Friday, March 27, 2009

my prayer

Revelation- Third Day

My life has led me down the road that’s so uncertain
Now I am left alone and I am broken
Trying to find my way
Trying to find the faith that’s gone
This time I know that you are holding all the answers
I’m tired of losing hope and taking chances
On roads that never seem
To be the ones that bring me home

Give me a revelation
Show me what to do
‘Cause I’ve been trying to find my wayI haven’t got a clue
Tell me should I stay here
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I’ve got nothing without you
I’ve got nothing without you

My life has led me down this path that’s ever winding
Through every twist and turn, I’m always finding
That I am lost again
Tell me when this road will ever end
I don’t know where I can turn
Tell me, when will I learn
Won’t you show me where I need to go
Let me follow your lead
I know that it’s the only way that I can get back home

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

God is faithful.

This past weekend I attended a retreat with the college + ministry at my church. The theme was REFRESH which was absolutely what happened. Spring Break was a whirlwind (a very enjoyable whirlwind) and the retreat was the perfect ending to the week. We spent some time reflecting on the times in our life when we truly saw God's blessings as He lead us through trying times.

I'm by nature a worrier. Towards the end of college I became consumed with worry. What was next? I had gotten into several grad schools but really wanted to teach. Who was going to hire a fresh graduate with no teaching experience? I spent the whole summer applying to schools, but had zero luck.

Now, about 9 months later I can look back and see that the job I have now is indeed the answer to my many prayers, but the coolest part of it is how I can look back to the summer after I graduated from high school and see the chain of events that led me to this place. It would take a long time to tell you the whole story and all the people involved but I can see the direct path, those connected dots, that led me right here to Houston.

Part of me wishes I had known about this plan so that I wouldn't have wasted so much time worrying about it, but I have grown SO much because of this experience. God is good. He is faithful. He knows my future. Not only do I have a cool story of God's faithfulness, but this experience has radically changed my relationship with Him.

Monday, March 9, 2009

so much to say

I'm trying to think of all that's happened since I last updated... I'll try my best...

Things at school have seemed to slow down a little bit, but it seems like everything else has picked up. Only one more week until Spring Break!!

So last week was quite traumatic. I administered my first official ELA TAKS test. Now, here's the thing you need to know about the TAKS test. Students must pass every TAKS test in order to graduate, which means my job (and the jobs of all teachers) depend on these results. It's a very secure test, and we have to go through all this training and paper work just to stand on our feet all day and monitor the test. The actual test day wasn't so bad, but I sure hope the 11th graders did good. If they get an over all 95% then I get a bonus in November :)

But it wasn't just the TAKS that made my week traumatic. Last Thursday, a fight broke out in my class. Now I don't mean a petty argument, I mean a full-out fist fight. Now it certainly was over something silly and was a fight between friends, but regardless, my heart was racing and I was pretty upset with these boys. I spent a long time talking with the police and AP's afterwards. At least it got me out of class.....

This week we are focusing on teen deaths related to drunk driving. Today was really cool. They brought out two cars on the street in front of the school that had been wrecked, and simulated an accident. The police, EMT, corner, etc. all came. It was very moving and way to realistic. The actors had blood all over them, they even took someone on a CareFlight. The students really seemed to be moved by it. Every 15 mins over the loud speaker we hear 10 seconds of a heart beat to symbolize another life lost to drunk driving, and "The Grim Reaper" has been paying classes a visit and removing someone from the room to also symbolize the deaths. Someone then reads an obituary for the student. Tomorrow, the parents of the students who were "killed" will be on campus for a mock memorial service, but there will also be a family here who really did lose a child to drunk driving. What a powerful statement.

I have a few workshops to attend this week, one is on the choking game which has become quite popular on campuses. My school had a student die just before January from this game. Her parents will be present at the workshop.

Spring Break is almost here! Daniel and I will be meeting up in Austin with my parents, Leah, Sarah, Isaiah, and Melody. I am VERY excited. It's been way too long since I have seen family. WAY TOO LONG!

I'm attempting to finish The Host, but I'm having a hard time getting into it... maybe over Spring Break...

I feel like God is trying to prepare my heart for something. Just the things I've been learning in my quiet times, at church, and in small groups kind of all point towards that. It never ceases to amaze me how those different settings can all be "unintentionally" teaching me the same thing. I love being apart of HIStory.