Today on a Freeway in L.A.

I have decided that this will be a regular installment on my blog, as new and strange things seem to happen every time I drive down a freeway in L.A. Today was no exception. Being the conscientious driver that I am, I was of course using my eyes to attentively scan the cars a ways ahead of me.:o) I began to notice that there was a general slowing down, combined with brake lights and swerving. This in and of itself was of course nothing unusual, but it did make me more alert for potential problems. What I saw in the next few hundred feet, however, was quite unusual. Even for L.A.! I can't be positive, but I'm fairly certain someone toilet papered the freeway. It is of course possible that it simply fell off of a delivery truck, but this being L.A. I'm going to go with the first explanation.:o) It was everywhere! Some of the strips had been run over multiple times, which had resulted in a sort of confetti texture. It was floating in the air, almost a tiny bit like the closest thing to snow I'll ever see in Los Angeles... Some of it was still in rolls in the road, which was the cause of all of the swerving. The rest was in long, long strands which floated through the air looking for an innocent victim/car to suddenly begin mummifying. Of course it created chaos on the freeway, but I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Every time I think I've seen it all on the freeways, they outdo themselves.:o) For the remainder of the drive home I passed and was passed by cars bearing remnants of the TP battle they'd just survived. Some cars had it flying from the antennaes like little white flags, while others had it streaming from the back as if its occupants had recently been married. And with each reminder I just giggled, and wondered what they'd think of next...

(Sorry about the lack of picture. I so wanted to snap one! But ultimately I decided against it, as an accident on top of the toilet paper might have sent some of the very fragile commuters over the edge...:o)

Blessings

I thought this blog post was going to be about the incredible adventure of cleaning my room:o)...but as often happens it has taken another route. One of my prayers for 2009 has been that my eyes would be opened to see the ways God is working in my life, and the many blessings He showers on me every day. I fear I am all too quick to grumble about the trials without giving thanks for the praises. (Come to think of it, shouldn't I be praising Him in the trials?)

I went to my first day of clinical orientation today, and then tomorrow I'll be headed to the hospital for orientation there. It was bittersweet as I found out how many of my classmates did not pass our lecture last quarter and will not be able to continue with us. They will certainly be missed. One the other hand, I discovered that several of my favorite classmates are in my clinical this quarter. What a blessing! As I woke up this morning and stumbled to the shower at 5 am (it turns out that an abrupt transition from vacation time to school time takes its toll on your body...), the Lord brought to mind several of my classmates and I spent some time in prayer for them. What a difference it makes to spend time with people after you have just been praying for them!

I left my orientation feeling behind already (I am supposed to read about 100 pages by Thursday), and a bit overwhelmed. On the way to my car, however, I listened to an amazing message from my big sis, after which I couldn't help but smile and thank the Lord for the gift she is to me. Tonight I also had the chance to talk to some old friends for a while, and literally laughed for an hour straight. Friends and family are such an incredible blessing and gift from God!

I know that in my sin nature and weakness, and utilizing my own strength, I might (ok...would) have come away from today overcome by the weeks that lie ahead and wanting to crawl into bed forever. However, with a willingness to take situations to the Lord in prayer when they arose and trusting in His sovereignty, it was incredible to realize how relaxed and free I felt. At times like these I can never remember why I thought it was a good idea to attempt taking on the world all by myself. Wouldn't you think I would have learned by now?:o)

Lastly, I wanted to include a link to an article that someone else posted on their blog. It was definitely an encouragement to me, and a reminder of God's ability to accomplish absolutely anything, and then use whoever He chooses to proclaim His greatness.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece

The Last Day of Vacation

Today is technically the last day of my Christmas vacation. The technically comes in because after arriving back at my aunt and uncle's house last night I suddenly realized how much I needed to accomplish before starting school on Tuesday. Here's at least part of the list for today:

1. Finally update the blog I have neglected for the past month! (I was so sure I'd have plenty of blogging time while home. Silly me... I'll try to post about my time home at some point or another.)

2. Unpack/find my room.

(Ok...I know it's here somewhere...)

3. Schedule myself to work Friday and Saturday. (I'm going to try juggling two day of work this quarter. Why must life be so expensive??:o)

4. Shop for, pack, and mail a care package for a friend.

(SO long overdue!!!)

5. Study for the medication math test I just found out I'll be taking tomorrow.

(May I just say that there is something fundamentally wrong with taking a test on the first day back at school.:o( )

6. Mail a couple of books I just sold on half.com.

(Thank you Lord for the unexpected blessing of some extra cash.:o)

7. Assemble the humongous packet of information that verifies I have received every vaccine known to man and have medical malpractice insurance, a CPR card, etc., etc., etc. (I get to do this every quarter...until December of 2010.)

8. Enjoy a cup of mint hot chocolate in my new Christmas mug.

(I found this hot chocolate while organizing the stuff under my bed. Apparently there are benefits to cleaning.)

9. Consume an incredibly healthy and ever popular chili dog while hanging out with my wonderful aunt and uncle and pretending to understand the rules to that odd game where everyone tries to kill each other for a silly ball that probably costs about $10 at the local athletic store. (I think they call it football here in the States...)

10. Find my bed and then take my aunt up on her offer of helping me put an electric blanket on it since I practically froze last night.

(Perhaps I'll find it early enough to get an adequate amount of sleep so that I can start off my quarter refreshed and ready to go. Hehe... What are the chances of that happening?:o)

I Think I'm in Love!

Today I reported for work at 6:45am as usual. The scheduler told me I'd been assigned to post partum, and after a momentary blank stare he gave me directions. I took off in the direction he had indicated, and thankfully found it fairly easily. I found out that I was supposed to go to the team huddle to get report on my patients, and as soon as they started talking I decided I must have walked too far and ended up in another country! I wasn't keeping up with the lingo at all, and once we finished meeting my head was still spinning. Thankfully the Lord graciously provided several really great nurses who sweetly explained pretty much everything to me. I was hoping that at some point I'd get to hold a baby or two, and was pleasantly surprised (and a little overwhelmed) when the charge nurse asked me to get 11 of the babies and take them to the nursery for the doctor's rounds. So, I walked into the rooms and somehow convinced all of the parents to trust me with their newborns.:o) Once I got them to the nursery they all promptly started crying, so I was able to spend the next couple of hours rocking, changing, feeding, burping, and praying for eleven precious little ones. IT WAS AMAZING!!! I distinctly remember holding one of them in my arms and just being in awe as I thought, "I am so blessed! Thank you Lord for giving me such an incredible assignment." Towards the end of the day the nurses started telling me what a great job I was doing and thanking me for everything. Then the nurse who was in charge of the NICU, labor and delivery, and post partum asked me to leave my contact information so that they could request me. And, on top of all of that, the nurses called my supervisor to tell her how great I had been. I was certainly blown away, since I'd been feeling rather incompetent all day.:o) It made me realize that as I prayerfully strive to follow the teachings of Colossians 3:22-24, the world will notice a difference.

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on
you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know
that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
serving."

In my sinful nature I am certainly not able to achieve this standard, but by the strength and grace of God it is something that I spend a great deal of my work day praying about and am convicted by the Holy Spirit when I begin to lose momentum. Certainly all this was made easier by a wonderful group of nurses and patients... A little before I completed my shift I was standing in one of my patient's rooms, and doing some charting while she watched a football game. At one point she turned to me and asked (in reference to the players), "Can you imagine getting paid to do something you love?" She quickly turned her attention back to the game and I knew the question was semi-rhetorical. It did, however, cause me to momentarily pause and reflect. Then I smiled to myself as I thought, "As a matter of fact, yes. Yes I can.":o)

The Kingdom of God Belongs to Such as These

Today was the first day of my Christmas vacation!!! I must admit I was almost giddy with the thought of it. As soon as thoughts of homework and studying started creeping in only to be immediately dismissed, I just grinned like an idiot.:o) And, on top of all that, I had such a fun day! I had initially thought I'd be working today, but they ended up not needing me. Of course, as soon as I found out I wasn't working, my day filled up quite nicely. My nursing instructor called and asked me to meet her at the hospital where I was doing my clinical so that she could give me papers to distribute to my classmates. So, I met her at 11:30am and then headed up to my sister's house after hearing that she had gone home with a fever. Incidentally I specialize in pretending I know how to care for sick people, so it worked out rather nicely. Then around 4:15pm I left her apartment and went to a seminary family's house to babysit. They have six of the most wonderful children I have ever met, so you know the evening was a blast! We wrestled, ate dinner, watched a movie, played hide and seek, played miscellaneous games, brushed teeth, and with rather minimal effort completed bedtime rituals (undoubtedly all wrong:o) by bedtime. It was all so much fun, but the highlight of the evening was definitely when the 4-year-old approached me and said, "Miss Emily, do you know about Adam and Eve?" What followed was a seriously in depth Old Testament survey, which honestly put my own study to shame. There were of course a couple of confused moments. (Somehow the rainbow ended up with Adam and Eve...) But overall he went through several books and amazed me with his memory and insight. I thought of a verse that corresponded nicely,

"At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."
-Matthew 11:25

What an unfathomable blessing it is to know that not only that precious little boy is able to learn about God's providence in the lives of Old Testament persons, but so can anyone else who chooses to study His word. Being "wise and learned" is not a prerequisite. It was also quite encouraging to see that the time and effort that so many wonderful individuals invest into teaching the "little children" is not by any means wasted. Just thought I'd give you something to ponder over the weekend. I'm off to bed as I'm working a 12 hour shift tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday. What are your weekend plans?

How Could I Ask for More?

Have you experienced those moments in life where you look around and think to yourself, "I am so incredibly and richly blessed by God. How is it that I ever complain about anything? Ultimately I am a lowly sinner who deserves only death and yet, on top of the already unfathomable gift of Jesus Christ, look at all that God has chosen to provide for me!" Unfortunately, this moment of clarity which came to me on Thanksgiving day, always seems to be fleeting. As soon as the inevitable trials and struggles appear, someone beautiful walks by, another wonderful person gets married and leaves my shrinking circle of single friends, or I fail an exam, I revert back to my attitude of self-pity and self-entitlement. As my mother used to say (much to the embarrassment of my sisters and I:o), I use the "f word." In our house, that referred to the word fair. I feel I deserve better than I have, and rather than embracing the all-sufficiency of Christ, I whine and snivel about everything I wish I had. Ridiculous! Yet even today, 3 days after Thanksgiving, I found myself complaining to my aunt and uncle about how difficult finals/studying were going to be this week. Then I laughed out loud, took some time to thank the Lord for the conviction of the Holy Spirit and His unlimited forgiveness toward me, typed out this blog, and am headed to study for finals with a (at least somewhat more) joyful attitude and a heart prepared for a few more days of hard work.

Speaking of rich blessings, check out this incredible gift my family gave me at Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if you can read the bag, but on the front it says "Fun with Finals!" On the other side of the bag they put a verse, Isaiah 40:30-31, which says, "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." And of course, at the bottom of the back it says, "Save the world - one blood pressure at a time!" I felt so special as a result of their thoughtfulness, and definitely more prepared for finals!:)

After going out for lunch on Saturday we had a quick photo shoot in an attempt to capture our yearly Christmas picture.

What a great looking group of kids!

I voted for this one...but I think I was outnumbered.:o)

While the committee deliberated...

Kate and I had fun with the camera.:)

A Calm Before the Storm

I realized today that although I've created several posts in my head over the last couple of days, I haven't actually managed to transfer them through my fingers and into my computer. So now that I have a couple of minutes before class starts, I decided to do just that.

This weekend was a time for one last gulp of air before I head into Thanksgiving and then finals. I headed up to my sister and brother-in-law's house on the pretense of helping them prepare for the family that will be coming in for Thanksgiving. Not sure if I accomplished more in the way of distracting or helping, but I got some fun pictures along the way.

Before I could truly enjoy the weekend I turned in my 61, yes that's right, 61 page case study for the nursing clinical.

For a true appreciation of the length you need a side view.:o)

With my project out of the way I was free to help make pizzas.

It turned out to be one of our best efforts yet!

And we finally made our pumpkin muffins. Super easy and SO yummy!

Becky and I worked on some crafting to make the place cards for the tables. I'll be sure to include a picture of the finished product in one of my future posts.

Even Justin got in on the act when Becky and I declared we could take no more circles.:o)

With a lit pumpkin spice candle, peppermint hot chocolate, relaxing music in the background, and two of my favorite people what more could I ask for?

And then today the break was over, I was up before 5 am, and it was back to reality and the fun of playing nurse. One more day of clinical for the quarter!!!