"The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God’s best.  Natural, moral excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God.  Once we understand this, we bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle.  It’s the good that opposes the best."

I never really intended this to be a sort of "spiritual reflection" journal, but it seems like that is what it is turning into.  Despite my dozens of journals that are piled up in my room at home, or the ones that I write in now, things always seem to come out easier and clearer on here when I can type it.  I suppose that's fine, but when I think ( Read more... )

Just breathe.  Remember that line from "Ever After"?  Or the song by Anna Nalick?  I always find it funny what a necessary reminder that is.  Just breathe.  Today was a whirlwind from the start and I haven't had a chance to gather any of my scattered thoughts.  So here is my attempt to make sense of my life in this moment... and bring some peace to ( Read more... )

Today was a typical Monday like none other.  If it wasn't waking up exhausted and feeling that way all day, it was a frustrating phone call, or my gas tank being below E when I'm already late for class, or getting the wrong book in the mail after waiting 2 stinkin weeks for it to get here, or forgetting the main thing I went to the grocerty store ( Read more... )

This update comes live from Wichita, Kansas, the next stop on the journey of my life.  Before I started writing this I read through some of my entries from Chicago.  My how I miss that city.  Not just the city, but I miss the life I lived there.  I miss Cook County Hospital and the craziness and unpredictablity of each day.  I miss working with the ( Read more... )

It's been a while since I've written.  Here I am at the end of the semester.  Our friends Tiffany and Carmie just packed up a U-haul and moved out of their apartment tonight.  They are headed back to Spring Arbor to graduate.  It's SO.WEIRD.  This has gone so fast.  It was so sad to say goodbye to those girls.  Our friendship just started to form a ( Read more... )

This past week my tears outlasted the pack of Kleenex I bought for my purse by a landslide.  My tears accompanied me on the plane ride home to Pittsburgh, and again today flying back to Chicago.  Was I ready to come back?  Was I ready to go back to life as "normal" without my Grandma and without Mrs. Risner?  Ashley put it best when she said the ( Read more... )

You know it's going to be an interesting day when you walk off the elevator onto the 8th floor to Med Surg and see a pool of blood, and follow a bloody trail down the hall into the unit waiting room where it tapers off, and then never know how or where it came from.  Just another at County.

Only at County will I have my talent and ability as a ( Read more... )

Things that I'm loving:
- After this week I feel like I have the hang of discharge planning.  My case load was up to 5 on Friday which was great.  It's crazy balancing everyone's situations and trying to work stuff out for them.  I've successfully mastered the process of ordering "durable medical equiptment" (DME) for several patients and faxing ( Read more... )

2/14: Joffrey Ballet

There were lots of things that I loved about the ballets on Wednesday.  It was interesting thinking about the title of the night: Destiny’s Dances.  In Les Presages the Green amphibian-looking man seemed to represent Fate.  Throughout the movements of the ballet, he disrupts what is going on by creating ( Read more... )