JC's Atoti

Clay Woman

2008-09-12T16:53:00.001-04:00

If anyone still comes to this site, I just wanted to let you know I'm using a new blog page now. Come read about my journey as a wife and mother.

Kenyan Education System

2008-07-24T00:24:00.002-04:00

For my class I had to post and give an overview of an article on another country's education system and I found this and thought I'd share the grim details with more people than my class mates. It kills me as I read and wrote this to think of all my students sitting inside our classrooms not taking advantage of the free gift of education they have! Anyway, here was my post in the class discussion board:

I knew right away what country I wanted to write about since I taught there for 2 years, but I found it difficult to find a useful web link on the subject of the Kenyan Education system. But I finally found this pdf file that has some good information about it. Here's the link and my summary is below:

Kenyan Education Ministry

This article points out that in 2003 the new government began to try to implement free primary education to all children. I know this was a big deal because I taught first year secondary students in 2001-2003 and many of them were almost my age (I was 21 when I stated there) because they had to sit out of school several years to save money to go back and then they would sit out a year and then go back... Anyway, about the article. Some of the highlights of problems they found in this study were the nomadic people in different regions who were unable to attend school regularly and therefore not able to continue an education. There is also not any set way to reach students with disabilities. "Over 90 percent of handicapped children are either at home or in regular schools with little or no specialized assistance" (page 6). In order to try to reach more students they are starting more boarding schools and feeding programs (p. 7). They do have a national curriculum and in 2003 they reduced the number of examinable subjects (p. 8). Now students only have to take 8 cumulative exams at the end of their secondary schooling. From my experience, I was given a book and told that the students who tested in Computer Science needed to know the content of that book by their fourth year. The material in the book was the curriculum. Talk about stress! This change in decreasing the number of tests was to relieve the teachers as well as students (p. 8). At the Secondary level, at the time of this document, 2.8 million children between the ages of 14 and 17 were not enrolled in schools! In 1999 a population census found that there are 4.2 million illiterate adults in Kenya (p. 10). 61% of those are women (p. 11). Since many do not continue in their education, there is a focus on teaching life skills and how to contribute to the "well being of society"(p. 11). As they seek to offer education to all, they see two different groups - those who will continue in education and those whose primary schooling (or any stage) is "terminal," meaning that is all they will get (p. 13). Kenya lacks well trained teachers. Not only are there not good ways to prepare as a teacher, many teachers ended up as teachers because it was their last resort (p. 20). Those training the future teachers are not even well trained themselves (p. 20)!

Wow, this article sure paints a dim picture for their national education system. What a mess! Maybe we should all go to Kenya and teach teachers how to teach effectively.

Birthday Reflection

2007-08-30T18:42:00.000-04:00

So today was my birthday. I think this may be the best birthday yet. I think it's the case for many reasons. For one, I was able to spend it with my incredible husband. Last year my birthday was on a Wednesday so being the wife of a youth minister means celebrating on a different day if you're b-day is on a Wednesday. But even if I had, last year on my birthday my first class of the day erupted and yelled at me for the last 4 minutes of class because I wouldn't let them use their review sheet on their upcoming test. They yelled things like, "you need to go back to Africa!" And "This is Bryan Station, not Dunbar" and who knows what else. It was so sad for me to see a class think so little of themselves. However, though it was a rough start, that class later turned out to be one of my best classes. One of the strong voices in the riot ended up getting one of the highest grades in his class. But at the time, it was not a "happy" way to start any day, let alone my birthday. Nick sent me flowers to school last year. I had never needed flowers more on any day of my life! But still, every moment I got, I caught myself replaying the yelling of my class. It was still great to have a husband to celebrate with and I had a good day, when I take out the first class of the day.

But this year my birthday was super! The day starts with my sweet sleepy husband telling me Happy Birthday. Today my first class of the day was really good. I had someone come in to observe them and I felt like they all were participating for the most part, so that was nice. Then one of the students I had last year (who graduated) came in to see me and I told him my plan was next hour. He said he'd come back. So he did and he told me he wanted to come see me before he left for his training for the Army. He starts training on Monday. I felt so special that he wanted to come talk to me before he left! Then another student I had last year came to see if I could help her with her current math class. Again, I was honored that she'd come to me for help. Then I saw a third student from last year that hugged me when she saw me. It's so rewarding to me to experience days like today. It makes all those rotten moments of "being the bad guy" trying to teach my kids to be respectful, to teach them math, to show them what they are really capable of doing. The kids I teach are so capable. Many of them just are not blessed with enough people to tell them that. I'm so glad I have people praying for me as I try to work with them. Anyway, bottom line: Today was a good day at school.

Then I came home and Nick had gifts for me. He had flowers for me. Then he had our car cleaned inside and out. Boy did it need to be cleaned! Then he had three gift bags for me. He got me a tickler file to help us get organized, "Shopping for Time" a book that I think will be very beneficial to me, a bag of Reese pieces and then... are you ready?! He got us a Wii!! He also got me another game/remote combo. So now we can play and exercise at home. We also went to iHop for dinner. I ate my entire omelet and 2 pancakes! Now we're home playing with our Wii. What a great day! Thank you Lord for such a great husband to celebrate another year of my life with.

Cool Bookmarks!

2007-06-07T17:04:00.000-04:00

So today Nick and I joined a group from church to pass out popsicles at a local park. It was amazing how quickly they melt! I enjoyed the different reactions we got. My favorite was the last couple we offered them to at one of our stops. Nick asked them if they would like a free popsicle and the lady was saying, "No thanks" while her husband jumped in (sort of at the same time) and said, "Sure." So while he is selecting his flavor, the lady says, "yeah, thanks" and sort of tried to pretend she never said no. It was funny.

Another thing... one little boy came back up to me and gave me a bookmark. He said his grandfather told him to give it to me. Anyway, here's a picture of the bookmark.

What a neat idea! I'd like to get some of the bookmarks. I've e-mailed the address on the site to ask where I can get them. This bookmark can be watered and wild flowers will sprout! I'm torn between keeping it, watering it, or passing it on.

Free Address Labels

2007-04-14T09:52:00.000-04:00

Actually, you have to pay just under $5 shipping but you get 300 address labels with up to 5 lines and you can choose white, clear or gold labels. It's a pretty good deal if you need labels. We used them for our labels for wedding invitations and I used this company to print labels for my Pampered Chef business and now for our new address!! Just thought I'd pass this reliable link on. Click on free stuff on the main page to get the free labels.

Thanks for your votes!

2007-01-24T12:23:00.000-05:00

Our students won first place for Peoples Choice Award.!!!! It will not be shown on Mtv but they were the only ones asked to perform their song! Congratulations to them and thank you for voting!!

Princess Party

2007-01-24T10:24:00.000-05:00

If any of you know any middle or high school girls, you need to invite them to the Princess Party we're having at Immanuel Baptist Church. Here's some of the details:

Your Heavenly Father and your King

requests the honor of your presence

at a Princess Party

given

for His daughters

on Friday, the sixteenth of March

at six o'clock in the evening

Immanuel Baptist Church

Lexington, Kentucky

The cost is $10 and it includes:
Formal dinner in honour of the princesses (formal or semi-formal dress)
Sleepover with movies and games
Workshops on Saturday with sessions including:
Skin Care by Sara Turco, Mary Kay Consultant
-Healthy Eating by Erin Sills, RD, LD (Registered Dietitien and Licensed Dietitian)
-Eating Disorders led by Emily Luckett (nurse)
-Sex and your body led by Gretchen Watson, marriage and family therapist.
Proverbs 31 woman
Finding your prince
Modesty and fashion
The College Transition
Preparing for HS
and more!

There will also be a session for Fathers of The Princesses at 11 am on Saturday. The event will begin at 6 PM on Friday, March 16th and end at noon on Saturday, March 17th.

Vote

2007-01-04T10:44:00.000-05:00

One of my students created the video, "Life Is Short. Why give it away?" Please go and vote!! You can vote from now until Jan. 18th. Pass it on!
Grand Prize winner: $200 and video aired regionally on MTV, ESPN, Comedy Central and other channels. Other winners: $150.

Heaven's Gain

2006-11-19T21:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon my step-grandfather, "Jack" left this earth to see Jesus face to face. What an inspiration he was to me and many others! And what a legacy he left behind. Almost everytime I spoke with him he talked about how proud he was to see his grandchildren serving the Lord. One of his granddaughters has been serving at Caswell. Another an intern at a church (who also worked at camp Caswell in the past) and me working overseas, with internationals, and with the youth at our church. Tonight at my life enrich group we were learning about the "Law of Legacy" in the "Laws of Leadership." I shed a few tears as I thought about Jack. He and my granny had both lost their first spouse and several years later they met and married. I still remember the first time I spent the night at their house. I was sleeping on the couch and I heard him praying for them before they went to bed. They were sleeping in different beds due to my granny's health, but he went and tucked her in and prayed with her before he went to his own bed to sleep. It was so precious. I began praying that I would have a husband like that some day. Someone who would tuck me in and pray with me. God is so good!

Anyway, this has got me thinking a lot. First I was reminded of a Bible study from Pastor Craig a while back talking about how as believers we do not mourn as those who have no hope because we have hope. I'm praying that this can be a testimony to my dad and step mom and others who do not have this same hope that I have and are not able to rejoice becuase of the assurance of heaven.

Secondly, I was thinking about all of this in light of Deuteronomy 5:9, 10:

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

It has been my prayer for years that I would not pass on punishment to my future family but that I would be able to obey His commandments and that God would show His love for a thousand generations. I think my family has dealt with some generational sins and I am thankful that GOd has brought me out of that and He will help me to obey Him and walk with Him. I also realized that many of my students are living in that cycle. Pray that they will know Christ and obey Him and break the cycle of sin in their family too.

Well, It's bed time for me now. Too much thinking! Pray for my family this week. My brother has been struggling a lot and he decided that he cannot handle a funeral right now. Pray for him.

I'm not lost...

2006-10-28T12:50:00.000-04:00

... but I'll soon be covered in papers! This past week the math department had a meeting. During this meeting we were given a new plan for how to do our classes. Our student's math scores are not up to par, so we're "trying something new." Now we must grade every problem we assign for homework for accuracy and give "more feedback" to our students. In addition, we need to have an "exit slip" in which the students have to answer a problem or two to test and see if they understood the day's lesson. Now, I must say that while I can see the benefit in some of my classes of collecting homework and grading it (I think I have 2 or 3 classes where the students may not feel comfortable asking a question b/c of the behavior of their peers). But I feel like with math, they need more practice than I can grade! One of the other teachers asked about assigning 20 problems and grading 5 of them and we were told, "If the student understands how to do 3 of them, why should they do 20?"

So, I want to take a poll. I know many of my readers may be "math minded" and if you leave a comment and vote, let me know if you consider yourself a math person or not. Do you think students need to do more problems than a teacher can grade or do you think limiting the homework to an amount that I am capable of grading is a better option? Or do you have other suggestions. Again, let me know if you like math or not. And if you do, do you want a job grading papers?!?

Getting into the grove

2006-09-09T21:56:00.000-04:00

I think my classroom is finally starting to run smoothly. It's taken my kids a while to learn my classroom procedures, but they're getting there! Now I can focus more time and energy on teaching! Yeah!

What a Day!

2006-08-31T18:23:00.000-04:00

Wow, I think part of yesterday was the best birthday, and the majority of it was the worst day ever! It started and ended wonderful with my husband by my side. Marriage is wonderful! But my first class was terrible! My students think so little of themselves! And I let them ruin my day! Pray that these students will realize they are capable of learning and doing Geometry! Pray that I will be able to make a difference! Pray that I won't be discouraged! These are smart kids! They just don't believe it yet!

I'm not lost....

2006-08-24T17:23:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a LONG time! My life has been so crazy since my last post. To try to make a VERY LONG story short, I interviewed for a job on a Friday, Nick and I met with people at UK, then we drove to my parent's house for Friday and Saturday. Sunday we had church, Monday we went on a mission trip. Tuesday I had a job offer, Wednesday was my last day at my old job and Thursday was my first day of my new job. Let me give a little more detail. I finished the video project for WMU Wednesday night and rendered it overnight. My boss picked it up Thursday morning before I left for my first day at my new job. So, you may be wondering... what would I quit my job with such amazing, loving co-workers for? Well, I'm a teacher! Once again I'm living my dream!

Now, let me just tell you a little bit about this place... We're currently in an overcrowded building with not enough space or desks for our classes. I have 37 students on one of my class rosters. Fortunately someone has always been absent each day! While we have a lot of bright students, many of them go home to some pretty tough situations and have little support or encouragement at home. While this is definitely not the case for all of my students, it is for many. Please be praying for these kids! In January we move to a new building. I hope that will encourage them and help them to realize they are valuable! I could almost cry thinking about the lostness in the halls here. As you all know, there are lots of restrictions on what a teacher can say about their religion. I have an incredible relationship with an awesome God, so it'll be hard not to talk about it, but anyway, as much as I want my students to learn Geometry or Algebra, I want them to see Jesus tons more! I've met several other teachers here who are also believers. So I am trying to rally up prayer for this school and staff. I know that this is where God wants me to be. Satan is making that very obvious with all of the difficulties that I have dealt with and am still working on. Pray that all these obstacles and road blocks will be removed. I'm not the only teacher facing these problems, so pray for us all!!! And pray for our students who may have a parent who only has a few months to live, or who lives with their grandmother and their baby (pray for Grandmas too!!), or who may be dealing with abuse or neglect. I have been in the classroom for 5 days and I have already seen so much! My heart is broken for these kids! Please join me and pray for them. If you want to be updated more on things Subscribe to my prayer list.

Clean Out your closet!

2006-07-26T08:30:00.000-04:00

I heard about Shelby County's new dress code and have heard of several people who have been concerned about the expense of buying new clothes that fit this dress code. So if anyone has any solid colored polo shirts or khaki or navy pants that might fit a High School student, I'd encourage you to donate them to this school. I know that there are many kids who do not own these types of clothes and may not be able to afford a week's worth of new clothes. I can arrange to get them to the school if anyone has anything to donate.

When Can I catch up?

2006-07-19T21:55:00.000-04:00

I don't think my body has been the same since I had mono. I felt like I got better, but I guess the business of planning and executing a wedding took a toll... and then there was moving to do and a house to set up and other weddings to attend, projects to do at work, application forms to fill out (I had to reapply to seminary since I missed last semester), thank you cards to write (ok, so there are STILL thank you cards to write- We are thankful we just have not done a good job of setting down long enough to write them), and so much more!

Tonight Nick came home pretty tired and not just a physical tiredness, but also partially tired from thinking about all the things that he still needs to do and all the things that are coming up so quickly. Why do we let our lives get so busy? What can we do to simplify our lives? Why can't we ever have a clean piece of paper that says "To Do" without anything on it? Why can't I get enough rest? Why are my quiet times getting shorter instead of longer when my task list is getting longer? Shouldn't I be praying more if I'm this busy?

Ok, that's enough rambling for now. Sorry I'm just not feeling well and feeling a little overwhelmed. We are struggling to keep up (and catch up) now - what will life be back when we're both in school too? Ahhhh!! Hopefully we'll at least organize our office before then so that I can make it to my desk to work on.

Congratulations Kenya!

2006-07-13T12:59:00.000-04:00

Lindsey sent me this link about the first street football world championship. Where was all the news coverage for this event? Anyway, check it out! You can also visit the offical site too.

BMI Calculator

2006-07-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

I know that in the summer months many people start thinking about their health and excersising so I thought I'd pass on this link to a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator. I know that I need to start excersising more. I would love to be like my grandfather who walked 2 miles a day until he was 87. Now he only walks it whenever someone can take him to the YMCA and help him to the treadmill and set it for him. He lost his eye sight so he can't drive himself anymore. Anyway, he hasn't had any health problems aside from prostate cancer, and loosing his sight because of a doctor's mistake, so I hope that will motivate you (if not myself) to get up and do something!

Time reports on the SBC

2006-07-07T13:05:00.000-04:00

Most of you may have already read this but I've ben a bit behind on blogging and just saw this link on Steve's blog and thought it was interesting. I also want to highlight this quote in the article from Frank Page,

"Baptists have been known for what we are against. Please let us tell you what we are for."

Anyway, bloggers, you're in the news!

Our House is becoming a Home!

2006-07-05T12:54:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we finally got a couch! It's amazing how much having a place for guests to sit down makes a house seem more like a home. I hope to get some curtains hung soon too. That'll help a lot. Nick's at camp this week, so keep him and the youth in your prayers. I also hope he'll come home to a sweet suprise and feel like he really is at "home sweet home" and not just a storage facility. :) I hope everyone had a good fourth!

Suprise Package

2006-07-03T08:25:00.000-04:00

To try to make a long story short, I had a package that was originally sent to my seminary address from Thailand. One of those "We missed you" notes was left at my old address and I just went through that mail this weekend and found this slip. So when I called to track it down, after about 30 minutes they todl me it was there and I had to come sign for it and I needed to do it soon b/c they were about to send it back. So I go get it Saturday morning. Someone sent me a Zidane soccer jersey. There's no note or name... All I know is it's from Thailand. If anyone has any clues to help me solve this mystery, please share! I'd love to know who to thank for this!

My latest pet peeve

2006-06-16T13:22:00.000-04:00

I know that some of you out there send forwards. I do too on occasion, but only if I think a particular person will enjoy what I actually took the time to see or read. But I do NOT send out mass forwards to everyone on my list. But if you want to be "one of those people" that's your choice. However, my latest pet peeve is people who send you forwards but will not reply to any of the personal messages you send them. I've recently experienced this with two different people. One of them I've written several times and never got a response. Recently I was responding to a forward they sent and they didn't even reply to that! The other person only occasionally sends me forwards, but still.. if you have the time to send out all those forwards, take time to actually write and respond to your real mail! No one reads their junk snail mail while tossing out their letters (though you might want to toss your bills)... why do that with e-mail? Ok. I'm done venting.

Wedding Pictures

2006-06-13T13:29:00.000-04:00

If any of you took any candid pictures at the wedding, I'd love to see them!! Let me know how I can get a copy of them.

Mogadishu Captured?

2006-06-05T15:45:00.000-04:00

Could there really be an end to 15 years of fighting? I sure hope so!

Bed, Bath & Beyond

2006-06-05T14:02:00.000-04:00

So now that the wedding is over, we've still got some purchases to make for our home. We're supposed to get a 10% completion coupon but I know that they often mail out 20% off one item coupons. If anyone out there gets any of these coupons and you don't plan to use them, pass them on to us! :) Thanks!

Trying a New Template

2006-06-05T10:36:00.000-04:00

I decided it was time to update my look. I need to spend some time on this and I don't have it right now. However, this seemed fitting for now. Nick and I signed up for a family plan on our phones yesterday to save some money. So I ended up with a new phone. We thought it'd be nice to have the same phones and accessories so he was going to get a Razr too. Instead of him getting silver or pink (b/c I had black), we got a new pink one for me and he will use my black one. SO this template sort of matches my new phone. Thanks Nick!

Clowns?

2006-06-01T14:05:00.000-04:00

So I found these ugly clowns on ebay. I don't really like clowns yet I bid on them b/c they're made using quilts and mason jars, which I found to be very interesting. Anyway, I bid for fun but decided that really if there's someone out there who collects clowns, this would be great for them. I can't think of anyone who collects clowns. If you do, feel free to outbid me on this pair of clowns. I wonder if they're antique mason jars?

Google Search

2006-05-31T14:55:00.000-04:00

Just in case you were wondering. I was googling a word that was posted on a website to see how long it took to be able to find it. I posted the site on May 25 and I have searched each day and it just now appeared. So I guess the google system doesn't update all it's sites daily. I guess only new pages are added more up to date since you can find out about things that happened a few hours ago. Interesting...

Marriage by the Numbers

2006-05-30T15:14:00.000-04:00

In an effort to comfort my single friends who may be thinking, "I'm never going to get married," as many do during "wedding season," I wanted to pass on this article. One of the things I noticed was this statement:

Today the median age for a first marriage—25 for women, 27 for men—is higher than ever before.

I guess I helped bring that score up, but this can also be an encouragement to women to know that for every guy you know who got married before 27, there's someone out there who helped keep the median at 27. ;)

Ladies, Don't give up! Just enjoy the time God has given you to be single and in His time He'll direct some man to pursue you if that's what will bring Him the most glory. Just make the most of every opportunity God lays before you. He knows what He's doing! Trust me!!

Men, If you feel like God's leading you to marry... pursue that!

Changing Your Name After the Wedding

2006-05-24T10:42:00.000-04:00

Here's the deal on the name thing.. I just finished the "official process" myself and was so frustrated at how complicated it was to figure out! So I hope this will help other Kentucky Brides understand the process.

You can call yourself by your new name as soon as you're wedding ceremony takes place, though you haven't done the legal changes yet. I figure I'm married before God, so I can call myself my new name. But you will still need to sign your checks with your maiden name until you get it all officially changed.

After you get your official marriage license in the mail (Ours was here when we got back from our honeymoon) take that and your lisence or id to the social security office (click to locate) to change your name on your social security card. This has to be done before anything else! When I did that, they told me I could change my license the next day. Personally I think that I could have done it that day, but I waited since that's what the lady told me to do. THe social security office gave me a letter saying I'd get my new card in so many days...

Then the next day I went to get my driver's license changed. They asked if I'd changed my SS card yet and I said yes. Then I gave them my old license and the marriage certificate. I asked if he needed the letter from the SS office and he said, "sure that's even better" b/c it had my new address typed on it and my licence did not have the correct address either. They took my picture and I paid $12 and the dead was done.

Now that I have an id with my new name I can go to my bank and change the name on my bank account to my new name and give them a new signature to put on file so that I can sign checks with my new name.

And then I will need to change my info here at work so that my tax stuff goes to the right name/address and with my insurance and other cards I have. I'm also going to fill out a change of address with the post office changing my name and address so my mail will get changed too.

Shew, doesn't that just wear you out to read all that? What a mess?!

Anyway, PLEASE pass this onto other gals you know getting married in KY b/c there's not a good straight answer out there.

They're Up!

2006-05-23T11:11:00.000-04:00

You can see our pictures at:
Henderson Photos
Then click on weddings at the bottom
Then Weddings folder on the left
Then Pendley folder under that
To see bigger pictures click on the name of the file.

They're not in order since different cameras were used for different parts. Also, they have not been edited to fix the coloring/lighting or cropped. But you can still see the pictures!!!

The Waiting

2006-05-22T16:20:00.000-04:00

So since it was our wedding, NIck and I didn't take any pictures (we just always seemed to be busy... Imagine!). I cannot wait to see the pictures!!! My dad has e-mailed me a few from Rehearsal dinner, but I'm still waiting! It's going to drive me crazy!

Brides Beware!

2006-05-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't know, veils are a very expensive thing to buy. It's amazing how you can take a fabric that costs $2 and put some stitching or beads and a comb on it and charge over $100 for it. Anyway, so my mom found a store online that makes hand made veils and it was much less... so we ordered one with the beads I wanted. Well, here it is 4 days before my wedding and I don't have my veil! I looked up the company it's being shipped from and this is all I found. So, don't shop there!!

Who's job is it?

2006-04-28T15:14:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered who created all the images of the skewed letters that we have to type in (and sometimes I can't figure them out) to keep spam comments off of blogs? I guess it might be computer generated, but can you imagine your job title if you were the one who created those? "Hi My name is John Smith and I create letter images to prevent spam." Anyway, I just thought that there must be someone out there who either creates them or came up with the idea or wrote the program to generate them. What a proud man/woman they must be!

Reccord Resigns from NAMB

2006-04-18T14:16:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit disapointed with all of the negative comments in this article. I would like to think that people could remember the old saying, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Anyway, if you haven't heard, here's the news.

What a Day!

2006-04-18T08:45:00.000-04:00

I had hoped to write a post yesterday but life is too busy right now. But I just want to write and praise God. Twenty-four years ago yesterday a baby boy was born. He would grow in wisdom and stature (like Jesus). God would lead him and shape him to become the wonderful man that I will marry in 25 days. I'm so thankful for the man Mr. Nicholas Brent Pendley is, and the man he will become as God continues to guide, direct and shape his life. Thank you Lord for creating Nick and for bringing our lives together!

Traditions: Good or Bad?

2006-04-11T08:28:00.000-04:00

As we've been planning our wedding, I've read a lot about traditions. I've also realized that different people say things are "traditionally" done different ways. Some say you should mail invitations 8 weeks in advance. Others say 6. Well, for us, it's just been as soon as we could. It seems there is so much to do and we have so little time to do it.
Earlier in the wedding planning stages I was talking to my roommate who is also getting married this summer and we were discussing how traditionally the bride's family pays for the wedding. That seems unfair if there are two families, one has 4 girls and one has 4 boys and all 8 of those children marry and one family ends up paying for 4 weddings and the other family none.
Anyway, the point of this post is, I've come to realize that just because it's a tradition, doesn't mean it's good. Traditionally they say you should send every person over 18 their own invitation. In my opinion that's a waste of postage! I think this "lesson" I'm learning applies to more than just weddings. I think we could look at some of our traditions in church and see that they're not all good either. So I just want to say that if you don't get a traditional wedding invitation, or if you come to our wedding and find we break some sort of tradition, I'm ok with it. I just want to have our friends and family there to celebrate with us. I've finally come to realize that that's all that really matters. I wish I'd realized this a few months ago!

Weather

2006-04-05T11:11:00.000-04:00

So I'm hoping to get a lot of moving done on Saturday. Right now there's a 40% chance of rain in the forcast. Pray that the rain will fall before Saturday! I know it's early to change plans just yet, but this is really the only weekend I have to try to move. I know Who controls when it rains so if it rains, He must have a plan for another day to move. However, I believe this weekend is the time to move, so pray for good weather.

We have a home!

2006-04-04T12:29:00.000-04:00

Nick and I signed the lease for our future home! We WILL have a place to live when we get married! Yeah!!

Once in a Lifetime Moment

2006-04-03T13:53:00.000-04:00

I got this on an e-mail today. However, if you don't use military time, you can have this moment twice if you're up for it.

This will happen only once... we will see it, and it will never happen again...ever.
This coming Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00, the time and date will be...
01:02:03 04/05/06 (1-2-3-4-5-6)

Daylight Savings Time, Already?

2006-03-31T11:40:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd remind everyone to set your clocks up an hour when you go to bed Saturday night (or if you're up at the actual 2 am on Sunday morning, then you can wait) so you're not late for church Sunday morning. I know there's a good reason for this, but this year I am not welcoming the change! I need all the sleep I can get! I guess I'll have to go to bed even earlier than my granny time.

Oh, I also thought you might want to note that next year the dates will be changing to March and November (rather than April and October). Have a good, short weekend!

Camp Out in McDonaolds

2006-03-28T10:49:00.000-05:00

I heard about this on my way to work this morning and then when I was searching for help on inserting PowerPoint into MediaShout I ran across a link to the article on a church message board and thought I'd pass this story along. I know when I was in college one of my friends and I had always planned to try to spend the night in the Library (our library closed at night) but we never did it. Anyone else had any crazy ideas like living in Walmart for Spring Break?

Mono

2006-03-22T16:36:00.000-05:00

So today marks 2 full weeks that I've been sleeping and missing work. After going to the doctor twice and having my blood taken away twice, they determined that I have mono (Not that I was happy to have mono, but it was nice to finally know what's wrong). The doctor is having some other tests done on my blood (thankfully I didn't have to go and have more drawn) because my liver enzymes were really high. It's normal for them to be high with mono, so I'm not sure why there was a need to do more tests... anyway, I have another appointment in the morning so hopefully I'll learn more. I would just like to be able to stay awake for more than 3 hours and still be semi-functional (which is how long I have currently been awake and I'm leaving Cindy's office to go directly to bed again). I tried to go to church Sunday. I had no idea sitting in worship tok so much energy! So I slept through sunday school. Any mono survivors out there who want to give me some sort of idea on how long this will last? At least my fever and aching is gone. I no long throw up from dehydration due to a high fever, so the bright side is I can eat and drink normally and not depend on tylenol to survive. :) Pray that I get well soon! And pray that Nick does not develop any symptoms!! 52 days until our wedding!

Yemeni Story

2006-03-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

Some of you may remember the tragic event from December 30, 2002 when 3 missionaries were killed and one survived a shooting in a hospital in Jibla, Yemen. For me, this is one of those historical moments where I know where I was when I heard about it. After hearing the wife of the survivor speak and share about how they have prayed for this man and have demonstrated forgiveness, he's been one Yemeni that I know has been prayed for so much. Anyway, I read this news today and it made me sad, even though it does mean one less terrorist is on the loose, and that Yemen as a country will punish those who they catch. I thought I had my tears under control, but the more I try to write, the more they stream down my face.

Rental Advice

2006-03-02T11:20:00.000-05:00

If you're looking at renting a town house, what questions should you ask? What things should you check for inside? Any advice is welcome. I want to be an informed renter. I've never done this before, so if anyone has and wants to offer insight, I would appreciate it!

Nail

2006-03-02T11:19:00.000-05:00

Don't you just hate when you finally have your nails all at a good length to polish and then you break one off all the way to the quick? I do! Now my left middle finger is going to tingle all day as I type.

Girl Scout Cookies

2006-02-22T16:26:00.000-05:00

I received a box of Girl Scout Cookies today. Yumm! I've realized over the past few years that different areas have different names for the different varieties. And today I was trying to look up all the available kinds and I learned that there are "a maximum of eight varieties, including three mandatory ones (Thin Mint, Peanut Butter Sandwich, and Shortbread)." So not only will people call them different names, they might not have as many options. Some of the name differences are: Samoas®/Caramel deLites™
Peanut Butter Patties®/Tagalongs®
Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos™
Shortbread/Trefoils
What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout Cookie? What names do you use for the different varieities? Have you tried Eddy's Girl Scout Cookie Ice cream (available only for a limited time)?

Sharing Deodorant

2006-02-22T16:15:00.000-05:00

Due to a post in March my site was #9 on the list for sites you find when you use Yahoo to search for "Sharing Deodorant." How funny! I find it entertaining to see what all people search for and end up finding my blog!

Hot Peppers

2006-02-21T14:49:00.000-05:00

Before I tell my story, I want you to know that I enjoy spicy food. I love Indian food and I also enjoy Thai, Ethiopian and Mexican. And the more authentic the better.

Today I left the office in search of something for lunch. Well, I had passed everything and the last place was an oriental place. Not knowing that they would only have Chinese (I was really hoping for some Thai), I stopped. Well, since I was there I decided I'd just get some Seseme Chicken.
I came back to the office to eat and I was eating my food and then I noticed this strange taste. I kept chewing trying to figure out what this was b/c it didn't taste like the normal seseme chicken spice. Then all at once My mouth started burning, my nose was a faucet and my eyes were tearing up. I spit out the small bit that was left to see what it looked like. It was red and then I identified more of them in my food. I literally started crying it was hurting and burning so bad. I couldn't even drink water b/c it was hurting so bad I was almost choking. I ran back to my desk to find a piece of candy to suck on hoping it would help. I drank my water, I took an antiacid and while my mouth has finally cooled off (either that or it's just numb now and I don't know the difference) my throat and chest are hurting. And not like indegestion, like a pain. I was asking my co-workers for remedies and one of them said I might have literally burned myself inside. I know that once I was cutting a pepper in Kenya for salsa and my thumb blistered from it, so maybe. All I know is I am still hurting!
So I got online to try to find solutions since I've not got it to stop hurting for th elast hour and a half and I found this article that explained some of the health benifits of peppers. Eat up if you can stand the burn! I had no idea they were so healthy. I hope the kind I ate is healthy too.

I've Been Tagged!

2006-02-15T12:05:00.000-05:00

Even though he didn't seem to like being tagged, Tim tagged me, so here it goes... I hope it'll be fun.

4 Jobs I Have Had in My Life

International Student Ministry Intern- This job had great benifits! I met my future hubby working there! I helped plan and execute activities for International students at the University of Kentucky. I did this job for 3 semesters.
Computer Teacher- For 2 years I taught computers in Mombasa, Kenya to Kenyan High school students. I have also taught computers at different camps, such as ACE and PEAMS.
Swatcher- This was probably the worst job I ever had. Many of you may not even know about it. On the rare occasion that I refer to it, I call it the "immigrant table." No offense to immigrants- I love them, but this job was so boring! The people were the best part, but the task was horrible! We glued swatches of material or labeled swatches all day!

Taco Bell/Subway/SuperAmerica- I worked at a Taco Bell/Subway combo inside of a Super America gas station for my first job. I liked getting to eat our mistakes at Taco Bell and the discount was also nice. However, Subway didn't offer any discounts.. bummer. I also enjoyed the days I got to work "up front." It was fun to be able to card people for buying cigarettes. It flattered most people, but one lady got pretty mad at me. Oh well.

4 Goals I Set for This Year
Plan a wedding
Pay for a wedding
Execute a wedding
Fit in my wedding dress
(Obviously I didn't really set goals)
4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over
Ever After
Dead Poet's Society
Miss Congeniality (1st or 2nd one)
Hitch
4 Places I Have Lived
Ashland, KY
Georgetown, KY
Mombasa, Kenya
Lexington, KY
Louisville, KY
4 TV Shows I Love to Watch
I really only watch 2 things on TV and neither is very regular. I enjoy Gilmore Girls and UK Basketball games.
4 Places I've Been on Vacation
Ethiopia
Egypt
Washington, DC
Gatlinburg, TN

4 Websites I Visit Daily
Bloglines (so I can see what all is new on everyone's blog)
Google
Yahoo! mail
Our wedding site (to check the guestbook)
4 of My Favorite Foods
My mom's meatloaf (even if I make it)
Almost any breakfast food
Chicken Enchilladas
Ice Cream (especially Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk and currently I'm enjoying Eddy's Tagalong Girl Scout Cookie flavored icecream)
4 Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
-With Nick
-In bed (We need a 3 day weekend)
-in Mombasa
-Somewhere watching the sunrise

So Now I'm Going to Tag......
Mary K
Lindsey
Amy
Patrick
Too many people have already done this! I had to think about this one the most!

My Johari Window

2006-02-14T09:12:00.000-05:00

After seeing this on Nick's blog, I decided to create one too.

Before you look at My Johari window, If you know me, Go and tell me what you think.

Wedding Checklist

2006-02-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

This weekend we were able to check a few more things off our list. It's such a nice feeling to be able to do that. This weekend we:
-Picked out tuxes (guys- go get measured!!)
-Picked out Our China and glassware
-Met with the wedding coordinator at the church
-Gave our envelopes to someone to address them for us (Praise the Lord for T's help!!)

Hmm.. it seemed like we got so much done but that list doesn't seem so long. However, meeting with the wedding planner answered a lot of other questions we had, so that was really productive. Picking out a set of china is also a lenghty process, yet it was really fun. There are so many dishes to choose from, but it's very fun. The wedding consultant at Bed, Bath and Beyond was telling us that there's a wide spectrum concerning how much people use their china. Some use it only on major holidays, like her grandmother, and others use it every night, like her mom. I think I'll be somewhere in between. It seems like it wouldn't seem as special to use it every day, but yet it should be used for other events. I enjoy hosting and cooking so I think I can come up with more opportunities to use it than Christmas and Thanksgiving. Another plus is now that they use platinum instead of gold, they are dishwasher safe!! If I had an old set that you had to hand wash I might not use it that often either. Anyone out there with any thoughts on this? What did/does your family do?

Not Quite Getting It: Who Am I?

2006-02-13T09:07:00.000-05:00

J. Hearne wrote a great post answering the question, "Who Am I?" Even if you don't know him, I think it's a very well written response and you may even relate to parts of it (probably not so many Blue Devils and Wildcats but other things). Check it out. If I could be so poetic I think I'd attempt to write my own "Who Am I?"

Relay for Life

2006-02-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

I remember the first time I received a fund raising e-mail. I was skeptical, but now I'm more ok with this. If you'd like to support the American Cancer Society, you can support a dear young lady by clicking the title. I know her and her Key Club team would appreciate your support!

Mouse Training

2006-02-10T13:41:00.000-05:00

I wish I had known of this game and had internet access when I was teaching my students in Kenya how to use a mouse.

Collecting Addresses

2006-02-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

If any of you think you might get married in the next 2 years, start collecting addresses now!! It's a very time consuming task!! I recommend putting them in an excel sheet so you can format them however you need to (depending on how formal or informal you want to go). That way you can give them to people who are needing addresses for showers or thank you notes or whatever, since those would probably be addressed differently from your wedding invitation. Plus you can group them by location, which is helpful if you're wanting to give someone your friends in a particular area. Also, there are some of you out there who I don't have your address!!

Wear Red

2006-02-02T09:15:00.000-05:00

I received this information in an e-mail at work and thought I'd pass it on:

Tomorrow (Feb. 3) is National Wear Red Day. It represent an awareness of heart disease in women. The red dress pin is the symbol for the cause. Hope you will wear red wherever you are tomorrow.

Independance Day Quiz

2006-02-02T08:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't pass this one, but it wasn't as bad as my Old Testament Quizes last semester. Let me know how you do!

Wedding Plans

2006-01-30T09:40:00.000-05:00

So, I feel like Nick and I are doing well on getting a lot of wedding plans worked out. He starts class tomorrow so it was my goal to have as much as possible done before he started class. We've figured out our venues, our minister, our attendents, bought our wedding rings, picked out my dress and ordered brides' maid dresses, chose our baker for the cake, bought invitations, started our address list and more. However, I know there is still a ton of things to do. Right now, the toughest task at hand for me is figuring out music. Chris had a post listing some wedding songs but I guess I want to find something that's just perfect yet not overdone. The other "big thing" we need to figure out is our living arrangement. I'm very much looking forward to having a home, but it's a big job to figure this out!!

Pampered Chef Wedding Regestry

2006-01-27T09:59:00.000-05:00

Since I know there are like 101 people getting engaged, I thought I'd let you all know that starting on March 1 you will be able to create your own gift regestry with Pampered Chef. So now, in addition to being able to have a Pampered Bride Party you can post your wish list online and people can shop from your list. Then, in addition to that, all of their orders off your registry will be totaled and you get the host benifits off their purchase. For example, if people by $500 in products off your list, you'll get $75 in free products and 2 half priced items and 25% off any other items you buy! I'm assumign that you get the catalog show hosting benefits and not the kitchen show, but I'm not sure. Anyway, if you're interested, you can click on the link and Pampered Chef will e-mail you when it's ready, or you can let me know and I'll let you know when it's ready. If anyone wants to have a Pampered Bride (you can also have a Pampred Groom with you at the party) party, let me know!!

(Pampered Chef and Pampered Bride are registered trademarks of Pampered Chef)

Polar Bear Plunge

2006-01-20T13:55:00.000-05:00

Some friends of mine are participating in the Polar Bear Plunge. This is an event to raise money for special olympics by jumping in a pool of 30 degree water. I think it's a little crazy, but it's for a good cause. Click on the title if you'd like to make a donation to this cause.

Chinese Lunar Collection Stamps

2006-01-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

I was looking to see about ordering some stamps online (however, I think I want to wait until they have some more fun designs for the 39 cent stamp). Anyway, I ran across this collection. I've never wanted to be a stamp collector, but this set is very nice! However, it's $98! But you should still look at it. I thought I'd post it for my chinese friends to see.

Encourage and Be Encouraged!

2006-01-17T10:52:00.000-05:00

I got this forward last week. It's a tough thing to answer, but it's fun and encouraging. I thought I'd post it so you all could copy it and receive some encouragement. It's a challenge to your friends and it can be encouraging to you. So here it is (minus the forward it and reply message that doesn't apply to a blog post):

Let's have some fun. Do this for me please.

*Describe ME in ONE WORD...just one word! Send it to
me only, then send this message to your friends and
see how many strange things people say about you! This
could be fun!

First Time Home Buyer Advice?

2006-01-13T10:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend Nick and I are going to look at some houses. This is a scary task to consider buying a house. I know that several of you out there have been through this process. I was wondering if you had any advice to offer us. Whether it's things you wish you'd known sooner, advice on what steps to take first (second, third, etc), or things we should look at or ask about when looking. Any information or advice would be appreciated!! If you have a lengthy reply, feel free to e-mail us.

Thanks!

Hudson Taylor

2006-01-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

I read this quote by Hudson Taylor on The Roof Top Guys Blog:

"I scarcely know whether she or I was the more blessed, so real, so satisying was HIs presence, so deep my delight in the consciousness that His will was being done, and that that will, which was utterly crushing me, was good and wise and best."

How incredible this would be to have your husband feel this way as you lay on death's bed. As I look forward to marriage I know I am blessed and Nick tells me he feels blessed too. What a joy it is to know that you and your (future) spouse recognize that God is central to everything- including the blessing of the relationship you have. Lord, thank you for Nick and for the blessing he is in my life. I pray we'll continue to experience Your presence in our marriage and that we will do Your will.

No more Secret Crush!

2006-01-04T16:10:00.000-05:00

I'm crushed! Yesterday I went to try to exchange a leaky bottle of my favorite Victoria's Secret scent only to find that there are no more bottles in stock! It appears (though I've not heard it from anyone official) that Secret Crush is being discontinued. :( I'm SOOO sad! I attempted to find a new scent last summer (not this past one) but could not find anything I liked as well. I've been wearing this sent since about my Senior year of college. I took a 2 year supply with me to Kenya. I know I share it with others, but this is "my" scent. I know some of you will think I'm crazy trying to round up whatever remaining products I can find in this scent (don't ask how many stores my mom and I have called). But anyone else out there who has ever had a favorite purfume that was discontinued will understand. So far, I've had 2 VERY understanding ladies (my mom and a co-worker) who have both experienced the struggle of finding a new scent when yours is discontinued. They both said they would pay whatever to buy as much of it as they could have found. So you may think I'm crazy, but I've sent Jennifer on a hunt to buy what she finds in Nashville. My mom's mother-in-law bought me some handsoap in Charleston. So far, that's all I've found. If any of you are in the malls (not available in L'ville) and see any Secret Crush body splash buy what you find and I'll pay you! If you find other Secret Crush products, let me know and I'll decide if I'll buy it or not. Some products are more useful to me than others.

Sad day! :(

The Date

2006-01-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

We've set the date for May 13, 2006. More details to come. Click on the title to see one of my Christmas presents, which is also a work in progress.

Where I've been

2005-12-23T13:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm a little bored... I'm going back through my blog archives and decided to do this map thing again.

create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

Girls, there are more good guys out there!

2005-12-23T09:58:00.000-05:00

I just want to share this blog with you ladies (and guys) and encourage you that there really are good guys out there, aside from the one that I have found. :) So often I see girls live like there are not any guys out there who are of top quality and know how to cherish them like they deserve. Whether they live that out by dating guys who are below the standard God has for them, or by dreaming of a particular guy that they know is wrong for them. Girls, read this and don't settle for a man who doesn't cherish your inner beauty! Guys, you should read these articles about beauty. I found it adorable to hear him talking about how gorgeous his sister is. I have also seen girls who strive for male attention and sometimes I wonder if they would do the same things if their male family members cherished them and adored them more. Some of the most adorable girls I know don't know how beautiful they really are. And guys, I know that girls make it hard for you to "adore" them. We'll get used to it. :)

Web Site Builder and Management?

2005-12-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

After speaking with a wise lady and listening to her advice for my work's website, I am investigating companies that offer easy to use web site management. I must say that this is something I'm not extremely familiar with, but from what I understand, you pay someone to design what seems like a template (similar to what is used in blogging) and they also maintain your site. You use simple rich-text editors to enter the text to add a page to your site and you can set up the navigation through the site to your new page and it automatically will generate parts of the main page, much like the way I will type this post and blogger will generate my post link on the side under "Recent Posts" and also create a page for this post, and also add this to my archives, filed by date. All I do is type this post and viola! It's all there. I'm sure that the process isn't quiet that simple, but it's closer to that process than using front page or dreamweaver. The title has a link to one option she gave me to look into. She also gave me another one to look at that many churches use. So, anyone have any suggestions?

Solo Femininity: A Man's View of Beauty

2005-12-21T09:12:00.000-05:00

I want to encourage you all to read Carolyn McCulley's post. It's a good reminder to us women to embrace our femininity, something the world sometimes encourages us to hide. It also offers some insights into how to listen to a man's opinions and not to take them inproperly. Check it out!

We're Engaged!

2005-12-19T11:53:00.000-05:00

For those who have not heard the exciting news, Nick and I are engaged as of Saturday night, December 17th. We're checking on the facilities and the minister's availability to confirm a date, so stay tuned for more information! :)

You can see pictures on Nick's post. I thought I'd cover the other thing you might ask about... how it happened.

So we had planned to go out to celebrate our one year anniversary. We were going to meet at his house at 5, but due to game traffic, our plans were postponed a bit. We ended up leaving his house at 6 instead. We went to DeSha's to eat. During dinner Nick led a very reflective conversation about our past year. It was fun to share and compare our stories. We decided to split our meals so we could have two of our considerations. The food was excellent, but the company was amazing!

After we ate we walked across the street to Triangle Park. We walked around the park and talked. He asked me what I thought our lives might have been like if I had convinced him to come to Georgetown when we had corresponded years ago. I told him I was certain it wouldn't be like it is now because I had a lot of growing (maturity and spiritually) during that time. We recognized that God had prepared us for the time we met as it is.

Eventually we sat on the bench (thinking it would be a little less cold than the concrete). We continued sharing about our joys of our year together. He was telling me what a blessing it has all been for him and how happy I make him (ok, I realize that just because I find it all so romantic you might not want to hear it all). I affirmed him that he does the same for me. Then he prayed with me, thanking God for our past year together and asking Him to continue to lead us in our future. I also prayed. Then we both seemed to feel a little less cold. It was strange how this warmth came from nowhere. Then he told me that he loved me (which was something I had felt but not heard). I told him I loved him too. I think if it had been one degree warmer I would have melted right then. How beautiful were those words! Then he started to move a bit and I was thinking, "What's he doing, it's so cold, stay next to me!" As he turned to face me then he went down on his knee! I was like, "Oh my goodness! Don't cry!" He told me (of course this is a paraphrase that doesn't even come close to giving him justice) he loved me and he has enjoyed the past year with me and he wants to spend the rest of his life with me and wants to marry me and love me and have children with me... and then he asked me if I would marry him. I exclaimed, "yes!" and I think he said something else and put a beautiful ring on my finger. Then I was given the honor of receiving his first kiss. I felt so special! I just wanted to keep kissing him forever. Then we walked around the corner where Preston, his brother gave him roses to give me. Preston hugged me and told me congratulations. Then Nick told me he would have arranged a horse and carriage ride but decided to skip that since I'm highly allergic to horses. That was a sweet, smart thought!

Then on the way back to the house he informed me that he had planned a surprise party for me so we could celebrate with our friends! So many people came by to share our joy with us! Thank you to all who came, and I know many of you will still celebrate with us. I was so happy. Of course every girl would ask me the story (which I told much more abbreviated than this since it was said 25 times). It was an incredible night!

After I got to the Meek's house I could not sleep. I was so excited! I would lay there and think, "Just go to sleep!" But I couldn't stop thinking. And just when I might have been close to drifting off, I'd feel my ring on my finger and grin ear to ear again. This continued when I got out of bed too. I'm so ecstatic! Ladies and Gentleman, Girls and Boys, it's worth the wait for the right person at the right time. I have felt like Nick was the man I would marry for a while now and I can't tell you how many times I wanted to be like, "So are we going to get married or what?" But waiting for his timing and initiation... Wow! It's indescribable!

Ok, I'll stop now, but I might be writing more about this because it's all I can think about. I feel guilty that I'm being paid to work today because I know my mind is not here. I'll try to do better tomorrow and make up for today.

Crazy post office!

2005-12-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

So today in the office mail we got a post card sent from the Post office with one of those yellow labels on it that said, "Please notify sender of new address." Of course this yellow label has our new address on it and the post office put it there. So what else can we do to notify the sender of our new address?

Christmas Trivia

2005-12-16T10:07:00.000-05:00

Check out this Christmas Trivia. See how much you really know about the Christmas story!

Understanding the Cooperative Program

2005-12-15T10:31:00.000-05:00

As I've read a lot of people talking about the Cooperative Program (CP), I felt the need to address it and present the positive side of things. It seems many people feel like it's unnecessary because "so little" goes to the IMB. Well, part of that is due to the little percentage that the churches send onto CP. Not that I am saying they need to give more because I understand that the churches also have financial needs. However, I think that there is more to see than just how much of your tithe goes to the IMB. First, it should be noted that the "so little" of your tithe that ends up at the IMB still accounts for about 36% of the IMB's total budget (these are figures from a poster I have from 2003 so the percentages could be a bit different now). So what does channel through CP to the IMB is still significant. 50% of the IMB's budget is supported by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This is a great way for us to support International Missions above and beyond our normal tithe.

Now, back to CP. Why would you want to by pass your state convention?!? I would encourage everyone to look into what the State Convention uses the CP money for. I cannot possibly study each state and explain what they do with their money, but I'll use Kentucky as an example. In KY, "64 cents of every dollar stays in Kentucky and helps support Kentucky Baptist Convention ministries. Those 64 cents includes: 21 cents for five KBC Christian education institutions, 8 cents for KBC agencies and institutions, and 35 cents for KBC team ministries" (from a brochure: How the Cooperative Program Changes Lives 2004-2005). Now, you may be wondering what all that means. That means the CP helps support the work of the Homes for Children, Kentucky WMU, Collegiate and Young Adult ministry, International collegiate Ministry, Youth Ministry and Sunday School, Baptist Men on Mission, Disaster Relief, the Joshua Project, Women's conferences, Scholarships, and operation of the KBC, just to name a few. So why would you want to stop supporting these things? Without WMU, who would help promote the missions offerings? Without collegiate Ministry, how would we support ministry on the college campuses? Without support given to Disaster Relief, how would KY be so quick to have people to help with hurricane relief?

Well, I think I'm done standing on my soap box for now. But please, take time to investigate what the rest of your money does too. Don't let the amount of money that CP gives to the IMB be your only method of measuring how important or effective it is in furthering God's Kingdom.

Hotel Can't Afford Ya

2005-12-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

On my way to work this morning I was listening to 105.9 The River, which is a Christian Radio station (Salem Radio) and I heard this familiar music. But it was a song by the Eagles.. surely they weren't playing Hotel California on The River. Well, they weren't. They were playing an Apologetix song, "Hotel Can't Afford Ya." You can read all the lyrics by clicking on the title, but here is the chorus:

Welcome, but the hotel can't afford ya
Such a lovely place but we're out of space
Ran out of room and the hotel can't afford ya
It's the time of year with the census here

Wish List

2005-12-14T15:53:00.000-05:00

So it seems Nick's family is a list making family. My family? Not so much. I'm sure I made lists when I was little for Santa, but beyond that I don't remember making lists. My mom shops in advance (she sent me my Christmas gift in August) so by the time Christmas is here, you can't give her a list because she has already bought your gifts. But this year I'm spending Christmas with the Pendley's, who make lists. I kind of like it because it takes away some of the "What will I get...?" stress, but I also like surprises. So due to this, I don't know if I can stick to a list for shopping ideas. And because of this, I don't know how I feel about making a list. Then I might know what I'm getting! But I thought I'd see what I could come up with for a list. I don't have any trouble finding things I want to buy myself when I'm at the mall, but this list thing is not so easy. Yeah, I can't really think of anything right now. Maybe later.

I got a new phone!

2005-12-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

So I finally took the plunge and bought a new phone. I wasn't sure I could handle not seeing who's calling me or being limited on who I could call. I wanted a phone and I wanted a display that worked! So I went to the mall yesterday and stopped by a kiosk to ask them about selling phones without a plan. Eventually I learned that I could pay an extra $50 for the phone and get a new phone before I was eligible for an upgrade. So that's what I did. I had been given a $50 gift card at work yesterday and I was able to use that and there is a $50 mail in rebate. So my new Motorola Razr will end up costing me $90.80 out of pocket after the mail in rebate and deducting the gift card. Since the cheapest I had found them online was usually around $199 + shipping (the bids start lower but never end less than that on ebay), and with this I knew it was a new phone and that it would work and I have 30 days to decide. So I'm now the owner of a Razr. I know there are a lot of things this phone can do... so someday I'll figure it all out. I like that the menu is much like my V220 so I don't have to learn a new menu. Not that my learning curve is so slow that that should be a factor, but still... So, anyone else out there have this phone who would like to share a personal review. The other phone I would have considered was the Motorola v551. It would have cost me a little bit less but it wasn't as cute. hehe

Vote for the KY Girl

2005-12-08T11:40:00.000-05:00

There's a girl from Louisville, KY that is among the last 7 girls in the Seventeen Reader Model Contest. I appreciate that her statment says that her beauty comes from inside. Anyway, I thought I'd give her a little plublicity. Not that I think I have a lot of Seventeen readers, but maybe just some people who would like to support a fellow KY girl in a contest.

God is so good!

2005-11-30T12:39:00.000-05:00

This morning on my way to work I was thinking about this evening. I was asking God what I could fix for dinner. I want to be able to study for my last final so I didn't really want to take time to go to the store. So I was asking God to give me an idea about something quick to fix from what I had at home. I have a few other chores I want to do tonight so I was trying to cut down time on dinner.
After I got to work, one of my co-workers came up to me and told me that she brought me some beans and cornbread and apple salad. She said her husband made the cornbread last night and told her to take me some. Her and I had talked about cornbread and milk one day and she later relayed our conversation to her husband. Isn't God the coolest?!? He knew the plan all along! Praise God for His provision and for people who are His servants to share with God's people who are in need (Romans 12:13).

One down, two to go!

2005-11-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

I just finished failing my Old Testament Final. No, really I failed it. Honestly I didn't have much of a chance in keeping my grade anyway. But let me just tell you about this test (I'm doing this more for your benifit so when I get my grade and complain you can remind me how awful and unfair it was). So, the first part was a map. I was ready for it. Until I turned to see where we fill in the 20 names he gave us. It was a hand drawn map that he drew combinging about 9 pages of different maps all with different names. Egypt was pretty easy to figure out. Ur... well, I wasn't sure what the map we had to know Ur on was from, but I think I got that one (our map said Sumer and Akkad). Then, I knew we had a map with the names of the tribes (I now see it was of Jordon). I think I got close on this one anyway... though it was MUCH MUCH smaller on his hand drawn map. Then we had a map of Philistines and Phoenicians. I think I did ok with that. But I was totally lost on where the Aramaens' map was in relation to the rest of the world. But now I see that it overlaps the map mentioned previously. Too bad I didn't get that on my test.Then we had the Assyrian Empire and the Babylonian Empire... I might have got some of that.

Moving on to the next section... The calendar. I knew the last 2 questions (out of 5). The first 3 were what month is the first month of the agricultural year? the religious year? and the numbering of the months? Well, I guessed Iyyar (or somethng like that for 2 of them and Na???) for the other. And I don't think I got any of them right.

Now onto the Essays. So we had 4 sections of essays where we have 2 options for each section. Well, the first one I knew about one of them so I did that one. The next section I had to talk about hwo Deut. 6:5 relates to the whole book and how the whole book relates to the entire OT. I might have doen ok except I was afraid to really quote the verse.. though I kept praying and it kept coming to me, "Love the Lord your God..." But I figured not quoting it might be better than beign wrong. Well, I was right.. too bad i didn't use it. Anyway, the first one was 20 points, the second 15. Then the next 2... NO IDEA on any of my options!!! It was that bad! So that's another 15 and 20 points. I wrote down who knows what... so the summary is: I didn't do very well!!

But good news it's over.. now I can study for the classes I like and can learn something from my studies.

New Cell Phone?

2005-11-28T13:16:00.000-05:00

My display screen has went out on me on my cell phone. I'm not eligible for an upgrade for another 10 months. Has anyone recently got a new phone that has an extra phone laying around? If not, anyone have experience with buying a cell phone on ebay?

Cherishing Women

2005-11-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

I was reading a post that commented on Joshua Harris' sermon this past Sunday and it got me thinking about things. I hope to get a chance to listen to it soon. Until then, I want to comment on this part of her summary:

During this last point, Josh urged the single men to be grow in chivalry and sisterly care: "A single woman should feel honored and cherished in this church whether or not she has a boyfriend." At this, I let out an involuntary "whoohoo!" which I was told later could be heard in many parts of the church. But I wasn't that loud, so I believe my friends were hearing many women with the same reaction!!

I completely agree with this statement. I also wanted to add a word of encouragement to women too. We must learn to allow a man to cherish us without assuming they have impure motives. I know I have been accused and maybe even guilty about this myself. One day I mentioned that a particular male on campus made me feel a little uncomfortable. Ladies, you know what I mean. Men, I don't think you can understand. As I mentioned this, another male student said, "See, that's why guys can't be nice to girls in Seminary. You all think if we talk to you we're hitting on you." I quickly corrected him and said that I did not feel like this other guy was interested in me, but just that he made me feel uncomfortable. But there have also been times in the past where I might have thought a guy liked me because he was kind to me. Over the years I've learned to observe how any given guy treats all girls before making assumptions, and even then to be cautious about doing so.

I remember one day (before Nick and I defined our relationship) I was talking with one of my friends about Nick. I was trying to "figure out" if he liked me or what. I said sometimes I think so but sometimes I'm not sure if he likes me or if he's just nice to every one. She shed some great light onto the subject by asking me, "Which would you rather it be, That he's particularly nice to you, or that he's nice to all girls." I decided I would rather him be nice to all girls, but I also hoped that he would have a special kindness toward me.

Now that we are in a relationship where I know that he has an interest in me in particular, I also appreciate that he is kind to others too. In my Systematic Theology class, Dr. Ware was teaching on God's love and he said he has 2 kind of love mentioned in the Bible. One is a "common love" for all people and then many times the Bible speaks of His particular love for His children. He related the commandment to a husband to love his wife like the church to show that a husband should love his wife in a particular way. He should not say, "Honey I love you just like I love every woman." But he should love all people, just not in the same way. He also talked about how God's love for us is the only selfless love, but that's another story.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I think it is a great thing for men to cherish their sisters in Christ with that "common love." In addition to that, I hope that when a man has a particular interest, that he would speak up about it and let her know and not just hope she picks up on it someday. And ladies, we have to learn to be cherished and treated with chivalry. I hope that in the future the days of, "I can do it myself" will be over and we will return to allowing men to care for us and we will act like ladies.

Ok, I think I have too many opinions on this matter. Maybe I should write a book instead of trying to write it here. :)

CSScript?

2005-11-22T12:41:00.000-05:00

I'd like to learn more about CS Script.. at least I think that's what I want to learn about. I have tried to google some information but I don't seem to see what I'm really looking for. My work's site has a CSScript that was generated somehow once upon a time (the site has been the way it is for 5 years - only the content has changed). I'd like to be able to edit the site and know what I'm doing. I found one pdf file that might be helpful but it looks like a manual, and not exactly a tutorial. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas on where I can start learning about this, let me know.

No Motivation!

2005-11-22T10:57:00.000-05:00

I have enjoyed not having a paper to write this past weekend so much! I only have 3 finals left and I just cannot motivate myself to study. I know I need to study now so that I can enjoy Thanksgiving. Nick and I are still working out the details of that, but I don't want to have to try and study the whole day, especially after eating Turkey. Maybe I should skip out on the turkey. I'm already pretty tired as it is. Anyway, if anyone has anything to say that will motivate me to study, PLEASE pass it on!!!

How do you get here?

2005-11-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

I recently added a stat counter so that I could know what my visitor count really is (it seems my counter increases much too quickly). As I look to check the stats I find a lot of entertainment in knowing what referred people to my site. I'm amazed at how many people must just click on the "Next Blog" link at the top of different blogs and look at random blogs. It doesn't seem that many of these random hits stay for long, but it's a reminder that you never know who might stop by and read your blog so it's important to be cautious with what information is shared. I also find it entertaining when someone finds my blog through a search engine. I had one visitor who found my blog recently by searching for, "love vs arranged marriages in africa." It was interesting because I had forgotten about that post.

Finals will soon be over and maybe then I can be a better blogger, and not just giving commentary on the KBC Convention. :)

Black Friday

2005-11-18T10:55:00.000-05:00

For all of those "Black Friday" shoppers, here's a website that shows the sale ads for the day after Thanksgiving. No promises on their validity, but you can look if you want. The .pdf files take forever to load, but you can view an alphabetical list easily.

Reggie McNeal – “Connecting Future Generations to Jesus Christ”

2005-11-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

Why haven't we thought about this before? I'm listening to Reggie McNeal speak about worship among different generations. He pointed out that each generation wants to worship in their "heart language." I've thought about this cross culturally but not among generations in the church. I guess that sheds some light on the contemporary/traditional worship style debate.

This reminds me of a survey I started a long time ago (and lost about half of my data). What's your "heart song?" You know, that song that you sing in your head when you need to feel peace from God and just have to worship Him to help you focus on Him again?

Georgetown College and KBC New Relationship Aproved

2005-11-16T10:54:00.000-05:00

I didn't get to watch it yesterday, but I have heard that the new relationship was peacefully approved. I'm proud of the way this has been handled. I think that speaks volumes about both the college and the convention. Way to go! Now we must just pray that Georgetown College is able to grow the way they want to without compromising their heritage. I think the "Christian" aspect of the college is not determined by the trustees or the President, but by the students. So pray for Georgetown College students to make a difference in the lives of others and impact the campus and world for Christ.

Paul Chitwood Named New KBC President

2005-11-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

The votes have been counted. There were 15,075 ballots. Chitwood had 974 votes and DeFoor 601. There were 2 illegal votes. Congratulations to Paul Chitwood. Kentucky, lets lift him up in prayer!

KBC Annual Meeting

2005-11-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to the Annual Meeting. Hershal York is speaking right now. I think he is doing an excellent job of addressing Kentucky Baptist. I'm rather sad that I haven't had the opportunity to hear him more during the past year as he served as president. A few things I can quote (or almost quote):
"We need to stop worrying about what people think about us... We need to focus on Jesus."
"When I start thinking, this is my job, the lost will the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ."

He also eloquently addressed the issues of fundamentalism and inerrancy that have been "hot topics" among KY Baptists.

Election of the new president will be today at 2:20 so listen in and pray!

Uk vs. Georgetown

2005-11-09T13:50:00.000-05:00

Georgetown College Tigers
vs.
University of Kentucky Wildcats

Wednesday, Nov. 9 - 7:00 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena - Lexington, Ky.

Television Coverage:
Fox Sports Net (Live)
Big Blue Sports Network (Live)
DISH Network – Channel 451
DirecTV – Channel 64

Missions Interchange

2005-11-08T20:14:00.000-05:00

I wanted to pass on this link to a site. It's written to target college females, but I think others might benifit from reading some of the articles. I'm so happy to hear about this site!

I'm a Consultant now!

2005-11-04T12:29:00.000-05:00

I have officially signed up to be a Pamered Chef Consultant! So now I just need to find some people who want to host shows! I'm so excited! I think this will be a lot of fun!

Importance of Gender Roles

2005-11-03T13:01:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd pass on this interesting review from Mohler's blog. I must admit I had to skim over some parts of it, but I think that it is very important that we note the differences and embrace the differences between women and men. Maybe it's finally time for my tips for women/men part 2. One difference that was noted was this:

mothers bring three particular talents to the task of parenting: "their capacity to breastfeed, their ability to understand infants and children, and their ability to offer nurture and comfort to their children."

Happy reading!

Drive Carefully!

2005-11-01T21:06:00.000-05:00

The Sunday before last I was at Immanuel Baptist Church. During Sunday School, a lady was sharing a praise about how her daughter and her friend had survived this horrible car accident with only a few scrapes and bruises. Their car had flipped and rolled down the median and back up on the other side and landed upside down on the other side. After she described the accident, and told us her daughter was "ok," I thought, "sure she is..." But I saw her later (and we had lunch with this family) and I can testify that she really is!

Anyway, we also prayed for my friends Leslie and Jose who were in an accident about a month ago. Leslie suffered a lot of serious injuries and she's been in a wheel chair since then, but she's getting better. Jose, her husband, is on crutches. Hopefully her collar bone will heal soon and she'll be able to use crutches so they can begin living in their own house again.

I also asked that we pray for safety on the roads. I have heard of so many accidents lately. We talked about how we often take this for granted and so we prayed for safety.

As I got in my car to drive back to L'ville, I had a message from my mom telling me that my sister-in-law's uncle and nephew were killed in a car accident.

For a moment, I must confess I was a bit angry because I had prayed for safety that very morning, but I was quickly reminded that God is in control and that everything that happens is within His control. But I was quickly reminded of the Scriptures that speak about this and I was comforted by knowing that this too, was in God's hands.

As I've thought about this more, I've realized that many people in situations like this would get angry with God and stay that way and I began to seek to understand why some do this and others do not stay angry. I think part of the answer is some people seek God in their everyday experiences and they KNOW that He is in control because they read His word and believe it. Some also experience God regularly in their lives. So when something tragic happens, those who do not KNOW him, doubt Him and blame Him, rather than cling to Him and praise Him. Anyway, I'm still thinking this through... but this has reminded me how important it is to practice and teach reading God's Word regularly so that we can truly Know who He is.

In addition to reading His Word, drive carefully and pray when you get in the car. I rode with a man in another country once that prays every time he gets in the car before he turns the key. Maybe that's a good thing to do.

'See now that I, I am He,
And there is no god besides Me;
It is I who put to death and give life.
I have wounded and it is I who heal,
And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

Deut 32:39 (NASB)

Pampered Chef

2005-10-31T20:45:00.000-05:00

I'm going to become a Pampered Chef Consultant this month! I'm so excited! I have to have 4 shows before the end of December so if anyone wants to host a show, let me know! Or if you think you might know some people who'd want to order stuff for Christmas you can do a book show. I think you only have to sell $150 at your show to get some good host deals. Even if you don't have time to do one before the end of Dec, let me know if you'd ever want to do one. Orders placed by Dec. 15 will ship in time for Christmas! I think this is going to be a lot of fun (and since I won't take classes next semester I'll have time). It'll also be a fun way to have bridal showers for all the weddings already planned for next semester. Congrats to Lauren and Joe BTW...

Face Book

2005-10-26T16:25:00.000-04:00

This could be dangerous, but I've joined facebook. However, there's no one in "my school" that I know on there... but it's fun to see what my UK friends are up to this way. There's a limit to how many "pending friends" you can have at a time. Guffey added me so I started through his list adding people but I'll have to wait until more reply to add more friends. So, if any of you use it...
Facebook me!

Changes

2005-10-25T16:09:00.000-04:00

So I'm changing over to blogger's comments too. Also, I've added a calendar and map to the right. You can post your birthday or other events on the calendar and please sign my map. And now I will look like I have no comments, so maybe I'll be motivated to post more so that I can push those pages with no comments off my front page. hehe

Rosa Parks died today

2005-10-25T15:50:00.000-04:00

I was surprised when I read on the front page of the paper today that Rosa Parks had died. What surprised me was not her passing, but the fact that she was alive last week. In my mind the story of Rosa Parks seems like it was something that would have happened so long ago that she could not have been alive today. This reminds me of how far our country has gone in a much shorter time than I realize. It also makes me less disappointed at some of the things that still go on, knowing that it's not been as long ago as I think that things began to change. We still have a way to go, but thanks to people like Rosa Parks, we're much better off than we were 100 years ago. Imagine all the changes she has seen take place in our nation in her lifetime. Wow!

Finally, a calendar that makes me happy!

2005-10-25T14:17:00.000-04:00

After so much debating, searching, pondering, browsing, etc. I finally found the calendar for me. BP had one before and I remembered how neat I thought it was. This calendar available through ywam (Youth with a mission), has so much extra fun stuff! On each week's view there are statistics about a place and then each day has different prayer items for that country. It also has a Bible reading plan built into it as well as a chart in the back. And lots of additional reading. There is also a monthly view page and journal pages in between months and maps of different regions, and more. So, if you don't have a 2006 planner yet, you should consider this one. It comes in 2 syles: 3 ring binder (which was much nicer than I expected for the price) or spiral bound. There are different color options based on the style. Anyway, if you have an order of $30 or more, you can get free shipping. I have $16.29 in orders so far, so if you want to add something to this order, let me know and we can combine our orders to get free shipping. Lindsey has the spiral one and I have the binder one and we both are very happy.

Another item that I ordered was the Ramadan Prayer Guide. It's $3 and it's one of the best written ones I've seen. It has a good introduction and specific info each day. I know Ramadan is over half way over, but if you're interested in praying for Muslims, you can do this anytime and learn more through it.