13 things in 2013

My 2012 list was SO much fun to work towards and accomplish (still finishing Life of Pi...) so I thought I would post my list of 13 things to do in 2013! I have not been over thinking this, but wanted to try new experiences or get back into doing something.

So here we go...

1. Do one all-local thing in Columbia each month! (Eating at a local restaurant doesn't count unless it's a brand new experience)
2. Make my mom's macaroni and cheese recipe for a friend.
3. Get an hour-long massage.
4. Go to a dermatologist. 
5. Drive to the country, take a blanket, and lay out to gaze at the stars.
6. Carry someone's groceries out to the car for them.
7. Volunteer at a place or with an organization I have never volunteered with before.
8. Dance in a rainstorm.
9. Watch every episode of The O.C. sequentially until the episode where Marisa dies. (let's be honest, the series goes downhill after this moment)
10. Walk into a nail salon and choose a color with my eyes closed for my nails and toes.
11. Buy peanuts and cracker jacks at a baseball game.
12. Do the drive-thru difference to someone.
13. Go to the Great Wolf Lodge for a weekend and play like kids! (this is what I want to do for my 26th birthday party, but if not then...then I want to do it at some point this year!)

This list is full of random things I would like to try.  I hope I will make it through all of these and, either way, I hope that 2013 is one of the best years YET!!!!

Okayyyy party people, it's 2013!! HORRAY!

I cannot believe it is already here!!

It's been a while (October 1st if my blog history is accurate) since I've revved up the old blog, but I have been having a busy fall and winter and have not taken the time to write.  If THINKING about blogging was as easy as actually keeping up with it, I would have written 200 new posts in my absence.

Last year, I did a blog post called "12 in 2012" where I challenged myself to try twelve new  experiences in 2012.  I was talking to some friends about New Years resolutions and how I think they are not the best ideas, and this list was formed as a way to try new things and remember them!!  Well, some of the experiences were not brand new, but I did revisit a few things I had not done in quite some time (high fiving someone, doing a 5k and flying).  I am happy to announce that I completed 11 and 1/2 of the items on the list.  I could, on a technicality, say that all twelve items were completed because the number 1 item was to "read a book..." and I have read half of it.  The list doesn't say "complete a book"...but whatever.  I would still argue that eleven and a half things still made for a pretty awesome year.

And with that....onto 2013.  Stay tuned for my 13 list for 2013.

It's October, y'all.

Things are just better in the month of October.

It truly is the best month. Ever.

I am obsessed with college football, but enjoy it more with a chill in the air and the State Fair in the background.

And did I mention how much I love the STATE FAIR!?! It's my favorite. I can almost taste those fried oreos now (I'll start my diet...uh...later)

I love when the leaves change colors. It's the only time of the year when orange is my favorite.

And...I enjoy my fair share of pumpkin spiced lattes.

It just truly is the best month ever...so here's to you October. I hope you bring lots of happiness.

A rant about missing the Georgia game.

Background information that will help you understand this blog post:

I joined a cohort of teachers in my school district that are part of the Teaching American History (TAH) grant...a federal grant that sponsors teachers to take classes to become strong history teachers.  My requirements are that I take a graduate level history course every fall semester and a literacy course every spring semester.  In my first year, the literacy class got me hooked and I started pursing my Master's in Language and Literacy.  Because I'm a part of the TAH grant, I get FREE language and literacy class every spring semester....but history? I get through those classes.  I push through the history classes in the fall in order to get the free, federally grant supported masters classes every Spring.

These history classes are good, don't get me wrong, but I have no interest in pursing my Master's in history. Ever.  So therefore, these courses are nice to take but ultimately a waste of my time and efforts.  But, if you read above, taking them as part of the grant gets me FREE courses that I actually want to pursue.

And here's where the problems begin.

The history course is set up where we take 4-5 courses in a face-to-face/lecture setting, then take a mandatory field experience related to our course.  Two years ago, this adult field trip came at the WORST OF TIMES...the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide rolled into town to play football and our TAH grant class rolled out of town on a bus heading to Beaufort.  Two years ago, I had to miss the biggest game in SC football history to go on this trip.  Two years ago, College Gameday came to the horseshoe and I was on a field trip.  Two years ago, the GAMECOCKS upset the #1 Crimson Tide, and I was not sitting in my season ticket spot to enjoy it. (I was on a bus watching the game on an I-phone)

Fast forward two years...to today.

The history course is taking a mandatory adult field trip at the WORST OF TIMES.  The Georgia Bulldogs are rolling into town and our bus is rolling out of town on a bus heading to Washington, DC.  This year, I am having to miss the biggest game in SC football history.  This year, College Gameday is coming to the Horseshoe when I'm on the field trip.  This year, I'm going to miss the GAMECOCKS upset the Georgia Bulldogs...and I won't be sitting in my season ticket spot to enjoy it.

I won't be able to recreate this roomie picture:

In Athens last season.

I won't be able to recreate this best friend picture:

We do this every week.

Instead, I'll be on a mandatory adult field trip to Washington, DC and stuck on a bus with 30 other teachers who will all be oblivious to the fact that the game is happening (minus my 2 diehards who will be my bffs all weekend).  Instead of soaking in the history of our capital, I'll be dreaming of Columbia.  I'll be missing the biggest game of the season.

....and then it hit me.  The Gamecocks don't NEED me to be there.  They didn't NEED me there two years ago when the #1 Alabama team came into town.  They didn't NEED me to successfully have College Gameday here two years ago.  While I was gone, they still did their thing and the game went on without me.

(this is a stretch but bear with me)

In the moment of complaining about not being here, I was reminded that the Gamecocks do. not. need. me. to still have the game continue.

And in all this....It made me think of Jesus.  He allows me to be part of the action.  He allows me to be a part of His team.  He lets me cheer for something bigger than myself.  But He doesn't NEED me to be there for His work to continue.  He graciously invites me into the work He's doing, but he doesn't NEED me there for it to still happen.  He is the Lord. He is the author and perfecter.  He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.

While my trip is BEYOND inconvenient and ill-timed, I know that the Gamecocks will ultimately be just fine without me.  The game is still going to happen.  The teams will all run out onto the field and play 4-quarters (or, if the Gamecocks play like they did for Kentucky then they will only be out there 2 quarters).  It humbles me and makes me not as quick to complain about how annoyed I am with this field trip...because it is a bigger thing than just me.  Such with my life.

New School Year....it's go time.

Found this on a website and it echoes my heart, so I'm going to repost it....

Teacher’s Prayer 

Lord, let me be just what they need. 

If they need someone to trust, let me be trustworthy. 

If they need sympathy, let me sympathize. 

If they need love (and they do need love),  

let me love in full measure 

Let me not anger easily, Lord but let me be just. 

Permit my justice to be tempered in your mercy. 

When I stand before them, Lord, let me look strong and 

good and honest and loving. 

And let me be as strong and good and honest  

and loving as I look to them. 

Help me council the anxious, crack the covering of the shy. 

Temper the rambunctious with a gentle attitude. 

Permit me to teach only the truth. 

Help me inspire them so that learning will not cease at the 

classroom door.  

Let the lessons they learn make their lives fruitful  

and happy. 

And, Lord let me bring them to you. 

Teach them through me to love You. 

Finally, permit me to learn the lessons they teach. 

Amen 

Beginning a new school year is always stressful and full of emotions.  I am anxious thinking about all that lies before me.  I am apprehensive about getting to know 22 new stories and lives...getting to know them deeply as readers, writers, mathematicians and MOST importantly as little humans. Learning what makes them tick. What makes them smile. What makes them nervous. And what makes them feel like the only person in the world (if only for a quick moment once in a while).  I always reflect on years before and think "there's no way it can be better..." and then there are moments that immediately change my mind.

As I begin my fourth year teaching, I could reflect for days on how much I've learned.  I could reflect on the lives that have come into my path, and the way those little lives have changed mine for good.  But right now...tonight...as I prolong a restless night of tossing and turning in my bed with anxious thoughts, I want to stop and pray for them.  Help me be what they need, Lord. And help them see your goodness as you work through me. The prayer above is what my heart desires, and I pray for you to qualify me for the task that lies before me.  Help this year be filled with laughter, smiles, and lots of learning. And help me be open to the opportunities to learn and grow into a stronger teacher and person because of what they bring into my life. Amen.

Friends from all seasons...

I am currently in my "I graduated and stayed in the same town when my friends moved away"  phase of life.

This is a great place to be because I am familiar with the city in which I live, have a few solid friendships still lingering around, and feel grounded here.  This is a weird place to be because I am figuring out how these relationships will move forward as we begin to grow more.  Its also weird because other friends are moving on, essentially, and it seems as if I am staying the same.

But today was such a breath of fresh air for this phase of my life.  I visited Camp for church...and camp to me is a place that always brings me back to center.  Camp friends stand the test of time.  Regardless of if I was there yesterday or a year ago, people just seem to naturally jump right back to where you left off.  I am blessed by that consistency in my life, and it helps remind me that true friends can do that.

From camp, I ventured to my friend Katie's house in Greenville.  Katie just had a beautiful baby girl last Saturday night and her life is ever-changing.  I love that even in the chaos of a new baby I was able to spend sweet time with her.  The times we can steal are precious to my heart, and I look forward to this new phase of friendship with her as a babymama.

And lastly, this diva named Paige Harmony hollered at me and we were able to catch up with each other by playing the all too familiar "tell me about your life in 5 minutes" game...where you word-vomit everything you can think to share with such a dear friend.  We haven't talked in over a year, and it was as if we were sitting side-by-side on the Truth bench star gazing in 2008. (but she is a Camp Greystone friend, and so you've already read my thoughts on how those friendships stand the test of time to me)

I was thinking about WHAT A BLESSING it is to have friends from all seasons of life, FOR all seasons of life.  I don't need 1,000 friends surrounding me...just some solid friendships.  The Lord has been so faithful in making some friendships so natural...but has also cultivated friendships through tough times and sustained them.  He has provided girls (and some guys) who speak some truth into me and keep me focused on the bigger picture.  He has worked through some insecurities and taught me things about myself...all the while keeping some people around me who I could not be more thankful for.

It's tough when you return to friendships after being away from someone and it's not as good as it used to be.  I'm too familiar with that.  But I am also going to be appreciative of friends who grow along the journey with me.

A political soapbox

On most occasions, my blog is a rambling mess. It talks about my hilarious students in my class or I offer an anecdote about shenanigans in my life.  Very rarely do I take the time to spend time reflecting on current issues or really digging deeply into my thoughts.  It's hard to sit down and articulate how I'm feeling, but this one is a tricky subject that I just happen to have a lot of opinions about.

Voters in North Carolina had a tough decision to make today.  Amendment One.  In case you're living under a rock or have no connection to social media, this amendment is a state level constitutional law that says only marriage between and man and woman would be a legally recognized domestic union.

As a Christian viewpoint in this controversy, I believe that my opinion is going to go against the majority of believers.  So, knowing that, let's set this straight from the beginning: I believe in the Bible in it's entirety.  I believe that the Bible it is God-breathed and living, and that it is active in my life as it applies to things I am dealing with. (Hebrews 4:12)

I believe that the Bible warns against all types of sexual immorality--not only calling out gay and lesbian relationships, but ALL types.  I could list off a myriad of sexual acts, but I'll keep it PG.  The point is, why are we zoning in on this one type? Why are we, as Christians, choosing to voice our opinions against this lifestyle when there are other issues to worry about? It is not the role of the government to determine who can and cannot get married.  I find it inappropriate to mix religion in with politics in the first place because Jesus didn't come to be a political savior, but that's a soapbox for another day. Stay focused.  If a couple wants to get married under the covenant of God and stand before the Lord in a church and submit themselves to each other under the authority of heaven--THEN there can be a discussion about who is joined together.  It should not be the government's role to ban marriage of homosexuals, it should be the church's role to not recognize it.  The two (church and state) do not and should not overlap...and I know a lot of you will disagree with me on this.  I will say it again--Jesus did not come to grant us freedom in politics. He came for a much deeper freedom--one that he literally gave His life for.  He came to make us not hungry or thirsty anymore by providing us LIFE ABUNDANTLY! Don't get distracted with the politics that is so quick to change in time.

I have been reading a lot of authors who are relating this to the 1960's segregation laws, and saying that years from now people will look back at this and shake their heads in embarrassment.  That may be true.  I do think that more and more states will recognize homosexual relationships in the future, some more quickly than others.  North Carolina voters made the choice tonight to play the role of God.  People voted with their convictions, yes, but what they really voted for seems to go against what they are claiming to promote.  The people who claim to be Christians practiced intolerance and hatred of others tonight.  While I in no way believe that homosexuality is Biblical, I also do not believe that it should be the role of the state to decide this for those people.  They are not some law on a page--they are humans.  People who, unlike the  people who live in sexual sin in the closet, have come out publicly with their decisions.  We are taking on the role of God here...judging people and telling them that they lose their rights because of their sexuality.  It is simply, in my mind, not like Christ.


John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35 says to love others as Christ has loves us.  I don't know about you, North Carolina voters, but Christ has loved me regardless of the times I have failed him.  He loves me in the purest way and is full of redemption when I cannot live up to his sacrifice. So, in that way, I am committed to loving people.  Regardless of their sexuality. Regardless of their political affiliations or religious views.  Christ loved us. Period.  He sent Jesus to Earth to die for our sins...not for our pretty, small, in the dark sins we don't let anyone see...but ALL OUR SINS.


³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”


Love others.