i passed!

Despite being sick with a sinus infection the week leading up to the my comprehensive exam, which lead to me feeling crummy and getting little sleep I passed my comps!  So it is official, I have earned a masters of science teaching.  I assumed I had passed, I felt confident about two of the four questions on my exam and the other two weren't terrible they just weren't as amazing as the other two.  So now grad school is over with and I can't believe it only took 2 years to complete the classes, I had assumed with two kids and life as crazy as mine it would take 5, but it is done so now I can continue to teach at the community college and not just provisionally.  So I am done, it feel good to not having to study or work on projects, granted I am working on school work and grading papers, but it isn't as tough, then again, it is isn't everyday like most of my grad classes were.  So I am done, ready for the next chapter.

walk don't run

Why is there not enough time in the day? 
I know why. . .
because I run and don't walk.
I was reminded of this last night as I sat in the Paramount and listened to Rob Bell's stories during his Fit to Smash Ice Tour.
I seem to have a short attention span these days, I can barely make it through 1 hour and 45 minutes of church, but last night, Rob Bell's talk that was a hair under 2 hours was too short, I could have stayed all night.
I can't begin to explain how amazing his gift for speaking is and how he can use simple stories, parables really, to reveal the heart of God.
He is very controversial, many people strongly dislike him, especially after his Love Wins book.  In fact a few individuals were heckling people who were coming to the event and passing out tracts and trying to convert them, it is sad that how these individuals don't understand love.  In contrast, everyone in the theater for the tour was very friendly, polite, it was kind of weird being around so many genuinely friendly, nice people.  So it is kind of ironic, if Rob Bell and his followers are "evil" and the hecklers and anti- Rob Bell people are holy, then why were the "evil" ones so much nicer and genuine than the "holy" Christians who think Rob Bell is a false prophet? 
I was reminded of so much last night, it was so refreshing and amazing.

Here's what I don't want to forget:
-failure is not final

- control is an illusion

-walk don't run

-a lamp only illuminates the next step
-the sabbath is important it reminds us that we are to be a human being not a human doing and that our worth is not in our doing
- to forgive is to give up the right to revenge, to drop the jawbone
-our greatest fear is that we will be exposed, and that grace frees us to embrace our shadows and that God will embrace us because the poor in spirit are those that don't have it all together
- your job is to be you and not caught up into who we aren't because there will always be someone better, smarter, faster, richer, etc.
-find your gorilla mask, find your one move and just own it
-we don't want to end up before God one day and him say "Why were you not more like _______ (fill in your name)
-there are burning bushes all around
so though it may not make sense to anyone except those who were there, I hope to remember what I learned so it won't go in one ear and out the other

Last night was kind of like a revival, a hipster kind of revival I suppose, but it revived this soul who has been rushing through life who hasn't stopped to see the burning bushes all around.

P.S. because the friends we went with know him we got to meet him, have our picture taken, and talk for a few minutes, very cool!

what a week

After a week of illness we are all better and hopefully will stay that way for a while.  The four days home from school wasn't too bad, but there was way too much movie watching and ipad playing then I would like, but I wanted them to stay rested.  Since they have been back to normal (Sunday and Monday, the television has been silent and the ipad mostly unused).
I got totally behind on my keep ahead of the chores and keep the house nice and so the house, isn't a total wreck, but it isn't neat, it is on the messy side of things.  So my keeping ahead of the mess worked for about a week and half.  Jeff was even on board for a week and it was so nice to have a clean, neat house, but it has succumb to the mess thanks to children being home all day and not feeling well.
It also has gotten cold outside and there were two dreary days that totally zapped my energy to do anything.  I realized after two days of temperatures in the 40's, that I hate winter.  I hate the cold and I want to move to Florida where you don't need winter coats and there is plenty of sunshine, unfortunately Jeff, a snowboarder isn't up to say good-bye to snow, maybe one day.
In total random news, I got an iphone 4s and it is the best thing ever.  I love talking to Siri, I love the camera, I love instagram that makes everything look so much better, I love it, best gadget ever.