This is the day, this is the day...

This is my last semester...hopefully. I keep going over the things that I have to do before Student Teaching, and when I think about it all, my shoulders raise, my face tenses, my air flow cuts off, I turn blue... just kidding. My shoulders don't raise.  :)

Anyway, I have to remember to just take it one day at a time. This is the day that the Lord has made and I WILL rejoice and be glad in it...even if I have to do 23409847 things before I can graduate in May. I'm not really THAT stressed out...today anyway. But that's probably because I have had a very productive day thus far. I don't have classes on Wednesdays. (Later in the semester I'll have to observe, but for now I'm enjoying my day off in the middle of the week.) I walked about 3 miles this morning with a dear friend, and not only got some nice physical activity, but also fit some quality talking time in there...it was a great start to the day. Then I did some things and got ready to go to lunch, when low and behold, my significant other asked if I wanted to ditch the caf today and go to Momma G's! What kind of question is that?! It's $1 Nacho day...OF COURSE I want to go to Momma G's. I had a nice lunch, and although he raised my blood pressure because he made me 3 minutes late to piano lessons (and he was talking about gross medical procedures just to watch me gag), I had quite an enjoyable lunch with that Wells boy (as my dad calls him).

Piano lessons were...well, we won't go there today. Let's just say I have 4 weeks to perfect 10 songs by memory. Moving on....After piano, I went by the mail room to pick up packages. I got 2 packages and thought both were books, but one was a packet of flashcards for the Praxis! Now, I was expecting them (since I ordered them), but I read reviews right after I bought them and saw that they had terrible reviews. HOWEVER, after looking through them, I realized the "reviewers" were probably just bitter because they did not use the flashcards to their full potential and probably failed. These flashcards are awesome! Is it weird that I'm really excited to study my Praxis flashcards? It's okay if it is weird. I think I'm excited because I'm a little more confident in my ability to pass it since I have some help. Plus I learn better with flashcards, I just HATE making them. So I'm thinking that money with be well worth it.

I think it's easy to rejoice and be glad in days like today...when I have no school and have time to blog in the middle of the day.  It's days like yesterday when I have to remind myself to breathe that I struggle with rejoicing. The thing is- I do not necessarily have more on my plate than I can handle, but I have more on my plate than I can handle if I don't keep my focus on my purpose. It's the difference in focusing on the whats instead of the whys. If I get caught up in the "whats" by looking at "what I have to do" and marking it off my list, then I've completely lost the point of life. If I strive to remember why I'm doing something, I'm ultimately remembering the bigger picture-which is about more than just me.  I think it's important to prioritize tasks, but I also know it's beneficial to keep the goal in mind. Sometimes the tasks can fog the goal, and that's why I get short of breath when I look at my planner. Student Teaching will be worth it, my senior recital will be worth it (especially when I hit the very last note of the last piece), school will have been worth it in May. Marriage will be worth all the dating and waiting, whether I get married on my timeline or not. Every good thing is worth the work and wait. There are lessons to be learned everyday, and EVERYDAY is a day that the Lord has made and I am to REJOICE (not just endure) and be GLAD in it. Now if I can just remember that, I'll be good to go. :)

Today has been full of rejoicing. My latest smile came from my Papa as I typed this...He called, I answered, and my 78 year old Papa said "What's up?!" Thank you Lord for smiles in the midst of days when I take day to day tasks too seriously.

P.S. Here are some pieces I made before I came to school. I'm hoping Mom will send some supplies by way of a friend that's going home this weekend...I need something for stress relief...I mean, to help me rejoice :)

made from my grandmother's necklace

silver brooch made from a vintage clip of earring of my grandma's

Made with 3mm glass pearls and vintage green brooch

Another year...another blog post.

Another year has passed. Time for another post...and this time the plan is to be consistent. We'll see how that goes!

As of last Monday, I am a senior in college. Whereas some people have the hardest semesters academically at the end of their college career, I do not. It's not necessarily "easy", but after 6 semesters of taking 18 and 19 hours each semester, I have a huge 15 hours. I have Wednesdays completely OPEN. I didn't know what to do with myself last week when I looked at a weekly schedule and saw a lot of open space...then I remembered I have a senior piano recital (Oct . 29th), 2 big exams to study for before student teaching, and 17 days of observation. I might also be working 10 hours a week in an office at school. Needless to say, my "open" schedule became "closed" quickly, but I know I'll survive.

This summer I worked at a student conference for 7 weeks where Compassion International was a sponsor. There was a promo video played every week, and every week I had tears in my eyes after the video. It was so moving, and so burdening at the same time. The 3 minute video really opened my eyes, and the packets and packets of children that need sponsors made my heart ache. Then I asked myself, "But what can I do?" The first couple weeks, I just dismissed it as me being overly emotional. But around week 3, it really hit me that it wasn't just emotion. It was a burden from the Holy Spirit.

A sponsorship is $38 a month. It doesn't sound like much, but when you don't have an income, it is alot. But the video they showed weekly was made for students. Students that don't have jobs, or a steady income. The video showed 3 adults who shared their childhood troubles, but gave testimonies of the teenagers who sponsored them and gave them hope of Christ when they had no hope and no one to show them love. I was overwhelmed by the fact that I wanted to help, but didn't know how. Then it hit me.

Right before I left for the summer, my mom and I went to a jewelry making class. We learned some of the basics and got some good ideas for designs. When I got home that day, I started looking through my grandmother's old jewelry to see what I could take apart and make into something new (mostly because I didn't want to spend money on beads). I took apart some things and began to experiment, and soon I realized I had a new hobby.

Repurposed necklace

So when I was thinking about what I could do to get some money, I thought of the jewelry I had made. Not only did I enjoy making it, but I could use that "talent" or hobby to make a difference for the kingdom. So when I came home after SLU, I began brainstorming, creating, investing, etc. I'm still praying about and figuring out the details, but it's coming together. I may not be able to do anything with it for a few months since I have to graduate and finish all the things that comes before that, but it is exciting to think about.

It's not just that I like making "pretty stuff". I think there's something beautiful about taking apart something that's not so pretty and making it new. It's like what the Lord does to us when we become a new creation.