David installed a new widget for my blog called ‘Subscribe.’ So, if you would like to know when my blog is updated, you can enter your email on the tab to the left. It will then send you a confirmation message and once you confirm, you will get my blog updates straight to your inbox!

Thanks Dave!

Sometimes I get bad headaches and start seeing random black spots throughout the day. I recently went to the doctor for a regular check-up and mentioned that I see black spots and sometimes get dizzy. He asked me to lay down, so he could feel my neck muscles and he responded, “They are hard as a rock!” He mentioned that this can happen from constantly sitting with the head slightly looking down, such as sitting in class taking notes or working on the computer. I came home with a really bad headache yesterday, after seven hours of being at school, either at work or in class. My doctor mentioned that when this happens, I should massage my neck muscles with lotion. So, I did! It felt so good! It released so much tension, even though I didn’t really feel that I had much in my shoulders, it was more of the headache. He also mentioned an exercise that can help relieve some of the tension. When you lay down, push your head down into your pillow for five seconds, then move your head in each direction five times. Do this a couple times before you go to sleep and when you wake up. It helps! Basically, if you suffer from neck tension or have been having the problem of seeing black spots, these tips could help!

Oh, and I was just kidding about my brain being too big! It’s probably getting bigger this week with all the cramming for exams! Only two more to go.

The last episode of Oprah’s Big Give just finished and I’m so sad..yet excited! I’m so glad that Steven won, I think he did a great job giving and he really put his heart into every project he conducted. The concept of this show is just amazing and I’m sad that it’s over. It was such a joy watching it on Sunday nights, right before the hectic week started. Watching this show instills a giving attitude and really encourages the viewer to just get out there and give. I know it seems hard to give so big like the contestants did on each episode, but people don’t need money, they need love and support. If you know someone in need, I encourage you to put yourself aside and just help them out. I wish it was easier to know when someone was in need. People, along with myself, tend to keep our needs inside in order to keep our pride. It would be easier if we could just admit we all need a little help sometimes. So, I encourage you to let your needs be known and help provide help for those who also need it. I promise it will be worth it to sacrifice some of your time and give to those in need. You never know how much a simple gesture can help improve someone’s life.

Acts 20:35 says “It is more blessed to give than receive.”

Oh, by the way! David created another Apple application! You can check both of them out at www.stokedev.com

I presented one of the many homework assignments that I was working on all day Sunday and I must say, I am proud of myself. I think I did a great job and I was really happy with the outcome. My professor really enjoyed it, too! Read this encouraging e-mail she sent.

“Your presentation was absolutely phenomenal. We could tell you put a great deal of thought and effort into it and were so glad that you went first to set the bar so high for the others. If possible, I would love to make a copy of the videos you have from the kids at ILE* and the powerpoint. With your permission, I think it would serve as a great example for future classes. Honestly, my only regret is that we didn’t videotape your presentation!”

Oh yeah Now I just have to get through the next two weeks of finals! good luck everyone!

*ILE stands for Ivey Lane Elementary school, where I did research and observations. Here is a picture of some of the cute kids I worked with!

I have been working on homework since I woke up around 10:00 (I was actually dreaming of ideas for a research paper and woke up with a lot of ideas..so I had to get out of bed so I didn’t forget them!) and I just finished around 12:30 AM. What a day! I wrote a 7 page research paper, created a power point for a presentation tomorrow, wrote another 3 page research paper, and completed algebra homework. It’s been a long day but I feel very accomplished! It’s crazy that there is only one more week of classes left and then finals! It’s been a great semester but these two weeks are simply going to suck. So, good luck everyone! Get some A’s!

I have to shout out to my main man, David Stoker He created this blog and made it exactly how I wanted it. He is a genius at all he does! He just created an application for the Apple iPhone, called iDeals! Honestly, how many 19 year olds do you know whose creation is on Apple.com?? He is so smart and I am blessed by his presence in my life! We’ve been together for 2 years and 9 months and they have been the best! Although, the University of Florida stole him from me for a little while, the time we get together is always so enjoyable. I have been reading back on my old xanga.com blog from back in sophomore year. We were such dorks together but we had such a fun and exciting friendship. I’m so glad we can still enjoy each other now just as much as we did back then. You’re the best, Dave!

Here is Dave’s Apple application if you want to check it out!

http://www.apple.com/webapps/utilities/ideals.html

This week has been pretty hard and this weekend will get even harder! If you are a praying person, please keep Lauren’s family and friends in your prayers on Saturday since the funeral is scheduled for Saturday morning. I love you, Lauren and we miss you so much!

I had the privilege of attending Bible study again last night and it was so good, as always. I love how Michelle can plan a lesson for us but we always start talking about something else and then great conversations emerge from our discussions, thoughts, and questions. Last night we talked about so many great things and I want to share with you one of the biggest points that I learned. First, we were discussing how we can know the difference between trying to follow the “rules of the Christian life” or just living to please the Lord. It’s a tough question because we know that as Christ followers, we shouldn’t do things such as hate, be jealous, judge, etc, but are those rules on us or should we just do them because we love Christ? So, we discussed a lot and Michelle said a statement that truly put it all into perspective, “The ‘rules’ are just an overflow of a relationship with Jesus!” That makes so much sense. When I truly follow after the Lord, my heart is not going to want to hate or be jealous, but it’s going to want to love and be gentle. When I seek Him, I will seek His ways and not those of this world. Colossians 3:12 says “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” That’s really all God wants from us. To be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient and when we pursue these acts, we will bear fruit. It’s so much easier to understand how a relationship with God works when you are actively pursuing Him. It logically makes sense. When you pursue someone, you get to know them on deeper levels and start to understand their characteristics. It’s the same way with God, He just wants us to get to know Him more by living by the characteristics that He loves. I have to always remember that when I abide in Him, I will bear fruit.

Yesterday I was also able to do some service learning for my teaching diverse populations course at Vista Lakes Elementary. I worked with 2nd grade ESOL students (English to Speakers of Other Languages). I’m pretty sure they were all able to understand and speak English, but definitely not on the level of a native English speaker. I worked with a couple children on math, more specifically, fractions. It was interesting working with them because I could tell they got confused a lot and didn’t know some of the words I was saying. It must be so aggravating for them because they are not allowed to speak in their native language, the class is taught primarily in English. Even though the ESOL teacher is fluent in Spanish, she is not allowed to help the spanish speaking students because there are other students of other languages (there were two Vietnamese girls and one Chinese girl) and she can’t give them equal attention. I think it probably helps the students a lot to be immersed in English, so they can quickly learn the language but it really must be so frustrating.

I had a lot of fun working with those students and just observing them. Yesterday was report card day (they still give out report cards in those thin cardboard-colored envelopes.. those brought back so many childhood memories! :-p). One of the boys I was working with was really excited to show me his report card and I eagerly looked at his paper, hoping for A’s and S’s (Satisfactory). Unfortunately, he was excited because he received a “C” in mathematics and was really happy about that because all of his other grades were F’s and U’s (Unsatisfactory). It was even more sad that the “C” was from the second marking period and he just received his third marking period report card. He thought it was a new higher grade, but it was still the same one, which means his mathematics grade went down to an F. I think kids need more motivation! They (especially students who don’t understand English or with learning disabilities) get so frustrated and easily give up. Education is so important and mastering these elementary level skills are so vital for success later on in life. Hopefully when I become a teacher, I won’t lose my vigor for teaching like a lot of educators do. It’s a tough job but someones gotta do it.

Tonight I found out that a friend of mine, Lauren Detrio, was hit by a car and passed away. So sad I had the privilege of knowing Lauren for a couple years now and was able to witness how God worked in her life. Lauren was always such a joy to be around and always released love to those around her. Lauren had a contagious positive spirit, was happily in love and engaged to a great man. We celebrated the engagement with a lingerie party in December. It was so much fun celebrating the love that she shared with Mike. She looked absolutely beautiful when she tried on her wedding dress. I’m so sad that she won’t be wearing that dress down the aisle but I have to be glad in the fact that she experienced so much love through Mike and her best friends. I rejoice in the fact that she lived her life for the Lord and she is dancing in Heaven right now but I mourn in the loss of her life and the loss of her presence with her family, fiance and best friends. Please keep her family in your prayers.

Thank you for a beautiful life, Lauren. You will forever be in my heart, as well as all of those who love you.

Right now I’m sitting on the fourth floor of the UCF library in between classes. It’s super quiet and not very exciting. I’m sitting at table facing a wall, with a large window in front of me. As soon as I sat down, I pulled out my laptop and quickly began browsing my usual websites. It has taken me nearly 30 minutes to look away from my laptop and look up to the window. Through the window I see a beautiful sky, a bright blue backdrop with scattered white fluffy clouds. The sky hasn’t looked this aesthetically pleasing in days and I know God is trying to romance me right now (I love when He does that)! But it makes me think of how much it relates to my everyday life. I’m quick to run to my laptop or homework but slow to run to God, or even to notice His creation around me. It’s nice to realize that no matter how caught up in this world I get, He is always the perfect outlet. No matter how entangled or stressed I may feel, He is still right there, trying to catch my attention and brighten up my day. I’m quick to forget these major details about my faith but it still feels so good every time I remember.

Today was beautiful! I ‘accidentally’ slept in until 12:15pm.. I set an alarm on my phone but accidentally set it for pm instead of am, so I wasted my morning away sleeping blissfully. It was wonderful. Luckily, I woke up in time to babysit two adorable girls! In all of my babysitting experience, they were definitely very well behaved and adjusted well to strangers. They were a joy…until the sweet 18-month old girl started SCREAMING when I took away playdough from her after she constantly kept eating it. It took about 15 minutes for her to calm down and those 15 minutes consisted of running with her, chasing her sister, and tickling her. Isn’t it interesting how quickly kids attitudes can change? They could look exuberant one minute and then be screaming for dear life the next minute. If I wasn’t majoring in elementary education, I would definitely consider child psychology or child development. Or I would study photography!! but that’s another story…

I was also able to meet with my Bible Study tonight (we missed you Jen!) and we haven’t been able to meet in a couple weeks, so it was pure joy to be with them again. My Bible study consists of myself, two dear friends (Stel and Jen) and my high school Bible study leader (Michelle). Michelle is the most amazing woman and always has wonderful advice. Stel and I had created a list of questions that we have always battled with when it comes to our faith. One of them was ‘does God have a certain and definite path for us or are there different paths that we can choose to take?” Michelle gave us the perfect example to help understand this question a bit more. She described it as God being the pilot of a plane (our life) and there is a set destination and no matter what, the plane will land in your destination but you have the freedom and ability to move about the plane. You can switch seats, meet different people, walk around when you are supposed to be in your seat, or stay in the same spot. In the end, no matter what, you will end up at your destination but it’s up to you to determine how your flight was. I love that analogy!