It was my destiny....

From the eyes of an eight year old little girl it was the most awesome and powerful thing I had ever seen. The sparkling blue waves crashing over and over mesmerized me. I briskly walked forward. My feet would dig into the sand just slightly. It was cool so the sand didn't burn, yet it still held warmth. I can still feel the salty waves as they crashed over my feet for the first time. The water was cold but tolerable. My sister and I raced along the shore laughing and splashing as we went while the breeze pushed us along. I was able to taste the salty air. I was surrounded by a salty ocean, flying sea gulls, and the laughter and love of my family. I had fallen irrevocably love with the ocean.

Well it's been thirteen years and I'm more in love with this wonderful display of Gods power and creativity as I ever have been. I just finished vacation and have seen this majestic beauty for the eighth time. (At least I think its only 8...) During my visits to the ocean I have collected many shells, made countless sand castles, swam with wild dolphins, caught several live sand dollars, caught one large conk shell with a crab inside it, and got burned every time.

This doesn't exactly explain how I was destined to love the ocean... only how I fell in love with it. You see when my mother was very pregnant with me, she and my father took a trip to Charleston. There is a picture that she brings out often and shows me as proof that even in the womb I was destined to be a beach baby. It is a beautiful picture of my mother (a little over a month before she gave birth to me) standing in the ocean and smiling the biggest smile she can. Apparently the whole time they were there I had to make my presence known by kicking constantly.

My mother had always wondered after I was born how I would take to the ocean. She tells me I took to water like a fish. I was the first to do everything in my swim class and would beg to go to the pool (as well as get a pool). If there was water you could be sure I wanted to be in it. The time came and my parents brought my sister and I to the ocean. My mom would patiently describe the ocean as my sister and I grilled her with all of our questions. We drove by for the first time and I begged Dad to stop the car so I could go play.

This brings us back to the beginning. As my parents took my sister and I back to the hotel that night all I could talk about was the ocean. I wanted to spend the rest of my vacation there. My mom laughed and told me there were a lot of other things I needed to see, but I was sold: Hook, line, and sinker. I was in love with the ocean.

South Carolina

Well... time has passed yet again and I am home settled in for the summer. This next week my family and I are traveling to Charleston in South Carolina. I have been there once before, and have kept the memories of that time close to my heart. Sunny summer beaches, sweet magnolia blossom scenting the air, rich country cooking, and thick southern drawls are soon to surround me again. For a second time I will feel at home in that sweet southern air.

Here is just a taste of the sights I will see....

+ White sandy beaches laden with beautiful shells and tall majestic lighthouses.

+ The trees filled with Spanish Moss...

+ History filled plantations and landmarks...

+ The historic downtown of Charleston, South Carolina from a horse drawn carriage ride.

I encourage all of you to take a trip to tradition filled, slow paced, and beautiful South Carolina. :-)

I hope you Dance...

I was at home listening to some music when 'I Hope You Dance' came on the radio. It's a song I grew up listening to. After the song changed I went on with my life and forgot about it. Now that I'm thinking through things, and am heading toward the end of the semester the words come back to me. They really help me to remember to keep my perspective and to see things as they are. Keep my feet planted firmly on the ground, but my head in the clouds...

'I Hope You Dance'

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I really do enjoy writing...

Something I really enjoy doing is making stories up for things. So.... here is a great way to get your imagination juice flowing:

Step 1. Pick a random object or picture.

Example-

 

Step 2: Ask your self several questions about the picture/item

Example-

*What is this girl doing?

*How is this girl feeling?

*What emotion is this picture depicting?

*What brought this girl to this point in her life?

*Where will she go after this point in her life?

Step 3: WRITE!

This is absolutly one of my favorite past times. My files in Word are FULL of poems, short stories, and descriptions like this. The items are anything from a statue to a picture. I hope this blog has gotten your creative juices flowing. I challange you to go and write about something. Anything.



Prodical

This video really brought to life the story of the prodigal child. Enjoy and be challenged. <3

Missions Conference

Ok, so I haven't exactly been faithful in keeping up on blogging I know. I apologize, but I have been getting good grades. :-) Anyway....

Today was the first full day of missions conference. Every year it is the highlight of my year. I honestly feel like I get a spiritual breath of fresh air, and it makes me remember why I am going to school. This year has been no different.

March rolled in like a lion with school homework. I felt like I was drowning in all the different projects, tests, and papers. I frantically worked trying to finish up my assignments. Then missions conference came. As I walked in the doors yesterday I was met by familiar faces. So many people I love and remember from years gone by. Booths set up, rows and rows all ready to go to the mission field and tell people about the Savior. I get to sit under Missionaries preaching, and see what they do. I hear of how they are able to reach different people for Christ.

The theme of the conference is "Enlarge your Heart." I've been told that my heart is already too big. I don't think that your spiritual heart can ever be too big. Mine has plenty of room to grow. Anyways... Please pray for everyone at FBBC to grow during missions conference, as well as for me to soak up as much as possible during this time I'm allowed my "breath of fresh air."

Attitude is Everything!

From Sophmore year on I was in marching band. Believe me when I say I LIVED for it! I practiced in place I memorized my music, and I perfected my posture. We had to memorize a call and responce. It pumped us up and reminded us that we were ONE unit. The Call and responce went like this:

How are your feet? TOGETHER, Stomachs? IN, Chest? OUT, Shoulders? BACK, Eyes? WITH PRIDE, How are your eyes? WITH PRIDE!!, What is our Motto? ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING, I Didnt Hear You! WHAT'S OUR MOTTO?! ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.

At first I wasnt a big fan of the motto. Attitude is something I was taught NOT to have. I shouldnt have attitude with my those in Authority. I slowly began to realize that like most other things, there is a bad attitude and a good attitude. That was the emphasis of the message my band instructor was trying to get across to us. If you had a good attitude, it would be a good rehersal, if you had a bad attitude, you would make it a bad rehersal. Make the choice to have it be a good rehersal.

On days like today this helps me. Now I have the benifit of adding Christ into my picture. I can choose to have a bad day and let this sinful world take its toll on my outlook and attitude, OR I can choose to look at the cross rejoice in everything HE has already done for me and make it a joyus day in the Lord.

My attitude is everything.  :-)

The Unwanted

There are a great number of people who ask me why I would ever want to go into the Public School System. This is an issue near and dear to my heart. I get questions ranging from "Do you hate homeschooling?" to "Why do you want to teach where you can't use the Bible for class or discipline?" I am here to put all these questions to rest, and to explain why I want the unwanted. 

To start off I went to public school from Kindergarten through 12th grade. The incident that made the most impact on my desire to be a teacher was in the 3rd grade. There was a child transferred into my class because the other teacher couldn't handle him. My 3rd grade teacher accepted him with open arms and told him that no matter what he did, she would never, EVER give up on him, or hate him. What followed is something that I will never forget, he became a kind little boy. This is not to say that there was never any issues, but he knew that no matter what happened she would never give up. This showed me that teachers DO make a difference, teacher DO touch lives, and teachers CAN make an impact on the future generation. 

Now, do I hate homeschooling? The answer is a resounding no. God leads some to home school, some to teach in Christian, and some to teach in public. I do not think any less of one or the other. For me, God has put a burden on my heart for the unsaved children of this world. The public schools need Christian people more than ever. I know it is not for every teacher, but for me I know that is exactly where God wants me. So, wherever God wants you, serve Him there to the best of your ability.

Lastly, why do I want to teach where I can't use my Bible for teaching or discipline. My reason (besides this is where God wants me) is that I want the unwanted. The children that most teachers reject, put in the back and ignore, or even the children who are not wanted at home are the ones my heart craves to help. God gave me a loving home, and a caring family to be around. I will always be grateful to them for their gentleness and kindness, because it made me into the person I am today. Now I want to share it with all of my students and let them know that someone notices when they get an A on their paper, someone cares if they fall on the playground, and someone misses them when they aren't around. I care so much about those precious little children that words can barley express how I feel. If I'm not there to show them even a little glimpse of Christ's love, will they ever see it? That is what drives me.

The Unwanted, the Unloved, the Children most people shy away from, the ones that do bad things so they get ANY form of attention they can because otherwise their parents don't care. Those are the children I want, and those are the children I pray for already, even as God prepares me to be a teacher. So, to sum up my view, I believe that you should serve God to the best of your ability weather he puts you in Public School, Christian School, or Home school. Honor Him in all you do, and touch the little lives that need and crave Him.

The Journal

I have struggled over the years to get a consistent routine down of devotions. I tried to find books to prompt me, intensive studies, reading through the Bible in a year, and they all fizzled out. This January however I knew I wanted to look at it from a whole new perspective. I needed a new outlook on things. 

As I was falling asleep on New Years Eve when I remembered something. I had read books in my teen years about a girl who did her devotions by journaling every night. She journaled half a page about how her day went spiritually, and then the rest of the page was for her to write about her devotions. It allowed her to see how she had implemented what she learned the day before.

I was still sketchy because SO many times I had failed at this, but I needed to try. I decided to dive right in on New Years Day. It was hard to get into the routine of doing it every night, but I finally started doing it daily. Coming up to college I was determined not to let the change get the better of me. I kept it up without missing a beat.

It has now become something I look forward to doing every night, and am growing SO much because of it. I love how much it has infiltrated my life and how much of an impact its making. I can't wait to finish this journal and start the next. :)