just one more [God-ordained] day...

the countdown lessens...

days of classes (including finals) = 7

days til i move out of the dorms = 9
days til i see my BOYFRIEND = 18
days til i begin student teaching = 41
days til i [Lord-willing] fly to Portugal = 91
days til graduation = 157
days til i'm in glory with my Savior = ???????????

one thing i LOVE to do is countdown the days. i have paper-chains hanging in my room more often than not. (sometimes i forget to keep up with them, but who cares!) but on the flip-side, sometimes i forget to make the days count. i don't know what tomorrow holds. (Matthew 6:34; James 4:14) i can count down, and if the Lord doesn't change anything drastically, i'll still see my boyfriend in 18 days and i'll still graduate in 157. but what makes my days count!?! making the most of my time? yes, somewhat. making the most of my situations? yes, in a way. but honestly, it's making the most of myself by God's grace, so i can make the most of God, Himself.

Psalm 119:16

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

do i make everyday count knowing that my God formed each day that i live knowing what each day holds and expecting me to glorify Him with it? do i live today as just a means to an end? or is today the life i am given to live, to glorify my Savior with? as i realize that the end (of college) is getting closer, i'm thinking more about what i've done and what i'm doing that counts for eternity. how about you???

Heroes for My Son

by Brad Meltzer

http://heroesformyson.com/ 

book of the week. :) this book is an excellent choice for getting elementary students (or even older... like college...) interested in the people behind history, rather than just seeing history as a series of dates and wars. it's simple and sweet. i'll  definitely add this to my Christmas wish list for my classroom! :)

i have TIME again...

orals are OVER.

i'm finally free to do other things.

people kept telling me it would be fun once i was up there... not quite true. 

the funnest part was when dr. cole asked what my favorite Christmas carol was (leading into ANGELology)

however... i feel like my faith is stronger because of it. a friend of a friend recently said "i wouldn't consider going to a school that required that." yes, i don't think i'd ever choose a school because they had orals, but i have learned so much simply from that pressure of making me KNOW what i believe and know WHY i believe it. that being said, i'm SO glad it's over.for those who don't know, orals are a 25 minute test given by 2 professors in front of my class over things from God's Word that i've been learning for the last 3 years. a lot of pressure, and a lot of knowledge. but a lot of peace when it's over!

next on the agenda, THANKSGIVING. i'm so ready for a trip home. and much needed sleep. and maybe i'll finally get my hair done. ;) the last week has been busy with studies and sleep. that's about it. only 11 days of college classes (including finals) left. :)

in less than 2 months, i'll be in first grade at Des Moines Christian School in Urbandale, IA. i got to meet one of the kids in my class last week! i was babysitting a group of kids and he had told me that he went to DMC, sure enough... he's in my first grade class! i can't wait to spend several weeks with those kids! i have their names and special needs all written down to pray for. and i'm so excited to teach. :)

i'm also excited to just be HOME. sleeping on the couch, watching the fire, eating steak, NOT seeing much snow, playing video games with my brothers, tanning for cheap, eating spaghetti whenever i want, sleeping in... ahh... the joys of home sweet home. :)

wordless wednesday.

best surprise ever. :)

my long week of practicum was capped off with work friday night. i was excited to get off early and head back to my room, clean, and have a phone date with my boyfriend. :) he had warned me that his friday night was a little busier than usual, so i decided that settling for going to bead early would be okay too. i got done working a little early and had a text from him, so i called... no answer. oh well, i headed back to my room and started cleaning. he finally texted me back and asked if i was ready for my surprise. [we decided that since we're long distance, on our month anniversaries, we'd write a letter, rather than just email or phone call, so things wouldn't get so monotonous. :) last month was a bouquet of daisies and letter to me waiting for me on my desk (with help from my roommate) and he warned that this month's special thing would be a little late. i reassured him that as long as it was from him and heartfelt, i didn't care when it came. :) little did i know how true that would be...] i texted him back and said "sure"...with no response... so i said "that meant yes"... he told me where to go to get my surprise. i figured it'd be a friend of ours with a gift he had sent, or another bouquet of flowers. :) i told him when i was there... and around the corner walks my handsome boyfriend holding a rose. :) it was dark out, and i was a little shocked... (those of you who know me well understand that i'm easily excited and tend to over-dramatize happy things...) so i should've jumped up and down and screamed and cried and laughed and hugged him, but no... i stared blankly. [good thing for him, my mom was in on the surprise and she warned him that sometimes surprises make me angry or upset rather than happy... so he was ready for anything] i couldn't quite tell if it was really him or what i should do once i realized it was. so i stared, then repeated (over and over and over again) "oh my word, oh my word" he smiled and said "i'm here." then i slowly walked over and gave him a hug. then, my quick thinking set in! he got here an hour before curfew! i had time to hang out with him. excited at my discovery, i shared it with him, only to find out that he had signed me out for the weekend (with special permission from the deans and our parents) with help from my roommate, he had rid me of work obligations (thanks to a couple friends) and he had freed up my night for sadie hawkins (rather than babysitting). so... i went back to my room and i packed my bags :)

he had been telling me every time i complained about the distance that "it would be here before i knew it" i kept saying "that's not even true." he wanted to crack so many times, but finally just asked if i trusted him. my answer was a firm yes (followed by thoughts of "but that doesn't make me believe you or make it any closer"). but he was right... it was closer than i realized. :) :) :) and i have the sweetest, most thoughtful boyfriend on the planet. :)

the weekend brought many exciting occasions such as...

watching toy story 3 (he made me promise to wait til he was home to watch it)

watching the hawkeye game (good thing they won!)

going to his family get-together

going rollerskating for sadie hawkins

taking a walk at the park

going to church together

eating (his favorite) sunday dinner with his family

going to chapel together :) haha

going grocery shopping!

feeding the ducks at hawkeye park together (HILARIOUS)

 chillin at the fincham's :)

making him a sandwich (best part of his weekend)

having a picnic at saylorville lake

watching the sunset at saylorville lake

visiting saylorville dam (one of my FAVORITE places ever)

walking around downtown DSM

eating Ben & Jerry's (best part of my weekend)

and simply just being together. <3

this past weekend was the best. simple as that. :) i need to catch up on homework that didn't get done this weekend, and i have yet to get my hair dyed. ;) 

and for those who have asked, or simply wondered...

I AM NOT ENGAGED

nor will i be anytime soon :)

just another draining week...

Ps. 34:11 Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

another week is done. practicum can be added to my list of senior accomplishments. monday morning, the teachers met together for devos and we read Psalm 34 and verse eleven stuck out like none other. do i beg those younger than me to listen to me so i can teach them the fear of the Lord? that's my job, whether i'm a teacher, or just a believer. but... do i know the fear of the Lord well enough to teach it??? i have SO much to learn. i've soaked up a lot this week, but i feel like a half-empty sponge with water running off of it rather than running through it and staying. i got to teach 4 lessons this week, grade papers, take kids out for recess, take them to the bathroom, make a leaf fossil out of clay, try to figure out how to spell tepee, eat birthday cookies, read books aloud, play six-square, tell boys to quit drawing pictures of people getting blown apart, administer spelling tests, and laugh with kids. :) it was a great week!!! but it wore me out. i NEED a coffee maker before student teaching. NEED. first grade might be the death of me! lol. anyway... on to a busy weekend!

i am one step closer to Christmas. i'm wearing thin, i'm exhausted, i'm beginning to remember why i've never really liked school, i'm getting too old for this. simple as that. i want to go home. having family come to visit is WONDERFUL, but not quite the same as sitting in my own living room without a care in the world. only 5 more weeks. i have strength beyond measure because my God is all-powerful. :) He alone is good, and He alone is God.

so, my list of things to do diminishes by one:

ORALS

my online portfolio

ORALS

writing a children's book

ORALS

reading hundreds of pages for Genesis

ORALS

reading hundreds of pages for senior sem

ORALS

reading hundreds of pages for teaching language arts

ORALS

and that's all i can recall right now. 

i can't wait to sleep well tonight.

then wake up early tomorrow and get my hair dyed. :)

more than ever, i'm learning that there is JOY in serving Jesus.

practicum...

Sunday night, I spent my late night (after church and work) realizing how insane this week would be. I tried to organize my life in small chunks so I wouldn't dread it too much. apprehension prohibits learning. and i have a lot to learn, therefore, NO room for apprehension!!! after too much stressing followed by much needed (not enough) prayer, i packed my lunch for the next morning, picked out my outfit (that ALWAYS helps) and headed to bed far too late. Monday was a long day. i left faith at 6:35 a.m. and spent my time in 3rd grade with 1 teacher, 17 desks, 12 eight-year-olds, 1 mt. dew, 0 windows, and 8 hours of observing. my mt. dew didn't last as long as i had hoped. tuesday was better, faster, and livelier. i played 6-square (4-square on speed) with the third-graders and defended them when the 6th graders came and tried to gang up on the "little kids." i felt so needed. :) those kids are great. i got to do show-n-tell with a "me-in-a-bag." that consisted of piano music, sprinkles (because i love sweets), car keys (because i love road trips), a Cardinals key chain (which rose a ruckus with a certain little cubs fan), a pink flip-flop, colored pencils (because of my affinity for coloring), and a faith volleyball shirt. :) the kids are starting to like me. playing with them at recess helped some. ;) today, i put up a bulletin board for the kids. tomorrow, i'll be teaching one lesson, two on thursday, and one on friday. it's gonna get better and crazier. all that to say... i HATE traffic at 7 in DSM. but 3 more days of learning await me at Iowa Christian. :)