Awesome song

I was sure by now,
God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again,
I say amen
and it's still raining
but as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
and takes away.

And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn...
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone
how can I carry on
if I can't find You
but as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
and takes away

And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn...
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth

And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn...
I will praise You in this storm


I don't really feel that I am going through a "storm" right now in my life but this song was sang at church on Sunday and I just love it. I think it's better sometimes if we commit to attitude like this BEFORE we go through the hard times.........cause once you're already in them you are at a place of weakness. Then it is hard to make the right decision. So any of you out there in Blogger land who are struggling with something difficult in life, take heart, he is still king and he is still in control......Prais him through this storm and he promises......"This too shall pass......."

shake-n-bake baby!

Just thought I would post this picture to explain to the world why my husband and dog are perfect for each other. This is Justin repeatedly making "waves" in the comforter because he knows that Prissy will attack each and every one. At the sight of which he laughs histerically...........okay, so I have to admit, I laugh histerically too. Partly due to the fact that it's funny and partly because I love my coo-coo boo!

(Oh yeah, I had to draw shorts on him cause he was in his skibbies!) =)

"Wa wa wa, wa wa wa, wa wa" ~Charlie Brown's Teacher

In case you didn't know, I'm SO a teacher now! What the heck, who'd a thunk it?? Yep, I officially started school this week and I absolutely LOVE it. I love when I try my hardest to explain something to a kid and I actually get to see the look of confusion melt off their little faces. I just cherish that feeling. I love being able to plan my own days, and control my own classroom. I love being able to be a strict, get-down-to-business type teacher one minute and then bustin' out with my ghetto voice the next minute........I like it even better when they all laugh. Every day that I have come home from work I've had a new story to tell....a story about something a kid did, or something new I learned, there really IS something new every day. Like for instance, I'm standing in my first period class, just waiting for the tardy bell to ring and this cute little blonde girl walks in (to talk to another teacher that was in the room). After she stares at me for a while she finally says, "Are you a teacher here?" To which I replied, "Yes". "Well, what's your name?", "Mrs. Tyner". "Well, did it used to be Ms. Shirley??"

You are probably thinking the same thing I was at this moment........How the heck does this kid know my maiden name? After I told her she was right she proceeded to freak out for the next ten minutes as I tried to get this mystery solved. Finally she informed me that when I was a sophomore in college that I came to her church, when she was in 7th grade (now she is a senior) and led a Disciple Now bible studdy weekend with her and her friends! How stinkin' weird??? And you know how she remembered my name all these years?? It just so happens that I made up a song about myself (apparently) and she remembered all the words!! This "song" had my name in it. (leave it to me to make up a stupid song about myself and then burn it into the impressionable minds of young children) Needless to say, it was the highlight of my day.
I know i'm still in the "honeymoon" stage I guess, but for now, I'm enjoying it. Who knows, next week I might just be picking spit balls out of my hair??

In other news, I got my Scoliosis scan done on my back and will get the results soon.........lets pray that a little physical therapy will make me all better and we won't need any of that surgery stuff.......

My Audge comes home this week and I absolutely cannot wait to see her! Love you Audge!

Here are some pictures from our fun trip to Fast Eddies. After a couple rides me and Toby decided to take our rightful place as spectators, our arms hurt from steering so hard. Hey, I never claimed to be SheRa........oh wait except when I was 5 and used to carry my SheRa sword around in my diaper, pulling it out at the slightest sign of danger. But other than then.........

Anyway, I decided boys are just crazy, especially when it comes to go-carts, video games, athletic events, oh yeah and life in general =) Justin, Kurt, Matt V., and Kirk were out for blood. It was quite entertaining to watch. But even with all the viciousness, Jus still managed to give a little sign of affection to the crowd.

Ok so this week has been filled with teacher type stuff, meaning my hand has a permenant cramping from all the paperwork I've had to do.....and yet I still have more! scary! I've spent the last week going to "new teacher" conferences and learning everything I need to know to start off my first school year........so why do I feel like I know absolutely nothing?? haha, well, I guess the only preparation is to get in there and do it, so I will. I'm sure my first few weeks will be full of spit balls and writing lines on the board, but either way, I'm excited! I had to take my Math subject area test on Saturday to complete my certification. This thing was no joke. I'm talking Calculus 2 material and all! I had to dig deep to remember some of those formulas that I thought I had properly disposed of somewhere in my brain, but I think I actually did ok. The guys sitting next to me was a trip. We chit chatted a while while the 90 year old lady in charge walked up to each and every chair 20 times handing out respective materials. I tried to make conversation to make the time go by faster so I asked a simple question, or so I thought, "If we finish before time is up, are we supposed to stay seated or leave the room?" To which he replied, "I'll have you know, I'll still be sitting here when time is up........" All I could do was bust out laughing at the guy. I guess it was pretty cocky to assume I may be finished with time to spare, but it turns out i did! So Nah to you snippy guy! Anyway, I was glad to get that over with. And I needed some relaxation. Luckily Jeff and Laura (she's the pregnant one in the pictures) invited us all over to their house to hang out and play Cranium. I love our new sunday school class. We've gotten to meet so many awesome couples through it. Jeff and Laura have joined our Thursday night bowling group too! Hopefully, we can get everyone going, how fun!

So tomorrow, I start school. Luckily I'll have this next week to prepare and gather knowledge from the other teachers before I actually have to handle the children. Wish me luck!

Where he leads me, I will follow

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 - "26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him."

Okay so this teaching thing is scary for me, but for some reason I feel more confindent starting this career, with absolutely no knowledge or experience, than I have been in starting any computer job I've had. Weird I know! So i think I finally figured out why.........God does not call the equipped, he equips the called! Lord knows he definitely didn't call me because of my stellar teaching abilities or great background in the field, but instead, just like the verse above says, he called me (a lowly unqualified newbie) so that when he makes an amazing teacher out of me, we'll all know it was only by HIS power, not anything I could do. This way the world can see that he is making something of me that I couldn't have made of myself. It's the same way he offers us salvation and love. I'm not loved by God because I am valuable, but instead, I'm valuable only because I am loved by God! He wants me just as I am, all my mess ups and mistakes and things I could and should fix in my life. He offers ME love and salvation just like he offers Billy Graham. That's true unconditional love. It's hard to imagine that because there are little to know true examples of it on this earth today, it's human nature to be conditional. It's hard to believe that someone who knows my every deepest thoughts and faults would still think I'm worth it all. But, again my doubt is baseless. Even the disciples themselves had their sinful ways about them. Yep, although I think of them as these "Holier than thou" types, they were actually just as messed up as the rest of us. Peter was loud, obnoxious and often put his foot in his mouth, John and James were repeatedly shown as hot-headed and let their tempers get the best of them, and Paul (who was formerly known as Saul) was the worst persecutor and murderer of Christians before he was converted! If he can transform those guys into the amazing missionaries and pillars of our faith that they turned out to be........I'm anxious to see what he will make out of me. As I go into this new career I'm vowing to give him control. I'm walking into that school the first day as a missionary.............who just happens to teach Algebra.

Speaking of patriotic.....

Well, it finally happened. I got called into Frank Lay's office this morning and he offered me the Algebra Teacher position at Pace High! Yayyy! I'm so a teacher now!

My God is so amazing. He provides everything I need. For instance, let's rewind to the beginning of this whole scenario. As many of you know, I was working at a software company, anxiously wanting to quit. And due to the fact that Justin was given a huge promotion to Outside sales in his company, I was able to. I was able to lay low for a few months while I figured out just exactly it was that I wanted to do. That was nothing but sheer blessing from above, just that time that gave me clarity. Well, I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher and I felt very strongly that I could do it but, at this point I was NOT willing to go back to school. Although, I was sure that I would have to, being that my degree is in Computer Science and not Education. So I kind of put that idea on the back burner. But for some reason (the conviction of the Holy Spirit) the thought kept coming up again, over and over. So finally I checked it out, and it turns out that God provided for me once again. With my degree I had every single class I needed to be a Computer science or Math teacher (since I have a math minor). Woah! I was not expecting that, you mean I wouldn't have to go back to school??? Wow, I'm in! So I started the application process. What some of you don't know is that in the middle of it Justin and I sat down and talked for a while. We discussed the issue of starting a family. Well, not right at the moment, but, in the next couple of years. So, would it be fair to accept a teaching job and then get pregnant and have to quit after the first year or two?? Would that be a tacky thing to do?? We decided that maybe we should put the teaching thing on hold. So I stopped the application process, kind of halfway through. Not even a week later I had a message on my answering machine that Mr. Lay wanted to interview me for a new math position that opened up...........WHAT?? I hadn't even put in my application with the board, in fact, I hadn't done really anything. I remembered that I had mentioned to him at church one Sunday that I was interested in pursuing teaching and asked for his direction on getting started. Never did I imagine it would be that little encounter that got everything going. So I must say that when Jus and I did too much thinking on our own, God stepped in and said, "No ma'am, here is what you are going to do". I love that. I need that. My Jesus knows me better than I know myself. He knows that I second guess every decision I've ever made. So, for him to provide a straight and narrow way for me in this situation is all the gift in the world! Praise the Lord. I know I wouldn't have done this on my own. Okay so here is where it gets funny.......the same day I got the call from Pace High, Justin comes home and tells me that he thinks I should still apply for a teaching position. Yep, he decided that putting that dream on hold would just be plain silly. We should live life for now and worry about babies and what not when they get here. I agree! So now I am in the fingerprinting, drug testing process and basically have to start my teaching duties and workshops in like 3 days or something!! ahhhhhhhhhh! I'm really nervous but oh so excited.

So here are the details. I'm teaching Algebra A the first semester. That means I teach three classes of the same exact material and then have a planning period. This means I only have to prepare one lesson a day, instead of 3 like most people! Wow, how lucky am I. Then, in the second semester I am teaching Algebra A and Algebra B. The A class (which I will have already prepared for the previous semester) is for those poor students who didn't quite make it through my class the first time. And the B kids will be those who did. Okay so now for the bad news, I'm a floater.....meaning I don't have my own classroom yet, YIKES! But being the new kid, I have to pay my dues. Although being a floater does have it's perks, I get a laptop!

Tonight, Justin and I are going out to celebrate! Go PATRIOTS!

Late, as usual

Happy 4th.........oh wait, too late! Sorry bout that =(

So Independence Day was swell I'd say. A bunch of us got together at Kurt and Toby's to cook out on the grill, the girls talked "girl stuff" while the boys threw the football around and played woofle ball with a tennis racket (who knew it went so much farther with a racket?) I giggled at Jeremy and Kristen's two year old who was running through the sprinkler and laughing histerically each time it spun around and hit him....I could watch that all day. Not to mention that he wanted to continually talk about his new favorite movie, Cars. Except the fact that he pronounces his "tr" sounds like "f" instead..........so it was quite hilarious to hear him talk about the "tr"uck in the movie. hahha, I bet Kristen has a good time with that one in the grocery store!

Justin and I bought sparklers to enjoy but everyone assured me that they would be underappreciated if I lit them in broad daylight, "You should save them for tonight at the fireworks show." Okay so I did. Only to find out later that sparklers/all fireworks besides those being shot by the city of Pensacola were banned in Escambia county...CRAP! So I reluctantly left my Sparkers =( We all piled in the Yukon and headed to the fireworks show in downtown Pcola! Yay! Jus and I needed to stop at Walgreens and buy some chairs to sit in and a cooler full of drinks. Justin decided to go the cheap route and buy one of those styrofoam coolers which we still proceeded to fill with massive abouts of drink and ice. (this topic to be revisited)

So we all pull up at the fireworks show three hours early, Kristen informed us this was the way to get good parking and a good seat, so we did it. Gotta listen to those native Pcolians. As we are walking just chatting away, trying to keep up with Kristen's Dad who has taken his position of "Captain of the fireworks". The man can speed walk like no other and has no remorse if you are left behind, hahah. You could tell he was excited. Along the way you hear the horrible sound of breaking stryofoam and gushing ice on the sidewalk...........OH NO, poor Justin, I looked back only to see him standing sadly over our recent purchase. Kinda like a little kid, who didn't know how to put the cooler back together again.....so the Hudson's and the McGeHee's with their powers combined where able to make room for our drinks in their coolers and we were thankful. Finally we made it to our position in the grassy field overlooking the bay. We did what we could to waste the time before the fireworks started. And finally it was time. It was so beautiful that I wanted to take pictures of everyone, but the pictures SO do not look like the actual fireworks did. I've never been the most patriotic person, probably because I take my freedom for granted mostly. I love my country but I definitely take my freedoms for granted. But at that moment when they play all the great "America" songs, and the sky lights up and everyone just takes a minute to love our country........I'm patriotic. And so thankful for the troops overseas who are patriotic even when there aren't any fancy firework shows and great music. Okay okay, enough I know!

Well, the rest of the week and weekend flew by and I can't really remember what happened. Oh except for the fact that Justin is teaching me how to play golf. Yep I got some ladies clubs and all. I can see how the game would be tons of fun if you could actually hit the ball and make it go in somewhat the direction you wanted, which I couldn't. It's much harder to hit that little ball than to hit a softball or shoot a basketball, or do a toe-touch ya know.........but I will say that by the end of our first lesson I was definitely able to make contact with it 90% of the time, not saying it went very far (at all!) but hey, you gotta start somewhere. I hope that one day when we retire and live on a golf course somewhere, we can be the cute old couple that goes out and plays 9 holes together (because 18 would just be too much). And since I'm trying to learn one of Justin's hobbies, I am in the process of getting him to do something girly with me.......SALSA dancing! Oh yeah, I really just want to wear the high heels and flippy dress and look like i know what i am doing. He hasn't completely agreed but Toby has recently gotten Kurt to give in and I think Justin will soon follow suit. How fun!

Anyway, tonight we have Fast Eddies night. Justin's company rented out the whole place for all the employees and their families to go crazy! Go-Carts and basketball games, here i come!