today my job is stressful.

Good weekend.

Good weekend. Life group. Froggin. Pottery workshop. With a new friend from church. 13 going on 30. Church. 3-5 year old class orientation. Potluck. Good gf bread (canyon bakehouse, FYI). Tanning while mowing. Crawfish boil. A mawmaw hug.

all the praise goes out to you

isn't the holy spirit a wonderful gift?

I've been reading some really good scriptures lately.

Ezekiel 12

^21-22 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, what’s this proverb making the rounds in the land of Israel that says, ‘Everything goes on the same as ever; all the prophetic warnings are false alarms’?

^23-25 “Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, This proverb’s going to have a short life!’

“Tell them, ‘Time’s about up. Every warning is about to come true. False alarms and easygoing preaching are a thing of the past in the life of Israel. I, God, am doing the speaking. What I say happens. None of what I say is on hold. What I say, I’ll do—and soon, you rebels!’ Decree of God the Master.”

^26-28 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, do you hear what Israel is saying: that the alarm the prophet raises is for a long time off, that he’s preaching about the far-off future? Well, tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, “Nothing of what I say is on hold. What I say happens.”’ Decree of God, the Master.”

Isaiah 63:13-14

Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling. As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. You led your people, Lord, and gained a magnificent reputation.

Isaiah 51:11

Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Matthew 5:3-12

³ “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴ “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

⁵ “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

⁶ “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

⁷ “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

⁸ “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

⁹ “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

¹⁰ “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

^11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

2 Thess 2:16

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you say and do.

Isaiah 55

The Message (MSG)

Buy Without Money

55 ^1-5 “Hey there! All who are thirsty,
    come to the water!
Are you penniless?
    Come anyway—buy and eat!
Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
    Buy without money—everything’s free!
Why do you spend your money on junk food,
    your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
    fill yourself with only the finest.
Pay attention, come close now,
    listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.
I’m making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
    the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.
I set him up as a witness to the nations,
    made him a prince and leader of the nations,
And now I’m doing it to you:
    You’ll summon nations you’ve never heard of,
and nations who’ve never heard of you
    will come running to you
Because of me, your God,
    because The Holy of Israel has honored you.”

^6-7 Seek God while he’s here to be found,
    pray to him while he’s close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
    and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
    come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.

^8-11 “I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

^12-13 “So you’ll go out in joy,
    you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
    bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
    exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
    no more thornbushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
    living and lasting evidence of God.”

Tuesdays

Currently drinking: Franzia mixed with sprite zero (both leftover from this weekend).
Classy.

I had another good day at work today. I think I'm on a roll. I also thinks it has something to do with the women's meeting I went to Friday night. It was -so- refreshing. I felt God like I haven't in a while.

Punkin spent the day with Aunt Stacy and Tiggy. Is it weird how much I like that Punkin and Tiggy are BFFs? Becauseeeee I love it. Maybe it's mixed with a little joy over having my sister close.

I listened to a webinar today on Mindless eating (and how to mindlessly eat better). Pretty much the summary was USE SMALLER PLATES, CUPS, ETC! Seriously. Simple as that. Even if you're aware of it, you WILL eat more the bigger your plate or bowl is. So just start with a smaller one and get seconds if you're still hungry.

My dad submitted his final PhD paper!! Yay Daddy!!  SO proud of him.

thanks

I really love the patients here. really really. so many of them have a child-like attitude, that's quite touching. yep, they're definitely the best part of my job.

we weren't at "our" house this weekend--there was a big reunion there. but i think this was my best homeless weekend so far. an -amazing- women's meeting friday night (aunt carol--i discovered i go to church with Lisa King! she asked about yall.)

i went shopping with stacy on saturday, and then went to dinner and a movie with risa, ash, crystal and mrs. annie. we had a lot of fun.

welll, there was that whole lost-key-stranded-in-baton-rouge thing. but it turned out to be an adventure and stacy came and rescued us after midnight. (thank goodness for sisters who can step in when husbands fall asleep when you're trying to ask for help). and ashleigh saved us, too.

and then sunday, i helped charlie pack some of his csa boxes for the week. i love him--i hope i get to actually see him while he's in his seasons. he works too hard. and then stacy and i went to new orleans for an adventure. we laughed a lot. and whispered. and drank coffee. aaaaaand--it was good. she's a super model.

i was beat last night, but i woke up feeling thankful. i feel so thankful. and full. Thank you, God.

What's on your web browser?

  I think it says a lot? Celiac disease. Foster care. Blogger. How tall is Beyoncé (haha--I started with Zooey d. But Beyoncé is most popularly googled for height. Followed by Taylor swift). Anyhow--I had a great weekend and a super fun time today with my sister at a modeling expo in NOLA. We laughed a lot and had a good time. Buttttt I'm beat now! Now for a full week of work!

go on

Wellllllll I guess no one is coming to the office for lunch today, so I'll blog while I eat.
Not exactly the mindful eating philosophy i believe in, but what can you do?

Charlie bought his first tractor yesterday. I'm so proud of him and so thankful to God that he provided a way for Charlie to get it. His spring CSA starts Sunday, and he's really feeling the crunch (between that and our housing situation). Right now Jesse's helping him install electricity so he can have a non-crawfishy cooler for his produce. Yay Jesse! Theeeeen he has to find a home for some of the stuff we don't have space for and have been storing on the carport. Sorry, Charlie.

I haven't been home in forever. I think i went home more/saw my family more when we were in Minnesota. I guess because i was on a school schedule and not a work schedule. I miss them sosomuch. I haven't even gotten to see Asher walk yet! And he's the middle child like me, so he's probably going to get a complex about that. So i need to remedy this soon. Maybe I'll quit my job. Please?

I actually had a pretty good day yesterday. Lots of interacting with patients, and that's, by far, the highlight of the job. I looove them!

Somehow everything i go through only increases my desire to do foster care. things you wouldn't think are related are somehow connections to me. I really look forward to the day God says "go".

Day 2

But it's more like day 1 of the annual ides of march challenge because I didn't do it yesterday. I initiated our tradition and totally forgot.
We're busy. I know everyone is. But we're moving out of the house for the weekend and have 1 million things to do.
Theme of the year.
I had a nightmare last night about our inevitable state audit that's going to happen any day. I was literally suffocating in my dream. From trying to wear enough protective kitchen stuff (think hairnets and gloves for my whole body.)
Terrifying.
I'm on my phone--maybe I'll blog from a computer tomorrow?

today.

Today, a woman who (sometimes) thinks she's a man asked me a question. She was pleasant. Then she got -really- angry at me and yelled, "GO AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME! GO DO YOUR JOB! GO BE A MODEL AND MODEL SOMEWHERE. LEAVE ME ALONE!" Serious. and very mad. Soooooooo I walked away quickly and closed the door behind me.

Next, I had an in-service for the kitchen staff. They've been making quite a few careless mistakes lately. So we were going over tray accuracy. I worked hard on my little talk and presentation and thought I did a pretty darn good job. I was proud of myself. THEN, the kitchen manager said (in front of everyone and me) that the staff doesn't "Feel the love" from me? He said more than that, but the gist was basically that they don't like me. I'm better than some of the people before me, but still not great.

My JOB is to find their mistakes. That's literally my job description for that part of my job. I said, "I brought yall a king cake?! Isn't that love?" He laughed. So I'm still kind of confused.

My life.

10 reasons why it's good to not blog

Just kidding.

My blogging skills are becoming worse and worse these days.

Things around here have been pretty crazy.

I'm struggling with my job. I LOVE the patients, and I would really like to gain more experience and training in working with a mental health population. Right now, I'm not super at it--definitely not in the counseling arena. But I really like it--and I think that's a big piece of the puzzle. A friend asked me what other jobs as an RD I could get in this field--I honestly have no clue. Maybe a personal counselor for families--but that's about all I can think of.

The celiac thing is still pretty hard on me. I'm trying to get better at it. I kind of have to. It's so stressful to me for some reason.  I think it's the uncertainty--never knowing when something is going to make me sick. You can't see it coming, and no matter how crazy-controlling I am about what I put into my mouth--I still get sick from time to time. That's stressful to me. If I do everything right, I shouldn't get sick, right?

I've been exercising after work lately. A lot of times Stacy meets me there. I'm really enjoying having her down here. She's family. We have 22 years of history together. And she's pretty cool.

My big sister's having another baby--another boy. And she just bought a house in Colorado. Time to plan a vacation.

I want to start a family. Too personal for a blog, huh? Dang grad school. (I'm very happy I went to grad school. It just pushed back some things).