A Rainy Saturday

It seems like the rain has been non-stop since yesterday, but I am not bothered. It feels good to be back in the 757 and in the strong embrace of a velvet chair with my spiced caramel hot chocolate...although it has cooled to a barely warm chocolate.
Catching up on things that seem too mundane to do anywhere else and waiting for the wedding to begin. 
Oh, how I love weddings.  
I love having a reason to get dressed up and to be in the same room as many of my beloved ones, waiting for a "get your booty on that dance floor" song to come on.
I'm wearing a recent ebay purchase; it's from the Gap and I'm feeling pretty good :)
I cannot wait!


Dear boy behind counter,
you are so cute. even if your collar is popped. 
nice sideburns.


Oh, Kindness that brings peace.
Oh, Joy that calms my heart.
Oh, sweet sweet Sacrifice.
Oh, Pure Love.

Phone Calls Home

Praise the Lord for half days!

Although it was a teacher work-day and I didn't leave until 5, it was nice to just have that much time to do work and have shorter bells.

To celebrate the beginning of Oktoberfest, my students and I made pretzels in class :) It's gone really well so far; the kids have behaved well and the pretzels have tasted delicious!  Baking is a lot of fun...

The whole experience of baking has been addictive: I LOVE wearing an apron, dancing in the kitchen, no shoes, just me, my music, and the recipe.  

Bliss. Domestic bliss.

Since report cards are coming out next week, I had to call the parents of students who had a "D" or "E".  Although it was no fun to tell them that their son/daughter is not doing well, while I was on the phone I realized something...this is truly my calling. I am so meant to teach.

There was just a feeling I got; it was the Holy Spirit.

I'm so blessed to be doing something I love.

So blessed.

Moscato

Things have just been crazy.
A whirlwind.
My life is typically busy, but this past week-ish has been especially so.

Going home was nice, but bittersweet on my heart; it's difficult to leave a place where love is so abounding.
My birthday was Tuesday and the day was nice for the most part.
How the Lord used Facebook that day was a special surprise--I had been feeling especially lonely and when I turned on my phone after school I was "notified" that I had 162 posts.  Simple, but nice.  It just reminded me that although Farmville seems so far away sometimes, home is always with me.

Yesterday, was super fun! Hobbles and I met up with some good friends at Olive Garden in Lynchburg; what a beautiful time of fellowship. A glass of Moscato wine complemented everything nicely :)
And I have some left over never-ending pasta bowl that will evoke the joyful memory tomorrow during lunch.

I am praying.
I am praynig for contentment.
I am ready to leave Farmville.
I am ready to not renew my contract...
but I don't know if that's what the Lord has in mind.
I am grateful to know He is for me.
He is on my side.
So I know I'm not just here for a job.
I know it with confidence.

Seedless grapes are worth the investment.
Pits are the pits.

Granny

I miss you. 
All the time. 
I can't help but be mad with that pilot for leaving me at the gate. I know you were with Jesus before that happened, but I'm still so angry. 
I have so much to tell you: I'm a teacher now!
I teach German and I love it. I have so many students and I am learning to be a better lover of all hearts; a less "discriminatory" lover. I think you'd be proud.
Oh, and I'm cooking more! A few small attempts have gone exceedingly well, but all of it pales in comparison to your cooking and baking. Maybe one day with lots of practice and with the guidance of your recipes I'll be a quarter as good as you were. 


I'd give anything to have another day in the kitchen with you; to know I'd walk around the corner and that you'd be waiting there to do one of two things: pull something out of the oven, or say something sassy. Both of which always evoked great joy.
Oh, Granny. I miss you.
I miss you more than I ever thought possible. I wish I could tell you that knowing you're with Grandpa and the Lord is comforting, but my heart longs for you as a wilting flower longs for a drop of rain.


As I pray for my future husband, my heart and daydreams are weighed down by the thought of you not being here to experience it all with me. I know great love, love which transcends sickness and dimension, because I know the love of the Lord and your love; a love I never doubted when I've doubted so many before. 
A love that never hurt except when it said goodbye.


As my tears mourn your absence, my heart holds fast to knowing you can be with me always. How grateful I am to have had a granny like you. A bigger blessing eludes my mind. 
I love you beyond death, Granny. And I miss you so.


Til we embrace again at the throne of God Almighty.

Mick Jagger

That Maroon 5 song is stuck in my head. Yuck.
A 3 day weekend is nice, very nice. 
Being home is nice, very nice.
I haven't gotten a thing done for school, and that's OK :)
The weather has been really great and spending time with friends and at my second and third homes (the Card's and church) has been more than rejuvenating.  
I am so incredibly blessed all the time.
Saturday was comprised of a sweaty workout (my favorite), a haircut, Lacy Joy, and the Card's. Good day.
Today has been brilliant!!
The Lord gifted me a glorious time at church; it was a special service of baptisms.  Baptisms are like one of my favorite things! I don't know specifically what it is about them that I love so much, but I think it has to do with how special mine was to me.
I was lucky enough to baptized in Panama City Beach, Fla at the same place where a year earlier I fell in love with the Lord. Beautiful. Truly beautiful.
So I found where I could be used and it was actually behind the scenes helping the people getting baptized get prepared. Oh, what a beautiful sight.
Joy. 
A little anxiety. 
Tears. 
Shaky hands. 
Full, full hearts.
An accurate portrait of the God who saves.


With full hearts and empty stomachs, some of the girls and I went to Panera for some chat stew and tomato & mozzarella Paninis.  Both were satisfying and exactly what I wanted.
Lunch was followed by a treasure hunt in McNair's gallery. Exquisite vintage clothing and fun company made for an experience I can't wait to relive. She was fun. The clothes were stunning. And Nate was entertaining. 


What a great day.
A gift from the Lord.
He loves me so well.

Almost, but not quite.

Today was that day where I thought I was going to cry.
The point where I felt like everything I was doing for this class goes in one ear and out the other.
43.
20.
67.
52.
These are the grades they got on a QUIZ they've known about for over a week.
I am expecting too much. 
No;
I am the only one with expectations.
And I've done almost the exact same thing with them as all my other classes, and those grades were so telling:
100.
105.
98.
102.
I know I need to do something, but today I just became so frustrated.
And the disrespect...it's as if they are daring me to write referrals; I just did not want it to be that way. I refuse to deal with it anymore.
Things are going to change.
And it is NOT going to be just a one way change.


Lord,
Bless me with the strength and  endurance.
Remind me in the midst of trial (aka 6th block) that you have overcome!
I am a prodigy of teaching, because you live in me.
Because I have the Holy Spirit and you watch over me.
Give me the knowledge to teach, to love, and to encourage others to do the same.
I love you.
Sincerely.
I love you, sincerely.
In your rescuing name I pray.

Obstacles

I love Charlotte, NC! I do. I cannot even begin to think about what my favorite part was: 
Tim Hawkins? 
spending 48 hours with the Hobbles? 
the 90 degree weather? 
Elevation church? 
lunch at The Soda Shop with K and T? 
my brief encounter with the enchanting bronze book sculptures off of S Tryol? 
having a stand-off with "App-om-a-tax" the bear?
Oh, the competition is fierce, but the Hobbles wins.
(however the book sculpture is a close second).


The whole weekend was just brilliant! Charlotte has definitely redeemed itself; it is now one of my top 5 places to possibly inhabit.  
Tim Hawkins was quite funny.  There were a few less-than-tasteful jokes, but overall he was very funny.  Just watching him walk around the stage in that crazy way would have been enough entertainment for me.  But thank you, Tim for going the extra mile; looking funny and being funny is much more entertaining as a pair.


Elevation church was another gift from the Lord. I truly left feeling like I had just been fed the Word of God. 
Glory! Glory! Glory!
I was not sure how it was going to go when Sarah and I walked in and there was a DJ spinning in the hallway. My fear was that it was going to feel like a concert and not church, but our fears quickly subdued.  Upon entering the "sanctuary", we were greeted by an old movie theater setting with stained glass windows.  The worship was wonderful and evoked a sense of "home".
The pastor, although young, was very mature.  And I do not mean mature like "stuffy" or "sedated", but mature in the sense that he is clearly serious about his faith and God's calling in his life to lead others.  God really used him to speak to me.


Lunch at The Soda Shop with Kenz  and Tennant was fun. So fun. It was quaint and unassuming.  

Fact: when I feel like I do not have much to say, I often feel as if I have said too much.

But anyway, the Davidson campus is beautiful and inviting and makes me long for my college days again. Oh, sweet sweet memories :)


The drive to and fro was nothing short of adventurous.  We had to avoid a fallen tree in the road.  Bypass a hail bailing tractor. Endure the sight of a snake and a brood of dear. However, my favorite moment was when "App-om-a-tax" the Black bear came into our path. With clips from "Friends" as our soundtrack, maybe 100 ft in front of us appears a large wolf...wait, wait, wait...that's no wolf.
What.the.dump?
It was a bear. A very large bear.
And Sarah's response was to stop the car. My reaction to her reaction was to tell her to keep moving and do so with haste. It was a great moment in our trip and shall be a grand memory.


To quote Sarah, "If it was God's will for us to see a bear, praise God we were in the car!"
Amen.