The Year Of Adventure

I'm sure you've heard of the Chines Calendar. The year of the monkey,dog,pig,dragon etc. Well, I've deemed that this year is the year of adventure. There are so many things tentatively scheduled for this year that I feel like I should just kiss my year goodbye.

School started back a couple weeks ago. And so far the EMT program isn't too bad. It's actually kinda fun and most of it has been a review except for one or two chapters. Tuesday is our first exam and I'm a little nervous about it. In this program you have to get at LEAST an 80% or it's considered a fail and you're only allowed three fails before you're kicked out of the program.

Not long before school started my family got the news that Jake is going to need his pulmonary valve changed out sooner than later. It's looking like March or April will be when D-day is. In a little less than three weeks my parents have an appointment with the surgeon and they are supposed to be ready to talk solid dates at the meeting. Ugghh.. None of us saw this surgery coming on us so soon! We knew that it was coming, just not in the next three months! Every time we take the child into the Cardiologist he says, "Oh, he's good. See me in six more months for another check up!" This last check up the cardiologist decided that he wanted an MRI and from the MRI together with a echo he decided to present Jake's case to a group of cardiologists in town. They all agreed that talking to the surgeon would be a good idea and then the surgeon decided yeah, it's time. This was all a month long process for my family. I'm thinking that sitting, waiting and thinking is a very lethal combination.

My blog background has been changed for two reasons. #1. I stole my other background and used it on my blog dedicated to mission work. And #2. I thought hearts were fitting seeing that Jake is going in for open heart surgery. The Valentine background isn't because I'm in love or have a hot date for Valentines. It's because a heart is a very big part of my families life right now.

You know what my hot date is for Singles-Awareness-Day?!?!?! I'm planning on dressing up and taking myself out to a chick flick that comes out right before Valentines! I'm actually really looking forward to this. So much so that I've had this planned for about a month! When I shared my planes with a friend of mine, she kind of gave me that "Oh, poor dear" look. And I assured her that this valentines was going to be much better than last years. Last year I babysat two little boys for eight hours!

The other day we found out that the heart surgeon only does surgery on Tuesdays and Thursdays which are the days I have class. But the real blessing is that the first day of class my instructor told us that if you have "shit come up" just let him know and he will do all he can to work around it. :)

May 6Th will be my last day for class. I'm hoping to and praying about going on a mission trip to Ghana in the end of May. We shall see what comes of that. I really would love to go. For about five or six years now I've felt like God is calling me to work in Africa as a missionary and a nurse. The reason I want to be a nurse isn't so that I can help start clinics and things. I don't have a lot of interest in doing that. My hope is to go out into the villages and draw people to me because of the medical services I can provide but build relationships with them and point them to Christ. But we shall see where God has a place for me in the end.

And then in Fall I start NURSING SCHOOL!

*Blows big kiss and waves* BYE 2010! lol

I'm really excited to see how God will use this year in my life. Last year God told me to sit still (that was really really hard!) and learn to let Him be the source of my contentment and peace. Now this year seems to be a whole new box of chocolate and I'm not sure what I'll learn in the end. But I'm looking forward to this new adventure with my God.

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.

Getting back into Real Life. .

The Swine flu is finally out of our house. Cross my fingers and pray really, really hard, it will stay that way! Jake and I came down with it last Tuesday and by Thursday my Dad was showing symptoms. I'm thinking we got it when we went up to pheniox the weekend before for a Make a Wish train ride. Once we got up there we realized that it wasn't just make a wish families but about five different organizations were represented there. But we had a lovely train ride with our closest 500 friends! It's was all of our first time riding on a train. Jake and I were running all over. Really it was Jake who was running all over and I was sent to chase after him. Which was really the cause because he can bob and weave in and out of people!

Today has been kinda lazy. I should be doing homework but instead I'm blogging. A while ago I tried my hand at making an iced pepermint mocha. It kinda flopped! But now I see this will be a trial and error sort of an endevor.

While being sick I got out of having my morning talks with God and it's hard to get back into it. I love this verse.

Psalm 5:3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

I take such comfort in knowing that God is sitting there waiting to listen to me and respond in love. So why exactly is it this difficult to get back into it?

Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Cold, Knitting & Peace:::..

Last thing I knew it was in the 80's here. But all of a suden it dipped into the high 20's low 30's last night and is freakin freezing today! Darn being an Arizona weather kind of a girl. Mom decided to try making a pumkin spice latte today! It was good, but I think I will stay faithful to my dear mocha lattes.

It's been the perfect weather to sit in a chair with a warm blanket and a sleeping kitten on my lap, while I work on knitting a sweater. Yes, I am twenty going on ninty. :)

So many things have happened from my last blog post to know where to start.. God has been teaching me so much about resting in His plan. Every time I try to turn left or right. Each time I attempt to go here or there. Or do this or that. It seems as though God picks me up and sits me back down in the same spot I started and tells me to wait. No starting nursing school next semester, no going on a mission trip in January, no leading a college Bible study just wait and focus on God. Even though I have struggled with just being at peace with this place in life. Once I think about it, I'm enjoying this time. School is slow and fairly easy this semester and God has given me the time to sit and talk with other girls about Him and spend more time with Him. Many semesters before this one I didn't have that time to offer.

2 Thess 2:16-17 (NIV) May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.