Transitions

As a New Year rolls around I reflect on 2010, and look forward to 2011 experiences:
The most special thing that comes to mind about 2010 was falling in love with the PA profession and determining the Lord's call for my life. Other highlights included spending an entire summer with my grandparents, completing a triathlon, seeing the opening of the James B. Edwards dental school, experiencing the fulfillment of having 2 more semesters of college completed, spending many fun weeks with the family, and the deepening of relationships with those that mean the most to me.
In 2011, I look forward to getting my Clemson ring, taking the GRE, applying to PA school, determining where I will be for the 2 years following college, being a part of a medical mission trip, obtaining a PAYING summer job, and having numerous clinical experiences.
2011 scares me in many ways. I am growing up, moving on, and still desperately fearing failure with every step I take. There are so many decisions that must be made and I know that with each step the only way I will make it through is to fully rely on God. I am being reminded of that daily.
It is with very bittersweet emotions that I say "Here's to 2011!"

Done and Done

Today I took my last test of the semester. 5 exams stand between me and Christmas--crazy! I just have to make it through my crazy, whirlwind Thanksgiving break first!
Here it is:
Monday: head home
Tuesday: head to Charleston, cook, clean
Wednesday: spend the day cooking/cleaning/setting up for a bridal luncheon
Thursday: spend the day worshiping/giving thanks/stuffing my face with 150 of my family members
Friday: host the bridal luncheon and drive back to Columbia
Saturday: I drive back to Clemson, host the tailgate, and cheer on the Tigers
Sunday: I collapse

It makes me tired just thinking about it. But it will be filled with TONS of family and fellowship and hopefully I can steal away for a little while when it gets too crazy!

On that note, I am off to bed: Goodnight moon.

Why me?

It seems like the most random things happen to me medically. . .and on Clemson home game weekends no less.
Last year, the day of the FSU game, I was diagnosed with Staph and lying on a stretcher in Urgent care getting an IV infusion of antibiotics only 4 short hours before the game.
So Friday, at 1:25 I sat down in physics all fine and dandy. By 1:50 I was writhing in pain, sweating, shaking, nauseated, and about to pass out. At that point I texted Julia to come pick me up. On the way home with Julia the pain took itself to a whole new level and I started breathing like I was a crazy woman in labor, still writhing, sweating even more, even bigger waves of nausea, plus yelling at Julia to GET HOME! Get home, sitting in the bathroom, ready to do projectile vomit at any moment, shaking uncontrollably now, add in hands and feet going numb, cotton-mouthed, heart racing, can't straighten up and yet can't double over because of the pain. Julia asks what she can do, I say, "Call an ambulance!" She freaks. Finally called the ambulance, takes them forever to get to the apartment (forever meaning 15 minutes)and when they finally get there I am shaking and sweating still but most of the pain and nausea are gone. Get into the ambulance, go to AnMed in Anderson, by the time we get there I am completely back to normal and the stupid EMT said something about an ambulance ride making everything better. I wanted to yell at him that I am not THAT person that calls EMS for stupid reasons.
Meanwhile, I called my poor father and pulled him out of a meeting with clients by telling him that I have called the ambulance and am headed to the ER. So he hops in the car and heads up. He sits with me in the ER for roughly half of the 4 hour wait, I finally see a Doctor and he says that I had a cyst and when it ruptured that made the pain go away.
Next morning (day of GA Tech game) I have to go back to Anderson for more testing to confirm the diagnosis and spend another hour more waiting for them to read the ultrasound. Finally head home to get ready to head out and tailgate. whew!

Y'all! I have never ever felt anything in my life like that pain!! And I hope to never again experience it. I hope for no more crazy medical emergencies next fall!!!!

Quality Soul Time

Feeling so much better today after some quality worship/soul time! Now on to studying for tomorrow and then my week is over(essentially)!!! Getting through anatomy first and then cramming in some physics.

Me time

I think there is a definite need for silence in my life. Silence in which I am not calling someone, facebooking, emailing, studying, watching tv, or exercising. I am lacking time with my own thoughts and because of that I have felt emotionally confused for the past few weeks. What do I think about issues X, Y, and Z? Well, I couldn't tell you because I have just added them to the pile in the back of my brain to think about later. I yearn for the time when my head isn't spinning with thoughts and I am bored in the silence.
To facilitate time for sorting out my thoughts I've decided what must be done: I will watch no television until Friday evening. That means no Dancing with the stars tomorrow after my long day of classes, no HGTV at lunch on Tuesday and Thursday, no news, no hulu between classes, no youtube---zip. zilch. nothing.
I am looking forward to having time to day dream and be bored--lost arts in today's technology driven world.

The Body

Can I just tell you how much I love Jesus?!?! He brings His children together in crazy awesome ways and tonight was one of them!! Had an amazing break from schoolwork and invited people over for apple night. Some new people came and 1) we instantly hit it off because we have Jesus in common and 2) we had SO many mutual friends! It was just fascinating to see the Body of the Lord's church at work. I feel so refreshed and renewed from hanging out with these people!

Flirtexting

One of my friends recently informed me of the art of flirting via text. And so I googled it, like any normal person would do. Google says,"Do you mean: flirtexting?"

Oh goodness.

Back in Clemson

I am now back at Clemson and re-settled into my lovely apartment. Sadly, Laura and Sara are not here, but it has been really fun getting to know Hannah and Alison. In Clemson, I am much more disciplined. I think it has to do with being back in my own space and having a place for everything in that space. It's so nice!!

I am, however, so ready for classes to start. I am bored!! I want work. Today I even broke open the software that came with my anatomy book and began doing the online lectures. I love the human body--what an awesome creation!!

I am so content with where the Lord has me this year--the place of duty is indeed the place of blessing. I have finally stopped pushing against the Lord's will--I am not dating, I am not going to PA school a year early, I am not working, I am not taking on extra coursework. I feel as though the door to every strong desire I had this summer has been slammed in my face. And now that I have stopped pushing I am content. I know that the Lord has better things in store for me than what I wished for this summer. His will is perfect. His plan is perfect.

"If I could have the world and all it owns, a thousand kingdoms, a thousand thrones. If all the earth were mine to hold, with wealth my only goal. I'd spend my gold on selfish things without the love that your life brings just a little bit more is all I'd need 'til life was torn from me. . . But if I trust the One who died for me, who shed His blood to set me free, If I live my life to trust in you, Your grace will see me through."

Square Peg, Round Hole

I feel like dating for me is a very square peg, round hole thing--for the moment. I feel like the Lord is saying, "Catharine, you can push and push but it just won't fit. Wait on me." So I'm waiting and trying to keep in mind that my life is not on hold. I am single, yes, but I have tons to offer. I am marketable to life and to the world as myself, without anyone else. I'm reminding myself of that and trying not to waste my energy pushing against that peg.

Before I take the plunge

So my dear reader, before I take the plunge I wanted to give you one last post. According to my countdown in 1 day, 9 hours and 28 minutes I will be splashing into a lake to begin my very first triathlon.
Confession: I haven't been biking in almost 1 1/2 weeks, I haven't been swimming in 1 week and I haven't been running in 2 weeks. I may be the worst triathlete EVER! My dad asked me tonight if I had begun to "taper" my workouts, I told him I was sufficiently tapered.
Yet I still believe that I can finish this puppy in less than an hour and 45 minutes--we shall see.
Needless to say, I already have pre-race jitters: my stomach is turning, my heart is pounding, and I feel that at any moment I might jump out of my skin.
My dad said we would enjoy a pre-race meal the morning of at Waffle House. . .I said no thanks. I don't think my stomach will handle that.
The thing is I am fine with the swim and the bike! I can do those combined in less than 1 hour and 10 minutes, but it is a question of if I can do the run. I keep telling myself that I ran 13.1 miles with 6 weeks of training-- really 5 because the last week I "tapered"-- I can run 3. Stop getting so worked up, self!
I hope to come back to you on Saturday afternoon and say I tore up my 1:45 goal and finished in 1:30 but I am HIGHLY doubting that will happen.
Until then, Adios! Think of me if you wake up at 7:30 on Saturday morning!

Amendment

Alright,
I have to amend that last post because it was so down. I DID have an overall very good day.
Here are three good things:
1. I got a new work assignment, I love staying busy at work
2. All 13 of the students who were having issues contacting their caregiver are no longer having issues b/c I either hunted down their cg or gave them a new one
3. I ate subway for lunch (it's the little things in life. . . )

There are 2 more now that I'm thinking about it:
4. The gift cards for the cg's came in--this has been a huge pain in my side for the last couple of weeks at work and it's resolved!
5. As I was leaving work it was starting to thunder and I prayed all 5 blocks that the Lord would hold off the rain 'til I got to my car on Bee street because I had papers in my briefcase that would get wet if it poured. . . and He did!

And there's another!:
6. Bryan, Jeanette, and I are going over to Laura's to have dinner tomorrow night, and I am VERY much looking forward to that!

I am blessed!

Days like these

There are days when I want to shout for joy at the work of the Lord in my life, when I feel the satisfaction with my life radiating from my soul and I know that no non-Christian has EVER felt this way.
Then there are days like these when I wonder when it will be my turn to cure people for the glory of the Lord and when it will be my turn to cuddle up to my beloved and fall asleep in his arms rather than wrapping my arms around bunny (yes I sleep with a bunny and I can't think of a more original name for him than "bunny"). Days like these I try and think of the eternal joy I will have in Heaven and then I become overwhelmed because the idea of that much joy is intimidating and tiring while I am still here on Earth and living in my sin.

Days like these I have to turn to the Lord, enjoy His comforting presence, and ask Him for a dose of joy. And then hate on sin for bringing with it PMS.

Triathlon Update:
Running in the morning. The endorphins will do me good.

The run down

.5 km swim--12 mins
15 mile bike--56 min 30 sec
.8 mile run--6 mins

What's that you ask, dear reader? Why so short of a run? Wellllll, I got tired of pushing. So I must be truthful and tell everyone of you that I didn't quite do the triathlon today. But I have several good reasons-ish:
1. I wore my cute, new, purple shoes to work today and before I even got seated at my desk I had one bleeding blister on each heel (I do have to walk 5 blocks from the parking garage)
2. Wellll, there is no 2. I simply didn't feel like doing it. Oh, and my feet started falling asleep when I was running. Do any of y'all have that problem? They did that when I was training for the half marathon and it doesn't matter how tight or loose my shoes are tied. Weird.

Then I proceeded directly from the gym to Melvin's Barbecue (Delish). I ate almost a 1/2 lb of their barbecued chicken for dinner along with 3 slices of fresh tomato and a little bit of corn pie. Now my tummy is full, very full, and I am about to curl up on my bed with a book and read myself to sleep!

Did I mention I got a new assignment at work today? I am going to write an article to be published in the monthly publication put out by the SC Association of PAs (SCAPA) talking about my experience this summer as an intern in the PA program and asking the SCAPA members to consider becoming a preceptor for students (Clemson specifically). Kinda exciting!

Today I stretched.

Myself, that is.

I stretched first socially. I braved the Medical Community Outreach Sunday school class at East Cooper Baptist this morning. For many people this would be no big deal but I am shy (believe it or not!), I am self-conscious, and I don't like trying new things. Combine that with the fact that I am approximately 5-10 years younger than everyone else and you have QUITE the intimidating situation for me. Well, I conquered my fears (with the help of Sara). I was a little disappointed in my performance, however, because I only talked to the 2 people I knew before. SO next week my Sunday social stretch will be to talk to at least 1 new person.

I stretched my cooking skills set next. Upon my arrival home from church Pawpaw asked me to grill the salmon. Well, I never have grilled anything before. So I go out, figure out how to turn the thing on (no charcoal experience yet) and start grilling. It turned out pretty well. The salmon tasted good, but by the end we had scrambled salmon as opposed to salmon filets (Pawpaw forgot to use the non-stick foil).

Finally I will give you an update on the triathlon training.
At this point my countdown is telling me that I have 12 days, 9 hours, 36 minutes and 20 seconds--eek! I better get training! So YOU, my dear reader (whoever you are), need to hold me accountable. I plan to head to the Wellness Center tomorrow and do the entire triathlon there.
I hope to finish this puppy in 2 hours or less. I know that 2 hours is not record-breaking by any means but it's better than nothing.
I will let you know how tomorrow goes! :D

Beloved

I have realized several things this summer: It is possible to be deeply lonely with people all around, the Lord provides at the perfect time, and I am waiting on my Beloved.

The Lord has been whispering in my ear all summer one small word: "Beloved." At first I wanted to roll my eyes and say aloud, "Lord, I know you really want me to find my satisfaction in you and I know you chose me and love me more dearly than any man could but I so desperately desire a man to choose me and take me and love me." Then the realization hit me: Perhaps, the Lord isn't reassuring me that I am His beloved, but telling me that He has planned a Beloved for me and I need to wait on His timing. This idea is such a thrill! The Lord has chosen someone for me to go through this life with, and not just anyone, a BELOVED, a SOULMATE!

So, how will I know, what will I look for?

I have no idea. But I trust that the Lord will tell me. He has given me such a godly and loving (but not perfect) example of a marriage in my parents and I pray daily for the grace to love and serve my husband the way they serve each other. I will no longer look for a "Christian" man, but rather a man who loves Jesus with all his heart, a man who does all things for the glory of the Lord, and a man who shows me hesed love despite my sins and the hurt that I will cause him.

Why in the world am I so excited about this promise from the Lord?

It gives me a renewed hope. It shows me, all the more, the depth of the Lord's love for a silly little sinner like me. It gives me an opportunity to pray for the man I will marry in even more specific ways. I feel like this is the Lord's way of looking down on me and saying, "Beloved, I love you so much that I would overcome you with it if I showed you, so until Heaven I want to bless you with an earthly beloved to give you a tiny taste of the vastness of my love for you."

After this realization, I began to think of the ramifications that my sin will have on my marriage.

My sin will temper the joy of my marriage, it will get in the way of me fully savoring the taste of the Lord's love demonstrated by the gift of a husband. It hurts to know that I will mess up in this relationship over and over again. But even now, I am praying for grace and for a teachable heart.

Slowly this picture has gone broad-spectrum again in my walk with the Lord. I have realized anew just how much joy I miss out on in this relationship because of my own sin. And then I go and project my sins on the Lord--well, great, way to go Catharine! The Lord has drawn me even closer in my frustrations and gently reminded me that He is the giver of all good things, I have already been guaranteed this joy in eternity, and if I walk with him in my life on earth I will not lack for joy.

Funny thing: The Lord has opened my eyes to the fact that there is never a "fairy-tale" marriage, that every man will fail me, that I will fail every man. At the same time, he's shown me that, in Him, my marriage will be even better than the fairy-tales!

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." Song of Solomon 6:3

The sweet life

I have rolled my little fanny in a tub of butter this summer. I am living at Oh Be Joyful with my grandparents--I am in love with the Old Village all over again! I am staying in my mom's old bedroom, affectionately known as "the blue room" because of the blue wallpaper, curtains, chair, bedspread, etc.(all oh-so tastefully done, of course). My internship is going well, but I do believe that the best is yet to come as far as solid action goes. My one complaint is that Pandy is on a single-minded mission to find me a man. I think my number has only gone out to 2 or 3 men in the Mt. Pleasant area thus far, but I will not be shocked if several have it before this summer's over!

Responsibility

I started my internship yesterday. Today 171 grad students will be looking to me to help them through their first project in grad school. Am I qualified? No. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Extremely.

It's official. . .

. . . .I have the saddest social life.

Today I went to talk to a professor about a C grade. This is the gist of what he tells me as I sit crying in his office because I am so frustrated: get over it, get a life, and start dating. WHAT?!?!

Sad thing is he's middle-aged, he's got bad teeth, and he may be gay.

I've sunk to new lows.

Too much time on my hands

Clemson is not nearly as fun in the summer, in fact, it's quite sketchy. There is no one around! I've been all alone in my apartment all week and it's a very sad thing indeed. Fortunately, I do have my maymester class to keep me somewhat busy, but I could be taking a 10 hour class and not have it fill all the spare time that I have. The first day of being alone, I was uber-productive. Every day since then my productivity has begun to slide. I hope it will get a boost tonight though when JULIA RETURNS!!! I've missed her so much and I can't wait to see her! Until then, I'm getting some spring cleaning done (Watch out dust bunnies, Here. I. Come.), do laundry, maybe start packing to head to Charleston, and then hopefully going to go for a run on the dike.

1:57 am

There are so many things that I am excited about and contemplating right now that I find myself at 1:57 am. My logic is this: get them off my chest here and maybe my brain will stop.

Today I hit the mid-exam week slump. I was feeling like this would never end. Then I called my sister. Hallelujah for sisters! She totally cheered me up within the span of maybe 20 minutes! I love her!

Dancing with the Stars was on tonight. I'm a fanatic. Jake Pavelka (the guy from the Bachelor) got the boot. I'm just so glad it wasn't Evan Lysacek! He didn't do so hot this week and, thus, I just had to call-in and vote. So I did. The max number of times. On my phone, and both my roommate's phones.

I have one more exam!!! :D But it's Organic. :(

I also have a project left for Public health that is a 2-4 minute video answering the question, "What is Public Health?" in light of a certain health crisis in America. That's due Friday. I will be glad to get that puppy done. Can I just say that I would write a 12-15 page term paper any day over making a movie? Anyway, I will post it here when I'm done so everyone (all, like, 2 of you) can see the fruits of my labor.

My ridiculously expensive coffee maker shipped to me today. It's a Cuisinart. And it grinds the beans and makes the coffee however strong you tell it to. It's practically a human. Just Kidding. But I may post a picture of it too because I am just that excited about it.

I was thinking about my internship at the PA school this summer and I began to get nervous so I was youtubeing (did I just invent a verb?) the PA profession so that I would look somewhat informed (b/c youtube is the source of great knowledge on . . . .well, everything. jk.) and I run across this guy's channel. He's in PA school currently and is posting these video blogs on the curriculum, the chaos, etc. I began to watch and got sucked in (part of the reason I am awake right now)! I loved getting a glimpse into my future. I can't wait to watch more as he gets into his rotations!!

In 3 or 4 days, I will be on Anna maria Island soaking up the sun with my family and I am about to wet. my. pants. I am so excited! 10 full days (well 9, I fly back here Sunday to start maymester monday) of sun, surf, sand, and ALL of the family! I can't wait to have some good quality R and R and more than anything, to have the time for some super-quality time with Jesus!! We have these great friends that live max 15 minutes away from the house we are renting and apparently a cinco de mayo fiesta has already been planned involving fish tacos and margaritas. :D HELLO SUMMER!! I've also heard rumor of a dinner of smoked ribs. Y'all have not lived until you've tasted Mr. David Defratus' ribs!

This week is bitter sweet because Laura and Sara (2 of my roommates) are graduating and this is the last week that I will live with them. I am so sad that this week is so busy because I feel like our good-byes will be cut short (which may be a blessing) and I will come back to the apartment on the day maymester starts and be so sad that their rooms are empty. I won't think about it. Each day this week, we've laughed so hard that we cried at least once and that's the way we should leave our apartment. Laughing. Because it has been a place of many laughs this year. I've gotten to know Sara, Laura, and Julia so well and they are some of the best people. They are kind and loving and I am so glad I "placed" myself with them last summer.

As you can see from all of the above, I am a blessed girl indeed!

I think I can go to sleep now that it's 2:35 am. Tomorrow holds much organic studying. Maybe next time I post I'll be in Florida, or I'll be back here in Tiger town much more tan and much more relaxed.

Living Older

I just watched a movie for my health promotion of the aged class called "Living Older." It talked all about the fact that only a few generations ago, people were killed by infectious diseases and there were very few people dying of long, slow, terminal, chronic illnesses. Now, because of amazing technologies, people are living well into their 90s and there is a great financial and emotional burden as this group of people becomes quite a large segment of the population. The hour long video followed geriatricians and family members as well as a few sane 90 year olds and interviewed them on everything from living wills to economic burdens to termination of life, etc.

As I watched so many things ran through my head, heart, and soul that I knew I had to vent, so here goes:

-How sad that we even discuss termination as a possibility. What is our world coming to? There was a 94 yr old woman being interviewed who was still an active stock broker who said her son (who has her power of attorney) had come to her the other day asking her to sign a termination policy and she had refused-- I wanted to yell "HALLELUJAH" at this point!! Good for her! My generation has this stupid standard of productivity and if someone is not meeting that standard they are viewed as dispensable. Who are we to judge?!

-I was overwhelmed as I watched this movie at the lack of focus on what these people had done, who they had loved, who they had given life to, etc. It was all about the burden that they are right now to their families and the economy---heck, without them their family would be non-existent and our economy would be that much less.

-As I watched all these old, bed-bound people part of me begged the Lord not to ever let me get that way and then I heard a quiet voice say, "But think about all the time you would have with me?" That's so true. I sometimes get overwhelmed by how much time I want to spend with the Lord and can't because of everyday life and school. If I were bed-bound and had trouble interacting with the world around me because of hearing problems or parkinson's, etc. I would have all the time in the world to pray and talk to Jesus and enjoy my last chunk of time here on Earth. What a BLESSING it would be!

-The above bullet reaffirmed to me this, as well: Every day, minute, second, moment of life is given by the Lord and should be used for His glory and to do His will. The Lord's Kingdom CAN and WILL be furthered from the bedsides of the elderly of this nation!

-I want to go and hug my grandparents! I am so thankful for their sacrifices for me, I am so blessed that the Lord has left them on this Earth long enough for me to know them well, I am so happy that I get to LIVE with them this summer and get to know them BETTER, I am ETERNALLY grateful that they know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and view their life here on Earth as a mission field. I was overwhelmed with the joyful feeling that I have the PRIVILEGE of caring for them as they do get older and continuing to learn from them even in that stage of life.

-I was also overwhelmed with sadness for my one grandparent who has cut himself off from my family. Who will most likely die alone, seeing as he didn't even see fit to tell his son that he was having quadruple bypass a few months back. All I could think, is that I must continually try to reach out to him so that one day he will let my family back into his life.

-This video made me want to go hug my parents and tell them that no matter what, I will take care of them until the end. I am not a merciful person and my mom always jokes that she knows what child not to go to when she needs care when she's old and I want to run to her and tell her that I've had a change of heart and the I WANT that burden and that I'll be there because I DON'T WANT TO MISS A MOMENT OF LIFE with her!

-This video also made me thrilled that for my internship this summer I will be helping to develop a curriculum that examines the psychosocial effects of caring for a home-bound family member. I get to put all the emotions that I am feeling right now into action this summer and hopefully help caregivers see the joy that is in their job--The Lord's timing is AWESOME!

-Ironically a few years ago, a career counselor told me that I would be a great Home Health Nurse. I basically laughed it off because I thought I wouldn't be able to stand the lack of control of being in someone else's home and trying to perform my work, but strangely, it is all coming full circle now and perhaps the Lord is calling me to be a PA that goes into the homes of the elderly and serves them and their families there, who knows?

Whoa, sorry for the long post. I now have to go and write an extended response to that video before my class--should be easy, because it seems that I just did.

It's My Birthday. . .

I can cry if I want to!

Just Kidding.

I thought this is what I would be saying by this point today because of tests, projects, etc, BUT it's been a GREAT day: O chem test went well, projects are in full swing and the end is coming into sight!!! HALLELUJAH!!

It's been nice to quietly celebrate another year of life, to usher it in with a productive day full of long phone calls with family and gorgeous weather! The Lord has blessed me indeed!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ~James 1:17

Spring has Sprung!

Quite a few exciting things are happening:

It's SPRING, my favorite season (despite the pollen)!
There are 18 days of class left!!
I may have an internship! in Charleston! at MUSC! and I may get to scrub-in and see some surgeries!
I am feeling on top of things academically!
There is less than a week until my birthday!!
I am doing a triathlon in July!


Could life be any better? I think not! :)

"I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!"

Today, while having my Quiet time with the Lord I was having these massive revelations and it was a real mountain-top kind of day spiritually and I just felt the Lord's presence with me. Then, my roommate came in and we were talking about a guy that I like and I was telling her that I just want to see him right now. It's been a while, and I just want to hear how his life is going and sit in his presence. So that conversation ended and I still had my Bible open and was just sort of journaling and thinking when the Lord placed on my heart the thought that as much as I just want to hear how X's life is going and be with him, that's how He feels about me! Whoada!!
I've always heard that the Lord desires my heart but this revelation today made me realize that He also wants to be the one I go to first when something funny or amazing happens, or just everyday life happens. He wants to experience with me the joy that I get from the people and things He puts in my path everyday!!
So, I am in love with my Creator. What a cool thing that He has given me the heart to love him with and He has chosen to take interest in me!
AND how cool the way he designed relationships and marriage to mirror this! I mean the guy singles out the girl just as God singles out us, then he pursues the girl just as God pursues us, then he makes an offer (i.e. proposal) to the girl, just as God offers us Salvation, then he leads his wife gently, just as God leads us. Though marriage is not nearly as perfect, it's so cool that God gives us a little tiny taste of his unfathomable love for us!

Oh, the prospects of spare time

During a study break this evening I made my class schedule for Fall 2010 and (drum roll, please) . . . I have NO Tuesday or Thursday classes!! The possibilities seem endless as to what I will do with those days! I may volunteer for more hours at the Free Medical Clinic or go for long hikes (I haven't even taken 1 yet in my time at Clemson--RIDICULOUS!) or take up a musical instrument or learn to sew or cook for a bazillion people or do more stuff with RUF OR, my least favorite option, I could find myself holed up in the library studying (I pray this is not the case, but with anatomy AND physics, oh my. . . )!
One of the things I do want to do with my spare time (but I'll probably start this sooner than next fall) is memorize the Shorter Catechism! I have memorized the Children's Shorter Catechism and I do seem to remember nights around the table after dinner when my parents tried to drill me on the Shorter Catechism, but by that time I had become too cool for school and the process was like pulling teeth. Needless to say, I now regret that I did not "heed my parent's instruction" and memorize it (Mom, YOU WERE RIGHT). Pastor Sinclair talked about a question from it today during his sermon and the yearning to re-start the memorization process began to grow. . . So I think I will.
Perhaps I will become a "gamer" in my spare time: Last week I bought The Game of Things--a super funny game that has cards that say stuff like, "Things you shouldn't do in public. . . " or "Things your parents never told you. . . " and everyone rights a word or phrase down and the basic point of the game is to guess who wrote what. I have only played it with my family thus far but we were dying laughing. . . the hilarity of my father was re-affirmed, for sure!
I know that mid-semester I will wonder how I ever got by without Tuesdays and Thursdays free because they will be jam-packed with activity. My only hope is that the activities that fill in my calendar will be productive for the kingdom of God, and will be balanced with some quiet time to sit and reflect on what He has done for me!

T-G-I-F

HELLOOOOOOOOO WEEKEND!!! This week has flown by and I am glad to say it is behind me! Counted today and there are 35 days of class left. . . Good gracious time flies! The rents are coming up tomorrow to hang out and I cannot wait to see them! Spring is in the air and things are coming alive again and life is very good!

Word Vomit

Do you have one person in your life with whom you can do nothing but word vomit?
I do.
Either I say something stupid or sound crass when I am totally not meaning too or share a secret that I did not know was a secret, etc. And every time without fail, they find it in their duty to rebuke me in front of a large crowd and they leave and I cry or stew, then swear I will never open my mouth in front of them again, then they come back, and it starts over.

I don't know what to do.