Babbling

It has been too long since I have done a blog post. Let me just start by saying that life is beautiful. Winter semester ended a week ago Friday. The day before that good friends Sara Fisher invited me to go on a road trip up through Washington and Oregon. I was more than willing to accept and I am so glad I did. The group consisted of 2 of favorite former roommates Jenny, and Sara. Sara's cousin Monica also came along. All three of them have mission calls, so it was one last big thing before they leave. Unfortunately I don't have any of the pictures. It turns out that my cameras battery was dead from the start of the trip(I don't know how because I charged it before we left). I did have my battery charger packed but I switch bags at the last second and it stayed in the first bag. I am waiting for a CD of pictures and then I will do an entire blog post just on the trip.
Prior to the trip I had never been to Washington or Oregon. It is such a BEAUTIFUL area. I used to think that nothing could hold a candle to the beautiful green Tennessee that I am so accustomed too, but Washington and Oregon will give Tennessee a run for it's money. They are different so it's hard to compare. Tennessee is still my favorite, but I don't think the 2 days I spent in each state was enough so I'm just going to have to go back for another visit.

There is so much I want to write about the trip that I don't even know where to start, so I won't. You will just have to wait patiently until I get all of the pictures.

I have been thinking about a lot of things lately. I am going to share a few thoughts.

Tender mercies of the Lord are real. I have been thinking about how blessed I am. I know I do not understand how much I am really blessed or why, but I can see the Lord's hand in my life. I am so grateful for the many opportunities I have been given. And I mean given because so many of the opportunities and achievements that I have had I could not have gotten on my own. I am so grateful for all that I have been given. I know that where much is given much is required, and I want to be as helpful to others as others have been to me.

An attitude of gratitude is so important. One thing that I have learned is that when you are grateful for all that you have then the things that you don't have don't matter. When you have a grateful heart you will recognize tender mercies in you life.

The grass is not greener on the other side. If you are always looking for the next best thing to come along you are going to miss the great things that are already available to you. This is how I see it... The grass is green where I am and it will get greener with every place to I choose to go.

These are just some of the things that have been on my mind lately along with other things.

I am excited for the summer semester. It is always my favorite. I somehow manage to work harder and play harder at the same time. It it great. I have some pretty challenging classes this semester and it is just a preview for what is to come as I get further into my course work. I am excited and nervous for the challenge ahead. Sometimes I have no idea why I would want to be a Math Education major. I could easily switch to something much easier, but when I stop to think about it I realize that it is going to be so worth it. I know that if I chose the easy route I would be disappointed with myself in the long run. In the mean time I'm going to have times that are beyond frustrating. I say bring it on :)