Monday Musings

I have decided to pick up two habits on Mondays. Let's hope I can be consistent! With honor and enthusiasm I enter into both...



1. I discovered today that the Nintendo Wii can be a fun interactive tool used during speech-language therapy, and I'm sure it would be useful for PT and OT as well! Games such as Big Brain Academy and ThinkSmart are great for practicing and building memory, attention, and language skills. Oh, and for you guys who don't need therapy, it never hurts to sharpen your memory--especially if you can have fun doing it!

2. McDonald's makes a good salad. Their tomatoes are better than any other place's! (This is HUGE--I'm not a big salad eater). I vowed to never eat at this place again, but here I sit, all by myself, tapping into their wifi and digesting a grilled chicken salad.

3. I went shopping today and bought all but one thing on my list--at Dollar General. I never knew everything I needed was less than a block from my house!

4. Today is a day of celebration! Today was the last day SLP student clinicians had to write SOAP notes--for the rest of the semester. Now THAT is something to get excited about!

5. Kristina is a bad pet parent. She ran out of dog food last night and fed her pooch homemade beef -n- veggie soup today instead of going to get some canine cuisine. Stella thinks I hung the moon, but I know I probably just added some poundage she doesn't need. It's always been so much easier to watch her weight than my own! (until today, of course).



I am so thankful to the Lord for...
1. ...a beautiful day with perfect weather
2. ...sunlight peeking through clouds, reminding me of the hope in Him through all the trials of life
3. ...classmates' smiles, laughter, and encouragement throughout the day
4. ...European board game nights with dear friends who've become like family
5. ...car rides that never last long enough, deep in conversation with a sister-friend

I think you stop at five, but I have missed too much time involved in this, so I'm going to continue...
6. ...my dog, who loves me unconditionally, regardless of ME and whether I deserve that affection or not
7. ...babbling brooks and wildflowers popping through the moist earth shouting "Spring's coming!"
8. ...a sweet conversation with my precious grandfather, who just celebrated his 74th birthday on Sunday
9. ...peace right before a big exam, and a remembrance of information from all the years of training for that day.
10. ...one amazing client who loves gospel music, whose eyes sparkle with the sweet peace of the One she adores, who is a blessing as she is, in her testimony of God's sovereign grace, mercy, and healing power.

YAY! COMPS!

I passed. She passed. We all passed.

What a smart group of clinicians UCA has trained!

YAY! SLP Class of August 2011, I'm proud of you!

You did great, you are great, and you'll BE great!

Never doubt the calling God has placed on your life. He is equipping you to succeed in His work.

YAY! (I'm just so excited!)

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!

Once Upon a Day So Dreary...

...I found myself quite ridiculously cheery!

Today was the dreaded day: Comprehensive Exams. All that studying (err, reading to refresh the mind) paid off. Or maybe it was the nearly 6 years I've put into my studies in this intriguing field of speech-language pathology. However it was, those tests were not difficult and I breezed through them. I don't think this is a false confidence (though it could turn out as such!). I felt quite smart as I finished up and walked out of that auditorium.

Thank you, Jesus, for being with me through these years.

Last nigth in Perspectives, the speaker mentioned how the secular education/training some people receive IS their seminary. It's their training for a higher calling. God heals the whole person--their physical needs as well as their spiritual and emotional ones. He calls people to medical ministries, to become teachers, to even become lawyers (I guess! hehe) for His higher purpose. We can use the gifts He has blessed us with to help someone else and bring Him glory!

Isn't that just...AMAZING? I sure think so!

In other news today, my landlord came out to check on me because my neighbor was worried. Apparently, 3 hours ago I opened my car door and finally took my carpet shampooer out. Only, I left the shampooer by the car AND LEFT THE DOOR WIDE OPEN. I would be worried if I saw that in my neighbor's yard, too, for three whole hours. And if I knocked on her door and she didn't respond (I was in the shower).
Poor Mrs. H, she was so worried about me and I was completely oblivious to the pain I had caused everyone just by my careless memory lapse!

Once Upon a Study Break...

In just two days, I have crammed 15 hours of studying in...for only two-and-a-half classes. WHAT?! I have ten classes to go. Well, nine-and-a-half.
Comprehensive exams are Monday. 9:00 A.M.

And they cover my entire graduate school academic experience.

I'm doomed.

My study buddy is talking to me...I hear words...MIRBI....RICE...rice? What? I think I need to get back to the world of schoolwork and pull out those dusty files of information stored away in my brain long ago...

Sensory Issues

After all my experience with children (and adults!) with sensory issues, my "sensory kids," I realize that I have a few sensory issues of my own. I didn't really give it much thought until one of my supervisors pointed out one the other day. That sensory issue is...CHALK!

Ever since, I've noticed several others. Here's a few of them:

TOUCH:
* Microsuede stuff couches are made of. I can't stand to touch it with my bare skin. It's sticky!
* Fleece. It's kind of itchy.
* Sand in my toes.
* Slimy food textures
* Grainy or chalky food textures
* Does being a claustraphobic (spelling?) in large groups of people count?

SOUND:
* Chalk on a chalkboard, even when it isn't screeching
* Metal on metal/ceramic (you can completely immobilize me by scraping a fork across a plate)

Weird things I do to relax without thinking about it ("self-stimming"):
* Run my hands through beans, flour, water, and other things.
* Chew on, not eat, weird things (like: plastic, straws, gum wrappers, fingernails).
* Press the back of my hand against hard surfaces.

So, now that you have a glimpse of my weirdness, how about sharing some of your own unique ticks?

My Love Letter

My Love,

Everywhere I look, I see you, feel you, hear you. When I wake up, I just can't start my day until I've heard your gentle, loving voice. No one has ever made me feel the way you do. Maybe that's because no one has ever loved me the way you do. How do you do it? You know my insecurities, my weaknesses, and my failures. You know I'm not the perfect girl. I just cannot understand how you love me so! My heart quickens as I write this. My words are so inadequate to portray the love I feel for you! You have taught me so much about redemption and unconditional love, and yet I'm still so far from comprehending it all. I struggle daily to understand you, as you wow and amaze me with each and every moment spent in your presence. You are breathtaking. You are irresistable. These words fall so short of describing you in all your glory. Your words are sweeter than all the chocolate in the world. Thank you for the roses, the beautiful, yet painful, roses and the little reminders every day that I am yours. I do not deserve you, but still you are here. Just thinking of it gives my heart a flutter. Your love story is the greatest ever told. I'm glad you have allowed me to be a part of it.

I will strive to honor, love, and cherish you with all that is in me, my sweet, sweet Jesus. Thank you for dying for me, my Holy Savior! Thank you for Your glorious, redeeming plan to save sinners like me!

I LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU!

Yours always,

Kristina

You gave your life for me. You love me like no other. You are my loving Father, and in YOU will I put my trust.

The Snow drove me to it!

If it isn't obvious, I'm just gonna tell you. I've posted a LOT over the last couple of days because...well, I've been trapped under a blanket of snow.

If my blog is obnoxious, I blame the snow. :) Here's a few pics of this wintry wonderland taken around my neighborhood.

Our mailboxes! I just thought this was kind of pretty.

This proves my entrappment. I measured that stuff on my car. It was 7.5 inches.

Very pretty tree-bush-thing. Snow can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.

Sounds kind of like something only Someone I know can do.

No joke, this icicle came crashing down and impaled my mushy yard as I was snapping a picture of my car. Only glad I wasn't underneath. That might've hurt a little.

On Thursday, I braved the solid white icy roads to drive out to a friend's house in the country for a day full of sledding and snow-"clod" fights, fellowship, and hot chocolate.

Thank you, Jesus, for precious friends!

Below are a few video clips from our snowy adventures:

Lovin' Love

It may seem strange to say, being an old hermit trapped inside with my dog all day, but I'm a hopeless romantic. I typically distract myself back to reality after reading a Jane Austen novel or hearing a sappy Frank Sinatra serenade. Thanks to Valentine's Day being just around the corner, though, everywhere I turn--love is in the air! Reality is pretty hard to recover around this time of year.

Perhaps it would help if I'd get off of Michael Buble radio on Pandora. My other options at the moment? Classic Disney, Celtic Thunder, or Bill Gaither. Hmmm...I think there's only one safe station on my profile. My favorite came on a few minutes ago, tempting me to blog about it. "When I Fall in Love" by Nat King Cole. Ahhh. I could just...cry my eyes out.

Unfortunately, I don't know if love is near as romantic as movies and songs hype it up to be. Maybe it is. I do know ONE couple that seem to be in that dreamy state of love, and I'm pretty sure of their sincerity on the matter.

During this time of year when we are all fluttery with love and hearts, cupid and valentines, let's not forget THE LOVE that surpasses all the superficiality of our imperfect, conditional human love. The greatest love song of all was the one that wasn't even sung. It's the broken and marred-beyond-recognition body that uttered these words in His last moments:

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

The Lamb of God died not long after those precious and selfless words passed His lips, but this wasn't the end to HIS love song. He conquered death three days later to restore hope to the people He loves. He rose from that tomb, hands and side still bearing the wounds of His sacrifice, to build a city for His bride.

His love sacrifice made a way for dirty, rotten sinners like me to come before His throne. He made a way for me to have a place by My Father God's side. He broke the chains of sin and the bondage of guilt to reveal Himself in ALL HIS GLORY.

And what's even more amazing is that this is not just my love story, or Pastor John's, or Apostle Paul's...

...it's for you, too.

If Jesus Christ is not already your love song, He can be. He wants to be. He wants to reveal His glory in YOU, no matter what you've done or where you've been. He wants to give you strength to handle the evils of this present world.

He gave His life for you. Just give your heart to Him.

Dry Snow!

As many people know, Arkansans seldom see real snow--the kind that covers the ground completely, like a huge white sheet of fluffy whiteness.
2011 has shown us a much different side of winter. Instead of our one or two small snowfalls, nixed with sleet and icy danger this winter, Arkansas has received quite a bit of actual SNOWFALL--and little of anything else these past few weeks. Of course, overnight the temperatures have frozen the slushy roads, but that's so much different than having sleet crash down and coat the whole of our grasses with their slippery, dangerous--yet beautiful--iciness. So I don't really know how else to describe it, okay?

I was up into the wee hours of the morning finishing off a Jane Austen novel, so my eyes did not transition to wakefulness until about 11:00 this morning. And when they did, boy, was I in for a surprise! I opened the back door to take Stella out for her morning walk only to find myself in the prettiest white wonderland I've ever experienced. Yes, it was breathtaking. I knew it was going to snow, but somehow assumed we'd miss the bulk of it and just get a few wet flurries that aren't all that fabulous. But no, this was no "few wet flurries." THIS was the real deal. I tried to ball up a snowball to throw at Stella (not out of cruelty--she absolutely loves to chase and smash them), but the snow just wouldn't stay together. Then I thought I'd try to make snow ice cream, but remembered I don't have any eggs. What a shame 'cause there's enough snow to go around!
So the snow is beautiful. We have at leat 6-8 inches here. However, it is completely useless. Except for snow angels. And spotting Stella's messes for easier backyard cleanup. Though I did enjoy nearly falling over in the deep stuff trying to run like they do in the movies...and helping a neighbor clean piles of snow off of her car. Yeah, that was pretty fun.

Otherwise, I've been stuck in this house doing schoolwork and trying to find out our exact snowfall accumulations (no thanks to google, weather channel.com, katv.com, or fox16.com...pretty much nobody cares how much snow was dumped on Conway!)

With no snowballs or snow ice cream, I'm pretty much set that I prefer functionality to beauty in the case of snow.

Well, I did enjoy making that snow angel and being able to walk around without soaking myself to the skin with wetness. So there is some good in it.

Best of all was the neighbor. Who knew some of the kindest people out there live right around the corner. Or across the street. Everyone should take the time to get to know their neighbors.

I'm done rambling for the day. Tune in next time to hear me ramble on about some other non-important topic. :) Or don't. It's ultimately your choice. :) :)

Perspectives

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I walked in to the fellowship hall of GBFC four weeks ago.

But I'm glad I did.

I had heard the announcements for this "Perspectives" course for several weeks prior to that evening. It just didn't dawn on me it would start so soon...or last for 15 weeks.

I'm only just entering week 4. There is a lot of reading [at least when I put it in my pile of other responsibilities], but it has been such a blessing!

So far I have learned a few things that are changing how I view EVERYTHING. 
1. God doesn't bless me just because He wants to bless me because this life isn't about me. God blesses me so that I will take that blessing and bless others. I am commanded to SHARE my blessings.
2. Nothing in this life is about me. Not even me. EVERYTHING is about God's glory. God wowed me with this about a year ago, and He's wowing me again. You'd think I'd know this. I'm almost 24 years old. But I'm quite egocentric and God has to knock me back down out of the center of my universe every now and again. Everything God has done has been for His own glory--even His sacrifice at the Cross. He is to be glorified in all things.
3. What we do is not OUR ministry...it's God's. He's just allowing us to be in the middle of it. There's a precious family at my church who give God the honor in all things, even their car is called "God's car." It's not theirs; God's just lending it to them for a while. What a beautiful way of looking at this world.
4. Too many people, including myself, only see what's in our goggle vision. We see our needs and wants. We see only what is in our here and now. It's time I stop being so narrow-minded and instead be Kingdom-minded. What will benefit the Kingdom of God? I just recently read a book in a series by Michael Phillips called New Beginnings. In the book, one of the main characters, Christopher, has a conversation with his wife, Corrie, about how we should do all things with the motive of growing in our relationship with God or helping someone else to grow in theirs, and it's even better if both you and the other person can grow from it. This is the difference between just goodwill toward men--and God's will toward men. Everything I--we--do should advance the Kingdom of God.

So, umm...I'm pretty far from perfect and am only just beginning to apply all this to my life. Though I am trying--trying to see everything through this new perspective.

And not through Kristina goggles.