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.

Another Monday

Random Blessings. Because I like it that way.

46. An ecstatic congratulations from my department's academic advisor for making one of the highest scores on the PRAXIS at our school. Wow, I thought it wasn't a great score, but I must have been wrong. Only with God was that even possible!
47. Holding my dog safely in my arms after she gave me a scare--breaking out the door and running all over the neighborhood--from our home that is within sight of a VERY busy four-lane highway where animals lose their lives every day. I chased her, barefoot, almost in tears, for nearly 15 minutes and over a mile of zig-zagging and running. My feet are raw and I am cross with her, but in that moment I realized I love this dog so very much and it would kill me to lose her. I can't believe she did that! She's never run like that before! Perhaps being in heat had something to do with it. She also seemed to think it was a game. I could just see someone coming around a corner in the dark and hitting her--right in front of my eyes.
48. Finding a pocket folder this afternoon full of paintings, sketches, and collages my sister Rebecca and brother Christopher made for me over the years. It blessed my soul to look back at those and think of those kids, so sweet, innocent, and full of life when they created these little masterpieces. God can restore that sweetness in them--I have hope! And, regardless, I love them as much today as I did when they gave them to me.
49. Hearing a client (an adult client) say, "I don't want you to leave at the end of the semester. I will miss you" and enjoying a sweet conversation with her.
50. Finding out that my summer placement is...*drumroll please*... ... ... ... ... a nursing home! I wasn't too thrilled when I first read the name of the place because it is one of the bad ones in town, but then I got to thinking: I will come in contact with SO MANY people at this place, and in their situation, they need some sunshine. Well, God's giving me an opportunity here to be that sunshine for these folks. I can let Christ shine in me--Sonshine--and spread His joy, peace, and love to them. I've volunteered in nursing homes a lot in my lifetime, and I've done some SLP observations at these facilities. One thing I come away with every time is a heaviness and depression from the pain these guys go through--when their families ignore them, when they don't HAVE family, when they feel helpless and completely dependent on others, when they just can't really live like they used to. So many have lost the will to live. Can God use me to bring purpose back to their lives? Please pray with me on this one. It's a blessing and a prayer all rolled into one!
51. The Wycliffe bible translation ministry and the speaker from it who came Sunday night. I want to be a part of this ministry. Missions has been on my heart since I was a kid (ask my grandma if you don't believe me. She knows!) and bible translation/other languages have intrigued me and been something I've always wanted to do but didn't feel smart enough to attempt to do. Today, I was looking through some old notes I wrote as a teenager for a youth class. The notes were my "aspirations for the future." You know what I said I wanted to be doing in 10 years? "Teaching English or history, learning foreign languages, and translating the bible for languages without a bible of their own." That's what Wycliffe does! (well, minus the English and History part!). Who knew I'd be an SLP instead--a career choice with linguistics skills that could prove useful to learning a language? God has amazing ways of getting us where He wants us, doesn't He?! We'll see where this path goes...
52. A nice, new, ginormous air conditioner. Thank you, landlord, for installing it before the heat hit! I've been pampered.
53. The confirmation I feel about the decision to keep renting this house, even if I did do travel therapy. Also for this feeling that I won't travel but instead find a very good job around here. I don't know why that makes me feel kind of excited, but it does. I also don't know why the idea has crept into my mind. God can see around the corner. Maybe He's just hinting to me that He's got a plan bigger than I can see.
54. Thankful for God's prodding me in love through His word. He daily shows me a limb in my heart and/or life that needs trimmed back, pruned to keep from blocking His glory from shining through. I am grateful for His chastening, even for the times when it hurts so bad I can't breathe for the tears and disgust at my own sin. It is those times when God has been able to speak to me the clearest. Humbled, broken, and knowing He loves me enough to show me where I fall short rather than leave me to my own to fall into satan's snare.
55. A new day. A morning to open my eyes and say, "Thank you, Lord, for waking me up! Thank you for another day!"

Spring

new, green leaves

ecstatic, singing birds

strong, chilly breeze

faint, sweet blossoms

fresh, cool water

my favorite season.

I decided to try my hand at writing a sensory poem. Not too shabby for a simple reminder of all that is sensed during this beautiful season.

On a less creative note, I just discovered this thing on my dashboard called "Stats." I can actually see how many times people view my profile, what country they are from, and what method they used (e.g., google search). It was kind of strange to read about all the countries that have seen my blog. I started this just for my Mamaw and Aunt, and I only have a handful of friends who even know it exists. With only eight followers, one being myself (not sure how that happened), somehow, I have almost 1,000 views. That's kind of neat.

Or creepy. Whichever way you want to look at it.