Snooze

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a morning person. I'm actually pretty cranky before my morning cup of coffee. So, this week I made a new goal. Step one to becoming more of a morning person: to get up when my alarm rings the first time. That way I can have a more leisurely morning instead of rushing like I usually do. Several people have told me that putting goals in writing makes the more solid and attainable, so here is my attempt to do so.

So, yesterday I placed my phone alarm across the room so when I got up, I wouldn't snooze. And my morning went smoothly without my usual rushing because I'd rather get a few minutes more sleep.

Then today came along and I overslept and was 30 minutes late to work. I'd say I'm not doing to well with this idea of being a morning person. Third time is a charm? So, onto new exciting adventures as a morning person. We'll see how long this lasts...

The Necklace

One of our sweet committee ladies emailed out this story. I've read it before, but it's absolutely precious and I thought someone else might enjoy it as well. So here you go...

The necklace

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

"Oh mommy please, Mommy.. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny , "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection , the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny 's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll.. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.

As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
" What is it, Jenny ? What 's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy; this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny ...

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.

God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

Guy Watkins

Read this article:
http://reflector.com/news/pcmh-honors-great-guy-and-most-excellent-volunteer-42317

I had the honor of knowing this man for a short period. I didn't even realize half of how incredible he really was. And a large part of that was because of his humility. He always put other people before his own needs.

To imagine giving my life away to others, a pure act of selflessness on all accounts--that would be radical. Guy was radical. Am I capable of such things? I wonder.

I smile to think about Guy in his sweet smile, red-vest, and ever-present voluteer badge and think about how his life, his story, has so eloquently touched mine.


"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
~Ephesians 4:2

Halfway

So, as previously stated, I will be terrible at regularly updating this thing. At the beginning of summer, I made a list of fun and exciting things to do while I'd be living in Greenville over the summer. Thinking I would have more time on my hands, I thought I might make a good dent in that list. Now halfway through the summer, about three of those things have been completed. Oh well, maybe the rest will come in the weeks left of summertime. :)

SUMMER TO-DO LIST:

*Get fresh produce at the Farmer’s Market [CHECK!]
*Check out antique stores downtown
*Go yard sale shopping
*Bike around town
*Kayak down the Tar River
*Rock climb in the rec
*Eat dinner on the rooftop of Captain Ratty’s
*Walk down by the water in Little Washington
*Eat oysters at Wimpy’s
*Go camping on the beach
*Go strawberry picking
*Take pictures of the gardens at Tryon Palace
*Jump off the tower at Green Springs [CHECK!]
*Run around at Goose Creek Park
*Visit Cape Hatteras
*Watch New Moon and Dear John [CHECK!]
*Get a professional back massage

Reminisce

I just spent the last 20 minutes re-reading over all of my previous posts. Where there are not many, it was invigorating to read about my life encounters since creating this blog. I've always been something of a journaler/list-maker/writer. One of my favorite things to do is to read back on the things I've written in my old journals and blogs to see where I've come since those times.

Just as a new stage in life is approaching with a whirlwind of excitement and newfound possibilities, I think it might be appropriate to start with my online journaling again so that in a years time I can look back and laugh to remember these times.

This is no promise, because many times before this I have said that I need to write more often. We'll see what happens from here. Hopefully there will be more life updates in the next post. For now it is 1:40am (yikes!) and I am heading to the beach tomorrow! Time for much-needed sleep.

Good Friday

Isaiah 53:2-6 (The Message)

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.

2010

So beings February. It's been forever since I posted here. For a start, I'll post my resolutions list. And add one to say: #101. Journal my thoughts more.

1. Enjoy the power and beauty of my youth.
2. Reduce my caffeine addiction.
3. Drink more tea.
4. Take a multivitamin daily.
5. Buy more fresh and organic produce.
6. Floss.
7. Save money; spend wisely.
8. Enjoy my last semester as an undergraduate student.
9. Figure out my future plans (DPT school? A year off?).
10. Trust God with my future plans.
11. Discover how to live on my own.
12. Try to do my devotions daily.
13. Grow and challenge my faith everyday.
14. Love Christ more everyday.
15. Find a solid church in Greenville and stick with it.
16. Join a bible study.
17. Memorize one new verse each week.
18. Realize life is too short to stress over the little things.
19. Live more simply.
20. Get enough sleep most nights of the week.
21. Spend my free time wisely.
22. Save up for a new laptop.
23. Buy new sunglasses.
24. Get a professional massage.
25. Give freely.
26. Clean out my closet and donate to Goodwill.
27. Don’t take things for granted.
28. Read through my book list.
29. Read a book on a topic completely foreign to me.
30. Grow up a little more, but never forget my inner kid.
31. Go on a fun spontaneous adventure.
32. Be creative.
33. Stargaze.
34. Reminisce.
35. Go out for sushi often.
36. Guard my heart.
37. Enjoy being single.
38. Carefully welcome what might lie ahead.
39. Catch up with old friends.
40. Flourish my inner beauty.
41. Look into taking a martial arts or self defense class.
42. Lose 10 pounds by March 1st (family pact!).
43. Do more pilates and yoga.
44. Get rid of my low back pain.
45. Lift weights twice a week.
46. Stretch.
47. Run another half marathon in the spring.
48. Train for a marathon in the fall.
49. Travel somewhere exciting.
50. Spend quality time with the people I care about.
51. Tighten my tummy.
52. Get an “A” in Anatomy.
53. Learn at lot about PT as an intern at Peak Performance Physical Therapy.
54. Keep in touch with my friends who live far away.
55. Send a letter to Emily in the Czech Republic!
56. Email my best friend about my life more often.
57. Keep my room more organized.
58. Expand my vocabulary.
59. Learn to enunciate words more clearly and speak more slowly.
60. Laugh a lot.
61. Serve others willingly.
62. Go skiing (any takers?).
63. Go hunting for the first time.
64. Go rock climbing at the rec.
65. Go ice skating.
66. Go to the shooting range with Dad again.
67. Join ECU’s Figure Skating Club?
68. Cook more often.
69. Buy and try out a Neti Pot for when I get sick.
70. Stop wasting.
71. Don’t text and drive.
72. Buy McD’s coupons to give to homeless people that I drive by.
73. Learn how to do a cartwheel!
74. Eat lots of pomegranates.
75. Go out to an old field and take pictures.
76. Stop looking in the mirror so much.
77. Meet new kids at Conley every week.
78. Encourage and pour into the lives of my high school friends.
79. Contact work least 3 times each week.
80. Challenge and go deeper with my campaigners group.
81. Take my girls to the beach (maybe it won’t flood this time).
82. Update music on my iPod.
83. Journal my thoughts more often.
84. Buy a new sketchbook and fill it.
85. Remind myself often of the eternity that is coming my way one day.
86. Take advice from people more experienced than me.
87. Learn Ukrainian from my grandmother.
88. Learn about my grandmother’s life adventures.
89. Brush up on the Spanish I learned in high school.
90. Stop wasting so much time on my computer.
91. Attempt to keep up with current news.
92. Learn to throw a football well.
93. Watch more ESPN.
94. Be bold.
95. Love the people around me well.
96. Be joyful always.
97. Pray continually.
98. Give thanks in all circumstances.
99. Learn what it means to be “selfless.”
100. Live love.