Finally!

For the past two years I have been an A+ graduate student, an A-/B+ Spanish teacher, and a D/F wife, daughter, sister, and  friend.  Well, that is all about to change!  This past Friday (12/12) I graduated with my M.Ed. from Freed-Hardeman University.  I would have had no interest in walking, had it not been for my sister who received her B.A. in the same ceremony!

Congratulations Laura Beth!  She is working as a youth minister for the Skyline Church of Christ in Jackson, TN.  We are 2.5 years apart in age and have always been 3 years apart in school.  It was a unique experience to graduate together.  I am glad that she will be living so close to us!

Although my graduate program was not that difficult, it was time consuming and I am SO THANKFUL to my husband who was supportive through the whole two years.  He is fantastic!  When I had to go to the main campus, he was my "car companion" and he picked up a lot of my responsibilities. A lot of things went undone while I was in school, but he was rather patient and understanding.  He took the below picture one Saturday while I was in class to show how much I was behind on laundry (please also notice the layer of dust on the dresser).  I came home and cried. 

 

My parents have also been a great support.  Both of them have chosen careers of service (teacher and social worker) and they had a great influence on my career choices.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

I can't wait to see what I can accomplish in all of my "free time!"

HWJV: How Would Jesus Vote?

I was impacted by the words of Elizabeth Alvarez in her article Out of Africa: How Would Jesus Vote? (http://www.wineskins.org/filter.asp?SID=2&fi_key=186&co_key=1590)  A wise man once told her that Christians cannot be comfortable with any political party, but that they choose what is important to them and make a choice. Some Christians may say that choosing a president is about “what is important to God,” but does God care more for the unborn child or for the impoverished child already living?  More for the international safety of America or for the thousands being killed to ensure it?  More for affordable transportation or the protection of the environment?   For me and many other Christians, voting is not so “cut and dry.”

There has been an influx of extreme, indecent, and slanderous e-mails, letters, and propaganda by Christians within the past few weeks—all targeting Barack Obama.  They all indicate that voting Obama is a one-way ticket to the end of Christianity in the U.S. and some propose that Christians must vote for McCain.  Let me make two things clear:  First, Christianity does not depend on the state of the United States.  Our Lord is not American.  Christians belong to a more powerful kingdom and have the Most Powerful Leader who can work through even the weakest of presidents.  Second, deeply held convictions of faith may mean that Christians are voting differently and that is okay.  I trust that we are all prayerfully applying the Word as best we can.  It is not okay however, that Christians continue to slander each other and elevate the “Christianity” of one candidate over another.

My vote was cast on Thursday after waiting in line for two and ½ hours.  On that ticket I voted for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.  These were the issues that were important to me:

 Abortion

-  I believe in protection of life (not just the lives of the unborn)

-  Roe vs. Wade has not been overturned for 30 years so why should I be confident that it will be overturned within the next four years (it did not happen during Bush’s presidency, even in light of the nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito)

-  Abortions can be prevented if women are financially able to care for their young and/or if they are properly educated on family planning

Same-sex marriage

-       The Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Deuteronomy 23:17, I Corinthians 6:9-11, etc.)

-       I believe that marriage is a holy covenant with God as the third-party (Malachi 2:14-16, etc.)

-       The laws of God concerning homosexual marriage speaks higher than any definition of the government

-       McCain defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman, but will leave the definition of the term to the states

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.samesexmarriage.html

-       Obama opposes same-sex marriage, but supports civil unions that allow equal rights to same-sex couples as those of married couples

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.samesexmarriage.html

Tax policies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html

-       McCain has proposed to cut taxes, especially for the upper class, in hopes that the upper class will create jobs and stimulate the economy

-       Unfortunately this “trickle down” effect has not happened during the past few years.  The 2002 census statistics show that the top 1/5 of American society held 49.7% of the nation’s income while the bottom quintile had only 3.5%  (top fifth has 14.3 times more income than the bottom fifth)

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ECN&_lang=en&_ts=125490903938

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/bg1791.cfm

-       McCain has called Obama’s tax plan “socialism,” but when did paying taxes and receiving tax breaks become socialism?

-       Obama has proposed to increase taxes for those making $250,000+ while decreasing taxes for the middle and lower class

Matthew 19:23, 24—“it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven..easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…”

Luke 16:19—“there was a rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen who feasted sumptously every day.  And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus full of sores who desired to be fed with WHAT FELL from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores….the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.  The rich man also died and was buried and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom….”

Matthew 19:21—to the rich young ruler: “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have and give it to the poor.  Then you will have treasure in Heaven.”

Luke 4:18-19 (my favorite because Jesus hand-picked what Scripture to read from Isaiah during worship in the synagogue in Nazareth) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Personal Choices

-       McCain served our country in the military

-       Obama served our country through community organization

-     After his first wife was severely injured in a car accident, McCain cheated on her with a wealthy, beautiful heiress to a Budweiser fortune.  A month after divorcing his disfigured wife, he married woman #2.  McCain has admitted that their failed marriage lies on his shoulders.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/11/nation/na-divorce11

-       Obama has been married to the same woman for 19 years and they are raising two daughters—together

-       McCain chose a Vice-President who knows little about leading a country that is a prominent world power

o      She had never traveled outside of the United States until July 2007

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/30veep.html

o      Have you EVEN SEEN the Katie Couric interview?

http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en&q=palin%20and%20couric&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#

-       Obama feels that it is important that we restore America’s reputation around

the world and has a logical, global perspective

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/732322.html

 

 

Catch-up

In the past couple of weeks Ryan and I celebrated three, wonderful years of marriage, my grandfather had a severe heart attack, and I stayed by myself while Ryan attended the CCDA Conference in Miami.  Because it fell during homecoming week and not Fall Break, there was no way that I could attend this year.  (Secretly, I just wanted to dress up like a hippie for a day...)

Homecoming at Harding is really fun and interactive.  Sophomores-Seniors stay on campus EVERY night from after school until 9:30 p.m. decorating their halls, creating skits, and creating mini-Spring Sing shows called "walk-ins."  Every student, in every grade, participates.  It is an exhausting week, but where else would you see such "camaraderie" in high school?  It is an exhausting week for teachers, but I am thankful that God placed me there.

WHILE Ryan was in Miami, I was in my first car accident:  an older woman made a left turn into my driver's side.  She was thankfully not hurt and I am only bruised and sore.  Thank-you to the Memphis City Police Department who dropped me off at work on the morning of the wreck (can you imagine getting out of the back of a police car while scores of high schoolers look on...) and to my dear friend Katie Wells who drove me home.  Needless to say, that was not my best teaching day.  We are still awaiting the verdict on the car....totaled or fixable.  Thankfully the other driver did have insurance.  I will keep you updated on the status.  

I will leave you with one of our favorite places these days: the front porch swing.  You can't beat a Tennessee fall!  

Confessions...

There are many things that terrorize me: wasps, a ring in the toilet bowl, substitute teaching without lesson plans, a gas tank on empty, being victimized... just to name a few.  On a serious note however, I must admit that my fears, often make me act and think in shameful ways.  

Ryan and I were eating a dinner at a downtown restaurant yesterday (I am on Fall Break and Ryan took a week of vacation!) and our booth faced the street.  Before we had even ordered, I noticed a man on the street who had planted himself outside of our restaurant and was approaching every single pedestrian who walked by.  His eyes wandered "up and down" each person as they came near him---assessing their material worth, I assumed.  I was becoming more and more irritated as I wondered what I would say to him as we came out (Ryan is a master at talking with panhandlers!) and irritated that he would be bothering people as he was.  After eating, we headed out and were approached by a well mannered SHOE SHINER who wished us a good evening after we said that we weren't interested in the $1 shoe shine.  No wonder he was looking people "up and down"--he was checking for shoes AND was trying to make an honest wage.  I felt ashamed...

Today as I was planting flowers outside, a man who said that he was homeless asked if I could go inside and fix him a sandwich.  My gut told me that he was not homeless (no entourage of belongings and most of the homeless that I've met don't "volunteer" that information), so I just said, "well...I'm sorry" and he walked off.  All day today, I have grieved over my response.  If it was a woman, a child, or one of the regular homeless in our neighborhood would my response have been different?  Was I wrong?  Why was I so uncomfortable and so unprepared to answer him?  Was it lack of faith that God would protect me if he had tried to take advantage of me?  Was it lack of compassion?  Was it selfishness?  All I know is that I feel really inadequate/unsure sometimes...and today was one of those days.

Father, "I believe; help my unbelief!" Mk 9:24

Our Block Party

I'm still not finished with my list of 25 things to do at 25, but at least one goal was accomplished tonight: our neighborhood block party.  With the help of some neighbors, Ryan

and I organized a get-together with the houses on our block.  

We live in Uptown Memphis and are four blocks from the trolley/bus station, five blocks and a bridge from Mud Island, and two blocks from St. Jude Hospital.  Our six months here have been adventurous and wonderful.  We daily interact with children from our neighborhood, daily see a homeless person, and daily make the "trek" out of, and then back into, the city.

Here are a few shots from our Block Party tonight.  They very adequately reflect the diversity of our community:

Setting up for the evening.  Our house is the yellow one in the foreground.

Ryan fixing his plate as Ms. Ruby chats in the background.

Our neighbor Katey brought out the sidewalk chalk and the kids had a blast!  I just had to snap a shot of Tacasia's work! :)

As the night came to a close, a few of "the boys" were still hanging around!

25 Things To Do...

Although I'm not finished yet, here is the beginning of a list of things I hope to accomplish this year:

1. begin blogging

2. sell some things online

3. throw a neighborhood block party (one scheduled for this Saturday 9/20!)

4. learn to decorate cakes (finished the first class of three in August along with my friend Angela)

5.  put window treatments/curtains in each room of the house

6.  go to the dentist 

7.  exercise regularly 

8.  memorize 10 scriptures in English and Spanish

9.  travel to Latin America with Ryan (this may be impossible)

10.  write more notes/letters to those that I love

11. landscape our front and back yard

12.-25.-----------still to come-----------

Here is a picture of our neighbors "Pooh," Kiara, and Jada who LOVE hanging out with Spencer, "the neighborhood dog."   We hope that they will be at our neighborhood party on Saturday with their families.

The Big 25...

        Well, today was the day!  The big 25th birthday.  I've been wanting to blog for awhile, so I thought that today would be better than any other!  Although my life is quite boring, I am hoping to keep a log of things for myself if no one else!

        Today we spent the day in worship with our family at iglesia de Cristo and then Ryan and I were honored by the church with a lunch of pupusas con repollo. In addition to it being my birthday, it is also our last day with iglesia de Cristo.  After much thought, prayer, and decision making we have decided to begin worshipping with the Downtown church beginning in January.  We are excited about being a part of that church family and are looking forward to worshipping in English.

I'm in the process of creating a list of 25 things to do while I am 25 and look forward to sharing that soon!