365 photography project : : week two

Tuesday // I was exhausted after two days of school, looking ahead to two more...and I found myself lying on the floor.

Wednesday // I didn't take any pics.  I'm failing this challenge already!  But I just had a really awful day at school, and I've already come to accept that I'm not going to do this thing perfectly.  I took a bazillion pics already this month, so here's one of Jonah just for fun.  Did you know that if I take good care of him he could live for 40-85 YEARS!!!!  Yeah...I didn't know that either when I bought him.  He'll be my grandchildren's inheritance.

Thursday // This is what humidity does to my bangs!  I tried to get a smiling pic, but none of them looked right, so this is what you get.  This is my normal face--like when I'm just not smiling or frowning or anything--but Rachel says I look really angry.

Friday // My grandparents got Chloe these tulips for her birthday.  They're so beautiful!

Saturday // I'm not really sure what I think of this pic...my eye looks kinda weird.

Sunday // Chloe inspired me to paint my nails.  With "poll-nailish", as she calls it.

Monday // Yeah, this pic isn't great...but look at how much it was snowing!  On our way home I was just praying Rachel and I would make it home alive.  And now it's -2 here at home...balmy, right?

in which my professor plays with me at recess

Chloe's been cracking me up lately.  Here's some funny stuff she's been saying, as well as a memory.

She's started joking a lot and even using appropriate sarcasm.  It's hilarious!  She has also started learning how to beg more effectively--sad faces, making me laugh, etc.  So anyway, she was begging me to read her a book and she gave me her saddest face and said, "Please!  With sugar on top...and a cherry and a hundred chocolate milkshakes with zero cavities."  She's very concerned with her teeth.

Ever since I started school again this week, Chloe and I have been exploring the intricacies of college life in our conversations.  She was astonished yesterday, to the point of anger, that college students are not fed at school or given time to eat lunch.  She saw great injustice in this aspect of the system.

My science teacher is really strange, but lots of fun, and I've had a good time telling Chloe about him.  Tonight at dinner I was telling her about how he pretended to be a student on our first day of class.  He sat at one of the tables until our starting time, at which point he jumped up and shouted, "Ding-aling-aling!  That means class has started!"  I mean, really, who is this guy?

All that to say, Chloe loves this story.  After I'd told it to her again she looked at me in all seriousness and asked, "Does he play with you at recess?"  I'm sorry, I'm a horrible person and probably am not really helping to boost her self-esteem, but I couldn't help laughing.  I covered pretty well though.  She was further enraged to find out that college students don't even have recess.  I'm a real encouragement in her continuing her education.

I remembered another funny thing she did the other day.  Chloe was four years old, and we'd just come down from the store.  Chloe staggered in the house and said, "I'm so tired!  I think it's time for a nap."  My mom told her to take off her shoes and she exclaimed, "OK, OK!  How hard can you be?"  She chucked her shoes and coat on the floor, commenting again on how tired she was.  Then she spotted some cookies on the counter and said, "Maybe some cookies will help me."  She grabbed a handful, threw herself on the couch, and proceeded to eat.

Look over on the sidebar!  There's a new page! ------>

how to: memorizing large portions of Scripture

memorizing small portions of Scripture

Remember how I said I was going to write this post just a few days after the first one?  Yeah...it's been a week.  Oh well.  It was an intense week.  Here's what I've learned personally works for me on memorizing larger portions of Scripture.

Tips for Memorizing Large Portions of Scripture

Choose wisely.  A lot of the things I said for small portions of Scripture can be applied to larger Scriptures.  I think choosing wisely is especially important for memorizing chapters or even books of the Bible.  Chapters are so difficult to commit to memory, they should be packed full of truths that will help you.  For instance, I chose to memorize 1 Corinthians 1, and hopefully the entire book eventually, because I am so encouraged by that book.  The first chapter speaks of God using weakness instead of strength, and oh how I need to remember that!  So choose something that you'll be able to draw from often and that will be useful to you.

Read it every day.  I've never been able to memorize chapters by memorizing a verse at a time.  I usually commit to read the chapter every day for about a month.  If I'm busy in the mornings and don't have time to do my normal devotions, I'll just read this chapter.  It can be done so quickly, I can't make any excuses to not do it.  If I don't have it in a month, I'll keep going until it's set.

Go over it every day.  After I have the chapter in my brain, I go over it every day.  Once it's a bit more set, I might take another day to go over another chapter I've memorized, but I can't stray too long from the most recent chapter or it'll be gone.

Chill.  Memorizing a chapter of the Bible is a huge undertaking.  It's hard to commit something that long to memory.  So don't rush yourself.  You have the rest of your life to memorize this, and I'm sure you'll have plenty of time!  It's not a race.
 
Enjoy.  Scripture is God's Word to us.  I find I most enjoy memorization when I focus on what God's saying to me--encouraging me, convicting me, reminding me of His love.  His Word is beautiful, and we shouldn't ever forget to view it that way!

What this looks like for me.  I do my devotions in the morning when I'm eating breakfast.  That's when I'll read the chapter I'm in the process of memorizing.  Afterwards, when I'm brushing my teeth, I'll go over the chapter I memorized most recently.  If I feel like I've got it down, I might recite a different chapter the next day, but the day after that I'll be back to the most recent chapter.  Repeat constantly, or it'll be gone!

Leave me a comment below and let me know what you're working on currently!  If you're not in the middle of something, I'd encourage you to just take up a verse.  A little something is better than nothing at all!

O give me that book!  At any price give me the Book of God!  I have it.  Here is knowledge enough for me.

-- John Wesley

first week back

Well, friends, I've almost completed my first week back at school.  Praise the Lord!  I feel like I've done a lot of new things this week.

This semester I'm taking computers in schools, physical science for teachers, math for teachers 2, U.S. history, and NM history.  I only have to go to school for science and math; the rest are online.  I really like my teachers so far!  My science teacher is kinda wack, but I think it'll be a fun class.

Also this semester I'm attending a different campus for two days a week.  My college has several different campuses, and this semester I'm getting to visit a new one!  Admittedly, I don't really care for this one--there are so many more people here!--but it's nice to have a new experience.

Another new thing is that I'm actually trying to follow up on my new year's resolution to treat my body in a way that honors the Lord.  This morning Rachel and I went to Planet Fitness for the first time, and it was actually a lot of fun!  Sure, the treadmill I was on seemed determined to electrocute me everytime I accidentally brushed up against one of the handles, but that's insignificant. :) I think it'll be fun to keep going there.

I found this awesome new song today, and I really like it.  I hope you all are doing well!  For any college students, remember--the first week's the hardest.  After that it's smoother sailing! :)


A Special Version of Hallelujah With a Christian Twist! from theremix on GodTube.

365 photography project : : week one

This first one was actually taken in December, but I really like it so I wanted to include it.

Tuesday // I love surprising my mom with flowers, so Rachel and I got these roses for her on Sunday after church.

Wednesday // Obviously, I'm loving the macro setting on my camera!

Thursday // I love pics of windows...I'm not really sure why.

Friday // Around here, we are growing baby ladybugs.  They're kind of gross.

Saturday // We had such a good day celebrating Chloe's 7th birthday!

Sunday // Chloe got this ridiculously difficult craft for her birthday...and we spent all day figuring it out.  It keeps her occupied, though, and looks like it'll produce some nice results!

Monday // A nice view of the sun setting while I was at school.  I admit--I used my phone.  I have a feeling, now that I'm officially back to school, I won't be using my camera so so much, but I still want to get a lot of good use out of it.

So there's my first week of this project!  I had a lot of fun figuring out what to take pics of, but I have a feeling it's going to get hard as the year goes by!  Lots of good photography experience, I guess.