getting married.

monday march 17th, 2008 - matt proposed while we were snowboarding at snowmass in aspen, colorado.

the Lord had this relationship in mind from the very beginning. we both lived our separate lives; me in chicago and des moines, matt in new york and pennsylvania. matt followed the Lord's calling to wichita back in 2002 when he accepted a job working for cessna aircraft. it took me a few more years, but i found my way to wichita in may of 2007 after graduating college, taking a youth internship, and accepting a great teaching opportunity teaching 7th grade language arts in the wichita public schools.

both of us were unsure about moving to wichita, and even questioned God as to why He'd call us to such a random place; very different from chicago and pennsylvania.

soon after my arrival in wichita matt and i met after church one afternoon. we ran into each other a few other times, but it wasn't until after matt made up an excuse to get my phone number that anything happened between us. he was getting ready to head to chicago and said he might need someone to give him tips of where to go while he was downtown.

smooth.

matt never actually called me while he was in chicago, but the high schooler he was mentoring talked to him the evening he got back into town and told him he needed to get to know me more. that same day i recieved his call.

talking on the phone for a few days led to our first date that next weekend (june 22, 2007).

over the past 9 months the Lord has worked in great ways, teaching both of us incredible things about ourselves, each other, and relationships. God has been our center from day one, and through our patience, obedience, willingness to leave our own selfishness behind, and growth of love for one another and the Lord, He has given us permission to become husband and wife.

i can't wait until october 18, 2008.

here are some pictures from our week in colorado:

the view from where matt proposed in aspen ("Garrett's Gulch")

me crying

my wonderful fiance

my beautiful ring

so excited to get married!

where has all the motivation gone?

i ended the quarter teaching my students poetry. we discussed haiku, monoryhme, cinquain, nonet, shape, along the simple alliteration and acrostic. but their all time favorite type was one called a 'clerihew'.

this specific poem is only four lines long. it's focus is to poke-fun or talk about a celebrity. the first two lines have to rhyme (aka a 'couplet' for those of you lacking in your poetry knowledge), while the second two lines rhyme (the second 'couplet').

today as i was grading their final project, a book composed of their own original poems following the format of seven types that we discussed, i couldn't help but laugh out loud at the creativity that some of my students had while writing their 'clerihew'...

lil' wayne

wears a big chain;

while he's singing

he sure is blinging.

.

.

britney spears

sheds her tears;

when she went bald

the doctor she called.

.

.

justin timberlake

isn't no fake;

he's so fly

i think i'm gonna die.

.

.

beyonce

is jay-z's finance;

he loves her so

she doesn't even know.

.

sure these poems aren't difficult and they don't seem like that big of deal, but you may have to know my 7th graders to understand how proud of them i am.

.

apathy is effecting the world today in ways that it never has before, especially the youth today. if something doesn't involve technology, they don't want to do it. if they have to read something, no way. and if they have to write more than two sentences, absolutely not.

.

my roommate, becky, is a 6th grade science teacher at stucky with me. we carpool to work and usually our drive home is our "complain about lazy and annoying kids" time. but about a month ago our hearts really began to break as we talked about how the spirit of apathy really is engulfing children today. this laziness then continues into high school, college, and follows them into adulthood.

.

i constantly ask myself, 'what can i do to engage my students more and to help them really enjoy learning.' i'm not a teacher who stands in front of the class and lectures while they take notes. we have group discussions, we do group work, we read together, we play games to help them review concepts, and we do a lot of hands-on activities. i'm even lucky enough to have access to [my very own] technology that really [should] grab their attention.

.

yet, even when i make lessons fun and engaging, they still don't care.

.

when they have a 28% in class because they 'just don't want to do homework'... they don't care.

when they get to work with a partner... they'd rather sit and do nothing.

when they are given the opportunity to pick a topic that they enjoy... they choose nothing.

and when they are given an assignment to finish up by the end of the class period... they'd rather take the zero.

.

youth today don't want to work. they want everything handed to them. if it's too hard, they quit. it's a constant battle to get them to focus and really care about school; anything related to working hard that is.

.

what is happening to our world? why has the spirit of apathy begun to take over the sons and daughters of God?

.

for the Lord said that we have been created in the image of Him. apathy is not one of those characteristics. this just reminds me of the sin that we can so easily fall into without even realizing it. God desires, even more than i do, that they would rid themselves of the sin that has engulfed them; that they would run whole-heartedly towards Jesus, willing to continue running even when something hard jumps in their way.

.

.

... maybe i'll have to stick with the clerihew to keep them motivated for now...

where has the passion gone?

i began writing this blog about three years ago when a friend at the time encouraged me to use my love for writing as a ministry tool.

so i began. i wasn't really sure what i was doing or what exactly i was supposed to write about. i just wrote. i shared about God, Love, what i was learning, what i hoped to do in life, what my friends were teaching me, and even at times went deep in order to share my heart.

i stayed "commited" to my blog, writing almost daily. my love for writing continued to grow. i began to see how a silly little blog could actually minister to people via the internet. the effect it was having was confirmed during a visit to ihop in kansas city about two years ago.

yet, somewhere along the way my passion started to dwindle. hence the absence for almost three months. it seems that writing became a chore for me. and even when the Lord opens my eyes to something Glorious, i find myself only wanting to keep it to myself instead of using my story to share God and encourage others. if this is one way that i'm able to reveal God to friends and strangers, why am i not jumping at the opportunity?

what's the deal...?...

i desire that my passion for writing and for sharing my writing, would be reborn within me. i miss logging onto the ol' blog, excited about what i have for the people of cyber space.


on a lighter note...

spring break begins friday, and i cannot express how excited i am to be away from my 110 7th graders for an entire week. oh how i love them, but oh how i need a break from the constant screaming coming from across the room, "ms. cavender i need helppppppppp!!!!"