Sunday, March 30, 2014

Mrs. O'Quinn...

Today I'm going to dedicate my blog to Mrs. O'Quinn, my principal from Kindergarten and First Grade! She is the most incredible person that I know!

Mrs. O'Quinn goes to my home church in Arkadelphia. I always thought it was the coolest thing in the whole world the my principal went to the same church as me! She would give the Children's moments at church sometimes and she always had the coolest things to give to us! 

When we were at school, I would always be greeted with a smile! Granted, there has been a lot time where she called me Abby instead of Becca, but that's what happens when you have an older sister! There were a few things that made school so much fun. Just to name off a few...


1. Guard Patrol. Yes, we got to wear bright orange vest and stand by the crosswalk to make sure everyone made it across safely. Once a year the wooden guards that stood proudly with us would disappear and we would spend all of our recess looking for them! 


2. The Bell. We had this old school bell right outside of the front doors and Mrs. O'Quinn would pick a student to ring the bell everyday before classes started!
 

3. School Plays. Not only were we adorable, but we were the most adorable! 

4. Principal for the Day. Mrs. O'Quinn got a day off once a year so a student could become principal of the year! 

5. Birthdays! We would get our picture taken and have a button that we would wear on our birthdays! Not only did we get that, but Mrs. O'Quinn would bring us on the TV in the morning to wish us a happy birthday in front of all the students! 

6. The Purple Monster. I only got to enjoy in for my first grade year, but it was the coolest playground ever! Actually, it still is! You never have the opportunity to get bored during recess. You've got The Purple Monster, the Worm, the slides, the swings.... We did have a merry-go-round at one point and time, but it disappeared! 

7. Lessons. Of course it was school, but I learned all of my greatest lessons there. We used to have student of the month in each of our classes and you got to be that if you showed respect and good sportsmanship! There was always a plus to being good! You would actually get your picture on a poster and hung up in the hallway so everyone in the school could see it! And you got a picture in the newspaper too! Sooo cool!

I'm bragging on this woman because she taught me the true qualities and a strong and faithful woman. The lessons that she taught me didn't stop at Perritt Primary school. I continued to see her be the same wonderful woman every single day! When the schools kept changing, she kept to the principals of good character and a healthy environment!

I always make sure that when I come home that I stop by the traditional service, walk to the back pew, and say hello. She always has something good to say even though she's been through so much! I only hope that I can be half the woman she is! I'm truly amazed with her (Even when she calls me Abby)!

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14)

These are a few senior pictures that I took on the Perritt Playground in 2012! It's so sad that the playground is now closed to the community! I will always remember the fun times that I had going to play there and walk the trails on the weekends with my family! Thanks Mrs. O'Quinn for always making the community a part of our school!

I wish it would let me rotate the dang thing! But anyways, this is my first school play at Perritt! I'm somewhere in that picture!
The Purple Monster!!!

The Infamous Worm!

The original playground set! If you can't tell, Horsie played a huge role in all of my pictures!



Becca

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Decisions and Directions....

Tonight has been one heck of a night. Actually, today has been one heck of a day! I've had class and then more class followed by grocery shopping, Ozarks News Minute, Mustard Seed Worknight, Leadership Forum, Hall Meeting, and now... homework. 

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. If you don't know me well, then you should know that my biggest weakness is saying, "no." I never want to disappoint anyone and it drains me every single day. Some days are rewarding, and others are just plain dreadful. I have all these people that are telling me to stand up for myself and say no, but I don't want to deal with the damage control. It's a double edged sword; If I say yes to everything, I'm an easy pushover, but if I say no to everything, I'm the witch with a capital B that everyone talks about. What do I do? What direction do I take? 

The decisions that I made last year were not to make me happy, actually, I was screaming on the inside. I was so mad at myself for all of the things that I was doing. I just knew that if I stopped I would ended up ruining something. So what road did I take? I waited it out. I kept doing those things and sacrificed my heart. The last thing I wanted to do was break someone's heart, I did what I do best and allowed my heart to be broken and stepped on. 

It makes sense when you think about it. I might be a giver, but there's no way in hell that I wanted to give away heartbreak. It sucks and I dealt with the rejection and pain that came with it, but I knew that if I would have been on the other side, I would have regretted it every day. Yes, I'm happy now... most of the time, but all the other times I just think about how much I've screwed up. Life. That's what they call it. 


I'm just sitting here waiting! I want a miracle to happen and these people to realize what they've done. I know they never will and I know that I will always live with the blame and guilt convincing myself that it was all my fault. I can't do it any other way. 

At this point in the blog I usually associate some sort of scripture to have everything make sense for you, but I can't tonight. I need your help. Show me the scripture that I'm missing! I need you to help me out of the hole that I dug too deep. Just help me. Please. 

Becca

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Turn the Other Cheek...

 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow." (Matthew 5:38-42)

I've heard this verse come up in my life time after time. Whenever someone does something crappy to me, someone will say, "Hey Becca, turn the other cheek!" That's all fine and dandy, but what does that REALLY mean? There was a movie that came out a few years ago called, "The Jesus Movie: Epic Mini Series" it was basically an account of the life of Jesus. It focused more on him growing up and going into the ministry than the death. They had a scene where invaders came into one of the town and killed everyone. Even though the people that were killed were really bad people, Jesus cried over their bodies because the loss of life. He talks to the men that committed the murders and ends up getting slapped on the cheek. Jesus literally turns his head and says, "Strike me again." 

I was trying to think of instances in my life where I did that and I couldn't come up with any good examples. Most of the time when I did something like that, it was out of spite or just to prove a point that I was the better person. Tell me how one can be the better person by getting slapped around? I started to think about abusive relationships and how women will sometimes take it over and over again because of this particular verse. News Flash! Read it one more time....

There's a lot of symbolizing in this verse. What does turning the other cheek look like? For me, I grew up getting bullied day after day. People didn't like me just because of how I looked or because of the things that I was interested in. I got slapped around so much that I ran out of cheeks to turn! 

I noticed something about my faith and my life. Turning the other cheek isn't about screaming scripture in someone's face or boasting about do more than you're told to. It's about moving on. Pray for them and have faith that you will recover just as much as they will. Pray for God's plan to happen. Turning the other cheek means letting God take control. That's the best revenge you can put out there! 

So what are you waiting for?
Becca