some poetry

You wait for my love
And You stand by my side
You never give up on me.

You wait for my voice
And you await my attention
You never give up on me.

You wait for my praise
And You long for my song
You never give up on me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You have made me alive
Your Spirit dwells in me
it is a promise You made
and one that speaks to me.

Your beauty is beyond measure
Your majesty beyond compare
my voice declares my joy
to meet You soon someday
is all I'm waiting for

I'm a huge dork. Really. I'll prove it.

These are some of the books that I saw at Barnes & Noble: (oh, yeah, I really like going to B&N.  And when I'm there, it could mean I'll be there for at least an hour.)

- Smithsonian: Violent Earth
- The Complete Earth (Douglas Palmer)
- The Little BOok of Mathematical Principles (Robert Solomon)
- 101 Incredible Experiments for the Weekend Scientist
- Teachers Have Class (Mary Rodarte)

On another note, I also really like this "Altra cherry/black adjustable laptop cart" from Staples. http://www.staples.com/Altra-Adjustable-Mobile-Laptop-Desk/product_729375

Random: I wrote this brief description of my thesis at the beginning of the semester:
My thesis is going to be evaluating a systems and integration approach to teaching.  This will entail creating and teaching lessons that demonstrate the systems inherent in the sciences as well as integrating other subject material into the lessons.  The goal of integrating multiple subjects into one lesson is to show how connected the different disciplines are and how they inform one another.

I have to write things down or I will forget them.  Seriously.  It's bad.  I make lists of the things I have planned for the next few days and in these lists I often include what time I'm getting up in the morning.  And a box to check it off.  Deranged, I know.  But I'm not really that organized or rigid about things.  Proof positive - my amazing ability to procrastinate to no end.  I often clean.  Productive, yes.  What I really need to get done, no.  Oh well.

Extremely random post alert

So, today in class, we had to heuristically evaluate this to-do list website/app (depending on how you want to use it).  Now, this was actually pretty interesting.  It's a cool app.  And it works for the most part, but it's almost too simplistic and doesn't allow for some key elements that I would need.  I assume I'm not the only one but I could be wrong.  For instance, if I'm going to use an app to keep a to-do list, I need to be able to assign different levels of importance to them and then order them by importance.  In this program, you can only star or not star items.  How does that make any sense?  That was really my biggest problem.  The rest of my issues were little things like having to figure out how to add tasks and edit them just by clicking through the program.  Well, so ends my randomness.

Hebrews 1 - The Radiance of the Glory of God

I have read various chapter in Hebrews a lot recently in my attempt to make a study of the entire book.  I get stuck repeatedly in chapter one - not a bad thing but not getting me further into the whole book either.  The verse that hits me - in a good way is verse 3. Every. Single. Time.
 "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.  After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,"
Just picture that.  Jesus is the RADIANCE of the glory of God.  I mean come on, that is just so cool to think about how radiance has a face and a name.  It's Jesus.  The imagery in that one verse leaves me awestruck and wondering.  I have no idea how to imagine something like that.  But I want to, and that's part of the mystery and wonder of God.

The Gospels

I find myself wanting to study the epistles or the Psalms or Isaiah rather than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Why is this?  I can only assume it's because the epistles are shorter, more concise.  They also have practical advice about how to live life as a follower of Christ.  The thing is, I should really be studying the LIFE of CHRIST if I'm a Christ FOLLOWER.  It's something I've only recently realized I've been doing.  So, I have started studying Luke.  Luke's writing is fascinating.  He was a doctor, so he focuses more on the healings that Jesus performed.  Also, I learned that Luke wrote down his account of the life of Christ so another person (Theophilis) would know it was true.  I still haven't researched Theophilis a ton to figure out exactly who he was, but I am under the assumption to this point that he was someone learning under Luke.

On another note, I also realized over the past year that I often see my quiet times as a task to check off my list of things to do.  I perceive it as "homework" I have to do and feel like I have to get a lot written down and use lots of outside sources.  I am working on this perception, but it's taking time.  As a result, I am using my study of Luke to correct this problem.

Where I've been and where I'm headed...

I've been learning a lot about myself and about who God wants me to be.  I am a selfish person.  God is teaching me to focus outward.  I talk a lot.  God is teaching me to listen.  I have plans.  God is teaching me to trust in Him. 

This past year was very difficult for me.  I had a very rough first year of teaching.  I enjoyed it but it wasn't always a happy experience.  God taught me to trust and He led me in a new direction.  I was extremely blessed to never have a feeling of doubt about where He wanted me to go next.  He now has me back in grad school for another science degree.  I am excited to keep learning and discover where He wants to take me in my life.  I still want to teach but He might even change that desire.  I don't see that happening at this point, but that's okay. 

This semester, I am learning about complex systems and their dynamics.  I've got information already that takes me in a whole new direction.  I get to continue to be involved with Aletheia Church and learn about so many more things about God and His Word.  I don't know where God will take me after this, but I know it will be GOOD.

I am endeavoring to memorize the book of James.  This is both exciting and scary for me.  I love the book of James, so that's exciting!  Memorize a whole book of the Bible, even a small one??? Definitely challenging.  I am hoping to be challenged by this, the study of James, and the rest of the ladies who are also going through this study.  I know God will take me to new places in my faith and I can't wait to see what they are.

The past few months

The past few months have been crazy.  First year of teaching is...interesting.  120 ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders, mostly ninth graders can be a handful to say the least.  It's been teaching me a lot about patience.  That is one thing I can be sure of!  Every single day, I have students who aren't feeling like studying, who don't want to pay attention, who have no attention span to speak of, who haven't had a good night so their day is even worse, and so many other situations.  It's so easy to have a place in your heart for all of them and so hard to stay patient all the time.  I'm trying.