beach day

So this post comes a bit late, but I wanted to have the pictures to go with it. We decided to go to Myrtle Beach State Park for a beach day and cookout.

It was sooo much fun! I actually surfed for the first time, if you call standing on the board for approximately 1.5 seconds as "surfing." But it was fun, nonetheless! Sarah and Travis were great instructors! Jessica and Jesse brought their crew...

and the Brulets brought theirs, too!

After surfing and swimming, we also played a little bit of net-less volleyball.

Then we were all super hungry, so the boys (and Summer) went to go get the food on the grill while the girls sat and talked. Then we ate a delicious meal of cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chips, potato salad, and desserts! It was yummy!

The whole day was a blast. I'm so thankful to have the beach so close and these people in my life! They make it so much more fun!

intrinsic motivation and chiastic structure

I've been doing a lot of learning this summer.

For part of the month of July, I've been taking a graduate level course at Coastal. In order to get my recertification in teaching, which is required every 5 years, I have to take at least one college course. I'm not getting my master's yet, but if I wanted to do that down the road, this course would be included. So I figured it's good to have it just in case! This is an online course, so I didn't have to go to any class meetings, but it's still a lot of work. I like the overall learning that I get from it, and it gives me great ideas, BUT...I feel like I would get more out of it if I could sit with a friend and talk about what I learn, rather than try to word it into formal sentences that "sound good." You know what I mean? I did discover that since I've left college, there are now little citation generators on the web: you just type in the information and it gives you the correct MLA or APA documentation for your bibliography. No fair!

I've also been learning from the bible study that my lifegroup is doing: Esther by Beth Moore. Lemme tell you, this woman don't play. I've come to love the teaching of Beth Moore so much. She leads us through the story and helps us to savor each moment and learn from each character. If I read a book of the Bible by myself, I tend to rush through it. She encourages us to almost take it word by word, so I can squeeze as much wisdom out of it as possible. That's what God's word is for, right? To be cherished, studied, considered, learned from. The original language is so rich and we miss a lot of that if we don't slow down. She not only teaches us biblical principles, but also literary principles, like chiastic structure. I would tell you to google it, but honestly I think it's easier to understand if you have someone explain it to you in person. I sometimes have to catch myself from idolizing Beth, because she is such an incredible teacher. I'd consider her a modern-day Paul. If you ever have the chance to do any studies by her, DO IT! You will learn so much and will draw closer to God because of it.

the inaugural post

I've been putting this off because how can I possibly come up with something good enough for the first blog?? But well, sigh, this will have to do. My summer has been going great so far! I've already remodeled my bathroom, and I'm putting the finishing touches on it. More about that in a later post! My parents and I also took a little vacay to Florida for a few days, which was very interesting, in a timeshare-annoying-deceiving-frustrating kind of way. The most entertaining portion was when the timeshare guy says, "Don't look at your watch during the presentation or I'll go really slow and take twice as long." Charming, no?

Yesterday, I finally got out of my lease (DON'T EVER LEASE! IT'S A COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY!) and am now another step closer to actually owning my car. I'm financing it through my bank, so I feel a bit relieved now that I'm not paying a butt-load (should buttload be hyphenated? hmm.) of interest.

Last night, I went out with Robbie and Lisa and their friends from Texas, Meredith and Bryone. We went to Yamato and then we took M and B's little girl to ride some rides. I actually chickened out when it was time to take her on the little kiddie ferris wheel, but I managed to brave the racecars! I always love hanging out with them, though, because they make me laugh constantly! And their little girl is so adorable!

So, here's my first post! Let's hope they get better, eh?