I think it is a bit ridiculous that I have not had Internet service for many weeks out of this semester. People either have viruses that eat up the system, or Sprint gives us a faulty router. Yay. It just adds to the already stressful semester. Thankfully there is the library on campus that always has internet--very reliable--and so I sit here in the Education library writing a blog that has been past over due. Sadly all the great blogging moments have passed and if I had had the Internet at those points in time, my blog would have contained more colorful stories and escapades from the life of Carrie. I try to recount them now as I continue to procrastinate finding an article to write about for TSL3130.
-So Zandy and I continue to be salsa fiends, who spontaneously make salsa masterpieces late at night, while scarfing down every last drop of homemade salsa with our beloved tortilla chips. Homemade salsa you gasp? Why yes! I can make two different kinds, thanks to my twin. Zandy has forever changed the taste buds that I have associated with salsa....no mere canned salsa will do anymore. It must taste fresh! It must have a bite, and make you smile! It is surprising to see what ease we have, when we create this wonderful concoction. We do not have a kitchen or a sink. We use a mini-chopper, plate, knife, and sometimes the bathroom sink. Yes, it is possible to create something so good in a sorority house. What are the ingredients to this famous salsa? Sorry, it is top secret; no matter how you plead and threaten it will remain so. But, do not fret, I can make it for you and you can taste the delights. :)
So one night during the peak hours when salsa cravings take hold we started the process of making it when behold...we did not know where we had placed our ingredients! They were not in my fridge; they were not in Zandy's fridge. Where could they be? We searched high and low, and decided after many anguished moments that someone must have thrown out our beloved Publix bag away or that the house mom had put it in the kitchen. So we sadly walked the corridor to "mom's room" and asked the question. But she had not seen the bag at all. It was then that I remembered taking the bag into the TV room the night before. We searched that room and found it, sadly, among the furniture. Thankfully it was the ingredients that did not have to be refrigerated. It was the funniest thing to me that we had lost tomatoes in a sorority house! Needless to say, we continued to make the salsa that night, cherishing even more the taste of fresh tomatoes--remembering our long search for them!
Monday, October 25, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
love the darkness and hate The Light
God,
I'm heartbroken by what I saw and heard in my education class today--the anger, malice, and hatred of things that are moral, honest, and good. It was hard to be in a large group that all agreed that striving for purity was stupid and parents who wanted to guard their children from the world should send them to private schools or home school. It brought tears to my eyes to think about the degree of hatred I saw in those faces against the things of You--things I treasure and love. I wanted to tell them all how blind they are, but I think You just wanted me to listen...and I did, and could not believe how lost I was and they still are. Blindly holding on to things they think are important and ignoring the voice inside that make them wonder if life is worth something more.
It is hard to see them love and embrace the darkness they are in. I heard them degrade parents who do not let their children read books for moral reasons. They clapped and cheered when someone said they support the separation of church and state because Jesus offends them. One girl raised her hand to explain how she gave a speech in high school that defended pornography, and went on to say that there was nothing wrong with it. Another student said his reason for not teaching or studying the Bible was because he felt that no matter how intelligent someone was, they could still become influenced by it...like people who are weak and uneducated are the only ones who read and need Your Word.
God, how can You see this and not turn Your face away? Are You not angry? You are so righteous and holy not worthy of the ridicule You receive. How much pain do You receive everyday? I mean this was one class--30 people--how can You stand a whole world against You? How can You love us that much?
Jesus, to be mocked, jeered, hated, and then to carry all the sin of the world and feel the emptiness when God turned His face away from You--what kind of love is this? It is beyond comprehension. Thank You. Grace, that covers all my sin, that brings me out of the dark and cleans me and puts me in the Light. Thank you for this reminder of how weak I am and how much I do need Your grace every moment. Father do not let me forget what You saved me from and how weak I am without You.
God, bring light into that class and those individual lives. Touch them and show them truth. Use me if you want to, let Your light shine through my broken life. Be my strength and my all, let my pride fall and my spirit submit to You completely. Use me, mold me, I give my life to You my Lord and King because without You, I am nothing.
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecute Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me." -John 16:18-21
"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man...therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." -Romans 1:21-25
"When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."...And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him...the soldiers mocked Him." -Luke 23: 33-36
I'm heartbroken by what I saw and heard in my education class today--the anger, malice, and hatred of things that are moral, honest, and good. It was hard to be in a large group that all agreed that striving for purity was stupid and parents who wanted to guard their children from the world should send them to private schools or home school. It brought tears to my eyes to think about the degree of hatred I saw in those faces against the things of You--things I treasure and love. I wanted to tell them all how blind they are, but I think You just wanted me to listen...and I did, and could not believe how lost I was and they still are. Blindly holding on to things they think are important and ignoring the voice inside that make them wonder if life is worth something more.
It is hard to see them love and embrace the darkness they are in. I heard them degrade parents who do not let their children read books for moral reasons. They clapped and cheered when someone said they support the separation of church and state because Jesus offends them. One girl raised her hand to explain how she gave a speech in high school that defended pornography, and went on to say that there was nothing wrong with it. Another student said his reason for not teaching or studying the Bible was because he felt that no matter how intelligent someone was, they could still become influenced by it...like people who are weak and uneducated are the only ones who read and need Your Word.
God, how can You see this and not turn Your face away? Are You not angry? You are so righteous and holy not worthy of the ridicule You receive. How much pain do You receive everyday? I mean this was one class--30 people--how can You stand a whole world against You? How can You love us that much?
Jesus, to be mocked, jeered, hated, and then to carry all the sin of the world and feel the emptiness when God turned His face away from You--what kind of love is this? It is beyond comprehension. Thank You. Grace, that covers all my sin, that brings me out of the dark and cleans me and puts me in the Light. Thank you for this reminder of how weak I am and how much I do need Your grace every moment. Father do not let me forget what You saved me from and how weak I am without You.
God, bring light into that class and those individual lives. Touch them and show them truth. Use me if you want to, let Your light shine through my broken life. Be my strength and my all, let my pride fall and my spirit submit to You completely. Use me, mold me, I give my life to You my Lord and King because without You, I am nothing.
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecute Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me." -John 16:18-21
"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man...therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." -Romans 1:21-25
"When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."...And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him...the soldiers mocked Him." -Luke 23: 33-36
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
To change majors or not to change, that is the question!
Pros and Cons for changing majors
English Education:
Pros:
-Influence classmates for Christ
-Wiggs believes in me (Dee Dee)
-Rise to the challenge and finish the major
-Have job opportunites
-Intern in an Orlando high school
Cons:
-LOTS of homework
-Student teaching during free time
-Lesson plans and more lesson plans
-No time to do anything other than education
-Do I have a heart for high school students?
English major/Religion minor
Pros:
-Learn about other religions
-Increased heart for the nations
-Read books I love
-Learn Spanish (again)
-More time with my Phi Mu sisters
-More involved in Crusade
Cons:
-Essays
-Am I employable?
English Education:
Pros:
-Influence classmates for Christ
-Wiggs believes in me (Dee Dee)
-Rise to the challenge and finish the major
-Have job opportunites
-Intern in an Orlando high school
Cons:
-LOTS of homework
-Student teaching during free time
-Lesson plans and more lesson plans
-No time to do anything other than education
-Do I have a heart for high school students?
English major/Religion minor
Pros:
-Learn about other religions
-Increased heart for the nations
-Read books I love
-Learn Spanish (again)
-More time with my Phi Mu sisters
-More involved in Crusade
Cons:
-Essays
-Am I employable?
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Withdrawl
On account of a virus in our house network, I have been going through a long period of internet withdrawal. But thankfully, I have it back because of a little thing called anti-virus software. Yay for Norton. :) There have been so many opportunities to blog this past month, but my ability to write was crippled by mounds of homework and lack of internet. :( So I shall try to recollect the things that were interesting and give an account of them.
First of all, my major will be changing. How does this make me feel? Ecstatic! No more lesson planning, tutoring HS students in weird schools, learning how to deal with ELLs and students with disabilities in my classroom...because I won't have a classroom! No more reading about curriculum and assessment techniques! Instead I will be learning about literature and religions of the world. I will enjoy reading for class and will increase my heart for the nations of the world. Thank goodness God gave me the ability to choose and I have chosen...NOT to do Education anymore. :)
The only disappointment in changing majors is that I will be leaving an awesome bunch of students. I love my classmates in my current major, they are going to become the best secondary English teachers and I would not mind having my future children in their classroom. Their passion for literature and drive to challenge and influence kids will take them through the major and shape them into great teachers. I will also miss my interactions with my professor, Wiggly, he gave me one of the most unique nicknames I have received thus far in my life, Dee Dee, it has no connection whatsoever with my real name. He also made this semester bearable and for that I am grateful! Dee Dee thanks you!
More later...
First of all, my major will be changing. How does this make me feel? Ecstatic! No more lesson planning, tutoring HS students in weird schools, learning how to deal with ELLs and students with disabilities in my classroom...because I won't have a classroom! No more reading about curriculum and assessment techniques! Instead I will be learning about literature and religions of the world. I will enjoy reading for class and will increase my heart for the nations of the world. Thank goodness God gave me the ability to choose and I have chosen...NOT to do Education anymore. :)
The only disappointment in changing majors is that I will be leaving an awesome bunch of students. I love my classmates in my current major, they are going to become the best secondary English teachers and I would not mind having my future children in their classroom. Their passion for literature and drive to challenge and influence kids will take them through the major and shape them into great teachers. I will also miss my interactions with my professor, Wiggly, he gave me one of the most unique nicknames I have received thus far in my life, Dee Dee, it has no connection whatsoever with my real name. He also made this semester bearable and for that I am grateful! Dee Dee thanks you!
More later...