Trusting God day by day

The past couple of weeks have been awesome and God is teaching me so much.  Two weeks ago, Marvin Daniels taught us situational ethics.  We had a lot of discussion time in groups and also the last day we were given 6 different situations and say whether we agreed or disagreed and then defend our beliefs.  It was a really neat experience.  The thing that Marvin said that stuck out to me the most is that we cannot know what we are to do until we know who we are in Christ.  There are a lot of other really good quotes that Marvin told us that I would love to share with you guys:

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have the right to do and what is right to do.” – Potter Stewart
“The principles you live by create the world you live in; if you change the principles you live by, you will change your world.” – Blaine Lee
“The leaders of the future will be those who dare to claim their irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows them to enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success, and to bring the light of Jesus there.” – Henry Nouwen

Then last week Randy Weeaks came and taught us about parables.  He also spoke to us the last day about the different generations and what we’re called to do.  Not only did he have some amazing insights, but his passion for the Lord and for teaching and for those around him was inspiring.  I loved having him here because not only did he teach us, but he was truly interested in getting to know us and investing into us.  He blessed us Wednesday night with a pizza party complete with teaching us how to two-step.   I realized while studying the parables that I have not been reading my Bible as thoroughly as I should, there were so many things that I just glance over and that causes me to miss so many great truths, so I’m being convicted to spend more time in the Word, not just reading it but really figuring out what it has to say.

My internship has been going great.  I fall more in love with those kids each and every time I’m with them.  It is so cool to see the potential in some of these kids and to see the roles they have even at such a young age.  It has also been really cool to see how strong some of these kids are in their faith despite the struggles they are going through in this world.  As we study the book of James in Precepts, I am reminded of the trials these kids have, struggles I never would have dreamed of going through at such a young age, and yet they put their trust in God and they do consider it pure joy as they go through these things.  How cool to see how much I can learn through a bunch of K-4^th graders.  One boy in particular is in 1^st or 2^nd grade and man does he know his Word.  He tells us each week what he is learning in the book of James (yes, this little boy is studying the book of James all on his own) and he isn’t afraid to tell the other kids what he is learning.  He is memorizing God’s Word and hiding it in his heart.  He is able to distinguish false teachers at other churches that he has been to.  I’m convicted that if he as a 1^st or 2^nd grader can be so committed, how much more can I be doing these things? 

I had a little bit of a meltdown Thursday night/Friday morning with just anxiousness about what God has in store for me next year.  I have an idea of what I would love to do, but I don’t know if that is even a possibility.  I really don’t know what God has in store for me and the unknown kind of freaks me out, but I have to remember that God is in control.  I’ve devoted myself to praying for wisdom for the future every morning and every night and I ask that you would be willing to pray for that with me.  Also, continued prayers for my financial situation as the rest of my tuition is due as well as my last Israel payment and I don’t know how I’m going to pay all of it other than that I know that God will provide in His timing and how He sees fit.  Continued prayers for my friends Jessica and Kent as Kent is now at his FOB in Afghanistan.  Also a praise that I got to share a girls night with a bunch of great Institute girls at my cabin in Arkansas.  Another praise that my family and some family friends are coming to visit me in about a month.  Also, in just over a month I will be in Israel, I can’t believe it!  Pray for safe travels and that my heart will be open to all the things that God wants to show me while I’m there and that it will change me for the better in ways that I could never expect. 

Thank you for your continued support and please let me know how I can be praying for you.  Love you all!

A New Year, A New Semester

Happy New Year!  It has been way too long since I last updated, so let me start off by catching you up on the last couple of weeks of the first semester.  The first weekend in December was FBC’s Winter Retreat which I got the opportunity to serve at.  I had the pleasure of being a leader for a group of sophomore girls, some I had known for a long time, others I just met, but by the end of the weekend I had grown to love each and every one of them so much.  It was so cool to see the way that God was working in the lives of so many people there, but especially in the girls I got to be with.  There is so much pain and suffering in this world, but how cool is it to see God’s victory in it all.  God is so good and nothing will change that because God is unchangeable!  I could go on for a long time about the things that happened that weekend, but since I have so much other stuff to update on, I won’t.  When I got back to the Institute we spent the week studying the Prophets.  The next week we went in depth with the book of Daniel with Debbie Jo White.  So cool!  It was neat to see the history in Daniel but to also see the plan for the future when Jesus will come again.  One thing that Debbie Jo said that really stuck out to me was that if God had so much detail and was so exact when dealing with prophecy and the end times, then He has that detailed of a plan for our own lives.  That last Thursday we studied the book of Ephesians and it was a great day.  It really spurred a talk on community and what Biblical community looks like.  Friday we had Precepts in the morning which was just a great time of prayer and fellowship and building community.  After Precepts we had Timothy group and then we all went out to Silver Dollar City for the rest of the day, what a blessing.  I had such a great time enjoying the Christmas spirit and good times with friends.  Saturday night we had our Christmas party at the Carters’ house.  The Carters were a huge blessing in letting us invade their house for the night.  It was another great night of fellowship and when we left it was snowing which was exciting!  Sunday was another great day.  I headed to church for the morning and had an amazing time with the kiddos and spending time learning about my Lord and Savior.  Sunday evening I went and saw Narnia with a few people and then we met a huge group of KI people at Danna’s BBQ for dinner, after that we all came back and just hung out. 

Monday, December 13^th, started my Christmas break.  Monday I headed up to Kirksville to see some college friends.  It was great getting to catch up with some good friends, but it was weird being back up in Kirksville without our whole little group up there.  It was also fun to have snow since we hadn’t gotten more than a little dusting in Branson.  Wednesday afternoon I headed back home so that I could make it home before the bad weather came.  Thursday and Friday, I was up at church a lot helping Josh get the new stuff in the youth room set up, we also got to test out all the new stuff, like the Wii and the pool table, so that was fun.  Saturday night was the Choir Cantata at church, what a great night of good music and a great message of God’s greatest gift, His Son who came, lived, died, and rose so that we may have forgiveness and eternal life.  It was so great to see my FBC church family whom I hadn’t seen in a long time and to see some other great friends and supporters.  After the Cantata we headed over to Grammy and Granddaddy’s to celebrate Grammy’s birthday.  Every year on her birthday, the family goes over and decorates their Christmas tree, eats ice cream cake, and then Grammy opens her presents.  Sunday evening I got to spend a great time with family celebrating Sarah’s birthday.  After Sarah’s birthday party, Aly and I headed up to church for the youth group Christmas party which was a great time.  I loved getting to see all of the youth group kids, especially the girls who were in my group at Winter Retreat.  I have grown to love those girls so much and so it was great to get to hang out with them again.  Monday I went ice skating with the youth group out at Forest Park.  We had so much fun together – reliving some of the great moments of our ice skating trip last year as well as making great new memories!  After ice skating we all went out for pizza which is always an interesting time. 

After some great time at home, it was time for some more traveling.  Tuesday, Aly and I went and picked Grandma up and then headed down to Little Rock for a couple of days.  Such a great time with family!  We got there Tuesday evening and got settled and then everyone came over for a great dinner, Uncle Jeff makes the best brisket I have ever had in my life!  It was also just a great time of hanging out and catching up with family.  I got to meet some of my cousins’ significant others for the first time which was fun.  Wednesday I had breakfast with Aly, Grandma, and Aunt Bev where we had some great conversation.  That time was so precious to me and might be my favorite part of my time in Arkansas, even though it was all good.  Around lunch time, once we had all gotten ready, the four of us and Leah met up with Aunt Ginny and Aunt Sheryl and had a fun little girls shopping trip.  That night we went to church where we had chili for dinner and then had an Advent service.  After church we headed back to the Sanders’ house and played some games.  You have to love the competitive nature of the Wagner family – it makes for some interesting game nights.  Thursday morning we had a great breakfast cooked by Aunt Bev and then we just hung out until the Wagners came over so that Aly and I could say goodbye before we had to leave.  Aunt Bev also spoiled us and baked us cookies Thursday morning so we would have some snacks for the ride home.  So Aly and I drove back home Thursday afternoon which was an adventure because Gypsy (our GPS – yes, Mom named our GPS) took us places we had never been before, but we finally made it back.

The rest of my break was spent at home which was great.  Christmas Eve was spent cleaning and cooking and playing games and dinner with family and then probably the best Christmas Eve service I have ever been to.  I have never heard the Gospel preached so boldly and plainly at a Christmas Eve service.  Christmas was another great day – great time with family as well as celebrating all that God has done for us.  This Christmas was even more special because we got to celebrate Ryan and Aly’s engagement with them.  I could not be happier for my sister, Ryan is a great man of God and I have never seen Aly as happy as she is now.  This break was a lot of time spent with family and it was a huge blessing to me, but as much as I loved getting to spend time with my family, I’m so excited to be back in Branson with my KI family.

This semester our big project is our belief statements.  Each week we have a different section of our belief statements that we will work on and then at the end of the semester we will go before a panel and defend what we believe.  It’s a little overwhelming, but I know it will be a great time of searching and discovering what I believe for myself rather than just what I’ve been taught.  I’m excited to see what God will teach me through the classes this semester as well as our Bible study on James and through my internship.  This week we are studying the Trinity and Dr. Kreider from Dallas Theological Seminary is the one teaching us.  It has been a good two days so far of looking at what the Bible says the Trinity is and what the Trinity is not.  I’m looking forward to the rest of the week and what Dr. Kreider has in store for us.  I am also looking forward to Wednesday night and AWANA and getting to see my kiddos and continue building those relationships. 

Prayer requests for this update:   Pray for Aly and Ryan as they have a lot of planning for their future to do.  Pray for my friends Jessica and Kent – Kent is in the Army and is deploying to Afghanistan on Friday, pray for his safety, but also be in prayer for Jessica because her and Kent are recently married and I know it will be hard for her to have him half way around the world.  Pray for all of us here at the Institute as we seek out God’s will for our lives as the end of the year will be here in no time.  Please continue to pray for my financial situation.  While sometimes I worry about the future or how I will pay for the Institute and things like that, it has been so cool to see the way that the Lord provides and how His timing is perfect. 

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!  You have no idea how much you mean to me!  Please let me know how I can be praying for you. 

Thanksgiving

I meant to update over Thanksgiving Break, but that week just seemed to slip away from me.  Anyway, my last update left off with the end of my Bible Overview Project.  The rest of the week was full of class, homework, internship, costumes, football practice, and fellowship.  Needless to say it was Spirit Week at the Institute with themed costume days, powder puff football tournament, and a hoedown complete with an Institute King and Queen.  Such a blast!  It was definitely a crazy week, but it was all worth it. 

This past week was Thanksgiving Break.  It was so great to spend some time at home, get to go to FBC Collinsville, and to spend time with both college friends and life-long friends.  I loved sharing with people the things that God is teaching me during my time at the Institute.  It’s funny because you can tell when people are asking me about the Institute because they’re truly interested and when they’re asking me to be polite.  Needless to say, for those who really wanted to know, I got to share with them for quite awhile about just how great our God is.  Also a great time of being with the family at our cabins in Arkansas.  I got to enjoy the family that God has blessed me with and his beautiful creation.  Probably one of my favorite parts of break was having my family go to church with me at FBC Forsyth yesterday.  I loved getting to share that part of my Institute experience with them.  As much fun as I had on break and as much as I loved getting to be with my family, it feels so great to be back.  It has just been reinforced to me that I truly am where God wants me to be and I have a peace about where I am and even though I don’t know what the future has in store for me, I know that God is in control.  I’m so thankful for my time here at the Institute and the things that God is teaching me and the friendships that are forming and just being surrounded by people who are seeking to know Christ more.  I know that I have so much more to learn and God has so much more in store for my life and that excites me so much.  I’m also so thankful for everyone who has played a role in my life to help me get to where I am today.  I’m thankful for the support of family and friends that are making my time here possible.  I’m thankful for the salvation I’ve been given and the fact that I am a new creation in Christ.  I cannot get over how good God is! 

Anyway, we have two weeks until Christmas break.  Only two more weeks in the semester, weird.  I’m having a hard time imagining leaving my friends here and my kiddos at Forsyth again, and this time for 3 weeks!  These two weeks are going to be awesome though!  Please be praying for Winter Retreat for FBC Collinsville’s youth group this coming weekend which I’m so excited to get to be a part of.  Pray that God will work in mighty ways so that we have no choice but to give Him glory for what happens.  Please also continue praying for my financial situation and that I will continue to trust God that He will provide when and how He sees fit.  Also be praying for everyone that we will all remember the true reason for the season and that we will be willing to show Christ’s love to all those around us.  So thankful for you and your continued prayers! 

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Another week down.  Not even a whole week to go before it’s time to head home and then to our cabins in Arkansas for Thanksgiving.  Where has this semester gone?  I am absolutely loving each and every moment of my time at the Institute.  God is stretching me and teaching me thing beyond what I ever would have imagined.  I love the people that I’m here with and the friendships that I’m forming.  As much as I love it here, I’m excited to spend a week with my family and to get a chance to see some old friends and church family.  It will be so weird not being surrounded by 56 other people though.  Anyway…

This past week was a trying yet great week.  It is so cool to see how God provides and how His power is made perfect in my weakness.  I had my student speaker on Tuesday, it went pretty well but I was absolutely terrified, the fact that I was able to get through it at all was completely God.  Wednesday night I got to teach the 3^rd and 4^th grade girls at AWANA the song that I learned to memorize the books of the New Testament and just walk through with them what some of the different books are about.  It was a fun time.  It’s also been really fun just to see the relationships that I’m forming with these girls, even some that aren’t in my group.  It’s also really cool to see some of my girls memorizing God’s Word like crazy!  I had two girls say over 8 verses on Wednesday!  I am so proud of them!  Sunday was yet another adventure.  Pastor Jeramie is on a much deserved vacation so he wasn’t there and Jessica was spending some much deserved time with her family that was in town so she wasn’t there either and in case you are wondering, deer season is HUGE in Forsyth so many of our normal helpers were not there, so that left Abigail and I and a couple of helpers in charge of everything.  So again I say, Sunday was an adventure.  It went really well though, just another example of how God is good!  I taught the lesson this Sunday, yet another time of stretching, but God pulled through once again (like that is a surprise).  While some of the kids were a little crazy since Jeramie wasn’t there, there are always a few kids who are just such a blessing to me, in that they are hungry to hear God’s Word.  These kids are the ones that remind me that as long as there is at least one kid getting something out of it, then I’m up there for a purpose and I just have to let God speak through me.  God has used my internship as a great blessing for me, between the kids and the people that I get to work alongside I am blessed beyond my comprehension.  I could go on about how great my internship is for hours, but for the purpose of this update I won’t.

Yesterday we presented on the eras that we drew, bringing our Bible Overview Project to a close.  What a great assignment - developing a plan for teaching the Bible all the way through.  I presented on the Judges Era.  I can honestly say that I felt really good after my presentation, yet another God thing because I was so nervous going into it.  Keith and Jack were the ones that I presented to and they were such a blessing to me.  They just really encouraged me and how neat that I was sharing about how God used people we wouldn’t necessarily expect to be a Judge for Israel and got to tie it back in to how I felt so unworthy and incapable of teaching, yet God gave me the ability to do it.  I think God is just going to continuing beating that into me until I finally, truly get it and who knows how long that will take, but it’s been so cool to see Him working it out in my life and in the lives of those around me. 

The rest of this week is going to be busy, full of homework but also full of great fellowship.  Please pray that I will be able to find the balance between the two.  Please also pray for safe travels for everyone who will be traveling over this Thanksgiving holiday.  Also, Ben and Jennifer, two people from this Institute are getting married this Saturday, so great, but please be praying for their relationship because they will be the first to tell you that they want their marriage covered in prayer.  Also just be praying that we take every opportunity that God gives us to share the amazing things that God is doing in our lives.  Thank you all for your continued prayer and support!

Continuing to be stretched...

Another two weeks of the Institute done.  I cannot believe how fast time is flying!  Two weeks ago was Evangelism week.  Can you please say convicting and stretching?!  Evangelism is something that I have always been nervous about.  I am not a naturally outgoing person, I’m afraid of rejection, I’m afraid of not being good enough, and so many other things.  I know that God is in control and I know that I in myself cannot “save” anyone, but that its Christ working through me, and while I know all of these things, it doesn’t necessarily make sharing my faith much easier.  I think that is where some of my greatest frustration came, knowing the Truth but not having the Truth ease my anxiousness.  In fact I had a complete emotional breakdown Wednesday after class because I was so anxious about going out into the community in order to share the Gospel on Thursday.  But God is so good!  I’ve always been a firm believer in wanting to live my life in a way that is pleasing to God and through that hopefully people will notice there is something different about me and then ask me about it and then I am more than thrilled to share what God has done in my life, but I want people to approach me not the other way around.  Well Thursday I headed to the Branson Landing to talk to people and hopefully share the Gospel with them.  I had talked to a couple different people but those conversations hadn’t really gone anywhere so I decided that I wanted to buy one of the kiosk workers hot chocolate as a way to break the ice, I was going to take some to a guy that I had been talking to earlier but then I saw this girl at a scarf kiosk and God just told me that she was the one that I was to take the hot chocolate to.  So I took it over there and we talked for a little bit but not too much came of it so I went on to find more people to talk to.  Then as I walked past her later that morning she called me over to thank me for the hot chocolate and she told me that it completely made her day and that it was so good to know that there are people who still care in this world.  I just told her that I know how much God has blessed me and so I just wanted to be a blessing to someone else and then I got to share with her about the Institute and what I’m doing in Branson and it was just such a neat time that we spent together.  I found it amazing what God can do with something that only cost me $1.50.  I’m so excited because God really laid it on my heart to start passing out hot chocolate to the kiosk workers on a regular basis and so me and a couple of other girls went this morning.  It was such a great morning of just being a blessing and being blessed by the new people we met.  I cannot wait to go back and hopefully continuing to build relationships with the people there.  I have so much to learn from other people! 

This past Monday we talked about Spiritual Gifts and Personality.  Such a neat time!  It’s so neat to see how different everyone is, yet we are all made in the image of God and that each and every one of us plays a vital role in the Church.  I think that is a hard thing for me to remember at times.  I so often see the fun, outgoing people and I so wish I was one of them, but that is not the way God made me.  Yes, sometimes He is going to call me to be that person and He will give me the power to do that, but that is not me and that’s ok.  He made me just the way that I am for a reason.

Tuesday through Thursday Chad came and taught Church history.  Not a favorite subject of all, but I loved it.  I think everyone also got to see the importance of knowing Church history, plus everyone was excited to hear from Chad, especially on a topic he is passionate about.  Looking at what the Church as a whole has done right and wrong since the Destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and seeing where the Church is right now and where it might be headed. 

Bible Overview Project is almost done.  We had our last checkpoint on Thursday, we will draw which era we are going to teach on this coming Thursday, and then we will teach them on the Monday after.  A little nervous about getting up and teaching, but I know it will be a good thing for me.  I also have my student speaker this Tuesday, I’m nervous about that, but I know that God will use me to speak Truth.  Please be praying for me as I prepare for my student speaker, that I will let God lead what I say and that He will speak through me.  Please continue to be praying for my finances, I know God will provide, the waiting is just hard sometimes.  I was so blessed and humbled this week by a donation that I received that I was not expecting at all, God is so good!  It was a reminder for me that God will provide even though I don’t necessarily know how and I cannot limit God and the way that He works.  Thank you for your continued prayers!  Please let me know how I can be praying for you, it’s the least I can do when I know how much you guys are doing for me.  Love you all!

God is so good!

It has been too long since my last update, but things have started to pick up here at the Institute.  So I’ll do my best to share all the things that God has taught me these past few weeks.  Two weeks ago Mitch Maher came and finished up our Bible Overview class.  It is so awesome to continue learning about how the Bible all fits together and to see how God fulfills the Old Testament promises in the New Testament.  We also started Precepts; we are doing a study on Abraham.  The first week of Precepts was especially neat for me because God really used the example of Abraham to teach me to trust Him.  Abraham was called by God to leave the land of his father and to go to the land that God would show him.  Abraham didn’t know where he was going; just that God was going to show him the way.  He went in faith.  That struck me because we had been working on our vision statements at the beginning of that week and I realized that I know what God has called me to and why He has called me to it but I have no idea what fulfilling my vision looks like, but that doesn’t matter.  I know what God has called me to do and I just need to follow His calling and trust that He will show me where He wants me in His timing.  God has given me a peace that I haven’t felt in a long time.  I know that I’m where God wants me to be and that while I have no idea what exactly my life will look like after this year, God knows and He will reveal it to me when the time is right.  Karen was talking about how we think it would be easier if we knew God’s whole plan for our lives but really, if Abraham would have known everything that God was going to have him go through, he probably wouldn’t have gone and aren’t we the same way?  So I will just trust that God’s timing is perfect and His will is better than my own. 

Last week we worked through the Truth Project.  I’m still working on wrapping my mind around that one.  But what amazes me is the fact that people cannot define truth or what is right.  The Word of God is truth and if we really believe that then why are we not sharing it with others.  One of the biggest questions was, “Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?”  That really hit home with me.  So often I feel like that which I know in my heart doesn’t transfer to my thoughts and vice versa.  But if we really believe that the Word of God is truth then why do we not live more radically?  Truth is not relative, it has sides, you either believe the truth or you believe a lie.  Another thing that hit me while doing the Truth Project is when we looked at Science.  Now if you know me at all, you know I do not like science, but I do love nature.  I love Psalm 19:1-4 where it talks about how the heavens declare the glory of God and Romans 1:18-20 where it says that God has made it plain to us since the creation of the world.  Whenever I see nature, especially the stars, I cannot even fathom that there isn’t a creator.  There is so much more that we talked about with the Truth Project, but again, I haven’t even wrapped my mind around half of it and I have like 7 pages of notes from it so yeah. 

This past week we’ve been learning about marriage and relationships.  It’s been a really neat week of learning but also hard in some ways.  I’ve realized lately that I need to get better at guarding my heart and it has been a little hard for me to do that this week while talking about one of my greatest desires in life.  But again, I know that God’s timing is perfect and His will is better than my own.  I will be faithful where I am in whatever state He has me.  God is all I need and is the only thing that completes me.  I have learned some awesome things though; things that I can put into practice now in order to become more like Christ.  Some things that I need to work on is not believing the lies of the devil, to work on taking every thought captive and replacing it with God’s Truth, to not fear confrontation but to learn to handle it correctly.  There is so much more but I don’t want to ramble or bore you guys. 

This Sunday I’m teaching at Kid’s World for the first time, so if you could pray for me that would be awesome!  Also continued prayers in the financial aspect and that I will continue to trust God no matter what the circumstances.  I want to be able to praise God even in the pain and to know the peace and joy that He offers.  God is so good and I never want to forget that!  Thank you for your prayers and support, it means so much to me.  Please let me know if there is anything that I can be praying about for you!  Love you all and thank God for you!

What is your vision?

Today has been a crazy, emotional day, but such a good one!  Today in class we talked about having a vision for our lives and we got a chance to work on our vision statements.  What a challenge!  My vision statement is far from being complete, but I feel like God showed me some awesome things.  My desire has always been to be a mother, ever since I was a little girl, that's all I've really wanted, so I was struggling with what my life would look like without being a mother or in the time period before I get to be a mother.  That's when God showed me that I can achieve the goals that I want to in raising children without actually being a mother.  The specifics of how to achieve my goals and desires is still so fuzzy, but I just realized that I have to be faithful where I am, whatever that looks like.  The purpose behind my vision is the clearest thing for me though.  We live in a lost and corrupt world that is producing lost and corrupt children.  My heart breaks when I see the things that children go through and it seems like their struggles just keep coming at younger and younger ages.  We, as Christ followers, are called to make disciples and it is my hope that by doing so, that instead of getting caught up in the ways of the world, children will find the joy offered in Christ.  Children need to know that God has called them to a higher purpose and to be trained in a way that will help them be a light in this dark world. 
Cat is going to look over my vision statement for me and help me find more of a direction.  I'm also excited to see how God is going to change my vision in this next year and even through out my life.  All I know is that if I'm continually seeking God's will for my life, then the Lord will bless that. 
I loved that as I'm sitting in class, figuring out my vision for my life, Colleen is in labor fulfilling a part of my dream.  Ethan Clyde Taylor was born at 1:33 and weighed in at 7lbs 4 oz.  He is absolutely beautiful.  I am so excited for this journey that Josh and Colleen are going through and I know that they are going to be absolutely amazing parents.  I am so excited to be an aunt and to get to walk along them in their journey!  It has taken everything in me to not just get in my car and drive home so that I can see that precious little boy in person and to hold him, but this weekend will come soon enough.  This week is going to be hectic, but I know I am going to learn so much.  Excited for what this week has in store for me.