Originally Unoriginal

So things have been pretty deep around here lately, so I thought I would give everyone an update on all the other things going on in my life that aren't necessarily as spiritual or relational as everything else. This Wednesday I report back to work! I will officially be a teacher. No more Career Center sitting around doing nothing; this time a real, live teacher! I'm extremely excited, not yet nervous, but that will come! I had not allowed myself to think about school this summer. I wanted to enjoy my trip to England and savor all the moments without being stressed, and that's exactly what I did. I wasn't prepared for anything. I went up to the school today to get a key to my classroom and start gathering supplies, etc. I left a bit overwhelmed! I had nothing!! Nothing! I needed everything, and I had nothing! I had an empty desk, an empty file cabinet, bare walls. Whenever I went to school, the teachers had everything they needed. Now I'm a bit stresse...

Today, the man in charge of an outreach program called Arms of Mercy spoke to our Sunday School class. The man shared his testimony of how he became an alcoholic at the age of 15 and how his life slowly declined as a result. It was not until the early 90's that this man was able to put down the alcohol and turn his life over to God. Now, this man has gone full time into reaching the dying souls of people that were just like him. He is currently doing street services on the roughest areas of Greenville, and his ministry is trying to begin a three-quarter home for men. He shared his dreams and told us what we could do to help it all become a reality. I sat and cried with this man as he shared his burden and passion with out class. I couldn't help but think about how wide God's love is and how deep His Grace is that He would save us from our sins. Why shouldn't we want to share that with others. Even those that are the least in the Father's house! The leader of ...

Please pardon me, but I'm staying on the topic of the opposite sex for this post. However this time I'm not ranting and raving; I'm actually seeking an answer to a possibly unanswerable question. How do you show enough interest in someone without coming across as forward or needy? How can you show enough interest to not totally write them off, yet enough to let them know that you do want to be friends. I'm a firm believer in "honesty is the best policy." However, when you are first getting to know someone, it would be a bit awkward to be brutally honest. Example conversation: Me: I know we just met 2 days ago but I'm really interested in you. I would love to email, text, or call you on a regular basis. Please don't take it as a sign that I'm madly in love with you and want to be the mother of your children. If you don't like me back, I'll be more than capable of moving on. I don't want you talking behind my back to other people...

| View | Add Favorite Here are a few of the hundreds of pictures I took while in England. Enjoy!

First, I have to say that spiritual things are getting better and better every day! But this post is not about spiritual things.... I met a guy, Kountry Boy, who is sweeter than sweet tea but countrier than corn bread. He's very good looking, makes good money, has a good family, and loves Jesus. But he's countrier than corn bread. He's called a few times, invited me down to a conference, even offered to drive to Greenville and bring me down there. But he is countrier than corn bread. There is nothing wrong with being country. I love to ride horses and go muddawgin' with 4-wheelers. However, there is a cultured side of me that likes to travel to London and discuss politics. There is a side of me that firmly believes that a truck CAN be TOO big! Does this make me a bad person? NO. Does this make someone different than me a bad person? NO. Does it mean I should suck it up and date this person regardless? NO! Why should I settle for less than I want just because he's a ...

A month ago, I had the opportunity to teach a lesson in my Sunday School class. I discussed a book entitled " Starving Jesus: 40 Days of Nothing ". I talked about how as Christians, we need to reach out to people less fortunate than us, etc. Well this morning, I had another chance to teach Sunday School again. I just finished the book "So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore ." I told the class that I would be speaking about the book, but that I had a personal story to tell first. That way they could understand why this book meant so much to me. I began to explain some of the turmoil I went through in the past year . I talked about how I buried the hurt of my grandmother dying while I was in Hot Springs, only to let it bombard me when I returned home last summer. I also explained that I felt out of place and was only more alienated when I felt I had been mistreated by "Christians". People I loved hurt my feelings, I got blamed for things I didn'...

**For Undisclosed Reasons the name Batman originally used in this post is now being changed to Spiderman! Sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation! -- Management!** So 2 years ago I bumped into Spiderman and his friends, literally, at a conference. What started as an awkward apology and some brief introductions has turned into a blossoming friendship. At the first meeting, we decided to all hang out together for the remaining two days, and then after we all left, we promised to keep in touch. After several emails and phone calls, we decided another rendezvous at the conference the next year was in order. A few more days of hanging out and enjoying each other's company the following year, let us know we had a deep bond. More emails and phone calls ensued. We were there for each other to vent to, and it usually ended with a sermon or a encouraging word to get us through our latest trial. And just like the past 2 years, we agreed that we had to meet up again. Th...

THE MIRACLE I'm in Hot Springs visiting Sunshine and other friends. This morning I got up to find Sunshine fighting with her internet. (She's a medical transcriptionist, and needs her DSL). She got on the phone with her internet provider, ordered a new 2-wire modem. While on the phone she was happy to find out that her monthly bill would be lowered $10 a month for the next year. Our only option was to head to her in-laws, which meant packing up her computer, her baby, and everything that goes with all of that and going across town. Sunshine decided to try her internet one more time. As she reconnected all of the wiring she laid hands on the modem and began to pray. "Jesus, You know I have a lot of work to do today. It would be such a hassle to take everything to my in-laws, and I really wanted to spend time with Kim while she is here. Lord, I'm asking you to make this internet work. If for some reason you decided not to, I know you have a reason for it. But I'm ask...

Ahh. The refreshing feeling that comes after District Campmeeting. I usually am not a camp goer. I have to work, or I don't have anywhere to stay, or just don't have the money to go and eat out every night. Now that I'm a teacher with summer's off...I got money and time. Thankfully, I have a friend who let me crash at his house. (Don't worry, he still lives at home with his folks.) Doug White preached the last 3 nights of our Camp Meeting services this year. If God had a brother, it would be this man. I tell you the word of God that comes forth out of him is just amazing. Every time I hear him preach, I always come back refreshed. Last night service was phenomenal. I made God a promise that everytime I get frustrated, I'll listen to the CD of that service. I may need to make a copy of that CD because it will probably get worn out pretty quickly. On a completely different note, camp meeting is a great time to fellowship. I usually get to see people from around th...

I was driving home tonight and had to go through a lot of farm land. It was just pure country. The moon was full and bright. It was so bright that it actually offered more light than normal for the moon. I drove across the bridge connecting Arkansas and Mississippi and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the river looked with the moon reflecting down and it cascading across the water. My sunroof was open and Rascal Flatts was blaring on my stereo. It was a night right out of a country music song. Tonight was good. There wasn't anything special about tonight. I did spend time with some good friends, but I can't say the activities were extravagant. Just some pizza and baseball. Yet for some reason, as I drove across the Mighty Mississippi River, I had a feeling that everything was finally alright. Almost a year later and that cold, dark road has seen some light. It wasn't a big bright light, just the light of a full summer moon. As I was driving tonight, the song ...

So apparently, throwing up the American peace sign (the pointer and middle finger) is the same thing as sticking up your Middle Finger in England. No one warned me. I'm at this Cathedral checking out this statue of baby Jesus. The priest woman inside is looking at me. I smile back at her like the nice American tourist. I go back to observing the statue and mention to my mom that Baby Jesus is trying to give the peace sign. In this statue he has his pointer and middle finger up, but they are together and not parted. So I make the peace sign gesture (fingers apart) while commenting about baby Jesus to my mother. The priest woman is still eyeing me, now with a different expression. I didn't find out that I was flipping Baby Jesus off until later that day. I felt like the dumb American tourist for sure! ************* Hotel rooms are small in Europe. Unlike America where we have so much room, England is a small island and so they do their best to consolidate. No space is...

While I was in London, a tour guide commented during one of his many interesting mini-lectures that England itself was not a very religious country. In it's earliest conceptions, the country was Roman Catholic. Of course as many know, King Henry VIII changed all of that when he broke away from the Roman Catholic church and created the Church of England (Anglican Church) because of a disagreement with the Pope. Old Henry wanted to divorce his wife because she didn't bear him a male child, and the Pope didn't allow divorces. The Anglican church is basically the same as the Catholic except they don't honor the Pope. But even with their own special church, people in England still are not extremely religious. My cousins that I was visiting with during my stay in England do not attend church. My cousin's boyfriend told me that he had never once been in a church until a few years ago when he attended a wedding there. My cousin insisted that the churches there were j...

Have you missed me??? Well I have missed getting to share all my fun with everyone here in blogland. It seems like months, not weeks, since I've posted. So much has happened, I'm not even sure where to begin....so I'll just start! England was magnificent! It was everything I imagined, yet completely different all at the same time. If you've never been, GO! You deserve to explore the world! I spent time at Stratford upon Avon and visited William Shakespeare birthplace. I toured Warwick Castle that dates back to 1066 with William the Conqueror's reign. I shopped at the Bullring in Birmingham, and also perused a few open markets. I spent 3 days in London, sightseeing, shopping, and just soaking up the history. I'm not sure if you were aware of this here in the US, but Cadbury chocolate had a salmonella scare. They are a huge chocolate company in England (the makers of Cadbury cream Eggs, etc.). We spent a day at Cadbury World taste-testing chocolate an...

Greetings from the UK! My mom and I arrived safely with no troubles. We are staying here at my cousins home. Yesterday and today have been lazy days. We've visited with family and had time to get over jet lag. Tomorrow we are off to Stratford upon Avon, the home of old William himself. Wednesday is probably a tour of Warwick Castle. Next week is 3 days in London. There is no telling where else we will end up. Everyone wants to take us somewhere special. The weather has been cloudy with a few showers. The temperatures have been in the 60's, possibly the low 70's. I'm amazed at how we speak the same language yet the dialect still causes huge barriers in understanding one another. I'm learning quick how to pick up the slang terms. I think I'll be speaking with a cockney accent in no time! I don't have much more time to write. I may be able to post later in the week. If not, I promise to give a full update when I return home in 2 weeks! Ta-Da!

It seems like everything is packed and ready to go. I head out for England in 16 hours! I cannot wait!!! I bought a t-shirt that says "Everyone loves an American Girl" to wear while I'm in London. My dad says a terrorist will probably see that and shoot me down. You have to love my dad's sense of humor! My brother and I went to see Nacho Libre today. It was a stupid, funny movie. We have movie dates every once in a while. I'm glad we got to have one before I leave the country. I'm only going to be gone for 2 weeks, but it seems like I'm going away for months! My song for this trip: For anyone who is a fan of 3 Doors Down...."I woke up today in London as the plane was touching down..."

A few weeks ago my cell phone died as many of you know. Thanks to the help of a good friend, I was able to purchase the Pink Razr V3. Fast forward to this past Sunday morning. Someone stole my brand new cell phone. I had left the phone in my purse inside the College and Career classroom before service. No one was back there but me. I turned my phone on vibrate, put it back in my purse and shut the door behind me. I didn't think anything about leaving my purse unattended. It's church for crying out loud. When I got back to the room, I picked up my purse and set beside my chair. Towards the end of class, I dug through my purse to find get my phone and it wasn't there. I figured someone took it as a joke and would return it. When class was ended I asked who had my phone and no one had it. I didn't have time to question everyone, so I left. I thought whoever had it would return it to me soon enough. By mid afternoon I was beginning to get worried. I headed up to the church ...

I'm warning you in advance. If you don't want to know anything about the new movie The Break Up , do not read this post. You have been warned! Tonight my friend, Science Guy, and I went to watch the new Jennifer Aniston, Vince Vaughn movie, The Break Up. The movie is hilarious. I'm talking about laugh at loud funny moments. I'm sitting in my seat thinking, who can I talk into coming and seeing this with me again tomorrow. I'm enjoying this movie that much. Towards the end of the movie, I start getting really angry with Aniston's character, Brooke. For those of you who don't know what the movie's about, it is based solely on the break up of this couple (Brooke and Gary) and their fight over the condo they live in. As the movie begins to close, we come to the typical part of the movie where the guy realizes how big of a screw up he is. He sees the error of his ways and gives a heck of an apology. To which Brooke replies, "I don't feel the same wa...

"I'm not going to tell you I can't live without you. I can live without you....I just don't want to." -- Jennifer Aniston from Rumor Has It I've always had an issue with being wanted rather than being needed. I guess it stems from the fact that I'm such an independent person. I've always been raised with parents who were doers. That makes me a doer. It's very rare that I actually call on someone to help me with much of anything. On the flip side, because I'm such a take charge kind of person, people often rely on me. People need me all the time. I do like being needed. I like the fact that people feel they can rely on me and that I'm a dependable person. However, the fact that I'm needed all the time does wear me out. There are times where I don't want to be needed. I just want to be wanted. I know of certain situations that I've walked away from because I felt that everyone needed me, but no one really wanted me. There is a hu...

It seems to be one punch after another. I'm not sure if it's all this bad is just a "season in my life" or if it has always existed and I'm just old enough now to realize it. Either way, it really needs to stop. A man from our church was found dead Saturday. He has one son who is a part of our youth group and the drama team. That boy doesn't have any family that he's close to. There isn't a mother in the picture. That boy's whole world is gone. I can't even begin to imagine. My pastor and his wife have signed a letter of resignation. My pastor has suffered from a stroke that left his memory pretty fragmented. We also found out he has been diagnosed with alzheimer's. We will have to vote in our Associate Pastor as our new pastor next week. I have no doubts that our Associate Pastor, Bro. Cantu, can handle the job. He's been doing so now for a while due to circumstances. I even already speculated something greater was plaguing my pastor. ...

Sorry for the long delay in posting. It's been extremely busy here the past week. Here's an update! School is out for the summer! I'm not sure who looks forward to the vacation more, the students or the teachers! I did get a contract with the school district to teach in August. However, the superintendent is still not sure what school or what class he's going to put me in. I'm not concerned. I have a piece of paper saying they have to pay me. That's all I'm concerned about! I sent in my FINAL payment on my car! OH Happy Day!! It's so good to know that my car is bought and paid for. It's been a long 5 years through college and all to get it paid for, but it is done. My dad says, "You can start looking for you a good new car now." HA! No I sure won't. I've stated that I'm not planning on getting a new car until the tires fall off and the engine blows up on the one I got. I like that extra few hundred dollars a mont...