medicine that is supposed to protect you from all that stuff that goes around in the classroom. Oh well.

I did a post a while back that listed some things that I've learned in life so far. I'm gonna add some things here that I've learned in the last 2 months:
1. It is better to look at life in an anxious way than a frustrated way.
2. I spend way too much time being scared about things in general
3. I can't wait to have my own classroom to teach in.
4. Clemson rocks my world, and I am going to miss it very much after I graduate
5. I can't WAIT to graduate... May 12th is coming!! (Haha, funny coming after #4, huh)
6. A day without talking to God is a waste of my time and very unhappy
7. My roomates are CRRRAZY
8. Confrontation scares me, but I can do it
9. Love is something to be cherished, always
10.God doesn't expect perfection from me, he gives perfection to me through Jesus (if you know how much of a perfectionist I am, you'll know that this one is hard for me sometimes)
11. I miss ice cream in the winter, it doesn't taste as good as it does in the summer
12. I NEED SPRING BREAK!!!
13. Mac's drive in doesn't take debit cards (hehe)

So there ya go. That's what I've learned.

On to today-- I had to tape myself teaching today. It's not something I ever look foreward too, but I think it turned out alright. I have come to realize I will never like looking at myself on tape, but oh well. So, with that done, full time student teaching and a portfolio presentation are all that stand between me and graduation. Be praying for me from March 20th-31st while I'm taking over full time teaching. I will definitely need patience and lots of energy :)
That's about it for me tonight-- Peace out!

It's a God Thing!

God has taught me so many things this past year, and still is teaching me even now. One HUGE thing is patience. I think I am possibly the most impatient person on earth. That has been tested to the max this past year, and I have been convicted to work on it a lot. One verse that I have looked at concerning patience is Colossians 3:12. It says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." The bible is saying that patience is one thing that a follower and child of God should clothe themselves with. This means that it should be an essential part of my character as a Christian. I have not nearly become the patient person I should be yet, but it is certainly a work in progress. Another thing that I have really learned in the past few months is that there are no coincidences. This might not seem like a huge thing. But for me, realizing that there are no coincidences means truly beginning to understand that God has planned my life in order for me to meet people and be in situations that allow me to grow in knowledge and faith in Him. For every obstacle I go through, I can find hope in the fact that God has a reason for allowing me to go through it. For every person I meet it is a great adventure figuring out why God has put them in my path. I don't pretend to always know why God plans certain things or has me come in contact with certain people. Even so, it is comforting to know that he is in control of it all. In short, I have learned that there are no coincidences, everything is a God thing! The verse that comes to mind for this is one that many people know, Jeremiah 29:11. It says, ""For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" How cool is that :) Peace out-

Things I've learned so far!

Things I've learned so far: These are things that l've realized in life... you may not understand them all, but maybe you can relate to some of them!

1. 2 am runs to Wal-mart are the most fun!
2. Friends can make anything bearable
3. Hugs and kisses make me smile more than anything else can
4. My parents are my friends
5. Kids are way more perceptive than anyone wants to give them credit for
6. I never want to be too old to act silly!
7. God has unending love, mercy, and grace... otherwise I would not be here
8. Cookies taste better as batter

9. Saturday's in the fall at Clemson can not be beat!

10. Boys are silly and often times confusing (though they all claim that girls are!)

11. Late night talks between girls are cleansing

12. Prayers are answered, but whether it is "yes" or "no" is up to God

13. The best 4 years of your life are in college, not high school

14. People all want basically the same thing, love and acceptance

15. Cherries are my favorite

16. I am not good at taking compliments, but I'm working on it

17. Jesus loves me so much more than I deserve

18. Quiet time is not a duty, it is a privelage

19. Ice cream is the magic medicine for all my illnesses :)

20. Singing is powerful

21. If you ask God for a sign, be ready to recieve one!

22. Waffle House is the only place to be at 3 in the morning!

23. People are more important than things

24. God has a plan for everything that happens

25. I am loved

26. Shopping is going to cause me financial ruin at my currect rate :)

27. I am blessed beyond belief by the people and things in my life

28. I miss being a kid

29. Stars really do shine brighter in the country

30. I like being barefoot whenever possible

31. Running can actually be fun

32. I am much better at writing my feelings than saying them

33. I need to learn how to show emotion in front of others

This is gonna be pretty short cause I'm sleepy. All that can really be said tonight is COME ON CLEMSON! I had the misfortune of believing that I could go to Clemson and watch the men's basketball team beat Elon fairly easily tonight. If I was a gambling person, I would have lost LOTS of money. I wont pretend to know what went on with the team tonight, I have no idea. All I can say is that for this team to get beaten by Elon, who previously had a 2-9 record, really scares me. Hopefully it was just a bad night or something. Going into ACC play playing like they did tonight would be a death threat. One suggestion for practice would be to begin by working on inbouding the ball, something that our team apparently has trouble with.
But anyway, I'm just a little bitter. I will always ALWAYS love the tigers, no matter how badly they play. It just makes it a whole lot easier when they play well! Good luck next time, tigers! --Peace out!

Our life is full of brokenness - broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God's faithful presence in our lives.
Henri Nouwen

Chistmas and Other fun times!

I thought it would be a good idea to do an update on how Christmas and how the past couple of weeks have been for me. I have had lots and lots of fun! My Christmas technically started on December 17th. I went with David to a family gathering in Due West. I was very happy to get to meet some of his family that I hadn't met before. We had a great breakfast dinner, and then we opened gifts. I had a great time! On the 18th, after church, I went to David's house for another family gathering. We ate a pretty traditional Christmas lunch and then I got the pleasure of watching some home videos of David and his two siblings. They were PRECIOUS. After that his family opened gifts! The next part of my Christmas came on Devember 21st. Me and David went to see Chronicles of Narnia in the theater our church rented out for the night. The movie was awesome by the way, I encourage everyone to see it if you haven't. After that we came to my mom's house and opened gifts from each other. That was great, I loved my gifts from David (and I think he liked mine, too!). Then the next night me, David, my dad, my brother, and Christy all made the trip to the booming metropolis of Laurens, SC to have Christmas with my family. That was very entertaining also, as it always is. I got some really great presents there and I was glad to spend time with my family. Friday was the annual family "Chistmas Eve Eve" present opening at my dad's house. My two "big presents" were a georgous green coat from Gap, and a long black coat that I absolutely love. I have to wait to wear that one, however, cause it has to be hymned. Along with present opening, we had a huge breakfast feast that my dad made, yuuuumm! Moving on to Saturday (Christmas Eve)-- Christmas Eve is always spent with my extended family on my mom's side. We had the traditional Christmas feast of turkey, ham, mac and cheese, sweet potatos, green beans, and so on. After that we opened presents and just took time to talk a bit. After that, me, my mom, Larry, McCuen, and Christy headed back up to our house to open some gifts from our immediate family. That is always one of my favorite times of Christmas! I went to bed that night, as I do every year, excited about Christmas day! I got up early that morning to get ready for church so I wouldn't have to be rushed in opening presents. We had fun with that as always. I then headed on to church. I was very excited to see Ashley, my roomate from last year, at church. I didn't have much time to talk with her, but I was glad for the few minutes we did have. I got to sit with David and his family at church, which was great. The service was very nice. I liked being in church on Christmas morning, it just feels right. The church looked beautiful. We had different styles of music ranging from hymns to very traditional songs, to contemporary. We also had communion. After church I went with my dad and my stepmom to my grandparents house for a very informal lunch. We had fun exchanging stories and just talking. By this time on Christmas day I was exhausted, but I still had one more gathering to attend. I went on Christmas evening to my stepgrandmother's house for dinner and presents. I had lots of fun there, also. So, I officially had 7 days of Christmas. I am so blessed with so many people around me to be able to spend Christmas with. One thing that God has been impressing on my heart this Christmas, however, is to make sure I remember what Christmas is about. As the number of gatherings and parties I go to over Christmas grows, the number of gifts I recieve also grows. This is not a bad thing by any means, but I have been convicted this Christmas to remember that Christmas is not about the gifts I get, but about 1 amazing gift that I (and the rest of the world) have been given. That is, of course, the gift of Jesus. There is no reason to celebrate Christmas if I do not remember the most important part... the first 6 letters of that word--Christ. The fact that God sent His son in the world to come and save it from sin is amazing. The love that is shown in that act is even more amazing... beyong my comprehension! So that is why my Christmas has been wonderful!
After Christmas has also been fun. I have had time to rest, do a little shopping, and also watch Clemson beat Colorado in their bowl game! GO tigers! 19-9!

Stabs of Joy

This is a spin-off of what my preacher, Randy Harling, does every December to remember the past year. These are things that have just shown me how much God loves me and has the best in mind for my life!!

1. Roomates!!: First, I'll start with the second semester of my Junior year, since that was part of this year also. My roomate Ashley is an AMAZING roomate and one of my best friends. In the two years that we roomed together she taught me so much about what a Christian young lady should be. If you happen to read this Ashley, you will never know how much you taught me by example in your own life! I love you an miss you so much! My other roomate was Amanda! Wow- what an awesome blessing from God that we ended up rooming together. She is such a smart, talented girl who also shows me every day how to be a better follower of Christ! Seeing how she handles her relationship with her now fiance in a godly way has also been a great example to me! I am SO glad I get to room with you this year again! Nadine was a blessing to me in so many way also. Those who know me would probably question this and ask how I could say that. We definitely had our moments of frustrations, but God has a purpose for everything. I learned patience, kindness, and so much about the German culture from living with her! Now on to this semester. I still live with Amanda, as I mentioned before! Next is Lauren. It blows me away how God puts people in my life that are so amazing. Lauren is SO funny and yet another awesome example of a Christian lady. I just have one word to say, that has been adopted by all the girls of 186F UV... "PRECIOUS!" Another stab of joy is the perspective that I get from both Lauren and Meg. They are both a little older than I and give me great advice when I need it. Now on to the last, but certainly no least, roomate, Meg! She is absolutely one of the funniest, craziest girls I've met. Every day is an adventure hearing her stories. My biggest joy is learning from her how to stand up for what I believe in Christ and do it with great poise and resolve! Thank you to all of you girls, you absolutely blow me away!

2. Summer Job: Working at Simpsonville First Baptist this summer was one of the best times I have ever had. I got the great opportunity to be the Children's intern. I was coerced into applying for the job very last minute, and didn't think I would get it, but I can see that God completely wanted me to be in that position this summer. My stabs of joy in this area were: being streched out of my comfort zone when having to speak or pray in front of the church, praying every morning with the staff, Staff meeting where I got the chance to see where all the ingenious ideas come from :), working with GREAT people... I love you all!, Adventure camp-- I have never been so tired but so happy and excited in all my life, and Creative Arts camp-- SOOO much fun... and to see the finish product after only 1 week was amazing!!

3. Wren: I had no idea going into the first semester how my practicum experience in a 2nd grade class at Wren Elementary would go. Of course, I was a little scared. Looking back on the experience, I would never ever ever trade it for the world. The students that I got to work with were a challenge, but I love all of them. Admitedly, I cried a little the day I had to leave because I had such a great time with the kids and Mrs. Jones, the teacher.

4. David: I met David for the first time in choir practice this summer. I had no idea that in about 4 months we would be dating. But then again, that's how God works, he doesn't always reveal his plans ahead of time. I wasn't looking for a boyfriend at the time, but that's what makes it special. Because I know you'll read this-- I can't really put into words what you mean to me... but I can say that you are a HUGE stab of joy for me every day!!! Much love :)

5. Random things: These things everyone may not understand, but those of you who do will enjoy this:

Solving the "tomato" mystery
Dancing to Madonna (or Beyonce, Usher, whoever :))
Crusade!!
Late night chats over IM when you're right next door!
Police calls for noisiness
Cheesecake, wahoo~
Gingerbread men on Apple pie


There's probably more that I can't think of at the moment, but I'll add em if I do! --Peace out

1 Down, 2 To Go!

Today I took my first of 2 finals. I'm glad to have it over with, but OH MY GOSH it was LOOONG. I haven't had an exam that took up the whole three hours of exam time until today. I got there at 2 and a few minutes after 5 I was walking out. I've never had to write so fast to actually finish, either. A note to Dr. Stegelin if you by some crazy chance read this -- please shorten your final!
But enough of that-- I had a good workout after the exam with Lauren... I guess I had some frustration to work out :) I enjoyed running with someone, it helps me not think about how much I don't like running! I hope next semester I can do a better job of working out on a regular basis, it makes me feel so good to do it.
On another note, I forgot completely about the ornament swap party that I was supposed to go to tonight given my some of the EDEC girls.... sorry girls, didn't mean to blow you off! But I did have fun relaxing and watching Million Dollar Baby. It's a very sad movie, but still one of my fav's.
I also had other exciting news-- I don't have to present my HUGE unit on Thursday. That's a relief since I would have probably stressed out over it, I don't like talking in front of my peers. The result of all of this, however, is that I have nothing to do until Friday morning. This means i'll probably be bored until then. If anyone has suggestions for something to do, let me know :) Otherwise, I'll just be chillin', which isn't all bad by any means!
I have a lot of nothing to do, so I'm gonna go :) --Peace out--

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
--The Problem of Pain C.S. Lewis

Good Times

I spent the weekend making up for all the hard work I did last week. What does that mean-- I had fun and used my brain as little as possible. On Thursday night I went to David's and watched one of my absolute favorite movies-- The Polar Express. I wont say much about it because if you have seen it you know what it's about, and if you haven't you need to see it! Friday I got A LOT of Christmas shopping done. That was a big relief. I think I'm only a few presents from being finished now. Friday night I went to the Clemson vs. East Tennnessee State U. basketball game with David. That was lots of fun. There wasn't a sell out crowd by any means, but for that game it was pretty good. Clemson won the game 80-72, which made the trip even better! WAY TO GO TIGERS-- Record: 8-0.
On Saturday night I went to see my step-dad perform as part of the Greenville Chorale. It was a really good concert-- the Chicora Boys and Girls Choirs and the Wade Hampton High Chorus also sang with them. After the concert we made the usual trip to Stax Omega for a "late night" dinner. That's always lots of fun.
Today has also been a lot of fun. I came back to Clemson in time to go with Meg, Nathan, Amanda, Lauren, and Jessica to the Nutcracker performance. It was very good... some of the little girls who played angels were precious. After the ballet, Meg made an awesome dinner for all of us, thanks Meg!! So all in all it's been a busy weekend, but I had a blast!
Time to move on to finals. They wont be bad-- I'm just ready for them to be over! Hooray for only 5 more days to go!! -Peace Out-

I WON!

Well, apparently all of my professors got together a couple of weeks ago and decided to see how bad they could make the last week of school be. There was the MASSIVE unit, the writing portfolio, the assessment project, and numerous reflections about who knows what. It was an evil collaboration, but I won!!! I am officially done with everything-- every bit of it. Well- there are two exams that stand in my way-- but those are the least of my worries cause they're open book, open note, etc. So YAY- I made it through the practicum semester! For any of you out there that are dreading it: yeah, it's bad.... but when they say manage your time wisely, do actually try to do that.
On another note--I can't wait for this weekend! Friday- Clemson game! Saturday- Greenville Chorale, Sunday-Nutcracker! Yay for me being busy doing FUN stuff for a change! Have a great rest of the week! -Peace out


"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." -2 Timothy 3:16-17

Fun Weekend!

So far this weekend has been fun! I had the pleasure Friday night of meeting my roomat Meg's parents. They crack me up! We went to Bob Jones and saw the art gallery-- VERY impressive. We also went to the caroling and lighting up the campus event, it was fun and beatiful! Then we went to Atlanta Bread Co.-- as a side note, thanks to Meg's parents for the great dinner!! Tonight I got the pleasure of going to Renee Perry's (now Brown) wedding. It was amazing-- I haven't ever been to a Christmas wedding. The church was so pretty as was the reception. Christy- my future sister-in-law, was a bridemaid. She looked SO pretty! My favorite part hands down was the chocolate fountain... closely followed by the marraige of my good friend. Just kiddin! It was also a lot of fun catching up with Ashley, a girl from my bible study last year! I guess that's about it-- have a great night

Cupcakes!

Seeing as though I have a crazy lot of work due in the next week you would think I spent the day working away like a good college student, right. NO-- I made cupcakes, a big card, and wrapped a present. The cupcakes are for my 2nd graders at Wren tomorrow because it's my last day and they've been an AMAZING class (I hope non of them are reading this 1 because it's too late for them to be up, and 2 it would ruin the surprise!) The card was also for the class, and the present was for my teacher. She has also been so awesome this semester to work with, I couldn't have asked for anyone better! I'm not looking forward to leaving the class tomorrow since I wont be going back. I didn't have a clue that I get so attached to these kids this semester. But other than the cupcakes and such, I've been trying to do a little work. Kate came over for a while to scan some stuff. It's always fun swapping stories from our experiences at school! As for now, it's past my bedtime. Those of us who have to get up at 5:15 can't stay up late :)

"Love is patient, love is kind, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude." -1 Corinthians 13:4

Hi from Clemson!!

Hi! You are reading the blog of the officially worst person at keeping up with journals or diaries ever! I never could do it growing up, but I'm gonna give this a try. For anyone who doesn't live in the south, or for some crazy reason doesn't understand the name of my blog, I'll cut you a break and explain. I am a senior at Clemson University (not the University of Clemson as some people who will remain nameless *Lou Holtz* like to call it). I have been a Clemson fan for no joke as long as I can remember. I've been coming to this campus since I was born. I knew how to get around campus, I knew the alma mater, and I knew that I wanted to go to college here WAY before I had to apply. Clemson is the only place I applied to go, so I think I'm pretty lucky that I got in! Anyway, all that just to say that I don't claim to have red blood (much too close to USC colors!). My blook runs pure orange-- I live and breathe Clemson!!

So, what are you gonna see written on here, you ask? (or maybe you didn't, but I'm gonna tell you anway). From what I said before, it should be pretty obvious that I'm gonna talk about Clemson and my time here, which will come to an end in
May :( . Most likely you'll also hear about war stories from the rest of my days teaching as a practicum student this semester and then starting again next semester as a student teacher. I am going to be student teaching in Kindergarten at the BEST school ever- Wren Elementary! I love all the kids and teachers there.

Other than that, you'll mostly hear about the silly, stupid stuff I do on a pretty normal basis (for example-- saying "Good morning" at a NIGHT service at church).

I'll definitely be talking about important people in my life. My mom, dad, step-mom, step-dad, my brother McCuen, future sister-in-law Christy, my boyfriend David, my roomates Lauren, Meg, and Amanda, and my friends who are too numerous to name! All these people definitly provide interesting material for me to write about!

I also hope I can encourage someone reading by talking about my expereince walking with the Lord. I love kids, singing and being with friends, but nothing compares in importance to my relationship with Christ. When I write I'll try to include a Bible verse or quote from someone that catches my attention. Who knows- maybe it'll catch yours too! Have a blessed day! --Peace out--

GO TIGERS!! 94-88 win over Penn State in Basketball!! Record: 5-0

" I shouldn't have to tell you who I am
Cause who I am should be speaking for itself
Cause if I am who I want to be
Then who you see won't even be me
Oh the more and more I disappear
The more and more He becomes clear
Til everyone I talk to hears His voice
And everything I touch
feels the warmth of His hand
Til everyone I meet
Sees Jesus in me
This is all I wanna be
I wanna be mistaken for Jesus" --Warren Barfield "Mistaken"