I'm going to be a teacher...what?!

To begin this post and to get you all even more excited for this new season of Fall, here is a picture of literally my favorite candle right now! I have had this thing burning like crazy, YUM! :) (I love all things pumpkin).

Goodness gracious my blog friends. How are the all of you doing?! I am so sorry I have been absent for so long, but now that graduate school orientation has started my life has suddenly become a lot busier. But don't you worry, this blog has a special place in my heart and I still plan to blog as often as I can even in the midst of my newly hectic life. 
I can't even describe to you how much of a blessing it is to be preparing for teaching my college students next week. It truly doesn't even feel real that it's actually going to happen. Soon enough I'll actually be a real life teacher, and I will also eventually have to speak in front of a mess lecture of over 300 students. My nerves are going crazy just imagining what is in store for me throughout this next year, but I know that it will be good for me to venture out of my comfort zone and rely on God's strength even more. 
One of my best friends, Julia who blogs over at Living Through His Lens, is in the same graduate program that I am in! It is a huge blessing. She told me she had been praying for some graduate students to come into the program who loved Jesus, and I guess God answered her prayers! :) I can't tell you how nice it is to end a long day of school and have a Christian friend right there by your side to talk with about what God is doing in your life and how powerful He is. I am so thankful for that, and all I can do is simply praise the Lord for His goodness to me.  Jules is newly engaged, and her ring is absolutely beautiful! Her fiance is perfect for her, and their love story is a true testimony to God's faithfulness. Head on over to her blog to read more about her engagement story. :) Below: Jules and I on our first day of orientation for graduate teaching together!

Many people keep asking me if I'm nervous for whats ahead for me this year. They have good reason to ask this question, because throughout the next year I will have to begin writing my thesis, learn how to become a real-life teacher and plan out my lectures, maintain my status as a graduate student by getting A's and B's in all of my classes, and even attempt to speak in front of over 300 people one or two times. Whenever I am asked this question, I immediately feel comfort instead of fear. Sure I am scared to do a lot of the things that I will have to do this year, but I know that having courage isn't the absence of fear. The fear will be there, but when I choose to turn to Jesus instead of what I'm afraid of, I will be more than a conqueror.  I am reminded that this program I am in was given to me directly through the hands of God, and I don't have to rely on one ounce of my strength to get through it. I trust that God sincerely wanted me in this program, and I have no doubt that He is going to give me the strength to get through the entire thing, along with the happiness and joy of enjoying every moment of it. 
"The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him.  Exodus 15:2