Four more months!

Four months, seven days.

That's all the time left of my "college career." Then I'll be a big girl, a "grown-up," and I'll have to face the real world.

Good news is, I passed my PRAXIS. Just found out today.

Where am I going to go after school? The options are staggering:

Travel therapy?

Where to?

Stay here?

What's available?

What population?

They're all fabulous. Do I have to choose?

What setting?

Schools? Hospitals? Clinics? Nursing facilities? Home/Daycares?

I don't really care about the money, except that I want to pay off my accumulated student loan debt.

I just need direction.

"God, guide me to a decision that will bring you the most glory."

Miscelaneous

I'm sure I didn't spell that right, but neither can most of the American population.

That makes me feel  better.

Microsoft Word has spoiled my spelling skills, and unfortunately blogger lacks the spell checker I've grown so accustomed to.

Friends make good spouses.

A recent study found that people who show themselves friendly are more likely to have lasting marital relationships. Hmm. How many scientists, labs, and subjects did it take to figure that one out? :) I came across the article while browsing my email. You can read it HERE.

A decade is plenty of time to forget.

It is easy to forget someone, especially if the person you forgot was someone you've never met in person. Seeing a face usually does the trick of embedding them in your memory for life. A guy popped up on my yahoo messenger today whose username looks familiar, but I am clueless as to who it might be or how I met him. I'm thinking it was from that year, between my 12th and 13th birthdays, when I chatted with random strangers in chat rooms. I wisened up pretty quick to creepiness out there. Regardless, I'm very curious as to who this person is.

I finally discovered the origin of the Groucho Marx mask.

I found out who Groucho Marx was! I bought a collection of old classics at the store because it had "Arsenic and Old Lace" on it--one that I remember laughing my head off at the ridiculousness of. One of the films included in the collection was "A Night at the Opera," starring the Marx brothers. Right off the bat, I recognized the resemblance of Groucho's face to those toy masks that came in every goody bag I got as a child. 

Organizing books is hard work.

I should've known, having been a library aide for 3 years of high school. I spent nearly 4 hours setting up an organized system for just my kids books. Of course, the system included ordering the books, taking inventory of them, writing my name in each one in case they are lent out to classmates, and organizing them electronically for easy search on my computer. I wonder how long it will take to get through all the rest of my books?

The sun split the clouds.

At least that's what it looked like yesterday morning. I wish I had a better camera than this silly point-and-shoot that has no options. Better yet, I wish I knew how to use one. Sun rays beamed through the clouds via several holes that spread at least half a mile wide. It was utterly amazing to behold. For some reason, my mind automatically thought, "The Lord sees all, hears all, knows all" when I saw this beautiful act of nature. It reminded me of His light peircing the darkness. Thinking of it sends chills of joy down my spine.

I'm thankful to the Lord for:

41. the passion of our instructors in Perspectives class. What a blessing!

42. hearing reports of God answering prayers--healing some, protecting others. What an encouragement!

43. the reminder of His faithfulness in spite of my fickle, wavering emotions. He has stood by me at times in my life when I literally turned my back on Him. I don't ever want to forget!

44. protecting me as I braved a drive in Little Rock during rush hour and for blessing me with a beautiful day with a dear friend. Friends are gifts from God!

45. allowing me an opportunity to go to bible study last Friday night--the first in over six months. Being there, listening to my peers discuss the Living Word, and applying it to our own lives was definitely something I needed. I wish I could be a part of something like that every Friday night.

 

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.