Introduction to the Old Testament - Week 1

Classes have started up and all is going great so far! I finished off the week with a 100% on both my discussion time and on my assignment so that was really exciting for me. :) My goal is to get all 100's on my discussion time, at least two 100's on my assignments (which will improve on last session), and get into the mid 90's with my paper. I am really excited about this class. It feels good to be excited because my last class I was very nervous. This week was a pretty easy start since we did personal introductions and short biographies about ourselves to help with getting to know each other. As the class progresses it appears it will get a little harder but it was a great week.

Here is my summary for the week:

This week I really enjoyed getting to know my classmates and seeing through their biographies how the Lord has worked in big ways in their lives. I am always standing in awe of God and how He accomplishes His will in so many different ways and can use each of us as we are willing to be used by Him. I have been so encouraged this week in getting to know each other and by our assignment in how God used each person in special ways according to His will. As I walk through life I want to make the most of each opportunity because God can use anyone He chooses to accomplish His will through.

I want to thank everyone for your prayers and encouragement through this process. It was a scary decision for me to go back to school and it feels good to know I have support out there. I am loving this decision and enjoying every minute of it! :)

Spring Break 2012

I can honestly say that I never would have imagined spring break relating to me ever again after graduating from Pasco High School but this year it did.

This year I loaded up my car with my stuff and my pups and we headed to Snyder for a few days. It was a lot of fun seeing family and friends while I was there. I think I slept the first full day I was there. The weather turned cold, windy, and rainy (I guess I had brought it with me) and I ended up staying out at Grandma's most of the day. With the time being an hour ahead of New Mexico my alarm is set every night so that I don't accidentally sleep till 10 or 11 am. So I got up, cleaned up, ate breakfast, and then had a nap. I woke up had lunch and had a nap. Then my Dad called and gave me the plan for when they would be done with dialysis, and then took another nap. Then my Dad called and said they would be ready by the time I got there and that Mom wanted to eat when she was finished at Colorado City (sometimes she is pretty weak after her treatments) so I officially got up and went to meet them at the clinic and went to have supper with them. When I got home my Grandma and I watched a bit of television and then at about 10pm guess what I went to bed! I couldn't not believe how tired I was when I didn't have to do a reading assignment, discussion question, or an assignment. It felt great to sleep and sleep some more though I felt like I lost my entire day and I had.

You should check out my sister's blog. If you look on my blog list click on "The Stansell Family" she posted about my time at her house and posted some pictures. I didn't get any pictures this go around. My Grandma made the day trip with me to Midland and we had a lot of fun. I went to see my nephew Luke play soccer but his game was canceled because of the weather. Instead we just visited and made St. Patrick's Day cupcakes! After they had cooled off we decorated them and each had one. It was a lot of fun.

This was a great spring break for me and it was a nice break from classes. I did start my reading assignment during spring break to get ahead a bit though. Classes have started back up and are going great. I am really looking forward to another great session. I am already working on what class I will be taking in the summer. I am hoping this will work out good because summers are very busy for us and I am hoping to take at least one class every summer to help the progress of classes. As of right now once this class is over I will be finishing up in 4 years if I remain on this pace of only one class per session (2 classes in the fall semester, 2 classes in the spring semester, and 1 class in the summer). This would be a great time frame for me and a realistic goal for completion. I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break too! :)

Things I Have Learned: Intro. to the New Testament, Week 8

Wow I can't believe that this is the last summary I will be posting for Intro to the New Testament. It feels good to have this class complete. I am feeling good and so excited for the rest of my classes.

Here is my week 8 summary:

I really enjoyed this week of study and more particularly I enjoyed our assignment. I was reminded of the emphasis that John puts into his letters concerning love and what that means. As I leave this week the Lord convicted me to be willing to lay down my life for those around me and that perfect love casts out fear. I had been struggling with making a decision to help my Mom get off of kidney dialysis by donating a kidney to her. This week the Lord showed me that if this is His will then He will provide if the day comes that I may need a kidney myself. Though I don’t know if I will qualify or not the lesson I am taking away from this is to be willing to lay it all down and trust Him with the outcome. I hope that this works out for my Mom’s sake though and I believe that this will be a wonderful lesson to take hold of as summer is approaching and our camp starts to pick up. There are a lot of kids out there that need to experience the love of Christ.

I can’t believe that these 8 weeks are coming to a close. Thank you all for the encouragement I have received from yall. You have been a huge blessing in my life. I hope to see everyone again sometime down the road as I continue my studies and may the Lord bless each of you as you continue in your studies. :)

I am really excited for my next class which is Intro to the Old Testament. I will be starting it on March 12th.

After figuring things out I found that if I go light for the rest of my classes doing 1 per session I will finish in about 4 1/2 years (5 classes a year) and if I want to push things then I will finish in 3 1/2 years (7 classes a year). For now I am planning the lighter route but I may change my mind. I am really excited about this journey though. I hope everyone is doing well. Take care and may the Lord bless you always.

Things I Have Learned: Intro. to the New Testament, Week 7

Sorry I missed posting this summary last week. There was a lot happening between groups at camp, Critical Reflection Paper being due, Assignment being due, and getting sick to top it all off which sadly I probably caused by worrying about the heavy week of school. I am better and doing good now after a lot of sleep and getting the week completed.

Here is my summary from Week 7:

This week has been so encouraging and challenging for me in some respect. I was very encouraged by my time in Hebrews 11. I learned so much from the people of past and how they endured hardships, obeyed God, looked to the final reward of God (even though it was invisible to them), made the way of God a priority in their lives, and God was faithful to reward them because of the way they walked by faith. I pray that as I continue in my walk with the Lord that I would walk out the things that He places in my path by faith. Trusting Him and the promises He has for me.

May the bless you always!