So, I have to have a talk with someone that I've kind of been dreading because of it's awkwardness/touchy stuff. I've been putting it off and putting it off but I need to take the leap or else it's just going to get harder and harder.
Song of the day is "For You I Will (Confidence)" by Teddy Geiger.
I need to "muster every ounce of confidence I have, and cannon ball into the water" and get this talk out of the way.
Wish me luck, hopefully the water isn't too cold!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Christ is Risen
Happy Easter!
My family is currently between a delicious brunch and waiting to go to church on this beautiful Easter morning.
The song of the day is Matt Maher's song, "Christ is Risen."
To listen to the song, click this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2KNvuscKRA
Today, I leave you with just the lyrics to ponder.
Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but Heaven's will
No scheme of Hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night
Sing it, o death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead, He's alive, He's alive
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Rise up from the grave
My family is currently between a delicious brunch and waiting to go to church on this beautiful Easter morning.
The song of the day is Matt Maher's song, "Christ is Risen."
To listen to the song, click this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2KNvuscKRA
Today, I leave you with just the lyrics to ponder.
Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but Heaven's will
No scheme of Hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night
Sing it, o death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead, He's alive, He's alive
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Rise up from the grave
Saturday, April 23, 2011
God Loves Us
Rather than a song of the day, I'm going to leave you with a quote for Easter.
"Does God really love us? I say look to the crucified Jesus... By every thorn that punctured His brow... every bruise which heavy fists made upon His head. God said, "I love you!" By all the spit that landed on his face. By every drop of sinless blood that fell to the ground. By every breath of pain which Jesus drew upon the cross. By every beat of His loving heart. God said, I love you."
When I think of the enormity of what happened so many hundreds of years ago to Jesus I am overcome with emotion. To try to imagine the suffering that he endured and the brutality and cruelty shown towards him by human beings is so difficult. This man, so clearly something more than a mere mortal, came to us to educate us and show us that there is something more all the while knowing what his fate would be. Trying to think about the last days of Jesus' life and the people around him who he let into his circle, to be betrayed by one of them, to know that His death would forgive the sins of millions of people after Him is unfathomable.
I would like to think that I am a generous and compassionate person. But am I that generous and compassionate? Would I give my life for someone else's if ever put in that situation?
Jesus, the sacrificial lamb. This is something that I wish I could say I think of on a daily basis and that I remember to be grateful daily, but it is not. I thank God for what He has given me and I am aware that He has blessed me, but do I think of what was sacrificed for me to have the life that I have? Not every day. The lenten season as an opportunity to remember. But what about in July, when there are really no thoughts of Easter and no thoughts of Christmas to trigger your thoughts back to the sacrifice made?
I urge you, as I urge myself, to remember. Remember every day what the significance of Jesus was. He was God in human flesh. He felt everything that you have ever felt. He felt the sadness, fear, hunger, uncertainty, joy, excitement, love that you have felt. He knows everything about you and I. Every detail, every cell in our body, He knows. He knows what is going to happen to us tomorrow, the next day, and the day after. Yet, He is the same as he was yesterday, today, and will be tomorrow.
In a world that is so chaotic, can be so cruel and mean, He is there. He is the one constant, the one source of true love. We just have to remember to look for Him, but He is there.
Take this Easter to remember and reflect. I know that is what I will be doing - today, tomorrow, and (my goal) every day after.
"Does God really love us? I say look to the crucified Jesus... By every thorn that punctured His brow... every bruise which heavy fists made upon His head. God said, "I love you!" By all the spit that landed on his face. By every drop of sinless blood that fell to the ground. By every breath of pain which Jesus drew upon the cross. By every beat of His loving heart. God said, I love you."
When I think of the enormity of what happened so many hundreds of years ago to Jesus I am overcome with emotion. To try to imagine the suffering that he endured and the brutality and cruelty shown towards him by human beings is so difficult. This man, so clearly something more than a mere mortal, came to us to educate us and show us that there is something more all the while knowing what his fate would be. Trying to think about the last days of Jesus' life and the people around him who he let into his circle, to be betrayed by one of them, to know that His death would forgive the sins of millions of people after Him is unfathomable.
I would like to think that I am a generous and compassionate person. But am I that generous and compassionate? Would I give my life for someone else's if ever put in that situation?
Jesus, the sacrificial lamb. This is something that I wish I could say I think of on a daily basis and that I remember to be grateful daily, but it is not. I thank God for what He has given me and I am aware that He has blessed me, but do I think of what was sacrificed for me to have the life that I have? Not every day. The lenten season as an opportunity to remember. But what about in July, when there are really no thoughts of Easter and no thoughts of Christmas to trigger your thoughts back to the sacrifice made?
I urge you, as I urge myself, to remember. Remember every day what the significance of Jesus was. He was God in human flesh. He felt everything that you have ever felt. He felt the sadness, fear, hunger, uncertainty, joy, excitement, love that you have felt. He knows everything about you and I. Every detail, every cell in our body, He knows. He knows what is going to happen to us tomorrow, the next day, and the day after. Yet, He is the same as he was yesterday, today, and will be tomorrow.
In a world that is so chaotic, can be so cruel and mean, He is there. He is the one constant, the one source of true love. We just have to remember to look for Him, but He is there.
Take this Easter to remember and reflect. I know that is what I will be doing - today, tomorrow, and (my goal) every day after.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunshine and Summertime
One of my favorite summertime songs is "Sunshine and Summertime" by Faith Hill.
I'm not saying that it needs to be summer yet, but having a spring before summer would be nice. It is now April 20 and Chicago has been blustery, cold, and gray. Where are the light jackets, flowers and sun?
Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather turns around sometime soon! I'm getting stir crazy!
I'm not saying that it needs to be summer yet, but having a spring before summer would be nice. It is now April 20 and Chicago has been blustery, cold, and gray. Where are the light jackets, flowers and sun?
Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather turns around sometime soon! I'm getting stir crazy!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
What a great few days I have had!
The past few weeks have been full of seeing friends that I don't often get to see and getting to take some much needed breaks off of work.
Last weekend I took a mini spring break trip with my roommate to Springfield where a good friend from college lives and then the three of us spent a fun few days in St. Louis just hanging out and spending time with each other. While in STL I was able to meet up with two of my nursing school pals which was a last minute activity and was really nice. This past weekend a friend from school flew in from California with her partner and my roommate and I showed them around the city on Friday and drove down to our alma mater on Saturday to watch our friends participate in the alumni soccer game. It was so much fun being at school without having to stress about schoolwork, exams, deadlines, friend drama, etc. The day was absolutely gorgeous (and I have the sunburn to prove it!). After the game we went down to Springfield where we spent a fun-filled night of more hanging out, catching up, and playing games.
The song of the past few days is "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out," by Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam). My mom was a fan of Cat Stevens when she was younger so I grew up listening to his music.
For me this song signifies being yourself and comfortable in your own skin. This weekend I felt completely and totally comfortable in my own skin. This is something that I've been working on for what feels like my whole life and I feel like I've finally accomplished it. I know that there will still be times when I struggle, but I'm really getting to a great place with accepting myself for who I am, my strengths and weaknesses, my quirks, my looks, my beliefs.... everything!
My friends have really seen the changes in me lately and kept saying how happy I seemed and how my mood was so great. I attribute that all to this 'comfort' I'm feeling with myself and where I'm at in my life and the things that I'm doing at this point in time. All weekend all I could say was "I'm so happy!" Really, I don't know how many times those words came out of my mouth.
I'm exhausted and am ready for bed and am excited for the week to start, work and all. And you know what, I'm smiling right now and I'm thinking, "I'm so happy!"
What an incredible feeling!
The past few weeks have been full of seeing friends that I don't often get to see and getting to take some much needed breaks off of work.
Last weekend I took a mini spring break trip with my roommate to Springfield where a good friend from college lives and then the three of us spent a fun few days in St. Louis just hanging out and spending time with each other. While in STL I was able to meet up with two of my nursing school pals which was a last minute activity and was really nice. This past weekend a friend from school flew in from California with her partner and my roommate and I showed them around the city on Friday and drove down to our alma mater on Saturday to watch our friends participate in the alumni soccer game. It was so much fun being at school without having to stress about schoolwork, exams, deadlines, friend drama, etc. The day was absolutely gorgeous (and I have the sunburn to prove it!). After the game we went down to Springfield where we spent a fun-filled night of more hanging out, catching up, and playing games.
The song of the past few days is "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out," by Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam). My mom was a fan of Cat Stevens when she was younger so I grew up listening to his music.
For me this song signifies being yourself and comfortable in your own skin. This weekend I felt completely and totally comfortable in my own skin. This is something that I've been working on for what feels like my whole life and I feel like I've finally accomplished it. I know that there will still be times when I struggle, but I'm really getting to a great place with accepting myself for who I am, my strengths and weaknesses, my quirks, my looks, my beliefs.... everything!
My friends have really seen the changes in me lately and kept saying how happy I seemed and how my mood was so great. I attribute that all to this 'comfort' I'm feeling with myself and where I'm at in my life and the things that I'm doing at this point in time. All weekend all I could say was "I'm so happy!" Really, I don't know how many times those words came out of my mouth.
I'm exhausted and am ready for bed and am excited for the week to start, work and all. And you know what, I'm smiling right now and I'm thinking, "I'm so happy!"
What an incredible feeling!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Do They See Jesus in Me
I've had a good past few weeks at work and feel like I am finally back in the groove of the day shift after having been on nights for so many months.
When I went into our break room to eat my hurried lunch the other day I noticed that on a bulletin board where our manager puts 'shout outs' from other staff and patient letters there was a star with my name on it and three cards under it. I've been working at this job since last fall and have never had a shout out before and was very surprised to see my name with three cards appear all at once. I remember the patients who included me in their notes and don't remember treating them any differently than any of my other patients.
The song of my thoughts of the day is 'Do They See Jesus in Me' by Joy Williams.
It felt really good to be recognized by my patients for the work that I do for them. They see me in their room caring for them, but they don't see all that happens and the 'juggling' of their needs and my other patients' needs when I am not in direct contact with them. My goal as a nurse has always been to make my patients feel well cared for, to have the time to listen to them and encourage them when they need it, and to make them feel like I have nowhere else that I have to be when I am with them no matter how busy I am.
I pray that my patients and the staff that I work with can see Jesus through my words and actions. I pray that they can see that my compassion and love for my job and patients comes from God and that if not for Him I wouldn't be able to do what I do.
Yesterday was a day where it would have been easy to be impatient with some of my patients and very attentive to the others who seemed more appreciative. I cared for one elderly lady who seemed absolutely miserable and kept saying bad things about the staff and hospital. The lady down the hall was very thankful and kept saying that she didn't want to be a burden. While I dreaded going into the 'miserable lady's' room, I knew that she needed somebody to listen to and gripe to even if it meant that she was putting me down at the same time. I knew that the lady who thought she was a burden needed to be reassured that I had time for her and did not mind answering her questions or listening to her thoughts about her prognosis.
With God's grace I pray that I can treat the patient who is driving me crazy and the kind elderly woman in the room next door with the same amount of respect, care and love, just as Jesus would.
When I went into our break room to eat my hurried lunch the other day I noticed that on a bulletin board where our manager puts 'shout outs' from other staff and patient letters there was a star with my name on it and three cards under it. I've been working at this job since last fall and have never had a shout out before and was very surprised to see my name with three cards appear all at once. I remember the patients who included me in their notes and don't remember treating them any differently than any of my other patients.
The song of my thoughts of the day is 'Do They See Jesus in Me' by Joy Williams.
It felt really good to be recognized by my patients for the work that I do for them. They see me in their room caring for them, but they don't see all that happens and the 'juggling' of their needs and my other patients' needs when I am not in direct contact with them. My goal as a nurse has always been to make my patients feel well cared for, to have the time to listen to them and encourage them when they need it, and to make them feel like I have nowhere else that I have to be when I am with them no matter how busy I am.
I pray that my patients and the staff that I work with can see Jesus through my words and actions. I pray that they can see that my compassion and love for my job and patients comes from God and that if not for Him I wouldn't be able to do what I do.
Yesterday was a day where it would have been easy to be impatient with some of my patients and very attentive to the others who seemed more appreciative. I cared for one elderly lady who seemed absolutely miserable and kept saying bad things about the staff and hospital. The lady down the hall was very thankful and kept saying that she didn't want to be a burden. While I dreaded going into the 'miserable lady's' room, I knew that she needed somebody to listen to and gripe to even if it meant that she was putting me down at the same time. I knew that the lady who thought she was a burden needed to be reassured that I had time for her and did not mind answering her questions or listening to her thoughts about her prognosis.
With God's grace I pray that I can treat the patient who is driving me crazy and the kind elderly woman in the room next door with the same amount of respect, care and love, just as Jesus would.
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