Another blessing...

I can't help myself, I just have to do it! Shane and Rebecca had professional pics taken a couple of weeks back and I just can't get over what a beautiful couple they are! I know, I know, this is coming from their sentimental sister but I am so proud of them and I love them very much!!!!!

They are both very awesome people and they make the best couple in the world. I love you guys!!!!

Blessings

Blessings in my life:

• The pretty flowering plant I was given this week that has a home on my desk. In fact it's one of my favorite colors, salmon!!
• The warm weather that we have been having, it's nice to sit at my desk with the window open and feel the breeze....ah!!!! Love it!
• Family, so often I take them for granted....I mean, who in the world is going to listen to you rant and rave late into the night like your Mom?!?! Believe me, we talk a lot and it seems to go late into the night!
• For meeting new friends and for the friends that I already have. You each are a blessing straight from God to bless my life!
• For the opportunity to better my relationship with God and with my friends this weekend at the Youth Rally I'm going to. It's going to be a ton of fun, you all don't know what your missing out on!!!
• For someone in the office that volunteered to make me up a map for how to get to my hotel tonight for the Youth Rally.
• The daffodils blooming outside the porch at my house.
• For my girlfriends who are riding up with me to meet my brothers and Rebecca this afternoon. They are like 2 sisters to me.. luv you Mandie and Meagan!!!

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and it's usually in the smallest blessings that we find the most happiness and joy. Life is made up of the small things. Don't take for granted the small blessings in your life today!

Just for fun...

Okay, this may seem a little weird but I'm doing it just for fun. In my profile it asks the question to tell the children about the story of the bald frog who wore a wig. Well, since my version of the story is too long to put in my profile I decided to post it. lol ;)




Once upon a time there lived a frog in a little tiny mud puddle.This frog was mean and old and ugly and didn't like other froggies so he chose to live in a mud puddle all by himself instead of in the swamp with all the other frogs.The mud puddle was so small, in fact, that even though the froggy thought no one could see him sticking out of the puddle you could actually see the top of his head! One day, some other little froggies were hopping by the mud puddle to the big swamp when when the mean old froggy heard them giggling and laughing and poking fun. "What are they laughing at?", mused the mean old frog? As they got closer he could hear them talking, giggling, and poking fun at HIM! At him?! Yes, at him! That is when he discovered that he really wasn't hiding because the top of his head was sticking out of the water! "Oh no, what am I going to do?", thought the mean old frog. He though, and though, and though until his head hurt from thinking so much! "That's it!", he said, "I'll wear a wig and no one will ever see me!" And so the mean old frog decided to wear a wig in the tiny mud puddle in hopes that no other froggies would be able to see him and he lived happily ever after in the tiny mud hole. ~The End

The price keeps going up..

If gas prices keep going up I think I'll have to get some sled dogs and quit going to the gas station...I'm so sick of paying high prices at the pump!!!!

Deindividualization

Deindividualization, is a huge word with a pretty simple meaning.
The definition: "In groups or crowds, the loss of awareness of one's own individuality."

That's a pretty powerful word and a pretty thought provoking definition. As a culture we like to pride ourselves in our own individuality. We don't like to follow any one person's way of doing anything. We are fine, all on our own. At least that is what we like to tell ourselves anyway. To actually look in the mirror might tell a different story though. We love designer brands, we will even buy things like the "Jones'" have just to fit in with the "Jones'." We are all into not looking out of place, fitting in not sticking out unless it going to make us look good. Even Taco Bell tries to express our heart felt sentiment with their, "Think outside the bun" slogan.

It's when we take our eyes off of Christ and onto the circumstances, people, and things around us that we find ourselves so prone to deindevidualization. John 8:36 tells us that:
"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." In Christ we are made free, free from sin and free from the pressures of deindividualization. Our identity should be found in Jesus Christ, not in fitting in a crowd or keeping up with the "Jones'". Even Jesus found His identity in the Father. In John 14:11 He says, "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." Also, in John 15:5 He says, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." In Philippians 4:13 we are given the promise, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." What a promise! It's in finding my identity in Christ that I can do all things, that I find my fulllest fullfillment and happiness. It's not in deindividualization.

Awesome Song Lyrics....

For the First Time (Mark Harris)

I was waiting for a push, waiting for a sign
Waiting for the perfect moment to arrive
Steady as a clock, caught between the line
Living for myself until I realized
There's too much life
You've given me
To let it slip away

Chorus: I'm ready to live, ready to breathe
Ready to take in everything
I'm ready to love, ready to shine
Ready to live this life of mine
I'm ready to jump, ready to fly for the first time

I want to take a dive, I want to take a chance
I want to make the most of every day I have
I want to be alive, I want to be a man
Cause being wild at heart is really who I am
You've put these dreams inside of me
So what can hold them back
Chorus:

I can feel it
Being pushed by Bigger Hands
You have saved me
You have made me who I am
Chorus:

End of the semester dash...

I can't believe it, I really can't. I seems as if I just started college and now the end of the semester is in view. April 28 is my last class in English and I forgot which day was my last day in Psych. but it is somewhere close to that. It is nearing the end but I'm far from kicking back and putting my feet up yet! I have several more papers due and a few more tests and papers due in Psych. It seems that the end of the semester is more demanding than the beginning or even the mid term.

It's an interesting parallel, the end of my semester and Christ's second coming. Christ's coming is soon, unlike knowing which day is my last day in class, I don't know when my last day on Earth will be or when His second coming will be but the way things look, it can't be too far off. Things are hard now and will only continue to get harder before Christ comes. It's no time to kick back and relax before my finals or before the second coming, there's work to do! Both events are something to look forward to with joyous anticipation though! Joyous because the end of this semester means that I'm one step closer to my goal of becoming a nurse and joyous because the sooner Christ comes the sooner pain and sorrow, heartache and woe will be gone from the Earth and humanity.

Thought question, do I live like I believe Jesus is coming soon? Do I say it but secretly hope that it won't happen for a long time? Am I living as if today could be my last day on Earth?

The end of the semester is right around the corner and Jesus' coming is as well...are you living in anticipation?

Into My Wild

Monday our teacher put a movie on in English class called "Into the Wild" based on a true story of a guy named Christofer Mccandless who left everything after graduating college. I wasn't thrilled to watch the movie for class and honestly I was pretty leery to watch it since I am very selective with what I watch anyway but with that experience over and wanting to cry since it had a really sad ending with Chris dying my teacher wanted us to write a paper of what our "Into the Wild" experience would be like. Since my dream is for foreign mission work I decided to write about my experience future tense after graduating nursing school about what it might look like. I titled it: "Into My Wild."


“Into My Wild”

The words still ringing in my ears, the certificate of nursing in my hands, trading graduation cap and gown for a back pack, bandana, and flip flops I sort through my check list, checking it rechecking it. Everything is laid out on my bed as I check each item off. My nursing gear, charcoal and medicines, head lamp, first aid kit, germ-x, definitely can’t forget the germ-x. The list goes on. Only the most necessary items, the most practical clothes, mud boots, rain gear, insect repellant, mosquito net, oh yeah, passport.

Forget the curling iron, blow dryer, high heels, and clear nail polish to make my nails look perfect, those things just won’t be necessary where I’m going. In fact, they are only trimmings and trappings binding me to a culture where vanity is God. Besides, there won’t be electricity anyways and even though I love looking nice it won’t matter where I’m headed. Other things are more important.

I look at the calendar, tomorrow, the day I leave. As I finish stuffing the last necessary items into my luggage that will fit I reach for my Bible, can’t forget my Bible. I’ll put that in my back pack. Excitement has given way to some restless nervousness as everything is starting to set in. I take a deep breath, Okay God, I’m ready!