Whew...what a whirl wind the last week has been! This week was probably my best week at Acton. Even though I know I have so much more to learn, I see myself taking some baby steps toward truly "learning how to learn".

This weekend I took my first, and more than likely, only break. I took a quick flight up to Norman to go see my Horned Frogs play the Sooners. It was actually kind of nice because I got a lot of school work done on the road. Don't kid yourself- I spent most of the weekend studying. Being in the airport and plane for about 8 hours on Friday, studying all morning on Saturday from 8am to 1pm, and studying all day today allowed me to get my work in, but I am exhausted. By the way, THANK YOU to the Banks Family for putting me up for the weekend. Your company was a blessing and your family is an inspiration to me! For those of you who don't know- the Banks Family lives in Oklahoma City and was one of a few wonderful families that went on our mission trip to Zambia this summer. Unfortunately, my Frogs lost...it was pretty upsetting, but the joy of it all was that I got to hang out with Michael Anne and Austin. We had a blast just catching up and rooting for the Horned Frogs (even though the Frogs played as bad as we possibly could). Not seeing my family for over a month really hit me on Saturday- I reminded for the first time in weeks of how blessed I am for having such a great family. In fact, after the game I had to walk by myself back to the Banks' car. Although we had lost, I found myself overly joyful for all the gifts the Lord has bestowed upon me. My cup overflows, and this reminds me that "to much who is given, much is expected."

Lastly, I wanted to share one quick "Acton" moment with you. Two weekends ago I had the privilege to be coached by our amazing master teacher, Steven Tomlinson. Steven is a phenomenal and very sought after communications coach, and I got to spend four hours with him and other classmates working on our communication effectiveness. Thanks first to Steven for taking time out- what I learned was invaluable.

One communication exercise prompt was this: if you had 30 seconds to share with the world one thing, what would it be? Here's what I said.

"Have you ever wondered why sunsets are so beautiful? Have you ever wondered how a baby, upon being born, can instantly change the way it breaths? Have you ever wondered why we all have a conscience that tells us the difference between right and wrong? The one true God, who created you and me, longs desperately to have a relationship with you. My question is- will you let Him create something beautiful in you today?"


ps- oh, and bye the way... don't give up hope, the Frogs can still make the BCS with a win over Utah and BYU!