Scripture Memory {Verse 5}

I'm finally back on track (for now) with posting my verses here on the blog. I am five verses into this scripture memorization project for the year and I am truly enjoying it. I never really thought that something as simple as memorizing a few bible verses could really be life changing, but it is. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself and see what happens :)

P.S. - In case you missed the explanation on what I am doing here...short version: I'm memorizing 24 bible verses this year in order to help me get more into the gospel and grow spiritually. Long version: Read my blog post about it here.

My fifth memory verse for 2015 is Psalm 27:14...

Are we sensing a trend here? If you are thinking that I tend to choose a lot of verses that relate to patience, God's plan and waiting, then you are correct. Clearly, this is an area in which I struggle. When it comes to my personal life, I am a planner. I like to be in control, make a plan and execute it according to schedule. Then life intervenes and my whole plan goes up in flames. Ultimately, I have to end up being patient and waiting on God to execute His perfect plan for my life instead. And I suck at it. I am not good at being patient, or releasing control over my life plans. Ironically, I used to be a middle school teacher which requires an insane amount of patience. In the classroom, I had patience for days. And yet, in my personal life, I have zero patience. My journey in learning to have more patience and faith in God's plan is going on years now, but I'm constantly working hard at it and improving each day. Hence the verse I have chosen here.

I love how this verse instructs us to "wait on the Lord" twice in the same sentence. Because only one time is simply not enough. It's telling us right off the bat, "wait on the Lord", and then just in case you didn't hear it the first time, it's ends the verse by telling us once again to "wait on the Lord". It's almost as though the words are standing right in front of you, waving a red flag and telling you to look over here, the answer is right here! All you have to do is wait on the Lord. Simple, but easier said than done, right? Oh, and while you are busy waiting around on Him, you also need to "be strong and take heart". In case waiting on Him isn't difficult enough already. This other reminder is just as important as being patient in the first place. In the midst of "waiting on the Lord", we often tend to lose our courage, our faith and our hope, especially if the waiting takes what we deem as being too long. The longer we have to wait, the harder it is to stay strong, faithful and hopeful. However, keeping our faith and hope during the wait is what keeps us going. Without faith and hope, we will ultimately give up on ourselves and even give up on God.

It took me losing all of my strength, faith and hope during what seemed like the longest wait of my entire life to make me realize how desperately I needed them and God. By memorizing this verse, I hope to remind myself that when I am faced with an obstacle in my life plan, that I must wait on Him for I know that His plan is a greatest of all. And while I am waiting, I must stay strong in my faith and believe that He will see me through. I must stay hopeful in what is to come because even though I do not know what He has in store for me, I must have hope in that whatever He has waiting for me is going to be better than I ever could have imagined. So if you are praying to God about something and wondering why He won't answer you, remember that sometimes you just have to listen and wait.

Scripture Memory {Verse 4}

As usual, I'm a little behind on posting my verses, but I promise that I'm still going strong with memorizing them on schedule. The verse I have chosen for #4 is one of my favorites, which I'm sure that you will think is strange once you read it. It's not pretty or uplifting or sentimental, it's convicting. The first time I ever read it, I immediately felt convicted. That's when you know you've found a great verse. Every time I read it, I feel the exact same way...which is why I am choosing to memorize this verse. I need to be reminded of it constantly.

P.S. - In case you missed the explanation on what I am doing here...short version: I'm memorizing 24 bible verses this year in order to help me get more into the gospel and grow spiritually. Long version: Read my blog post about it here.

My fourth memory verse for 2015 is James 1:19-20...

If you read this verse and think, "I totally do all three of those things all the time", then you are probably lying to yourself. I can't think of anyone I know who does these things consistently, especially myself. In fact, I tend to do the exact opposite of these things more often than not. Don't we all? Personally, I think that our culture actually promotes doing the exact opposite of what God is calling us to do in this verse. When someone says something that you don't agree with or that offends you, what is your initial reaction? Do you wait and listen to what they have to say, then think about and choose your words carefully, staying calm and understanding of their feelings? Well, that's what God is telling us we should be doing if we want to glorify Him. However, I know how most of us probably react when someone offends us or disagrees with our opinion...we immediately stop listening to whatever they are saying and start building our argument in our head, we get all pissed off and just start spewing our "better and correct" opinions from our mouths like word vomit without even thinking about what we are saying before it comes out. Guilty as charged.

So the next time you are confronted with a difference of opinions, remember this verse. We should stop whatever we are doing or thinking right away and listen, truly listen, to the person who is talking. Not sit there staring at them pretending to listen, while actually building up our defense against them in our head instead of listening. Once they are finished talking, you don't have to open your mouth and say something right away. Yes, a little silence for a minute might be awkward, but not nearly as awkward as when you don't think before you speak and end up saying something stupid or hurtful. When I was a teacher, I would encourage my students to T.H.I.N.K. before they would speak. (Is what you are about to say True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, and Kind?) I hate to say it, but even though I would hold my students accountable to this everyday, I definitely did not practice in my personal life what I was preaching in the classroom. Even as adults, I feel like we should follow these same guidelines and based on James 1:19-20 I think that God would agree.

Hence the reason I am memorizing this verse. I want to challenge myself to follow these instructions, rather than reacting in my normal manner. Have you ever gone off on someone, getting angry, saying hurtful things, and thought to yourself afterward, "I feel so much happier now"? Probably not. Anytime I let myself get angry and either say something hurtful or even just think it in my head, I always feel like crap afterward. Negative thoughts and feelings only produce more negative thoughts and feelings. Being negative does not produce positive results. The next time I am faced with a challenging situation, I hope to call on this verse from my memory and think about how God would want me to react to the situation before I open my big mouth.

Scripture Memory {Verse 3}

I have been keeping up with memorizing my verses, even though I am late on posting about them. For verse #3, I decided to keep it short and sweet. Even though this verse is fairly short, it's still very powerful. Every time I read it, I wish I had memorized it sooner. I can think of so many past instances in my life where I truly could have used this verse. However, it's better late than never and I'm glad that I found my way to it eventually.

P.S. - In case you missed the explanation on what I am doing here...short version: I'm memorizing 24 bible verses this year in order to help me get more into the gospel and grow spiritually. Long version: Read my blog post about it here.

My third memory verse for 2015 is Romans 12:12...

This verse has three distinct instructions that I need a lot of help reminding myself of on a daily basis. Be joyful in hope. It's really easy to lose hope when things aren't going your way, but it is essential to remind ourselves to have hope and to be joyful in all of the blessings that we do have. If we only dwell on the bad things in our lives, then we will all be miserable. Been there, done that. It sucks. If we focus more on the hope of what is to come and being joyful in the possibilities of what God has in store for us tomorrow, we will be much happier and life will be a lot more fun!

Patient in affliction. This one might be the most difficult of all...for me at least. When something is not going the way I want it to, I am so impatient. I want the "bad time" to be over as soon as possible (obviously), but sometimes these things take time and we have to wait. The best example of this in my life was when I was struggling with my infertility. I made myself miserable every single day because I was so pissed off that I wasn't pregnant yet. I basically missed out on enjoying two years of my life because I was so focused on wanting my infertility to end. Looking back, I now realize that God was going to take care of me...in His time. I probably would have been a much happier person if I had just been more patient with God during that difficult time. I should have been more joyful in the hope of what he had in store for me, which turned out to be Peyton...my greatest blessing of all.

Faithful in prayer. I'm getting better at this one. Have you ever noticed how we tend to go to God last with all of our problems? We try every which way to fix things on our own until we are completely out of options and then we finally turn to God once we are exhausted and ready to give up. It's probably best to go to Him first, don't you think? Since the outcome is ultimately up to Him anyways? You might as well cut out all of that extra effort, worrying and distress and go right to the source from the beginning. I used to be one of those people who would basically make myself miserable over something that was bothering me and then maybe think about praying for it, if I had nowhere else to turn to. I'm currently working on going to God first with everything, the good and the bad. I ask Him for help and guidance, praise Him for something good, or even just vent about something that's irritating me. Even if my prayer isn't answered right away, I at least feel better about the situation and I am able to be more patient in the interim.

Overall, this verse is a perfect one for me to memorize because it serves as a good reminder of what I need to do when I'm faced with a difficult situation. Instead of just getting pissed off right away and freaking out, I can stop myself and remember to stay hopeful because God has got my back, be patient and wait for Him, and always go straight to prayer as my first line of defense.

Book Club

One of my New Year's Goals was to get back into reading for personal enjoyment. Between our busy schedules, keeping up with household duties, and Peyton, it's easy for me to put something like reading a book on the back burner. However, I have been managing to work it into my schedule somehow, and I've decided that I want to read at least one book per month this year. I used to read at least 25 books per year when I was a teacher and challenge my students to do the same. Therefore, 12 books in a year should be no problem. I figure if I give myself an entire month then I can manage to get the book read. To hold myself accountable, I want to review each book here on the blog...so today I'm sharing my book from January!

Here is a synopsis from Amazon.com:

In Lisa Genova’s extraordinary New York Times bestselling novel, an accomplished professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease learns that her worth is comprised of more than her ability to remember. 

Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life—and her relationship with her family and the world—forever.

Here is an Editorial Review from Barnes and Noble: 

This may be one of the most frightening novels you'll ever read. It's certainly one of the most unforgettable. Genova's debut revolves around Alice Howland - Harvard professor, gifted researcher and lecturer, wife, and mother of three grown children. One day, Alice sets out for a run and soon realizes she has no idea how to find her way home. It's a route she has taken for years, but nothing looks familiar. She is utterly lost. Is her forgetfulness the result of menopausal symptoms? A ministroke? A neurological cancer? After a few doctors' appointments and medical tests, Alice has her diagnosis, and it's a shocker -- she has early-onset Alzheimer's disease. 

What follows is the story of Alice's slow but inevitable loss of memory and connection with reality, told from her perspective. She gradually loses the ability to follow a conversational thread, the story line of a book, or to recall information she heard just moments before. To Genova's great credit, readers learn of the progression of Alice's disease through the reactions of others, as Alice does, so they feel what she feels -- a slowly building terror.

In Still Alice, Genova, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard, uniquely reveals the experience of living with Alzheimer's. Hers is an unusual book -- both a moving novel and an important read.

My thoughts on the book:

First and foremost, I love this author. Dr. Lisa Genova (author) holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University in neuroscience which leads me to believe that she has the educational background and knowledge to be able to tackle something as difficult as portraying a disease like Alzheimer's accurately. She also did extensive research. After reading this book, I read an interview with her about all of the preparations she did prior to writing it. Her professional background and Ph.D. gave her an all access pass to the right people and information. She worked with the leading physicians and scientists in Alzheimer's research, genetic counselors, neuropsychological testing experts, caregiver support experts...basically anyone who is an expert in all things related to the research and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. She also spent time working with a variety of actual patients, caregivers, and their families to best understand the disease from all sides and how it is experienced by all parties involved. Having been at the center of caring for someone with Alzheimer's recently, I would say that her depiction is spot on. In addition, this book has been given the "stamp of approval" by the Alzheimer's Association, which is not something they normally do; however, they found this book to be valuable and accurate enough to do so. Kudos to Lisa Genova for executing this project so well. Now, on to the actual book itself...

You need to read this book. Seriously, go out and buy it right now. Especially if you have a loved one or know someone who currently is or has suffered from Alzheimer's disease. This book will change your entire perception on the disease, that person, everything. I love how Genova chose to present the story from Alice's perspective, it is so powerful in that way. We are able to see Alice's struggles first hand, as well as her thoughts about what is going on inside her head. From the outside, it is hard to understand what Alzheimer's patients are thinking or feeling, and what it must be like to not be able to make those cognitive connections. This book gives you a glimpse into their minds. Not only do you feel empathy for Alice, but you can start to feel her frustration and anxiety as her mind slowly deteriorates. Genova intentionally writes the later half of the story in a way that mimics the way Alice's brain is functioning as the disease progresses. It's repetitive, chunks are missing, it's hard to follow, it's confusing and difficult to comprehend. It makes you as the reader feel like you are experiencing disease yourself. Reading it requires a lot of focus and frustration, which immediately made me understand how trying and difficult it must be to have to feel that way 24 hours a day. That is what makes this book so eye-opening and powerful.

My personal experience with Alzheimer's disease comes from caring for my grandmother. She is currently living in a long-term memory care facility because the disease has put her beyond the type of care that we were able to provide for her at home. She now requires full time service by memory care professionals. Prior to Peyton's birth and my grandma's move into memory care, I would visit her at least once per week to spend time with her and take her places. I would observe her and try to understand as best I could what she was going through and how I could best help her. I'm so glad that I read this book because I feel like more than ever, I now have a better understanding of what she must be feeling and why she did some of the things that I observed. Throughout the book, I kept thinking of her. As Alice progressed in the disease, I felt like I was reliving the past 6 years with my grandma. I kept stopping as I was reading and thinking to myself, "yes, yes, that is exactly what happens!". Of course this was saddening and hard for me to read because it hits so close to home, but it was also enlightening and inspirational. This book really made me appreciate my grandma more than ever before. Beyond what I am even capable of articulating here. Thinking about her disease and her suffering used to make me feel angry, lost and frustrated in so many ways. Why is this happening to her? Why is she acting this way? What is going on? Why can't I help her or stop it? Why, Why Why? But now, I feel at peace with the whole thing. I get it. I understand why she does and acts the way she does. I understand my role in her life. I understand (as much as is even remotely possible) how she feels. I get it. I've accepted it. I can enjoy the time I have left with her and appreciate what she still has to offer to my life.

Can you believe it? A 292 page fictional book did all of that to me. Which is why I am telling you, you must read this book. A movie version of this story did come out last month, which I'm sure is great and I fully plan on seeing that as well. However, if you want the full experience then you have to read the actual book. Not even listening to it on tape will suffice. If you want to truly feel Alice's frustrations and struggles, you have to read her words. You will not get that experience from listening or watching. If you want all of the power that this book can provide, you have to read it. Trust me, it's worth it and you will never forget it.

Scripture Memory {Verse 2}

I have successfully memorized my first verse, hooray! I must say that I'm pretty proud of myself, since memorizing things has not always been my forte in life, unless it was choreography for a dance routine. Put on the music for a song I had a dance to in 8th grade and I can probably still remember most of the choreography...could I actually do it, probably not, seeing as how I am grossly out of shape and no where near as flexible as I was then. (side note: anyone else notice how much pregnancy diminishes your body's flexibility? No fair.) Anywho, now we are on to verse 2 and I am very excited about my new verse!

P.S. - In case you missed the explanation on what I am doing here...short version: I'm memorizing 24 bible verses this year in order to help me get more into the gospel and grow spiritually. Long version: Read my blog post about it here.

Now, back to my new verse. Of course, there is a long-winded story about how I came across this verse and why I have chosen it as one of my memory verses. However, I'll let you in on the verse itself first in case you aren't in the mood to read my extensive ramblings about how I arrived at it. Alas, my second memory verse for 2015 is John 13:34-35...

Story time! First you need a little back story here before we get to the verse. So my church had us fill out these "gospel transformation" cards two weeks ago where we made goals for how we wanted to be transformed spiritually this year. Also on the card, we were to list one thing we want to "quit" this year that will help us in our transformation. My "quit" for this year is negativity. I want to rid my life of anything toxic...people, thoughts, and experiences that make me feel negative. I'm so guilty of whining, complaining and judging others and none of these things ever make me feel any better, just more negative. Therefore, I want to try and be more positive about everything. To surround myself with positive people, flood my brain with happy thoughts and focus more on what is going to make life more of a joyful experience rather than always dwelling on the negative. It's easy to judge others, to complain when things don't go your way, and to just focus on the negative things that are raining on your parade. And I am sick of doing that. Why do I always let one little stupid piece of negativity block out the overwhelming number of blessings in my life? I have so many things to be grateful for and yet, one little thing doesn't go the way I planned it and my whole day is ruined. How pathetic. I'm notorious for letting a bad situation or someone else's negative attitude bring down my spirit, well no more. I want to be happy, positive and nice as much as possible, even when shit hits the fan. I know this is going to be very challenging and I know that I will by no means hit the mark even by the end of the year, but even a little progress is better than none. I want to try and try my best I will. 

Pardon the side road there, but that's important information regarding my verse. So here is how I came about it. I picked out my verse on Wednesday, the day before I had to submit it on the LPM blog because I'm a planner, that's what I do. I picked out a lovely verse (Philippians 4:6-7) and was all ready to go with that on Thursday morning. 

I woke up Thursday morning and opened my Bible app to do my daily reading (yes that's right, your favorite Bachelor-watching, wine-loving blogger also reads her Bible every day) and the verse of the day was: "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." (1 John 4:20 NIV) I felt very convicted by this verse as soon as I read it. I thought, yikes, they are talking about me. I claim to love God and yet there are plenty of people out there who I truly dislike and can't stand. Girl just got called out. Ah. So I continued my daily reading which coincidentally happened to be in the book of John that day and it all just kept coming back to the same theme, love and forgive others, no matter what. If Jesus can love and forgive everyone, then so can you. Hmm, well they do have a point there. Next, I opened up my Instagram and the very first picture that popped up was a graphic from She Reads Truth that said "Love each other. John 13:34", and the caption below had the entire verse from John 13:34-35. As soon as I read it, I knew that had to be my verse for the next two weeks. 

I have chosen this verse because I need the reminder, everyday, all day, to love others. It's easy to love the people that you actually like...your spouse, kids, family, friends, etc. It's not so easy to love the people you dislike...that annoying co-worker, neighbor, family member, acquaintance, "frenemie" (don't lie, you all have one), random person in the grocery store line, random person driving slow in front of you when you are late for work, etc. It's really hard to love those people because heck you don't even like them, and maybe they have even done something really bad to you which makes you feel like you have every right to hate them. However, Jesus loved everyone, even the people who betrayed him and murdered him. Now, that's impressive. Trust me, I'm not trying to compare myself to Jesus or claim that I can be like him. Yeah, right. However, I do know that I am capable of trying a little harder to love others. Let's be real, what do you get out of being rude to someone or talking trash about them? Basically nothing. I've noticed that when I'm negative towards other people (even just in my own mind) that I feel crappy and negative too. And when I'm nice and positive towards others, then I feel so much better and happier. Alas, my verse. I want to use it to fight off the negative thoughts in my head. When I see someone doing something that I think is stupid or ridiculous, I want to replace that negative thought with my verse. Who cares if some girl wants to post a billion photos of her baby on Instagram (guilty as charged), I'm going to love her anyway because she is doing what makes her happy. And why does it matter to me if some crazy girl wants to write ridiculously long-winded blog posts (also guilty) and think that she's cool enough for people to actually want to read that garbage, well I will love her too. Challenge accepted. 

I see that what started out as a blog post has now turned into a short novella, sorry y'all. However, this verse just really has me going here. I promise that this is last point that I am going to make about it, so hang in there. The final line of the verse, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples", also spoke to one of my gospel transformation goals for this year. To share my faith with others. I'm not a huge fan of people throwing religion into random conversations. I am not one of those people who is going to come right out and ask you about your church, or try to force mine upon you because I just don't feel like that is my place and I don't really even know how to approach that. So I have been looking for ways to share my faith with others without just randomly throwing something like, "Hey, so how 'bout that Jesus guy" into a casual conversation. I feel like this verse finally gave me a little direction in that department. It says that simply by loving others, I can share my faith with the world. Well, that sounds like a manageable task, even for me. Ultimately, loving others seems to be like a pretty good idea in my book so I'm committed to making more of an effort. Love to you all, and free hugs for everyone. (That one is for all my fellow Bachelor fans out there...here's your free hug, don't worry you can get a coupon and redeem it later) 

Have a spectacular weekend and go share some love :)            

Scripture Memory {Verse 1}

Yesterday, I shared one of my New Year's Goals on the blog, and now it's time to get started! If you missed my explanation of the Scripture Memory Team, read that post first before you read this one so that you understand what I'm referring to here.

I chose my first bible verse to memorize on January 1st, but I haven't gotten around to writing about it on the blog until now. However, I have been working on memorizing it! I've basically got it down already and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to remember. By the end of New Year's Day, I pretty much had it. I typically say it to myself all throughout the day, every day, to make sure I don't forget it, which in turn helps me keep all the negative and toxic thoughts out of my head as well! I'm sure this will get more difficult as I add additional verses throughout the year, but I will be working hard to retain them all.

I will be choosing each verse carefully and with purpose because I want to make sure that I really get as much out of this experience as possible. Therefore, I want to share my thoughts about each verse that I choose because I think that reflecting on what we read in the gospel is just as important as reading it in the first place. So without further adieu...the first verse that I am going to be learning for 2015 is Jeremiah 29:11

I thought that this verse was fitting for kicking off the New Year, since the beginning of a new year is always a time that people spend planning out their goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. When starting out a fresh year, we all tend to make our own plans. We plan out what we want to change about our lives, habits we want to quit, or projects we want to start. We plan those things out for ourselves. However, what we tend to forget is that God already has a wonderful plan for our lives, one that we have no control over. So while it's still great to make your own plans (trust me, I certainly do), remember to look to God when making your plans because he already has done a lot of the work for you. Alas, my first reason for choosing this verse. As I sit down to make my plans for 2015, I was to remind myself to ask God for guidance when doing so.

Reason number two...I'm addicted to planning. I recently wrote an entire blog post about my agenda planner. I have to plan everything. I wrote a birth plan for my delivery with Peyton, It was one full page typed. You should have seen the look on the labor and delivery nurse's face when I handed her 5 copies of my birth plan (one for her, the doctor and each member of my delivery team). And you know what, Peyton's birth absolutely did not go according to the plan I had written, but being able to walk into the hospital with a plan in hand maybe me feel prepared and calm, and helped me stay that way throughout my entire delivery. That is why I plan. I tend to over-think, over-react and freak out about things that have not even happened yet. Therefore, I plan. If I plan it out ahead of time, then I can enter the situation calm and prepared (and with about 30 possible back up plans).

However, I've realized over the years that when my long-term plans (such as getting pregnant) are repeatedly and severely disrupted over time, I don't cope well. Over a year ago, I finally learned how to let go of my life plans and learn to rely on God's plan for my life. This was a difficult pill for me to swallow and it took a lot of effort and prayer on my part to get me there. I have made huge progress in this department from where I started about 18 months ago, but I have fully embraced the "let go, and let God" mantra. That being said, I always want to remember to do so. When life gets tough, it's hard to not get easily overwhelmed and upset with God. It's easy to blame him for everything. I blamed him for years for my infertility. I blamed him for taking my dad away from me. I blamed him for FSU losing football games (just kidding, but seriously). I blamed him for everything in my life that did not go according to the grand plan I had created for myself. Which is why I desperately need this verse, Jeremiah 29:11, in my life. I need it to remind me that God had a plan for me, and it's a good one. He's not trying to mess with me or screw up my plans, he just has a better plan for me than I had for myself.

I want to start off the year with this verse, and I want to promise myself that no matter what life throws at us this year, that I will be prepared with this verse to remind me of God's plan.      

Scripture Memory Team

One of my New Year's Goals for 2015 is the memorize 24 bible verses throughout the year. What is the point of this you might ask? Well, a friend of mine at church sold me on the idea. I figure this is one way to help me focus more on the gospel instead of all the other crap that I tend to read on a daily basis (Facebook, garbage on the Internet, etc) when I have a spare moment on my phone. Plus, it gives me something to focus on when I'm getting frustrated or angry. When I get into a situation where I'm feeling overwhelmed or frustrated and I can't think of what to say, or do, or even think...I just start repeating my verse in my head and it immediately calms me down and makes me start thinking about all the wonderful blessings I have, rather than whatever it was that had me pissed off in the first place. Alas, this is why I have decided to take on this goal for the New Year.

Along with a group of girls from my church small group, we are participating in Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Team (through Living Proof Ministries). Basically all you do is choose a bible verse every two weeks (on the 1st and 15th of the month) to memorize. It can be any verse you would like and it's easy because you only have to do it twice per month...which results in 24 total verses by the end of the year. The idea is that you choose your own verses so that you can pick ones which relate to whatever is going on in your life at the time, or maybe just verses that you have always wanted to learn.  

I'm sure you're wondering how memorizing 24 verses will help you get into the gospel more. Well, in order to find verses to memorize, you have to read the bible to do so! I mean, yes technically you could Google "most popular bible verses" and just memorize all of those but then they wouldn't be personal so you probably wouldn't get anything out of it or quit before the end of the year. On January 1st, I had to choose my first verse to memorize so I started searching my bible app for key words and topics that I thought I could relate to and find the type of verse that I wanted. I read through verses for probably two hours (spread among small chunks of time throughout the day) before I found the perfect one. So right there is two extra hours of reading the gospel that I probably would not have done on New Year's Day otherwise. I also stumbled upon a lot of good scripture that I really enjoyed reading and thinking about along the way. 

I am loving this project so far because it's easy and manageable as far as time commitment. I have until the 15th to find a new verse so I can squeeze in little bits of reading/searching time when it works with my schedule. And if I don't have time to find a verse, I can always go to Beth Moore's blog to see what verses she suggests or which ones any of the other participants (already over 19,000 women!) are learning as well.

Overall, I feel like this is going to be a great way to keep me connected to the gospel and positive throughout the the year. Anytime negative thoughts enter my mind, I start thinking about my verse and I feel instant relief. I wish I would have started doing this sooner! 

I've already memorized my first verse for the year and I have it posted everywhere to help keep it at the forefront of my mind at all times. I have it written in my planner, on a sticky note in my car, on a sticky note on my bathroom mirror, in my Scripture Memory Team spiral notebook (where I will be collecting all of my verses for the project), as well as a picture of it on my phone so that every time I look at my phone (which is a lot) I see it. 

I can already feel it transforming me and making positive changes in my life. Not only will I be posting my verses on Beth Moore's blog every two weeks to "check-in" with the team, but I will also be posting my verses here on my blog, along with a reflection and explanation as to why I chose each particular verse.

If you would like to join me on this journey, it's not too late to start! You can sign up through Beth Moore's blog if you want to be official, or you can just leave me a comment that you want to join me and we can do it together! I promise you, this will make positive changes in your life and it will transform you. I've only been doing it for 8 days thus far and I can already feel it! Also, I would love suggestions for verses to memorize so if you have a verse that you love, please share it with me in a comment below. 

For more information on joining the Scripture Memory Team, check out the info posted on Beth Moore's Blog. I look forward to sharing my journey with y'all, and I can't wait to be able to recite my 24 verses by the end of this year!

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year everyone! Can you believe that it's already 2015, y'all? I remember ringing in the New Year at the end of 1999, thinking that the world was going to end at midnight and we were all going to die or something. Well, we all survived and here we are 15 years later. Fifteen! I'm so excited to see what 2015 has in store for our family, and I've got some new personal goals to go along with this fresh new year!

Every year I make New Year's Resolutions and typically by February, I've already given up on them all. In going back and re-reading all of my previous resolutions, I discovered that they are always too open-ended and vague, which is why I never keep them. I tend make resolutions like "exercise more" or "eat healthier", which is basically impossible to measure. How do I know when I've exercised enough to meet my resolution? Therefore, I decided that there will be no resolutions for this upcoming year. Simply goals. Measurable goals. I am a list person. I make to-do lists and I check the boxes on my lists. That's how I function. Therefore, in order to hold myself accountable to something I have to be able to see what the end result is going to be and check the boxes as I go along. Hence, the goals. I need short-term goals in order to be successful. Saying, "I'm going to start exercising" with no end goal to actually achieve in sight, is probably not going to work for me. So without further adieu, here are my goals for 2015. Be sure to follow along with me on the blog this year as I complete my goals!

Health Goal: I will run the Gate River Run in March. Even if I have to walk some of the race, I will participate and finish the entire 15k. I hope that this goal will get me on the right track to exercising and being healthier in general. I realize that this goal will finish in March, so once I complete it then I will set a new follow-up goal dealing with health and exercise for the remainder of the year. But remember, I'm doing baby steps here...measurable, attainable, short-term goals that hopefully can lead to long-term lifestyle changes.

Spiritual Goal: I will participate in a Scripture Memorization challenge and memorize 24 bible verses this year. Some of my girl friends from church and I will be participating in this goal together and I'm really excited about it. We will memorize a bible verse (everyone picks their own) every two weeks for the entire year, resulting in 24 memorized verses by the end of the year. Of course, I will be posting my verses here on my blog as well as an explanation as to why I chose each verse. So feel free to follow along with me on this spiritual journey! If you are interested in participating in this challenge too, check it out here: Scripture Memory Team 2015

Mommy Goal: I will take Peyton on a local "field trip" at least once per month. Even though I know she won't remember or actually understand any of these outings, I want to expose Peyton to something new in our community every month.

Reading Goal: I will join a book club this year. If I can't find a book club to join, then I will get some girls together and start my own. I haven't read a book since before Peyton was born and this makes me sad. I love to read and I want to get back into reading for pleasure this year. I feel that joining a book club would help me stay on track and accountable for actually making time for myself to read.

Networking Goal: I will attend at least one play date or event per month in my new community. I want to meet my neighbors and get to know moms who live in this community. Our new neighborhood has a great mom's group with tons of events and play dates available every week. I want to attend at least one event per month to help Peyton and I get to know some neighborhood friends.

I'm sure that there are plenty of other goals I could make to further better myself this year, but let's start small and see how this goes. Maybe I'll even add some more goals throughout the year if I'm feeling really ambitious!   

We wish you and your family nothing but the best in 2015 and a very Happy New Year!

Making a Comeback

It's been over 2 months since my last post. Why, you might ask? Because I gave up on blogging. I quit. I decided that I didn't have the time or energy to dedicate to my blog any longer. Blogging used to be enjoyable and relaxing to me, but lately it had become nothing but a chore. It was something I was continuing to do simply because I felt obligated to do it. Obligated by whom? I have no idea. Possibly only myself? Maybe other people out there? Could I possibly afford to be so vain? To think that other people out there actually care enough about my blog to miss it if it was gone? I started writing this blog for myself and I always said that whenever it stopped being fun or helpful to me then I would stop writing. So I stopped writing. I took the one constant form of therapy that has always been there for me and I threw it away because I didn't have space for it in my life anymore. And it has taken me 2 months to realize how stupid of an excuse that is.

I miss blogging. Even if no one else ever reads a single thing I write ever again. I've realized that I need this for myself. Blogging is my hobby. It's basically my only hobby, besides crafting...and taking pictures of my daughter...but I'm not sure that actually qualifies as a hobby. I'm sure that most people would argue that this is a pretty pathetic hobby, but at least it's free unlike my husband's multitude of hobbies which all cost money. However, I decided that blogging makes me happy and gives me a relaxing form of therapy that I desperately need in this crazy world that is our lives. So with that unnecessarily lengthy tirade...I'm officially back.

A lot has happened since my last post, and since I'm a particularly OCD individual when it comes to my projects, I couldn't possibly leave a 2 month gap in my blog posts. Therefore, I'm going to play a little catch-up and back date a whole slew of posts that should have occurred over these last 2 months. Moral of the story...you have a lot of reading to do. But don't worry, it's the last week of the year and everyone is on vacation so there isn't a whole lot going on at your office anyways, right? Since I know everyone is looking for a good way to nurse their Christmas hangover and procrastinate at work today...you're welcome in advance. Here's what the Roches have been up to...

Sykes and Cooper Farm
Peyton's 1st Halloween
Peyton Brooke {Five Months}
Peyton's 1st Thanksgiving
Baby Showers Galore
Movin' On Up
Festival of Lights 5k
Peyton Brooke {Six Months}
Christmas Cards
Everlasting Mistletoe {DIY Christmas Craft}
Peyton Meets Santa
Peyton's 1st Christmas Eve
Peyton's 1st Christmas

Our Year in Review will be coming up next...

And did you really think I could possibly make it through I whole post without a picture of Peyton? Yeah right. Thanks for indulging my obsession with my daughter :)

  It's good to be back, y'all! 

100 Happy Days

I have decided to embark on this little challenge, to find something in my life that makes me happy every single day for 100 days in a row. I've seen this project on Facebook and Instagram and I really like the concept behind it so I'm going to jump on the bandwagon. I feel like too often we dwell on the things in our life that are negative or not living up to our expectations, when in reality, we are surrounded by 10x the amount of positive things that we can be thankful for which far outweigh that one bad thing. I am so guilty of this and I know it, which is why I really want to complete this challenge. I want to remind myself everyday of all the wonderful things in my life that I have to be happy about. Whether they be big or small, important or insignificant, if it makes me happy I want to take the time to recognize it.

I am starting today. I'll be posting a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #100happydays every day for the next 100 days. I'll probably post the photos in groups here on the blog occasionally as well so y'all can follow along.

If you are interested in participating with me, just go to their website 100happydays.com and sign up. Yes, you actually register for this and then they check up on you to make sure that you are actually keeping up with it!

Join me in appreciating the little things in your life that can make you happy every single day! Here goes nothing. Wish me luck. Here's to the next 100 days, full of happiness!

Beyond Friendship

God puts certain people in our lives for a reason. I have always known that I have great friends. I love them and I would do anything for them. This is a simple realization when you are typically the "strong" one. I've pretty much always had it together (or at least that's how I portrayed myself to others), been the responsible one, with what seemed like everything going for me. In college, I was like the mom (it comes with the territory of being a sorority President) always taking care of the other sisters, helping them, talking to them about their problems, being a role model for younger sisters. Now that we have grown up, our needs as a friend have changed. In college, I used to be there for my friends by picking them up from the bar when they needed a safe ride home or laying on the couch with them eating cheez-its and watching trashy TV when their boyfriend was being a jerk. As an adult, I am there for my friends in a different way. Whether it's giving them advice about marriage or helping them look for a new job, proofreading their resume or holding their hand at a family member's funeral, I always want to be there in any way possible. In return, my friends have always been there for me, in my wedding, sending cards to each other for various occasions, taking trips together, basic friend-stuff. I never fully realized how much they had my back until I really needed them. Over the past year and a half, I have come to appreciate how truly precious my friends are.

Good friends are different from family. Not to say that my family is nothing special or important in my life because they absolutely are. But friends are different. Sometimes your family is too close to a situation or too involved. Often times, you need a person from the outside to give you a fresh perspective, or just to listen to you vent. Your friends are there for you because they want to be. They chose you as a friend, treated you like their own family and have chosen to stay by your side even though they had ample opportunity to leave.

To this day, the whole concept behind sororities still blows my mind. On Bid Day, you show up at a house with 60+ other girls from all over the country who you have never met. Inside that house, there is another 150+ girls whom you have also never met from all different walks of life. Four years later, you leave that house with some of the best, lifelong friends you ever could have wished for. How does it all work? I know, you're thinking 200+ women in one house, what a nightmare. But it all seems to work, and I have no clue how. When I went through recruitment, there were 15 houses on FSU's campus (now there are more). Why did I end up at Phi Mu? Who knew that there were girls in that house (or who would come to join that house in the future) who would shape me into the woman I am today? Who knew that some of my closest and dearest friends would eventually show up on the lawn at 823 West Jefferson Street too? I have no explanation for it. The only thing I can figure is that God intervened. He put me on that lawn on that rainy August day in 2005 and He brought the other women I needed in my life to that same lawn on that day and the years that followed. He brought us together for a very specific reason and it wasn't until very recently that I truly understood why.  

On the day I found out about my father's death, I called my closest friends and my sorority family first. They sobbed on the phone with me, offering their condolences and anything they could do to help. Many of them drove for hours or even flew from out of state during the middle of the week, just to be there for me at the funeral. For months afterward, they sent cards and flowers just to say, "I love you and I'm thinking about you". Even a year later, on the anniversary of my father's death, my friends secretly sent flowers to his grave.

Now that we have been going through all these fertility treatments, my friends have been there supporting us each step of the way. Cheering me on with each small victory, and offering inspiration when things aren't going so well. Every day I get messages, texts, and cards in the mail full of encouraging words and prayers from my friends giving me the strength I need to continue on this journey. They always have my best interest at heart and sometimes can offer an outside and unbiased perspective that I desperately need to hear. Each day I thank God for placing each one of these people in my life.

I'm pretty sure that once we find out that we are in fact pregnant (whenever that may be), I honestly think that my friends will be more excited than I am going to be. And let's just say that I am going to be pretty freakin' excited. Even though Jared and I are technically the only two people (well and the fertility doctor/nurses) who are physically involved in conceiving this baby, all of our friends and family are just as much a part of this miracle as we are. They are so emotionally invested in this and I know that there is no way we would be able to do this without them. Team Baby Roche is unstoppable.

This post comes at a time when I am feeling so blessed and overwhelmed with love and support from my friends. What they have offered to me is something far beyond friendship. Thank you to all my friends who have been supporting me over the past year and half. You have no idea how much I appreciate all that you do for me and know that every message, card and prayer truly warms my heart. I love you all very much and I thank God for you everyday.

Intentional Relationships

In church today, our pastor talked about intentional relationships. He spoke about how Jesus intentionally created relationships with people rather than simply preaching or performing miracles from a far. He was able to reach and transform people because he got to know them personally and he got to know them on purpose. As I was sitting in church listening to this message, I couldn't help but think about my dad.

In this regard, my dad was a lot like Jesus. If you knew my dad, you would know that Jesus is not the first thing that comes to mind when you interact with him. He liked to go fishing with his buddies, drink beer and tell dirty jokes...not exactly "Christ-like" qualities, but he was a believer. I'm sure that even he would find my comparison of him to Jesus a little far-fetched as well. However, my pastor always preaches about how we all have spiritual gifts, and today I realized that my dad's spiritual gift was intentional relationships.

Most of us (especially me) go through life just passing people by. We don't stop and take the time to build an intentional relationship with people who aren't our family or friends (and sometimes we don't even build a relationship with the people who are already in our lives). For example, take the person who bags your groceries at Publix. You might see them once a week, exchange the cordial "hi, how are you" and then go about your day. Although you see this person over and over, week after week, you know absolutely nothing about them. Why don't you know anything about them? Do you not have time? Do you just not care? Do you have too many other things to worry about? If we all acted more like Jesus, we would take the time to get to know the people we interact with throughout our day and build an intentional relationship with them.

This is how my dad was like Jesus. My dad got to know every single person he came in contact with. Sometimes he would go to Winn-Dixie for one item and he would be gone for two hours. Why? Because he took the time to engage in a meaningful conversation with each person he interacted with at the Winn-Dixie. He knew every person that worked there. He knew their names. He knew about their lives. He built intentional relationships with these people. Why? Simply because he was friendly and he liked talking to people. And the employees at that Winn-Dixie loved him. Everyone in the store would light up when they saw him come through the door.

When I was a kid, going somewhere with my dad (even somewhere as simple as the grocery store) was like a four hour expedition. My dad stopped and talked to every single person we interacted with. He would ask everyone what their name was and introduce himself. At the time, I found this really annoying. I remember thinking, "why is he doing this? No one cares who he is. Why does he care who this person is? He doesn't know them." I kept wondering why he always wanted to stop and have a "real" conversation with these strangers. I kept wanting to say to him, "just say 'hi' and keep moving".

I don't know about you, but when I go to the grocery store, I try to not engage in conversation with other people. I want to get in and out as fast as I can, so I go for as little interaction as possible. How terrible is that? What is so important in my life that I can't slow down and take a couple minutes to have a meaningful conversation with my cashier, ask her how her day is going and be willing to actually listen to the answer? Maybe I need to be more like Jesus, more like my dad.

Moral of the story: take the time to build intentional relationships with the people around you. Get to know the person who bags your groceries, your next door neighbor, and the barista at Starbucks who makes your coffee every morning. Get to know them and do it on purpose.

Here is my challenge for you this week...go out of your way to be friendly to a complete stranger. Find someone you see around semi-regularly (a neighbor, employee at a business you frequent) and intentionally start a conversation with them that goes beyond a cordial greeting. You might just make their day :) 

A New Path

Throughout our lives, we embark on a lot of new paths. We grow-up, graduate, get married, start careers, have kids, send those kids off on their own, retire, and then make our way to meet our Heavenly Father. Each new path brings its own set of challenges and joys. Often times we are presented with a number of paths to choose from, so we hope and pray that we choose the right one. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. I have recently learned that if I put my faith in God, He will lead me down the right path. The more "life experience" I get, the more I realize that there are a lot of things, even in my own life, that I have absolutely no control over. I just have to believe that God's plan for me is better than the one I thought I wanted for myself.

Jared and I embarked on a new path in our lives today. We officially became members of our church.

Last month, I wrote a post about our journey to find the right church for us. We started attending our church last summer, but we were apprehensive to jump in and commit to membership right away. We wanted to give it a lot of thought, prayer and time before making this big commitment. 

I know that we made the right choice. I am so overjoyed to officially be a part of our new church family. I have to believe that God brought us to this church for a reason and I cannot thank Him enough for this wonderful blessing.

Today has been a very joyous day in the Roche household and I can't wait to see where this new path will lead us. Have a spectacular week!

Life Lessons from a Bird Dog

For those of your who are new to the blog and/or my life, allow me to introduce you to my bird dog, Sadie. She is a German Shorthair Pointer (aka: hunting dog) and she is quite the crazy adventurous little nugget. I realize that her adventurous bird dog tendencies are pretty standard since these dogs were bred for hunting in the field, not chillin' in a fenced-in backyard in suburbia. Jared and I got Sadie when we were in college about 6 years ago. Over the years, I have learned a lot from her (considering she can't talk to me) and I must say that she is a pretty wise little creature. Allow me to share some of her wisdom with you.

Here are some lessons that I have learned from Sadie that we can all apply to our everyday lives. Side note: I seriously considered writing this post from Sadie's point of view, but then I decided that would be super weird and probably confusing. Plus, I'm not really sure how to portray Sadie's voice in writing. I'm pretty sure that since she is always hyper and barking, the entire thing would need to be in all caps. So anyways, here are some lessons about life brought to you by my bird dog. Enjoy.

1. Live your life full speed ahead.
Most dogs spend their time outside frolicking leisurely in the yard, not Sadie. She treats our backyard like the track at Daytona International Speedway. I don't think I have ever seen Sadie lay down, or even sit, in our backyard. She is always on a mission, investigating and discovering every corner and crevasse of the yard. So instead of sitting on your butt being lazy, go out there and discover something new, even if it is in your own backyard.

2. Don't be afraid to charge though any obstacle that life throws at you.
When Sadie is out in the field hunting, she comes in contact with a lot of difficult obstacles that separate her from the birds. But no matter what, she always charges directly into the obstacle ready to over take it. So many times we try to go over or around the challenges we face to avoid them, and sometimes we even stop altogether. However, we are more likely to defeat the obstacles we fear if we charge directly at them and force our way through.

3. Protect the people (or things) that you love. 
I feel like Sadie should have her own "Protect this House" UnderArmour commercial. I don't think that anyone and I mean anyone makes it within 10 yards of our house without Sadie knowing about it, and doing something about it. Any time someone comes to our front door, they hear Sadie and take off. She is loud and proud. Whenever I'm home alone, she sticks to me like glue and follows me around. When I'm in the shower, she sits in the doorway of our bathroom and stands guard facing the front door. If someone she is not familiar with is close to me (especially touching me), she freaks out. I guarantee that Sadie would sacrifice herself and put herself in harms way 100% of the time to protect me. How many people are you willing to do that for?

4. Create your own "no fly" zone.
Don't allow bad people, fears or temptations into your safe environment and if they try to make their way in, get rid of them as soon as possible. We refer to my backyard as a "no fly" zone thanks to Sadie. Not a single living creature dares to enter our backyard or even attempts to fly over it. Any animals that have ever come into our backyard while Sadie was outside, never made it back to the other side of that fence. Sadie rules that backyard and does not let any unwanted visitors get past her guard. In life, there are so many unwanted people, fears, negativity or temptations that try to make their way into our lives. But like Sadie, we have to stand guard and not let any of these bad things enter our "no fly" zone.

5. The challenge is what makes life worth living.
You might think that being a dog does not come with its own set of challenges, well being a hunting dog is different. Bird dogs don't just lay around the house doing nothing, they have a craft that they are very serious about. Sadie is passionate about hunting and will do absolutely whatever it takes to to perfect her craft. She endures all types of terrain, weather and injuries without ever giving up on finding, pointing and retrieving those birds. So instead of whining and complaining when things get tough, take on those challenges with that same drive and determination as Sadie does. I'm going to borrow a quote from Tom Hanks for this one..."It's supposed to be hard! If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great!" Thank you A League of Their Own for that little mantra.

6. Nothing in life is more satisfying than companionship. 
At the end of the day, love and companionship are the only things that will get us through this life. Dogs exemplify this greatly. All they want is companionship from their owners. They don't need anything else. No matter how many times I yell at Sadie or want to beat her behind for puking on the carpet, she never holds it against me. I can punish her for doing something bad and 2 minutes later, she still wants to snuggle with me. No one gives unconditional love like dogs do. No matter how many times you let them down, they still love you. Just think about that the next time you are unwilling to forgive someone.

7. Don't do drugs. (This one is really a joke...but seriously)
One time Sadie ate a mushroom from the backyard when we were in college. She started acting crazy and getting really sick. We had to take her to the emergency vet. She obviously survived, but was a little out of whack for a while afterwards. Moral of the story...don't eat shrooms. Drugs are bad for you, kids. Consider this your public service announcement for the week.

Those are just a few valuable life lessons we can learn from old, wise Sadie. Bet you never knew you could learn so much from a hunting dog, did you?

In closing, here is a picture of me with Sadie when she was a puppy...because everyone likes to look at pictures of cute puppies. Oh goodie, and it's a blonde hair Jacki flashback too.

Battle of the Religions

When you get married, there are a lot of compromises that have to be made. Where are you going to live? Who is going to be in charge of paying the bills? How will you split up the holidays between your families? And one of the most challenging compromises to make...which religious denomination are you going to follow? Now, if you and your spouse both come from the same religious background, then that's a no brainier. However, what happens when you come from different or even opposing religious backgrounds? Which one is the "right" one?

I don't usually get into these serious topics on my blog, but I know a lot of people who are going through (or have gone through) this "battle" with their significant other, so I wanted to share my story.

Jared grew up in the Catholic Church and I grew up in the Methodist Church. We both attended church on Sundays with our families growing up and both of us went through Confirmation in our respective churches. Once we met in college, the topic never really was a big deal because neither of us regularly attended church at school. When we went home for holidays, we would attend church with our families, but it was never a major part of our relationship. We were both Christians, so which "type" of Christian we were really wasn't an issue at that time.

Prior to our wedding, we had to go through marriage counseling with my family's pastor to get our marriage license. He was the one who ended up marrying us since we got married in my hometown. During the counseling, we decided that we would obviously raise our children in Christianity, in a church that we would decide on together. At the time, we just weren't sure which church that would be.

Once we got married, the search for the right church began. At that point, both of us had attended Catholic and Methodist services multiple times and we knew one thing for sure...I did not want to be Catholic and Jared did not want to be Methodist. Well, that's inconvenient. So things became a bit more challenging. I guess I always assumed that when I got married, either my husband or I would take on the other person's religion. Being that we live in Jacksonville, and my family already has a church here that I grew up in, I thought that I was going to win this battle. I was wrong. And I must say that I gave in very easily to losing my home field advantage. As soon as Jared said that he did not think that our Methodist church was the right one for us, I agreed and we moved on. I was determined to find a church that both Jared and I enjoyed and were comfortable in. I learned that this is not a battle to be won by either party.

Alas, our new dilemma became...which denomination is right for us? We know we don't want to be Catholic or Methodist, but which denomination do we want to be? So we went through them all to find the right fit. And guess what, none of them were the right fit. Fail.

This was our ah-ha moment. We realized that we shouldn't be looking for a denomination or a label for our religion. Being able to say, "We are Catholic" or "We are Methodist", means nothing. We discovered that we needed to find the right group of people to worship with and when we found them, that would be our church;  no matter which "label" the church had on the sign out front.

After more than 3 years of marriage, we finally found our church last summer. At first, I felt like I was abandoning the Methodist church by not staying with that denomination, but I realized that all those years of saying, "I am Methodist" just gave me a label, but didn't make me any different from any other Christian out there. Our new church is technically under the governing body of the Presbyterian Church, but for months I actually thought this church was non-denominational because they don't actively advertise their "label".

I never would have imagined that I would end up at this church. It's not very traditional. People wear whatever they want. There are no fancy pews or stained glass windows, but I still love it. And what I love about it has nothing to do with the building the service takes place in, but the people who are inside it. The first time we ever attended service there, I knew right away that it was the right fit for us. For probably the first time ever, I actually related to what the pastor was saying. It wasn't like he was up there preaching to me. It was more like he was one of our friends and we were just having a conversation. I got more out of that 30 minute sermon, than I have in 25 years of attending church. And every week that I go back, I learn something new.

The idea of raising my children in this church makes me excited because I am hoping that they will benefit greatly from the wonderful community that our church has to offer. The people in that church are the people who I want my children to be exposed to and learn from. And when my children grow-up and get married, I hope that attending a church that doesn't focus on a "label" will ensure that they won't have to experience this identity crisis like I did of having to leave behind my labeled religious denomination and find a new one.

So my advice to people who are going through this "battle" with their spouse is this...

Neither of you has to win or lose this battle. You are not abandoning your religion. Don't join your spouse's religion just because you feel like that is the "right" thing to do. Find a church that fits the two of you as a couple, no matter which "label" it has.

Instead, find all the churches in your area and every Sunday, go to a different one. At the service, talk to the people in the congregation around you and the pastor/priest/religious leader/whatever you want to call them and ask yourself if you can relate to these people. Do you feel comfortable around them? Would you want to be friends with them outside of church? After the service, talk to your spouse about the sermon. Did you get anything out of it? Did you actually learn something or did you feel like you were just sitting in church because it is what you are "supposed" to be doing on Sunday morning? Don't pay attention to what people are wearing or what the church looks like. It doesn't matter what denomination the church is. If it feels right and comfortable, and you feel like you are actually getting something out of it, then you know it is the right fit for you. Happy Sunday :)

In Our Prayers

Every month, my school has drills. Fire drills, tornado drills, and lock-down drills. Whenever we have a Code Red (or lock-down) drill, I go through the same routine. I check my classroom door to make sure it is locked, close the blinds, turn off the lights, huddle all of my students into the corner of the room farthest away from the doors and windows sitting on the floor, and then I stand in front of them. I am not a parent and I have no idea what it feels like to have my own children. But in that moment during the drill, I stand in front of these 25 children. I have no idea what possesses me to do this. These kids are not my blood, and I've only known them for a few months. In fact, the only thing that ties me to them is that they happened to get assigned to my class back in August. However, I stand in front of them because they are my children.

I've been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook and information on the news about the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut and I couldn't help but start thinking about what I would do if a dangerous person came into my classroom. As I thought about it, I realized that I already know what I would do because I do it every month during our drills. I always stand in front of my students because if someone comes through that door, they are going to have to get through me first if they want to get to those kids. I realize that this probably sounds crazy and I'm sure that my mother(s) are probably crying while reading this, but I saw this post on Facebook last night and I think it sums it up pretty well...

“To parents who aren’t educators, this may be hard to understand. Five days a week, we teach your kids. Joke with your kids. Console your kids. Praise your kids. Question your kids. Beat our heads up against a wall about your kids. Gush over your kids. Laugh with your kids. Worry about your kids. Keep an eye on your kids. Learn about your kids. Invest in your kids. Protect your kids. Love your kids. We would all take a bullet for your kids. It’s nowhere in our job description. It isn’t covered in the employee handbook. It isn’t cited on our contracts. But we would all do it. So, yes—please hug your kids tonight—really, really tight. But on Monday, if you see your kids’ teacher, hug them too.”

My thoughts and prayers go out to not only the victims and their families of this tragedy, but also to my fellow educators who are at work today. I know that you probably have a classroom full of confused and frightened children with parents who were reluctant to even leave them at school today. Stay safe. While I was very happy that I did not have to go to work this morning because we are already on winter break, I would love nothing more right now than to be able to hug each and every one of my students. So please say a little prayer for your child's teachers today. Because just like you, they would do just about anything to protect your child.

Keep the victims of this tragedy and their families in your prayers this holiday season and be thankful that God has blessed you with another beautiful day of life.