Reasons I Love Arkadelphia

--Ouachita Baptist University. I love my alma mater!!! Besides my emotional ties to the school, living in a college town mean plays, concerts, lectures, etc. And it's usually free or relatively cheap!

--Safety. I try not to be naive', but we feel very safe here. I don't mind going to Walmart in the evenings by myself. I don't mind being in the apartment alone. Etc.

--Small town. Perhaps it's because I grew up in a bigger city and I enjoy the contrast, but the small town feel is homey and comforting.

--Convenience. In Arkadelphia, you can get just about anywhere in 10 minutes or less.

--Ouachita High School. I love my job!!! The small school, close knit community, wonderful co-workers, etc, etc. I wish I didn't have to leave...

--Simplicity.

Dear OBU Class of 2016,

Today may be a hard day for many of you. There are often many tears shed at the end of one journey and the beginning of a new one. Let them be happy tears though! Have no doubt that God has prepared you for this moment. He will walk you through every step of the way. So cry your tears (Mom needs to know you'll miss her), but dry them afterwards and get ready for an amazing journey.

As a 2012 graduate, I have to admit that I'm a little jealous of you today! God gave me so much at Ouachita - including true friends, mentors for a lifetime, an education that prepared me to enter the career of my dreams, and a wonderful husband to top it all off :) Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all easy. I spent the first semester of my Mathematics degree crying in my professor's office. One of the blessings of Ouachita is that it was that same professor who encouraged me to remain in the Mathematics department and that same professor who took a picture with me on graduation day after I completed that Mathematics degree. I also experienced some very difficult spiritual and emotional growth during my time at Ouachita. God will use this time to grow you to be more like Christ. He will challenge you and He will encourage you.

Many of you may meet your future spouse at Ouachita. Many of you will not. God has it all planned out for you! Some of you may get saved during these next four years. Hopefully all of you will grow spiritually more than you ever have. Many of you will change your career goal. Professors and friends may bring out the best and the worst in you. You will learn about yourself and you will learn about your God.

I am praying for you as you begin this incredible journey. It's going to be a good ride!

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." -Confucius

I know that I must go and that God has prepared me for this time in my life, but I cannot go with all my heart... Sorry, Confucius. A piece of my heart will always be at Ouachita Baptist University. I have been incredibly blessed to spend all 4 years of my college education at such a beautiful place. I have built relationships that I believe will last a lifetime. My education has given me a solid foundation as I prepare to enter "the real world." And as an incredible addition to all of that, during my four years, God provided a man for me who will become my husband in only 60 days!!!

I still can't believe that it's over... My heart is torn between relief / pride and sadness / shock.

The week before we graduated, the head of our Mathematics department invited me and the other graduates from our department for an exit interview. I had the opportunity to share my opinions about my classes and the program in general. He asked my future plans and offered advice on getting my Masters. He also explained that he believes my personality is similar to his in this way - I tend to put lots of effort into the details of everything that I'm doing. I want things to be "just so." This quality can be valuable and important in many situations, but my Dean warned that I must be careful not to commit myself to too many "ventures." Knowing this quality in myself, if I become spread too thin, I might become frustrated and could often walk away feeling less successful. What great advice! He says that he is still trying to teach himself the same thing, but he hopes that I'll learn it sooner.

This is just one small example of how incredible my experience at Ouachita has been. God has blessed me abundantly. And I know that "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required" (Luke 12:48). I have big shoes to fill, but I have been prepared well. So here we go :)

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

I hope it's not selfish to blog about your own birthday... I just wanted to be sure and record today's events!

This morning I woke up to a text which read "Do: go look at your car when you get up. Don't: judge me if the dew gets to it before you do. :)" So I went outside to find this....

A couple of windows said "Happy B-day" and the other window pictured above reads "I'm getting married in 67 days!" It was very sweet :) Adam had written a very sweet Birthday letter for me and left it for me to find. I cried because it made me happy. It was a lovely way to begin my day!

Then I went for a morning walk, had some breakfast, read my Bible, and got ready for the day. Today was my last day in class as a college student... What a strange feeling! We listened to a couple of lectures this morning and after lunch we each presented our Teacher Work Samples. It was my last presentation as a college student... Once these were completed, our Professor so sweetly said "You are no longer my students. You are now my colleagues. My name is Kathy. It's nice to meet you, teachers." Ahh!!! We're teachers!!! What an exciting feeling! Our school day ended with a reception.

These are my math-y friends :) So proud of each of them!

This is Mrs. McGough, my Cooperating Teacher during my Second Rotation. I learned SO much!

My evening ended with dinner at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants with several of my sweet friends! Sadly, I forgot to take a picture to document...

It's been a fabulous day! I am so thankful for all that God has blessed me with!!! My friends and family have been so sweet. And I'm finished with college!!! How crazy!

Confessions of a Tired Senior

--- I only have 3ish assignments to finish before I graduate... I have no motivation for any of them.

--- The goal is to send out our wedding invitations next week... Only half of them are addressed, I don't have stamps, and we haven't stuffed envelopes yet.

--- I had to Google the correct spelling for "envelopes."

--- Graduation is less than two weeks away... I consider myself in complete denial that so many people are leaving, including three of my dearest and closest friends. It's easier not to think about it.

--- My graduation dress will look best with heels... But I'm seriously considering wearing sandals because I am TERRIFIED of falling on my face while walking across the stage.

--- Dreary weather + Monday = looong school day. I yawned while I was teaching :/ Not a good sign. Luckily (not so luckily?), my students were as out of it as I was.

--- I had to look up how many days until our wedding. There are only 75 :)

There you have it. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm being a debbie-downer... I'm not trying to be! It's been a pretty good day overall. I'm just feeling a little lackadaisical!

Never Once

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

With tears in my eyes, I think about my past four years at Ouachita Baptist University... During my first semester, I questioned whether it was really God's will for me to be here. By my second semester, I couldn't have imagined being anywhere else. It has been a long road and I have worked very hard to get to this point. Graduation is upon us and my heart is full of bittersweet emotion. There are questions... Will I remain close with my friends? Will I see them often.. or ever? Am I really prepared to face "life after Ouachita"? Will I miss school? Have I made the most of my time here? Etc, etc. But beyond all of those questions, I look back at how far I've come and without hesitation I can claim that my God has been faithful. I have never walked alone... He was there when I wanted to go home, when people let me down, and when I almost gave up my math major. And He was also there when I passed each class, when I received scholarships, and when Adam and I were engaged. These lists goes on and on. He has been faithful through the hard times and through the good, through my tears and my victories... My God is faithful. Never once did I ever walk alone.

wELCOME {BACK} TO oUACHITA'S wORLD

This year I volunteered as a WOW leader. When the freshmen arrive to Ouachita, they begin Freshman Orientation that we have lovingly deemed WOW (Welcome to Ouachita’s World). There is lots of “mingling,” several mixers, and a few large group sessions that are designed to help freshmen meet other people and learn how to “do life” at Ouachita. Pray for these young people and the many friendships that they are hopefully developing right now!

For me, this is welcome BACK… one last time. Lord willing, I will finish my classes this semester, student-teach in the Spring, and graduate on May 12, 2012. It’s very bittersweet for me. I look forward to what God has for me in the future and the many ways He will use me as a “real” teacher, but I love Ouachita’s “bubble” dearly and I do not want to say goodbye. But I do intend to make the best of the time left that God has given me. I know that when the time comes to say goodbye, He will have completely prepared me.

Being around the many freshmen has reminded me of the experiences I had during my freshmen year. I was terrified, expectant, lonely, and hopeful. The biggest lesson that God taught me through those experiences was to never confuse being uncomfortable or unhappy with being outside of God’s will. He doesn’t always call us to what is comfortable or easy. Paul refers to his sufferings as “marks of Jesus” (Galatians 6:17) and claims that he “will boast of the things that show my weakness” (2 Corinthians 11:30). I believe these marks are emotional as well as physical. My freshman year wasn’t always easy, but I finally realized that I was still in God’s will at Ouachita. After learning to lean on and trust in Him, I came to a place of rest and comfort. In that place, He also allowed me to settle in at Ouachita in such a way that now I don’t even want to leave! He is good. He is faithful. He has a plan for each of these freshmen and also for me!