What if we...

-allowed ourselves to dream
-believed in our wildest dreams
-never gave up
-loved for the sake of love and not our own agenda
-could see the needs of people's hearts
-had to give up everything for a greater good
-really knew what we were capable of
-lived deliberately
-were not afraid to get our hope's up
-really listened
-followed that inner voice, even if we feel stupid
-changed one person's life by something we said or did
-lived a life permeated with love, hope, and peace

"We're going camping now, we're on our way...."

So I'm going camping today...My first camping trip this summer. Well, sort of...I'm chaperoning our youth camp out. I LOOOOOOVE camping...but right now, I'm over tired and just want to sleep, instead of pack. I'm going to need a lot of caffeine before I'm ready to head out in an hour and a half. Off to make a pot of coffee.

Work in progress

"Still wondering why I’m here.
Still wrestling with my fear
But oh….He’s up to something,
And the farther out I go,
I’ve seen enough to know
that I’m not here for nothing
He’s up to something

There is hope, for me yet
because God won’t forget
all the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see,
He’s not finished with me yet."

-Brandon Heath "Wait and See"

please pinch me.

I have 2 reoccurring dreams...one is that my teeth are falling out in tiny pieces and I am pulling them all out sliver by sliver...not too scary, but incredibly painful and annoying. The second is that there is something terrible going on and I'm trying to warn people and nobody listens. Each time the event is different, but the theme and outcome is the same.

Scary thing...a week and a half ago, I had my wisdom teeth extracted...and a few days later I felt something in my mouth and I pulled out a sliver of a tooth!! It kind of gave me the creeps. Then, this last week I had an experience that could have been straight from one of my second reoccurring dreams...It was a very serious situation, and the people that should have taken it seriously, didn't. I felt sick to my stomach. Unfortunately, this time it wasn't a dream.

Tired

Weary traveler,
Take a load off,
You're not alone.
The way is marked,
Signs unhidden,
They're plain to see.

Take a moment,
To remember,
Where you're going.
Then look around,
At where you are,
And where you've been.

The joys and woes,
Along the road,
Make the journey.
Acquaintances,
You meet abroad,
Make life sweeter.

Destinations,
Are not the ending,
Of the journey.
It's the dawning,
Of adventure,
Fulfilling dreams.

Weary traveler,
Take a load off,
You're not alone.
Don't you stop now,
You will get there,
Trust and believe.

I think I've seen it all...

I was looking online for some recipes ideas, when I came across a recipe for water. Seriously, some people have too much time on their hands!

Another fun, random, useless post!

Using ONLY SONG TITLES from ONE artist, cleverly answer these questions:

ADDITIONAL RULE: You cannot use the same artist I did, or duplicate song titles even if they were performed by another artist. Make sure you send a copy to the person who sent you this.

ADDITIONAL RULE ALSO: Add a question of your own.

My chosen band: Keith Urban (of course!)

1. Are you a male or female: 'God Made Woman'

2. Describe yourself: 'Sweet Thing' ;)

3. How do you feel about yourself: 'God's Been Good To Me'

4. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend: 'Stupid Boy'...lol!

5. Describe your current boy/girl situation: 'Out On My Own'

6. Describe your current location: 'Where the Blacktop Ends'

7. Describe where you want to be: 'I Could Fly'

8. Your best friend is: 'Making Memories of Us'

9. Your favorite color is: 'Somebody Like You'

10. You know that: 'You Look Good in My Shirt'

11. What’s the weather like: 'Raining on Sunday'

12. If your life was a television show what would it be called?: 'Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me'

13. What is life to you: 'Rollercoaster'

14. What is the best advice you have to give: 'Hit the Ground Running'

15. If you could change your name what would it be?: 'You Won' (It's Chinese for beautiful flower...lol, jk!)

16. What's your drink? 'Nobody Drinks Alone'

17. What aren't you wearing right now? 'I Thought You Knew'

18. Where will you be in 10 years? 'Standing Right In Front of You'

Breathing

"There are times every now and then,
I forget why I'm breathing out,
and why I'm breathing in...

...And then I open my eyes,
and I know you're beating my heart."

-Jon McLaughlin "Beating my heart"

I love doing these things...

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.

Opening Credits: Yeah! - Usher (we're off to a good start...)

Waking Up: Landslide - Dixe Chicks (don't think I'd wake up to that)

First day Of School: You stay with me - Faith Hill (I guess I'm the kid who cried when their mom left them at school!)

Falling In Love: Boy On a String - Jars of Clay (ha ha!!)

Fight Song: Million Pieces - Newsboys (kind of a wimpy fight, I'd say)

Breaking Up: Love you out Loud - Rascal Flatts (okay?? too late I guess, lol!)

Getting Back Together: Now or Never - Everlife (there's a threat...I guess it was Now!)

Secret Love: Open up the heavens - Hillsong (followed by the song, "It's raining men"...jk!)

Life's Okay: Waiting all my life - Rascal Flatts

Prom: Alright - Superchick

Life: Prayer for Taylor - Michael W. Smith (okay?)

Mental Break Down: What hurts the most - Rascal Flatts (ooo, that's good!)

Driving Flashback: They are the Roses - Jessica Andrews

Partying: Tibetan Incense as Before #9 - Samko (ooh a Tibetan Party...I like this!!)

Happy Dance: I could fly -Keith Urban (Keith does represent most of the Happy Dancing moments in my life!)

Regretting: What I almost was - Eric Church (ha ha!! that's funny)

Long Night Alone: Loretta Lynn's Lincoln - Josh Turner (I guess I'm driving around all night in the Lincoln!)

Final Battle: You Keep Giving Me - Brian Littrell (what kind of battle is this???)

Flashback: Portrait of an Apology - Jars of Clay (sounds like a meloncholy moment)

Wedding: Yours - TobyMac ("I'm yours, take me as I am"...I guess it's appropriate)

Birth Of A Child: Down in Flames - Relient K (Umm, not sure how to react)

Death Scene: What the world will never take - Hillsong

Funeral Song: Angels and Peace - LaRue (appropriate)

Ending Credits: 20/20 - O.C. Supertones (again...quite appropriate)

Obituaries

Maybe I'm wierd, but I like reading Obituaries. I think it's because I like stories, especially stories about real people. That's really what an Obituary is...a synopsis of a person's life story. I find it interesting what families choose to include in an obituary. Some of the stories are funny, some inspiring, and some are touching, and some are just plain old facts.

I read one the other day about a woman who met her husband at a hospital. He had been injured while fighting in WWII, and the woman worked at the hospital. Another one I read was about a man who started Holiday Mountain at the age of 23 and was the first to introduce snowmaking to Canada. One man I read about had lived a life of service for those less fortunate; volunteering with many organizations (I don't remember all of them) but he helped with orphans overseas, and with building projects, and many other things. One obituary started off with a line something like this: "Our beloved mother has been promoted to LIFE with our Saviour, Jesus Christ."

Reading obituaries really puts life into perspective. What is important in life? What will I be remembered for when I am gone? Am I really making the world a better place while I'm here? Or am I just letting life fly by; enjoying it for myself, but not really investing in the future? I hope I can live up to my calling, and not just "take up space", as the speaker at my convocation put it (yes, I did listen at my convocation in between doing my Suduko and crossword).

A Blessing

Here is a Blessing that my pastor at Soul Sanctuary used a while back...and I still love it!

"May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

And may the blessing of God who creates, redeems, and sanctifies, be upon you for this day and forever more. Amen."

Chinese Jesus

I was reading about different Christmas traditions around the world...and I found this picture of Mary and Jesus. I like it.

I was reading about Christmas in China. One article said,

"If you want to experience Christmas in all its commercial splendor, undiluted by any religious sentiment or spiritual meaning, come to China."

It went on to talk about how the Chinese businesses are promoting Christmas deals because of the economic crisis and they want to make money. It seemed that that what Christmas was all about. It made me sad...and then I thought:

Is that really any different than here?

thinking out loud

I'm excited...
-for the future
-to learn new things
-that I am done school!

I dream of...
-traveling around the world
-adventure
-making a difference

I'm scared...
-that I don't care enough
-that I ask too many questions
-that I will fail

This one's for Holly!

...cuz she's probably the only one that will read this...unless she's given up on my blog writing.
I had the best weekend ever! It was a much needed break, and I loved it! I wish I could camp for a living ;) ha ha! maybe not. But it sure was fun! That's all...not too exciting...but at least I wrote something!

gotta love technology...

I was recently on a website that stated:

"Until further notice all search results will be inaccurate and/or incomplete. We apologize for the inconvenience"

How ridiculous is that?

"Lord, forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world that fight for our love and our passion. As our eyes are opened wide and on You, grant us the privilege of Your worldview and may Your Kingdom be what wakes us up and lays us down."

-TobyMac

[insert exclamation here]

here's another entry of happiness because I am done school for the year! It's been quite the week: from getting 'threatening' phone calls, to feeling like my brain was fried from studying. But I learned a lot...like that when doors are locked it doesn't help to wave at them and say hi...They still won't open ;) (I told you my brain was fried)

i've been blessed...

and I didn't even realize it. This semester has been SOOOO good! I have loved *almost* every minute of it. This semester and last semester were like night and day. I've almost felt emotionally bipolar...last semester was the worst time of my life, and now I just LOVE it!! Last semester I prayed so hard that things would get better...that I'd start to like what I'm doing...It was discouraging because last semester never seemed to get much better. Today it hit me as I was walking to the bus stop listening to TobyMac that God answered my prayer. It took me till the end of this semester to realize that "hey, maybe God had something to do with this!" So I say Thank-You God for answering my prayers even though I don't always give you credit for the things that you do!

"I can feel the Most High shining on me, so...

Let's get this party started"

(TobyMac)

3593

That's the number of words in the longest-most-boring paper I've ever written. BUT IT IS DONE!! That's all I have to say.

starting to dream

well, it's been a while since I have actually posted. School is going wonderfully. I've enjoyed this semester more than any other since I have entered the Faculty of Nursing. I've actually started to get excited about doing this for a living...something that I haven't felt in a while. I've been able see some fun things...a craniotomy, eye surgery, a colonscopy, a burr hole procedure (basically drilling a hole in the skull to relieve the pressure and allow the blood/fluid to escape). I've been able to insert 3 straight catheters during this rotation so far! There have been many hi-lights! Even though it's fun...I can hardly wait until summer!! The things I am looking forward to are: no homework, no papers, no snow/slush, warm weather, being home, going for walks, playing slow-pitch, seeing my niece's and nephew (and the rest of my family), going to the beach, suntanning, mowing the lawn, having fire's, rollarblading, going barefoot outside, buying new flipflops...and the list could go on and on. But i should stop dreaming and finish the things I need to do before summer will come.