Classes, classes, and more classes!

March 11th...In 11 weeks, school will be much different for me! Since school is the main thing taking up my time these days, I've decided to blog about it! How interesting, right?!?!

This is week one of the 11 weeks of craziness! I am currently at Liberty University for an intensive class on Consultation, Collaboration, and Referral as it pertains to school counseling. Because my master's is in Professional Counseling, I could not obtain a license in school counseling. I am working towards my LPC in Virginia; however, to be a school counselor, you apparently need education classes in addition to the counseling classes. So...here I am! Once I am within nine credits of this educational specialist degree, I will be able to reapply for the school counseling license. It is my goal to be within the nine credits by March 11th...hence the craziness of 15 credits in 11 weeks!

During intensives, you come to class from 9:00-5:00 each day and turn in work after the class. This is my second day in this class but it isn't that bad. You knock out three credits in about a month's time with prework, the one week of intensive class, and the postwork. I'm looking forward to the day that I can hold that school counseling license in my hand:)

     

Tis the busiest season of the year...

So it has been over a month since my last post!! I definitely underestimated the amount of work I would have in this educational specialist program. For those of you who don't know, an Ed.S. is about 27 credits away from a doctorate (including the dissertation) so the majority of classes are doctorate level. I have stayed extremely busy working full-time, going to school full-time, and being married! Today I finally finished all the PREwork for my next two classes. I'll be spending two weeks in Lynchburg from December 27 to Jan 7. I'm excited to go back to Lynchburg and see my friends but I'll definitely miss being at home!

This Christmas season has flown by. It is easy to forget the meaning of Christmas with all of the shopping, parties, and baking that needs to be done. If we aren't careful, it'll be January 1st before we know it and we'll all be making new years resolutions in hopes of improving something in the coming year. To remind myself and others of the meaning of Christmas, I like to go back to the Christmas story.



Luke 2: 1-20

1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

New Living Translation

At the close of one of my classes in Lynchburg this semester, a man presented a devotion about Christ dying on the cross. Jesus said, "It is finished" right before giving up his spirit. The devotion presented was about how Jesus wasn't actually finished because his ministry continued after he was resurrected. It is so easy to think "It is finished" when i'm done with school work or "it is finished" when winter break has FINALLY arrived, or "it is finished" when the busy season of Christmas is over; however, our true priority is not to work until everything is "finished," but instead we the priority is to focus on the impact we can have after our tasks are done. I don't know what the future holds but I do know that there is a reason I am back at school and even when my work is finished, the impact it will have on me and the impact I will have on others will not be finished when the diploma arrives. The Christmas season may come to a close quickly; however, it is important to remember the birth of Christ and the miraculous signs that God displayed so that we can not worry about "finishing" the tasks at hand but focus on how we can carry the Christmas spirit with us throughout the year to serve those in need and glorify Christ in the process.