...and if we lose, we praise Him.
This was what was going though my mind almost the whole day today. As I studied all my vocabulary words for the Spanish CLEP that last time before the test, I just kept thinking of this quote. I knew the test was going to be hard, and I also knew that whatever the outcome, it was God's will. I prayed: Lord, if I pass this test, I'll give You the glory, and if I don't pass this test, I will still praise You.
Well, I didn't pass.
And still my hands and my voice are lifted in praise. My God is sovereign, and He knew the outcome of this test even before I ever planned to take it. He has a purpose in this, as he does in everything. And even though it may hurt my pride for me not to be able to say "I did it!", I know He is growing me through this.
And, as one friend said, "Well, who knows? Perhaps you'll meet your future husband in Spanish class at Cedarville!"
Showing posts with label CLEP test. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CLEP test. Show all posts
5.24.2010
Just a note to say
I will be taking a break from blogging until this weekend.
I'm preparing to take a CLEP test this Thursday, so I've decided to limit my time on the computer (and on blogger) until then. I do have a post scheduled for my photography blog, and I will be publishing your comments, so I won't totally be gone. I just really want to focus my time on studying (and also practicing for my piano recital that's coming up this Saturday).
This test is for the Spanish language, and it's one of the most intense and challenging ones I've taken yet. Spanish is a difficult subject for me, and I'm having a hard time finding confidence that I can pass it. So I would very much appreciate your prayers!
Hasta luego, mi amigos!
I'm preparing to take a CLEP test this Thursday, so I've decided to limit my time on the computer (and on blogger) until then. I do have a post scheduled for my photography blog, and I will be publishing your comments, so I won't totally be gone. I just really want to focus my time on studying (and also practicing for my piano recital that's coming up this Saturday).
This test is for the Spanish language, and it's one of the most intense and challenging ones I've taken yet. Spanish is a difficult subject for me, and I'm having a hard time finding confidence that I can pass it. So I would very much appreciate your prayers!
Hasta luego, mi amigos!
10.01.2009
clep tests, sick students... God always cares
Today has been a very interesting day. I've really had to rely a lot on God's strength for all the challenges and worries that I've had.
I teach piano, and today I had a new kind of experience with piano teaching. My student all of a sudden started feeling sick halfway through her lesson. I really had no idea what to do except to end the lesson. Then I called her mom and let her lay down on the sofa. I prayed alot while I waited for her mom to show up. I felt really responsible, almost as if she had gotten sick because of me. I also wished that we had finished the lesson, since she only has lessons every other week and needs all the instruction she can get. But God calmed my heart, (and I pray, hers as well) and she was able to get home okay.
The other big (BIG) thing today was my Natural Sciences CLEP test. Here, too, I was met with problems. There were a lot of things about the test which made me nervous. For one thing, when the test finally started, the computer screen showed all of the words upside down! Even the mouse worked counter to the way it should be. The lady tried to fix it, but nothing would work. So finally she turned the computer screen upside down. Surprisingly, that worked okay!
So I started the test, trying not to spend too much time on each question like I've been told. But I found that almost all of the questions were asking about things that I really wasn't familiar about, or was only vaguely familiar with! I had studied long and hard for this test, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had studied things that were more general (like the makeup of a cell), and this was asking about very specific things (like what protozoa has x amount of organelles). I had thought that the test was going to be about more general stuff since it covers so many topics (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Physiology)! But no, they had to ask specific questions!
I started to hyperventilate because so many of the questions that I was looking at seemed like a maze of unknown words and ideas. But I pulled myself together, and closed my eyes. "Lord," I prayed, "This is Your test. I will rely on You. Help me to think clearly." I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I looked back at the computer screen and determined to work the problem out. Each time I was faced with a hard question, I went through it slowly, trying to grasp the words that might give me a clue for the outcome. Unfortunately, this made it so that I only had 8 minutes at the end to go over all the questions I had marked because I wasn't sure about them. Boy, I hate racing against time. It's weird, though, my brain almost seems to work at a faster rate when I'm under pressure. But I certainly don't like it!
Finally, the time went out: 3....2......1, and there was nothing else I could do. I seriously was almost shaking. I still wasn't sure if I had made it, though I had been able to go over all of the questions I'd marked. It was with held breath that I clicked on "Continue to score". The score showed up on the screen: 62! I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Cedarville University (the college I want to go to next year) required a score of exactly 62 or higher. I had passed!
Immediately, I thanked God. He is so amazing, isn't he? To care about one insignificant CLEP test in one insignificant person's life... to care about me!
~Melody
I teach piano, and today I had a new kind of experience with piano teaching. My student all of a sudden started feeling sick halfway through her lesson. I really had no idea what to do except to end the lesson. Then I called her mom and let her lay down on the sofa. I prayed alot while I waited for her mom to show up. I felt really responsible, almost as if she had gotten sick because of me. I also wished that we had finished the lesson, since she only has lessons every other week and needs all the instruction she can get. But God calmed my heart, (and I pray, hers as well) and she was able to get home okay.
The other big (BIG) thing today was my Natural Sciences CLEP test. Here, too, I was met with problems. There were a lot of things about the test which made me nervous. For one thing, when the test finally started, the computer screen showed all of the words upside down! Even the mouse worked counter to the way it should be. The lady tried to fix it, but nothing would work. So finally she turned the computer screen upside down. Surprisingly, that worked okay!
So I started the test, trying not to spend too much time on each question like I've been told. But I found that almost all of the questions were asking about things that I really wasn't familiar about, or was only vaguely familiar with! I had studied long and hard for this test, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had studied things that were more general (like the makeup of a cell), and this was asking about very specific things (like what protozoa has x amount of organelles). I had thought that the test was going to be about more general stuff since it covers so many topics (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Physiology)! But no, they had to ask specific questions!
I started to hyperventilate because so many of the questions that I was looking at seemed like a maze of unknown words and ideas. But I pulled myself together, and closed my eyes. "Lord," I prayed, "This is Your test. I will rely on You. Help me to think clearly." I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I looked back at the computer screen and determined to work the problem out. Each time I was faced with a hard question, I went through it slowly, trying to grasp the words that might give me a clue for the outcome. Unfortunately, this made it so that I only had 8 minutes at the end to go over all the questions I had marked because I wasn't sure about them. Boy, I hate racing against time. It's weird, though, my brain almost seems to work at a faster rate when I'm under pressure. But I certainly don't like it!
Finally, the time went out: 3....2......1, and there was nothing else I could do. I seriously was almost shaking. I still wasn't sure if I had made it, though I had been able to go over all of the questions I'd marked. It was with held breath that I clicked on "Continue to score". The score showed up on the screen: 62! I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Cedarville University (the college I want to go to next year) required a score of exactly 62 or higher. I had passed!
Immediately, I thanked God. He is so amazing, isn't he? To care about one insignificant CLEP test in one insignificant person's life... to care about me!
~Melody
9.29.2009
Fall blew in yesterday...
The wind blew in fall yesterday.
The yellow leaves were blowing past my window where no leaves had blown before. The sky was covered in gloomy clouds, and the earth was quickly beginning to lose its greenness. It was a moody, melancholy, dreamy day - so beautiful that I had to go outside and experience its glory.
Outside, the wind stretched its icy fingers down my back and whipped my hair around my face. But I didn't care. To quote Mrs. Who from A Wrinkle in Time: "Wild Nights are my glory!" I love the bracing feel of sharp, fall wind that gusts in bursts upon my face. I love the darkness and the mysteriousness of being outside. The only thing that would have made it better was if it were storming.
The day was so beautiful, and the air so strong, that I decided to take some pictures:
I finally had to come inside because my fingers and toes were starting to go numb. But once inside, I turned on music from Lord of the Rings to keep the mood going. Unfortunately, though I felt in a poetic frame of mind with the influences of the stirring wind and music, I had to do schoolwork.
Yes, boring, exhausting, time-consuming schoolwork. Schoolwork is the reason I have not blogged until today, and the reason I will probably not be able to blog until Thursday night. You see, I'm studying for a CLEP test which I'll be taking on Thursday. If you don't know what a CLEP test is (I have been very surprised to find out that most people don't!), it is similar to an AP test. I get college credit if I pass. That's what I'm doing for college this year, so it is very important that I pass.
But after that test is over... bring on the poetry! :)
~Melody
