Last week, I finished my fifth class toward my Master's degree. I now have fifteen hours of graduate work behind me, and I'm looking forward to graduation . . . with only twenty-five more hours in my way. No problem! I have registered for eighteen hours this spring, and I'll take seven over the summer. If I can finish my internship before the end of the summer, I'll be finished. If not, I'll have the fall to complete it. Either way, I'll graduate next December.

With all the excitement of tripling up on classes to finish early, I've also been caught up in planning the next step in my education. I'm weighing the options of working on a Specialist degree or going straight from Master's to Doctorate. A large part of that decision will be based on cost and the programs offered at various universities. I narrowed my list to four institutions: Southern Illinois University, St. Louis University, Ohio State University, and Mizzou. From there, I started looking at tuition, availablity of distance learning (which is a must), and the overall convenience of the program.

This morning, I found out that SEMO is part of a cooperative program through Mizzou where I can get my degree through Mizzou without leaving Southeast Missouri . . . much. I also found out that my current advisor received her Doctorate through the program. So . . . I have decided (subject to God's approval) that I will enroll in Specialist classes through SEMO following graduation next year, and then in the Doctoral program through Mizzou.

Lofty goals? Maybe. Some people have the philosophy that if you "aim for the moon, you'll land among the stars." I believe we must always keep dreaming about the next step - in our professional lives, in our spiritual lives, and in our relationships. Do you have plans for your future? God does. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." He's not satisfied with the plans that we have conjured up based on our limited knowledge. He's dreaming big things for me and you - things that we couldn't imagine, even if we were told.

Dream Big. I am!