An Important Part of the Equation We Often Miss

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.
~Aldous Huxley

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"
~William A. Ward

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.
~G.B. Stern

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
~G.K. Chesterton

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I am attempting the "with thanskgiving" portion this week before every prayer. So far? It has doubled my joy. It has given me peace. What more can I ask for?

Prayer

When you pray, you are not starting the conversation
from scratch, just remembering to plug back into a conversation
that's always in progress.
Anne Lamott

Prayer is not asking.
It is a longing of the soul.
It is daily admission of one's weakness.
It is better in prayer to have a heart without words
than words without a heart.
Ghandi

And so I pray.

My heart exults in the LORD;
my strength is exalted in the LORD.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
There is none holy like the LORD;
there is none besides you;
there is no rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2: 1-2

Less is More

Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.

Ephesians 5:14

So, it's been a while.

I'm not even sure I have a real coherent topic here! But I know some of you want to hear how school is going, so I shall tell.

I started classes at the end of August, and have been pretty busy since then. I have class four nights a week, two mornings a week, and one afternoon a week. Thankfully they do not seem to schedule classes on Fridays in graduate school here, so I get at least that little break. They are pretty fun classes--one of them we even have already started filming ourselves counseling our classmates in our clinical lab and then reflecting on how we did. The very hands on experience will certainly help us learn quickly.

The homework is for the most part manageable, though I have one class that I am continually anxious about. It's hard for me to relax when I know I have about four or five time consuming assignments coming up that I have no idea how to do. It is all very vague and sometimes hard to get concrete directions from professors, which is frustrating because we all want to do well and do more than what is asked of us, but if we cannot determine what is asked of us, it becomes difficult to do it.

I also have a lot of anxiety because I will have to take more than the allowed amount of credits in order to meet some requirements of me because I am not a licensed teacher. There's not much I can do about it now, but it is in the back burner of my mind.

I was discussing the other night with a good friend whether I had made the "right" decision in coming to this school. My friend suggested that perhaps I had simply made a good decision. That wording didn't feel right, and I knew that I have indeed made the "right" decision. Being here is something that I haven't doubted, and I feel peace at how God has opened the doors and allowed me to be here. I had no experience, not enough coursework in psychology, and somehow I made it into the program. Then I heard the news that I would be a graduate assistant, which pays for half of my tuition. I found a great place to live, and have been getting along great with my new friends and classmates.

The peace I feel here is the peace I talk about a lot. You can feel at peace with a situation or time in your life without superficially liking it on the outside. I have a bracelet my aunt gave me with the peace symbol on it. When I look at it, I don't think about peace with regard to politics, or war; I think of the peace I have being here. So as difficult as this semester is turning out to be, no matter how bad next semester is, I can get through it knowing that this is where God wants me to be.

On a side note, today is my grandparents birthday! They share the same birthday, and are turning 78 (Grandma Lou) and 85 (Harold) today. I wish them the happiest of birthdays, and look forward to seeing them soon!

Now, off to do that homework!

Little updates

So, I have to apologize for not writing much this summer. To be completely honest, I haven't really felt like it, or found anything really interesting to talk about. I want to post in the nature of the blog, and not so much about what's going on with my life, but I haven't really felt inspired.

However, here are some pictures from last weekend! We held a shower for Kate in Bemidji and it was a really fun time. Afterward, we took some family photos and visited my grandparents and other family members.

Mom, Kate, and Dad at the shower.

Mom decorating for the shower.

Grandpa and me

I am also done with my summer classes. It was a hard five weeks, and pretty intense, but overall it was a great learning experience. Now I just have to move this week and then fall classes start a week from tomorrow (yikes).

Well, off to read. It's like a mini-vacation this week!

Family

For those of you who were extremely concerned, yes I did find a place to live! It's about a 10 minute walk to the bus, and then 10 minutes on the bus to school, but I refuse to pay for a parking permit this time around. I will also have a really cool roommate who even has a cat!

Also, I had a wonderful chance to be at a family reunion this past weekend. Most of the relatives were my mom's cousins, and her aunts and uncles, but it was still an absolute blast!

For now, I must be off--homework, supper, or something of the sort calls. Kate is coming into town this weekend so we can throw her a bridal shower up in Bemidji, which should be fun. Hopefully I will be able to write more once my classes are done. It's been a little intense, to say the least.

Thanks for reading!

Um....shhhhhhhhhh...

I am supposed to be doing homework (by my own requirements, of course) but I am not.

So shhhhhhh. Instead I have the Dog Whisperer on.

Priorities, priorities.

It's what I like to call, "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Homework!"