October 3rd, 1984, was a significant day for me. It was 30 years ago today. I was in second grade. My baby sister Cherith had just been born. She was two weeks old.
I walked home from school that day and then commenced playing with my other sister Katrina. We were climbing on the batting cage by the baseball field that was practically next door to our house, which stood on the property of Pensacola Christian.
It was an ordinary day until something unexpected happened.
My oh-so-daring, older brother Stephen had shown me a day or two earlier how to climb to the top of this batting cage, scoot out to the middle with his feet dangling several feet above the ground, let go of the bar with his hands, and then drop to the ground. Now was my chance to try this.
I was a bit apprehensive at first, but my adventurous self wanted to know how fun it would be, so I threw caution to the wind and tried it. I climbed up exactly how he had shown me. I then scooted out to the middle where my feet dangled much further from the ground than my brother's, considering I was three years younger than he. I let go and dropped. It was exhilarating. I had to try this again.
I ran back around to the place where I had first climbed up. I took one step up onto a bar. I took another-- Or did I? This is where my mind cannot clearly recount the events of the rest of this very significant day in my young little life.
I fell that day. After one or two steps up onto that batting cage, I fell. As I fell, my two front teeth caught one of the bars and were knocked completely out.
I have pieced together the events that took place after I fell by listening to the stories I've been told by my dad, mom, sister, and my brother.
My sister Katrina ran into the house first to tell my mom what had happened. This I'm sure softened the blow somewhat because if I had run in the house first with all the blood that was pouring down my face and all over my clothes, she may have had a heart attack. So here's six-year-old Katrina telling my mother that I am hurt. My mother, who is still caring for an infant, is mortified when she sees me come in the door. She calls my dad who was still at work, and he comes home to take me to the hospital. My brother is somewhere in there. He has his own (suspicious) side to the story. (My theory is that he somehow caused the fall, but that is another blog entirely.)
My first clear memory is of my dad driving me to the hospital. I was in the front seat of our station wagon with a yellow washcloth held to my mouth to catch the blood. My dad said to me, "It's going to be all right. I'm taking you to the emergency room."
At the hospital, my head was x-rayed. The teeth had indeed been knocked out and not pushed up inside my head. So, word was sent home for my brother and sister to look for the teeth. My brother (suspiciously) found the teeth six feet from where I had fallen.
This is the part of the story that I get tired of telling. Yes, Katrina always says, "When we found the teeth, they had ants crawling on them!" Yes, they did put those teeth back into my mouth. Yes, it's gross. Anyway, I had braces for a short period to hold the teeth in place. After the braces came off, one of the teeth slowly started making its way back out until finally one day my gums split back open, exposing the root, and that tooth had to be removed.
The other tooth had to be removed eventually as well because it had fused to a bone and wasn't lined up with the rest of my teeth. By then I was in the sixth grade. I got braces again to straighten the rest of my teeth and to also make room for a bridge to fit in the toothless gap.
I went from 2nd to 8th grade without a proper set of front teeth. Yeah. As if my glasses wearing face needed something else to make it look awkward. Thanks a lot, God.
I say that sarcastically, but I actually mean it. I'm glad that this happened to me. As a child, I did not understand the importance of something bad happening to a person. I always wondered why. I was really shy and awkward as a child. This added to that. I can remember crying at night as I was falling asleep wondering if I would ever have teeth again.
This was all part of His plan. He was turning me into something He needed me to be. He needed me to smile without showing my teeth for about six or seven years. He needed me to see life through those nerdy, thick glasses. He apparently needed me to ride around my school on a scooter for four to six weeks when I was 36 years old. And you know what? I needed Him to help me do those things because if I were in charge of it all, I would never choose to do the hard stuff. And without the experience of these things, I could never build my own character.
I will say it again. Thanks a lot, God. I do blame You for this, but I also sincerely thank you.
Rachel Lee
Let's Break Our Fast
Friday, October 3, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
"Mmm... Donuts." --Homer Simpson
"Not Knowing." That could be the title of this post, if it weren't for the sake of continuity. For starters, I'm writing and "not knowing" what it is I need to say. However, when I read my Bible and the Lord says to me, "Sit. Write." I do it.
There are a lot of things that we frequently don't know. We don't know what we're having for dinner. We don't know what we're going to wear. We don't know if we'll be sick for two days next week or if we'll be healthy all week. It could even be something bigger. Like, for instance, we don't know the impact we're having on our children. We don't know if our personal witness is having any effect. Or we don't know if the advice we've given was good or bad.
The truth is that in those cases, "not knowing" is not that important. We aren't supposed to know some things. Not knowing will not affect the outcome. We can worry ourselves into anemia, and we still will not affect the outcome. God knows. That is enough.
So where should "not knowing" really have an impact on us?
Chris, Jon, Cami, Wade, Leslie, my mom, my dad, Tina, Kayla, Vida (well, pretty much her whole family), Lynn, John Mark, Matthew, Madeline, Byron, Jonathan, Charlie, Cindy, Inez, Jenni, David Spade... These are the names of people that came to mind. Every name here represents a lost mother, wife, father, brother, sister, spouse, daughter, son, and even best friend.
We sit this close to death every day. "Not knowing" if we even have years ahead of us to make an impact. "Not knowing" if we have ONE year, let alone several. Speak to any one of these people and I guarantee you they can tell you how real death is, and how close it is to us. We do not know if we have the next ten minutes, or even the next ten seconds.
"Not knowing" should make us want to relish every moment. "Not knowing" should awaken us to how short life is and how real death is. "Not knowing" should make us want to be the hands and feet of Jesus all the time! Not only that, but the eyes and ears and mouth as well. We should be going and telling and giving and loving others the way Christ has loved us. If we know that we have received God's forgiveness and have a place that He has prepared for us, we should be shouting it to the world!
What we do NOT know, should motivate us to spread the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
What we DO know, should motivate us to spread the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
"And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life." -- I John 5:20 (NLT)
There are a lot of things that we frequently don't know. We don't know what we're having for dinner. We don't know what we're going to wear. We don't know if we'll be sick for two days next week or if we'll be healthy all week. It could even be something bigger. Like, for instance, we don't know the impact we're having on our children. We don't know if our personal witness is having any effect. Or we don't know if the advice we've given was good or bad.
The truth is that in those cases, "not knowing" is not that important. We aren't supposed to know some things. Not knowing will not affect the outcome. We can worry ourselves into anemia, and we still will not affect the outcome. God knows. That is enough.
So where should "not knowing" really have an impact on us?
Chris, Jon, Cami, Wade, Leslie, my mom, my dad, Tina, Kayla, Vida (well, pretty much her whole family), Lynn, John Mark, Matthew, Madeline, Byron, Jonathan, Charlie, Cindy, Inez, Jenni, David Spade... These are the names of people that came to mind. Every name here represents a lost mother, wife, father, brother, sister, spouse, daughter, son, and even best friend.
We sit this close to death every day. "Not knowing" if we even have years ahead of us to make an impact. "Not knowing" if we have ONE year, let alone several. Speak to any one of these people and I guarantee you they can tell you how real death is, and how close it is to us. We do not know if we have the next ten minutes, or even the next ten seconds.
"Not knowing" should make us want to relish every moment. "Not knowing" should awaken us to how short life is and how real death is. "Not knowing" should make us want to be the hands and feet of Jesus all the time! Not only that, but the eyes and ears and mouth as well. We should be going and telling and giving and loving others the way Christ has loved us. If we know that we have received God's forgiveness and have a place that He has prepared for us, we should be shouting it to the world!
What we do NOT know, should motivate us to spread the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
What we DO know, should motivate us to spread the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
"And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life." -- I John 5:20 (NLT)
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Cappucino Please, With Hazelnut
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." -- Psalm 19:1
This morning I was able to see something I wouldn't normally see. The sunrise. My son has archery practice before school every morning, and I have somehow been able to weasel out of taking him until today.
With my eyes only half open, I got up and slipped on a pair of shoes, found a bandana to cover my hair rollers, and grabbed my keys, wallet, and a jacket.
Before we were even out of our neighborhood, my son tells me, "I have a note for you to sign. Also, I need ten dollars." I turned left out of our neighborhood instead of right toward the school, so I could stop at the ATM.
"You're gonna be a little late," I told him. Thinking about this now, I'm pretty sure we were right on time. I mean on God's time, not ours. He needed to show us something.
As we drove toward the school, I began to notice the sunrise. "How cute," were my thoughts at first. However, the closer we drove to the school, the bigger the sunrise became. The clouds were all pink and were offset by the sky which was a brilliant shade of blue that I'm pretty sure I'd never seen up there before.
I pointed it out to my son. "Look at the sunrise. Does it always look like that? Look at the blue."
Maybe he was still half asleep, or maybe my voice was half awake, but his response was, "Huh? Wha-? Where's the moon?"
"Not 'the moon.' I said, 'the blue.' Look at the blue."
"Oh, yeah." He had apparently never even noticed the sunrise before on his way to archery practice. Maybe it had never been like this before.
I quoted the verse to him. "'The heavens declare the glory of God,'" and told him, "That sky is what that verse is talking about. It's God saying, 'Here I am.'"
I dropped him off at the gym and headed back to turn onto the main road. I was a little saddened that now I would be driving in the opposite direction and would not be able to see the sunrise.
I turned right at the stop sign, thinking the Lord was finished showing me Himself, and guess what was in the sky in front of me now. The moon. "Oh, there's the moon." Too bad I couldn't tell my son I had found it. It had a lovely halo around it that stood out in the midst of all the grey sky surrounding it.
That got me thinking about how when we look back at things, sometimes we see a lot of grey, but then there's a light in the midst of all that grey that seems to be the focal point. It made me wonder if others could still focus on the Light with all the grey I have in my past.
Within seconds my eyes began to fill with tears. That sunrise that I thought I had seen the last of had somehow spread all the way across the sky, and I could see the pink reflecting off the grey clouds in front of me. My thoughts went to the words I had just told my son, "It's God saying, 'Here I am.'"
To me He was saying, "I was there, and I'm still here."
This morning I was able to see something I wouldn't normally see. The sunrise. My son has archery practice before school every morning, and I have somehow been able to weasel out of taking him until today.
With my eyes only half open, I got up and slipped on a pair of shoes, found a bandana to cover my hair rollers, and grabbed my keys, wallet, and a jacket.
Before we were even out of our neighborhood, my son tells me, "I have a note for you to sign. Also, I need ten dollars." I turned left out of our neighborhood instead of right toward the school, so I could stop at the ATM.
"You're gonna be a little late," I told him. Thinking about this now, I'm pretty sure we were right on time. I mean on God's time, not ours. He needed to show us something.
As we drove toward the school, I began to notice the sunrise. "How cute," were my thoughts at first. However, the closer we drove to the school, the bigger the sunrise became. The clouds were all pink and were offset by the sky which was a brilliant shade of blue that I'm pretty sure I'd never seen up there before.
I pointed it out to my son. "Look at the sunrise. Does it always look like that? Look at the blue."
Maybe he was still half asleep, or maybe my voice was half awake, but his response was, "Huh? Wha-? Where's the moon?"
"Not 'the moon.' I said, 'the blue.' Look at the blue."
"Oh, yeah." He had apparently never even noticed the sunrise before on his way to archery practice. Maybe it had never been like this before.
I quoted the verse to him. "'The heavens declare the glory of God,'" and told him, "That sky is what that verse is talking about. It's God saying, 'Here I am.'"
I dropped him off at the gym and headed back to turn onto the main road. I was a little saddened that now I would be driving in the opposite direction and would not be able to see the sunrise.
I turned right at the stop sign, thinking the Lord was finished showing me Himself, and guess what was in the sky in front of me now. The moon. "Oh, there's the moon." Too bad I couldn't tell my son I had found it. It had a lovely halo around it that stood out in the midst of all the grey sky surrounding it.
That got me thinking about how when we look back at things, sometimes we see a lot of grey, but then there's a light in the midst of all that grey that seems to be the focal point. It made me wonder if others could still focus on the Light with all the grey I have in my past.
Within seconds my eyes began to fill with tears. That sunrise that I thought I had seen the last of had somehow spread all the way across the sky, and I could see the pink reflecting off the grey clouds in front of me. My thoughts went to the words I had just told my son, "It's God saying, 'Here I am.'"
To me He was saying, "I was there, and I'm still here."
Saturday, January 5, 2013
I've Been Craving Pancakes ... With Peanut Butter
Since the new year has begun, I have decided it is time to do a little review of those New Year's resolutions I made last year. Out of the four I made, I think I did fairly well in keeping them. Let's take a look.
1. Read through the Chronological Bible.
2. Go to an awesome concert like Newsboys or TobyMac.
3. Not going to let anyone push me around.
4. I'm gonna blog.
I did go to an awesome concert! I think that's my favorite fulfilled resolution. We had season tickets to Magic Springs over the summer and of the few concerts I did attend, NEWSBOYS was one of them. What an awesome concert. It was Legen -- wait for it -- dary.
As for not letting anyone push me around, I cut ties with certain people that were not of any benefit to me, my social life, or my spiritual life as well. In other words, people who were not of good influence and only brought me down. That does sound a bit cruel, but why should my life suffer because of those I've tried to help, but couldn't because the person never benefited or improved themselves from it and also took advantage, which led to them only being a burden to me and my family? I'm trying not to be too specific, so as not to hurt anyone's feelings, but hey, I've cut ties, so no one to whom this is referring will be reading it anyway.
I did not stay caught up on reading through the Chronological Bible. I did get behind on that. But it's a new year and I've started over, so I will do it this time around. I'm trying to incorporate several strategies at the same time so I will be able to follow through on this one.
And as for blogging? I posted two blogs last year. I think that counts.
Three out of four is pretty good considering most people keep none of the resolutions they make.
I actually did not make any resolutions this year. I feel like I would benefit more from maybe setting some goals of improving things that I already do. For instance, getting through MORE of the Chronological Bible than I did last year. Spending MORE time playing with my kids. That one shouldn't be too hard now that I am no longer in Nursing school. I would also like to keep in better touch with my friends. I have made a lot of friends going to school at UACCB and being in the musical "Beauty and the Beast" over the summer, and I've noticed that some people that I, at one time, spoke to on a daily basis are now just friends on facebook that I rarely see in real life. And when I do see them, we only have the friendly, casual, "acquaintance" type conversations that merely discuss weather, family, and what classes we're taking this semester. And that's only if the conversation gets past the "Hello! How are you?" point which rarely occurs. And this with people I once shared deep, meaningful, "secrets you only tell your bff" conversations. It really is in no way the fault of either person. Things change. Goals change. People go their separate ways. I keep thinking of the verse that says, "A man who has friends must show himself friendly..." I think maybe I just need to be MORE friendly.
So to recap, I would like to do the following things. I'll add MORE that have not been mentioned as well.
1. Read MORE of the Bible.
2. Spend MORE time playing with my kids than I already do.
3. Talk MORE to old friends.
4. Sing MORE.
5. Be MORE friendly.
6. Take MORE adventures.
7. Show MORE love to others.
8. Sing MORE.
9. Help others MORE.
10. Give MORE.
11. Post MORE blogs.
12. Sing MORE.
13. Add MORE things to this list.
Is it me or does the word "MORE" seem to not make any sense now? Anyway, you get the picture. I want to do MORE. And yes, I know I put "Sing MORE" three times. That one I think is one that even if I do it MORE, it still won't be enough. I can always, no matter how much I'm doing it, sing more.
I am fairly satisfied with my decision to not make resolutions and to instead do MORE of the things I am already doing. This seems like it will be beneficial to me. I already have a plan for two MORE blogs, so that one should be taken care of pretty soon.
Check back in the near future for my next post which will be a recap of 2012, and also another "List" type post of not my favorite things, but my most UNfavorite things.
1. Read through the Chronological Bible.
2. Go to an awesome concert like Newsboys or TobyMac.
3. Not going to let anyone push me around.
4. I'm gonna blog.
I did go to an awesome concert! I think that's my favorite fulfilled resolution. We had season tickets to Magic Springs over the summer and of the few concerts I did attend, NEWSBOYS was one of them. What an awesome concert. It was Legen -- wait for it -- dary.
As for not letting anyone push me around, I cut ties with certain people that were not of any benefit to me, my social life, or my spiritual life as well. In other words, people who were not of good influence and only brought me down. That does sound a bit cruel, but why should my life suffer because of those I've tried to help, but couldn't because the person never benefited or improved themselves from it and also took advantage, which led to them only being a burden to me and my family? I'm trying not to be too specific, so as not to hurt anyone's feelings, but hey, I've cut ties, so no one to whom this is referring will be reading it anyway.
I did not stay caught up on reading through the Chronological Bible. I did get behind on that. But it's a new year and I've started over, so I will do it this time around. I'm trying to incorporate several strategies at the same time so I will be able to follow through on this one.
And as for blogging? I posted two blogs last year. I think that counts.
Three out of four is pretty good considering most people keep none of the resolutions they make.
I actually did not make any resolutions this year. I feel like I would benefit more from maybe setting some goals of improving things that I already do. For instance, getting through MORE of the Chronological Bible than I did last year. Spending MORE time playing with my kids. That one shouldn't be too hard now that I am no longer in Nursing school. I would also like to keep in better touch with my friends. I have made a lot of friends going to school at UACCB and being in the musical "Beauty and the Beast" over the summer, and I've noticed that some people that I, at one time, spoke to on a daily basis are now just friends on facebook that I rarely see in real life. And when I do see them, we only have the friendly, casual, "acquaintance" type conversations that merely discuss weather, family, and what classes we're taking this semester. And that's only if the conversation gets past the "Hello! How are you?" point which rarely occurs. And this with people I once shared deep, meaningful, "secrets you only tell your bff" conversations. It really is in no way the fault of either person. Things change. Goals change. People go their separate ways. I keep thinking of the verse that says, "A man who has friends must show himself friendly..." I think maybe I just need to be MORE friendly.
So to recap, I would like to do the following things. I'll add MORE that have not been mentioned as well.
1. Read MORE of the Bible.
2. Spend MORE time playing with my kids than I already do.
3. Talk MORE to old friends.
4. Sing MORE.
5. Be MORE friendly.
6. Take MORE adventures.
7. Show MORE love to others.
8. Sing MORE.
9. Help others MORE.
10. Give MORE.
11. Post MORE blogs.
12. Sing MORE.
13. Add MORE things to this list.
Is it me or does the word "MORE" seem to not make any sense now? Anyway, you get the picture. I want to do MORE. And yes, I know I put "Sing MORE" three times. That one I think is one that even if I do it MORE, it still won't be enough. I can always, no matter how much I'm doing it, sing more.
I am fairly satisfied with my decision to not make resolutions and to instead do MORE of the things I am already doing. This seems like it will be beneficial to me. I already have a plan for two MORE blogs, so that one should be taken care of pretty soon.
Check back in the near future for my next post which will be a recap of 2012, and also another "List" type post of not my favorite things, but my most UNfavorite things.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
More Coffee, Please
Typically, when it comes to siblings, the younger will copy the older. In this case, I am the older and I am copying the younger. I'm sure the one I am copying will catch on if she hasn't already. And all the rest of you will just be out of the loop.
These are a few of my favorite things.
1. Swans
2. Tulips
3. The Simpsons
4. A Good Cup of Coffee
5. Making A's
6. Friends (the TV show and actual friends)
7. Phillip's laugh
8. Sarcasm
9. Singing
10. Purple
11. Hot tubs
12. Missionaries
13. The Number 13
14. Tea Parties
15. Brown Eyes
16. Wearing High Heels
17. Fixing Hair (others', not my own)
18. Breakfast
19. Babies
20. VW Beetles
21. Baking Desserts
22. Finding Mistletoe
23. Acting
24. Silas Quotes
25. Juliette Quotes
26. The Music Man
27. Siblings
28. Good Preaching
29. Playing Volleyball
30. The Beach
31. Memorizing
32. Nashville
33. Christian Schools
34. Reminiscing
35. Comic Books
I figured 35 (my age) was a good stopping point.
These are a few of my favorite things.
1. Swans
2. Tulips
3. The Simpsons
4. A Good Cup of Coffee
5. Making A's
6. Friends (the TV show and actual friends)
7. Phillip's laugh
8. Sarcasm
9. Singing
10. Purple
11. Hot tubs
12. Missionaries
13. The Number 13
14. Tea Parties
15. Brown Eyes
16. Wearing High Heels
17. Fixing Hair (others', not my own)
18. Breakfast
19. Babies
20. VW Beetles
21. Baking Desserts
22. Finding Mistletoe
23. Acting
24. Silas Quotes
25. Juliette Quotes
26. The Music Man
27. Siblings
28. Good Preaching
29. Playing Volleyball
30. The Beach
31. Memorizing
32. Nashville
33. Christian Schools
34. Reminiscing
35. Comic Books
I figured 35 (my age) was a good stopping point.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Eggs, Cheese, and Salsa: It's Delicious.
I have a blog. I may as well use it.
Well, it looks like it's been way too long. My last blog entry was in May of 2010. It is now February 2012 and my entire blog is in need of some ... updating. I mean I haven't been Mrs. Batesville since February of 2011 -- a whole year ago.
Someone mentioned I should work my New Year's resolutions into a blog post. I can do that. I mean how often do you make resolutions and by the time February comes around you've forgotten all about them? Well, frequently! About once a year maybe? ;) Surprisingly, that is actually not the case for me this time. I've so far kept three of the four resolutions that I posted on facebook for all to see. And also kept a few "unwritten" ones that I feel I can share at this time. But first, the original four.
1. Read through the Chronological Bible.
2. Go to an awesome concert like Newsboys or TobyMac.
3. Not going to let anyone push me around.
4. I'm gonna blog.
Until today I had not accomplished number 4, but that just changed (obviously). ;)
Explanations!
#1. My church is reading through the Bible together. The pastor is preaching about it. We're discussing it in small groups. The kids are doing it too in their classes. We are even handing out Chronological Bibles to anyone and everyone who wants one. And it's written in NLT which so far has been great for me and my reading comprehension problem. It's also simple enough for even Phillip and Stevie to understand. I instantly noticed certain benefits to an entire congregation reading in the exact same place in the Bible at the same time. It's amazing. I will defnitely accomplish this in 2012. And because I am also in The Amazing Collection with the Joy Of Living Bible study at West Baptist, I feel like I'm getting more Scripture this year than ever. I've not only kept up with the Chonological reading, but I've already read two books -- Micah and Nahum -- so far this year for Joy Of Living.
#2. I have been to two Casting Crowns concerts in my life and they were awesome. I have also been to two Selah concerts and they were awesome. I did not get to go to any concerts last year, so I was hoping to get to go to at least one this year. You may be asking why I picked Newsboys and TobyMac as my "examples". Well, let me explain. I listen to XM channel 63 The Message almost all the time. Well, not all the time. Mostly just while I'm driving. Anyway, I noticed something. I frequently will hear a song and just go, "Wow. This music is really good." That's before the lyrics even start. And I'll want to know who is singing it. I promise that about nine times out of ten, the song is by Newsboys. I've discovered that they are one of my favorite groups. As for TobyMac, well... He's just pretty awesome. I like most of his stuff. I also like Natalie Grant (heard her at my first Casting Crowns concert) and Francesca Battistelli. I like plenty others (like mikeschair) but those seem worth mentioning.
#3. You would think a grown woman the age of 35 would not have to tolerate bullying. But it happens. And I'm not putting up with it. My advice here is please grow up, people. ... Btw, I'm still weeding out the facebook friends list.
#4. Done! And it only took me what? 35 days? Not bad. Not bad at all.
And now for my "unspoken" resolutions on which I am doing pretty great. One of them has kind of changed from what it was originally, but I am still benefiting from it. I had decided that I would eat a really good breakfast every day -- eggs, yogurt, cereal, fruit, juice -- which was great (and perfect considering all my blog entry titles!). I got all my food groups in at breakfast and had my metabolism going pretty early in the morning which is a good thing. But it wasn't quite spilling into the rest of my day as I had hoped it would. So I just started doing low-carb and I've lost ten pounds. It's been great! I started that on my first day of classes this semester.
Which brings me to my next "unspoken" -- I'm going to make all A's this semester. I did it last semester and well, I really like it, so why not try that again. The problem here is that I'm taking Anatomy & Physiology I and Anatomy & Physiology I Lab this semester. Now I may have to forget about my "no grades under 95" rule, but I will make those A's. I must at least try. And guess what. If I try, I will.
My last "unspoken" is really an unspoken. I don't think I can elaborate on this one. I will say that it will take lots of prayer and discipline. That is all.
I really do enjoy writing. And I got a bit of a confidence boost last semester when I made an A in English Comp. II. (I really like bringing that up.)
Stay tuned for more blogs from Rachel Lee.
Well, it looks like it's been way too long. My last blog entry was in May of 2010. It is now February 2012 and my entire blog is in need of some ... updating. I mean I haven't been Mrs. Batesville since February of 2011 -- a whole year ago.
Someone mentioned I should work my New Year's resolutions into a blog post. I can do that. I mean how often do you make resolutions and by the time February comes around you've forgotten all about them? Well, frequently! About once a year maybe? ;) Surprisingly, that is actually not the case for me this time. I've so far kept three of the four resolutions that I posted on facebook for all to see. And also kept a few "unwritten" ones that I feel I can share at this time. But first, the original four.
1. Read through the Chronological Bible.
2. Go to an awesome concert like Newsboys or TobyMac.
3. Not going to let anyone push me around.
4. I'm gonna blog.
Until today I had not accomplished number 4, but that just changed (obviously). ;)
Explanations!
#1. My church is reading through the Bible together. The pastor is preaching about it. We're discussing it in small groups. The kids are doing it too in their classes. We are even handing out Chronological Bibles to anyone and everyone who wants one. And it's written in NLT which so far has been great for me and my reading comprehension problem. It's also simple enough for even Phillip and Stevie to understand. I instantly noticed certain benefits to an entire congregation reading in the exact same place in the Bible at the same time. It's amazing. I will defnitely accomplish this in 2012. And because I am also in The Amazing Collection with the Joy Of Living Bible study at West Baptist, I feel like I'm getting more Scripture this year than ever. I've not only kept up with the Chonological reading, but I've already read two books -- Micah and Nahum -- so far this year for Joy Of Living.
#2. I have been to two Casting Crowns concerts in my life and they were awesome. I have also been to two Selah concerts and they were awesome. I did not get to go to any concerts last year, so I was hoping to get to go to at least one this year. You may be asking why I picked Newsboys and TobyMac as my "examples". Well, let me explain. I listen to XM channel 63 The Message almost all the time. Well, not all the time. Mostly just while I'm driving. Anyway, I noticed something. I frequently will hear a song and just go, "Wow. This music is really good." That's before the lyrics even start. And I'll want to know who is singing it. I promise that about nine times out of ten, the song is by Newsboys. I've discovered that they are one of my favorite groups. As for TobyMac, well... He's just pretty awesome. I like most of his stuff. I also like Natalie Grant (heard her at my first Casting Crowns concert) and Francesca Battistelli. I like plenty others (like mikeschair) but those seem worth mentioning.
#3. You would think a grown woman the age of 35 would not have to tolerate bullying. But it happens. And I'm not putting up with it. My advice here is please grow up, people. ... Btw, I'm still weeding out the facebook friends list.
#4. Done! And it only took me what? 35 days? Not bad. Not bad at all.
And now for my "unspoken" resolutions on which I am doing pretty great. One of them has kind of changed from what it was originally, but I am still benefiting from it. I had decided that I would eat a really good breakfast every day -- eggs, yogurt, cereal, fruit, juice -- which was great (and perfect considering all my blog entry titles!). I got all my food groups in at breakfast and had my metabolism going pretty early in the morning which is a good thing. But it wasn't quite spilling into the rest of my day as I had hoped it would. So I just started doing low-carb and I've lost ten pounds. It's been great! I started that on my first day of classes this semester.
Which brings me to my next "unspoken" -- I'm going to make all A's this semester. I did it last semester and well, I really like it, so why not try that again. The problem here is that I'm taking Anatomy & Physiology I and Anatomy & Physiology I Lab this semester. Now I may have to forget about my "no grades under 95" rule, but I will make those A's. I must at least try. And guess what. If I try, I will.
My last "unspoken" is really an unspoken. I don't think I can elaborate on this one. I will say that it will take lots of prayer and discipline. That is all.
I really do enjoy writing. And I got a bit of a confidence boost last semester when I made an A in English Comp. II. (I really like bringing that up.)
Stay tuned for more blogs from Rachel Lee.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Egg-n-Bread
"This is it. Don't get scared now." That's one of my favorite quotes from the movie 'Home Alone'. It pretty much sums up my thoughts at the moment. I have something going on every single day from now until June 6th. Yard sale this weekend, Memorial Day, dentist appointments next week, last day of school, and then I'm leaving Thursday for the pageant. That's when the fun begins.
"Overwhelmed" would be an understatement. I've had some good days and some bad days. But the closer I get to the "big day", the less I see of the good ones. I've had days this week where every single thing was making me cry. And for no reason too. I have mentioned before that this must be the "darkest before the dawn" part, but I didn't realize the "dark" would get even worse than it had already been.
Let's see. Phillip knocked out a tooth. I almost broke my toe and was unable to walk without a limp for about a week. I got pink-eye. David got chicken pox -- a very bad case of it I might add. Stevie now has chicken pox after having been vaccinated for it. I've had migraines off and on. There have been too many things happening for the past few weeks. I'm ready for it all to be over.
"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." -- Philippians 3:14
"Overwhelmed" would be an understatement. I've had some good days and some bad days. But the closer I get to the "big day", the less I see of the good ones. I've had days this week where every single thing was making me cry. And for no reason too. I have mentioned before that this must be the "darkest before the dawn" part, but I didn't realize the "dark" would get even worse than it had already been.
Let's see. Phillip knocked out a tooth. I almost broke my toe and was unable to walk without a limp for about a week. I got pink-eye. David got chicken pox -- a very bad case of it I might add. Stevie now has chicken pox after having been vaccinated for it. I've had migraines off and on. There have been too many things happening for the past few weeks. I'm ready for it all to be over.
"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." -- Philippians 3:14
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