Safety

This evening when I was leaving work, my mom called to tell me that the side door in our garage had been broken. It turns out that somebody broke into our house. All that was taken (at least as far as we can tell) was $100 which is not a big deal in the scheme of things. Scratch that, my mom just informed me that she has three rings missing as well as 3 or so necklaces and a pair or two of earrings and a knife that is my dad's. There are so many things they could have taken that they didn't (computers, medicine, camera iPod, etc.) Furthermore these are material possessions. Honestly, I'd rather them take money than pictures. Of course that is easy for me to say because nothing of mine was stolen but had my computer been gone, I would be super thankful that I have two boxes of pictures in my room that contain many many memories. Mostly this evening, I am thankful that my mom and I weren't home when this happened and that we are safe. This could have potentially been SO much worse. I was home part of this afternoon. I could have potentially waited another week to begin working so I would have been home which would have been SO scary, even if they didn't have anything they could hurt me with. Even when things seem "bad" God is good and I know He was protecting us in so many ways; more than we know, I am sure.

Everything happens for a reason

I use the phrase "Everything happens for a reason" a lot because I think it is true. It has kind of become sort of a coping mechanism of sorts for me.

Occasionally, I drive around just to think which I know is kind of a waste of money, but if it results in clarity of mind, I find it totally worth it.

This evening as I was driving into the middle of nowhere, I started thinking about my major. I am a Psychology major and I don't plan on changing that. What has changed a lot though, is what I plan on doing with that degree. When I first thought about doing psychology back when I was in high school, I wanted to be a counselor. That has changed several times though. In fact, it has changed just this semester. The thing is though, the reason I wanted to be a counselor was because one of my friends freshman year came to me about everything and I realized I enjoyed giving advice and just being able to listen to people. In all honesty, the reason I know this person is so ridiculous and messed up that the only way that even begins to make sense that we are friends is because God is in control and everything happens for a reason.

I would be thankful for the friendship of this person had he not unknowingly steered me in this direction, but I am so thankful that God used such a seemingly random friendship to put me where I am supposed to be.

Yes! In ALL things

School is beginning to wind down for the semester (which I am so thankful for).

As I look back over the semester as a whole I have a lot to be thankful for.

This is the first semester since starting college that I have actually liked all of my teachers. I am thankful for that because it makes the class more interesting and makes it easier to learn the material.

At the beginning of the semester I was unbelievably nervous about my speech and debate class but I am thankful that it has actually not been that bad except for the whole getting up and speaking in front of people part. I know it could have been SO much worse than it has been.

One of the first weekends back at school was the weekend a pipe in the sprinkler system burst in the apartment and I keep coming back to that and how thankful I am that it was a pipe by the common room and not in any of the bedrooms because the damage would have been much worse since there are sprinklers directly above the desks in all four rooms and water + a computer is never good.

I am thankful for the time I have gotten to spend at home on various weekends and over spring break.

I am thankful that my car issue was a very simple fix. The wiring to the starter got messed up. They fixed it and I got it back Wednesday afternoon (it got towed Tuesday night). Also, I am thankful the repair costs were relatively cheep. In fact the parts only cost $4... The labor was a wee bit more expensive but regardless, it could have been the actual starter and that would have definitely cost a smidgen more than $4.

As I sit here typing this, I just glanced over at my laundry basket which is full of clean clothes and I am thankful that I not only have clothes but that I have the ability to wash my clothes on a regular basis.

It's easy for me to get so caught up in the busyness the last two weeks of class brings and in the hustle and bustle of preparing for finals that I forget how much I have to be thankful for. Like, you know, the fact that I have the opportunity to go to school.

In all things?

I know I'm supposed to be thankful in all things and for all things. I am not going to lie though, I'm having a little bit of a hard time doing that right now.

I have a sore throat that will not go away. Medicine does not help at all nor do the vitamins or throat numbing cough drops. For that matter, the 12+ cups of liquid I have had to drink today haven't done much either. I am not running a fever so it seems kind of silly to go to the doctor. And even if I wanted to go to the doctor, I can't. Why might you ask?

My car won't start. The AAA guy came to try to jump start it which didn't work. He checked the spark plugs, the starter, and some other random stuff. No luck.

So while I sit in my apartment in complete frustration about my current situation and totally stress out about everything that is going on school wise, I am going to try my best to be thankful that God is in control. I am sure thankful I am not the one in control of this situation because I would have lost it a long long time ago.

Truth

At the church I have been attending for most of the school year, the college age and young adult Sunday school class I've been going to has been watching a series of videos called "The Truth Project." In the first video, we focused on "What is truth?" And have been talking about different aspects of that in different areas including science, ethics, and history. It has been really interesting and I have noticed I pay more attention to what is and is not true. At the beginning of the semester in my elementary statistics class, I was reading one of the chapters and it made me think a lot. This was the quote.

"Have you ever wondered how we come to know truth? Most college students would agree that finding out what is true about the world, ourselves, and others constitutes a very important activity. A little reflection reveals that much of our time is spent in precisely this way. If we are studying geography, we want to know what is true about the geography of a particular region. Is the region mountainous or flat, agricultural or industrial? If our interest is in studying human beings, we want to know what is true about humans. Do we truly possess a spiritual nature, or are we truly reducible solely to atoms and molecules, as the reductionists Would have it? How do humans think? What happens in the body to produce a sensation or a movement? When I get angry is it true that there is a unique underlying physiological pattern? What is the pattern? Is my true purpose in life to become a teacher? Is it true that animals think? We could go on indefinitely with examples because so much of our lives is spent seeking and acquiring truth" (From the 8th edition of Understanding Statistics in the Behavioral Sciences by Robert R. Pagano).

I love the second half of the last sentence. "So much of our lives is spent seeking and acquiring truth."

I think it's funny that even in the secular world, people realize they need the truth, and it is something that is looked for with eagerness. I am thankful that Jesus is "The way, and the truth and the life" (John 14:6a) and that I have the opportunity to know what is True. I am thankful that everywhere I turn, there is another glimpse into what is True. When I look out my window and see the beauty of the trees, birds, sky, etc. I can't help but wonder how one could think that this world with all its complexities came from a single celled organism or anything else other than God's "big bang" Ya know, "God spoke and bang! It happened." When I spend time in my perception class, it boggles my mind the way our minds work and how incredibly efficient they are. How perfect they are. The way our mind works so well with the rest of our body and is perfect in so many aspects is astounding and I truly do not know how people can "Stand here with You and not be moved by You" (Lifehouse). What it comes down to, I think, is that we see what we want to see and I am so thankful that the One who created me wants to have an intimate relationship with me and has, in so so many ways, made Himself known to me and has shown me that He is the Truth.

Time away

Spring break. What a wonderful idea. I spent time with my family last weekend at a cabin in the mountains. It was really refreshing to slow down and live at a normal speed. I spent Wednesday and Thursday nights in Chattanooga with one of my friends. We left for no particular reason other than to get away and it was nice. Now that I'm home again I am faced to realize that it's almost time to head back to school but I am so thankful for the time I have had to breathe.

Even though I am not particularly excited about going to class next week, I am going to be thankful that I have the opportunity to go back to school next week. There is somebody somewhere who did not live through spring break. There is somebody somewhere who had to withdraw from school over spring break for some reason or another. So instead of being bummed about sitting in class every day, I am going to be thankful instead that I am alive and healthy and have been given the means to attend school and obtain an education.

Home schooled

I was home schooled as were all of my siblings. I didn't particularly enjoy or dislike being home schooled; it was what it was. However hindsight is 20/20, I guess because now I am ridiculously thankful I was. Something terrible happened today that it almost made me want to home school MY kids if I ever have any. I have always said I never would but the more people I run into, the better it sounds. For you to fully understand what pushed me into this reality, I need to tell a story.

I'm taking speech/debate this semester. I kind of hate it because I hate talking to people I don't know and I hate talking to groups of people and I really hate talking to groups of people I don't know. That fact that I dislike it is not important to the story though. Today was my day to debate in our parliamentary debates. Basically, it's an off the cuff thing, we get paired with somebody else and then argue against another group. The topic was "Pennies are useless forms of currency." When my partner and I were coming up with reasons why the penny is useless, she asked me who was on the penny. I told her I was pretty sure it was Abraham Lincoln. Her response? Brace yourself...

"What, was he like the first president or something?"

I do not kid. It was all I could do not to drop my jaw. I replied that no, he was the 16th president.

She then said, "Oh, I don't really do the history thing." Ya think!?

Humble pie

I feel like God has been teaching me a lot lately because I have finally woken up and realized how ridiculous I was being which I am so thankful for. Today I have been chewing on a giant piece of humble pie. I'm giving up desserts for lent but somehow I think the pie of humility will be sticking around for a while while my heart processes it.

Most people like to talk. I don't particularly mind talking in some cases but I find that listening is easier for me. I enjoy listening. In fact, I enjoy listening and giving advice (even if it isn't always good advice...) so much that I picked my major based on that aspect of myself. I take pride in my listening ability and this week God decided to take that away from me for a few days or weeks as the case may be. Though the story of how He took it away is not mine to tell, I can tell you this; when I get my listening back, I am going to be thankful for it instead of being proud of it.

Rock bottom?

Have you ever had a day or a month or a year when you think things can't possibly get worse, and then they do? Have you ever hit rock bottom? I thought I had had "rock bottom" experiences until last Sunday and while I am sure that at some point in my life I will have a worse rock bottom than the one I had 7 days ago, it seemed pretty bad at the time. I have come to realize that God often uses rock bottoms to bring us back to Him. Even though every aspect of last Sunday afternoon was miserable in every sense of the word, I am thankful for that rock bottom because it just brought me back. After everything I've learned in my life I still, for some reason, think that I have to go to God at my best but it's when we're at our worst that we need Him most. Of course we need Him all the time, but I have a hard time grasping that sometimes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that since God sent the rain, I am thankful that He sent an umbrella and a pair of rain boots too.

I'm not in control

I have come to realize that aspects of life rarely work out the way we want them to or plan for them to. In my own life, I try to plan things out. I cannot stand not knowing what's happening next. I hate feeling like I'm not in control. I've been thinking a lot about my future recently. My plan is to graduate a semester early, and either take a semester off before starting grad school or do an internship, yet somehow while I've been planning, it doesn't feel right. I don't know how to explain it other than this overwhelming sense that things won't work out the way I think they will right now.
Last week, I even had thoughts of changing my major, though they only lasted about 10 seconds before I remembered how much I love psychology and how miserable I'd be with just about any other major. I know that I can do a million things with psychology, which isn't the reason I chose this major, but there are only two things I really want to do and it scares me that for some reason neither of them will work out. I think I have this fear mostly because I don't like people which is a ridiculous thing for a psychology major to say, I know, but I cannot get past it!
Last week, I got an application packet from the hospital near school to work in the pediatric unit with the child life specialist which is so exciting because that is one of the things I would absolutely love to do. There are all these requirements in order to volunteer and all these rules (some of which seem like a little much) to follow at the hospital and I guess I'm afraid I will dislike it. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I disliked it. In fact, I would rather find out now than when I am in the midst of an internship or something.
The other thing I really want to do is research, and while I know that is going to require a lot of school, I think it would be worth it. The mind is amazing and it would be incredible if my job involved figuring out why we do what we do. At the same time though, I think about how much time and effort goes into just one experiment and I can't help but wonder if that's the way I want to spend my life. I can't help but wonder if there will be any significance to my research, though. I don't want to do something that won't have any impact on anybody. I don't want to spend my days duplicating research that has already been done, and even though I already mentioned that I don't particularly like people, or rather being around people, research seems like such a waste if it can't help people.
I guess what I'm mostly trying to say is that I'm thankful God is the one the one that's in control because otherwise I would have gone crazy a long long time ago.

Tooth brushes

Have you ever gotten fuzzy teeth? You know like when you haven't brushed in a few hours and your teeth just feel kind of disgusting? So disgusting that when you finally have the chance to brush your teeth, they feel like they have never been cleaner? I love that feeling and the tingly mint taste that's left in my mouth. While I was brushing, flossing, and mouth washing my teeth just now, I realized how awesome the invention of the tooth brush is and I am thankful that I have readily available toothbrushes and toothpaste. I think sometimes, okay a lot of the time, I forget to be thankful for the small things like a tooth brush, and every time I think about it, I realize how much I really have to be thankful for.

Warmer weather

After spending most days for the last two weeks being cold most of the time, the temperature hit 40 today. It was quite fantastic not to need to wear my giant winter coat, a scarf, gloves, thermal underwear and 2 pairs of socks to class. I am thankful that I live in an area of the country where we get cold weather and warm weather, along with incredible 60 degree weather in between the two.

Crying

I don't cry much and when I do it's usually just a tear or two. I don't think there is anything wrong with crying. I think it's good and it can be therapeutic; it's just not something I do often. Well apparently crying actually releases toxins which is why you sometimes feel better after crying. Pretty cool, huh? Did you know we produce between 230 and 450 cups of basal tears (the kind that keeps your eye from becoming dry) a year? Kind of crazy, eh?

For more interesting facts about tears or to see where I got my information from you can go to http://health.howstuffworks.com/crying.htm

The amazing human mind

One of the classes I am taking this semester is Sensation and Perception psychology. It has been really interesting so far and think it will continue to be interesting. Today, the teacher used a really neat example of how we sense and perceive things. I had seen this example before but it never ceases to amaze me.

"Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabridge Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny ipromoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a ttoal mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?"

I think because of all the technology I have access to that "thinks" for me, I forget how capable the brain is, but when I think about all that we are able to do, it is absolutely overwhelming to me.

Pictures

Occasionally I get in the mood to write. Write about life, love, sadness, laughter, anything that comes to mind, really. Usually the things I write when I get into one of those moods are short and to the point, but I kind of like it that way. This afternoon I got to thinking about something I had written about pictures a year or two back.

"Pictures are worth way more than 1000 words because there is nothing like looking back at pictures of your five-year-old self with your old best friends and wishing you could have just one more moment with them."

I don't have a picture from when I was five on my computer, but I do have one from either my 8th or my 9th birthday party
Even though I love the friends I have now, it's hard not to wonder how life would be different if I was still friends with any of them, or if I even still talked to any of them. I am so thankful that even though I have no recollection of this particular day, I have a picture that captures that moment perfectly and am thankful that in 10 years, I'll be able to look at pictures of me now with the friends I have now and will be able to recall the second of time the picture perfectly captures.

Joy and pain

I have come to find that in my own life, the single thing I take for granted the most is other people. When I moved away from home last August, I didn't realize how much the relationships I had would change. A funny thing happened when I didn't live 10 minutes away from my best friend anymore; we hung out less, but we talked a lot more, and our relationship kind of did a 360. Things weren't bad before, but they're so much better now, and I think it's kind of funny that God used distance to bring us closer. God also saw fit to use geographic closeness with another friend to bring distance, and even though it's been hard and incredibly painful at times, I know that God has a purpose for this. In the joy of closeness and in the pain of distance, I will choose to be thankful for the ways God has used these relationships to bring me to Him.

The things children say

While working at an after school care for a little over a year, I heard some pretty hilarious things come out of the mouths of several kids. I also got the chance to hear some amazing questions from them. One afternoon while doing a devotion about Adam and Eve and the first sin with the kids in my class, I was particularly surprised at the depth of one of the questions I was asked by one of the girls in my class. "Why did God create satan if He knew satan would rebel against Him and cause Adam and Eve to sin?" I was pretty surprised to hear that come out of the mouth of a 9-year-old and didn't even know how to respond. I told her that I didn't know and that we don't always know the answers to everything. I hated that I couldn't give her a real answer, but I continue to be thankful for the way children have no reservations about asking questions.

I love me some hand sanitizer

I admit it, I am verminophobic. What, might you ask is verminophobia? It's not the fear of vermin, but the fear of germs. Though I do not particularly have a problem with the germs I get from eating or drinking after people, touching doorknobs, faucets, desks, or any other thing that has had another hand on it grosses me out. I feel like I can almost see germs crawling all over these surfaces, especially during flu season. I was told by a biology teacher in high school that using hand sanitizer over periods of time can actually cause germs to become resistant to hand sanitizer, however the same teacher also told me that all children of a brown eyed person would have brown eyes. Regardless, I have been using hand sanitizer routinely for the past few days and am hoping it will keep me from getting sick.

Cell phones

Yesterday when I began this blog, it wasn't something I was too sure if I would keep up with because I feel like updating a blog on a regular basis can be somewhat time consuming. However, since I first thought about doing a "thankful" blog yesterday afternoon, I have begun to realize how much I have to be thankful for and how often I forget to be thankful. Even if I never have a visitor, I am hopeful that by choosing to be thankful in all things, big and small, I will begin to see my outlook on life change.

Today when a sign on the door of my speech class incorrectly said the class had moved to a different room in a building across campus, I realized how thankful I am for cell phones that give me the ability to call somebody who is sitting in front of a computer to tell me what's going on. It turned out that I had read the sign wrong, but I was able to make it to class while the teacher was still calling roll, and I suppose all is well that ends well.

Even the small things

Through a series of events over the past five days, I realized just how often I am tempted to complain, and how seldom I choose to be thankful. I noticed how much better life looks when I put things into perspective, so instead of complaining about how annoyed I was that my carpet pooled with water when stepped on, or that there was not any running hot water in my apartment, I began thinking that I was thankful to have carpet, and to have any running water at all. I realized how lucky I am that I had the problem of not having warm water. There are millions of people all over the world who do not have access to water at all, much less clean water.

What if we all took our complaints and turned them into blessings or things to be thankful for? How much better off would we be? What if for one day nobody complained, but was instead thankful? What if while climbing 61 stairs to get to my Psychology class, I was thankful that I had legs that work rather than complaining about how hard or annoying it is to climb 3 consecutive flights of stairs. Or what if instead of complaining about all the reading I have to do for my classes I chose to be thankful for two eyes I can see with and that I have the ability to read?

What would happen if we all did this every day? What if we took time to be thankful for even the little things? What if we could change our days, our lives, and maybe one day, the world, would we?