Monday Thoughts...

I just finished a very interesting article on Polio in Manitoba. It actually lasted there for almost 25 years--from 1928 to 1953!

The cures proposed varied from gamma globulin research, blood serums, nose sprays (which often turned your nose yellow), and nursing therapies.

Just a thought from the article:

There was a nursing shortage in the last part of the epidemic because many nurses were either scared to work with "contagious" polio patients, or they didn't want to work the strenuous schedule. Power outages were often (mostly in the winter, I'm guessing) and THREE nurses were needed to manually operate ONE iron lung. Also, the iron lung patient (someone with bulbar polio [1953 polio that attacked the brain, spinal cord, and respiratory system]) was never allowed out of the iron lung until they had recovered enough to breath on their own. Nurses had to reach inside four little holes in the machine to wash the patients' bodies as well as they could.

This was the part I found most interesting, because of the book I read for school about five years ago. In the book, the main character's brother has bulbar polio and must stay in an iron lung. I'll Watch the Moon is a great read by Ann Tatlock, as well as the rest of her books. I have read A Room of My Own, I'll Watch the Moon, and The Returning.

I wrote an article about the virus, but I can't share it because I'm afraid my instructor might find it and think I stole it offline. It would probably bore you to tears, but I found it interesting.

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Yesterday, we went to White Top mountain and walked around. We found mushrooms and salamanders and plan on hiking the mountain again next weekend.

And this is my verse for right now:

1 Tim 2:1-6

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we
may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is
good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all me--the
testimony given in its proper time."

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Have you heard of Noise Trade? I found all these great Cds there for Free!

• The Hawk in Paris: His and Hers
  


• Josh Garrels: Love, War, and the Sea in Between
  


• Steve Moakler --love this one!
  


• All About Worship --absolutely great!
  


• Plumb Sampler
  


• Andrew Peterson: the Far Country --love this one too!
  


• Sleeping at Last
  


• Weekend Warrior Worship: Your Word
  


• and (my sister loves this Cd) The Vespers

What is free now will expire from the website in the future, so get it while you can. About 1/3 of my iTunes is from NoiseTrade.
I've also found a few Christmas Albums, so watch for those too!

Remember 9/11, Remember the Ultimate Sacrifice

Thank you Jesus, for the multitude of freedoms we are given in America.
Let us never forget the lives lost in the fight for our freedom, nor your example of sacrifice in your death for our eternal freedom.
We watch for your return...when everything will be new again and your glory will fill our hearts.

My great grandmother told us how she used to read the Bible while cooking. She said she'd read a bit of the recipe, read a scripture, then go back to the recipe. Her husband once said to her, "Okie, you can't even cook without reading the Bible." She's a real blessing to us--and a beautiful example of a woman who can't get enough of the word of God.
She's blind and can't hear very well now, so it's very hard for her because she can't read the Bible any more. My grandmother reads to her in the mornings, but she confesses that it's not the same to be able to read it for herself. Instead, she just sits and talks with Jesus.
I feel guilty around her--not because I've done anything wrong, but because of the things I haven't done. I have never really thirsted for the word of God so much that I long to read it all day long, with whatever I am doing. And I don't know the word like she does.
But I have learned to love talking with God. And I'm endlessly thankful for the 'interceding and standing in the gap' my great grandmother has done for so many people.
I want to be just like her, especially in the way she prays. I want to stand in the gap, to intercede for the broken, to be a prayer warrior, and to be as close as an earthly being can to my Father in Heaven.
Because, as Oswald Chambers wrote, "It is not so true that "prayer changes things" as that prayer changes me and I change things."

Inspiration for this post: GirlTalk: An Intenser Relish
Oswald Chambers quote from this devotion: What's the Good of Prayer?

I'll fly away to another state, I don't care what my friends say. We'll dance and sing 'till broad daylight...Skip to my Lou, my darlin'!

My 63 year old grandmother...
did 3 intervals of almost 30 counts on the skipping rope!

Lord, let be me that healthy when I'm her age!

post title: "Skip to My Lou," Meet Me in St. Louis

I feel pretty, Oh, so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and bright!

After a long break from Photoshop, I've started using Picasa's Picnik to edit and make my pictures more chichi (yes, a real word meaning spiffing/spiffy).

This is the purse that my brother and sister got me for my birthday. It's the side-by-side tote from Vera Bradley. It is so awesome and spacious and I love the way it carries and looks.

I was caught in the Vera Bradley Outlet in the Mall and my Mother spotted these grocery/shopping bags. Aren't they cute? Makes me wants to go to the market!
And THIS is my new wallet. It's part of the frill line in Vera Bradley. That's what I call chichi!It also works as a clutch. Unbutton and inside is silky blue--a pocket for your phone, a zipped space for coins, a slide-in for cash, and id and card slots. Oh, and the wrist-handle clips on and can hold your keys!
We also went to Kohl's where we found a lot of new clothes and stuff. I got a set of colored and silver half-ball studs for my second piercings. I also purchased a headband set. The one with the flowers is my favorite.I played this piece for my senior recital. It's so lovely, I will try to record it to share with you.And last, but not least, my piano teacher gave me these two suites as a graduation gift! My favorite piece is Ballad for Nashville.

So, we're really busy, but I'll try to update again this week. My grandmother and brother come in Wednesday night for my eldest brother's wedding!
I'm so proud to have such a wonderful brother and new sister-in-law.
post title: Leonard Bernstein, "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story

When the road looks rough ahead And you're miles and miles From your nice warm bed Just remember what your old pal said Boy, you've got a friend in me

Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye.

And sometimes it's easy.

Depends on whether you like the person you'll never see again, I suppose.

I had to bid farewell to my dear, dear friend today. She's a lovely, godly art teacher here at my community college. (We both love British Tele--Doc Martin, Lark Rise to Candleford, Cranford, etc.)

I will miss her so much...I wish I had a picture of her.

I felt like crying as I walked for the last time out of that familiar classroom. After three semesters in the same class, it was so hard to say goodbye. To her and to my fellow classmates.

But it's one of those things that you have to do.

I can't believe it's only 14 days before we move!

I'm nervous and very excited.

And I'm trying not to be happy and not afraid of what's coming around the bend.

"Might as well share, might as well smile

Life goes on for a little bitty while."~Alan Jackson, "Little Bitty"

post title: "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman

Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height...Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring!

"The bonny blue sky
waves banners of white.
Unravel the strings,
up, up goes my kite.

I run through th' grass;
I can't let it fall.
I tug on the strings--
'tis too much to haul!

Up, up through the air
I fly, fly, fly...
high up past the banners
of white in the sky.

I look to the earth,
wave to everyone.
Then higher I go,
up, up to the sun."

Spring is finally here--the sun is shining and everything is turning green.
Out here in Colorado, the wind is blowing wildy...

So, come on, let's go fly a kite--who knows? You might be in for a ride!

post title: "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins
poem: "Kite Ride" by me

Put a chain around my neck and lead me anywhere Oh let me be your Teddy Bear

I'm in love with theses necklaces made by Bel Kai Designs...now to save up for them!

post title: "Teddy Bear" by Elvis Presley

So if you like a big heart that's in this for the long haul, till we're rockin on the fronch porch and they're callin me pawpaw...you're gonna love me

My parents--I think next year is their 25th anniversary!

My brother and his wife--just married last weekend...
I heard this song by Chris Young:

I'm so glad my Dad and Mom are in it for the long haul...And I know that my brother and his wife are too.

Thank you, God, for giving your children Your steadfast love and someone to share it with.

"But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments."

You're in my heart, You're in my soul You are my heaven, You're my home You're my best friend, You're my true love You are my treasure, You're my God

Until recently, my heart was burdened by an idol, the biggest idol I have encountered so far in my life. That idol may be familiar to you, although not so dear or so close or so big as it was to me.
The idol is being a help-meet (don't worry, this isn't a mourning post of a single, I'm only eighteen!). I can't remember a time when the desire of my heart was not to be a mother. As I grew older, that desire matured into the longing for a husband.
And it wasn't a bad thing to want for. Not a bad thing at all.
But little did I realize that I belonged to someone else. Not a husband, but a God. It never occurred to me that while I was busy thinking, planning, wishing, praying, dreaming about my future husband, someone was being neglected. And that someone is madly in love with me.
It never occurred to me to think of God as a lover, well, I had thought of Him as a God who loves, who has a warm regard for others: as a lover of mankind. But I'm still learning to see His love for me as that of a father, a brother, even a husband. Francis Chan uses the example of Hosea and Gomer to show God's husband-like love for His children.
In 1st Corinthians 7:34, Paul warns us about the challenge of keeping God as our focus when we are married,

"And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband."

Isaiah 54 speaks of Israel as a desolate woman and God as her loving husband,

"For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called."

As I was reading my blog-roll today, I encountered this post on The Scriptorium Daily.
I felt something strange inside me when I thought about being alone. I didn't feel lonely at all. When he was going to be crucified, Jesus told his disciples, in John 16

"Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me."

That's sort of how I feel--I'll never be alone because He is with me.
It was then that, to my joy, I realized God is slowly taking away the idol that so long burdened my heart. Not entirely, but making it smaller in light of the idol I hold in Him--an idol that grows bigger every day. I still have the desires in my heart, but they are not who I am, are not everything I want to be anymore. I'm surprised to realize this. I really am. And I'm so glad. I'm excited to see the things He will lead me to. And I'm so glad He's my very best friend.
I know Nuns commit themselves as married to God and that is NOT what I am saying I believe. I'm not saying that I don't want a husband, I'm just trying to share that I don't feel like I need a husband. Jesus is all I need. I need no husband, no children, nothing of this world. I need Jesus above all the desires of my sinful heart. He is my everything.
He's Mr. Right. Yeah, He's the one.