How do you keep hope alive?
(credit to http://babyloveletters.typepad.com/baby_love_letters/)

I can't think of a time that I've ever been "hopeless". No matter how difficult or devastating a situation has seemed, I've always known that God has a plan for me, for my life, and He will make something good come from the present bad. That's a promise we have in scripture--Jeremiah 29:11.

Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of times when I struggled to get up in the morning or allowed myself to be consumed by the negative stuff of this world. But that's the reality--it's just of this world; this is temporary, just a flash in comparison to eternity. I stay rooted in my faith and I make a conscious effort not to worry about things that I cannot change and I do my best to take time to pray over things that concern me. It sounds simple, but it's who I am and I have peace because of it.

Who was a teacher that changed your life?
(credit to http://babyloveletters.typepad.com/baby_love_letters/)

There are several teachers that were my favorites, but I can't really say that I can pinpoint a way that any of them changed my life.

I would have to say a teacher that actually eventually impacted my life was John Cheary. There were a lot of kids (and parents) that didn't like him much, but his involvement in my life in high school changed the course of how the rest of my life went--at least in college.

If he wouldn't have been willing to let me switch instruments and tutor me on French horn when I did switch, I may not have gotten any kind of music scholarship at all. Who know if I would have been able to attend Culver-Stockton at all without that extra tuition money? I did a lot of growing up at C-SC. I learned quite a bit about who I was and what I wanted for my life.

While his impact wasn't really profound, it was more significant than the butterfly effect. It's too bad that the selfishness of a few individuals caused him to leave his profession entirely. He really was a nice guy and very knowledgeable in his field.

God bless you, John Cheary, wherever you are...