My first race!!!

So, this was my first race! It was a 5K in Thomson and I had only started training a good 5 days before lol. I have been so busy with school and sports I never had time to run when I got home. I've decided to pick it back up and this was to kick it off! I normally run in the gym on the treadmill because it has been SO cold! Unfortunatley the race time was 9am and it was about 32 degrees. FREEZING! Why did I wear shorts again?

Me, Chris and Ben

Walley (Chris' dad), Chris and Ben

OK....funny story about Walley in this race last year. He signed up (not the most athletic man) and said that he would do it with Chris and walk it. Well...It took him like an hour to do 3.1 miles and he came in dead last...even a woman pushing a stroller beat him!! HA! But he was a trooper and signed up again this year to try to beat his time...and other people!

I had this shirt made for Chris last Christmas. When he started doing races he said that he wanted to race for his Papa that passed away August of last year. So, the front says for Papa and the back has "God bless the little man" (from a song) and his birth and death date.
THERE'S CHRIS!!! He won 1st in his age group and 3rd over all. His time was 18:24...Flying!

Me?..... not so much! I was doing good until coming up on the last mile and everything was numb! But my sweet husband came to my rescue and ran back to find me and ran the last little bit with me!

Matt (kid on Chris' team), Me, Chris, and Ben

Turns out I did better than I thought I would do! I got 2nd in my age group! How many were in my age group?....none of your business!!

I was TAGGED!!

So, Katy tagged me. You are supposed to get the 4th picture in the 4th folder of your computer. Oh how sweet this picture is to me! It brings back so many memories from Brazil! This was our living room and these were some of the guys hanging out and acting tough. Jon Elam (red shirt) and Brian Harper (2nd from right in navy) are Americans. Jon is on staff in Brazil with campus outreach. The other guys are such sweet guys! This culture has such a sweet love for people! They hug and kiss you as soon as you walk into a room. I absolutely LOVE Brazilians and I miss my sweet friends dearly. Three of these Brazilians have come to know the Lord through Campus Outreach. I am so encouraged by their love for God that flows down through their relationships.

I am tagging Morgan, Helen, Nikki, and Amanda

15K in Crawford

Chris is such a HUGE runner. This man is dedicated! Every morning at 4:45 he wakes up, gets ready and is at the gym by 5...EVERY DAY!! NOW THATS DEDICATION!! As you all may know...I'm not so dedicated. I like to exercise, but I like my sleep a whole lot more! So, I exercise when I have time after school.

Anyway, Chris has been running for a while now and has started running in races. He has done about 4 5k's, 2 15Ks, and one half-marathon! This weekend was the big 15K (9.3 miles) in Crawford. He got his brother, ben, to run it with him.
It was FREEZING! They were standing by the truck so they could stay warm from the exhaust!

Chris getting ready to start.

So here's what happened. Chris was trying to beat his time from last year, 1 hour and 2 mins. He wanted to get it in under 1 hour. Well, 1:02 came and nobody had finished, and there are some SERIOUS runners in this thing! Finally, here they come! Chris finished in 1:04 and some seconds.

You may not be able to tell in this pic, but he was TICKED! Why? Because some joker stole the sign that tells them the way to the finish line! He was in 4th place and about 8 of them went a mile and a half out of the way! The police caught up with them and turned them around and tried to cut off some of the time they lost but there is no way they got all of it back. So, he didn't beat his time. However, he did win 8th overall and 1st place in his age group!

YAY HUBBY!!! So, I have seen his dedication and how much fun he has in these little races and I have signed up for my first 5K (3.1 miles) on December 6th and Half-marathon on April 25th! I'm gonna give it a whirl...who knows what might happen, I might turn out to be as dedicated as the hubs!....Nah, thats a little over the top! :-)

So...I wrote for 3 hrs and 45 minutes for a 4 hour test. It ended up being about 11-12 pages. Hopefully thats enough! I mean, if I were grading one of those tests I wouldn't want to read 11-12 pages from about 20 people. Maybe they will just scan over it and see key points and tell me I passed!

This weekend I also got to see my family and friends! It was such a good weekend to get away from Thomson and school and relax with good home cooked meals! After the test we just chilled on the couch watching football and then mom and I went to the store. We cooked together and had other family over saturday night. Late that night Nikki and Woody came with their little sweet baby! It was so good to see them and spend time with them! It makes me miss being around so many people that I know and love! I can't wait for Thanksgiving so that I can spend more time with them all!

Comps test

This weekend I have to take possibly the biggest test of my life! Comps...to graduate with my masters. Its a llloooonnnnggg writing test! I HATE writing tests. Hopefully I can remember enough to pass...or at least BS enough to pass! Wish me luck!

Ok....so I've had a rough few days. It all goes back to Friday. This kid in my class that never dresses out and wears the same clothes almost every day asked to go outside and kick the soccer ball with a few other kids. I let him. I stayed inside to watch the other 23 kids in my class and I would peek my head out the door and check on them every so often. Not even 5 minutes after I checked last, this boy comes into my office really upset. There was a girl with him and I asked what was wrong. When they were out there kicking the ball he had picked up this metal pole that goes down into the fence. The ball was kicked at his head and as he stuck his hand up (same hand the pole is in) to knock it down the pole hits him in his mouth and breaks his tooth. So I told him to calm down and go to the nurse. No big deal...thought it was over....NOPE!

Yesterday, his dad calls the school and is coming back on us for insurance money to cover getting his tooth fixed. Come to find out, this kid doesn't have much money and his parents couldnt pay for this. I was so upset! I just felt sorry for him....but it's all my fault! I was not supervising properly. At first I thought my principal was mad at me, but come to find out she understood. You see...we have 3 PE classes going on at the same time in the same gym-- 6-12 grade. Chaos to say the least!!! So, we always allow our kids to go out and we normally keep an eye on them. But with that many kids it is impossible for everyone to play in the gym much less for me to try and teach. This has been going on for YEARS and I am the one that it finally affects...me, a second year teacher trying to keep my job and now b/c of me the school is out $3,000!! Just yesterday the weightlifing teacher had an issue during his 2nd block class and he was up in the office during 3rd block. His class was in the gym, down in the parking lot, and in the weight room. He doesnt have a clue where some are half the time and he has been here and doing that for YEARS!! Nothing has ever happened and now it happens to me....SUCKS!

Anyway, sorry this was such a long blog...just upset and needed to vent! BAH!!

Refreshed!

I had such a fun weekend! I got to see people that I haven't seen in a long time! People who are near and dear to my heart for so many different reasons! Being at Amanda's wedding was so sweet to see where the Lord has brought her and how He has moved in her heart in so many ways. Eventhough I don't know Daniel, the pastor did a GREAT job of talking about what a great man he is. I was so encouraged to hear about their heart for the Lord and how He moved their hearts to love each other! Marriage is such a sweet gift from our Savior!

I went to see Red Mountain play at Erskine College last night in South Carolina. I have been listening to thier music for about 2 years now but I have never heard them play live. They have taken old hymns and put a new twist to the music and it is wonderful! The hymns are so real. One of the band members spoke a little bit about their music and said that he never was a big fan of some of the Christian music out there. He said that as a Christian, we deal with different issues that are hard and not fun, so when he went to church and they were singing "Here I am to worship"...that was not how he was feeling. I love it when people are real about how they feel. Christianity is not about feeling good all the time and everything going just the way that you had planned. It's hard. Hard to trust God, hard to seek Him, and even hard to love him at times. I noticed that one of the songs they played was written by John Newton, the same guy that wrote Amazing Grace. The name of the song is "Help My Unbelief". I think it is awesome that people so long ago were so real in expressing how they felt. It IS hard to believe at times!
Here are the lyrics:

I know the Lord is nigh,
And would but cannot pray,

For Satan meets me when I try,
And frights my soul away.
And frights my soul away.

I would but can’t repent,

Though I endeavor oft;

This stony heart can ne’er relent
Till Jesus makes it soft.
Till Jesus make it soft.

Help my unbelief. Help my unbelief.
Help my unbelief.
My help must come from Thee.

I would but cannot love,
Though wooed by love divine;
No arguments have power to move
A soul as base as mine.
A soul so base as mine.

I would but cannot rest,
In God’s most holy will;
I know what He appoints is best,
And murmur at it still.
I murmur at it still.

Bonclarken

First of all...along with my crazy busy life of school (im getting my masters), work, softball, and being a wife...Chris and I are also the intern youth ministers at our church. We enjoy it but it is time consuming! We took the Sr. High kids to a camp called Bonclarken up in Flat Rock, NC. To be honest...I was not happy about this trip. I was exhausted from the week before, we couldn't leave until after the Thomson football game b/c some of the kids played in the band, and I just wanted to stay home and relax. We ended up not getting there until 2:30 Saturday morning, got 5 hours of sleep and up for the day. Basically I was just there... For the first part of the morning we went to two siminars (much like Christmas Conference). The one I went to was about sanctification. WOW! The Lord really spoke to me! Some things the guy that spoke hit on was about our sin and how until we see our sin the way God sees it we will never see God for who He is and what he has done. There was a quote from a puritain that he read "Till sin be bitter, Christ will never be sweet." This quote really impacted me. I dont see my sin like I should and I definitley dont hate it like I should! And until I hate my sin, Christ will never be as sweet.

Thoughts...

This summer I realized that my heart was so cold toward God. I was so angry with him because of what is going on with my brother and I don't understand how God could just leave him where he is and not change him. I have prayed and prayed for him and I feel like my prayers don't help. So, I stopped, because I was bitter at God. Why wont God change Morgan's heart? Why won't He send someone to impact his life? Why won't He allow Morgan to realize he needs help...Why? As I questioned God and spent time in his word this summer I realized again that my thoughts aren't His and my ways aren't His and even though I may not understand right now....or ever, He is still God and He is still good.



Lately I feel like my life is such a whirlwind I don't even know how to slow down. I go to work, practice, come home and cook, sleep and start all over the next day. I feel like I don't have any time to clean, rest, or even do things that I need/want to do. This semester with school has gone by so fast! I have so much to do and feel like there is so little time. My time with the Lord is scarce and almost non-existent. I desire so much to know God more and to make Him known through my daily life, yet I don't have time to spend with Him. Maybe its more that I don't make time to spend with Him. The free time that I do have I am resting or catching up on housework. Today I have realized that I need to value my time with God and when I do have time, even if its only a few minutes, I need to spend it in prayer or in the word. Please pray for me to desire and for me to see the importance of time with God.

Red Devil Softball

Just wanted to let everyone know that my softball team beat Aquinas (our first region game) 13-3. It is the first time our school has won against Aquinas since we have gone to fast pitch!!!!(about 10 years) My girls are GREAT! They work hard and want to win! I love coaching them! Bethany #12 (Freshman) hit a walk-off grand slam!!

These days...

Chris and I were talking just the other day, and we can't believe it has already been 3 years that we have been out of college. So much of our lives has changed! The verse Jeremiah 29:11 has never meant more to me than it does now! Daily, I miss Jacksonville and my friends and family SO much! But, I know this is where the Lord has me. I dont understand it sometimes. But Jeremiah 29:11 reminds me that He knows what he is doing! He knows my future. He gives me hope when I am down. His thoughts and ways are higher than mine, this truth allows me to trust Him. I desire that my life be used by God so much! But this past year was one of the hardest I have ever experienced! I LOVE married life. Chris and I have so much fun together and I could not ask for a better husband! But as far as my heart and my emotions, its been a roller coaster ride!

As for my first year teaching and coaching, I hav never been so physically and emotionally exhausted! My softball team only won 2 games last year, but thats more than they have won in 3 years. It was a building year. I also coached middle school basketball...talk about a challenge! Lukily I had some stud athletes on my team because I didn't know much about coaching basketball. I remembered things from when I played but NEVER dreamed I would have to coach it! We won 5 out of 6 games! This year....athletes are going to be hard to come by. I'll keep you updated on that as our season starts REALLY soon! Teaching, was probably the hardest for me. I love kids....high school students...not so much. I know God has me in the high school for a reason and I prayed for a high school job because I thought that this is where I could be used the most. I believe God is using me, but I didn't think it would be this hard. You see, I look like I am one of them, and they tend to take advantage of that. I try to be tough, but it is so hard! I have been able to share my faith several times. In school, with softball and with basketball. I feel like this is why I am here. By law, I could lose my job for doing that. I am lucky to be in such a good school system where the kids don't care. The administration may not like it, but I really don't care. I listened to Rick Burgess speak at his son's funeral last year and it really stirred my heart. Nothing in this world matters, only Christ! We try to tippy toe around and be these "good little christians" but never open our mouths! What a waste! Rick encouraged me to be strong and step it up!

Well, I know thats a lot to read, so I'll stop now. There are other things on my heart...but thats for a later day! I love and miss all of you!