Hola.
I love the fall! It is finally starting to show signs of autumn, and I think I'm going to go ahead and decorate my house for Halloween!
I didn't plan to go on such a hiatus from blogger, but my month has been full of action and reflection--if the 2 can even co-exist. I have refrained from posting, somewhat intentionally, somewhat absentmindedly. I've been trying to immerse myself into this life as I know it and make peace with some situations that have seemed to linger. In this month, I've had a lot of time to think, mull, and ultimately rejuvenate my spirits. In this month I have been reminded that God is so good; he is faithful and consistent, and he has a masterplan behind everything... Praise him.
During college, especially my Senior year and Grad school period, I found a treasure in the book
Streams in the Desert. It is a daily reading kind of book, and for a little over 2 years, every day seemed to fit perfectly into whatever present situation was going on in my life. I was amazed, and I bought a copy for (or at least recommended it to) nearly everyone I knew and cared about. I haven't read it in a couple of years, and just recently I picked it back up, and was again amazed at how specifically it is resonating with my current feelings.
Today's reading reminded me what how God is constantly working on us, never allowing us to grow stale or reek death. The verse for today was, "My Father is the gardener." ~John 15.1 The write wrote about how gardeners prune their plants to produce beautiful flowers and fruit, and compared the thought to how God must trim away our dead areas to produce new, mature growth in our lives that reflects Him. These words particularly touched me,"There is rich symbolism in this account of the pruning process in the Christian life. Pruning
seems to be destroying the vine, and the gardener
appears to be cutting everything away. Yet he sees the future and knows that the final result will be the enrichment of the life of the vine, and a greater abundance of fruit." While these words are not anything new, they are refreshing all the same. Patrick and I are learning to become content in our pruning--even learning to be thankful.
At our Lifegroup on Sunday, my friend Ann, who just moved to Montgomery, refreshed me by reminding me of another verse that used to be one of my favorites, one of those key verses that I put a lot of stock in and found a lot of hope for. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and Earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being." ~Acts 17:22-28.
So, in this time and place, I am enjoying many things. The '06-'07 school year is off to a great start. I finally feel like a "veteran" teacher. I have my organization figured out. I feel comfortable with the material and am pumped about teaching 2 novels for the first time,
Animal Farm and
Lord of the Flies.
Auburn football is off to a great start, and I get to go to my first game in 2 years (last fall=showers and wedding) this weekend with Patrick and Lindsay and Daniel. P.S. I had to watch the ever intense Auburn vs. LSU game with some volatile Alabama fans while tailgating outside Byant-Denny Stadium. I was so relieved when it was over, and our win helped me enjoy my Tuscaloosa experience and time with Adam and Bevin even more...
I have a new show: Prison Break. Patrick and I watched Season 1 on a long weekend, and are so hooked. Michael Scofield is a GENIUS, and his "masterplan" has to be sybolical to God--ok, so he is an escaped con, but he is AWESOME! Plus, all my other shows start up this week!
Maggie is growing like a weed and knows "Sit," "Stay," "Rufus," (her stuffed dog that I named), "Flossy" (her rawhide bone), and of course, "good girl!" and "bad girl!" She is quite rebellious sometimes, but has a wonderful, friendly personality, and she is thoroughly and consistently housetrained except during thunderstorms... She really enjoyed going to Broadway Under the Stars last week at Shakespeare (which was definitely one of my Montgomery highlights) and playing with her friends, Titan, Hector, and Fifi. :) She can't wait for Sadie to come this weekend...
And, finally, I am taking Spanish and LOVE it!
Hasta Luego! God Bless!
Hola.
I love the fall! It is finally starting to show signs of autumn, and I think I'm going to go ahead and decorate my house for Halloween!
I didn't plan to go on such a hiatus from blogger, but my month has been full of action and reflection--if the 2 can even co-exist. I have refrained from posting, somewhat intentionally, somewhat absentmindedly. I've been trying to immerse myself into this life as I know it and make peace with some situations that have seemed to linger. In this month, I've had a lot of time to think, mull, and ultimately rejuvenate my spirits. In this month I have been reminded that God is so good; he is faithful and consistent, and he has a masterplan behind everything... Praise him.
During college, especially my Senior year and Grad school period, I found a treasure in the book
Streams in the Desert. It is a daily reading kind of book, and for a little over 2 years, every day seemed to fit perfectly into whatever present situation was going on in my life. I was amazed, and I bought a copy for (or at least recommended it to) nearly everyone I knew and cared about. I haven't read it in a couple of years, and just recently I picked it back up, and was again amazed at how specifically it is resonating with my current feelings.
Today's reading reminded me what how God is constantly working on us, never allowing us to grow stale or reek death. The verse for today was, "My Father is the gardener." ~John 15.1 The write wrote about how gardeners prune their plants to produce beautiful flowers and fruit, and compared the thought to how God must trim away our dead areas to produce new, mature growth in our lives that reflects Him. These words particularly touched me,"There is rich symbolism in this account of the pruning process in the Christian life. Pruning
seems to be destroying the vine, and the gardener
appears to be cutting everything away. Yet he sees the future and knows that the final result will be the enrichment of the life of the vine, and a greater abundance of fruit." While these words are not anything new, they are refreshing all the same. Patrick and I are learning to become content in our pruning--even learning to be thankful.
At our Lifegroup on Sunday, my friend Ann, who just moved to Montgomery, refreshed me by reminding me of another verse that used to be one of my favorites, one of those key verses that I put a lot of stock in and found a lot of hope for. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and Earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being." ~Acts 17:22-28.
So, in this time and place, I am enjoying many things. The '06-'07 school year is off to a great start. I finally feel like a "veteran" teacher. I have my organization figured out. I feel comfortable with the material and am pumped about teaching 2 novels for the first time,
Animal Farm and
Lord of the Flies.
Auburn football is off to a great start, and I get to go to my first game in 2 years (last fall=showers and wedding) this weekend with Patrick and Lindsay and Daniel. P.S. I had to watch the ever intense Auburn vs. LSU game with some volatile Alabama fans while tailgating outside Byant-Denny Stadium. I was so relieved when it was over, and our win helped me enjoy my Tuscaloosa experience and time with Adam and Bevin even more...
I have a new show: Prison Break. Patrick and I watched Season 1 on a long weekend, and are so hooked. Michael Scofield is a GENIUS, and his "masterplan" has to be sybolical to God--ok, so he is an escaped con, but he is AWESOME! Plus, all my other shows start up this week!
Maggie is growing like a weed and knows "Sit," "Stay," "Rufus," (her stuffed dog that I named), "Flossy" (her rawhide bone), and of course, "good girl!" and "bad girl!" She is quite rebellious sometimes, but has a wonderful, friendly personality, and she is thoroughly and consistently housetrained except during thunderstorms... She really enjoyed going to Broadway Under the Stars last week at Shakespeare (which was definitely one of my Montgomery highlights) and playing with her friends, Titan, Hector, and Fifi. :) She can't wait for Sadie to come this weekend...
And, finally, I am taking Spanish and LOVE it!
Hasta Luego! God Bless!
