Day 301

My grandad passed on to be with The Lord this morning at 8:20am. I am encouraged by his faithfulness and trust in God and know that he is celebrating in glory tonight. I can only ask for prayers for my whole family at this time as we deal with the loss of a wonderful man; father, grandfather, spiritual leader and Air Force veteran. I am so thankful for the trip I made to see him during which I heard his story of redemption. He was shot down during WWII and he survived not only the crash but the freezing sea waters. He told me that he was praying for God to save him from the freezing waters and to provide him warmth and comfort. He recalled how he saw a light at he end of his life raft and began to feel warm. He said he knew it was Jesus and it that moment not only was his physical being saved but also his spiritual soul. I love that I will always have this memory of my grandfather.

Thankful today for understanding CIs, adorable patients in costumes, amazing and uplifting conversations with my dear friend Phillip, phone calls from my besties, my amazing roommate and my loving parents. 

“Thomas Edison’s last words were ‘It’s very beautiful over there’. I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful.”

Day 300

WOW, first off I cannot believe today marks day 300 of my journey through a year of thankfulness. This has truly been an uplifting endeavor despite occasional days where I forget, haha.

Today I am thankful for cool rainy days, being able to encourage a Momma to stay strong and ensure her that she is doing everything just right, hugs from an adorable little girl who's discharging home tomorrow, having a sixteen year old tell you they'd rather work with you than your CI, and coming home to a rambunctious puppy and hilarious roommate. Praying that God provides a great first job for Lindsey and selfishly hoping it's near colleyville so we can stay roommates. She has made a HUGE difference in my life and my ability to laugh through the rough times. Very blessed by her friendship.  

Day 299

Thankful for not having to wake up before 6 am, holding precious babies, encouragement from clinicians, coming home to the smell of a ready to eat crock pot meal and evenings spent playing with the pup, talking to the roomie and trying to make a plan for this crazy life!

Day 298

Thankful for getting to spend the work day with a great friend, seeing a patient after three months and seeing all the significant improvements that have occurred, spiced latte coffee creamer, roommate with cooking skills, delicious cupcakes, and being able to push my alarm clock back 30mins.

Day 297

Thankful for warm blankets, cuddling up all morning, grocery shopping with the roommate, neighborhood adventures and relaxing on Sunday.

Day 296

Thankful for sleeping in, morning coffee, productive afternoons, dinner with two wonderful ladies, college football and prison shows.

Day 295

Thankful for FRIDAYS, puppy dog cuddles, finally finding a good Mexican food place in Addison, evenings spent lounging on the couch and fro yo.

Day 294

Thankful for waking up joyful, confidence about my new job, surviving an insanely disorganized day in clinic, ACCEPTING MY FIRST BIG GIRL JOB:), new coworkers, invites to the Christmas party (even though technically I won't be an employee, yet). delicious easy-to-make meals, and Oktoberfest brews.

Day 293

Thankful for encouragement from other therapists even if my CI kind of beats me down on a daily basis (haha...sigh), adorable patients who are beginning to become so comfortable with you that they break into a huge smile when they see you (yeah, adorbs), free lunch, afternoon coffee breaks at the old starbucks stomping ground, incredibly uplifting and positive interviews with my former CI.....oh and um....BEING OFFERED MY FIRST BIG GIRL JOB! AWWWWWWW YA! God IS SO incredibly GOOD to me. I cannot even begin to thank him enough. First, He encourages my dad by providing clean scans yesterday and then today He offers me a job at my dream clinic. I walk in the door only to be met by smiles and hugs. We talked about my dad, my current clinical and then we get down to business. We talk expectations, growth potential, learning opportunities and numbers ($$chaching) and then my former CI (soon to be boss...weird!) tells me how he knows this is a God thing. That's pretty much all I needed. Excited to call him tomorrow and accept unless God completely wrecks me tonight! So excited, encouraged and ready for this next chapter. God is FAITHFUL!

Day 292

Thankful for baked goods, hot coffee on chilly mornings, afternoon runs (even if they are cut short), preparing for my fiery job interview (ah! Big girl life!), shopping trips to target with the roommate, and good old country songs. 

Day 291

Thankful for opportunities to connect with other students, for cute patients who laugh during an entire treatment session, cheap meals with all you can eat ice cream and for clear 6month check ups!

Dad has his six month check up today and the doctor report that everything looked great. Praising God for His healing hand and for the blessings He has bestowed on my dad. Asking for continued prayers and my dad hoes through the continuous healing process. He will have another check up and full body scan in six months. God is able!! 

Day 290

Thankful for breakfast tacos, extra caffeinated coffee, showers, and going to be before 9pm.

Day 289

Thankful for getting to eat all my favorite Aggieland foods, tailgating, meeting new people, my amazing gal pals and ridiculous adventures on north gate.

Day 288

Thankful for Fridays, free cupcakes, new patients, encouragement from classmates, successful drives to college station, midnight yell and walks down memory lane.

Day 287

Thankful for early morning coffee, opportunities to observe medical procedures, doctors who take my profession seriously, dinner with The Boers and knowing tomorrow is FRIDAY.

Day 286

Thankful for successful midterm visits (pumped to catch a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel), free lunches, making jokes with co-workers, encouraging and educational conversations with Dad, and evenings spent trying to figure out my "adult life"

Day 285

Thankful for early release from work, afternoons spent being productive, amazing autumn cold fronts, puppy cuddles, and evenings spent watching TV/ relaxing.

Day 284

Thankful for rainy days, discussion times, meeting new patients and their families, hazelnut macchiatos, warm chocolate chip cookies and hilariously awful TV shows.

Day 283

Thankful for cool autumn days, pumpkin spice flavored EVERYTHING, catching up on school work and sleepy puppy dogs.

Day 282

Thankful for relaxing days spent watching college football, boat riding on the lake and laying around playing with puppy dogs. Thankful for time spent with my "adopted" family away from home and for having opportunities to just lay outside and look at the stars.

Day 281

Thankful for Fridays, for surviving another week of my last clinical, for hugs from patients on their discharge day and for coming home to puppy kisses!

Day 280

Thankful for early morning breakfast bagels, Puppy dog cuddles, Boba tea, crockpot meals, and for my roommate's understanding spirit.

I have really been struggling through this last clinical. Unlike previous internships I cannt seem to find my stride. I feel as though each day is a peak or a valley and there is no consistency. It causes me to second guess so many things, to become bitter and resentful, and to start shutting people out. I started a new devotional on anxiety and was really encouraged by the first study.

"STAY PRAYED UP 

According to author Bob Beaudine, anxiety occurs when you believe your nightmares instead of your dreams. It affects your physical and mental well-being. 

However there is one area that it doesn’t affect – your Spiritual well-being. 

The reason why anxiety cannot affect your Spiritual well-being directly is because the Holy Spirit makes this part of you alive – which is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead!

Because the Holy Spirit is aware of things to come, He can’t be anxious about the future. He is in perfect peace. He is of one mind with the Father and the Son and knows the ultimate plan for your life. He knows anything happening to you now is just temporary, a part of your life story. 

Have you sought the Lord in prayer about His purpose for your life? Are you confident that the place you are and the people you are with are those in line with that purpose? Many people suffer from needless stress, worry, and anxiety because they are in places and with people God never intended for them! 

I listened to pastor Robert Morris teach about how we need to raise the level of prayer in our lives. He said, “Prayer is transferring your burdens to the Lord. If you’ve prayed and you are still carrying the burden afterwards, you didn’t really pray; you just griped.”

He joked about a man who spoke to him about a problem he was having and he asked the man, “Have you transferred it to the Lord?” The man answered, “Yes, I have. Many times!” I laughed because many times I called myself giving a problem to the Lord – only to take it back. 

The more anxious you are, the more you need to redirect that energy into prayer and praise. Double the anxiety? Double the prayer! Use your prayer time to ask God to show you His purpose for your life and His viewpoint on the situations you are dealing with. Even if you are feeling shaky, let the word of the Lord settle the matter. 

Always pray with a thankful heart; everything that you have is a result of God’s supply. He is the ultimate source, not money, a job, career, relationship, a perfect clothing size, or anything else. Once that fact becomes a reality to you, then God’s peace will sustain you." - Kimberly Taylor 

Asking God to be my sustaining breath. I need Him to be my focus always. His plan is better and I desperately need to see His face in this time. 

Day 279

Thankful for new patients, for the work of CPS and delicious dinners at home with the roomie, pup, and pumpkin brew.

Day 278

Thankful for adorable patients who say things like "I wuv you so mutch.", for reaching the 7 th week mark of my last clinical, learning opportunities at school and watching a puppy learn discipline while staying insanely cute.

Day 277

Thankful for cool autumn mornings, ridiculous conversations with preteen patients, afternoon walks with the new puppy dog, and evenings spent watching TV with the roomie.

Day 276

Thankful for waking up feeling refreshed, beautiful autumn days, relaxing Sundays, crockpot meals, and four-legged furry friends :)

My roommate adopted a dog this evening. Her name is Maggie. And she's adorable.

Day 275

Thankful for Saturday morning lectures, catching up with classmates over lunch, productive afternoons, fall weather, college football and relaxing evenings. 

Day 274

Thankful for my internal clock which woke me up despite forgetting to set an alarm, opportunity to work with a new therapist, talking about the future, spending time in the pool at work, and evenings spent relaxing at home catching up on tv shows.

Day 273

Thankful for reuniting with old classmates, opportunities to learn and laugh with professors and free Starbucks coffee.

Day 272

My sweet buddy passed away last night but I am comforted by the fact that he was home with his family and is now in the arms of his Abba. Thankful for working in an environment filled with prayer, encouraging words from my CI, opportunities to cook a full dinner, for Mommy and Megan who called to check in on me and for God's faithfulness. 

Day 271

Thankful for ridiculous television shows, thoughtful roommates, and delicious dinners.