Sunday, August 26, 2007

Every Season...


Tomorrow starts the first day of my second year of teaching. This past year flew by so incredibly fast. It seems somewhat difficult for me to comprehend that my original "class" will not be walking through the door of my classroom tomorrow. The unknown faces. All names on a list to me now.

It's overwhelming to think about all that the school year brings. All that I know is the God is faithful. He brought me through my first year, with everything so raw and new, and I know that I can certainly trust him with tomorrow's cares. I'm excited, nervous, anxious. I can't wait to see their faces. I'm also taking 2 classes towards my Master's degree this fall. It's going to be a lot of work to keep up on. Right now is about the time I start to doubt myself and think "how will I ever do all of this?" It happens every year, with whatever "season" God is bringing me into. However, as I begin my 25th year, it seems as though I am finally kind of getting it ... God will take take of me, lead me, give me strength, and provide for me as I take on teaching school and getting a Master's. He does it every time... only took me 25 years to catch on.

I'm also thinking about my mom tonight. She goes back to work tomorrow for the first time in about 3 years. I'm praying for a smooth transition for her. It's going to be tough, but she's really stronger than I often let myself think that she is.


I'm listening to the perfect song right now too. "Every Season" by Nichole Nordeman. Perfect for how I'm feeling tonight. Beautiful lyrics.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

I'm 25.

My birthday is officially over as I write this. It was a great day and I'm feeling very thankful and content right now.

One of the most exciting things that happened today was that I was mentioned on the Relevant Podcast. It wasn't for my birthday, but it was a great surprise. For those of you unfamiliar with the Relevant Podcast, it is basically an audio companion to Relevant Magazine based in Florida. The magazine brings many social justice issues to light, as well as keeping up with current trends in music, culture, etc. I really like it because it is progressive culturally, and at the same time presents issues from a biblical standpoint. Anyway, each week on the podcast they ask an editorial question of the week. Last week's question was asking listeners to write in and explain their worst vacation experiences. So, I decided to send in an email outlining the first day of my recent trip to NYC with my best friend Jessie. I won't go into all the details, but let's just say that it involved motion sickness, NYC traffic, and a 10 passenger van full of strangers. If you want to know more log onto iTunes, download the Aug. 17 edition of the Relevant Podcast and fast forward till about 40-some minutes in. :)
I was soooo excited when I heard my name. It was a good b-day present.

Jessie and I also attended a very nice "Music on Madison" concert in Youngstown. It was basically in the back yard of a house. Tables set up on the lawn with candles and rose peddles. A concert featuring all kinds of tunes- Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, show tunes, etc, etc. If you know Jessie and I, it was a great fit for us! We sat behind some frisky elderly women. They were a hoot! I sure hope I'm kickin it like these ladies when I'm their age.

Did a little shopping too. Went to lunch with my friend Renee who also had a birthday today! We had a community show choir concert too! Wow! I did a lot.

Friday, August 17, 2007

The beginning of my 25th year.

A goal of mine was to get a blog up and running. I've had this "blog" account for some time now. Well, here I am. I have no idea how to make this thing look nice. I want a nice background, pics, links, my favorites, etc. I've seen some really nice blogs and I have a long way to go before I enter that territory.

With this in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to have my first post be on the eve of my 25th birthday. Time flies. It's really hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm 25 (in a few hours!) The number ... 25. Half way to 50! A quarter of a century! wow!

I'm amazed by so many things. I think the title I came up with for this blog (well, I actually stole it from a guest on Oprah) "Lessons in Becoming Myself" ~ I really like that. It says so much about how I feel about growing older. Each day, each season in life, I feel like I truly am becoming more of who I am. Does that make sense? I grow. I fail. I learn. I experience. This is why I am excited about growing older. I love it. I can't wait till I'm 40! (Oprah says that's when it gets really fun!) But, seriously, insecurities begin to melt away with a stronger sense of who you are and, of course, increasing age is not a sure fire sign that one will become more self-secure, confident, and bold. So, obviously other things need to be happening in your life for maturity, confidence, etc. to enter in, or, as I feel with myself, grow stronger. So, yes, I'm thrilled about growing older and excited about what God's going to do with me. What an adventure. What's next? Let's see ....