Friday Fellowship

Clever huh? Made it up just now...thinking of adopting it as a regular thing here in my house. Well last Friday was a day worthy of sharing. It started out as my first full-day sub job at the high school. I'd been nervous about subbing high schoolers, so I've stuck to 1st grade, 3/4 grade, etc. Hindsight -- why was I ever afraid of these kids? I actually feel GREAT coming home from a full day subbing high school students. 1st graders - I'm beat! It's crazy.

So I subbed Pre-AP/AP Physics, and was a little nervous about it. Ashleigh told me they'd probably be the best kids I'll ever have...she was pretty much right. It was fun to be a part of the labs with the AP students, and then the Pre-AP ones had a test so I just monitored that. Only 2 people (in the same section) cheated! And they didn't do it too well because I immediately noticed by how squirmish they were, and how long they'd take to look at the formulas on the board...I watched them the whole time. It cracked me up.

Then I came home and Janelle and I invited over some of our neighbors for dinner. Abeer is from Saudi Arabia, and we met her probably a month ago. I was very excited to get her into my home and get to know her. Our other friend Aselle (from one of the stans near Russia...I forget but it starts with a K)...she came too. She lives a few doors down and goes to our church. It was so much fun. I have been praying for us to have a relationship with Abeer so she can have some fellowship and also to pray that Christ will call her to Himself. The whole night we were laughing and learning a lot about her! Since she's lived here, she called 911 one night because she saw bats, and she told the dispatch that she watches a lot of movies and knows they're vampires!! Hahahahaha we were all dying laughing. There will hopefully be a lot more to come about Abeer, but please be praying for more opportunities with her and for our witness to be up to His holy standard.

Ever since coming back to the States, I've really had it upon my heart to open up my home to international women, as well as to believers/unbelievers alike. I want my home to be a place of ministry, meaning peace for all walks of life as they enter it. I've been really blessed with my roommate (Janelle) having that same heart for our apartment.

After Abeer left, I had to do something about our garbage disposal. I had been pouring Drano in it since 6:30pm, and at 9:30 there was no change! So I googled how to fix a disposal, and it said to remove the drain trap since food is probably clogged in there. Namely: potato peels.

This is what I had to work with: Plumbing Repair

And boom baby...I fixed it! F.I.X.E.D. the drain. Me. Water came spewing out (which I thought it would, but I didn't know how to stop that from happening) so Aselle handed me a huge pot and it was exactly the size for the water! It spewed all over my hands though which stunk since the majority of it was Drano - and it burned!!!!!

After that day - who couldn't sleep amazingly!?? Add that with my new pillows and you're slam dunking it like Michael Jordan.

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Pillows

My new pillows are so awesome I never want to get out of bed in the morning. One in particular - this memory foam one (not TempurPedic...) is so glorious, I sleep so hard and amazing.

That's all. Your pillows can change the world.

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The way I see it

So tonight at our missions meeting we had to go around the table and tell what we were passionate about. I had to go last, and I started to tell them about my passion for international women around me (which started with these kinds of opportunities in Sheffield since it was so diverse), and then I eventually got to my love for the UK...and I'm right back here, as if it were June 4, 2009 and I'm missing England like crazy. I have this Sheffield poster in my room (which is the only thing hung on the walls at the moment), and it is constantly reminding me of the city that I love and the people there that are dear to my heart. There's no forgetting that experience or those people. So I'm missing Sheffield.

Also, I paid off an interest-bearing loan today! Whoop! The whole thing...I mean I still have a balance from other loans, but the fact that the interest on that loan won't accrue any longer is awesome.

Glee is currently my favorite show. It comes on during AWANA so I don't see it as it happens - but yay for hulu.com or even fox.com for showing the full episode within 24 hours of airing it! I am no longer watching The Office and I'm totally okay with it. It's just getting a little too perverted for my taste...

Let's see...oh I'm a writer now, not a student. Someone the other day asked if I was in school, and as I told them about my thesis, and my 1 class - they said that I am not a student, I'm a writer. I love it. That's my new title from here until May 2010. At that point, you can call me Master. :)

My UK friend (who's actually an American missionary) is in this contest to win a trip to the Paris Disney World...there's this site where you click it and that counts as blowing balloons for her (it's in honor of Pixar's "UP")...well you can only click once a day but somehow she's managed to get in 3rd! 2nd is coming right up - it's soo possible it's crazy. I think the person in first has computer programs or something. But 2nd gets a prize too if that's not the case! :) Click here to help out Julie! It takes 2 seconds to do - AND, since we aren't eligible in the U.S., we might as well help someone out!

And last but not least...I had to get glasses Tuesday. Well I had the appointment and ordered them last Thursday, but they came in Tuesday and it's official. I think I'm slowly moving out of denial. Or maybe I'm just pretending to be someone else right now and one day it will hit me - my vision IS better with these things on! They're mine!

Well that's about it.

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His faithfulness stretches to the sky

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."

--1 Timothy 1:15-16--

He is the only true PEACE. He is our answer to every question. People and things are not the solution, no matter their status or how much we want them to be. I hope we never lose sight of who is really in control, and who is really worth all our praises.

I'm a Pepper

So yesterday I probably celebrated my birthday more the entire day than I have the past few years combined - but looking back, minus a few ungrateful bursts of selfishness (when I didn't want to celebrate any longer but my friends did)...it was awesome! One of the things I did yesterday was go to the Dr Pepper museum in Waco. My mom drove up to College Station and took me there as a surprise...even when we got there I thought we were going to this world cultural arts festival. Anyway in honor of my visit, I'll give you my favorite DP advert:

Also - I got this cool Dr Pepper bar stool - I'm not even kidding. Come over and see this thing in action. I think my favorite part of the museum was the soda shop, where they made the DP for you on the spot(no fountains there!)...it was sooo good. And my favorite part of the entire day, was the numerous times I heard "you're worth it" when I thought - there's no way I deserve this. I'm blessed with some good friends (both with me celebrating and not), and it was a great reminder as I inch closer to a quarter of a century...

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Idiosyncrasies

This post has nothing to do with that word, or maybe it does and I just don't know what that word means. Here, let me define it for us...

Idiosyncrasies (noun): a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or their like, that is peculiar to an individual.

Things that intrigue me right now:

-University of Houston beat OSU in football, at OSU...these are the times I wish I had cable.

-Kanye acts a fool during Taylor Swift's speech, Beyonce saves the day (wearing that halo!)...a time I'm glad I don't have it so I won't watch trash.

-Obama is coming to A&M for a forum held by Bush Sr. I'm interested to see this town's reactions. It might be really interesting to go! I just don't know how to get tickets if I'd want to.

(CLARIFICATION: I would love to go, I just don't know if I want to put up with the scene I know will be caused by students...I'm nervous that they will do another picketing type thing that they did during the election which gave A&M negative publicity!)

Also, I am now going to be a bus driver for CSISD. I'll be working on the written part of the CDL test this week, and hopefully taking it towards the end of the week so I can start getting paid to do training next week.

What's in the middle of this week and next week? THE WEEKEND! Yes, that's true. BUT ALSO.......drum roll..........my birthday! This year I have talked more about my birthday than any other time since I was little probably. But the weird thing is, that I don't feel like it's really that time of year. My mind is spaced out right now.

I'm working on finishing my thesis proposal this week: the effect of an experiential learning course on students' transfer of knowledge. I'm about 90% sure that's the topic (or at least in some form) that's going to work for this...! Once I finish that I will have 1 chapter done of the 5 chapter format. Holla!

My one class is going alright. Not too much to report there.

I'm almost done with the 6th Harry Potter. I have enjoyed this series, and am glad I read it for myself rather than forming strong opinions of it with no actual knowledge of it whatsoever.

And church is, as always, great. I'm trying to not get wrapped up in serving and doing right now. We just had a message about how Jesus is THE ONE who sustains us, He is enough...in the midst of that I learned that I am self-righteous, I try to convict other people of their wrongdoings when that should be the Holy Spirit doing His thing, and I sometimes feel like I'm a Pharisee with all the stuff I do/want to do at church...it just reminds me of the need to humble myself each day, and to get my heart right because Danielle by herself...doesn't work.

Well I'm off to do what I do. Check ya later.

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Anger Management...

My roommate Heather was watching Anger Management last night, and when I walked in and saw Adam Sandler struggling through one of Jack Nicholson's crazy tactics to rid him of his problems, I just cracked up -- because that is my life. Or something like it. When Adam is mad about what Jack's telling him to do, and it's supposed to not make him mad -- that's real life! If you're mad, taking a worldly approach to not being mad just does one thing...it makes you fume.

I've done a lot of fuming the past few days/week...a lot of road rage yelling, and impatient frustrations, and angry reactions, and tons more things. I think 80% of my days lately have been full of some anger issue.

So I'm struggling with anger right now. Mostly because I'm focused on myself and everything and how it affects ME. Selfishness is the fast lane to anger, I'm sure.

I've just hit the breaking point where I am disgusted that I feel like the word angry adequately defines my life in the past week...and so these are things I'm going to be praying through...but today I realized, I only blog in the good times, or the funny times. Not that I will stay writing in the junk, but it's good for me to remind myself, and others, that I'm human. Keeps me in check. ;)

And now I'll go for a (patient) drive, listening to some jams and getting my tea card at McAlister's stamped!

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