a penny for my thoughts.

i keep a memo in my phone for topics i want to eventually talk about on here. this post will be extremely random, but for my own sake, to sort my thoughts out, here goes:

1. i am taking a class called american health care systems the class is surprisngly interesting. i am enjoying learning on a less threatening, ground and it is enjoyable. kinda. the class gets rather heated at times, but i really enjoy those moments, because i like to hear people's opinions, because most of the time, with this topic, i really don't care. we were discussing medical insurance this week and let me tell ya, people had a mouthful. we discussed everything from federally funded insurance to group insurance to private insurance. when the topic of medicare and medicaid arose, people freaked out to say the least. everyone has their own opinion, but there is no need to be that mean-spirited to people you do not know. i have my own opinion on healthcare and insurance, (that i will keep to myself at this point) but i would never point blank call someone out and tell them they were "milking the system." let's just say, it got pretty raunchy. but it is times like that where i actually find myself enjoying the class and actually remembering what we talked about. is that horrible?

2. i am taking a children's literature class this semester and other than the extreme amount of work in the class, i am enjoying myself. EXCEPT when my teacher decides to read the book "and tango makes three." if you haven't heard of this book, let me just tell you it has been banned in many environments, and in my opinion for a good reason. the book is about two penguins who live in a zoo. these two penguins are of the same sex and the zoo keeper gives them an egg to hatch together. when the baby penguin is born he discovers he has two daddies. do i believe that at some point in time people should be told what this means, yes. probably. but i would have a huge issue if my child came home telling me he/she read this book, because it is a parent's choice and children don't need to be exposed to this topic at such a young age. this is all my opinion, and if you don't agree, i'm sorry. but i do stand firm with this thought.

3. on to a better topic. DNOW! this weekend was Disciple Now at my church. for those of you who do not know what DNOW is, it is a fun-packed weekend for junior-high and high school students. we had about four churches involved around the area and there were over 4oo students this weekend. it was, to say the least, amazing. i got the opportunity to be with ninth and tenth grade girls and let me be the first to say, they kept me on my toes. we had so much fun, and i wouldn't change it for anything. the speaker new how to "preach it." robbie robinson was awesome and mike'schair led worship and they were fantastic. i struggled with a lot of things prior to the weekend and wasn't really looking forward to many parts of the process, but god revealed himself to me over the weekend and it was truly life-changing. friday night during worship robbie had an altar-call and asked the leaders to stand around the room. one of my favorite girls from wednesday night youth made a b-line for me and we stepped out of the room to talk. i explained the gospel to her and i could feel god's presence in that very room. it was mind-blowing. i asked her a few questions and gave her time to think and she wouldn't leave the room until she prayed the prayer of salvation. god is so good. if nothing else would have happened throughout the rest of the weekend, hollie would have been worth it. praise the lord.

today was day one of my "fasting" period. it hasn't hit a hard point yet, but i am sure it will get more challenging as the days go by. i am pumped to see what god is going to reveal to me. i know that at the end of this period i am going to have a new-found knowledge and i can't wait. tonight is girl's bible study and i am so excited to see the girls! it's been two weeks and i must say i miss them! i wanted to close with a quote from my pastor about the role of a mother and father. i never really contemplated this, but this is extremely real and relevant in every girl's life. i never realized that the absense of a father can truly mar a girl's self-esteem and self-worth. a special blessing goes out to the father's actively involved in their children's lives.

"a mom teaches a girl how to be a woman, a dad teaches a girl how to feel like a woman."