Hello

Hello again. I know that my post continue to be few and far between, but I am kind of home for the summer and will have some extra time on my hands so maybe there will be more post than normal.

So get excited!!! I just finished my third year as a high school math teacher!! yay! It has been a really tough year for me in more ways than one but God has reassured me that I am where I need to be right now. 

Well for those of you who have not heard about my year I will give you a quick recap... This year the state of Texas put a new test into the system called the End of Course Exam (STAAR). I teach the students who were unsuccessful last year on TAKS and all we have heard this year is that the EOC was going to be harder than the TAKS and require the students to use their brains more than they had previously with the TAKS. Needless to say it has been a challenging year for me trying to get my students where they need to be so they can be successful this year. I still have not received my scores so I can not tell you yet if it was a successful school year by the states opinion but in my own opinion it was a huge success. I was able to build relationships with students and to listen to tragedies that no one their age should ever have to go through and to try my best to be there for them when they needed me. I had several students to the best they have ever done in math this year. These are all things that the EOC can not tell the state of Texas about my kids.

Also this year my mom and I found out we had something in common... GALLSTONES!! Yes we both had gallstones and both had to have our gallbladders removed with in Months of each other. Mom also had a tumor on her kidney that had to be removed but she was able to keep half of the kidney. God has really had his hand on our family this semester. Mom's outlook on the whole thing has been an inspiration. She saw the whole thing, from the start, as a chance to share Christ with each person she came in contact with. Each time I will call to see how a doctor's appointment went she always had a story to tell me about some nurse or doctor that they had talked to and where the conversation always ended up was the same. By the way she is doing great and staying as busy as ever.

I have had a couple of jobs open up closer to home this year and actually put in an application. (I even had an interview) But God has really been showing me lately that I am where he needs me to be right now. I have found a church family who is so passionate about living for Christ and share his love with the world around them where ever that might be. I have also built relationships with teachers and students that I continue to have the chance to share my beliefs and hopefully live the life that reflects what comes out my mouth. I am growing and I know God will continue to mold me into the women that he wants me to be, I just pray that I will stay flexible and follow his will. 

Well that is enough for now. I hope you had a great year and by year I mean school year. Enjoy the summer and take some time to reflect on the things that God has taught you lately. 

Long time...

Wow, so it has been a really long time since I have posted, I apologize. I do not have Internet at my apartment and the school blocked the website that I blog on. However, just because I have not been posting does not mean that God has not been working.

It is actually quiet the opposite. God has been doing some great things in my family, my church, and in my life. I will try and recap a couple for you so that you can see His hand in my life.

We will start with family. Jeremy, Sara, and Thad will be moving this summer to Lebanon, to work in an orphanage. They are so excited to be going back into that part of the world. Jeremy will finally be using his degree to teach math and English to the students at the school there in Lebanon, while Sara gets to use her great people skills to work with publicity for the children. It is always cool to see how God uses the talents that He has given us. The big thing that God has done for us lately has to do with my mom. Back story :) When mom was nine years old she had this pain in her lower abdomen and so they took her to the doctor to get it checked out. They discovered that her tube had wrapped around her ovary but also that she had ovarian cancer. They removed her ovary and that was the end of that. Well a couple of weeks ago mom was having lots of pain in her back and right side, so she went to the doctor, which for her is a big deal. It turns out that she had a lot of gallstones in her gallbladder but when they did the sonogram they found a spot on her kidney. It turned out to be tumor but it is only 3 cm so they think there is a chance they will only have to remove part of the kidney. This is twice that God has used something else to lead them to a tumor or cancer. God has been looking out for her and I know that He will continue to do so through all the things ahead.

Church!! Things have been going so great at my church in Sundown. God has led me to a place where I can dive deep into the word and learn new things about Him each week. I have also been very fortunate to make some friends and a family has adopted me in for Sunday lunch each week.

Then there is my life. God is showing me that each day He is enough, that even if I did not have anything else that it would be okay because He is everything that I need. My gave me a book called "Radical" I just started reading it and there are already things that have really been tugging on my heart. I know that there is always room for improvement and I have been asking God to show me the places that I need to improve in. He has also been giving me opportunities to build some great relationships with my students and to be able to talk to them about their lives and ways for me to pray for them. Even though this year had a rough start God has really helped me through and has continued to show me that the classroom is a great mission field.

I will try and do better about keeping you posted on what happens with my family, my church and with me. God is doing amazing things and I am glad that He is allowing me to be apart of them. I hope everything is going good with all of you.