O night divine

I had an interesting day.
It started off cold, and so (although I know it breaks the Thanksgiving rules) I decided to listen to Christmas radio on my drive to work.
This came on:


And I was overwhelmed. So overwhelmed. I've been reading the Bible through this year. Well, I started around Easter this year. I feel like I've been stuck in the Old Testament prophets for ages. And I'm telling you. It's depressing. Seriously depressing. I've always loved the book of Isaiah--but I guess I never read it from start to finish before--because I had no idea that 9/10ths of the book was doom and gloom and how horrible God's children were. And then the minor prophets just get worse. They're all depressing with ONE SENTENCE of hope tossed in. Maybe I'm revealing my lack of spirituality. I don't know. But I've been dying to get into the New Testament (which should be any day now).

Anyhow. So I'm driving to work and this song comes on. And I just became overwhelmed with thankfulness. I tried to explain this to Charlie earlier, and I couldn't get it out right. But it was like I've been feeling the anticipation Israel must have felt--years of depression and feeling so far from God--and just waiting and anticipating what God was going to do. It was like I saw with clear eyes what Christ's birth accomplished--how meaningful it was--and is. And I cried. The rest of the way to work. Thankfulness welled up inside of me.

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees
O hear the angel voices
O night divine!
O night when Christ was born
O night divine!
O night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in His name, all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord!
Their name forever praise we

Noel, Noel
O night, O night divine
Noel, Noel
O night, O night divine
Noel, Noel
O night, O holy night

Then, Speaking of slavery and ceasing oppression. This happened. 

6 arrested in prostitution raid of Port Allen massage parlors

Ask me about it sometime.

Praise the Lord

A David Psalm, When He Outwitted Abimelech and Got Away

34 I bless God every chance I get;
my lungs expand with his praise.

2 I live and breathe God;
if things aren’t going well, hear this and be happy:

3 Join me in spreading the news;
together let’s get the word out.

4 God met me more than halfway,
he freed me from my anxious fears.

5 Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
Never hide your feelings from him.

6 When I was desperate, I called out,
and God got me out of a tight spot.

7 God’s angel sets up a circle
of protection around us while we pray.

8 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.

9 Worship God if you want the best;
worship opens doors to all his goodness.

10 Young lions on the prowl get hungry,
but God-seekers are full of God.

11 Come, children, listen closely;
I’ll give you a lesson in God worship.

12 Who out there has a lust for life?
Can’t wait each day to come upon beauty?

13 Guard your tongue from profanity,
and no more lying through your teeth.

14 Turn your back on sin; do something good.
Embrace peace—don’t let it get away!

15 God keeps an eye on his friends,
his ears pick up every moan and groan.

16 God won’t put up with rebels;
he’ll cull them from the pack.

17 Is anyone crying for help? God is listening,
ready to rescue you.

18 If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.

19 Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.

20 He’s your bodyguard, shielding every bone;
not even a finger gets broken.

21 The wicked commit slow suicide;
they waste their lives hating the good.

22 God pays for each slave’s freedom;
no one who runs to him loses out.

one small victory

I was staring at a vending machine (while waiting for someone) and I noticed that it had a phone number on it. And then I noticed that they have "healthy options" in it--so I called the number to ask if I could get the parameters for the healthy options. The lady took our location and my number and passed it along to the regional vendor.

He ACTUALLY called me back! And said he'd get 8-10 new healthy options put into our machines! I'm not convinced they're super healthy, buuuuttttt I'm still excited that was so easy!

Yay.

I am an RD

Sometimes, I just have to stop and think about that.
It's been a long time coming. From when I first started thinking about becoming one in college until now. That's like 9 years.

And now I have a job at a dietitian.
Thank you, God.

It's November.

I haven't blogged in so long. And it's honestly not for lack of things to say.
Maybe that's usually how blogging works? The busier you are (aka the more that's happening) the less time you have to tell people what's happening?

I just finished my 3rd week of work. (I start my 4th tomorrow--although I don't know if the first week counts at all since I was in "orientation" which consisted of a lot of... sitting?)

The last 2 weeks have been crazy-busy as I've been trying to catch up on 1) the fact that there has never been a full-time dietitian on staff at my work and 2) there has been NO dietitian at all for around the last 2 months. So I've spent tons of time charting on patients and trying to get up-to-date on that.

But then there's this wholllllllle dietary side? That totally and completely freaks me out; and I feel incompetent to "fix" it. Details will make you want to scratch your eyes out, but let's just say I have a LOT of work to do.

And I seriously have to take deep breaths and close my eyes and pray and sometimes put a quick relaxation youtube video on during my self-imposed break at work to stop freaking out. About how much I need to "fix".

And it's for exactly the reason I went to school and decided that the University of Minnesota who offered Public Health with nutrition was the place for me. (If you don't know, I'm working at a state-run long-term care facility--read:nursing home--for mostly mental health patients).  I'm working with rural and disadvantaged populations. I'm working with mental health. I'm working with people who can't always stand up for themselves and voice their needs. I watched a lady who couldn't talk work for over a minute trying to cut a shrimp with a spoon so it could be the "chopped meats" texture she needs it to be to not choke. It was on her diet card, but it wasn't served that way. I also alllllmost gagged when I *looked* at the pureed consistency food. But maybe I'd do that anywhere..?

All that to say, I am thrilled God placed me where He placed me. WHATEVER I do there, it will be all Him. His solutions, His ideas, His work through me, because.... well... I'm just a new grad who doeeeeeesn't always know what she's doing (Boy, I hope my work doesn't read this?! haha) God doesn't call us to things bigger than we can handle. Well He DOES--but not things bigger than He can do through us. Yes.