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!

Christmas and Remembrance

Hey Everybody! I hope that you all had a great Christmas. Mine was very hectic. My sister and Dad got home the night of the 22nd and Mom and I got home the night of the 23rd. None of us did any real Christmas Shopping so we were all getting our stuff on Christmas Eve. Later that day we went to BBC's Christmas Eve service. I have never heard so many crying/screaming babies in my life! However it was amazing when we all had our candles lit. At 11pm, Ferrell and I decided to go to the Methodist's Christmas Eve Service. I have to say I was really impressed and I enjoyed it! Some of it was unusual, but it was great. I am going to try to go again next year if someone will go with me.

I ended up getting a Nintendo DS (which I didn't ask for) on top of some awesome gift certificates that I haven't used yet! I got some other stuff, but that was the major thing. I got my dad the DVD "Mama Mia," my mom some certificates for two manicures, and my sister a DS game (Final Fantasy IV) and a book called, "Wet Cats."

For those of you that are wondering why I was gone for so long and why it says "remembrance" on the title, my Grandmother (Phyllis Lemons) passed away near the 16th. It was amazing to talk to people in Lander (as well as my family) that knew her very well. She was loved by everyone. There were many that claimed her as one of their best friends! She showed us, myself included, how much difference one person could make just by living an unselfish and humble life that pleased God.

I decided in honor of her death, I would post a list of top 5 things I have learned from my grandmother

1. God First
2. Treat everyone you meet as a friend, not a stranger
3. You can never have enough coats, gloves, Kleenex, clocks, or candy
4. Don't just sit around waiting for something to happen, get up and do something about it
5. "Smile...because it worked for me" (this was said during her funeral)

Everyone have a great holiday!

Grades & Other Stuff

Let's talk about ME! :-)

Here are my grades for this semester:

1. Cultural Anthropology - C
2. Books, Media, and Literacy for Children - A
3. Classroom Assessment - A
4. Methods of Teaching Social Studies - A
5. Corrective Reading - A
6. Modern English Grammar and Usage - B

Semester GPA: 3.438

Cumulative GPA: 3.648

Total Hours earned: 111

I did a lot better than I thought I would in Modern English Grammar and Usage. I keep looking at Cultural Anthropology. I spent so much time in my other classes making sure I got good grades in those, and that led to Cultural Anthropology being overlooked. Our only assessments in there were three tests and attendence, so I didn't have a whole lot of motivation. It all turned out okay.

I have spare time now. It's really weird because my weeks were arranged by tests/homework assignments. Now, I am going back to work and waiting for Jesus Trip. On the bright side, I watched Oceans 11, 12 & 13 this past weekend! They were all awesome. It made me sad though because I was watching Bernie Mac, and I knew he wouldn't be back for a sequel :-(

I think I have figured out my favorite Christmas songs.

1. O Holy Night
2. O Little Town of Bethlehem
3. Welcome to our World
4. God is With Us
5. Evening in December
6. Silver Bells
7. You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch
8. Breath of Heaven
9. Joseph's Lullaby
10. The Christmas Song

I may have missed some, so I may update/change this list depending on how I feel. Well, that's about it. Have a great rest of the day!

Dead Day!

Today is what we refer to as "Dead Day" at MTSU. The school gives us this day off to study for exams. There are some students that use this day to study at catch up, and some that use it to relax and mentally prepare themselves for the storm to come. Which one of those people am I you ask? Well, I'm typing this from my bed right now. But...I may venture to attempt some projects. I was planning on doing some Social Studies stuff today, so maybe I will be a good student and do that. We will see.

Here's a quick update. Thanksgiving was good! My Dad, Sister, Mom, Nana, the Greats, Aunt Sue, and Julie were all there to share in the feast! It was good. Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, orange salad, pumpkin pie, green beans, some other foods I can't remember...it was good. It was also fun being with the family and joking around with each other. Not to mention the Titans DOMINATED the game against the Lions, so it was a good day!

I got an "A" on my Case Study - that went along with the tutoring I was doing at Nolensville - so I was pretty pumped about that. I have three more projects in one of my classes due before/on Sunday, two exams on Wednesday, and one on Thursday (which requires a lot of outside work). So I am about to have a lot of fun pretty soon.

I hope that everyone is doing well and I will update as soon as the craziness stops!

Fall Retreat - Get Restored!

I will try not to let my current mood affect the way I write this blog. Why do you ask? Well let me put it this way. Today I feel like Alexander. He is the star of the book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." It's raining, I am still tired, I didn't feel confident about my test I just took...so yeah.

Now that I've vented a little bit, let me talk to you about Fall Retreat! We went to Jonathan Creek in Kentucky from Friday-Sunday. Our theme of the week was being restored. The first night we did an overview of what we have called the "Connecting Moments" at church. Basically it is four circles talking about us being originally designed for good, then damaged by evil, then restored for better, then sent to heal. If you want a demonstration, come find me. I am pretty good at it by now :-) We basically focused on the fact that no matter how bad you messed up, God still forgives you and he loves you. Because God loves us so much, we should try to live a life that is pleasing to him. That right there, pretty much sums up the four sessions we had.

It was different this year because we had a Master Teacher for each grade and then broke up into small groups...which were coed. I was a Master Teacher for seventh grade. Looking back, I would have to say it was a good experience. I learned a lot myself, and I hope they did too. I brought in some visuals and referred back to stories in scripture as well as the verses we were focusing on. I don't know whether my teaching did a whole lot, but just being a small part of something big is good enough for me. We had over 30 decisions made this weekend and a little over 20 were first time decisions to accept Christ.

It's great looking back but during that time I was thinking to myself, "Did we even make a dent? Are they even listening to anything we're saying?" After I taught my last session, I was very discouraged. But like all retreats I'm part of, God tends to kick my butt and let me know what is really important. It's not about me. Even though as I write this I am smiling to myself thinking, "It's a little about me, isn't it?!?" And I guess it is. It's just not ALL about me.

"Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement" - Brian Tracy

I was trying to think of a good tag-line for this blog. I basically am going to talk about school and the upcoming fall retreat (leave today return on Sunday), but my tag-line for my next blog will be about fall retreat, so what's the point? Not to mention I have about 50 blogs that have the word school or update in the title, so I should just be original. I like this quote anyway.

I told one of my friends recently, "Just remember how you eat an elephant...one bite at a time!" That has been my mantra for this past semester. This has definitely been one of the busiest semesters so far. I know that next semester will be icky too since I have Practicum (somewhat like a mini version of student teaching) and Math Methods - which will encompass a lot of tutoring. I have learned a lot this semester from my classes, but I have had to eat that elephant bite by bite. You know the funny part? I am about to the shoulders. I have a ways to go with the really big projects that are coming up.

I am excited about Fall Retreat. We're going to be talking about being restored, and I am teaching 7th grade. It will be different, but I think it will be good as well. I will also be able to spend some time with my current life-group in a non-formal setting. That will be good. I'm also looking forward to hanging out with the leaders as well as some 7th graders I may meet for the first time in that session.

Thanksgiving is coming! I have to say, that I really enjoy Thanksgiving. I am somewhat impartial when it comes to turkey, but I absolutely love Pumpkin Pie and Cranberry Sauce. Not mixed together, but just in general. It is also fun to see the family and talk about life. I am almost 5"6 with my hair now, so it gives the allusion that I've grown a little bit. That's the thing about my hair. It grows out and up...not down. I get like a little 'fro going, so I look like well...have you seen those Chia Pets? It's something like that.

I guess I should be going. I hope that you all have a great rest of the day and I will update soon on the Fall Retreat!

Lifegroups & Tutoring

Hello everyone! It has been a little while since I blogged. I intended to blog shortly after Monday's Life-group section, but then I just never sat down and did it. With projects, readings, events, and other things it's really tough to just sit down and so things like this. Yet I understand that I am just presenting excuses right now, so I will stop making excuses and update.

I will take about my College Life-groups as well as my 8th Grade Life-groups. First, the College Life-group.

Since John was out of town, I did the main teaching and leading of the guys group for the College one. I've done this a couple times in the summer, but that was about it. It's such a different feeling teaching in front of your peers than a group that is younger than yourself. I don't mind it so much in College Classrooms now, but I was really nervous addressing it this past Monday because I was taking a piece of scripture that I struggled with and had to present it to them (It was on Galatians 3:1-14). The reason I say I struggled with this was for more than one reason. I wanted to figure out not only what this passage was saying, but how we should apply it personally and as a church reaching those who don't know Christ. I had to ask myself some tough questions and do some digging (I quoted some theologians and even the Greek words that were used in the text). I finally came to a point where I asked two questions. One was do we as Christians fall into the same thinking as the Galatians? Then I asked a follow up to that question of Liberalism vs. Legalism. Regarding the church being too Liberal with scripture, I asked if we were at a point where non-Christians saw no significant difference in our lives vs. theirs. In regards to Legalism, I asked if we as a church are so fixed in our tradition/way of doing things that we are so inclusive where no non-Christian will want to come to church and we are then guilty of what the Galatians were doing in respect to putting emphasis on the Law rather than Jesus. Then after we talked about that, I asked the group what it meant to them personally that Jesus made the sacrifice for us so that we no longer had to be slaves to the law.

For my 8th grade Life-group, we went over a couple things. For the first 10-15 minutes, we discussed if Christ's Biographies were accurate (i.e. the validity of scripture). That was really cool because we looked at the Bible as a book and the credibility of eyewitnesses, the original manuscripts, and the people/authors within the Bible. It was very cool. Then for the last 15 minutes, I had to High School students, Harrison Hall and Chaz Allman, talk about their trip to Guatemala and the offering that the Youth group is doing for that community to have a youth pastor. I got a lot out of it, and I think they did too. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter watch age you are, God works through everyone at anytime.

This was my last week of Tutoring at Nolensville. I still have to write my Case Study, so I still have a good amount of work to do. I am kind of glad that I don't have to come up with two different lessons each week for this, but I'm sad because it was fun going to the school and working with this student.

I was going to talk about something else, but I realize that this blog is long enough! I hope you all have a great rest of the day!