the start of a new season.

Today marks a very important, very special, and very significant day in the life of the Turner household! Today, my amazing husband is starting his 3yr. journey of completing a BA in Business Management. This is something that Shawn has wanted to do for a long time and something that he feels so strongly will better serve him as he looks forward in his career. There were many circumstances that prevented Shawn from achieving his bachelors degree when we first entered college together in 1998, and he has been incredibly blessed to have his worth and value to a company recognized by the largest tile manufacturer and distributor in the US, despite not having a degree. But looking forward, he has realized that this is something that will be important and something that he desires to achieve, not only for himself but for our family. I cannot even put into words how incredibly proud of him I am. I know that this is NOT going to be easy. Not only does he work full time running an operation with only two other employees, but he is also an amazingly involved father to two young kids and a committed husband that does not want to miss a second of time with his family. Yes, this is going to take sacrifice from all of us, but we are ready for it! I am so excited to stand behind him and be the supporter, cheerleader, encourager, and helper I need to be every step of the way.

When he began researching schools that offered undergraduate degrees online, it became very clear early on that Liberty University was among the top, best, and most recognized online learning communities available. And to top it all off, Liberty is a Christian university that offers incredible opportunity to not only earn a degree but to grow stronger in the knowledge and understanding of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Wow. Shawn has shared with me some emails he has received from his professors and I have been blown away by the way the professors have already communicated to the students of each class that one of the objectives for the class is to help them grow in their faith and walk with Christ. Amazing. Something SO foreign to me, having never experienced a Christian education. There has already been a bit of jealousy on my part regarding this Christian worldview that Liberty and all of its professors/classes present. One class in particular would be Philosophy. Now, my experience with Philosophy was, to pit it lightly, a complete nightmare! Seriously, I dropped the class at UNCC after the first 2 weeks b/c it was so completely horrible and I was so completely miserable! I do NOT think analytically, I do NOT like debating philosophical topics, and I could care LESS about anything related to the topic! So, I ended up having to take the course at UNC-Greensboro one summer. My experience there was nothing any better. I was "lucky" enough to have an atheist as a professor who found it necessary to give me a failing grade on my final paper since it was written from a Christian standpoint. Not cool. The only thing to say is that the textbook for Shawn's philosophy class is titled "The Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics." Wow, what a difference.

So, here's to an amazing semester babe!! I love you and I am so proud of you!!!