A ship in harbor is safe -
but that is not what ships are for.

-John A. Shedd

Cupcake Exchange

Yesterday was Garret & Kaydee's wedding!  It was beautiful and really fun.  Pictures and more stories to follow!

While I was there, I got to talk with my friend Nick from Team Sweetwater.  Luke, my little brother, was sitting nearby, dangerously close to the wedding cake and cupcakes.  This is the exchange between Luke and Nick regarding the cupcakes:

Luke: What kind of cupcake are you going to have?

Nick: Oh, whichever one they give me.

Luke: But what if you get to choose?

Nick: Oh, I'd probably take the vanilla one.

Luke: That's good, 'cuz I want a chocolate one!  All the boys can have the chocolate, and the girls can have the vanilla!

Jennica: Does that mean Nick is a girl?
--pause--

Luke: He's whatever he wants to be!

Nick: No.  It doesn't work that way!

Jennica: Some people have tried that, and it doesn't work out too well.

Tally

TPA 4: Done

Essays: 34

Projects: 80

Handouts: 96ish

Hours: 60

Can she do it?

Yes

she

CAN!!!

Post-Script:

I find it funny that this was posted on Friday the 13th...I'm not superstitious or anything.

And my projects are going pretty...I am confident that I will have them done on time. :)

Love them

Here are the little kids again, from Christmas Break.  Dad loves to read to them, and they love to listen!  Aren't they so cute!

I am very excited to see them in two weeks when I go home for Garret & Kaydee's wedding!!!  If you think of Garret and Kaydee, pray for them!  Eight weeks from engagement to wedding is not very much time...

Brenda, Lexie, Gio, Luke, and Daddy

Happy now?

Jesus Christ, ha’Moshiach, did not suffer, die, and rise again to make me happy.  He suffered, died, and rose again to bring glory to Himself.  How does that make sense?  How could you believe that you are significant enough that the God of the whole universe, Who knows what is happening before it happens, Who orchestrated everything perfectly from Creation to Fall to Israel to Salvation to Church to eventual Revelation, how could you believe that you are significant enough to merit His favor?  And not only that, how could you believe that all of these events were put into time and space because God wants you to be happy?  The goal is not happiness, the goal is holiness, which will result in your joy.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
-Psalm 8:3-4, NIV

The 1:30 am ramblings of Ayelet

How To

So a friend of mine told me how his pastor pulled pranks with those harmless, little party poppers.  I was very excited about it, and when Danielle commented on her own little party poppers yesterday, I had a brilliant idea.  My "how to" is below. :)

Step 1: Select a location.  I chose the cupboard because my roommates are very thirsty people.

Step 2: Attach a string to a stationary surface.  I used a thumbtack and dental floss.

Step 3: Attach the dental floss to the string of the party popper, making sure that the little paper that keeps the string close to the popper is removed.

Step 4: Attach another string to the door of the cupboard (I used the clasp on the inside).  Tie this string to the neck of the popper, making sure it is secure and does not touch the detonator string.  Also, ensure that both strings are taut so that the popper will actually be pulled when the door is opened.

Step 5: Close the door and wait for your victim/friend.

Step 6: Sit back and enjoy the explosion! (actual footage)

Sherrie gave a great reaction to the popper in the kitchen!  She jumped back about a foot and her eyes just about popped out of her head!  Though she had a knife in her hand, thankfully she hurt neither herself nor the perpetrator. ;)

Kat's reaction was also funny.  Searching under the bathroom sink for some tissue, she let out a squeal as the streamers filled the air!  She complained about the smell of the gunpowder (or whatever it is) and then said, "You didn't say it!"

Me: "Say what?"

Kat: "You knooooOOOooowwW you love me!!"

Ahhhhhh, yes, this phrase is frequently repeated in our apartment...usually by me, after teasing/irritating some roommate. ;)

Any other preconceived ideas I can blow up for you??!!

Here is another mention of Gunner, the current Dean of Men at TMC. It seems that he is doing a series at Master's on college and real life. He says that many people view their college years as not counting towards the rest of life. Gunner says that many people live as if these years will not count, that God will not hold them accountable because these years aren't real life, they're just practice.
False.
God will hold us accountable for every day, which is a sobering thought, to say the least.
Gunner goes on to say that we need to be practicing now for real life. Even though I have graduated from college, I still am in this preparation period as I get my credential and am learning from others. Soon I will be responsible for my own students' education, but not quite yet.
Any way, Gunner made the point that the training is not any less real than the performance, it is only different. A person cannot leave college or a credential program and expect to be successful and effective if he or she has not be living with the real life mindset all along. The following quote really struck me:

"The best performers are the best practicers. The best presenters are the best preparers. The best competitors are the best conditioned. The best soldiers are the best boot-campers. Those who are diligent in private are influential in public."

I was convicted by these blog posts. I can't go back and change those 4 years, but I can change this semester as I teach 2 more weeks in high school and 8 in junior high. I can choose to live in the present while still looking to the future, and I can make decisions accordingly. I'll end with a few question I sometimes have in the back of my mind when I hear people talk about their future plans:

What are you doing now to prepare for that? How can you shape your character and your skills now for that future dream? It will be here before you know it; are you ready?

Yearly Tradition

It's my yearly tradition: Time to reference the fact that I was in Jericho, Israel/the West Bank on Valentine's Day 3 years ago now. Here are my other posts from 1 year ago and 2 years ago.
And of course, I have pictures to go with this. :)

The view of Jerusalem from the east from Nebi Samwil. You can tell it is Jerusalem because of the three towers on the horizon. They are located on the Mount of Olives and visible for miles.

Wheat growing in Benjamin

Drawing water out of a cistern at the entrance to Michmash and Geba, where Jonathan and his armor bearer climbed up and killed a lot of Philistines.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that dirt hill is Jericho. I was very disappointed when I saw it. It is a very small dirt hill. However, God really did bring it down, so that's cool.

When I think about how far I've come, how much I've done, how much I've grown in the last 3 years that passed like a nanosecond, I can't help but be grateful that God doesn't let His children stay stagnant. At times I get down about where I am in life and what is going to happen with my future, but since God was faithful to bring me to my today, He will be faithful to bring me to my future.

Rejoice always,

pray without ceasing,

in everything give thanks;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

-I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

Adventure

In case you don't know, I'm a big fan of adventure. I love the definition: a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful) . While my adventures don't usually ;) fall in the wild or unlawful categories, I still like doing things out of the ordinary. It's generally more fun with another person, even if that person thinks my ideas are a little too crazy. Oh well, God gave us friends for a reason! :)

Adventure in NorCal...

My poor shoes got very dirty...they're okay now, though...

In order to have a good adventure, you need the proper footwear...or no footwear... :)

Topanga Canyon Hike, looking down on Santa Monica

Trying to get to China through a pipe...didn't work too well

Hopping in fountains gets you some funny looks... ;)

Slumdog

So I went and saw "Slumdog Millionaire" with my friends Michelle, Jenni, and Mandy last night. It was awesome! For those of you who don't know about the movie, it is about a boy, Jamal, who grows up in the slums of Mumbai and eventually gets on the biggest game show in India, "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire." He advances to the final round but is accused of cheating. However, he didn't cheat; he knows all the answers to the questions because of several isolated events in his past. You follow the events of his past and learn about his love, a girl named Latikah. I won't give away the ending. ;)
Any way, I really enjoyed it! I have to warn you that it was rated R for some language and some scenes of torture (not intense or bloody, though, thankfully).
I really enjoyed the cinematography with its portrayal of intense colors and many different classes of people in India. I thought it captured the dirtier side of a third-world country. And yes, I still want to go. One of my favorite parts was when Jamal and his brother Salim look up to see the Taj Mahal and think they have reached heaven, or at the least, a 5-star hotel!
I also caved in and bought the soundtrack on Amazon.com. Kat is already addicted, and I am so excited for it arrive on Wednesday! Oh, and if you want to listen to one of my favorite songs from the movie, click here to listen on youtube. :D

Mumbai. Taj Mahal. Agra. New Delhi. Varanasi. I can't wait for the day when I can visit and see these places for myself...

Plethora of Topics

I have a lot of things to say...Feel free to comment or just to read (since you, Reader, seem to do the latter on a consistently boring basis ;) ).

I like teaching, but I wish all students were at the Honors level. It is sad to me that American students can't even follow simple instructions and maintain the flow of ideas from day to day. "What is this again? Okay, so what is that?" Oh dear, you are going to be in serious trouble when you get to college.

Being in love and love are two different things. I think that being in love depends on feelings and day-to-day things. It is temperamental. Love, true love, is that state of being in which you care deeply for that other person and give yourself for him/her/them, no matter what. You may not always feel it, but it is a choice. "I am going to love this person, and that will never change." Both are necessary in a marriage, but being in love without actually loving the person will result in disappointments and disillusionment and possibly bitterness. Loving the person without being in love will result in toleration rather than enjoyment. At least in my opinion. It makes sense to me...hopefully it does to you as well. I'm trying to figure out a way to tell you, Reader, that I don't want this to be construed in any way to have some hidden message about my past. But maybe someone out there is wondering about the distinction between the two; this is just my opinion. Any thoughts?

I am really wondering what I should do next year. My school district has a hiring freeze, but I do not know about the school districts up north. I don't necessarily want to move north, even though I love it and my family is there. I have a few months to decide/figure it out/pray about it. We shall see.

I brought one of my professors to tears with a picture of my family (all thirteen of us!).

Photography is one of my favorite things. I am constantly noticing cool things and trying to think of ways to get good shots of them. This usually occurs while I'm driving. I have to restrain myself not to pull off the road to take pictures, though sometimes I give in, but not on the way to school. How would I explain that one?

Some day I WILL see the Taj Mahal in person. The trip might just have to be later rather than sooner. And I will post pictures to prove it.

Fam

I just remembered a quote from my dad!

"You have so much mud on your pants, you could plant flowers!"
(to the little kids after a particularly fun day)