Day 2 - I am thankful for..

I am thankful for weekends. My weekends are wonderful - time with my family and/or friends. Time to leisurely do work (usually) without the demands of class & deadlines. Time to fellowship with other Christians at church. Time to take a breath, catch up on sleep, and rest.

TGIF!!!

What are you thankful for today??

I am thankful for...

After seeing the facebook trend going around - write what you're thankful for in your status - I decided to put a spin on it. Each day for the next 15 days (that is until Thanksgiving Day) I will write about one thing I'm thankful for... Will you join me?? If you don't have a blog/facebook - you can leave a comment... or you can even if you do!

Today, I am thankful for....

Rainboots!!

And umbrellas...and raincoats... and dry clothes...

Because I haven't been outside in 3 days when it wasn't raining.... So I am thankful for rainboots that keep my feet warm and dry. And they let me splash in the puddles.

What are you thankful for today?

Don't miss the post I did earlier today called Boys are Jerks and Girls are Stupid! I think you'll like it...

Boys are Jerks & Girls are Stupid

Parker & I have been talking for some time now about how mean guys can be, and how silly girls can be, particularly when it comes to relationships. Not that we are experts or anything, but this is just what we have observed. We've had a whole set of theories and funny conversations about it, but Parker wrote down his theory and I liked it so much that I asked if I could post it on my blog... I hope you like it and get a laugh or two or three... Please know that we are just being silly...kinda... It's called "Boys are Jerks and Girls are Stupid"

Boys are Jerks & Girls are Stupid

This idea may surprise some of you, but by the time I am finished, I’m sure you will all agree with me. Close your eyes and think back to when you were little - about 4 years old or so. If you are a boy, what would you do when girls were around? Girls, think about what you would do when boys were around. You can open your eyes now. I can remember when I was in kindergarten – about 5 or 6 years old. We had stations set-up around the room and the teacher gave us a certain amount of time at each station. My favorite station was the one that had the cardboard bricks and beanbags. Raise your hand if you ever played with these when you were young. About two or three stations ahead of mine was a group of girls. As you all know, boys like to build, put things together, and play war. We enjoy playing with guns and playing good guys versus bad guys. Anyways, in my station, I would build a wall out of these oversized cardboard bricks. I would build the wall about four blocks high and as long as it would go. I’d barricade myself in a fort, and when the teacher wasn’t looking, I’d throw a beanbag over my wall at the girl’s station. Now most of the females are probably thinking, “Aww, you were flirting.” But, if you think about it, it wasn’t a nice thing to do… throwing things at girls and all… Boy=jerk. Then, the girls would get mad and, at their earliest convenience, they’d throw the beanbag back at me. But I was in my fort, so the beanbag would knock over my wall of bricks. After I had my ammunition back, I would rebuild my wall and the process would repeat. Girls=stupid.

Now move up in age to late elementary school. What always happens? The boys chase the girls around the playground. Boys=jerks. You might ask how this makes the girls stupid… DUH!! They keep running! If the prey is caught, the game is over.

Then middle school comes along and boys start to find girls attractive. Girls mature faster than guys do. Boys make fun of girls for maturing sooner and girls become self-conscious because of boys. Boy=jerk, Girl=stupid.

High school has the same result as middle school, except now the girls are dating the guys that made fun of them in middle school. In high school the story goes… guy kisses his girlfriend’s friend. Boy=jerk. Girl breaks up with boy. Girl’s friend starts dating boy. Girl’s friend=stupid. Boyfriend cheats again. The vicious cycle keeps going on and on.

College comes along, boyfriends are still cheating, and girls are still dating cheaters. Girl gets ditched by boyfriend. Girl turns to friend. Boyfriend finally shows up, but girl is with her friend. Boyfriend gets mad that girl left and makes her feel guilty. Girl feels bad and apologizes. Boy=Jerk, Girl =Stupid

Does anyone see a pattern here? This pattern continues throughout life. But, wait! What about people who are married for 40/50 years? My first response is 60% of new marriages end in divorce. However, the couple that makes it 40/50 years has found a way to work with the pattern. Girl finds guy who is a slight jerk because she is smart enough not to put up with a complete jerk. Guy finds a girl that he couldn’t stand losing and tries his best not to be a jerk. The guy is still a jerk at times and the girl is still stupid at times, but they have found a unique way to coexist together. Thank the Lord.

Stitch by Stitch

Remember my Grandma's stocking I've been cross-stitching? This is what it looked like last November...
This is what it looked like in August... about 3 months ago...

And this is what it looks like right now...

I still have a lot to do before Christmas. I have another angel, a few snow flakes, a bird, the outlining and the border at the top. Yikes, that's more than I thought. But it looks good doesn't it?

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Update on Mom:

Good news - the scans shows that the back 2 tumors are gone! Praise God! One in the front has gotten smaller and one has stayed about the same. For now, the plan is to let the treatment (& God!) continue to wear 'em down. Her oncologist took her off Tykerb (the preventative medicine) for a few weeks because her eyes have been really swollen and Dr. White thinks its a side effect of the Tykerb. Hopefully, the swelling will go away and she can start it back soon! We don't want this mess coming back - ever - again. To God be the glory!! Another step in the right direction!!

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Thank you Veterans and families of Veterans! Thank you to those currently serving in the military and the families of those serving in the military. Your sacrifices humble me and I am forever grateful for the freedoms that my family and I enjoy because of you. God bless you!

Happy Monday!

I had a lovely Monday and I hope you did too...

First, I woke up on time, got ready on time, and got to class early.

I signed up for Senior Orientation for Teaching Fellows... and I got my first choice - Pitt County (where I grew up and want to teach)

Then, I turned in a 5 page paper and found out my friend Amber couldn't use her Phase 1 basketball game ticket for the season opener... and offered it to me. Sweet!

I also looked in my planner to find that I have no other papers due this week. And no books to read this week. (First time all semester!) Sweet!

I got to see my Dad at the game (he came with some friends) and we won our season opener... and I came home to find that I had won Phase 1 tickets to the the next game. Boy is it my lucky day!

Then Stellan (Mckmama's youngest) had a successful surgery and is SVT free! Praise God!

Man, this Monday was even better than last Monday when I found my Burt's Bees!

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Please pray for my mom - she has a doctors appointment with the oncologist tomorrow and scans after that. We'll get the results on Wednesday! We're trusting God!

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Sorry for the scattered post lately, this semester has been kicking my butt! Only four weeks left!!!

God Answers plainly

So, lately I have been wondering 2 things about faith and God:

1) Why does it seem like God is around more at certain times compared to others?

2) Why do we have to follow all these rules that the God commands?

I know that our relationship with God largely depends on how much time we put into it. But sometimes it seems like our walks are "dry" even when we are spending time with Him regularly.

I also know that God's commands are to help us, not to hurt us, and they are for our benefit. But sometimes they seem out-of-date and irrelevent, you know?

Often times when I'm looking for answers I ask God to "spell it out" for me because I'm so likely to miss it if He doesn't. Example: When I was leading a small group freshman year for the first time I asked God to speak to me about what to teach on. I felt like I was supposed to speak on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, but I wasn't completely sold. So I asked God to "spell it out" for me... and that night I couldn't sleep so I was flipping channels on TV and Joel Osteen was preaching on that exact scripture. Thanks God!

Anyways, I had been thinking about these questions and amazingly enough, on Sunday, in the sunday school class that Parker & I recently joined, we read Psalm 19. It says:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes it circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.

The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold

They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.

Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

May the world of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock & my Redeemer."

Answers to question 1 & 2 in respective order. Thanks God.

Happy November!

I cannot believe it is already November!! This semester is flying by!! I can't lie... I am ready to reclaim my life after I finish this semester. 18 Hours + Friend's wedding + Senior History Research/Thesis + Babysitting = kicking my butt. Five more weeks of class left before exams! I can do it.

Oh my goodness, I found my Burt's Bees lip balm today. Praise the Lord. Really, I screamed with joy when I found it in my coat pocket this morning. Ask Amber. It's true.

Quick story:
Last Friday in my Art History class, I got called a nerd. And picked on by the professor (it's a small, friendly class, don't worry). You see, we were talking about how artists commemorated the Emancipation Proclamation... We got on the subject of Lincoln and we were talking about how he is standing in almost all the paintings. A girl in the class said "He was unusually tall so the artist probably painted him standing so he wouldn't look abnormal compared to a chair... I think he had some disease" and I said, "Oh, he had Marfan syndrome." Everyone laughed at me and some guy called me a nerd. The professor said "Oh we have a Lincoln fan I see."

Um not really. You see, in my high school anatomy class I had to do a project on Marfan Syndrome and that's how I knew about it. But really people... doesn't everyone know that?

So there you go. Art History, History, & Anatomy nerd. Great...