Christmas EVE:::

Warm blanket on my lap? Check.. Hot coffee? Check.. Sleepy kittens? Crud! Where did they go? Oh well.. Check--ish.. Christmas Eve? CHECK!

Early Christmas present to me. Last Friday I found out that I'm FOR SURE starting nursing school in Fall!!! And on top of that I had straight A's this semester in school! **Bragging voice** I'm not bragging or anything.. **Sarcasm** But I have a 3.72 GPA! :) Not that it actually matters! Cause in honesty, it doesn't. But it's been funny. This has been one of my most relaxed, God focused semesters yet and I had all A's. Where as when I used to kill myself for the grade, stress out and bite off everyone's head. Yes, I was making A's then too. But I prefer this way, compared to that ANY day. Next year hasn't even started yet and it's filling up fast. EMT program in Spring. I'm praying about and hoping to go on a mission trip to Ghana in May, and then starting nursing school in FALL! I think God might have known what He was doing when he told me to sit still this last summer. I needed the rest!

Last night my family walked though Winter Haven. I love looking at all the lights! It was incredibly cold out though. Since we had to drive separate cars, I talked Mom into stopping at Starbucks on the way home. Coffee sounded good not just because it was warm but because we had other things we had to get done once we got home. Like clean the Kitchen which had been clean, but at that moment looked like a train wreck. Sad to say.. But whoever was the barista that made the drinks needed some retraining cause they were so awful that I didn't finish mine. THAT right there says something! But I saw the calendar that is in the picture above. Yes, I was THAT crazy person near the counter taking half a dozen shots of the calendar until I got one that I wanted to post!

It got me to thinking though... Living each season as it passes! That's one thing I have really learned this year. To be content in the season of life that I am in! Being happy here and now. Knowing that right here is where God has me, and here is where my purpose is. Also I've learned, to look to God first before I start looking for the answers from people. I guess you could say that God's taught me to find contentment in Him rather those around me. Even though I very much love the people around me.

I started thinking about all the things I would have missed this year if I wasn't right here in my life. Fun times with my family and friends. Battles won and lost. Friends gained and friends gone. Watching my brother getting bigger (almost as big as me!). Sometimes it's been heart wrenching to watch God work, shape and mold my friends and their lives. But it's been such a blessing and encouragement when I get to watch them have a deeper more intimate understanding of our Lords love. I love talking to them and seeing the joy and peace on their faces when they talk about how they know God loves them! :) If this was not the place God had me now, I would have missed it all!

This next year is going to be such an adventure! I might not be out sharing God's word with brothers and sisters in Christ in foreign lands quite yet. Or then again maybe I will (Mission trip to Ghana in May?) But that I'll be able to share God's love right here!

I know what your thinking.... "What an unusual blog post the day before Christmas." Yes, I know it is! But I wouldn't be where I am today, learned the lesson or seen the things that I have, if it weren't all started by God's love.
A baby in a manger that was my savior!

Merry CHRISTmas!

The Month Long Itch..

Today is the first day in 16 weeks that I haven't had to go anywhere, including class! Down side, I'm spending my time battling sinus problems.... Again. I'm so happy to have a little more than a month of down time though.

I'm so happy to no longer be told the day by this white board! -->

I'm about to go a tad crazy through. Friday was the last day to get your name in to move up to Fall 2010. It's now tuesday, don't you think it would be more than enough time to tell me whether to plan on attending nursing next fall? Maybe if I take them coffee they could work a little faster putting together the fall roster! I keep praying that God would just give me peace about it all. But it gets annoying having to get myself calmed down enough to lay all my fustrations down at God's feet.

Dawn in the Distance :::...

Did someone order sleepy with a side order of need to get your butt moving? Oh, yes! That would be me. Even on my second cup of coffee, I still can't quite shake the feeling of wanting to go back to bed.

This was a beautiful sunrise the other morning! ---->

In a little over an hour I need to leave to go running. And then I get to go play a victim today and tomorrow for the EMT students who are doing their practicals. I'm really looking forward to it! Does that make me weird? Oh, well!

Tomorrow is the last day of school for the semester. Which excites me to no end! I feel kinda bad though because all my friends seem to be having stressful finals, big last papers, and mountain sized presentations that they are dreading. Where I on the other hand have little to no stress at all. Micro was finished a few months ago. I finished human sexuality yesterday. Tomorrow I have one last exam in nutrition. To be honest, the one class that is the biggest pain in my butt to finish up is running! But that is only because my instructor says one thing, and writes another into the syllabus!

You know... I think I just might be one of the most persistent people on the face of the earth. It's a gift!
It actually might be a gift. But it doesn't really feel like it lately.

Ecclesiastes 7:21-23 (NiV) Do not pay attention to every word people say,or you may hear your servant cursing you- for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. All this I tested by wisdom and I said,"I am determined to be wise"— but this was beyond me.

In The Home Stretch:::...

Ahhh.. Next Thursday is my last day of school for the semester. How did that come upon me so fast? This has to be accounted for being the shortest semester there ever was! It's nice though to know that I'm this far along with school. It seemed like I was never going to be to this point. It's a little scary though, knowing that if I have my way I only have five more semesters of school left! EMT program (1 semester) + Nursing school (4 semesters) = Five more semesters of college. And then I am done! Lets put this in Ashley terms.. It would mean I only have two more summers being a college student! Yippe Jesus!

Now that I'm finished doing a happy dance in my chair.

Holy cow! While writing this I got the e-mail to see about early placement for
Fall of 2010.

I'm not sure where God is going to place me. After this next semester I have NO idea what is going on. Heck, I can't see four DAYS out. Let along four MONTHS out. I just keep giving the future over to God.