The Skittles of My Life thus far in 2014 - enjoying the rainbow!

Okay, so I really couldn't come up with a better title for this post. My brain is fried, and that's about as creative as I can get right now. However, when I was trying come up with things to share with you for this post, I noticed that everything for this one seemed to start with an S. So, I started to title this post "The S's of my life" (which sounded extremely dull), so anywho this is my best effort for tonight. :)


SHOES
Paul finished building my shoe wall in the closet, and I finally got around to organizing all my shoes on it. I have to say that it is so much easier now to get ready and not spend ten minutes looking for the matching shoe; however, after organizing 97 pairs of shoes, I now realize that I have a problem. Shoe Lovers Anonymous, anyone?? For each new pair I buy, I'm going to have to start donating some. 

SORE TOES
Our new literature textbooks are HUGE, but I promise they feel even heavier when a student accidentally drops in on your foot during class. Even on days where I am miraculously not clumsy, my students find a way to take care of it for me. lol Love 'em anyways!! 

SAND
We recently made a trip down to South Alabama to visit my parents, and I LOVED spending a little bit of time at the beach. Yes, it was cold, but the view was still wonderful and we were able to enjoy some awesome fresh seafood. I definitely took that for granted growing up. Seafood is just not the same as you go further north and away from the Gulf.  Bahama Bob's is absolutely the best!!

SNOW
Well, we weren't exactly expecting much over the past couple of days, but the South finally saw some snow. The more northern part of the state didn't receive as much, but I was still able to get a "snow" day out of the deal today. I got to sit at home on a beautiful day with the sun shining and no snow in site, but who's complaining....haha! However, my online graduate classes don't provide snow days, so I spent my day catching up on this week's assignments. 

SERVING
This past week has made me even more ready for spring break and our mission trip - bring on the warmer weather! Our passports are finally in, and I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity God has given us. This will be our first ever mission trip, and we will be heading to Baja, Mexico. (And, yes, we know not to drink the water there.) After several days of serving over there, we get a mini-vacation in San Diego, CA, and I can't wait. What better way to end a wonderful time of serving than with some away time with my hubby. We know that we will want to check out the zoo, but we aren't really sure what else will be on the agenda. 

SPARK!
Well....better late than never! At least that is my motto for my new year's resolution. It's not quite the end of January, so it still counts, right? I am so excited about a healthier Courtney is 2014 - both physically and spiritually. I am now on Day 2 of no soft drinks, coffee, or tea! (I know that's only two days, but I am quite proud of that already.) I am also trying to exercise everyday, and my healthier replacement to coffee should be here in a day or two -- Spark! by Advocare. It is a powder that you mix in with water, and it has much more nutritional value than coffee or sodas with the added energy boost! With that said, it's also time to add a little Spark to my spiritual life as well. I was working so hard on my lesson plans and graduate work one day, and it was just like God hit me upside the head and said "How awesome it would be if you spent that much time perfecting your relationship with me." Whoah! That brought me back down pretty quickly. Yes, I love to serve, and God has afforded me awesome opportunities to work with the Inner City children and serve in missions. However, it kind of seems like lately I have been more focused on the actual serving than WHO I'm serving. I'm so thankful that God has shaken  me back up, and I'm so excited to see how this year unfolds. 

So, needless to say, I have a lot of S's going on right now.  Life is not always perfect. There are days where I feel like a failure as a teacher, wife, leader, friend, and Christian, but all in all God is still God and God is still Good!! I know the rain will come, and hopefully I will be spiritually stronger and adept to handle it....but for now I'm enjoying the rainbow that God has blessed me with!

Hopefully, I'll have some awesome notes from my Bible studying to share soon. I love typing up the pearls of wisdom that God shows me in those moments so that I can study them again and again. Until then, though, please keep me in prayer as I strive to joyfully approach each day in Christ and spend more time in His Presence than worrying about the present. I am a perfectionist in all I do, but it's time I make sure I'm perfecting what really matters. God deserves the first-fruits of my labor, not my leftovers (ooohhhh, I feel a devotional blog post coming soon). Thanks for uplifting me in prayer! I know God's got great things in store! :)

For my MARRIED and non-married friends, check this out!! This is great food for thought:

 

Until next time....