The day the earth stood still

This post might look like a million other American's posts, but I do not think anyone will mind...

 Eleven years ago today at 6:46 in the morning the twin towers were hit by terrorists. I was eight years old. I did not know what the twin towers were, yet alone what terrorists were or why they would do anything like this to my country. I remember so vividly awaking with a start and knowing that something was different. I saw video after video, the smoke, the shock, the screams, the tears, the death. It was one of the longest days of my life, and I can remember where I have been almost every September 11 since then. Every year something specific sticks out to make me go back to that day. Today when I was getting ready for my day and for class and all that, I was watching the news for a bit and they were holding a moment of silence to remember 9/11. They rang a bell to begin the moment of silence and I would almost swear that the earth stood still again for that moment in time. In that moment that day came back to me like a rush, and I could not help but shed some tears. If that day had not happened I know that my life would most likely look different. I would still have friends around who left to defend from future attacks, I might not have gotten so involved in sending care packages to our troops, I might not have become to interested in learning about other people and cultures...so many things would most likely look different in my life, and I cannot even begin to describe how or why....

Thank you to those who risked their lives that fateful day to save others. Thank you to those who laid down their lives on that day and since then to protect and defend this country and its members. Thank You Lord for this country!



Image:http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&rlz=1C1AVSX_enUS447US459&biw=1092&bih=533&tbm=isch&tbnid=X5FZBXROjJ7_RM:&imgrefurl=http://tributetoamericansacrifice.blogspot.com/&docid=Pq2zKKJOU8N9CM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQQuJ9jEBiySsIbYbo3LFUJkMoiMnOTkAP3gelIBH-aY7mDByNCwByYYTRxDo8hirNu9RvSuGRCQu0sNhB04GDGi-10A7OViYo8ipvuITUrUQo9L7DaY7WHmDu8Uj_4ySZPuEO2k2XMg/s1600/9-11_TwinTowersAmericanFlagClouds.jpg&w=500&h=658&ei=R_lPUMXBJOioiAK7_IHYDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=94&vpy=135&dur=18&hovh=259&hovw=196&tx=157&ty=105&sig=101697015095205137120&page=1&tbnh=170&tbnw=132&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:73

19 years old? or 19 years young?

19 years old, or 19 years young? It is a question that I had not really thought to much about before. I am nineteen years old. I have had nineteen years to gather, and store information and experiences, but then on the flip side of that I have only had nineteen years to collect information. I found out today that I am the youngest person in my program at UNM. There is one girl who is twenty and she is the closest to my age. I am anywhere from a year to twenty years younger than my peers. On average I am probably about four years younger than those in the same program. This is exciting in that I am the youngest, no one else my age is where I am! but again there is that flip side. I am the only one my age in this program so I am going through it with less life experience than my peers and when people know how old I am they do a double take. Usually people do place me at being four years older than I am, but this week for the first time in eons I was asked if I am in high school. This may seem like an exaggeration, and yes, the word eons is, but I have rarely been asked about my age because people have always assumed that I am much older than I am. As if that made any sense... Anyway, I was asked by the teachers at the school I am teaching at if I am a high school student. They seem to sense that even though I am a student teacher I am rather young. I guess when it all boils down I am very excited to be where I am today. Without God and the special people He has blessed me with there is no way I could be where I am today. I may have to prove a little bit more than some, but life is supposed to be a challenge, right?? :)

TEACHING!! :D

To all of you who read my blog I am so sorry for slacking off! I love to write, but I have sadly not been writing very much! Anyway, as usual I shall ramble on about different things and hope that you all aren't to terribly bored, though if you are you can go on FB or something and leave this so I suppose I shall continue for those of you who care to read about my life :)
UNM (University of New Mexico AKA: University Near Mom AKA (this one is from the jocks) University of Gnarly Men.. and so the list continues) started on Monday and I had seven and a half hours worth of classes and I was at UNM for about nine hours total. Made for a bit of a long day, but I was pretty excited about my classes. To those who do not know I am an elementary ed major so my field is teaching and this semester is my core curriculum so I am finally getting into all the teaching classes and programs and I get to start help teaching an actual class of fourth graders this year! :D I am soooo excited beyond belief to start in my program! To really start learning more about kids, how they learn and how to teach! And I get to put it into practice! The possibilities! Anymore teaching is considered a profession for those who might want an easy degree or those who can deal with kids and not the real world and stuff like that, but there is a LOT that goes into teaching so let me dissuade any stereotypes and all that! A teacher has to be on their feet all day, they have to keep a classroom of maybe forty children engaged, make sure they don't fight and make sure they all learn what they are supposed to. We have to make it fun, we have to make sure that the kids survival needs are being met. As for dealing with people how many of you have thought of the parents?!?! Angry parents, happy parents, confused parents... there are a lot of different types of parents and they will speak their minds to teachers... Anyway, it may not seem like much, but I am SO happy to be given the opportunity to teach! It is not granted to many. There are approximately sixty students (out of possibly hundreds) who were chosen to go through this program. Sixty of us chosen as the educators of tomorrow. Again, it may not seem like much, but God has richly blessed me ^_^ <3

Chicken Sandwich for all

Well, everyone seems to have something to say about what is going on at Chik fil a so I thought that I would get my say in as well. Many people right now are saying it is just a sandwich that your personal beliefs and how you demonstrate them at a restaurant doesn't matter. That a sandwich is just a sandwich. That waffle fries, lemonade, and chicken strips and nuggets are just food. Why do big corporations views matter anyway?? The thing is it isn't about the food or even about the corporation itself it is a movement that stresses an idea. I was at Chik fil a on Wednesday, but does that make me a "hater"? NO!!! I do not hate anyone! I am a Christian (which most of you should know by now) and I do not think that gay marriage is right in God's sight, but I also know that my sin is not right in God's eyes either. We all sin in different ways, and I am not trying to condone any sin of any sort!!!! The point I am trying to make is simply I do wrong and you do wrong, and I am not going to say that it is okay, or reason out that somehow it is alright, but what I am trying to say is that people are ready for a change in America. I believe that God has got big plans for this country. Supporting Chik fil a was not reasoned in my mind as a way to say that I am holier than though or that I hate others for their lifestyles and beliefs, it was however a way for me to show support for a community that is standing up for what the Bible says is true. This may seem like the same thing perhaps, but it is not! There is a big difference between support and protest! :) Way to often I see people back down (and sadly I have as well) for what they believe in their hearts to be true. They know, but they are to afraid to stand up.
I saw a story just a little bit ago on a news program that showed a man who went through the Chik fil a drive through and got a free water (he said so that he could take away at least a little bit of the money chik fil a was making). He then proceeded to harass the woman who was at the window about how she shouldn't be able to live with herself because the company she works for is so hateful and is not accepting or anything. She said in so many words that they serve anyone and they do not show discrimination against anyone, and she told him to have a nice day, but he continued to badger her. Now I realize that I am biased, but is it just me that perceives that that man had more hateful intentions than the lady at the window had?? He spent time, energy, and gas money to tell someone that they are wrong, that they shouldn't be able to live with themselves. He tried to bring her low and make her feel terrible about herself, and yet she is the hateful one??? Maybe I am missing something, but this is the way I see it.
As far as I know no one in charge at any Chik fil a has said anything hateful against gay's or any other people, but they are facing a protest? Again, this is a movement. Not for chicken, but for God. People are sick of having to constantly see and deal with ungodliness. Men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Constantly being barraged by sin, and if buying a sandwich supports a place that is willing to uphold its Biblical belief's then I am having a chicken sandwich.
My prayer in this is that God will bless Chik fil a. That He will use them to bring people to God. That no one would get hurt in the protests that are to ensue, and that maybe some peace can be found in the midst of this.  I also pray that God would bring this nation back to Him, so that when I say the pledge of allegiance I can truly say "One Nation Under God, Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All." By the way notice the FOR ALL part!! Not just Christians, chicken sandwiches for all....
I hope I made my points clear, but if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them.

Blessings

I do love to write, but at times I find that I do not know what you talk about! I could ramble on for hours on end about some topic that you could become very bored with or I could find something to inspire you about. Well, I have neither in my head right now in the moment, though you may already be thinking that I am rambling on.... Anyway! I just wanted to write for a little bit about all my blessings. Too often I complain about what I do not have or what has gone wrong, but I so rarely stop to count my blessings. First off I serve the most AWESOME God EVER!!! He is the creator of the universe (which I must add is very large ;) ) and yet He still cares for me! I am so unworthy. I constantly do wrong and though I would like to say I try, I fall short of the kind of follower He should have. I am not perfect, yet what continually amazes me is that He sees me as perfect! What a great deal! I love Him and try my best to honor and glorify Him, in my heart, thoughts, speech, and action and even when in my eyes I have failed yet again He still loves me and sees me as perfect! I cannot get any better than that :) And btw it is unconditional love! I do not have to DO anything to keep His love! It is MINE! :D Secondly my family! I come from a fairly large family, I have 7 siblings. They are all amazing in some way or another, and yes they sometimes bug me beyond belief, but I love them so much :) They do things to make me laugh, and when they get hurt in some way I will cry with them, but even the three year old teaches me things :) And I have the most amazing parents ever! They both love the Lord very much! My dad travels an hour to work and an hour home everyday so we can live where we do! My mom is superwoman! She runs a house with ten people in it and yet she still manages to save some time to spend with us each individually :) And again, I could ramble..... but to get to the point they are amazing :) Thirdly my friends. I have some who are really close, and others I only see and/or talk to every now and then, but I have some pretty neat friends :) They constantly bless and encourage me and when I am having a rough day they never cease to make me smile about something or show me a light at the end of my tunnel. They pray for me, laugh with me, tease me, love me, and help me and I do not think I could ask for better friends :) Thanks guys!!!! And the last thing I am going to talk about though I could go on and on about how blessed I am is my thankfulness for the church. It seeks to build me up and encourage me! and for anyone who may not know what I am talking about exactly here is how I see the church, The church is a body or bodies of believers whose common goal is to worship and please God, and even if I do not know someone I can pray for them with all my heart.
I am blessed beyond belief, though I do not always see that. May each of you count your blessings today and be blessed :)

Semester 5 DONE!

Well, semester five of my college career is now complete. As of yesterday at approximately 8 am in the morning I finished all of the work required for my minor in social studies! YAY! I am so happy to be done with school for the semester! :) This semester, like all semesters, has held  new challenges for me. This was my first semester at the University of New Mexico so even though I am used to college in general the new atmosphere definitely changed some things. This semester I was pick- pocketed, heard my professor yell in Spanish, and French. Saw people get a whistle blown at them till they woke up, found out how necessary coffee can be, and also how much I REALLY NEED my good Christian friends!( <(") and duck pond people, you know who you are!!!!) :) I learned and experienced many more things, but there isn't nearly the time to write about every single thing that happened! I took public speaking this semester which challenged me in numerous ways. I do not particularly like being in front of people, but for the most part I was able to get rid of any fear I had of speaking in public :) One day when I was talking to my professor afterwards about the way I speak she told me that even though my gestures and eye contact are not perfect it did not matter because when I spoke I had something important to say and people would listen to me. This meant a lot to me! A lot of the time I feel as though my voice does not matter, and that no one is going to listen to me, but knowing that some people do listen to me (btw thank you to all of you who read my blog (thus listening to my ranting :)! I greatly appreciate it!!) is really important to me. Also, my professor in that class is a Christian! How amazing is that!! :) In American Government I am not sure I can tell you in consolidated sentences about that class... It was a interesting. I learned some interesting stuff, but overall not a terribly exciting class. In Comparative Politics I had a prof who blew whistles, yelled in different languages and was a very......interesting. And before I lose my head on that one I believe I will stop! I have already ranted far to much about that teacher! And last, but not least Human Geography! It was a pretty good class. The material was interesting and the second prof was a really neat guy, and funny too! A little over a month ago our class got a brand new teacher because the other one had gotten really sick :/ I feel really bad for him, but I really, really, really liked our newer professor! On the final he put so many different puns and jokes! On one of the multiple choice questions he asked what decolonization is and one of the choices was "a surgery in which someone gets their colon removed" :D You can't get a much better final than one that has jokes in it! :) I met and got to know so many people this semester. Some people have really blessed me, and others have taught me new levels of patience, but God brought each of them into my life for some reason :) And again I would like to thank those who have kept me sane!! Thank you to <(") (I am not sure they want their name in here) my bestest friend of this world! And to my public speaking friends for making me laugh so hard I cried. And my duck pond friend who helped me escape and relax :D

Almost done!

Well, I am ALMOST DONE with semester one at UNM! It has been an interesting experience with both good and bad mixed in there, but I suppose most any experience in life will bring you a bit of both.
I am soooooo looking forward to summer! This will be my first semester off of school for five semesters! I am looking forward to the academic break! I will keep staying busy though! And I will write more! Which I have sadly not been doing enough of! I love to write, but sometimes after having to stare at a textbook for hours or listen to a particularly boring lecture I just can't seem to think of anything to write! Though I must admit that even with how much i am looking forward to summer I am also really looking forward to this fall. I start my student teaching and I actually get to be in a class room leaning to teach (I am I the only one who sees irony is learning to teach? being taught to teach...). When I went to my student teaching orientation the lecture that was given was quiet interesting! Tom Keys told us that being a teacher is the hardest job that anyone can have. Even a brain surgeon has an easier job, they are working on one brain, with lots of assistants, whereas teachers often times work all by themselves on around thirty brains. I had never thought of teaching in this light before.  Teaching is not a glamorous job, but the things that I love are plastic/ noodle necklaces, and pictures where I am extremely tall with flowers all around me on construction paper :) Anyway, now that I have wasted your time reading something that really isn't that important I wish all of you who are in school good luck with the rest of the semester and hope that you all have an amazing summer! :)