It's the beginning of a new school week, which means another opportunity to inch towards my academic goal of a 4.0...looking at things as a whole, it seems difficult. However, I'm taking a "one assignment at a time" approach. That should keep the stress down thoughout the semester.

A lot of progress has been made thus far with my community summit planning, too. It should be a huge success. The major part left to address is promotion, and thanks to the great supporting cast known as my family, a plan is already in place to handle that with ease. Coming from someone who has ALWAYS preferred to work alone, I now have an even greater understanding of the benefits of working within a TEAM!!!

This break from academia has been everything but calm. Just holding on to hope that it's always the hardest before things change for the better. 

There are a few positives to  everything going on. I know who my real friends are, not just by their words, but by their actions. I've also become a better Stephen...I've learned quite a lot about myself and realize there's so much more I can accomplish and a lot of untapped potential that I plan to live up to in the immediate future.  This may be something that is more suited for my Motivators blog, but I really do believe a positive attitude makes all the difference when dealing with less than ideal situations.

James 1:2-7 reminds us to count it all joy when trials come. This is when our faith can show its true colors. It goes on to tell us that if we lack direction, ask God for wisdom, and He will provide it. However, when bringing our problems to Him, we must go in FAITH, not wavering, for a person with wavering faith shouldn't think he would receive anything from the Lord.

Makes me think of the saying...."If you pray, why worry? If you worry, why pray?" So true...