Time flies when you are a student...

Wow, so I am not good at this! I knew it had been a while but I can't believe I haven't written since August. I am sure most of you have given up on reading this, but oh well. I can post now.
I just finished what can only be described as one of the best and worst semesters of my life. School was insane and the amount of working and classes that I had nearly sent me over the edge more times than I can count. At the same time I worked in a 3rd grade and a 5th grade class and loved it! It made the crazy school work worth it. I so looked forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays (Okay well most of the time anyway). My kids were great, and the ones that were hard were always some of my favorites! They all just made my heart cry and rejoice at the same time. I can't wait to be working in a classroom with students every day. It is hard to believe that not so very long from now I will be teaching on my own. I still have a semester of core classes to take before starting to student teach but I have to remember that isn't very long.
I wrote my Senior Integration Paper (AKA The Paper of CC) and got to research recess. I started out by looking into Classical Education but couldn't find the research I needed for it so I had to change my topic half way through the semester. That was stressful but it worked out in the end. I did well on my SIP and found out that I am very passionate about making sure students still get their breaks every day even though many states no longer require the time to be taken in the day. I also wrote a management plan and did some tutoring with a student in reading. Those were huge steps for me! I taught lessons and loved on my kids the best that I could. I could spend  a long time telling about them but not here. If you want to hear stories you will have to ask me in person!
Aside of the school side of life this semester was a roller coaster of personal drama! All I can say is that God is definitely working on teaching me about his perfect timing and will in my life. I have been angry, confused, hurt, and finally attempted to be submissive to what he is working out in my life right now. There have been tears of joy and surrender along side tears of uncertainty. I have learned a lot and  have a lot more to figure out from here. He is far from done with working in me about these issues. The biggest lesson right now is waiting for he is God. I'm not a very patient person so waiting can be a problem, much more than I ever knew before these past few months. Isn't is amazing how the Lord teaches his children and sometimes they don't even know it is happening until they are in the middle of the lesson. It is pretty amazing to me to see how he has taught me.
Lastly, I grew in amazing friendships with people from my church and the rest of the girls in my major. I have truly been blessed through these amazing people and their love for me in the midst of troubled times, just as much as they are in the times of joy. Not to mention the ladies on my hall and my roommate who is now done with school. I don't know what next semester will be like without her but I do know it will not be nearly as laugh filled. I love these people in my life so very much and thank God for them daily!
Well, I am home for Christmas break it and it wonderful. I am getting the rest that was so lacking in the semester is wonderful. I have time with my parents that is uninterrupted and I get to be with my great friends from home. I love Christmas and the time to be with people, even though it gets so busy! I have lots of plans that will keep me busy and then I go back to take my exam to become a certified teacher (Ah!) in the beginning of January. I will spend my 23rd birthday away from family which will be hard but it is all a part of growing up. I am ready to grow up...most of the time. For tonight that is really all I have to say but I have been meaning to write for a few days. Merry Christmas all, in case I don't write again until the summer ;)

The Healer is at work

So it is almost 1:30 in the morning. I haven't used this blog in about 5 months, though I have thought of writing in it often. I can't sleep, for the thousandth time this summer. And I'm thinking about my difficult appointment with the cardiologist on Friday. This was the first time that I left the appointment feeling that my life would not be almost the same as any other person who was born without a heart disease. We found out things that had never been brought to our attention before and they were hard things to hear. Such is the reality of being one of the very first of a group of children who had a successful recovery with a new procedure shortly after it was developed. Things are being discovered now about what life looks like for those of us with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome and have had the Norwood Procedure (I put that link in so that if you have any interest you can get an idea of what I'm talking about). I won't go into the major details here. This is just to say that the Lord is preparing me for big things I never expected to be facing as an adult. I am really leaning on Him through this hard time and depending on Him to use the new information for His glory and my good, as he promises he will. 
It is hard to believe that summer is coming to a close. On Tuesday I will drive back up to the beautiful Lookout Mountain and get back into life at school. I am excited and nervous about this new semester coming up. It will be very full of work. Hopefully it will also be bursting with great fun and growing friendships. As usual I have not started packing and I only ordered my books for the semester this evening. Every new semester I am determined to be prepared early, and every semester I procrastinate until the last minute. Somehow it all falls into place in spite of me. 
As I am sitting here and typing all I can think to say is what a great God I have. It may seem trite to say that. I hope not. I truly mean it and am amazed by His love for such as I. Even when I am questioning His plan for me He is working it out in a way that becomes clear in time. Sometimes it is a quick view into how He worked and sometimes it takes years for it to be revealed. Even in the midst of the struggles I am facing now I can see how Jehovah has protected me and worked things out for my good. It is truly amazing. And the sad part is how quickly I forget this. 
Well it is very late and I am sure that most of this post has been a bit confusing. I am having trouble putting my thoughts in order (which is a big part of why it has been so long since I last posted). I just knew that tonight I wanted to write here and have a conversation with whoever may be listening (reading, really) at this point. 

It is a big day at Covenant College

The anticipation of students, faculty, and staff on campus has been hanging in the air all week. In the fall Dr. Neilson announced that he would be stepping down as President of Covenant College this summer. The whole student body was saddened to hear this news, but also excited about what the change could bring. Who would they get to replace Dr. Neilson? What changes would be bring? and many other questions I am sure were running through everyone's mind. I know I certainly was curious about the whole process. But as the semester progressed and classes started to be more challenging everyone seemed to forget for a while the change coming on the horizon. We all went about our daily routine with little thought to who would be coming next fall. Well, not all of us, the board was working diligently to find the man that God had for the school as we enter into this new chapter. There were lots of applicants and after months of deliberation and prayer, today was the day that the new president would be announced to the student body. All of the excitement of the board being on campus this week and the mysterious e-mail sent out yesterday certainly kept everyone on the edge of their seats as they waited for Chapel today. The whole room was buzzing with chatter as you walked in, when it is typically quiet. And when the chairman of the board walked on stage the whole room listened intently. He described the process and the great features that made the man they had chosen stand out above the other applicants. The whole room applauded in a show of gratitude and love for the Neilsons who we are sad to see go. When he finally announced that Dr. J. Derek Halvorson had been selected to be the new president of the college everyone was ecsatic. Dr. Halvorson gave a wonderful short speech to express his gratitude for being selected. Overall it was a wonderful ceremony to honor two men who have and will serve the school well for the sake of The Kingdom. I am so excited to see what God has in store for Covenant over the next couple of years that I will be here.

Here is a video of the Chapel from today for whoever is interested:

And here is a short clip from Dr. Halvorson:

Hope y'all enjoy those clips and join in on both the bittersweet goodbye to the Neilsons, as well as the excitement of welcoming the Halvorson family to the Covenant community.

A short freak out...just so you know going into the post what is coming.....

So I don't know if any of y'all experience this, but have you ever had that gripping feeling of panic that you can literally feel in your chest. You don't even have to be doing anything stressful, or even anything at all to get it. All it takes is one thought about everything coming up in the next few months of life and there it is. Grabbing you and making you concentrate on the problems that need solving but seem insurmountable. Yup, I am having one of those moments right now. I was just sitting at my desk in the office and doing some homework. I had finished all of my work for the afternoon and was told to study or read for the rest of my time. And all of the sudden, while I was reading "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" there it was: PANIC. The past week and in particular the past couple of days have been filled with questions and concerns about the future. While some were answered, thankfully, the answers brought with them a whole new set of questions. Ones that are bigger and even more nerve wracking than the old ones. AH!!

New Semester...

Well I am a week into Spring semester of my Junior year at Covenant. Now, I have been in school for four years but alas, I remain a junior for now. I must admit that, as much as I enjoy education and look forward to teaching, as of right now and this week, I am over the whole idea! Ok, so maybe I'm just tired. And probably in the next few days I will be back into the swing of things with school and work and life will be grand again. Hopefully!

This semester is shaping up to be a very busy one. I have 16 hours of class + 15 hours of workstudy + babysitting three afternoons a week! AH! But, it will all get done :-) I  am grateful for each of these things, though they do look intemidating when you combine all of them into one list. Also, the weather here is for sure gray and yuck. This is a problem. I don't have enough warm clothes for this to last much longer....HAHA wrong place for that, I know! But the Florida girl in me remains strong. I am sure I will be adjusted to the weather soon as well.

I am so glad to be back on my hall. I love that we laugh and do crazy things together. My roommate and I have already had plenty of nights that ended in giggling for no good reason. I love living on The Fritz where we love each other so well, in all ways. It has been a hard week and knowing that the girls on the hall are there to support and comfort each other is such a blessing. I know that I cannot take these relationship for granted. And now, it is time for me to go and get lunch before my class! Sorry this was a very disjointed update, but it is kind of an appropriate representation of my life these days! :-)