A Day In the Life

I recently read an article in Real Simple that got me thinking about how I spend my time... It's sort of challenging to think about how I really spend the hours of my day, but it's also been very telling about how I define myself, how I define success, and how I want my life to look. This semester has been very different for me. I expected student teaching to eat my life and my free time. For some of my peers, I think it has. But for whatever reason, it's been relatively easy for me - as far as my time goes, that is. I've had my challenges, I promise. But what that means is that I've had some days with large amounts of free time. I'm thankful for it and of course I use much of it to plan for the wedding or to spend time with Adam, but I've found that it's sometimes hard for me to relax alone. I sometimes feel guilty for the extra time that I have.

I recently heard a speaker say these words, "You are not a victim to your schedule; you are only as busy as you choose to be." I found this statement so freeing. We all have things that tend to take more of our time than we really want to give (especially in ministry or education). These things can cause us to feel like "victims," but there is also an element of choice that we should identify and be honest with ourselves about what we really want in life. What's the main goal?

For example... Does it take a lot of work to plan a wedding? Yes. Are there days when I'm tired of it? Yes. But the element of choice is that I want our wedding to be nice. We've planned what I hope will be an elegant and enjoyable evening for everyone and it's important to me that things are done well. Another element of choice is that our main goal for the wedding day is simply that we're married at the end of the night! So if there are details that get overlooked, so be it. That's my choice.

Anyways, I'm sorry if I'm rambling. I used the tool on realsimple.com to create a pie chart of how I spend my time. Personally, most of my days look very different, but I chose a typical Wednesday. Now their labels are not perfect ... For instance in my pie chart, volunteering = leadership meeting + working Wednesday night youth. Chilling = time spent with my fiance'. Obviously there are other differences, but you get the idea. It's really good to think through what's important in my life and how I'm using the time I'm given to glorify (or not glorify :/) the Father.

Wednesday's Pie Chart: This is my personal pie chart and there's also a link at the bottom of that page where you can build your own. Let me know what you think!

Student Teaching: 2nd Rotation

Last week was a bit of a whirlwind for me, yet it seemed to pass very slowly... I spent Monday and Tuesday in class at OBU. On Wednesday, I completed my rotation at the high school and, on Thursday, I began my second rotation of student teaching at Goza Middle School! Never a dull moment :)

Leaving the high school was bittersweet... This transition marks the "half-way" point for this semester. Graduation is quickly approaching and it's exciting to be this close to such an accomplishment! But it was also sad to leave my Cooperating Teacher from the high school as well as the many students I taught during my time there. Change can be difficult.

I will be working in an 8th grade math classroom for the remainder of the semester. We teach 4 classes that last 1 hour and 20 minutes each... This seems SO long compared to the 45 minute periods that I grew accustomed to at the high school! On my first day, the students were testing all morning, so my first day wasn't exactly "normal," if there ever is such a thing as normal in the educational environment!. Standardized testing is one of the thorns that come with education. They are seemingly a necessary evil in today's world, but I wish that there was better way to create accountability among teachers and students. (Let me know if you come up with something... I'm sure we could become quite famous and successful with such an idea!)

I finally met all of the students on Friday and we are settling in well with each other. I taught during both the 3rd and 4th classes today and I really enjoyed it! As much as I've struggled with the decision about whether to teach or not, days like today assure me that this is where I want to be.

Weekend Wonders

On Friday afternoon, Adam and I drove to El Dorado. If you didn't know this about me and Adam, we enjoy the car. We've found it's one of the only places we can have a private conversation while we're on campus and so we often make the loop around Arkadelphia, just to give us a chance to talk! Adam also asked me out in the car, we shared our first kiss in the car, and Adam even ended up proposing in the car :) So needless to say, we enjoyed the drive!

When we arrived, we met up with his family and attended the Bebo Norman and Point of Grace concert... I listened to the concert... Adam talked to his little brother through the whole thing! (It's okay, they needed some bro time.)

Leigh, Shelley, and Denise
Point of Grace

I love Point of Grace. Before my sister and I made it to high school, we were not allowed to listen to "non-Christian" music, so we were obsessed with Point of Grace and other popular Christian artists. I enjoyed the concert and the acoustics were awesome! When the group sang "Circle of Friends," I flash-backed to being a 4th grader... Swimming in a hotel pool with 4 of my very closest friends, listening to this same song, and promising each other that we'd always be a "Circle of Friends." We were at that hotel because two of us didn't make the deadline to go to church camp. We refused to go without each other and so "hotel camp" was born. God bless Mrs. Sharon and our wonderful Moms who took care of us and made sure we had an awesome time that week! Since then, we've grown up and gone our separate ways, but we will always share very special memories of the time we spent together.

And to top our weekend off, we spent most of the day Saturday with this little guy... :)

Adam's nephew, Jody

Chicken Taco Soup

When it's my turn to cook for the youth group, I have to be a little creative because I live in the dorm. Occasionally I can invade someone's kitchen, but most times I try to wing it on my own. This means sandwiches or anything I can put together in my Crock Pot (gift from God; I'm a huge Crock Pot fan!). On Sunday, I made Chicken Taco Soup. Adam and I first ate this when the previous youth pastor and his wife served it. Then when I was learning to cook this Summer, I asked her for the recipe. This is SO easy. You can't screw it up and it's delicious. Enjoy!

Chicken Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 can chili beans

1 can black beans

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 package taco seasoning

1 can beef broth

1 can whole-kernel corn (drained)

2 cans diced tomatoes w/ green chilis (undrained)

3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beef broth, and diced tomatos in crock pot. Add taco seasoning and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by other ingredients. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours. ---

Remove chicken breasts from soup and allow it to slightly cool. Shred of cut into small, bite-sized cubes. Stir the chicken back into the soup and continue to cook for 2 hours.

Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread, shredded cheese, and sour cream as desired.

**Total cook time: 7 hours.

**Serves 8-10.

(From allrecipes.com via Caitlin Chapman)

People are People

Maybe it sounds crazy, but this is something God has taught me... and re-taught me... and is now re-teaching me again. People will not think, act, or react in the same ways that I do. And that's okay. In addition to that, people are not God. They make mistakes... just like I do. So I'm taking a big dose of grace and forgiveness and moving on!

God has been so good about reminding me of His grace today. Luke 12:4 says "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of him who can kill the body and after that do no more." Although my "woes" are certainly far from being killed, it does remind me that people cannot take away my joy. In the grand scheme of God's kingdom, they cannot hurt me.

I recently read a friend's blog on Perspective. You can find it here. She referred to this quote: “Often it isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the little pebble in your shoe.” ~Muhammad Ali. I have to confess that the pebbles in my shoe most recently have been people who don't think, act, or react in the same ways that I do (see first paragraph :)). I'm learning. What are you learning?

Dear Self...

Dear Self,

I hope that tomorrow you will love Jesus more, that you’ll pray harder, and love people more deeply.

When you wake up, I pray your first thought will be “Jesus” and that your one motivation will be to glorify Him. 

When you lie down to sleep, I pray that you will be exhausted from serving Him with everything you have and that your final thought will be “Jesus.”

If tomorrow your world crashes around you, I pray that you’ll remember from where you've come, that you’ll trust God’s incredible faithfulness and remember that He’s never let you down.

If tomorrow your dreams come true, I pray that you will live a life of humility and gratitude.

And if tomorrow your life comes to an end, I pray that you will stand boldly before the throne of God, covered by Christ’s blood, and that you’ll hear “Well done.”

Sincerely Yours.

True Confessions: TV

I was a TV-hater. I'll admit it. I was for a long time. It drives me crazy to yell over the TV to get someone's attention or to call only to find out they're engrossed in the latest episode of whatever. Anyways, my point is that I've changed my tune...



I began watching Army Wives last semester. My sister and her best friend had watched a few episodes a couple of years ago and for whatever reason, I decided to try it out. After episode 1, I was hooked. Now... it's not what you think. I can go for weeks at a time without watching an episode, but I'm on my third episode for today 0:) AND even worse, I cry like a baby every time someone deploys on the show or something terrible happens. I can't help it!

So now you know. I'm a little obsessed with Army Wives.