My Lifelong "To do List"

Go snorkeling

Go Kayaking

Play a round of golf excluding Putt putt and Wii game.

Go on a cruise

Swim with the dolphins

Visit and travel to Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Grand Canyons, Yellowstone National Park, California

See a California sunset

Visit London, Paris, Italy, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland

At least try snow-skiing

Take a ballroom dancing class

Try clogging

Volunteer at a soup kitchen

Go on a world mission trip

Become a big sister/as in mentor to a child

Donate to a charity that I really care about

Become a mother

Second Update on Teacher Forgiveness Loans

Nearly every day I receive an email regarding a new post on this blog about the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Plan. I know within the last few years, after moving for a few times, I have had to take even lower paying jobs as a substitute, long-term substitute, part-time worker, and contract worker. All of these jobs I have taken without good pay and without any benefits. A lot of these jobs I have taken to support myself as a single adult still trying to pay my student loans in this economy. No doubt, I love my job and working with students and children. I have heard it said that "Teachers are missionaries." I believe this to be very true, and its own reward for helping future citizens. Yet, for myself, without a full-time position it is even harder to make ends meet and repay all of my student loans.

There are so many complaints posted here of people that have been denied forgiveness of their loans, because they had an "outstanding balance" before October 1998. Who starts school in October?!?!??! The last time I checked, students start their education in August or September of each year!!!!

I have wrote politicians in the past and posted on petition websites to voice my opinion regarding this matter. There has also been some updates on different laws regarding loan forgiveness since my previous two posts. If any readers have any helpful information for all of us wonderful, caring teachers out there, please post it here.

We teachers are all very angry and upset regarding this matter. For many of us, our salary has been lowered, our insurance premiums have been raised, and we are paying for more supplies out of our own pockets for students(because we care about their future!) Let's press on together for "Teacher Loan Forgiveness," by voicing our anger responsibly, for our own benefit, as well as our students, so we can keep doing what we do best, TEACH!

"A Wideness in God's Mercy"

The following hymn is written by Frederick W. Faber. The choir at my church is singing a variation of this hymn by Rusty Fleming . It speaks volumes to my soul of who God really is! Couldn't resist sharing!

There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.

2. There is no place where earth's sorrows
Are more felt than up in Heaven;
There is no place where earth's failings
Have such kindly judgment given.

3. There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Savior;
There is healing in His blood.

4. There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.

5. For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

6. There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.

7. 'Tis not all we owe to Jesus;
It is something more than all;
Greater good because of evil,
Larger mercy through the fall.

8. If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.

9. Souls of men! why will ye scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts! why will ye wander
From a love so true and deep?

10. It is God: His love looks mighty,
But is mightier than it seems;
'Tis our Father: and His fondness
Goes far out beyond our dreams.

11. But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own.

12. Was there ever kinder shepherd
Half so gentle, half so sweet,
As the Savior who would have us
Come and gather at His feet?

Jesus: My Tree of Life

Make my life a sacrifice
Planted in your tree of love
Prune the sin from within
And let your first fruits flow

For what is a branch in me
Without the root in You?
It can't have eternal life,
But only comes and goes.

Help me burn my spoiled fruit,
A cheap output of mine.
As I decrease, may you increase
A harvest to be sewed.

Lord, receive my ripe offspring
And feed it to the soil
Such grace I have in You
To help another seed grow.

(Inspired by John Chapter 15)

What I Consider Major Accomplishments :)

Read all the Harry Potter books and seen all the movies that have been made.

Read all the way through "Lord of the Rings"

Read the whole series of "Chronicles of Narnia"

I have read the Bible all the way through!

I have visited all of the these Southern states: Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

I have been to every state on the East Coast: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio Excluding: Michigan

I have seen Niagara Falls

I have been to the top of the Empire State Building, Sears Tower, and the CN Tower.

I have been whitewater rafting and tubing.

I have flew on a plane between states but not internationally.

I have crossed into the Canadian border.

I've had a few speeding tickets in my time as well as automobile accidents and lived to tell the tale.

I have rode a spirited a horse and broke my arm in the process. There's a scar to prove it.

I have graduated from a small private college and a large public university.

I have been to a UGA football game.

I have stood on the field with a lost mouthpiece for my clarinet in the pouring rain during halftime at a local rivalry game.

I have been hiking around a lake in the pitch dark.

I have been camping on numerous occasions as well as camped out in a cave.

I have bobbed for apples during fall festivals and have been on many hayrides.

I have substitute taught for In School Suspension and Construction/Shop class and thought it to be a unique experience.

I have been a part of choir, orchestra, and concert band.

I can play the piano fairly well.

I learned to drive by letting my Dad pile hay on the back of the pick-up truck.

I can play a pretty mean game of UNO.

I have been asked to pass a drunk driving test while at a Visitor's Center.

I have rode backwards down a one-way highway in New York City.

(I'm sure they'll be more experiences to share)

Ending Domestic Violence

With the latest news about Chris Brown allegedly hitting Rihanna, there have been some important discussions come up on the news. Oprah has had a special on this issue for two weeks. I applaud her efforts greatly!

Oprah had a show on 3/12/09, that talked about the women being abused. This show was mostly directed toward teenagers. However, no woman or anyone should tolerate hitting, pushing, grabbing, threatening, or name calling. Oprah has said time and again, "If a man hits once, he will hit again." If a man does this in a relationship it is important for a woman to walk away for a time, until he receives treatment and recovery.

I am glad that Oprah, not only focused on the appropriate steps women should take, but she talked to the abusive men as well on 3/19/09. This is the core issue at hand. Sure, women can keep walking away, but it does not stop the cycle of abuse. The only way to stop the cycle is for the men to start dealing with the issues that led them to be abusive. I like the way Kevin Powell puts it on Oprah's show. ALL MEN need to step up to the plate, and educate their sons, friends, co-workers, how to be a real compassionate and peaceful man. You see, real men are not tough, but have the guts to back off and turn the other cheek, just as Christ did.

Here is Kevin Powell's seven steps ending violence against women:

1. Own up
to the mistakes. Take responsibility for your actions without blaming others for your own faults.
2. Seek Help
Go to therapy or counseling. Come to terms with the issues that caused you to be violent to begin with.
3. Listen with your eyes and your ears. Listen to the stories of women around you. Accept them as equal to men. Men are not made to dominate women despite what our culture may say to you.
4. Be the change
Give up the power and the addiction of thinking this is a male dominated society. In Kevin Powell's words, "And we men and boys need to come to a realization that sexism—the belief that women and girls are inferior to men and boys, that this really is a man's world, and the female is just here to serve our needs regardless of how we treat them—is as destructive to ourselves as it is to women and girls. As I've said in many speeches through the years, even if you are not the kind of man who would ever yell at a woman, curse at a woman, touch a woman in a public or private space without her permission, hit or beat a woman, much less kill a woman—you are just as guilty if you see other men and boys doing these things and you say or do nothing to stop them."
5. Become an Ally
Stand up to men who abuse their other women in relationships. Be a friend to a lady that is experiencing abuse. Lead her to do the right thing, in walking away from the confrontations.
6. Challenge Others
Challenge other males about their physical, emotional, and verbal abuse towards women. Have those difficult conversations, to prevent it from happening again.
7. Create a New Kind of Man
Your character will be defined by what you watch, you listen to, what you admire. Stand to be who you are, something that does not demean or put women down to be inferior.

It takes all of us working together to end this horrible nightmare. For further information on ending domestic violence go to.

Oprah.com
and
Menstoppingviolence.org

I See God

I see God in the face of a storm.
His bright eyes of lightning,
His wide mouth of thunder,
Speaks wisdom to my rainy life.

I see God in the bright day
His Son shines upon us
With calm soothing rays.
Pure creation divinely grows.

I see God in a prayer,
A desire of the heart,
Becomes reality for man
That rejoices in His existence.

I see God in a smile
Warming my presence,
Gazing with the eyes of a child,
Believing in me to draw closer.

I see God in a hopeless world
His tears fall on the crying,
Pleading us to come near,
To show the peace he surrounds.