I would like to thank the academy ...

Today, at roughly 11 a.m., I successfully (hopefully) completed the semester from New Jersey. I would say hell but New Jersey seems more appropriate. There are some of FB status' I would like to post of remarks about this semester but so I don't forget any, I am doing them all at once: 1: Pardon me while I tuck 18 credits under my belt. 2: In July, freedom smells like hot dogs and fireworks. In December, at the end of the semester, freedom smells like hour and hours Gilmore Girls and fudge, at least it would smell like fudge had my husband not eaten it all last night. 3: There are a lot of people I would like to thank. First, I would like to thank Garrett Faylor for the fist pump of triumph and solidarity. Secondly, I would like to thank April Jackson for loving my hair as much as I do. I would also like to thank Jesse Cook for keeping the change that occurs in his voice (it goes to a higher pitch I am not kidding) when I am sounding like an idiot to a minimum. Thank you to those strange and sometimes inappropriate dreams about my professors that kept the class interesting. And of course my husband for keeping me well fed and almost sane. I would also like to thank myself for not killing anyone in their sleep or mine. I think I had a few more but forgot them while writing my acceptance speech. Here is to three weeks of sleeping in, clear skin, and non-achy muscles. The last three weeks have been a real bear but it's all over now. Well, until January.

School but mostly Praise to my friends and my God

School has driven me to edge of my sanity. So that's all on that subject. Other bits have brought me back to my center. My last post, what to say about that. It helped me much more than I ever knew or expected. I hate to sound cliche' but I seriously had no idea how freeing that would feel. Lately, the words from O Holy Night have taken on a new meaning for me. "Chains shall He break for the slave is a brother and in His name ALL oppression shall cease." Admitting out loud to myself and at the same time everyone else in the world, brought an experience of freedom and release that rivaled the freedom I experienced when I gave my life to God. The love and support I felt and continue to feel was something I did not expect to feel or receive. Thank you for the love you have shown, the love that brings healing. Most importantly, praise be to the Lord for true deliverance and freedom that comes from His loving sacrifice. "Let all within us Praise His holy name."