Free chipolte!

So far the weekend has been pretty good. Hung out at Jeff and Jenny's friday night for a movie and some ice cream. Went to clearwater to see my dad last night at a swim meet he was working at. I hadn't been to that pool since I was 10! haha I felt old. I also had to drive home in the pouring rain, which I really despise. It scares me :( However, I did get to eat at chilis and my dad got me a free chipotle burrito from hospitality!

Have you ever realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?

I'm reading "When I don't Desire God, How to fight for Joy" by John Piper. I thought I'd share a section I was encouraged by. Piper is talking about a book by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. In this book he is talking about Psalm 42 specifically verse 5 which says "Why are thou cast down, O my soul? And why are thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." This is important to know since he quotes him. :) just so you aren't confused haha. Anyway, here it is:

Far too many Christians are passive in their fight for joy. They tell me about their condition of joylessness, and I ask about the kinds of strategies they have pursued to defeat this enemy, and they give the impression that they are a helpless victim: "Joylessness is just there. What can I do?" Well, God does not mean for us to be passive. He means for us to fight the fight of faith-the fight for joy. And the central strategy is to preach the gospel to yourself. This is war. Satan is preaching for sure. If we remain passive, we surrender the field to him.
So Martyn Lloyd- Jones gets specific and gets tough:

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself.... You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: "Hope thou in God"-instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way, and then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and...what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: "I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, which is also the health of my countenance and my God."

I've been experiencing this very much so in my walk with God lately. He has been teaching me many things the past couple months through various hardships and preaching the gospel to myself everyday really has been the key in keeping my joy in Christ going. It's so easy to just get caught up in the difficult things in life, but I feel the more I praise God and thank Him for everything, including the obstacles in life, the more joy He gives me.

So first day was pretty good. We got out almost 2 hours early! I really liked it though. The teacher seems like a good one. Very laid back, but cares about her job. It's literacy too, which I'm excited for because I might want to go to grad school for it. We meet at Pizzo Elementary and get to tutor a student. I love that our classes are experience based rather than lets just talk about it.

Right now I'm beginning to fill out my final internship application and I'm nervous. I have to sign up for my teacher certification and subject area tests which cost about 350 dollars. I think I'm more scared about that. I can't really fail them, because that's a lot of money! We also have to get a copy of our college transcripts and make copies. Which I don't really understand because can't they just look them up?? Sometimes I wonder about USF.

Random, but I'm really wanting chipotle! I think I have a problem, I seriously love this place too much. I need to find someone with the same passion for chipotle. Although, maybe it's a good thing, I'd prob eat there every week haha.

Classes already?

So I've decided to start blogging again. Hopefully I'll keep up with it this time :)

It doesn't feel like Florida anymore, but I like it. I don't even remember the last time it was hot. I'm very happy to be back in Tampa, too. It's been so nice. Went on a women's retreat for my church and had a great time. Applied for a couple jobs, and hoping I get one of them! We shall see. And then tonight I went to Jeff and Jenny's to see everyone and catch up. Classes begin tomorrow! Except I have internship tomorrow and we don't start until later this month. So I get to sleep in! I have a pretty nice schedule this semester too. Here's what it looks like:

Monday: Internship til 2:30
Tuesday: Literacy 8-10:45
Wednesday: Internship til 4, exceptional child 5-7, girls bible study maybe? yeah this day is gonna be busy!
Thursday: ESOL 3 5-8

And then I have an online class- health/PE... and no, i have no clue why a PE class is online haha.

I still can't believe these are my last five classes! I don't think it's hit me yet. I turn in my final internship application on friday- very nervous for that! It's crazy to think I'm going to be done with college soon. Nevertheless, I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for me. This has been a very random entry, but that's okay! Until next time :)