Originally Unoriginal

Just how stupid do I look?? I must look like the most naive person that ever existed. Why? Because people will tell me LIES -- Straight out LIES-- and expect me to believe them. And then I'm suppose to be the good Christian and just accept that person. I'm SO tired of being the one who is suppose to walk away and pretend that I'm not hurt, that I'm not affected. When do I ever get rewarded for this?? When does something good happen to me and something bad happen to them. When do they get a taste of their own medicine?? I know the Bible says when you've done all you can to stand, to just stand. Well I feel like sitting down and crying for a while. Is that legal?? I'm tired of being used, talked about, and lied to. UGH!!!!!!

Someone who is much wiser than he seems and much wiser than anyone would ever give him credit for called me out the other day. He didn't even know he was speaking right to the black pit of my soul. At first I just looked at him, denying that his description was in anyway accurate. No, he had me all wrong I was sure. There is no way that I could possibly be that .... The more I thought about his words, the more truth I began to discover. Maybe I was that . Perhaps, he had labeled me correctly. Possibly I was hiding the real me beneath all of that .... The Bible says that we would know the truth, and the truth would make us free. However, knowing the truth now, I don't feel the least bit liberated. I feel ashamed. I feel inadequate. I feel exactly what the wise one called me.... Am I less of a person because I feel that ? Or does realizing I am that make me more of a person. Maybe everyone is that at one time or another. Maybe we are all that in some aspect of our lives every...

That's the question I asked my students at the beginning of class one day last week. Answers varied throughout my 7th grade classes. Most popular was snakes, spiders, and report card day. A few students admitted they were afraid of the dark or even clowns. Some boys proudly proclaimed that they were not afraid of anyone or anything. It's amazing how quickly new epiphanies come to me, especially when I'm teaching. But as I began to hear the student's responses to my fear question, this thought came to mind. Many students kept asking, "What's your greatest fear, Ms. Rigney?" My reply is this... No, I don't like snakes, spiders, and other creepy, crawly insects or rodents. If there were one in the room, I may freak out and be very frightful. However, they are not my greatest fears. I don't live every day terrified that a bug or rat may be lurking around a dark corner awaiting me. I hardly ever think of them at all, as a matter of fact. So even though ...

....and I promise I'll blog some thoughts. I've actually got about 4 things rolling around in my head right now, but unfortunately I don't have the time to type them out right now. Let me get through the next few days, and as soon as I get some spare time, I'll jot them down for ya. Until then...keep the faith!

I can't believe that I haven't been keeping everyone posted on all of my teaching stories. I started teaching by myself Tuesday and ended up giving a test Friday. Here are some of my many stories... First you must know that 90% of my students are African-American living in low economic area. I'm a white middle-class lady. So some of my adventures are quite cultural. My schedule for the week was suppose to be very light. I was going to do a warm-up activity with the students for the first few minutes of class, then my cooperating teacher (Coach CT) would teach the actual lesson. Well, first period Tuesday, I do the warm-up activity. When I got done I told the kids Coach CT was coming to finish up, and the kids said, "No, we want you to finish teaching us." So I ended up teaching the whole lesson for all four, 7th grade classes. Later, I was going around the classroom trying to learn the students' names. After attempting several of the names, one boy said. ...

10 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME... 10. I have horrid sinus problems 9. I've spent the whole afternoon reading a book written by a friend 8. My room is "heartbreak" red. 7. I look younger than I am, but feel much older. 6. I despise dishonesty. 5. I still crawl up in my mom/dad's lap and watch tv. 4. I haven't dated anyone in almost 5 years. 3. I hate feet. 2. I love Harry Potter. 1. I'm graduating college in December. 9 PLACES I'VE VISITED... 9. Denver, CO 8. Houston, TX 7. Tampa, FL 6. Columbus, OH 5. Nashville, TN 4. St. Paul, MN 3. Atlanta, GA 2. Gulf Shores, AL 1. Hot Springs, AR 8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE... 8. Travel the world 7. Make a difference in a child's life 6. Marry the man God designed just for me 5. Go skydiving 4. Have my own home 3. Raise a family 2. Own a convertible 1. Get my master's/PHD 7 WAYS TO WIN MY HEART... 7. Challenge me to be a better person 6. Sing to me 5. Pray for me 4. Look me in the eye when we have a conversati...

Nature's first green is gold. Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour. As leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sinks to grief, As dawn goes down today, Nothing gold can stay. --Robert Frost Is this poem true?? Can anything gold stay with?? I'd like to think that maybe Mr. Frost was wrong. I know that nothing physically gold can stay, but what about the spiritual gold? The freshness of life?? Just something to think about --

Living up to my blog's name, this original thought is really compliments of my oh, so wise Asst. Pastor, Bro. Steven Cantu.... Most of the time when we come to God for healing, it's for the physical things. Examples: headaches, backache, diseases. Then there are times that we ask God to heal our finances, our broken heart, maybe even our marriage. We ask God to heal the things that are hurting us. However, we hardly ever ask God to heal the things in us that may be hurting others. Example: our personality, bad attitudes, hypocritical character. We are always so quick to judge others and pray for others who have the wrong spirit. Yet we forget that sometimes we ourselves may be in the wrong and in need of healing. Thought #2 As a result of Hurricane Katrina, my best friends are housing their nephew, his wife, and three sons. One of their precious children has a lung deformity. If I have this all correctly, Cheese boy has had over 15 surgeries in his short 4 years of life, and be...

Friday was my first day at O'Bannon High School as a Student Teacher. Not too much eventful things occurred, but I do believe it's going to be an interesting year for me. The first rule of being a new teacher is not to smile until November. Veterans say that it's good for you to be stern and strict your first years of teaching so that the students don't take advantage of you. Well I realized Friday that not smiling is going to be extremely hard for me! One of the teacher's I was observing had a student who wouldn't quit talking. Finally he asked the student to take a note to another teacher, advising him to take the long way and to walk very slowly. About 5-10 minutes later, I saw the boy walking down the hall. In the front of every class at the very top of the wall, there are several windows. The student climbed on top of the lockers and got up in the window and started waving at the class. I instantly fell out laughing. I'm going to have a hard time stayin...

The Shane and Shane concert was great! I had great seats and the unmarried Shane stared at me the whole night! I think I'm in love!! *sigh* My friend reminded me that the only reason it looked as though the unmarried Shane was staring at me all night was because I was sitting directly in the middle of the audience. But a girl can dream can't she?? In all seriousness though, the concert was good. A duo named Monk & Neagle opened up for Shane and Shane and did a very good job. Check out their websites for more info. I went to the Mississippi State Bulldogs football game last night. Big shout out to my dawgs for pulling a good win of 38-6 over Murray State. For all of those of you who know that it is nothing to boost about when one beats Murray State....Shut Up! ;-) Hurricane victims still need all the help you can get. Our church is setting up a relief fund that will go directly to UPC church's in Mississippi. We are collecting anything that people wish to donate, not jus...