I am thrilled to share with you that Summer Greek School finished today at 12:00 noon! The past 8 weeks of intense study of this New Testament language has challenged me on so many levels. First and foremost, I was forced to use the part of my brain that is not involved with "Mommy-mode". Secondly, there was so much memorization that I should be able to memorize things above and beyond grocery lists now! Our professor would often tell us that the more we do memorize then the more we will be able to memorize. Although I had my doubts holding the 350-something vocabulary flashcards in my hands, I do believe there is a thread of truth in her wisdom. It still was not easy, and there were days that I truly hit the wall feeling I could not learn another thing in Greek. But by the grace of God, my classmates and I continued to endure the challenge before us.
Let it be known that grace comes in many flavors! Grace came to us this summer in the flavor of goodwill as our Greek classmates supported each other in carrying one another's burdens, both academic and personal. Grace came to us this summer by the way of kindness as our Greek professor and teacher assistants had a genuine desire for my colleagues and myself to truly understand New Testament Greek and to have a great sense of humor in doing so. And grace came to us this summer in the flavor of a wonderful gift; that God was able to meet each of my colleagues and myself within our individual limitations and abilities and work through us so that we might read His word in a new way and be drawn closer to Him.
As I left class today with my graded exam in hand, I was jumping for joy like a child. Yes, my stress and anxiety had finally climaxed and was subdued. It was almost like Stress and Anxiety slid down the slide of my spine and ran off to bother someone else! I was elated not only because I received the grade which I was unsure of being in my reach, but that I had a wonderful sense of accomplishment in my very first graduate course. It was a humbling sense of accomplishment because I know I did not do all this work on my own ability. And I am so enriched as I remember Paul's words from Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength". I do need to also mention that it takes an incredible husband to allow accomplishments to happen as well!!!
Needless to say, Doug has been saying he is so glad to have his wife back for 11 days. And I am excited to be just a wife and mom during this next week of rest. We are celebrating the finale of summer school by taking a family weekend trip to Highlands, NC this weekend. We are looking forward to having down time with the girls and time to just relax.
Speaking of relaxing, I am typing and not relaxing. So I am off to do just that!!! Thanks for all your support and prayers. Grace & blessings on your weekend.
ps....What flavor of grace did God show you this summer?
Carson
Friday, August 22, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Today, Monday August 11, 2008, was a historical day in the Overstreet family; Ashley began kindergarten and Devon began 2nd grade! Go ahead and grab the Kleenex! We had a wonderful morning getting the girls ready for their very first day of school at Winnona Park Elementary (WP). Doug and I walked the girls to school this morning, which we found to be a special moment in time. Devon was thrilled to ride her bike while wearing her backpack to school. What a big girl 2nd grader she is now! And as you can tell by the picture, Ashley looked just so little wearing her My Little Pony back pack. As I walked behind her along the sidewalk, I find myself wondering how could she possibly be old enough and big enough to begin kindergarten?
Once we arrived at WP, all the families were gathered on the front lawn known as Community Circle. The students gathered and sat on large blankets on the grass which sectioned each class, as a woman playing acoustic guitar led everyone in children’s song. It was very sweet. There were so many people in attendance that there was only a zigzagged narrow walking “path” between all the child covered blankets and parents; WP is a primary school of K-3 and about 335 students. And in the midst of all the organized chaos, a woman was passing around a basket filled with small “mommy bags” of Hershey Kisses and Kleenex.
The time came when the children filed in line to enter into their classrooms to begin their exciting day of firsts. Doug and I watched our big girls follow their classmates into school, just amazed by the events of this morning. We were so anxious as the day progressed to hear first hand about their day on the walk home.
Ashley’s first reaction to kindergarten was, “It wasn’t good, it was AWESOME!!!” She loved everything about her day, especially the fact that she never got in trouble! She took me back into the school to show me her chair, which has her name on it, as well as to the cafeteria where she had her big girl lunch. She said she made a lot of new friends, but I think all the excitement took precedence over her ability to remember new names.
Devon was equally as thrilled about her first day of 2nd grade. She told me how she befriended her teacher, Mrs. Peavy, and talked to her about our family moving from Charlotte this summer. The teachers at WP are very understanding of the transient families coming through the seminary. I do think Devon’s most favorite part of today was riding her bike to and from school. Doug talks about that part of his childhood fondly, and I know that this special time here in Decatur is going to build some wonderful childhood memories for Devon and Ashley.
In addition to our historical morning, I managed to take another Greek quiz today, this one on very few hours of sleep and that nauseous feeling it yields after too much coffee! Once the quiz was complete (only 1 quiz and the final to go!), three women from our Greek small group and myself led worship in the chapel. Our 30 minute service today focused on prayer, music, reading the Old lesson as a call to worship and New Testament lesson was portrayed as a drama. We played and sang the songs "Spirit" and "Seek Ye First" which are such beautiful hymns. My part today was leading the corporate Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Pardon, Prayer for Illumination (the prayer in preparation for the scripture reading), and lastly portraying the role of Jesus from John 3:1-21; this passage centers on Nicodemus sneaking around in the night to have a chat with Jesus on being born again.
I have enjoyed all the opportunities I have had participating in the worship service at Sardis Presbyterian and have had a quiet confidence in doing so. But meeting my parts today with little sleep, mounds of anxiety, and the motherhood tugs from the first day of elementary school left me drained and very insecure in public speaking. It is so difficult to lead worship with your peers, especially those who are 2nd year students who have taken the Scripture Reading Practicum and preaching courses.
Needless to say, many of our classmates shared with us how they enjoyed our mini-drama of the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus as told in John 3:1-21. It was a lot of fun for my classmate Rebecca and I to make the text come to life. And our Greek teacher’s assistant shared his ability to read probably the most quoted verse of the Bible, John 3:16, in the ancient Greek. It was very beautiful. Once the morning was over, I was so glad to come home for lunch today and take a nap! I am exhausted….. and looking forward to finishing Greek School Friday August 22. NINE MORE CLASS DAYS!!!!! Yippie! :-)
As we get the girls ready for bed tonight I am reminded of the speed in which life passes. I continue to hear God whisper to my heart to find these moments to drink up the sweetness of my daughters’ childhood and the memories that we are building here on this rich campus of CTS. I am so thankful to be here on this journey, as difficult as it can be on some days…like today. And although I do not feel worthy of the call I have received nor know what this vocation of ministry will look like for me 3 years from now, I do know that God is in the midst of it, using each experience to shape me if I allow myself to remain teachable and not focus on the frustrations that come along in this time of study.
If you have read this to the end, you are an amazing friend of mine! Thank you for being a part of our journey. We miss you dearly and are looking forward to seeing many of you and our home church in Charlotte Labor Day weekend!!! We are counting the days! Well, at least I am!
Grace and Peace,
Carson
Once we arrived at WP, all the families were gathered on the front lawn known as Community Circle. The students gathered and sat on large blankets on the grass which sectioned each class, as a woman playing acoustic guitar led everyone in children’s song. It was very sweet. There were so many people in attendance that there was only a zigzagged narrow walking “path” between all the child covered blankets and parents; WP is a primary school of K-3 and about 335 students. And in the midst of all the organized chaos, a woman was passing around a basket filled with small “mommy bags” of Hershey Kisses and Kleenex.
The time came when the children filed in line to enter into their classrooms to begin their exciting day of firsts. Doug and I watched our big girls follow their classmates into school, just amazed by the events of this morning. We were so anxious as the day progressed to hear first hand about their day on the walk home.
Ashley’s first reaction to kindergarten was, “It wasn’t good, it was AWESOME!!!” She loved everything about her day, especially the fact that she never got in trouble! She took me back into the school to show me her chair, which has her name on it, as well as to the cafeteria where she had her big girl lunch. She said she made a lot of new friends, but I think all the excitement took precedence over her ability to remember new names.
Devon was equally as thrilled about her first day of 2nd grade. She told me how she befriended her teacher, Mrs. Peavy, and talked to her about our family moving from Charlotte this summer. The teachers at WP are very understanding of the transient families coming through the seminary. I do think Devon’s most favorite part of today was riding her bike to and from school. Doug talks about that part of his childhood fondly, and I know that this special time here in Decatur is going to build some wonderful childhood memories for Devon and Ashley.
In addition to our historical morning, I managed to take another Greek quiz today, this one on very few hours of sleep and that nauseous feeling it yields after too much coffee! Once the quiz was complete (only 1 quiz and the final to go!), three women from our Greek small group and myself led worship in the chapel. Our 30 minute service today focused on prayer, music, reading the Old lesson as a call to worship and New Testament lesson was portrayed as a drama. We played and sang the songs "Spirit" and "Seek Ye First" which are such beautiful hymns. My part today was leading the corporate Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Pardon, Prayer for Illumination (the prayer in preparation for the scripture reading), and lastly portraying the role of Jesus from John 3:1-21; this passage centers on Nicodemus sneaking around in the night to have a chat with Jesus on being born again.
I have enjoyed all the opportunities I have had participating in the worship service at Sardis Presbyterian and have had a quiet confidence in doing so. But meeting my parts today with little sleep, mounds of anxiety, and the motherhood tugs from the first day of elementary school left me drained and very insecure in public speaking. It is so difficult to lead worship with your peers, especially those who are 2nd year students who have taken the Scripture Reading Practicum and preaching courses.
Needless to say, many of our classmates shared with us how they enjoyed our mini-drama of the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus as told in John 3:1-21. It was a lot of fun for my classmate Rebecca and I to make the text come to life. And our Greek teacher’s assistant shared his ability to read probably the most quoted verse of the Bible, John 3:16, in the ancient Greek. It was very beautiful. Once the morning was over, I was so glad to come home for lunch today and take a nap! I am exhausted….. and looking forward to finishing Greek School Friday August 22. NINE MORE CLASS DAYS!!!!! Yippie! :-)
As we get the girls ready for bed tonight I am reminded of the speed in which life passes. I continue to hear God whisper to my heart to find these moments to drink up the sweetness of my daughters’ childhood and the memories that we are building here on this rich campus of CTS. I am so thankful to be here on this journey, as difficult as it can be on some days…like today. And although I do not feel worthy of the call I have received nor know what this vocation of ministry will look like for me 3 years from now, I do know that God is in the midst of it, using each experience to shape me if I allow myself to remain teachable and not focus on the frustrations that come along in this time of study.
If you have read this to the end, you are an amazing friend of mine! Thank you for being a part of our journey. We miss you dearly and are looking forward to seeing many of you and our home church in Charlotte Labor Day weekend!!! We are counting the days! Well, at least I am!
Grace and Peace,
Carson
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Countdown Is On!
The countdown is on! Two weeks from today I will be finished with Summer Greek School and preparing myself for 11 days of nothingness!!! Well maybe a few days of nothingness and the rest of the week just enjoying the role of motherhood! Greek School has been good, but very fast paced. Each week my classmates and I struggle to make room in our brains for more memorization...we asked our teacher's assistant what information we could purge (from our brains) to make room for more and he said for us purge all the celebrity gossip! It was funny at the moment, maybe you just had to be there!
Our second count down is to the beginning of school, which for Georgia is Monday August 11; yes this coming Monday! Our new elementary school is Winnona Park Elementary and we had the opportunity to meet the staff and other families and students this past Wednesday night. It was great to see the girls' new school bursting with excited children. Ashley will be in Kindergarten and Devon will be in Second grade. They are both excited, but a little nervous about the newness. Devon and Brianna Hunter will be in the same class, which they are excited about.; Brianna is the daughter of the family also attending CTS from our church Sardis Presbyterian. Although our family will truly miss Elizabeth Traditional back in Charlotte, we are looking forward to the new adventure that awaits us at Winnona Park.
The best thing about this new school is that it is a 5 minute walk from our apartment. Devon and Ashley are thrilled that they can ride a bike or scooter alongside Doug or me to and from school. Rain and yucky weather might yield another story...I'll let you know about that once father winter comes.
We are kicking off this weekend by attending a cook out hosted by our neighbors. SO I am going to keep this post short as I have fresh Georgia peaches just beckoning me to make them into homemade peach cobbler!
Blessings to you and your family. We miss you all!
Our second count down is to the beginning of school, which for Georgia is Monday August 11; yes this coming Monday! Our new elementary school is Winnona Park Elementary and we had the opportunity to meet the staff and other families and students this past Wednesday night. It was great to see the girls' new school bursting with excited children. Ashley will be in Kindergarten and Devon will be in Second grade. They are both excited, but a little nervous about the newness. Devon and Brianna Hunter will be in the same class, which they are excited about.; Brianna is the daughter of the family also attending CTS from our church Sardis Presbyterian. Although our family will truly miss Elizabeth Traditional back in Charlotte, we are looking forward to the new adventure that awaits us at Winnona Park.
The best thing about this new school is that it is a 5 minute walk from our apartment. Devon and Ashley are thrilled that they can ride a bike or scooter alongside Doug or me to and from school. Rain and yucky weather might yield another story...I'll let you know about that once father winter comes.
We are kicking off this weekend by attending a cook out hosted by our neighbors. SO I am going to keep this post short as I have fresh Georgia peaches just beckoning me to make them into homemade peach cobbler!
Blessings to you and your family. We miss you all!
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