(Non) Voter Guilt.

Update: Blood test came back NORMAL! That means I don't have to take tons of pills for the rest of my life. And that, my friends, is GREAT news.

Now, on with other things...

Today is election day. I like to think of myself as an informed voter. A person who typically cares about the state of our country and who is running it. This time around, this election, I was not that person. For some reason, this election completely slipped my mind (probably because of the 1,257 other things that are constantly running around in there). This weekend I realized that I did not have an ever loving clue who the candidates and issues were. Sure...I've seen and heard all the political ads for the last few months. They just didn't spark any interest or thought within me. They didn't motivate me to go out and research the topics and candidates for myself. For the first time since I have had the civil right (and responsibility) to vote, I just didn't care. So shoot me.

And now, I feel bad about it. I feel guilty for not caring and for not voting. But I was thinking about something and I will leave you with this question...

What is worse: An uneducated, biased vote or no vote at all?

This Crazy Life.

Could this week be anymore ridiculous? I mean really it's the like the universe said, "Hey, this girl's life is just SWELL. Let's make her sweat a little." It's been a crazy stressful week at work. I think I have eaten more chocolate and drank more wine this week than...EVER. I am really looking forward to a day off on Friday and fun Halloween times this weekend. I need a BREAK.

I'm gonna be a fairy! I feel like a 5 year old being all excited about it. Whatever. Don't judge me!

In other news, I had to give up some blood today. Let me explain. A few months ago my hair dresser commented on how dry and "frizzy" my hair is. Apparently, this is a sign of thyroid problems? At that time, I wanted to dye my hair a light strawberry blonde color. Well, she wouldn't dye my hair until I found out what was up with my thyroid. After giving it some thought and Googling, I decided that it probably wasn't a bad idea to have it checked, especially after my own mother had her entire thyroid removed because of pre-cancerous lumps that were found (thyroid problems are hereditary). It took me several months, but today I decided to get that little blood test done. Plus, I was at the doctor anyways for this cute little sinus infection I have. Anyways, I should find out the results on Friday. I don't want to be on medication the rest of my life so I'm really praying that everything is normal.

These song lyrics are what have gotten me through this week. Music has some power, huh?

Joy unspeakable that won't go away

And just enough strength to live for today

So I never have to worry what tomorrow will bring

'Cause my faith is on a solid rock

I am counting on God.

(Counting on God by Desperation Band)

A Perfect Saturday Night.

iPod blasting+door open+fall weather+baking=the perfect Saturday night (in my humble opinion).

Yeah...I made those. And they were delicious. Now to top off a wonderfully relaxing Saturday evening, I shall go watch random Netflix movies. I love it.

Our Church.

This is what church should be about.

True. Powerful. Inspiring. Love it.

Education Nation.

Here I stand on my soapbox. Once again. I'm going to try not to rant too much here. My apologies ahead of time.

NBC news has done a feature on all their programs this week called Education Nation. Basically, it has focused on the state of education in our country (crappy) and we ALL need to do to fix it. There are lots of issues I could address here but the one that strikes me as the most important at the time is the fact that a teacher can not be held solely accountable for a child's education. I am a teacher. A pretty darn good one at that. I love my job. I love my kids and I will fight to give them my best. I am also a human. A human that realizes I can only do so much. I can't walk all my kids home everyday and make sure they have a balanced dinner or go to bed at a decent time or practice their spelling words every night or read a book before bedtime. I have these smiling faces in my classroom for 7 hours a day. I can take those 7 hours and shove as much reading, writing, and arithmetic down their throats as possible for a 7 year old to handle. The other 17 hours in a day are out of my control.

Unfortunately, the other 17 hours of the day are where most of the breakdown in a child's life comes from. Bad home lives dramatically affect a child's performance at school. That has nothing to do with their intelligence.

Here's what I want:

• I want to be held accountable for what I am doing in the classroom. I am not afraid of accountability.
• I want families to also be held accountable for what they are doing at home. It takes a village to raise a child, right??
• I want people to stop thinking of teachers as superhuman individuals who can solve all the world's problems with one flick of their wrist. Although we may try to do this (and some believe they actually can), above all we are humans who have lives outside of our classrooms. We can only do so much.
• I want to see this documentary:

Like I said, there are so many things wrong with education in this country right now. They can't all be solved by teachers. Yes, we are the center of the issues because we are the ones that are the easiest to blame. I will admit, there are teachers out there (plenty of them) who should not be in the classroom. They don't have the heart for their kids. They need to retire. However, I would wager that for every one ineffective teacher there are ten that are willing to do whatever it takes to help their kids succeed.

It takes a village to raise a child. The End.

Smells like Autumn.

Today is the first day it actually feels like Autumn outside! Yay! Fall is my hands-down, without a doubt favorite time of the year, specifically the month of October, which starts in 5 days. Apples, pumpkins, pretty leaves, hooded sweatshirts, hot tea. Mmmmhmmmm.

Now on to something I never thought I would say: I am going for a run. I use to HATE running. Like run-the-mile-in-sixth-grade-and-cry-about-it kind of hate running. Now I can say I ran/walked a 5K in July. I an preparing to run/walk a 5K in the end of October and hopefully, I will run my first full 5K on Thanksgiving in the famous Springfield Turkey Trot. With the weather being cooler now, it helps with the motivation to lace up those shoes and go hit the pavement. I honestly wouldn't have stuck with this running thing if there wasn't someone doing it with me. Everything is always easier with a partner in crime. She keeps me going when my legs are about to give out beneath me. Maybe you are asking, "Whitney, why do you all of a sudden like to run?" Let me answer that question...I don't know! Ha. I think it has something to do with the progress of it. I also think it has something to do with the fact that the pounding of my shoes on the pavement helps me pound some thoughts out of my head. I am a thinker (and a worrier). Running gives me time to sort through all these thoughts running through my head (pun intended, by the way). So in TWO months I will be running 3.1 miles. My body. My feet. My legs...with a little help and strength and faith in my God. I'm excited to prove to myself that I can do it! Hopefully, I won't look like Homer. :)

Worry Wart.

Here's something that's been consuming my thoughts in the recent days: WORRY.

I am a worry wart. If you've ever wondered what a worry wart is like (say THAT 5 times fast...GO!), meet Whitney. I worry about what I'm going to wear for work tomorrow. I worry what I might say to a parent about their child that might offend them. I worry if that brownie I ate is going to equal the last hole on my belt. I worry about everything. Literally.

My first year of college was also consumed with worry and anxiety. It was bad. I didn't sleep but maybe a few hours a night for nights in a row because I had such anxiety about school and tests and work and making it balance. It was a new chapter in my life and I was realizing that this new anxiety ridden way of life was not going to work for long. This is when I discovered Phillipians 4:6-7. "Do not worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel." When I first read that, I can remember feeling that peace it talks about. It's so comforting to know that God will take on all your worries for you. I got a lot of mileage and prayer out of those two verses, and I thought I had combated the worry/anxiety issue.

Fast Forward 5ish years to NOW. Recently, I have discovered that worry is continuing to bury itself in many aspects of my life. It is such an ugly creature to me because I could be spending the time I worry doing something much more pleasing and honorable to God. A conversation with a friend sort of inspired me to revisit this issue and I stumbled across these verses in Luke 12.

²²Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁶Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

OK. That was a lot. I know. There is some really good stuff in there though. The main thing I am taking away from all of this is my lack of faith! I never considered worry to be a faith issue...but Jesus doesn't beat around any bushes. He just says it, "You of little faith!" Whoa. Me? Little faith? That's an eye opener. So after all that soaked in to my little brain, I decided that I don't have to be a worry wart. It's a choice I am making. Why am I wasting my time? Jesus even says worry is not going to add any minutes to my life. What's the point? I can choose to make my life so much easier if I just give all my anxiety and worry up for God to take care of. He can handle it. I just have to trust Him and have faith in Him. There is more I can say but I will save that for Part Dos.

Goodnight.