Motivation. Or not.

Tomorrow is Monday. More specifically, it's the third Monday of the semester. That means I have class tomorrow night. (It's a web-enhanced class and we only meet every other week.) In that class, we will have a test over the first five chapters in our textbook. How many of those chapters have I read? One. And, right now, I really don't want to read those other four chapters. I would love it if that information could somehow just jump from the book and land in my mind. But, even in Connie World, that doesn't happen. I know I have to read them. My problem is getting motivated to do just that. I have all kinds of other things just bouncing around in my head, begging for attention. The thought of reading the chapters is just sitting there, in a corner, trying to hide. One way or another, I'll manage to get this stuff read, but right now, I'm not sure how.

Let there be books!

My textbooks came in today! It was kind of a funny story. On our way home for my lunch break, Paul and I had to stop at a red light to turn off the highway into our neighborhood. There was a UPS truck sitting across from us, waiting to turn the same direction. Paul says "I think you're about to get your books." I thought it was more likely that he would be going further down the street we turn off of, then coming back. Once we made the first turn off the highway, we made our second turn. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the UPS truck turn, too. Then we turned onto our street. Again, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the truck turn, too. We got out of the car and met the driver in the front yard. I was so happy I finally got my books, I had to take a picture. If you look closely, you'll see Bevo, the only one of our kitties that I named, checking out my human growth and development book.

I was somewhat relieved in class last night to hear that I wasn't the only one who didn't have my books yet. Now to read Chapter 2 for my human growth and development class and read the first five chapters for my research class. That has been worrying me a little. I looked; I'll be reading about 87 pages.

I really think this experience was another lesson from God. He was, again, telling me to wait when I prayed about it. It's just another reminder that He has this all worked out. I just have to trust and follow Him.

Thank you, God and amazon.com!

First thing this morning, payday, I ordered my textbooks - a grand total of $234.55. It could've been a little higher. I was considering spending another $3.99 for one business day shipping for my human growth and development book. I was going back and forth in my decision to pay for shipping or just use the free two day shipping. I mean, with Monday being a holiday, I wouldn't get it until some time Tuesday, which would be too late for me to read the chapter. I had pretty much decided to just go with the free shipping anyway. Then I realized something that made me realize I was making the right decision; Amazon offers a free seven day trial to download on the Kindle. I've ordered my books, which should be here Wednesday and Thursday (which actually confuses me since both are being sent from Amazon), and I still have access to read the chapter before the test Tuesday night. Now, if I can just get everything read and get the papers written on time. Like I knew all along, God's already got this all figured out. And He answered another prayer pretty quickly.

 

I saw this posted on the Facebook page God Bless You. I immediately thought about all the things I've shared on here this week. It just cemented how important it is to not only pray, but to stop and listen so I can hear when He speaks. I can't remember where in the Bible it is, but I seem to remember a verse that says that the wise man remains silent and the fool speaks. I think it was somewhere in Proverbs. It is very good advice, no matter where I read it. One thing I have learned is that every thought that enters my mind doesn't have to exit my mouth. I sometimes still speak before I think, but not nearly as often as I did when I was younger. For a long time, I didn't really have a filter. I've also learned that sometimes, even when what I have to say is true and beneficial, I don't have to be the one to say it. Sometimes it's better to let someone else figure it out for him/herself. Sometimes people need to think of something themselves to be able to accept it.

No books? No problem.

My first face to face class this semester has come and gone. It's an educational research class, so you know what that means: RESEARCH! At the end of the semester, I'll be turning in a research proposal. I'm not exactly sure what that means at this point, but I'm guessing I will be writing a proposal for some topic to be researched. I've printed off everything I need for this week in my web-based class, which is about using technology in education. (I'm really pretty excited about this one!) I'll be off and running on it. Tomorrow night is the first meeting of my human growth and development class. (I don't have high expectations; I've had an undergrad class with the same name. How different can it really be? I guess I'll start finding out tomorrow.) This semester will be busy, but definitely doable. Especially since the technology class is only a seven week class.

When I admitted to grad school in 1999, I enrolled in two classes. Due to work, I had the enviable choice of dropping a class or failing it. Since I elected to drop the class, my pace percentage for financial aid was below 67%. By completing all four of my classes this summer, I raised my pace percentage to an acceptable level. What's the problem with that? Summer II ended Friday, August 16. The financial aid hold wasn't removed until Tuesday, August 20. Fall classes started today, Monday, August 26. My financial aid hasn't been approved yet. I don't know if they've even started reviewing it yet. All I know is that a guy from Financial Aid told me that I am in line for review as of the 20th. Oh, I also know that there is currently a peak in financial aid applications. (He told me that, too.) My financial aid will "hopefully" be approved in "the near future". He suggested I check my university email and web for students regularly (which I translated to "daily"), so I can accept the offer and satisfy any requests as soon as possible. I was able to get an emergency tuition loan and sign up for a payment plan, and I have a $500 scholarship this semester, so my tuition is all good for now. My problem is books. I don't just have a lot of extra money after the bills are paid. At the lowest possible prices for used books from amazon.com, the books would cost about $200. Since I don't have a student loan with a refund yet, I can't get a book voucher. Now I get to see how God is going to work out a way for me to have my books in time to complete the first assignments. Oh, yeah, and pass a test over the first five chapters in two weeks.

Have I mentioned that I'm not very patient with things like this? I need to have a plan. I need to have the things I need in advance. Some people are comfortable not having a book on the first day of class. I am not one of them. I was always the nerd that would start reading Chapter 1 before the semester even started. I am pretty anal about my grades. I need to jump right in and start reading the chapters. I am so out of my comfort zone right now.

And I have a feeling that's right where God wants me. He wants me to depend on Him to get my books instead of scheming and finding a way on my own. (My usual MO.) I guess it's just a part of leaving the big fish.