Choices...choices...and more choices

I've been pretty busy with school so I haven't posted within the last couple weeks. My idea of posting once each week during the "11 weeks of craziness" didn't last long! I'm finishing up week 3 (or is it 4?!).  My three classes started last week. I'm taking a class on creating a comprehensive school counseling program, one on special education, and one on curriculum theory. They're all pretty interesting to far. I'm finishing up week one but Luther, who is my biggest encourager, keeps pushing me to do more and more assignments so I won't be pulling my hair out when my huge assignments are all due...I'm finishing up week 2 and am half-way done with work for week 3. so far, so good!

Luther and I also celebrated our 2nd anniversary! It doesn't seem like it's been that long already! God has really blessed us!

This past week has been kind of rough. I've come down with something from my precious kiddos at work and was out of work Thursday and Friday. I'm still recovering and the medicine does not seem to be helping! It may be God's way of saying I need to get some rest while working full-time and going to school full-time. God always knows what we need.

So for some reason, today I have "choices" on my mind. This past week I have been reminded of all the choices we make in adulthood. Growing up we have our group of friends and as we get older, the people in our group changes, but the purpose of the group remains the same. Friends are a support system. They come to each other with dilemmas and hope to gain clarity and insight. Some choices are big and some choices are small. I have friends who are pregnant, friends who are trying to get pregnant, friends who are working on plans to get out of debt, and friends who are making life-changing decisions about jobs. It's hard when your friends vent and share frustrations/concerns and you don't really have an answer for them. Life isn't a right or wrong answer most of the time. Is my life going to fall a part if I make choice B instead of choice A??...probably not. I think as I get older I realize how important it is to pray. God doesn't have to be this scary being that doesn't seem real. He is a king, a father, and a friend. He is the guide and has all the wisdom we could ever need. Being in his presence is awesome when we take the time to do so. I know I'll never have the right answers so I'll just spend my time praying for my friends instead of trying to figure out the right words to say. That's the best thing I could do for them anyway:) Prayer can do amazing things. <3

Week two...

So week two kind of went by and I had no time to post! I hope that isn't a sign of things to come over the next nine weeks!

Week two was another intensive class...Education 741- Theories of educational leadership.

This was the first intensive I've ever taken that was truly intense! After I counted it up, I had three days of 15-hours of school work. Plus Monday and Friday! We had a huge group project that taught us how to go into an organization and analyze their current situation. We had to create initiatives and benchmarks to help the organization become "better." I just turned in the last assignment for the class about five minutes ago! Another 3 credits down!

My next three classes start Monday the 17th (our 2nd anniversary, by the way!) I'm going to be working this week to do as much as possible for the classes before they all start!

For other news...I've registered to the GRE. This is something I never needed to do because of my GPA but apparently you have to do it for accreditation purposes if you want to join the doctorate program. We'll see how it goes!

I keep thinking back to two years ago when I was totally panicked and stressed about our wedding which was fast approaching:) Because my classes are going to be crazy and it is cold everywhere within driving distance, we booked a trip for April. I'm super excited to go to Gatlinburg and stay in a luxurious cabin!

Back to work tomorrow! Is it bad that I'm hoping for snow this week?!?!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!! It doesn't seem like it should already be January or 2011! Time is flying by!

Week one of classes are over! All post-work is submitted and another three credits are completed! I start my EDUC 741- Theories of Educational Development at 9:00 am Monday morning!

I always enjoy my solo rides home from Lynchburg because it's a great time to think and unwind! Yesterday I drove home and listened to various cds and radio stations. When I was close to Staunton, I turned on Spirit fm. It finally hit me that I think God might speak to me through song lyrics. I've been one of those people who gets frustrated when people tell you to "listen for God" because I feel like I never hear him! BUT...yesterday all these songs came on in a row came on that had certain lines that seemed like there was no doubt they were for me. It's like God is the dj and he knows I'm listening:) I'll post some of those lyrics for you too:)

The first is from "Mountain of God" by Third Day
Even though the journey's long,
and I know the road is hard.
Well the one who's gone before me,
He will help me carry on.
And after all that I've been through,
now I realize the truth
that I must go through the valley
to stand upon the Mountain of God.


I've had a pretty incredible life and haven't had many "valley's" to go through; however, I was processing all the schooling to get to my goal of counseling children and it hit me that I have to go through all of the necessary hoops in order to reach my full potential!


The other song was "Lay it Down" by Jaci Velasquez 


So I’m gonna lay it down
I’m gonna learn to trust You now
What else can I do
Everything I am depends on You
And if the sun don’t come back up
I know Your love will be enough
I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go
I’m gonna lay it down


This came on at the perfect time as I was reflecting and beginning to stress about all of the new information I learned in the past week about necessary things to do before completing my internship and degree. It will work out the way God intended and there is nothing I can do so there is no reason to become overwhelmed.

God is good! I'm excited to start the 2011 year and see what all it brings:)

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.   

Another birthday!

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by and I'm officially a year older. As a child, the age I couldn't wait to be was 22. I just knew that I'd graduate from college and get married when I was 22 because that's what my mom did. Of course I had no idea at a younger age what would happen when I was 22. As is turns out, I did graduate from college and I did get married. I don't know why I never thought past the graduation and marriage but now I'm living my life without knowing what comes next! Twenty three was a good year for me. It was different from others in that I feel more "settled" with life, whatever that means. Everyone probably knows by now that I love pictures so I'll post some pictures that highlight my 23rd year of life:)

It started with finishing my MA in Professional Counseling

And celebrating our first anniversary

And throwing lots of baby showers for friends

Walking for graduation

Being the matron-of-honor for my best friend's wedding 

Taking weekend trips with girlfriends

Spending the 4th at the park!

Visiting Philly

Rocky steps

Chincoteague

Hiking

 

Getting a new cat

And finishing my 23rd year with the annual turkey dinner!

Excited to see what happens in my 24th year!

It's been a while since my last post...things are really picking up at work (9 and 10 hour days) and then the class I'm taking right now has a lot of work to do each week. I'm starting to get reallllly tired and am wondering how in the world I am going to be able to take two winter intensives and then three 8-week classes from January to March. I've already started taking four hair vitamins a day so that my hair doesn't fall out from stress! That's pretty sad! It'll be over quickly and for some reason I just keep going back for more!

Anyway, last weekend I was driving home from Lynchburg by myself and had some time to think about random things. I had seen some of my Europe travel buddies over the weekend (so exciting!!) and started thinking about Ellie in Korea and how badly I want to see her while she's there (We didn't win at monopoly so basically I didn't win a trip to see her)! As I was thinking about Ellie, I started thinking about traveling in general. Those of you who know me well know that traveling is my favorite thing to do in the entire world. I love going places that I've never been and I started analyzing (of course) what it is with me and traveling. This is what I came up with:

Ever since I can remember, I have been a go-getter. I see something I need to do, and I do it (I wish this applied to cleaning our house!). I've always felt like I needed to be grounded, practical, and predictable to achieve the things I've been going for and it has worked. It didn't seem like a big deal to me that I finished my Master's in the time I was supposed to finish my Bachelor's and honestly it gets embarrassing when people tell others about that! Then I started thinking how traveling to a new place is anything BUT predictable. I think that's why I love it so much. I like the challenge of figuring out where I am and I love seeing new things and having these experiences that I would miss if I didn't let myself take some time out and explore! God's creation is amazing and then he allowed men to have the knowledge to build these incredible things all over the world. It's fascinating to me! I feel like I thrive when I see someplace new and I feel so excited and giddy when I think about going someplace new or remembering places I've been. I even get excited about little trips close to home when it's something new. I am very blessed to have traveled as much as I have and I look forward to any other experiences of traveling in my future:) It's also a great feeling knowing that you have a place to call home when the traveling is done! Maybe one day I'll be a traveling counselor or something:) Who knows what God has in store for me but he knows my desire and I know he will provide when it is his will!


Since it's November, I'll attach some pictures of things I am thankful for!

Luther and me at the 4th of July- my favorite celebration!

Chincoteague with Kara

Mawmaw

Mom and Dad- and the opportunity to go to school

Grandma

Being able to sit on marble stairs on a Greek Island

Having a birthday party on a rooftop in Greece

Parthenon

For meeting four amazing girls who also have a passion for travel

Celebrating our new marriage in Jamaica

Family

Trying to find Smith Mountain Lake

Virginia Beach

Winston-Salem, NC

Maine

Being able to explore Maine from a boat and see amazing creatures!

A spontaneous trip to Philly!

My cats!

Luther's parents

My nieces 

Celebrating our first anniversary in Hagerstown, MD

College friends:)

And family!

I'm obviously thankful for a lot! God has blessed my life tremendously!