Appearances...what do they say ABOUT you and what do they say TO you?

So I've been thinking a lot lately about appearances. Appearances, whether we consciously make the effort or not, are always saying something about us. A lot of people would agree that you can know, or at least assume, certain things about another person based on their appearance. I, however, would like to flip that upside down and think about how our appearances reflect inwardly. Instead of thinking about how appearances portray us to the world (in --> out), I'd like to discuss how our outward appearances reflect back in on ourselves (out ---> in).

If you're lost, I'm sorry. I tend to be wordy and convoluted in my explanations. Makes for a great blogger, eh? Right, well keep reading. Or don't. That's your choice.

So when I say "appearance" I mean a few different things. It can be as simple as clothing, "style", adornments or it can be less obvious in such things as posture, mannerisms, and movements.

Today I was walking across campus and feeling pretty confident. I was wearing my RUF Fall Conference T-Shirt, my new blue exercise shorts, and my Chacos. I had my CamelBak water bottle swinging from my hand. I had put on a small bit of mascara and lip stain. My backpack wasn't excessively loaded (it normally is...) so I was able to walk easily instead of being all hunched over and uncomfortable. I felt normal and accepted.

Now I'm normally a T-Shirt and jeans type of person (not that this outfit is a far cry from it) and don't put any effort into my "look". I hardly ever wear makeup - mere mascara is a bi-annual event for me and chapstick is usually my only facial adornment. (Note: I know how to look nice and professional - I do so for job interviews, weddings, funerals, etc.. I'm referring to my day-to-day.)

So why did today's outfit spark such confidence and contentment? I do believe it has less to do with what other people think about me than it has to do with what I think other people think about me. I think. I, for once, told myself I was cool, accepted, and normal. I was thinking the following things:

My shorts make me look athletic and college-trendy*. My shirt makes me look unique and reps Jesus. My shoes make me look like an adventurer and a traveler. My makeup makes me look cute and semi-girly. My water bottle makes me look healthy and an environmentalist. My backpack makes me look college-trendy* and smart.

Is that me? Is it? I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure it's not. Maybe parts of it are true...on a good day.

So I was walking into a local restaurant to redeem a coupon for a large soda. I was happy. Free stuff makes me happy. So I'm sipping away at my large Dr. Pepper and head to class. I'm walking and sipping and slowly my confidence is faltering. Am I a fat lazy American because I'm drinking a large soda? I'm ingesting so much sugar and caffeine - who does this? I'm so unhealthy.


So much of what we do is reflecting what we think of ourselves and what we want (or don't want) to portray to others. Most of it revolves around faults and insecurities. I'd argue that most of it is untrue and unjustified. Ideally we need to be confident in Christ. No matter what other people think of us, we know that we are accepted, loved, and wanted through Jesus. But this is in ---> out and I'm talking about out ---> in. I think the way we act, dress, and even speak should be wrought out of our confidence in Christ. We should be consistently telling ourselves and reminding ourselves that we are children of God. We are shining beacons of light to others and flickering reminders to ourselves.

So what does this look like, practically? And no, I don't mean that in the Christianese sense but rather quite literally - what does this look like? I think it's different for everyone. Wear what makes you confident in yourself because you are confident in Christ. Walk with pride and dignity because you have something amazingly great that others fail to even see. (Jesus, grace, and mercy). Don't make the social norms the pinnacle. (Who invents "fashion" anyway?!?) Make your walk with Jesus the pinnacle.

Don't let your appearances tell you who you are.

*By "college-trendy" I mean things that are popular on my, and other, college campuses. I do believe that it is very different from trends in other groups, ages, and people. College kids are a subculture, in a way, that is divided up further into other subcultures. College-trendy is varied and broad yet so highly unique. It's hard to pinpoint, but I think you get my gist.

Seven Quick Takes

So I've been feeling guilty for not updating my blog more frequently. It's hard to come up with solid things to blog about AND find the time to type it all out. So today I'm going to do a Seven Quick Takes - seven random things. I've seen it on a couple other blogs before, though I don't know how common this type of writing is. Sorry if you're sick of seeing it.

1) I went to the lunch class at the Christian Study Center today. I enjoyed it but I did feel that most of the discussion was a bit over my head.

2) It was hot today. I made the mistake of wearing jeans. I'm pretty sure I looked simply nasty for 95% of the day. Sweat just isn't appealing.

3) I have a new found obsession with exercise shorts. Bad thing is I'm still obsessed with my Chacos so I wear them together. Dorky? Not dorky? Who knows...I'm gonna do it anyway!

4) I've recently come back into contact with an old friend. Things have been interesting and I've been sorting through a lot of old, buried emotions. God likes to throw you for a loop every now and again, doesn't He?

5) I'm still trying to wrap my head around what I'm going to do in my year off from school. I have a couple ideas mulling around in my brain. I'm sure I'll blog about them later.

6) I'm having trouble being content with being in school right now. I'm getting burnt out and I'm ready for God to bring me on my next adventure. I know I need to thrive and live where God has me, it's just frustrating.

7) I think I just swallowed a fly. Yuck!

Anyway, I thought I'd open myself up to take prayer requests. I intend to set apart 30 minutes tonight after work to pray for things. If you'd like me to pray for you, your friend, anything just let me know in a comment.

RoseLaure

Have you, my loving readers, noticed the picture I have placed on my sidebar - M'renmen RoseLaure? If you havent, look to the right side of the screen. Smile. This is RoseLaure (and me). She is the sweet and wonderful girl whom I sponsor through RMI.

I cower from being one of those middle class Americans. So many people see those heartwrenching comercials, send in some money, and think they're justified in ignoring the rest of the poverty and problems.

Anyway, I sponsor RoseLaure. She's my girl. I met her when I was in Baraderes, Haiti in May. She is one of the "orphan" children who lives in the pastor's house. I say orphan in quotes because most Haitian orphans, in my experience, are not actually orphans. Most of them have parents, or at least aunts and uncles. The problem lies in the fact that the parents cannot afford to care for them.

Wow, I feel like I keep typing myself down rabbit holes. Sorry for that.

I met RoseLaure while I was living in the pastor's house for a few days. She is quiet and shy but she has a smile that shines as bright as the sun. I was in love. My first interaction with her, the pastor was trying to get us to guess her age. She's small and petite. I figured she couldn't be over the age of 10. Wrong. She's 14. I couldn't imagine the life she had lived that made her not grow. Every once and a while I'd run into her in the house. We didn't get much of a chance to interact because she was busy doing chores.




RoseLaure talking to one of the missionaries.




We got to meet all of the children who live in the pastor's house.
And they enjoyed a couple hours off from doing chores.




We were able to give these children a little baggie of gifts.
They each got mints, jolly ranchers, pencils, a pencil sharpener, and some small toys.



We saw her in the clinic briefly. Then one afternoon she was hanging out with her friends who live in the pastor's house with her. I was walking by the river and stopped to chat with them. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip.



"Hang out" time by the river. RoseLaure is on the right.




She's so adorable, don't ya think?



This picture makes me laugh. RoseLaure was so excited that her toothpaste made it into the picture.

It was bittersweet to leave Baraderes, especially because it would mean leaving a piece of my heart behind. Oh and yes, that is a barbie dress. At 14. And she doesn't care. That wouldn't happen here in the States.

When I came home from that trip I was moved to do something. I sent in my money (done through church because my church works closely with RMI) and requested RoseLaure. I knew it was unlikely that I actually got her but I could hope and pray. When it came time to pick up our sponsorship packets, I saw her face and I jumped up and down and squealed with joy!

I love being able to support her financially and help her in what small ways I can. I love being able to pray for her. I love being able to tell people about her. I love seeing a picture of her face pop up on my phone's background. I love her. I love her people. I love her country. So much love. I'm so glad that God's love for me is leading me to love so deeply that it overflows to RoseLaure. I'm so thankful for the mere opportunity to know this girl and love her.

Do you sponsor any children? Who do you sponsor them through? Have you met them? Do you love them?

Pray For Haiti!!!

UPDATE: New news article: here

Here it is folks: there has been a large and deadly outbreak of Cholera in central Haiti. There are reports of it spreading to Port-au-Prince. It is likely to get devastating very quickly (some reports are projecting the number of fatalities to be similar to the earthquake). Please pray, pray, pray! Let anyone you may know down there know about hand washing, drinking ONLY treated water, and cleaning fruit and veggies in bleach.

Here is a more thorough blog post by a wonderful woman who works part time as a doc in Haiti.

What you learn working in a Pediatric office:

UPDATE: In order to cover all of my bases, I must tell you that I am neither a doctor nor a nurse. I am, however, a nurses aid/CNA/health tech/clinical care assistant. I don't want people thinking I'm something that I'm not. More on what I do, what I know, what I would like to do, and what I'd like to know in a later post.

So I don't have a substantial post tonight. Fear not, I have a couple in the works, they're just not ready yet. So here is a list. A list of things. Things I've noticed or learned from working in Peds (Work#2).

In no particular order:
1) You always want hand sanitizer right after you walked past nine million bottles of it mounted on the walls, in patient rooms, and on desks right as you enter the area that only has one bottle, tucked away in some lonely corner collecting dust because you can never remember where exactly it is.
2) You know flu season is starting when you administer quick flu tests to fellow staff.
3) You get kind of excited when a kid is coming in with a busted lip or funny looking bug bites. This is mainly because  it's not another "sore throat/runny nose/cough/fever" kid. Have you ever heard of a cold? (Sorry, had to get my little rant in). It also means you might get to see something cool...like stitches or draining a wound. Fun!
4) You find out that apple seeds are indeed "poisonous." They naturally have trace amounts of cyanide. Gasp! Don't worry, you'd have to eat a bunch of apple seeds to even notice the effects.
5) Babies pee on you. All. The. Time. And sometimes poop gets involved too.
6) You just have to laugh (and cry a little on the inside) when you botch a patients name when calling them back to the room.
7) Sometimes, just sometimes, you still call a she a he and a he a she accidentally even after you just saw them diaper-less.
8) The receptionist staff shrug away awkwardly when you walk up to them holding ________ (i.e. urine samples, sealed lab test swabs, a dirty diaper)
9) You've encountered parents who are much more frustrating than your own. (Love you Mom!)
10) Despite their saliva, snot, pee, and poop you still really do adore children...most of the time.

Fall Festivities!!

Alright, as promised in this post, I'm going to share with you some of the fun Autumn adventures I've had recently!

So much fun is being had this Fall! I truly enjoy this time of year for all it has to offer: cool weather (well, as cool as Florida lets it be), falling leaves, pumpkins, pumpkin-flavored things, sweaters, and wonderful friends. Well, friends are pretty much all year round, but you know what I mean!

On Thursday night my friend hosted a pumpkin carving contest. It was so much fun. There were quite a few people there too! Many people brought treats to munch on as we worked: pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip bars, apple pie, apple cider, etc. YUMMM!! My friend from class, R, came and we enjoyed carving Casper & his friends.

Team Casper: R and me!

Casper & Friends all lit up!

There were some really good carvings. Like this one, my friend K did.

Here's the lineup of pumpkins at the end of the night:

The sweet glowing blue pumpkin has a flashing multicolored strobe LED inside it instead of a candle. I thought it was pretty sweet. Also, this is probably only about half of the finished pumpkins. I didn't take a picture of all of them lined up so this will have to do.

Also, just for kicks, I'm adding my pumpkin that my roomies and I carved last year. I'm so proud of it:

Then Friday night a bunch of friends and I got together for dinner and hanging out. We then drove out to a neighboring town and went to a corn maze!! It was so much fun and pretty scary! You wander around in the maze (lost, most of the time) and people dressed in ghoulish costumes pop out at you and chase you with chain-less chainsaws. I spent a lot of time clinging onto my friends and cowering in fright. We also went through the haunted house that they had there. It wasn't very scary in my opinion but some of my friend's didn't particularly enjoy the frights they had in store. Alas, what you have all been waiting for: PICTURES!

Wonderful group of friends waiting in line!

Having fun on hay bales (This was outside the kid maze, fyi)

Love these people!

Our "scared" faces, hehe!

We all survived the haunted house!

The group with creepy clown dude...

Oh boys...

In other Fall news, today was the Fall picnic at church. I had every intention of going but uhh...I fell asleep instead. It was a beautiful nap, though, so I wasn't too terribly upset. After church, though, I did grab lunch with a wonderful friend who, sadly, is moving shortly! And then earlier this evening I had a splendid dinner at DRobb's house with his roomies and some other friends. Thanks again!!

PS: As I type, I have the windows open with a slight breeze blowing in. Dontcha just love Fall??

My life be like

So apparently I'm really inconsistent when it comes to blogging. Some days (mostly when I'm avoiding studying...) I post a lot, comment other blogs, and really advertise my blog. Other days (spent at school, work, or, more likely, galavanting around town with friends) I barely have time to even check the stats on my blog. I mean, there's usually no reason to check the stats on my blog - it's fairly consistently at zero hits. Instead of throwing myself a pity party for this blog I can't seem to get off the ground, I'm going to tell you what "my life be like." (Have you guys ever heard that song? It's by GRITS. I am not what one would call a "hip hop person" but this song is catchy.)

Anyway, my life... 
Drumrollllllllll
has been consumed by school, yet again. Not really...but kinda. I had an anatomy exam on Thursday for which I had to memorize all of the bones and their structural characteristics along with the muscles and their origin, insertion, and action. Boy let me tell you, my brain was freaking out by Thursday. As much as it was annoying, it's probably going to be one of the most useful things I've academically learned in college. It has also been entertaining to randomly tap into this knowledge.

Friend: My abs hurt after doing {insert ridiculously crazy exercise class here}.
Me: Ooh, your rectus abdominus? Did you know that originates at your pubic crest and inserts at the xiphoid process of your sternum? Or maybe your internal and external obliques are what's hurting? By the way, how's your iliopsoas?
Friend: *rolls eyes*

Other than that I have a good story to share. On Wednesday I was feeling fairly inadequate. I was down about a recent grade and just doubting my ability to do well in school, get into a good PA school. I was seriously doubting even applying to PA school. I was telling myself I wanted to do missions work - who says I need to be a medical professional to do missions work? I discussed it briefly at prayer group and then got to talk to DRobb about it as we waited for the bus together. He is just so wise and encouraging yet practical. He basically said, why not try and if you don't get in/don't like it/fail out then you just end up at Plan B that you're considering anyway. Lightbulb! Then he also talked about missions and how it's one thing to be a missionary and it's another thing to be a missionary with a skill (i.e. medicine) to offer. Not that the former is bad by any means but it might be that much more useful to be the latter. Lightbulb!

Then later that night I was at Work#2 and we were slammed. We had back to back and double booked patients all night. I was working hard and getting stuff done and at the end of the night our last patient was a small child needing stitches. Having no other patients to work up, I was able to watch/help hold said screaming child. That was cool in itself but even cooler was hanging out with the doctor afterwards/cleaning up. We got to talking about what I wanted to do in life. I gave my little speech about taking a year off, looking at PA school, yadda yadda yadda (you have to give this speech a lot in college - everyone new you meet asks). But for some reason at the end I added "And ultimately, I'd like to do long-term missions work with it." The doctor broke into a huge smile and said "Oh, a girl after my own heart!" Apparently she does a lot of medical missions work in Zambia. She also goes to a great church in town and knows people at the church I go to. This prompted the two residents (one being hindu and the other a non-believer) to ask about our reason for missions. It was a wonderful segue into the joy and peace and longing to serve that comes with following God. The doctor (can you tell I'm avoiding the use of names) was so bold and just opened the conversation up without awkwardness. This is a feat I fail at. After we finished up our closing duties the doc and I walked out to our cars together and we continued chatting. Apparently she works with 6 other Christian doctors at a women own and run peds clinic. She also has a brother who is a surgeon and uses a PA (who is open to being shadowed) and a sister-in-law who is another pediatrician. Basically she opened up herself to be a wonderful resource to me.

So basically in the course of a single day, God used two wonderful and beautiful people to break me of my own self-depreciating mentality and build me up in Him. I was so amazed and on fire that I had to call a friend just to let my exuberance spill over into her life. I'm pretty sure I didn't stop smiling all night - even as I was studying!

<3 KEZ

PS: Wonderful Autumn post coming up soon - including pictures!!

Ten on Tuesday (3)

This week's Ten on Tuesday is going to be interesting considering I don't really "work out" all that much. Hmm...


1. What does your work out schedule look like?
Lazy, that's what it looks like! I mean really, I only "work out" seriously every once in a blue moon. There is no schedule per say. That's not to say I don't get exercise. I ride my bike 3 miles to school and then 3 miles back. I also speed walk around my huge campus going from class to class. 

2. What is your favorite machine to use at the gym?
Gym equipment is not something that I get excited about. I don't want a favorite because I really just want to hate them all. That being said, when I actually go to the gym, I usually use the elliptical because it doesn't hurt my knees like running can. I'll also hop on a stationary bike if I haven't ridden my actual bike in a bit.

3. What is your favorite class to take at the gym?
Stretch Yoga or Zumba!

4. Where do you shop for work out gear and clothing?
Uh...Target? I'm in college and thus I am cheap. However, I've got my eye set on those Nike running shorts everyone wears. If anyone knows where to get them for cheap, let me know!

5. If you can’t go to the gym, do you have a favorite outdoor activity?
Cycling!! I love riding my bike. Or going on a Sunday afternoon walk with friends.

6. What about a favorite work out DVD? If so, please share!
Hahaha! Back in high school my friend L and I used to do an 80's yoga video. Most of the time we just laughed at ourselves and each other. I think I got more of a work out laughing my head off than I did following Mr. Yoga-Man-In-Leggings!

7. Are you more active now or when you were in high school?
I'm active in a different way now than I was back then. I used to be in marching band. It definitely had me toned and in-shape. Marching is hard work, anyone who says otherwise is WRONG! I no longer march but I have picked up cycling and generally do more of a variety of activities.

8. How has your dieting/working out philosophy changed since high school?
Dieting for me has always been the opposite for me than it is to mainstream USA. I usually am the one trying to gain weight, not lose it. While I've accepted that I'm built the way I am, I've become more aware of the health beyond the number. "Working out" just never crossed my mind in high school. While I still don't actively "work out" often, I'm more conscious of staying healthy - taking the stairs instead of the elevator, eating moderately healthy (for a college kid), taking my vitamins, etc. 


9. What do you do while working out– (i.e., day dream, read, listen to music, gab with a friend)?
Day dream, for sure! I usually have my iPod on but it's more just background noise for my wandering mind. 

10. What working out resolution would you like to make for yourself this year?
I guess just to become less anti-gym. 

Monday Blog Hops!

I'm participating in two blog hops: Follow Me Monday and Meet Me Monday in an attempt to broaden my reach when it comes to readers.

RUF Fall Conference

Last weekend was the RUF Fall Conference. It's where all of the Florida Universities (those with RUFs) come together to camp, hang out, learn about God's word, and worship. There were 6 schools there: JU, UNF, USF, UCF, FSU, and UF. UF (my school) had by far the most people.

We drove to Florida Bible Camp which was about 45 minutes away. My car happened to get a little lost but that was mostly because we didn't go far enough down this very bumpy dirt road. So we turned around, still didn't see it, turned around again and went back, then finally found it. I'm surprised Cecilia (my car) survived. I half expected the engine to fall out or something.

We got checked in - got the schedule, small group assignments, and our awesome new T-Shirts. I got all of my stuff settled in the tent and set off to find friends. We all hung out and chatted, mostly around the candy bowl =).

Beautiful Senior girls on the left and again on the right with Steve, our campus minister. =)

Then it was time for the first large group of the night. Our speaker was John Stone - if you're familiar with RUF, you should know that he is pretty high up in the organization and we were very blessed to have him ALL WEEKEND! Steve, my campus minister, went to college with John so we had the "in" which was great!

Steve, of course, spoke very highly of him. I didn't know how accurate these words of praise were until that Friday night. I was floored. The mini sermon series for the weekend was on Incarnation: Living like Jesus. I can't even aptly explain how well he flipped the gospel on it's head and made it seem new. It seems silly to be so floored considering he spoke on Luke and Daniel - two books I've read before and have had taught to me. I highly recommend checking out the recordings if you get the chance. Maybe it will rock your world, as it did mine.  (Don't forget to check out any other recordings on there, too. They're all great!) God was really working in my heart all weekend.


My small group was wonderful. We had a good group of girls - a mix of quiet and talkative. There weren't too many awkward silences which is good - those always make me nervous as a "leader." We had some good conversation, delved into some deep discussion, opened up about our lives, and enjoyed each other's company. It was beautiful.


Next was a good old fashioned square dance! We even had a real caller - a really old guy who was baffled at just how bad college kids are at listening to directions. We were all just too busy laughing and having fun to take it too seriously. At one point I was laughing so hard I was crying. Do you know how ridiculous line/square dancing is?!? My partner at that point in time - a guy whom I didn't know, from another school - probably thought I was crazy but lead me through the weaving dance without getting too many toes stepped on. I'm thankful for that.

My beautiful friend A rockin' the overalls and braids look! 

Free time ensued as we all became tired and worn out. That much goofy-ness takes a lot out of you! A bunch of UF kids grabbed some snacks and played mafia in the gazebo. I'm a huge fan of that game and love playing it but on this night, I just wasn't into it. When I got killed off I just chatted with a new friend.

My new friend, C, and me.

At some point after mafia and chatting I got ready for bed, climbed into the tent, and crashed. Saturday morning was chilly, which was AWESOME! Breakfast was scrumptious - thanks Craig Carter! I helped with worship team which was fun - I don't usually do that. It was definitely a God thing because I didn't even get stage fright! The message, again, was ground shaking. Can I reiterate that God was really just working in my heart all weekend!

The weather was beautiful so many of the senior girls spread out blankets and took a nap in the sun.

Love God, love friends, love life!

In the afternoon a sister of an FSU student came and showed us the documentary she made about child trafficking in Benin, Africa. It's called Shed No Tears. She worked through the organization, Unseen Stories. It gave me goosebumps and made my heart ache for Haiti and the restavek children.

After the evening service, the UF/'Bama game was on. It was a sad excuse for a game on our part. It's hard to to have a rough rebuilding year after so many years of awesome football and national championships. It was a little unfortunate, also, because we were watching the game with students from other schools - schools that typically don't like us for beating them in football year after year. There were some belligerent students who blatantly cheered against UF but we took it in strides.

There was a bonfire outside during/after the game and I enjoyed chatting with some friends. I was going to hit the hay relatively early but in the tent I ended up sitting up talking with another friend. It was a Christ-centered conversation with a cherished friend so I don't regret staying up way later than I had intended.

Sunday morning we had our final service. We cleaned up the camp - I swept the "mess hall" room. So. Much. Sand. Then all of the schools took group pictures and hit the road. It was bittersweet, knowing this was my last Fall Conference of my college career.

Fall Conferences all four years!!

A lot has happened...

So I'm currently sitting in the Christian Study Center catching up on life and doing a bit of homework. I love it here - especially now that the weather is getting cooler. I can't wait for it to be winter so they put a fire in the fireplace. (All of the the northerners are probably scoffing at me - Florida may not get snow but it WAS 46 degrees when I left the house yesterday morning!! That's definitely pretty cold for early October!)

Anyway, I wanted to take the time to write a real post. I don't have a lot of time, but enough to update you all on what's going on with my life. The answer to that, though, is not much besides school. I've been stressed this past week. My exams are now over, for now, and I'm happy to report that I survived! I did well on some and less-well on others. It's hard to divide your time and study for multiple exams at the same time. I know God is working through all of my work but sometimes studying seems so futile. I can study my tail off and still not do super well on an exam. Such is life, try harder next time.

On Wednesday I had my first shift at work#2 "flying solo." This past month I've been training under another health tech. She taught me, answered questions, showed me what to do and critiqued me when I made mistakes. I felt prepared but I was still nervous. I'm happy to say that it went really well and no one died (ha!). It was a slow night and we didn't have too many patients so that helped. But of course, the last patient of the night had to go out with a bang. It was a little 2 month old girl and she PEED on my weigh table. Ok, I have a considerably younger brother, I've babysat, and worked in the church nursery. I've definitely had this happen before. It was just shocking because this was the first time being peed on at work! I'm thankful for absorbent pads that we put on the tables, otherwise I would have had quite a mess to clean up. Haha, but it was ok. The mother was kind and the baby was adorable so I didn't get upset at all.

Yesterday I had a friend blow in with the wind. Literally, apparently he has his pilot's license. If you knew this friend you would understand me when I say this: him being here was like a whirlwind. Suddenly my day was flipped upside-down and went from relatively "normal" to well..random and spontaneous. It was a blessing to see him again and spend time not being consumed by school. However, this friend also comes with some some history with me so it was bittersweet and almost a bit painful. That's all I'm willing to share on the big bad internet, but I would appreciate prayers for peace and understanding. Following God is not always easy, it hurts a lot sometimes. We don't always understand why He does things, takes things away, or leads us the places He does - we just have to follow obediently, lovingly, and joyfully.

Also, more of a tangential side note, my heart has been aching to be back in Haiti and see my brothers and sisters again. Unfortunately I can't be there right now so I'm thankful for the Livesay family (whose blog I follow) who also have a heart for Haiti. They just recently set a date for moving their family back to Haiti. If you feel so called, please support them! Hopefully some readers out there are not poor college kids, like myself, and will be able to donate more than I have.

Oh and one last thing before I seriously need to get back to homework. I do intend to write about RUF's fall conference. It was such a wonderful time of growth, fellowship, worship, and fun. I can't wait to put pen to paper - err - fingers to keyboard - and tell you all about it!

Resting In Him,

KEZ

Ten on Tuesday (2)

I know everyone is waiting for a real blog post. I will get to it sometime soon...and by soon I mean probably Thursday evening. I've just been ridiculously busy as of late. I have priorities. Sadly, this blog isn't one of them - studying for 3 exams and writing lab reports are. As is Jesus...most of the time. Sometimes I forget and He has to remind me.

Anyway. To hold you over, I'm doing Ten on Tuesday as a break from studying. This week is all about figurative vs. literal. Enjoy!

Go here for the original post.

1. What keeps you up at night? (figuratively)
Worrying about exams. Worrying about friends and family. Worrying about the future. Worrying about worrying about worrying. You get the picture. It's really hard for me to take Matthew 6:25-27 into my head AND my heart. Saying it is easy, doing it is not.

2. What keeps you up at night? (literally)
Studying! If need be, I stay up 'til 1am studying. Now I know that this is nothing compared to the normal college kids who pull all-nighters to study. I like sleep. Too much, sometimes. I've actually never pulled a real all-nighter; though I have gotten a mere two hours before. It was rough.

3. Where do you want to go in life? (figuratively)
This one is perfect for my blog. I want to go wherever Jesus leads me! That being said, I do have a rough idea of what my life would look like if I were the one in control of it (thank goodness I'm not, though!). It would include: PA school in the near future, marriage to a wonderful and Godly man, part time PA job in a hospital (pediatric neurology maybe?), and 4 bueatiful and God fearing children. Now, given that this is my plan, not God's, my life is probably not going to look exactly like this. But I know whatever He chooses for me will be PERFECT for me - though I may still screw things up from time to time.

4. Where do you want to go in life? (literally)
Oh boy. The world? Every country? Does that count? Within the US: Seattle, Chicago (have already been as a small child), Boston (have already been as a small child), NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Boulder, Augusta, Portland (Oregon, not Maine). Internationally: Haiti again and again and again!, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Italy, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, India, and many more!

5. Have you ever bit off more than you could chew? (figuratively)
Um, yes and no. I have over-committed myself a couple times - one of them being this semester. I can get burnt out and tired. It's part of the fall - wanting to do everything and control everything on our own. However, God is working for our good and for His Kingdom. So if we do all things for the glory of God, He will bring you through it. Cliche, but "He won't give you more than you can handle."

6. Have you ever bit off more than you could chew? (literally)
I love food. I eat food. I eat lots of food. Yes, it happens occasionally.

7. Is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence? (figuratively)
This is something I struggle with a good bit. I see things (physical, physiological, or personality) that I think I want and would be good for me. They're not. I set my sights on these worldly things to satisfy me when I should be gazing upon the cross and being satisfied completely in the One who died for me, fought for me, and saved me.

8. Is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence? (literally)
Eh. At my parents house we live in the middle of no where so no one has "nice" lawns. The weeds are sometimes green but they are sometimes brown, too. 

9. If you can’t stand the heat, do you get out of the kitchen? (figuratively)
Depends on what we're talking about. There are some things I would more readily give up on than others. I think I know myself fairly well. If I'm trying something new and I'm terrible at it but I also know I'm not gifted in that area then I might give up sooner rather than later. But if I'm trying something new and I'm terrible at it because I'm a beginner but I know that I'm usually pretty talented in that area, I'll work on it longer before I call it quits. Does that make sense?

10. If you can’t stand the heat, do you get out of the kitchen? (literally)
Um, no. Who else would make me delicious food? Haha, actually, I've always been afraid of the oven. I'm just not a fan of burning myself - seems logical, right? I've gotten over it enough to, well, cook and bake. My use of the oven can look like a silly dance sometimes. Open the door, jump back so the door doesn't hit and singe legs. Grab 3-5 potholders. Use multiple potholders to pull out rack while leaning over carefully so as to not singe legs again. Tentatively place yummy food on tray while maintaining ridiculous pose. Push food and rack back into oven carefully with multiple pot holders so as to not burn fingers (or legs - I'm still in said ridiculous pose). Step back and tenderly close oven door. Take a big sigh of relief - the oven part is over, that is until it's time to take the food OUT! Oy!

Sorry!

I must apologize for my absence these past few days.

I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

Actually, I've been studying, working, and FALL CONFERENCING!

Fall conference was simply amazing. I will write about it more later...with much more excitement.

But for the next few days I am going to continue the decapitated chicken thing. I have 3 exams, a paper, and a quiz this next week. Sigh.

Please pray for me.