I graduated! Now it's time to leave the country.

First off I promised to give a shout out so...ANDREW!!!!! YOU'RE THE MAN!!!!

Now on to what's been going on. I finally did it! I finally graduated from College! I ended up graduating Cum Laude with a B.S. in education. We ended up having a really good speaker and the ceremony was about 2-2.5 hours long. I was very proud. My immediate family as well as my Nana and Papa were able to come. We ate at Demos' that afternoon and Cozymel's that night. It was great.


As part of a graduation gift/family gift for everyone, we went on a cruise of the Caribbean from December 20th-27th - just one day after graduation. We went on Liberty of the Seas which is the ship listed above. We made stops in Labadee, Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico. There were a couple of days at seas as well. We ended up going on two excursions. The first excursion we went on we toured a plantation in Jamaica and then climbed Dunn's River Falls. Our other excursion was in Cozumel, Mexico where we toured the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. Both were really exciting. We ended up swimming in very rainy weather in Haiti and shopping in Grand Cayman. As far as our days at sea, we relaxed by the pool, ate at the buffets, played miniature golf, bet at the casino (fun, but as dad can tell you I freaked out a couple of times), and went to various shows on the ship. I could go into way more detail, but I covered the main points and you can ask for details later if you wish.

My parent's anniversary was yesterday. They celebrated 32 years of marriage! Sarah and I took them to Red Lobster, had good intentions of paying, but mom and dad insisted on paying for all of us. I am a little offended by that, but at the same time it was a good gesture on their part since Sarah's income is that of a High School Music Teacher and I'm...well basically an unemployed graduate! I discovered something last night though. I may love shrimp, but the relationship isn't really mutual.

Over the next couple days, it's time to think about New Year's resolutions. I'm not sure what mine will be, I'll have to think about it. Regardless I hope that your New Year will be great and have a great rest of the day!

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other festive things

Hello Everyone!

I knew that I needed to update my blog when my sister told me that she updated hers. It is rare for Sarah to update before I do. This is another area in life where I can't let my sister beat me! So here I go to tell about what has been going on.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun! It was sad because Nana and Papa couldn't come, but we were still able to be around family. We had a BIG Thanksgiving dinner with Aunt Sue, Cousin Julie, Great Grand-mom, Great Grad-dad, Dad, Mom, and Sarah. Sarah and I decided to take a walk after our meal which was good, but it wasn't that fun in the rainy, cold, Indiana weather. After we borrowed some scarves and big coats from the Grands, we were a lot better! It was good to just be around family and enjoy each others' company. Plus the smoked turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing, orange salad, mashed potatoes, rolls, etc. were delicious!

Since Thanksgiving, I have just been focused on school and also praying that I passed my two other Praxis tests. I am happy to report that I passed my Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction Praxis! I am just waiting on the PLT (Principles of Learning and Teaching), and I should get those results soon. I am going to stay positive! It seems to be working :-)

I am counting down the days right now. I have 6 more days until I am done with this placement, 9 more days until I graduate, and 10 more days until I go on the Cruise! Part of me wants to lose some weight before I go on the cruise, but I don't have the will-power. My cooperating teacher is on a no sugar diet, and I am in awe. I couldn't do that. I guess I should just work on developing a charismatic personality so a woman will love me for who I am! :-D

Well, I best be going. If I don't blog later on, have a Merry Christmas!

Evening in November

I really didn't know what to title this blog entry. I was thinking of saying, "It's time for an update," but I decided to do a different take on a popular Christmas song and switch it around. You know the song"I'm so glad we're here together on this evening in December..." So I hope it is evening when you read this because it is evening while I am writing it at this moment.

Things have been going pretty good for me. I am in my third/fourth week of my second placement. I think I've gotten adjusted to everything now. It's still pretty new, but I am really coming to terms with the type of teacher I want to become based on the type of person I am. It's funny it took me long to figure this out, but you just got to be who you are when you teach instead of what they want you to be. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean I won't try to incorporate things that benefit the students. I will just conduct the classroom and lessons in a way that fits my style and personality (which I do have :-D).

My 9th grade Life-group is going well. We're doing a study on Andy Stanley's, "The Greatest Question Ever." Do you want to know what it is? The Greatest question ever is this:

What is the wise thing to do?

The book's premise is that if you ask this question, it will dramatically change your process of decision making. The good thing this year is that I have a co-leader who is teaching every other week so with all the stuff I am doing, I won't get too bogged down.

Well, I best be going. I hope you all have a great rest of the day!

First Placement - Done

My first placement ended yesterday. Come Monday, I will not be returning to Blackman Elementary in the 3rd Grade Hallway to (in my opinion) the best third grade class. It was a bittersweet day. On one hand, I am closer to graduating and I will be getting a whole new experience with 5th grade. I will also have less of a commute. On the other hand, I have been with this group since the end of August. I know their personalities, their schedules, and what works and doesn't work as far as classroom management goes. Now, I need to re-learn it all with a different group.

It was a great day though. I got cards and gifts from my teacher and the students, I got a card from another teacher in the school, the Principal gave all of us Student Teachers a gift (including books and classroom supplies), and we even had a little party at the end of the day. You really couldn't ask for a better way to spend your last day. The most humbling part were the kids saying they would miss me and giving me hugs. That to me will be one of the hardest part about teaching. I can't imagine staying with a group a whole year and then having another group come in the next. For the teachers that looped, it will be really tough (like my teacher I just had).

Now on to Edmondson Elementary with the 5th graders. My first day will be the 21st, so wish me luck!

Celebrations

Hey Everyone!

I have been thinking about the holidays lately. I think if I watched some Harry Potter, Nightmare before Christmas, and ate some Candy, I could skip Halloween. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. Lots of food, family, football, and drinking Starbucks in Indiana weather. However, I am looking forward to the month of December. Not just Christmas, but the month of December. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I will start listening to Christmas music. I think my brain has already decided it wants to listen to it now. How do I know this? Because I have had Christmas songs going through my head - whether it be in dreams or just driving in the car. I even get a little nostalgic and think about all my Christmas Concerts in High School and wanting to sing with the group again. But...we are on to other things now. I haven't sung in a Christmas concert for over a couple if not several years. For someone that has grown up singing, that's pretty weird for me.

Right now I am about halfway through my Student Teaching. I have a week more with the group I'm with (3rd grade) then I move to 5th grade. I have really enjoyed working with this teacher, the students, and the school so it will be a little tough to move on to the next placement. I'm sure that it will be fine. I just need to finish this silly Teacher Work Sample before then. It's not fun at all :-(

Hope you all are having a great day!

Chewing Gum

I was looking at the writing prompt of the day, and today it said that we should write a poem about something that annoys us. I have chosen people that chew gum. No offense to any of you that do, this is just something weird with me. I hope you enjoy

As I sit here at my computer thinking of what annoys me and how
I think the worst of it all is you chewing gum like a cud-eating cow
How I loathe the sound it makes as you chew it with delight
I want you to spit it out, put it away, or chew it out of sight
Do you think I want to see that? Do you think it makes me glad?
I may put a smile on my face, but inside I am really mad
Thoughts of evil circle my mind as I see you chewing there
Please don't make me sin, why don't you just be aware?
There are people in this world that you should consider once in a while
So take out your gum, pop in a mint, and then I'll give you a genuine smile.


The End.

"Are you the Assistant Principal?"

I was asked this question a couple of days ago. I guess I could be happy about that comment. I can be happy that these kids don't see me as a college student taking a shot at this teaching thing. I told my cooperating teacher, "You know what? Forget teaching, I'm just going to become an assistant principal!" Then I would have to deal with discipline problems all day, and that's not a fun job.

Teaching is going well. I'm enjoying it very much. I have a great class, a great teacher, my supervisor is very helpful and encouraging, and I just enjoy getting up there and teaching. Although I have become a little sad because you put so much effort into teaching something and it seems like no matter what you do, there will always be someone that fails. It's the same with other teachers that I have talked to, but it's still pretty sad.

The hardest thing for me had definitely been the sleep factor. I have to get up at 5:00am in order to be at school by 7:00am (factor in getting ready with driving and then you have it). I am really tired by the end of the day. I try to get to sleep by 10pm so I have enough time to sleep, but it doesn't always work that way because of preparing for the next day or just not physically being able to do it. Goodness, being an adult is crazy...

Other than that, there's nothing real exciting happening with me. I'm continuing doing my book study of, "Knowing God" with a couple of my friends Andy and Michael (I gave you a shout out!), I am teaching 9th Grade Boys (I moved up with them again) with my co-leader Phillip, and...I am currently addicted to FarmVille and Pet Society on Facebook.

I hope you all have a great rest of the day!

My First Week

I will describe my days by this little story.

Little Scott Lemons got up very early in the morning. He took a shower, put on his clothes, and headed to the kitchen where he made himself lunch to take with him to school. He got everything ready smiled at himself in the mirror and said, "You're going to do great!"

Little Scott Lemons then got in his car and started driving toward his destination. The world is a lot different at this hour. Yet with determination he began to venture forward. Then, he finally made it to the school. He got out of his car, walked straight, and said, "Good Morning" to all the adults he passed.

Then Little Scott Lemons signed in, and met his Cooperating Teacher. "Hi, I'm Scott Lemons" he said with a grin. The teacher began to smile back and say, "Welcome! I want this to be a great experience for you!"

Little Scott Lemons began to survey the classroom until the kids came inside. They all looked at him with curiosity in their eyes.


The days went on, he began to take notes, and the kids got used to Mr. Lemons. It was then something happened. Little Scott Lemons discovered...


He is not Little anymore.


The End!

Placements for Student Teaching

Hey Everyone!

The reason I haven't mentioned anything about my placements is because it was still up in the air. I had information for my second placement, but I still didn't have my first placement. The letter told me to wait until on or after the 19th to contact the office about it. On the 19th I contacted the office and got a response the next day. I then called up the placement coordinator and received news that the reason I didn't have a first placement was because of some issues/problems with the Williamson County administration and faculty that offered to have student teachers. Basically it looked very improbable and very unlikely that I could have Williamson County for my first placement. However I could get a placement in my second choice, Rutherford County, very quick. I went ahead and said that was okay, and I just got the information a little bit ago.

My first placement will be third grade at Blackman Elementary School

My second placement will be fifth grade at Edmondson Elementary School.

I really like this because I did my SOAR experience at Blackman Elementary, so I know the school and administration and really like both. I've never been to Edmondson Elementary, but it looks like a pretty awesome school too. I have my all-day seminar next Monday and then I start the next Tuesday on August 25th! Crazy!

I'll keep you updated on what's going on with teaching and everything. Have a good one!

Hong Kong -Day 6 & 7

Hey Everyone!

I'm sorry I didn't blog earlier, but I just didn't have any time. I was trying to think of what I did yesterday morning and for the life of me, I can not remember. So I will start with VBS yesterday, what we did that night, and then move on to today.

Day 6:

Today was the day after we gave the plan of salvation. This is usually an interesting day because you are still following up on those who have questions and trying to clarify things that were a little confusing the day before. My drama went pretty well. This week I have really tried to use props and play around with "the stage." I used chairs in a circle to represent me talking with the disciples, I used two chairs (one-on-one) when Peter was supposed to be talking with Jesus, and I used the net and the entire stage. I think it went pretty well. As Zach said, "Scott and I are supposed to set everybody up for the Bible Study." Our Bible Study went pretty well. I have just gotten used to the fact that we need to teach between the disruptions and repetition and games are the best ways to do it.

That night, I went with several people from our group to a Mexican restaurant. Several of the people in our group were craving Mexican food, and that sounded good to me. I enjoyed eating Chinese food don't misunderstand, but I would be okay if I didn't see Dimsum again. After we ate, we went to the Ladies market which is this outdoor market that spans 3-4 blocks. It has practically everything imaginable to purchase there. I got some things. I haggled once bringing it down 4 Hong Kong Dollars and then other times they haggled with me. There was this one item I was looking at and I asked, "How much for this?" She said, "250 Hong Kong Dollars." I walked away. She shouted, "225....200......150......100!" When she said 100 I said, "Okay, you got a deal!" If you think of it in American dollars, that is basically like going from 36 dollars to 14 dollars. Part of the fun is the deal. I don't like to haggle, but it was fun to do once in a while.

Day 7:

Today was our last day of VBS. As I am writing this we are waiting to go back for Family Night, and there we will present ICM with our mission offering. I will tell you what it is another time because I want to wait for it to be official.

I started off my day with an adventure. Pete, Vanover (Jason), Courtney and I all went to Lama Island today. Basically what happens is you go to Hong Kong Island, take a fast-boat/ferry to there (25-30 minutes) and then you hike around the island. This is a nice place to get away from the city and see the mountains, trees, and nature. So we got there and we HIKED up and around this mountain. I think we agreed that it was close to 3 miles and believe me when I say this. When I say, "We hiked up-hill, both ways" that is not a lie! Once we got closer to the Pier it started going downhill, but most of the hike was up the mountain. I got some B-E-A-UTIFUL pictures here, and it was a great experience. Although I feel almost dead today because of the workout.

Then we went to VBS. The Nepalese women said they would cook lunch for us. I will tell you this right now. I didn't know what Nepalese food was or if it was any good but if it is like anything I had this afternoon, it may be my favorite. There was lamb with curry, rice with vegetables, Nepalese spaghetti, apple pie, rice pudding, bread, chicken wings, it was delightful. (I promise this whole blog won't be about food. It's just close to dinner time here, and it was what's on my mind). Then we started VBS. I felt like my drama was kind of going through the motions, but Jason told me that he thought it went well. I had to do it over Acts 12 where Peter gets arrested, an angel breaks him out, he goes to a friends, Rhoda doesn't answer the door because she's so excited, Peter sees them, tells them about stuff, and then leaves (those are the Scott-notes). It was kind of hard to figure how to do it, but it happened. I also did lead-teach today where we did a balloon game and a couple things with scripture. I won't lie...teaching this week has been exhausting. But I think they got something out of it. Even if it is just the fact that Jesus loves them, that's good for me.

I am about to head out now. Please pray for our family night. Also pray for our trip home. It's a L-O-N-G flight. "How long is it?" "Why it's so long that I was able to read the dictionary and still have time to hit myself with a frying pan to see if I can see stars!" I'm sorry that was bad. I'm kinda tired.

I hope you all are having a great day, and I will see you soon in the states!

Hong Kong - Day Five

Hey Everyone!

I was just able to read the comments section of my blog, and I want to say thank you for those of you that responded! I am trying to be consistent in updating my blogs. The funny thing is in my mind I think I'm late in talking about Day Five but when I post this, it will actually show as Wednesday Night instead of Thursday Morning as it is here. Doesn't that just blow your mind?

For those that have done VBS, you know that the day you present the gospel seems to always be the hardest. The kids may be extra hyper, there may be more distractions, things may go wrong, there's just a lot of spiritual warfare going on in which you need to be aware. For me, I hardly got any sleep the night before (Melatonin can be your best friend or sometimes your worst enemy) and I was nervous about my drama. We did not have the same amount of time to prepare because we went to lunch with Bonnie (one of the heads of the center we are working at with the ICM - Inner City Ministries) so the team's focus was not as good as it could have been.

Now here comes the part where we start VBS. I first made sure everything in the classroom was okay and that Courtney and Lynette were prepared with what they were doing. We prayed as a group, and then when I was working (I must have looked really stressed out) Lynette asked if she could pray for me. That helped a lot. So then in my mind I was going through the four scenes that I was going to play (Jesus telling Peter Satan was going to sift him like wheat, Peter's Denial, Jesus' crucifixion, and Jesus' resurrection), and getting all my props ready. I used two chairs, a sword, a hammer, a railroad spike, and a white garment. Then came time for the drama. I started off by saying something like, "Following Jesus was one of the best decisions I made in my entire life. Because of what he did for me and who he is, I worship him. Now I am about to tell you a story that has to do with me, you, and everyone in this entire world. This is the most important story I will ever tell. I want to start with a conversation I had with Jesus..." Then I went into the drama. I was just playing out the scenes in my head, but the kids eyes were glued to me, there was hardly any if no noise, and it went pretty well. Although for me when I get serious into character, I can't bounce right back. I had to take almost 10-15 minutes to collect myself and come back to reality. But God worked through me, and a lot of people told me that the drama spoke to them. So praise God!

Lynette did the ABC's of becoming a Christian for our group. She has been working with children for many years and she has a way about speaking at their level but not dumbing anything down for them. She seemed perfect to do this (this would be something that I would have done) and Courtney agreed with me. The kids were attentive and responsive. Then the rest of the day happened and....let me just describe it in this one word. CHAOS! When Courtney and I did the closing, it was probably the worse-behaved the kids have ever been this entire week (spiritual warfare). However, we got through it. After everything was said and done, I was exhausted!!!

After we did VBS, we headed to see a Taoist Temple. I had to turn my VBS shirt inside out before I went inside. When I went inside the temple, I saw true idol/misdirected worship. It was very interesting and sad. They worship this certain God in this temple. This God they worship will give them anything that they ask for. They burn incense, and then they have this ritual where they have this sticks in a cup. They shake the cup and they see which stuck comes out first. This stick will have a number or something on it and they take it to be interpreted. The person interprets it, and that it comes up with a phrase that is supposed to have some kind of meaning in your life. However if you don't like the phrase, I believe you can do it again and get a second opinion. We talked with Janice about this and one of the main questions that was asked was, "Why don't they figure out that this isn't working? That they keep asking for this stuff and they don't get it?" Janice told us, "They interpret it as, 'maybe I'm not praying hard enough' or 'maybe I am not coming here as often as I should.' " It was really sad because these people are very sincere. They are praying hard, trying to do everything right in the hopes that something good will happen. Unfortunately, their worship is misdirected. It just went to show all of us that there is a spiritual hunger in China, and the people are ready to hear.

The rest of the night, we had dinner with the owls/howls/haus (I am so sorry, but I am terrible with names). It is a doctor and his wife. The doctor is a professor at the Science and Technology university that Clearwater Church is located. He was also the man who translated the sermon into Chinese while we were there. It was a GREAT dinner. Amazing Chinese food. I was told that I would lose weight on this trip. THESE ARE LIES! I'm going to have to go on a diet or something when I get back. I don't remember what my toes look like anymore. :-)

That's about it. Please continue to pray for our group as we do the next two days of VBS. I ask that you pray for these three things;

1. Biblical Drama: I have two more days of being Peter. Pray that I represent the scriptures accurately and that I make good use of visuals for the kids
2. Bible Study: Courtney is lead teaching today, and I lead teach the next. Pray for the kids to be attentive and that distractions are to a minimum
3. Strength: Even though we do VBS for three hours out of our day, it is pretty exhausting. Pray that we may keep a high energy level and that we get a good amount of sleep.

Thank you!

Hong Kong - Day Four

Hey Everyone:

Today was a really great day. Lynette and her mom finally got in last night! They were stuck in Tokyo for a couple of days, and we were worried that they would not be able to make it. Yet when I went to breakfast this morning, I saw both of them. So that was good thing #1 that happened today!

I was just planning on relaxing, getting on the Internet, and going over today's lesson. What ended up happening is Pete and Jason (we call him Vanover) convinced me to go with them to Hong Kong Island and look around. At first I was like, "I don't know about this..." but Pete reminded me that it's not like I am in Hong Kong a lot. So I went with them. Good thing #2 that happened was I was able to see the Subway system. LOTS OF PEOPLE but it was a fast rail and everything was very efficient. When we finally made it to where we were going, we went exploring around. Good thing #2 that happened was we went into this meat market like-place and saw this couple who were scaling, de-gutting, and preparing a fish. The man put the fish-head up so I could take a picture, and then he held an entire fish for me. Because this couple was so nice, they took pictures with all of us. It was crazy seeing him prepare that fish (sent some shivers done my spine to be honest), but it was awesome. Good thing #3 that happened (other than seeing all the business shops and people) was going to Victoria Park. I took a picture of me doing some Tai-Chi as well as a picture of some people doing the same. It was a lot of walking that entire trip, but it was well worth it.

However VBS on top of the morning I had was amazing. Today we tried out a new type of arrangement where the kids did not have to be in the classroom for an hour or more, and the music rotation did not fall into the closing celebration. We also played some intentional games before we started so the kids would not be too hyper when we began Boomerang Express. This helped tremendously. My Peter portion was a lot more dramatic than yesterday. Some of the younger kids didn't respond as well, but I was told the older ones did.

As far as the classroom goes, I thank God for Lynette getting here, for Courtney's leadership, and for all the adults that have given their time to help volunteer. It has been a great help especially since we have a very spirited classroom with some excited children!

We are about to eat at the Peak in a little while. It's a very nice restaurant that overlooks the place. Here are some things that you can pray for me about

1. Biblical Drama: Peter is giving the story of the last supper, Jesus' Crucifixion, and his Resurrection. It's some deep stuff and it needs to keep their attention as well as be understandable and meaningful.
2. Bible Study Hour: We are going over the ABC's of becoming a Christian.
3. Strength: Physical/Spiritual strength for our group.

Thank you, and I hope you have a great rest of the day!

Hong Kong - Days 1-3

Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry that I haven't updated in the past couple of days. It is hard to find time to get on the Internet, and you either have to pay by the minute or a good amount all at once. I am writing this 35-40 minutes before we go onto our nightly activity. So I hope that this doesn't seem rushed, but I did pay by the minute and I don't want to hold the group up.

Day One:

Day one was all about travel. We took this bubble gum airplane from Nashville to Newark, and then we took this fantastic, awesome, lovely, I'll be having dreams about this airplane from Newark to Hong Kong. I do have to say that if I had to spend 15 hours (14:45 to be exact), I'm glad that it was on this plane. I got to watch movies, shows, listen to music, and experience all the plane had to offer. It was crazy because we flew basically near the top of the world and there were parts when it was like, "Degrees outside: -75F" What in the world? We got into Hong Kong at a good time that night, checked into the hotel (which is very, very nice) and basically ate at a mall and went back to the hotel.

Day Two: Part One

Day Two for me was let's see how Scott reacts when bad stuff happens to him in a foreign country...day. When I woke up, I went to get a deposit from an ATM that was near our hotel. I put my card in, and then the screen just froze. I tried to pressing every button, but nothing worked. Finally it said, "This machine is temporarily out of order." Now mind you, we had to be leaving to go to church in a couple of hours. So copied down the number, tried to call the company, and 1st I got it in Chinese, then I kept getting a busy signal. Finally I decided to check back to see if it spit it out or something. You know what happened? The machine was in perfect working order, and my card was no where to be found. So I went back, had breakfast, and e-mailed my parents to call and cancel my card. Luckily, I am with a group of people who are supportive and I am blessed that they are willing to loan me some money for fun/pleasure. I currently owe some money to the church, but it will all be taken care of. So, no worries :-)

Day Two: Part Two

We had worship at the Hong Kong College of Science and Technology...or something like that. I apologize that I cannot remember names that well. We had worship at Scott Harris' old church in Clearwater there. It was really cool. The preacher preached in English, then it was translated at the same time into Chinese. The same happened in worship except the worship leader sang in English, then Chinese, and then at times we sang together. After the service, we all had lunch together. It was a medley of Dimsum (I am probably not spelling that right) which was pretty good. It was great having conversation with the people from the church. Very smart, very fun, and very compassionate people. If they ever come to Tennessee, I would definitely ask them to come over for dinner. That's saying a lot too because my hospitality meter on a scale from 1-10 is probably a 2. The rest of the day was spent shopping in this one market which I can't remember the name (Stanley maybe?) and I got some good stuff there.

Day Three:

I am writing this at 6:40pm Hong Kong Time on Day three, so I have a pretty good grasp on what is going on. First off, let me say that there is an INCREDIBLE breakfast buffet here. I am not a big breakfast person, but this is heaven. Anyway, today was our first day for VBS so we had to get to the place, set up, eat, and then do it. If you take St. John's church and rooms, put them all together, and eliminate anything outside, that is kind of like the room that we are dealing with for VBS. We had a good amount of kids there. Zach has the official number...there were 14 in Courtney and I's group of 3rd-4th grade. This VBS is unlike any that I have ever done before. The whole dynamic with the kids, the language barrier (they speak English, but I think they struggle with some of it), and just the home-life and life situations these kids are in make it to be a very different environment and a pretty tough one to figure out how to effectively do something. However, the women that are leaders there (including the one that's helping us all week Janice and the women in charge named Caroline) are amazing. They display extreme leadership and they are great witnesses to the kids as well as role models.

For me, I have been worrying about what the group was going to be like, and how my Peter drama will go. At first when I came out as Peter, they all started laughing. They have never seen anything like that. However, I believe they were listening and somewhat intrigued as the drama went on. I pray that God continues to work through me in that. For the main Bible Study teaching, the group is very different. Thank goodness we have a volunteer in there because I am finding it difficult to get their attention. I think my goal for the week for them is that they know the themes, bible story, and the verses. I am having some communication troubles, but kids are kids. I expect kids to act like kids. But everything I am thinking as far as behavior management goes now is like, "Are these really universal?" I may have to figure out what's going on with that.

If you could please pray for my Bible Study Group, For my co-leader Courtney Coyle, The whole Brentwood Baptist Team for strength, and also some understanding of how to coordinate and use time effectively. Also if I don't update before Wednesday...that is the day we give the plan of salvation. So (to be a little selfish) please pray for me as I do the drama for Peter in telling the story about Jesus crucified and resurrected.

I know this is a lot, there is a lot more that I didn't say! I'm sorry if that was frazzled, but it's what I got. Have a great rest of the day and thanks for reading the blogs!

I passed ECC & RAC!

I am excited right now, so please give me some time to brag a little and enjoy this moment.

Guess what?!? I PASSED! I am required to take four tests in Praxis II in order to be fully licensed and accredited in the state of Tennessee. I took two of those tests on June 13, 2009. Those two tests were; Elementary Education - Content Knowledge & Reading Across the Curriculum - Elementary. I needed a score of 140 for Content Knowledge and I got 161. I needed a score of 151 for Reading Across the Curriculum, and I got 170.

The cool part of the results is that it breaks down how you did on each part.

• On Content Knowledge I am in the average range for Science, Math, and Language Arts, but I am above average in Social Studies.

• On Reading Across the Curriculum, I am in the average range for Problem Solving Exercises, Assessment of Reading, Reading Comprehension, and Reading Materials & Instruction/Reading Environment. I am above average in Theory of Reading as a process; Language Acquisition and Early Literacy & Vocabulary, Spelling, and Word Study.

Now I have two more tests I need to take; Principles of Teaching and Learning for K-6, and Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.

Lots of Prayer went into these tests, so thanks family and friends. Now let's pray for the next part of the journey - these tests as well as Student Teaching!!!!

I Need Thee Every Hour

I have been doing a study about Praying with the Psalms for a while, and tonight I read Psalm 91. This Psalm says that, "Those that live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty." It goes on to say that God will rescue, protect, shield, and shelter those who trust in his name, and he will give them his salvation.

Looking at this Psalm, it is really interesting that the one before it was talking & begging with God to take pity and replace their evil years with good. When I got done reading Psalm 91, it reminded me of this hymn. I am going to post a little background about this hymn (words by Annie Hawks) along with the lyrics. I hope that you get something out of this like I have.

Story:

"Annie Hawks wrote:

One day as a young wife and mo­ther of 37 years of age, I was bu­sy with my reg­u­lar house­hold tasks. Sud­den­ly, I be­came so filled with the sense of near­ness to the Mast­er that, won­der­ing how one could live with­out Him, ei­ther in joy or pain, these words, “I Need Thee Ev­e­ry Hour,” were ush­ered in­to my mind, the thought at once tak­ing full pos­sess­ion of me.

After writ­ing the lyr­ics, Hawks gave them to her pas­tor, Ro­bert Low­ry, who add­ed the tune and re­frain. The hymn was first pub­lished at the Na­tion­al Bap­tist Sun­day School Con­ven­tion in Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio, in No­vem­ber 1872. Some years lat­er, af­ter the death of her hus­band, Hawks wrote:

I did not un­der­stand at first why this hymn had touched the great throb­bing heart of hu­man­i­ty. It was not un­til long af­ter, when the sha­dow fell over my way, the sha­dow of a great loss, that I un­der­stood some­thing of the com­fort­ing pow­er in the words which I had been per­mit­ted to give out to others in my hour of sweet se­ren­i­ty and peace."

Lyrics:

I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
 no tender voice like thine can peace afford.
Refrain:
 I need thee, O I need thee;
 every hour I need thee;
 O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

2. I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby;
 temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.
 (Refrain)

3. I need thee every hour, in joy or pain;
 come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
 (Refrain)

4. I need thee every hour; teach me thy will;
 and thy rich promises in me fulfill.
 (Refrain)

5. I need thee every hour, most Holy One;
 O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son.
 (Refrain)

Move

I said in my last post that I would be leaving for Camp in a couple of days. I just got back yesterday afternoon but since I was so tired, I couldn't really articulate very well what happened. I still may not be able to put into words everything that happened at camp, so I will just give an overview and hope that it gives you a small picture of what happened from June 21-June 29th.

The theme of our camp as you may see from the image on your right was a faith to Move. We focused on having a faith to let go, the faith to go into the unknown, a faith to wait, and having faith to its fullest. We focused on the story of Moses from the time God appeared to him through the burning bush that wasn't consumed until Moses presented the Israelite people with the Ten Commandments. We did a lot of the in depth Bible study in our small groups. For High School it was Coed and combined people from different cabins, and for Middle School it was whoever was in your cabin. We had worship in the morning and night led by Michael Boggs, and the message was by Chris Brooks. We also had a rec time everyday, three hours of free time where they could ride jet skis and Pontoon Boats (with an adult leader), go on aquacycles at the beach/lake (That's were I was most of the time...making sure kids weren't doing anything stupid), go to the pool, play on the rec field, go horseback riding (only available one day for each camp), or just relax and hang out with people near their cabin.

My experience was very good. For High School, I was paired up with a friend of mine named Troy. We joked around about this because our personalities are almost exact opposite. The High School camp can be best described by one of our leaders. "They came together in groups, but they left as one." There was great unity in this camp like I haven't seen before. There were some great and honest conversations, and it went very well.

I have been looking forward to Middle School camp because that is where my guys are right now from my Lifegroup. Want to know something cool? I had the same cabin I had last year! It was great to continue to build those relationships. The Bible Studies for me I felt were more in depth and personal than those of the past. There was more intention for prayer as well as practicle hands-on activities toward learning the concept than before. If nothing else, it forced them to think about some things that they believed. The greatest part of this group at camp was how honest they were about where they were. I had a conversation with practically all of the guys in that cabin about where they were in their faith. The openness of them and their willingness to take a deeper look led God to do some great things inside of them. I can say with confidence that the question has been answered about what they believe, now it's a question of will they take the next step in developing what they believe into a relationship.

For me, I knew coming into this that I really had to prepare myself or I would get burned out very easy. So I was very intentional with making sure that didn't happen. Because of that, camp was a lot easier than it was the year before. You can ask any High School or Adult leader that was there...it was pretty exhausting, but it was worth it.

I'll leave you with a couple of illustrations that I liked from Chris Brooks about faith.

1. Do you have a sneaker faith or a suit faith? (i.e. do you bring it out on special occasions, or wear it all the time)
2. When you think about yourself as being the light, do you imagine yourself as one of those lights you have to crank to power up (which is from your own power, only lights up a little bit, and is misused)? What about the flashlight you only use for emergencies? Or are you plugged into a power source?
3. Are you a God Wrestler? Or are you a Poser?

Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of the day!

The Autobiography of George Mϋller

I just got done reading this book. I ordered this book near the end of May from Amazon. I have been looking to purchase this book for a while ever since I saw it in Lifeway. This book is a great testimony to what God can do through a person who completely relies on God. George Mϋller starts off his story with blatant honesty in showing us his sinful past. He then goes on to tell about how he encountered God (through a small group bible study/prayer group) and from there it talks about his ministry. He becomes a pastor of a church for a while, then God calls him to become part of the work in Bristol, England. God then shows him that he wants him to help with his work with the Orphans and help disciple/inform believers and non-believers through the work of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution which is a school for the study of scriptures for children and adults. The book focuses on those ministries as well as the means to support those ministries.

The cool part about this is that George Mϋller refused to take a salary after he was convicted by how the money was used in the church. From that moment on, he depended on the Lord to provide all the money and resources needed for his everyday physical needs and the ministry. The book goes on to discuss his prayers and God's answer to his prayers. God always provided what he NEEDED when he needed it. Through this ministry, thousands of people knew about the bible, and tens of thousands of Orphans needs were met. During his time it was a little more than a thousand, but the orphanages survived past his death.

This book was kind of tough to get into, but it was well worth the read. It was a great example of what God can do through someone who truly has faith. George was humble about everything, boasting only in God, and he remained faithful through his life. He said in his book that on his own strength, he could maybe do a tenth of the work that was entrusted with him but because God was helping him, he could do all of it. He was devoted to prayer and mediation of scripture, and he had a heart of telling others about God. The ministry even included supporting over 80 missionaries on top of the institution and the orphanages. George said that he felt this ministry existed to prove to people what God can do through those who put their trust in him.

I am going to camp this week, and our themes have to do with Faith. I think I got done with this book just in time :-)

Can Coldplay? We'll see in this update.

Look at me doing a play on words! I originally was going to list all the things I was going to talk about in the title, but that would just have been way too many commas. Plus it would be like, "Why read the blog? It tells us everything in the title!"

Anyway, things have been going well. The past two weeks have been fun. I visited my sister a week ago in Selmer. We basically watched movies all weekend (four from Blockbuster and we went to Corinth, Mississippi to see "Up"), but it was fun. I really enjoyed going to the Baptist Church there. The people were very friendly, the sermon was good (the analogy of the windshield and the rear-view mirror was great), and it was fun to sing in the choir. The drive was about two and half hours, but It was very scenic and pretty so I just listened to my IPod and the trip went by fast.

Work is going well. I like to give my "C" personality what it enjoys while getting paid to do it.

I'm also getting ready for Hong Kong and doing a Bible Study with a couple of my friends on Packer's, "Knowing God." Tonight was our first night, and we had some good discussion. I'm looking forward to reading and discussing the next chapters.

Now...for Coldplay! My friend asked me a couple nights before if I wanted to go and I was like, "Sure...I know a couple of their songs. It should be fun." I have to say that of these guys put on a show! It was entertaining from start to finish and it was unlike anything I have ever experienced. They also played well live. That was something I was worried about because you know those bands that sound good on the radio but are horrible live. Overall it was a great experience, and I think Coldplay is pretty awesome.

I best be going now. Have a great rest of the day!

Why I can't drink starbucks coffee before bed

Hello everyone on the World Wide Web! You are seeing firsthand why I cannot have Starbucks coffee before I go to bed. For one thing, it hurts my stomach. It doesn't matter if I balance it out with something else, it still hurts. On top of that, it makes me feel tingly and keeps me wide awake with random thoughts and actions. I have tried almost everything to get to sleep. I have counted sheep, read part of a book, got a Pepcid, had some crackers and sprite for my stomach, and now I am blogging in hopes that if I get some of my thoughts out, I will be able to sleep. So after I am done writing this, I will play some music and try to get to sleep.

While I am writing, let me give you a couple of quick updates. I prayed for God to help me with my classes this semester since I missed a week of school because of Kidney Stones and this was my last semester of actual classes. There was one class I thought I wouldn't pass. I got my grades and for the first time since first semester freshman year...I got straight "A"s! My GPA even went up a little bit! God is good.

Several big things have also happened recently. I signed up for two tests for Praxis II that I need to get done (taking Reading Across the Curriculum and Elementary Core Content, June 13th). I started work on the 11th, had my first Hong Kong mission trip meeting this sunday night, and I went to my last ever event with the College Ministry.

I am going to go into detail about the last part. I have been privileged to serve the college ministry as part of their student leadership team for the past year. I have been in this ministry since a little after my second semester of college. The ministry has grown and is going in a new direction with John and Rene' deciding this to be their last year. They will transition out by August, and I decided that I would transition out after Mullet Search. So that was not only my last trip, but my last...I guess you could say intentional appearance with the College Ministry. It was a great weekend. My team ended up winning! I got a shirt as a prize! I also had some great conversations and just had a wonderful time. I'll miss all the people there, but I am thankful for what God has taught me through people I've met, Bible Studies I've attended, and events that I was a part of. This was just time for me to step aside and transition into a semester of student teaching and taking a new path in my life.

I will keep you posted on what else is going on with me. Thank you for listening, and I hope that you all have a great rest of the day!

What a crazy week!

I finally have a little time to just sit down and think about everything that has happened this week. I am listening to my iPod right now. Sarah made me listen to this guy on American Idol named Adam Lambert (I have never watched this show except for highlights on TV/Radio), and I have to say...he's very good. His version of "Mad World" is absolutely awesome. I downloaded his version of "Feeling Good" because Sarah told me how great it is...and it was great. Even though I don't really care about this show, I hope he wins. I would actually consider buying his album.

This week was absolutely insane. First off my last day of classes was this past Wednesday. I had two finals on that day (Racquetball and Methods & Techniques of Behavior Management). I basically spent all day Tuesday finishing projects and making sure everything was ready. Without going into too much detail let's just say that things did not go as I planned and there may be consequences in the future because of it. Yeah, we'll just leave it at that. I'm not too worried about it though. What happens, happens and I am still happy with what I learned this semester.

I did two service projects this week. One was with the Lifegroup that I teach. We have this thing in the Youth group called Mission OHB (Old Hickory Blvd) where we go out of the 37027 area code and serve the neighboring community. We team up with an organization called S.L.A.M. (Students Living A Mission) and do various projects. Last semester we went to Trevecca Towers and cleaned apartments for the elderly. This past Wednesday, we went to a health care facility and talked with the people there. My group ended up talking with this lady, her son, and a worker who was in there. It was great conversation. I was out of my comfort zone and I could tell some of my guys were too, but it all went okay.

The second service project I did was today. Today was the Great Day of Service that our church does where we serve someone in the neighboring community. My day of service should actually be renamed "The Great 1.5 hours of service" because of the weather and the fact that they didn't really need us. But, it was all good. Some people got pointed in the right direction because of me and my fellow friends, Tom Kimsey and Luanne Brooks.

I have one exam this week on May 6th and then I am done! I will start work on the 11th, because I really need to raise money for my mission trip this summer. I'm going to tell you where it is. Are you ready?!? I am going to.........HONG KONG!!!! I am excited and scared at the same time. Never been there, I know maybe 2 or 3 people going on this trip, and I am confident in saying this is outside my comfort zone (I apparently have a limited place of comfort, if you noticed the theme in this post). It's an amazing opportunity though, and I'm sure that everything will turn out all right.

I guess I will end this post now. I hope you all have a great rest of the day!

P.S. I played racquetball with my dad yesterday, and I am still very sore

Happy Easter, Scott! Let's have a Kidney Stone!

I know that there are people out there that are suffering worse than I am, I know that this will eventually pass, and I know that in the grand scheme of things this is not a big deal. However, this is my blog so I am going to talk about it. I'll even throw in a joke at the end if you feel like you've wasted a couple minutes of your life reading about my silly problems. Deal?!? Okay, here we go.

Let me start off by saying that Easter is my favorite time of the year. From Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday, it all gets a big :-) from me. Yet this year at 3:00am on Maundy Thursday, I was awoken by severe pain in my lower back. It was horrible! I thought that it was because I didn't stretch like I was supposed to in racquetball the other day, so I took some ibuprofin. That didn't work at all. It hurt when I sat, stood, laid down, or walked around. I decided that since I was feeling nauseaus, it must be flatulance. I tried going to the bathroom, but that made it worse. I was screaming to myself, praying to God, but the pain kept coming. Finally when I came into my parents room to get some more toilet paper, they asked if I was doing all right. I said, "No, I have really sharp pains in the lower right side of my back." My dad said that is where my kidney is. Then he asked me if I needed to go to the Emergency Room. He made the decision to, and I'm glad he did. I just didn't want to get there and have the guys be like, "Mr. Lemons, your son just has gas. Give him this bowl of chili, and he'll be fine!" After answering questions, giving blood, having great pain medication, getting a CT scan, and getting stronger pain medication (at that point I felt like little demons were dancing in my kidney), he told me I had a 2.5mm stone in my kidney and that hopefully it will pass in 2-3 days. So my Easter was spent basically lying on the couch in our living room, drugged, and drinking gallons of liquids with the end result...the little bugger has made himself comfortable and is enjoying the refreshments.

I went to the Urologist the other day, and basically we decided that the best course of action is to just ride it out. THANK GOD I got a perscription for more pain medication. However I may have this thing for more than 6 weeks. Just so you know, I took some medication at 3:00am today because the pain woke me up, so I may be rambling or sound somewhat incoherent right now. The hardest thing now is having the motivation to do homework and finish this semester strong. My motivation right now is to sleep. My dreams have been excellent lately, and the dogs have been by my side the whole time. I am just not motivated at all. Even right now I have two projects, some e-mails, a lifegroup lesson to prepare, and I need to clean my room. But I decided to blog.

I'm kind of upset. I feel like my Easter was taken away from me. Yes, I know how selfish this sounds. I know how much God has blessed me. I know that the pain I feel is nothing like what Jesus felt on the Cross. I also know that Easter is not about me (although the gift of salvation is given to all of us). Let me then rephrase myself: I am upset because I felt like I wasn't able to utilize all that this Easter week had to offer.

Once again, I am on pain-killers right now so this whole blog may sound completely not like me at all. It may sound like "Pot Scott" my evil drug-induced twin. So since some of you read this until the very end, here is a joke.

Q: "Where does the Easter Bunny get his Breakfast?"
A: "At the IHOP!"

Reflections - Death/Life, Education, Reading

This blog is going to be comprised of me rambling about certain things that I have been thinking about lately. I decided to talk about three different things, even though there is a lot floating around up there. During my commutes, I have plenty of time to think and I sometimes turn off the radio and let my mind wander.

I was thinking about those movies and shows where people have been told they only have a certain amount of time to live. Why is it that everyone is so self-centered when they find out they will only be on the earth for a little while longer? Shouldn't that be a time to think about mending relationships, telling others about your faith, and just being recklessly compassionate towards others? It seems like every show I watch people decide to travel the world, buy lavish gifts for themselves, eat foods they have never had, do something reckless and exciting like bungee jumping, sky diving, etc. How many people do you see giving all their money to charity? What about people spending their remaining money to go overseas and help build schools, houses, or collect food for underprivileged children? I hope these thoughts will at least cross some people's minds if this ever happens to them.

I've been also thinking about gender issues in Elementary Education. You hear about these behavior problems and talk about teachers acting as parents during the school-days toward these children. If teachers are supposed to act like parents, where are the fathers in schools? Who is going to show these young boys how to act like men? Who is going to protect those young girls from making mistakes with the stupid boys? Yes, women have been doing a wonderful job in the teaching profession. It is important to have a nurturer during this time of development so that the self-esteem and person worth is understood and valued. Yet what is it saying to our young boys if they don't see any men teaching in their schools? There are some men, but overall the statistic is startling. Males comprise about 16% of elementary teachers (Strizek, Pittsonberger, Riordon, Lyter, & Orlofsky, 2006). Does anyone else find that peculiar?

Finally, I've been thinking about my thoughts and attitudes toward reading. I remember growing up always seeing a book in my sister's hand. My mom and my dad would sit at the table or chair and be reading. They would tell me to read a book and I would always say, "No, I'll just go watch T.V." It really wasn't until Junior High when I discovered Louis L'amour and the Left Behind Series that I become interested in reading. Since then, I have found and read books that have really made me think and have brought me new perspectives on issues. It has also helped to improve my vocabulary as well as writing. It makes me sad when I hear of future or current teachers that say they do not like to read. I can't comprehend why you would want to be a teacher (especially at the Grade-school level) if you don't like to read. Isn't that like the main thing we are trying to teach them? I think reading is amazing because it's like a movie going on in your head and you can revisit it any time you want. Good books will stay with you...especially when you're young. I re-read several children's books this past semester that I remember reading in gradeschool, and they are so much more meaningful now. Dr. Seuss for instance is way more profound than I ever thought.

Those are some of my ramblings. I hope you have a great rest of the week!

Mission's Auction and stuff

Last night I was the auctioneer for the 4th Annual Mission's Auction at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at MTSU. This was my third year to do it, so I knew what I was getting into. What's important to remember when you're an auctioneer is that you need to drink plenty of water during the auction, you don't have to enunciate every word (only the numbers to hear the bet), and level your voice so that the audience gets excited when an item for bid gets higher.

This auction broke records. Several items went over $100! Note that in a regular auction, this doesn't seem like a huge number. However we were in a room full of college students who can't even afford to pay attention (thanks John Cook for letting me borrow that joke). You know how much money we ended up raising? We raised over $850! We are over our Mission Goal for the year (which was $4500) and we are not even done with everything!

I'm still recovering a little bit. It's quite a workout to fast-talk for that long of time. It's like an ab workout. Plus I drank about 3 bottles of water so well...I'll let you figure out what happened because of that. I didn't get as much sleep last night because the adrenaline didn't wear off right away. I don't have class today so it's not that big of deal.

Other than that, there's not much happening. I'm starting, "Becoming a Contagious Christian" with my 8th grade Lifegroup. We're actually going through the book in six weeks, and I'm excited about it. It's challenging for me as well as them, but I think we'll both get a lot out of it. I also have two adults in the room with me, Phillip and Art, so it's good to have their support.

I better be going. I hope you have a great rest of the day!

Teaching the Preamble

For the first time in a month or so, I was really excited to teach. One of the reasons was because it had to do with what is pictured on the left...the Preamble to the Constitution. We started off just listening to the words. I talked about how important introductions are to any form of writing and how this set up the whole tone for the Constitution. The sad part of it all is how so many people don't even know what it says. Seeing the kids hear (some for the first time) and understand what it is saying, made me realize how cool it is that people in this profession get to experience learning. Not just knowing new facts or answering some questions, but taking what they hear and see and finding a useful application to their life. The Preamble of the Constitution is something that we can find useful and applicable.



"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

That's worth remembering.

Spring Break Mission Trip

From March 11th-15th, I went on a Mission Trip with my college ministry to Tybee Island, Georgia. There were about 8 students (including me), two adults (John and Rene'), and three kids (their kids) that all went (I like Parenthesis).

It was really cool...literally. The weather wasn't what you would expect from a beach/vacation spot. Although it was actually a blessing in disguise because we got a lot of work done and then some. What we did was we painted part of a church - Chapel by the Sea Baptist Church - and then we teamed with another church to put on a party for kids and their families during the St. Patrick's Day Parade that was in town.

I ended up scraping, priming, then painting the first day, and sweeping, holding garbage bags, and then painting with a roller the second day. For the kid's games I went with some of my fellow peers and talked to people about the party, and played some games with the kids such as corn hole and picking up rubber ducks with nets.

I really enjoyed hanging out with this group and serving. It made my Spring Break go by fast, but I think it was worth it. The only thing now is getting back into the routine of school. Of course I better get used to it because that is where I will probably spend a majority of my life :-)

Eating Lions, reading books, and Georgia

I feel like doing a techno dance right now. I am listening to my Ipod and the song is, "Rockit" by Herbie Hancock. It makes it very distracting to write. I wouldn't be the only one in the family to freestyle dance today *cough* dad *cough*

We had Anvil for guys again this year. It wasn't like other years though, it was for one night only and we joined with the girls (who had an overnight thing for their Snowball retreat). The worship and speaker were great, and it was cool to hang out with some of my guys. The fun part of these retreats for us guys is that we eat lots of meat and then smash various things (watermelons, spam, pudding, apples, etc.) The meat we ate included Ostrich, Squid, Antelope, Shrimp, and...Lion Burgers. I'm not kidding!
I got to have a piece of it, but not a whole burger.
My favorite was the squid.
Since most people don't like the texture,
I got as much as I wanted.

I am reading two different books right now. I am reading,
"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman and
"The Importance of Being Foolish - How to think like Jesus" by Brennan Manning (author of one of my favorite books - The Ragamuffin Gospel). Both books are really good so far. I am happy to be able to read them on Spring Break.

I'm on Spring Break!!! I still have a couple things to finish for school, but I am just relaxing right now. I am actually going on a mission trip the 11th-15th in Savannah, Georgia. We will be helping with church improvements (i.e. painting). It should be fun. This will be my first Spring Break Mission Trip. Let the serving begin!

Well, I should be going. You want to know something funny? I started with that techno song, and now I'm listening to "Spring, Spring, Spring" from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! This is on shuffle, so it makes it so much awesomer! Yes I know that's not a word...just overlook it.

Have a great one!

I was Playing in the Connection Center in Israel on Math Night

Instead of just listing things that will be in my post, I decided that I would put it all in a sentence. There are a couple of you that may be disappointed because let's face it...this would be a sweet post if I was really in Israel playing in the connection center on math night. However, this blog is devoted to getting into the connection center, my presentation on Israel, Math Night, and the Play Symposium I went to today.

This past Wednesday was our first Lifegroup in the Connection Center. This place is awesome! There's a store where you can buy resources (I got a Bible for $5 and the original price was $25), a cafe', a huge auditorium for worship, basketball courts, and rooms for all groups to meet. Tonight was also special because I had Josh Shelley and Andy Roberts come and give their testimonies. They both did a great job, and I think my group got a lot out of it. It's always great to see how God is working in other's lives.

I had a presentation on Israel in my Middle Eastern Geography Class. This past Thursday was actually the last day the class was meeting on campus, so it was somewhat bittersweet. For our presentations, we were highly encouraged to bring food. I brought some Challah Bread and some fig and honey spread (figs, honey, cooking wine, and cinnamon). My presentation itself went well...I think I was the only one that used actual music in their presentation. Basically before I set it up, I put on "Der Bosfer" which is a song played by the Klezmer Conservatory. It set the mood for the presentation very well.

From 1:00pm - 8:00pm, that was dedicated to getting ready for and presenting at Math Night. My board had a complex problem on it, and it was supposed to be geared toward 4th grade. I had about 10 students come and see it, and a lot of parents actually liked my board too because it was a challenge for everyone. For those of you that are interested the problem was basically, "You have three buckets of water: 8 cup, 5 cup, and 3 cup. Make exactly 4 cups of water using those three buckets (there is no estimating)." It's basically a 6 step process, so they had fun doing it :-)

I just got back from the Play Symposium. Basically this sums up the 3-4 hours, "It's important for kids to play outside, be active, and have both structured and unstructured activities in order to enhance their development." So...yeah. I did enjoy it though. It made me want to go outside. Although it's raining, so it kind of defeats the purpose.

Well, that's about it. Take care, and I hope you have a great rest of the day!

Maus, School, and other stuff

I hope that everyone is doing well! I know that you were thinking to yourself, "When is Scott going to update again? I am on pins and needles here!" Well, there is no need to worry! Because here is an update with what is going on in my life.

I ordered a couple books on Amazon. One was Coraline which I haven't gotten yet, and the other was a set of graphic novels called, "Maus I: My Father Bleeds History" and "Maus II: And Here my Troubles Began" This graphic novel is by Art Spiegelman and..."it is about his father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's terrifying story, and History Itself." The Jews are represented by Mice, the Nazis are represented by Cats, and the Polish are represented by Pigs. I got the books today, and I read the first book front to cover. It was very exciting, it flowed well, and it was very moving. I got interested in getting these novels when I heard about them in my class last semester. These books are a great way to get Upper Elementary and Middle School (Even High Schoolers) interested in reading and a better grasp of the subject concerning the Holocaust. I enjoyed it, and I am excited to read book number II (By the way, this is also a 1992 Pulitzer Prize Winner).

On a different note, school is going well. In Practicum I teach a small group of four 1st graders and I teach the whole class twice. I did my first lead-teaching yesterday on George Washington's Teeth. For those of you that think it was made out of wood, it was not! It was actually made out of Hippopotamus Ivory. My next lead teach will be about Abraham Lincoln, so it should be fun.

I enjoy playing raquetball (even though I'm not that good) and math methods is....giving me a lot of good materials. I am enjoying the two classes I am taking for fun. I'm learning about the Middle East and I really enjoy learning about PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports). I actually use a webcam and record comments on papers I write for this class. The cool part is my professor responds to me through his webcam so it's like we are having a conversation. I am glad I am taking this class.

The only real issue I have been having with classes has been...creativity. I have had to do several projects that involve arts and crafts and expanding my mind relating to such things. Now, I was never good at arts and crafts. I don't like arts and crafts. When it comes to decoration, I don't know how it should look or why it should look that way. Needless to say...I am at a loss when it comes to these things. Because of this, I am happy if the professor/teacher says that the work is acceptable. I know I am not going to get a, "I have never seen such beautiful work," but I am okay with that.

That's about it for me. I hope you all have a great rest of the day!

My Amazon experience

When you read the title, did you think I meant The Amazon as in South America or Amazon as in the website? I personally mean Amazon the website, so all of you who were interested in hearing about my journey in South America can start playing Pac-Man or feeding my Llama.

For the first time this year, I asked my sister to get me an Amazon.com gift card. Being the generous sister that she is, she has given me a substantial amount of money to spend (that wasn't being sarcastic either. When it comes to money, she's way more generous than I am!) Anyway, I have been buying different books from there. I got Student Edition - Case for Faith, Praying the Psalms, Beyond Discipline, and The Middle East for Dummies. I have spent a total of...$33.07. For four books plus shipping and handling, that is pretty awesome! There was only one book that I was disappointed with the quality (let's just say it was not like new)...but I bought it for $8.59 (and that included shipping and handling) and if I bought this book at a store, it would be about $17.95, so it's still okay. My suggestion to all of you would be to give Amazon.com a chance if you haven't already. It's well worth it.

I'm excited for the Math Conference tomorrow and the Super Bowl on Sunday! I'm more excited for the Super Bowl to be honest. But, the math conference will be good because we all can use tips on how to teach kids math. All I remember in grade-school math was how much I hated coordinates and shapes. I did well on tests, but I always did bad on the homework. What gives?

I'll have more updates on my classes. I'm really enjoying Raquetball. I am probably near the bottom of the list when it comes to top players in my class, but I am still having fun and getting a work-out. Plus with my height, I am able to do low serves which makes the tall people have to work hard. TAKE THAT TALL PEOPLE!

I hope you all have a great rest of the day.

Eustress Vs. Distress

To describe what my semester is going to be like, I am going to quote one of my professors. He said, "There are two types of stress. There is Eustress which is good, and there is Distress which can kill you. I am offering you Eustress. Have a great weekend."

Even though I am not taking a whole lot of hours, I still have a pretty nice class-load and work today. The main thing I did today, as a matter of fact, was buy a Calendar and a Planner and write out what was due and when it was due. This helped to relieve some of the stress I was feeling. Here are the classes I am taking

1. Beginning Raquetball
2. Geography of the Middle East
3. Mathematics Methodology
4. Methods and Techniques of Behavior Management
5. Practicum

Those look like fun classes, don't they? I only need three of those for my major. I'll give you a hint which three they are...they are the odd numbered ones! I needed to be a full-time student, so I had to fill up some classes. I'm excited about both of those classes though. They are really interesting and I think they will help a lot.

Other than that, I am also really excited because I got a webcam! I needed it for a class I have this semester, and I have been goofing off with it. Some people got Facebook messages with me using it...so I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.

This has been a great week so far; My good friend came to church and the sermon/music were awesome; college life-groups started up on Monday night and we not only had a good turn-out but we have a great topic we are discussing; I got to spend a day with John and even see his plant in the midst of helping to move, I had class yesterday (which was eustressful!); and today I got to play with a webcam as well as get myself organized! Let's just see what Friday and Saturday bring!

That's it for me. I hope you all have a great rest of the day!

Football & Sunflower Seeds

So...only one of my predictions came true during the wild card playoffs. For the sake of making certain teams do well and certain teams to not do well, I will not make any predictions for the remainder of the playoffs.

Santa brought me some low sodium sunflower seeds in my stocking this year. I started eating them, and I couldn't stop. It became a routine. I would sit in my chair, eat some sunflower seeds, and watch some TV. When I ran out, I didn't know what to do. I tried popcorn, but it didn't do the trick. I had a Popsicle, but it wasn't the same. I even tried just eating peanuts. But it didn't have the same thrill of cracking those little sunflower seeds and eating that little goodness that is inside of it. So a couple of days ago, I bought another pack of sunflower seeds. I am eating them as I type this post; sunflower seeds and Sweet Tea. I am also watching King of the Hill.

Could life get any better right now? We'll see :-)

Relaxing Days

If you were on the outside looking in on how I spent my day, you would probably think that I did nothing. From a stand-point of what I usually do, I would say that's true. I basically just watched TV and ate today! I would say the two highlights of my day were ordering a pizza, and getting a book in the mail that I ordered from amazon.com. I read the first chapter, and I am really excited about introducing it to my Lifegroup! It is Case for Faith - Student Edition. You can't really find it in the stores, but I got a better deal online anyway. It covers basically six different sections

1. If there's a loving God, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?
2. If miracles contradict science, how can any rational person believe they are true?
3. If God really created the Universe, then why does science point to evolution as the origin of life?
4. If Jesus is the only way to heaven, then what about the millions of people who never heard of him?
5. If God cares about the people he created, how could he send many of them to hell?
6. If I still have doubts, is it possible to be a Christian?

I think that this will be a good book to study. Some of it it seems like we have covered, but Lee Strobel and Jane Vogel put it together so rationally that it is just a good way of representing the material.

Something I have discovered about my personality is that when I have "relaxing days," it seems like my mind never gives me time to relax. I have thought of so many different things today. When I woke up, I just laid for about an hour or two just thinking about different aspects of life. I thought about my friends and stuff they are going through right now, what next semester holds for school and ministries (both college and youth), and how I would react in certain situations. Even after I got up and watched TV, I kept analyzing characters and asking how their lives would be different if they made different choices (particularly embracing their faith) and what I would do in that situation. Fun and relaxing, isn't it?

I did watch a good amount of ESPN and read some more about what the Broncos are doing and my picks for the wild card games tomorrow. I think Indianapolis will win in the AFC game (I hope they kick the tar out of San Diego after what happened with Denver). I am hoping the Cardinals win tomorrow, but I think realistically the Falcons will win. I haven't really seen Arizona put any real effort the past couple of games, and I don't see how you can just suddenly have a win mentality if you haven't been giving it your all the past couple of games. For Sunday, I believe the Eagles will beat the Vikings and Miami will beat Baltimore. We'll see though...

This is a long post, so I will end it. Have a great rest of the day!