A Summer's Journey

Here I sit on my sofa, enjoying the warmth Stella's underbelly gives off towards my very-cold toes. Yes, the day's temperature was in the upper 90s, but try telling my foot's appendages that. They don't care.

Thankfully, my dog does.

The majority of my family, from Ohio to Arkansas, are getting ready to launch off on an adventure to the beach together. They will enjoy a week of fun in sun and fellowship with one another--so much catching up to be done! I, however, will remain where I am, anchored to this town Monday through Friday for the remainder of the summer by a massive magnetic power I tend to call "THERAPY."

I've never been to the beach.

My "adopted" family here are planning a 2-week trip to South Dakota later this month. AHH! What will I do without them?! Again, I find myself glued to this spot, unmoving, due to this unrelenting force--"THERAPY."

I've never been to Mount Rushmore.

Then again, I wasn't invited on that trip. (chuckling quietly to self) I just thought it would add to the dramatic emotion of the scene.

Regardless of all the fun and memories I won't experience this summer, there are so many more to be made. I am loving my career choice more and more with every passing day--and every sweet smile. I am carried away with compassion for these precious elderly individuals, with stories to be told and lives to be shared.

I may miss out on some exciting trips, but God has given me a journey this summer that I will not regret taking. He has been leading me and teaching me. This speech therapist is speechless when I consider His hand in my life.

Thankful for:
101. A last-minute bible study in my small, perpetually dark living room
102. An opportunity to catch up with classmates over hamburger helper
103. Provision of clinical hours and a peace about meeting the quota for graduation
104. A reminder of God's steadfast, unchanging nature in a world of instability and time of shifting loyalties
105. A make-shift blanket of soft black and white fur with two beautiful eyes...oh! that's my dog! Well, I'm thankful for her, too.

Helping Little Bubz

Yes, I call my brothers "bubz."

And yes, I did help my brother with a school project today. Wanna see?

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Here's the two of us...exhausted (after putting nearly six hours into the project)!

It's a...longhouse, home of the Iroquois (a native American tribe).

Like the bamboo "corn"? Yeah, it's kind of tall in proportion to the little plastic Indians, but the bigger the better, right?

Of course, the little bubz had to add some mean settlers to fight these peaceful redskins. That's just what boys do!

I'm back home visiting for the week and am having SO MUCH fun! (Except for the weeding Mamaw's yard in the heat, but, hey, it was worth it to see her smile. I'm glad I could help her out).

Thank you, Lord for:

76. Good pizza with great, old friends

77. Quality time with my youngest brother, discovering what a truly amazing young fellow he is becoming

78. Helping me to find humor in a bitter, old man and love him all the more in spite of his shortcomings

79. Safety on my trip to the south.

80. A phone call from a speech therapy company that almost seems too good to be true.

81. The opportunity to get to know the man my mother married and realize mom's in good hands.

82. My mamaw's sweet smile...and wonderful backrubs!

83. Beautiful weather (and company!) at lunchtime on Mother's Day with other friends who didn't have their mothers nearby for the special day

84. "Stump", the first real English bulldog I've ever met. What strange creatures You have made! This one brings smiles, giggles, and light-hearted fun!

85. Air conditioning! How did people ever survive Arkansas' heat without AC?!

(This post was originally posted on Wednesday, May 11th, but for some reason it is saying it posted on May 17th).

Forgetting Things

I forgot to give my dog a bath earlier this week.

After my last session ended tonight, I forgot that it was Thursday--the last day of the clinical semester--and I wouldn't see any of my clients again.

I forgot to do my laundry until today. It was three days overdue.

I forgot to rinse out my tea pitcher. The crazy ants had a hayday once they infested my kitchen sink.

I forgot to ask my landlord who this person was so I could give them the baby formula that was mistakingly placed in my mailbox. The powdery stuff is still sitting on my coffee table.

And, sadly, I forgot to post my Multitude Monday note three days ago.

It's just been one of those weeks. This blog has been neglected for over a week now, so I thought I had better visit. In spite of everything going on, what with the deadly weather and preparing to end the semester, I can still praise God...in everything. He is good!

Thank You, Lord for...
66. Your protection in the midst of the deadly storms.
67. Allowing me to spend time with the Brazeals, even if we were stuck in a smelly basement most of the time and were all busy with schoolwork. Just being there was medicine for my heart. It felt good to not be alone, even when completing mundane tasks. Thank you for my "second family" as well as my first!
68. the opportunity to see that incredible lightning the other night, to give me a glimpse of Your eternal power, might, glory, and purity. Thank you for lighting up the sky up with streaks of lightning going all different directions--at one point looking like a perfect cross. It was a beautiful sight! And, somehow, completely silent. The sound of thunder never came.
69. Thank you for a brother who cares--and for his rarely-spoken words: "I love u sis." Thank you for giving him a desire to go back to school and seek a college degree...to do something better with his life.
70.Thank you for this week! The end of school is in sight!

M-O-N-D-A-Y

Church.

I missed most all of Pastor John's message Sunday morning as I was one of the nursery workers and we had a full house. We had the monitor on so we could watch the service, but with so many sweet babies bouncing around, it was difficult to focus on anything else. I hear it was a wonderful message.

Our Sunday School class studied through two verses (and started a third!). We're nearing the end of Galations now. What a blessing this study has been! Sadly, Ephesians and Galations are two books that seem to be--overlooked--quite often by the faith I grew up around. If everyone could just BEGIN to grasp the beauty of the gospel and Paul's firm stance against infiltration of our own works, what a difference it could make.

What a difference it HAS made in me.

"Doing enough" is something I have always tried to accomplish, but satisfaction has never come. It can't come because I never will be able to "do enough" to earn anything from God. God has torn down some of the enemy's strongholds in my life over the course of this study--lies that crippled my faith.

Freedom.

That is what I feel in my spirit. God has freed me! He's still working through some things, but oh have my eyes been opened! Sometimes I want to just burst out with gratefulness to my peers in class, to share with them what God is doing in me and how He is using them to do so. Sometimes I want to just hug someone neck and tell them thanks for bringing out a point I'd never thought of before, to tell them that pondering it throughout the week had brought me closer to my Father, and I loved them all the more for it.

But I just don't.

I push it off on shyness, but is that it? Now here I go off on a tangent.

Family.

My brother's married. I'll have a new neice or nephew in the Fall. My mom's married. I have only talked to her once...maybe twice unless that one was a dream...since the big news. She seems...sweet, so very sweet. I don't think I've ever seen that side of my mom, but I love it! Once of my sister's is engaged to the father of her two daughters. She is so excited about planning a wedding and texts me pictures of colors all the time. It's kind of fun to see her giddy with joy! Oh, any my grandparents, well they are doing just dandy I think. Any little news I get from them is usually hand squeezed out of Mamaw. She's one of those folks that says everything's fine, but once you talk long enough and ask enough questions, you find out a tornado came through and killed all your friends, your dog died, your Aunt had a baby, and two of your high school teachers won Pulitzer's prizes for some thing or another. I may be exaggerating...a little bit...but just a little. Mamaw always brightens my day and I love talking with her, even if it is just to say, "Hi!" She says Papaw's got a colonoscopy scheduled for tomorrow. My birthday. I wonder if there's any way I could make it to Little Rock to see them before therapy. Mamaw says it wouldn't be possible. They wouldn't be free until after 4--when my days really gets started. :(

Bringing this long section to a close, I want to ask anyone who reads this to pray for one of my sisters. They all need prayer--exceuse me, WE all need prayer--but one of my sisters has left and no one is really sure where she is or what she's doing. Last I'd heard, she'd left her son behind and gone back to a guy she been with before who beat her, abused her, and stalked her--a guy I'd rather not see again. I love this sister so very VERY dearly and I just want her to stay safe. And find Jesus. Only He can fill that void she is trying so desparately to fill.

School.

Two weeks left of therapy at the college clinic. After final reports are completed (due Wednesday), things will start winding down. I'm excited about my placement in a nursing home in the summer, just one more little reminder that I only have 3 months and 22 days left until graduation.

Down Time.

I don't have much of that, or I shouldn't have with all I've got going on in order to prepare the end of the semester, but I am trying to take time out to read the newest Mysterious Benedict Society: The Prisoner's Dilemma. I've really liked this series so far, though I am a little iffy about some of the stuff in this newest book. Yeah, I know they are kids' books, but hey, I don't wanna grow up!

I've also spent some time "organizing". Here's SOME of my therapy materials (not as organized yet as I would like):

And here is my "Prayer door." I put either pictures or reminders up to represent people or situations that I pray for each day.

Thankfulness.

56. Another year.

57. Every one of those people represented in the photo above. 

58. Getting a virus on my little pink netbook. This may seem strange blessing, but a classmate's laptop cable stopped working this weekend, so I was able to bless her with the one for my useless computer until the one she ordered comes in.

59. Passionate Perspectives speakers and the practical and applicable information they share about how to bring the gospel to those who have yet to know Jesus.

60. A saying that crossed my path this week, reminding me of a dear friend: "A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and will sing it back to you when you forget the words."

61. Psalm 37, and specifically the beautiful plaque with verse 4 written on it a precious "sister" gave to me for my birthday in rememberance of this Psalm.

62. Health

63. No doctor's bills yet!

64. The news of a friend's pregnancy. What a blessing she and her husband have received!

65. Friends who pray. Friends who love. Friends.

Spring Break

I said I would post later about Spring Break, so here it is...every detail, from the fun and intriguing to the exceedingly mundane:

On Saturday, I went to a Neurological Ranch for school to administer some tests on folks who've had strokes, traumatic brain injuries, or other neuro issues. The grounds of the 400+ acre ranch were breathtakingly beautiful. However, the experience made me realize I don't think I'm cut out to daily work with people who can't inhibit their thoughts.

The Ranch

On Sunday, I enjoyed visiting with some friends from church and basking in the glorious weather on their many patios. We even ate dinner outside--using bar stools as tables! That night, the moon was absolutely stunning in the sky. A kind friend happened to have a camera handy and took a few photos of it as we were both heading to our cars that evening. God's handiwork is magnificent!

While he was snapping these pretty photos (and many more), another friend and I were discussing how we were going to convince her mother to let her spend the day with me without arousing her mother's suspicion. Sneaky us had a plan up our sleeves...

...a plan to aid her father in surprising their mother with a beautiful reception on their 30th wedding anniversary. Their anniversary was the next day--Monday--and not a single plan had been made when this moon's phase was captured shortly before midnight.

With the help of other family members, friends of the family, and a sweet mother and daughter from our church, the reception fell together beautifully just in time for the couple's arrival at the church.

The same kind photographer who caught the moon took these photos. It just seems I don't have a camera on me when I need one most! He even included a video clip from the moments when the lovely bride was "surprised!" However, because I haven't received permission prior to writing this, I have left names out of this story and faces out of the photographs. It was a beautiful, fun night. Worth every second of labor, too! We all went out to the family's home afterward for more fun and fellowship--into the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Tuesday started with another doctor's appointment to find out if a CT scan was necessary or if I could live without one for now. The meeting lasted only about 10 minutes and it was decided that the strange object in my pelvis showing up on X-Rays doesn't seem to be bothering me right now so I can survive CT Scan-free for the time being. Good news! 

The rest of the day was spent patio-furniture shopping with the family mentioned above (refer to reception story). We spent hours (quite literally) sitting around a table in the Walmart Garden Center chatting while the gentle breeze blew around us. 'Twas nice.

Wednesday wasn't near as eventful. Housework, schoolwork, a quick visit to try out the patio furniture that was chosen, and AWANA with the precious kiddos who were rowdier than usual. I wonder if the break had anything to do with it?

Thursday was not interesting at all. I ran errands all day and read/watched movies all night. I took Stella to have her bush groomed down to a manageable length. This photo was taken on my phone shortly after picking her up Thursday night:

They cut her hair quite badly. Look at the pink patch of completely bare flesh on her chest...whereas there is patches of fur at different lengths all over the rest of her little body.

Friday was grandulous. Is grandulous a word? If not, now it is. Anyway, I spent all morning trying to find someone interested in going to the Museum of Discovery with me (thankfully, the perfect person agreed to go with me this past Tuesday instead). Then I went around town with a very good friend to pick up materials for building a chicken coop at the youth ranch she works at. We bought some chickens before heading back to the ranch. It was so precious to hear those little chirps!
Stella met Glory, my friend's adorable yellow lab pup, and instantly fell in love. They are now best friends. I was too soft-hearted to tell them there will come a time (very soon!) when the can no longer play so rough together due to Glory's rapid growth and many months to go before it peaks.
The rest of the evening was spent getting to know my friend better--and loving every minute of it--as well as discovering that Stella is actually a well-behaved dog and obeys me more than I realized. My only regret from that visit is that it couldn't have been longer, much longer, as I had to get up at 4:30a.m. to head back home. Why?

Because I had to work on Saturday morning, that's why! Regardless of my exhaustion, the day was a good one. I took some of the fellas bowling and realized they bowl a lot better than I do! Well, that's not saying much because I stink at it, but still! I was impressed! It made me itch to go bowling sometime myself. I really need to do that soon. I watched a couple of movies while doing some computer work that night after work.

Sunday was a typical Sunday. I enjoyed meeting with my peers for the Sunday school class, picking back up in Galations chapter 5. You wouldn't believe how long we've been in Galations if I told you. It's a good way to study scripture, though, and I rightly enjoy the pace. We dig much deeper into the Word through this class than any other class I've ever attended. Even Old Testament Survey my freshman year of college wasn't as thought-provoking as this class and I had to write a 9-page paper for it! I learned a lot more about J. Hudson Taylor during service that afternoon and walked away with one particular scenario burned in my memory: the story of Mr. Taylor giving the $50 bill in his pocket--all the money to his name--to a poor man whose wife was dying. In that moment I realized that I don't know if I could trust God in that situation. I want to, I hope I would, but would I? I only pray that my trust in Him will grow stronger--and that I will place complete trust in Him. Perspectives class was back in full swing and the place was more crowded than usual. That's not a bad problem to have! :)

I went home and fell asleep. Thus ended Spring Break 2011...the last one I shall ever experience as a student.

Monday

To show how lost I am, I logged into my blog thinking it was Tuesday. My original title for this post was "Monday on Tuesday" because I truly thought I'd missed the day.

Revelation came as soon as I started to write this post, so thankfully I now know what day it is.

Miscellany Monday
1. Did you know that photos taken using higher shutter speed can capture images in the dark, such as a beautiful full moon, but that the faster speed makes the photo grainy? Neither did I, until a friend tried to explain this phenomenon to me yesterday. I'm one fact smarter, even if I still don't understand the details of it.
2. Chinese restaurants close before church ends on Sunday nights and for some reason no one has thought of the idea of fast-food Chinese in this city. (Either that, or I have yet to discover it.)
3. Jumping jacks don't settle well on upset stomachs. Don't try it at home. Or in public for that matter.
4. Through the Gates of Splendor is a heart-wrenching, life-altering documentary. Watch it.
5. Spring break was wonderful. I took a break from nearly everything. Details coming to later posts.

Multitude Mondays
I thank the Lord for:
31. Three unexpected paychecks that I knew nothing of until Friday.
32. The encouragement of precious friends who are running towards God.
33. A long-awaited call from my brother yesterday.
34. My growing family: a new "stepdad," sister-in-law, neice or nephew on the way, and a soon to be brother-in-law.
35. Stella's health. My poor dog was very sick this weekend. I didn't realize how much I cared about her until I saw her in pain. It feels so good to see her rough-housing like her old self.
36. The memory of a sweet little girl saying, "Look at my cool necklace." [beaming as she holds up a necklace with the name "Jesus" carved in the wooden charm.]
37. Learning how the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed--and how God is changing lives around the world in ways I could never dream!
38. Sweet tea. I drink more of it than I should.
39. The beautiful weather this city was blessed with over spring break.
40. Life. I watched some 2-day old chicks waddle around on Friday and just felt grateful for that moment--one in a million I have every single day--to experience life.

        

My Love Language

I have been told that "words of affirmation" is my love language by several people, and, though I had never heard of "love languages," I had assumed this to be the case since I sincerely love to tell people how special they are. I also love to hear the same back (even if it is hard to believe those sweet words!).

I found a website about these so-called "love languages" and took a test to see how I truly communicate my love and feel the love from others. (http://www.5lovelanguages.com/) You may be surprised, the top one is not words of affirmation, though it is close.

Here are my results:
1. Quality Time (10)
2. Words of Affirmation (9)
3. Acts of Service (6)
4. Receiving Gifts (3)
5. Physical Touch (2)

No wonder I am always feeling depressed! I seldom get to spend quality time with...anyone, not even my dog!

How about you take the test and share your results with me. I'm looking forward to hearing from some of you!

The Leter "F"

Some of the greatest things in life start with the letter F. I think it is my new favorite letter of the alphabet.

1. Father: Abba Father, the Holy One of Israel who does not sleep, who knows all, sees all, hears all, controls all, loves all. And He has adopted me! I am His! What does God need with a little, helpless, broken girl such as me? He has shown me that whether He needs me or not, He loves me and has saved me for His glory. FATHER GOD, FAITHFUL FRIEND, INDESCRIBABLE CREATOR, GLORIOUS SAVIOR, I LOVE YOU!

2. Family: Not only did God do all that, but He's blessed me with an earthly Papaw who adopted me as his daughter, too. A man at retirement age who chose to sacrifice his years of rest to raise a stubborn, rotten, bitter little girl who wasn't even his blood child. That is love. My grandma always told me, "He loves you, you know. He just doesn't know how to show it." Or maybe he realized how his LIFE showed it. Everything about that story drips with love. God's love. Papaw's love. I don't think I thank either enough for blessing me with my raising. My Mamaw is the best mom a girl could ask for. She'll give the last can of food in her cupboard--and the very shirt off her back--to people in need. I have seen her bend over backwards, loving and praying and giving, to people who would just as well turn and spit on her. What an awesome heritage! Mamaw, if you read this: I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING AND I WANT YOU TO GIVE PAPAW THE BIGGEST HUG AND KISS EVER AND SHARE THIS WITH HIM. I DON'T WANT EITHER OF YOU TO EVER FORGET HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU. Even if it means annoying you to pieces telling you all the time.

3. Friends: Perhaps I'm partial, but I feel like God brought the best people in this world into my life. My friends are some of the most generous, loving, exciting, blessing people I could ever imagine. Somehow I don't see how a stinker like me could bond with these amazing people, but I have! Our Father gives good gifts--and I sincerely believe one of those gifts is the gift of friendship with fabulous people. What's the best part? Being challenged, being admonished by my brothers and sisters in Christ--my friends--leading to a closer relationship with them, but even greater is that God uses this to strengthen my relationship with Him.
If any of my friends see this, THANK YOU FOR LEADING ME TO HIM! THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING TRUTH. THANK YOU FOR BEING AN EXAMPLE OF OUR FATHER'S LOVE. I THANK HIM FOR YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY!

...and there are so many more "F" blessings! Fun, fellowship, food, faith, a future, freedom...the list could go on and on!