Travel Nursing: Assignment #5

I know, I know I am missing some numbers in between 3 and 5 but after an extension in Albany which we will call assignment #3a and then two local assignments (Not real "travel" assignments) I am bypassing those numbers for #5!

#5 

Greenville, South Carolina

@

Greenville Memorial Hospital

Oh how I have missed the days of a Level 1 Trauma center and all of the adventures that come with it! I am so excited to be back in a hospital like the place a grew into the nurse I am today. There is nothing like home but for anyone who has ever worked in a hospital you will quickly learn how different each experience can be and how being a trauma hospital changes the game completely. This assignment has all the potential in the world to be outstanding...well there is this one lil, tiny glitch... 

NIGHT SHIFT....

Let the sleep deprivation begin... (I apologize in advance)

With every new assignment there comes challenges; new coworkers, new town, new housing, new everything really, but some challenges are easier to over come... NIGHT SHIFT will not fall in the easy category. But I must admit I am blessed beyond measure this assignment because I am traveling with 3 wonderful nurses of which are also dear friends from the Medical Center. God, is looking out for each of us on this one because none of us are NIGHT SHIFTERS but yet we have each other to get us through it.

This first week has been quite a challenge getting everything completed for GMH as well as for Soliant and on top of it all get a South Carolina Nursing License. As of Friday I believe everything has been completed; including furnished housing for Mel and I! Yes, I have even been blessed with a fantastic Godly woman as a roommate! God continues to pour out his blessings and love in ways I could of never expected! 

We have been out of the Days Inn now a full 24 hours and are loving having a place to come home to.   It is a spacious two bedroom apartment that suites our needs wonderfully. It has been absolutely wonderful right down to the timing of checking out of our hotel and the timing of being to move directly in! Praise the Lord again and again for orchestrating all of that. Mel nor I could take another set back and He came through at just the right time!

Now to explore this new fun city I find myself in... we have already visited the bridge downtown (pictured above), visited a fantastic Church that Mel found for us by doing a google search, and most importantly we have found all the important things: whole foods, REI, target, trader joe's, and even my favorite of all favorites....ANTRHOPOLOGIE!!! I think Greenville and I might get along quite nicely!

TRAVEL NURSING: ASSIGNMENT #2

I wrapped things up at Cobb Hospital with tears in my eyes... this was an amazing time of growth and change in my life. 13 weeks led to  lifelong friendships, new nursing experiences and a new man in my life. God was moving in my life in ways I could of never imagined. When I started this adventure I had no idea what it would bring but I am so thankful I took this leap of faith!

I am blessed beyond measure in so many ways but I must admit one of the biggest and most unexpected blessing is the man God brought into my life.  He is loving, encouraging, inspiring, full of life, a child of God and to top it off strikingly handsome! We are building a strong Christ centered relationship. I'm so thankful for him in my life and his willingness to support me as I travel!

J&J

When I started the discussion of where to next with my recruiter I was dead set on spending the summer on the beach!!!! I mean, what more could a girl ask for?!? Well, little did I know God had some other ideas for my summer on the beach...my recruiter called to ask if she could send my resume to Albany Ga, wait a minute...was I speaking English when I said beach??? My resume was submitted and next thing I knew I was signing a 13 week contract at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. But before heading to the middle of nowhere Ga I headed to Amelia Island with mom and dad for a week at the beach.

So what does one do when it is raining the day you arrive at the beach? Test drive cars in Jacksonville of course! Well test drive would be an understatement because I actually bought a car!!!

Acura RDX 2011

After a fantastic week at the beach and a beautiful new car that I absolutely love I packed up the RDX and headed to Albany... J was wonderful and agreed to help me get settled in! We made a quick stop in WR to see his parents (love times like these) and then headed on to Albany to the mother-n-law suite the Sugg's helped me find. 

After unpacking the over stuffed car (the only way I know how to travel is with WAY too much stuff) we settled on a place for a late and much needed dinner (I was HANGRY). Sunday brought a day of adventure and shopping. We found a great lil breakfast place, Roosters, which has become our breakfast place. We found Sherwood Baptist Church the home of Fireproof and other Christian movies, this was J's favorite thing for sure. It was such a long day but a much needed one to get somewhat acclimated to my new home. I started work Monday, April 29, and although it has been a very different experience then my first assignment it has been good none the less. I have continued to grow as a nurse as well as a person. It has been challenging making friends outside of work but God has been faithful. I am headed into the final 4 weeks of this assignment and whether I renew in Albany or find myself moving to a new location I know God will be faithful to provide all of my needs! 

TRAVEL NURSING: ASSIGNMENT #1

At the end of 2012 I found myself working with a recruiter to find RN jobs outside of my comfort zone and my current living area. During this overwhelming process I was also completing my final stages of studying for CCRN (a certification test for critical care nurses, I like to describe this test as "nursing boards on crack"). The day before I was to sit for CCRN I received a phone call from my recruiter asking to send my resume to Cobb Hospital. I agreed and by mid-afternoon I had completed a phone interview with the Nurse Manager. I was mortified by this experience and just new I had completely blown it. I needed to get out for a bit so I went for a walk with my roommate and during this time i received another phone call from my recruiter. She asked if I wanted the job...wait what?...I was being offered the position...I stuttered for a minute, asked her if I should take the job and then accepted! The excitement was overwhelming but bitter sweet as CCRN weighed heavy on my heart and mind. I tried to subside my excitement while I continued to prepare for CCRN. Thursday January 3, 2013 I sat for CCRN and by the grace of God PASSED!!!!!!!

JILL MARIE THOMAS, RN, BSN, CCRN

After taking the test I had to deal with the heartbreaking task of resigning from my first career job, the job that taught me how to be a nurse, it helped to mold me into the nurse I am today. With this lingering on my heart I decided to stay PRN at MCCG (this means I am required to work once a month but can work as often as I would like). Three weeks into this adventure I am slightly regretting this decision but know that it is only for a season!

Cobb Hospital 

(Medical and Cardiac ICU)

Cobb has been quite the experience! I had one day of orientation with another nurse and then was on my own. All of my coworkers have been amazing! They have taught me so much and worked with me on the things I don't know about the particulars of the hospital. Management has been wonderful and extremely supportive! I could not be more thankful to being have such an incredible experience on my first leap of faith assignment!!! 

Maybe traveling is in my blood... and maybe I will be making it my career... at least for a season...

Long overdue...

Long overdue for a post...

It has been a hectic start to 2011 to say the least...between classes, clinicals, running, friends, family, and the beginnings of the job search I have little time to breath. I have been working hard at balancing life but I always seem to hit bumps in my ambitious roads...

- CLASSES are not bad, still keeping my grades in check to maintain my place in Sigma Theta Tau International (the honor society I was inducted into last semester qualifying for this honor by being in the top 20% of my class) but this feet is definitely a little bit time consuming


- CLINICALS, I just completed my leadership rotation in a neuroscience ICU (weekend shift, leaving little time for a personal life) and loved every moment of it and just may have found my calling. During this experience I had several firsts...first patient death, first code, first emergent intubation, and so many more. My preceptor for this rotation was incredible and I now call her a friend! I have now moved into my Pediatric rotation which I hope I will enjoy but I don't think will be the best rotation I have ever had.


- RUNNING has still been an incredible stress reliever and a huge part of my life. As many of you know I ran my first 1/2marathon in NOLA Feb 13, 2011. I would like to tell you that every mile of the 13.1 was wonderful, joyful, and fulfilling but instead I will be completely honest and tell you it was instead 13.1 miles of HELL but I will conquer more 1/2marathons in my life and one day a full marathon but I need to forget the last 13.1 before I go at it again!!! During my training I hit a couple of road bumps...literally! I took a nasty fall on a long run which left we with scarred knuckles, an infected toenail, and then the loss of that toenail. Well I should have known that I would not just lose the one toenail that others would follow in sink...NO more infection but I have since had to remove 2more toenails for a total of 3 toenails lost (NO cute summer shoes for me...). This led to the buying of a t-shirt in NOLA that says "toenails are for sissies!"

- FRIENDS have been wonderful through all of my crazy schedules, working with me so that I can have at least some time for fun and relaxation. So Thank You!!!

- FAMILY, still living with the parents but am so incredibly grateful for all they have done for me during this season of my life! Kelly, my sister-n-law by my oldest brother Mark, helped make my 1st 1/2marathon possible by putting up most of the funding for an incredible weekend that I so desperately needed. But even more so this weekend allowed us to spend some incredible quality time together making me miss her more regularly and simultaneously making me so thankful my brother picked such an incredible woman to join our family! Also during this weekend I got to spend some time with Mark and my nephew, an always welcomed gift. JM and I continue to bond over kayaking and I continue to grow more jealous of his fun adventures!

- JOB SEARCH, during my leadership rotation I had the opportunity to meet with the director of the unit I was working in. This was an incredibly productive meeting and although No promises of a job a definite contact has been made opening doors for a future job!!!

LIFE is crazy and full of ups and downs but every day is a new day given as a gift from the Lord...so I work diligently to make each day valuable...

2011 will be an EPIC year...

2011 will be an EPIC year in the life of jillmariethomas...

and theses are the reasons why...

1. Read the Bible from cover to cover

2. Run "11" "races in 2011" including Warrior Dash with the one and only racequ

3. Graduate from nursing school

4. Pursue nursing jobs in South Africa and hopefully make a move across the big blue

5. Run my 1st half marathon

6. Run my 1st marathon

7. Pursue God in a new and different way

8. Make a difference in the lives of the people around me

9. Continuing on my journey of healthy living

10. Make friendships a priority

11. Kayak a class 3

12. Finish knitting the scarf I started over 2 years ago

13. Learn to snow ski or better yet snowboard

14. Jump out of a plane for round #2

15. Serve the Lord my God with all my heart, and all my soul, and all my mind

One "word"...

One "word"...

I recently saw the movie Eat Pray Love for the second time. While Julia Roberts character (Elizabeth Gilbert) is in Rome her friends ask her what her "word" is. Gilbert is unsure what they are referring to and so her friends give her examples...

Rome - sex

Stockholm - conform

New York - ambitions

Gilbert already on an incredible journey begins to dig within to determine her one "word;" a "word" that can unlock a city or person and his or her meaning...by the end of the movie Gilbert, after pouring through books determines her word to be...

attraversiamo "let's cross over"

So in watching this movie I found myself longing to determine what one "word" unlocks who I am...when I began digging within I realized that I had already determined my word and in fact already blogged about it...

fighter

I am and will always be a fighter...

Often or Offen..

Often or Offen...

a word in the south spoken as "offen"

One night, this little word that is used so frivorously in everyday conversation became very intriguing as racequ and I pondered the difference in the way the word was spoken and written...after much conversation we decided that we should silence letters in other words and the one that stuck for us was "awe-ome" better known to the rest of the world as awesome. This new pronunciation of this classic adjective has even made a debut thousands of feet in the sky on a recent skydiving adventure. We use it "offen" and even correct ourselves when we slip and say awesome with the "s" instead of "awe-ome"!

So, you are asking "why blog about this now?" well...today racequ asked if I remembered what word led us to the creation of "awe-ome"...I had no idea...A few hours later the phone rings with racequ providing me with the word often as the answer to the question...and so with that I decided that I needed to document this word so as never to forget its origin again!

Reigning in the mind of a fighter...

Reigning in the mind of a fighter seems to be an impossible task...





As graduation nears, once again, I have opened my future to the wealth of possibilities for the next step. I have known for so many years now that God did not ordain my life for a white picket fence in the suburbs but instead for a life of great adventure sharing his name with all I encounter. My heart never seems to be at peace unless I am in motion for the Lord. Every part of my selfish being wants to stay here in the city I love...get a great flat, furnish it with shabby chic furniture, have drinks with the girls several nights a week, fall in love, and strive to move as high as I can on the job ladder...but if I were to choose such a life I would be missing out on all the Lord has to offer. I would never be at peace with anything around me and at some point would more than likely self-destruct. Instead I am currently looking for nursing jobs in South Africa, Cape Town specifically. The Lord has already been faithful in so many ways by providing incredible contacts with a wealth of information. Though this journey will be excruciatingly long and hard I am prepared to FIGHT until success is achieved. At some point I plan to further my education more (a masters or nurse practitioner degree in public health, two great programs at Emory) but for now I will see what the Lord has in store across the big blue sea!!!

I begin with a tribute...

I begin with a tribute to the woman who reminded me that my Creator made me a fighter...

I met Patricia Fields a mere 9 months ago at the onset of a devastating diagnosis but I would quickly learn that she was a fighter. The Lord's timing is forever perfect and he knew that I needed Pat in my life at exactly this moment and in the same way he knew she and her family would need me equally as much. I am forever indebted to the legacy of a woman who may never know the impact she had on my life...

The following is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to Pat's oldest daughter...

It has been my utmost privilege and honor to have had the opportunity to know and love your mother. the things Pat taught me I believed to be unteachable and the life experiences she gave me is nothing short of priceless. I remember sitting on her hospital bed one night reading the Bible to her and thinking what an amazing privilege it is to read scripture to such a matriarch. Connie, your mother was a true woman of the faith. a mother that would not stop fighting so as to continue being the mother she needed to be. Pat reminded me to laugh in the midst of the storm and to be at peace with the plan of the Lord. She taught me to be a fighter to never succumb to what life throws at you but to be strong in the faith knowing he is forever faithful...

Thank you for welcoming me with open arms and for letting me be a part of the intimacy of the end. You will never know how much that meant to me. Pat may have proceeded us in death but she left behind the most powerful model of a Godly woman that any person would long to be privy to. I grew to love Pat dearly as well as you and the rest of the family! I know that this is simply of the beginning of a great and wonderful friendship and that I am bounded to you and your family indefinitely!

Patricia Fields thank you for reminding me I am a FIGHTER...

A fighter for those who can't fight for themselves

A fighter against the distractions of the enemy who tries to pull me away from my calling

A fighter for all that I deserve as a daughter of the King

It is the renewing of the soul...

It is the renewing of the soul that brings about fresh life and so with that, I begin my blogging journey once again...

There is so much to recount, so much new found wisdom, so much bursting from the deepest parts of me...but I will take it slow, day by day I will poor out the things I have left blank on the page for oh so long...

Sitting at the beach...

Sitting at the beach, house bound due to a little bit of sunburn I thought I should return to my love for blogging...

Thomas Christmas in June this year brought the family to our friend's condo on the beach an adventure never been embarked upon before but hopefully will become tradition!

This has been an incredible week of sun, tennis, and lots of fun! Although today is ruff because I couldn't even put a sports bra on this morning without excruciating pain forcing me to cancel our morning tennis match, there is nothing I have to complain about.

This week has been a wonderful time of bonding and sharing memories that will never be forgotten. I am blessed beyond measure with an incredible family filled with love, success, joy, and oh so much more!

It was all so bitter sweet...

It was all so bitter sweet...

As I walked across the stage, shaking the hand of the Dean of Arts and Sciences as well as President Leeland while being given congratulations on my accomplishments, I realized how surreal this moment in time was.

It doesn't feel any different...maybe because my schooling chapter is not closing for good in fact the page is simply turning or maybe it is just the same feeling that comes each year as another birthday rolls on by with little feeling of change. Either way I'm not sure what to think or how to feel as I poor through the memories that made up my GCSU experience.

The memories still so vivid take me on a five year road trip through the time in my life where I found Jill Marie!

18 years old I moved into a tiny dorm room that I shared with a high school friend...it was a scary begining to an exciting time...I quickly found a home in ministry with BCM at the time BSU...I joined the Impact team, a group that went around to local churches doing services of all kinds to help raise money for summer missions, after just a few short months as an avid team member I became the leader...this became the challenge of a lifetime and a trying period in my life as I dealt with college students as well as adults...I grew and I learned, my leadership skills flourished and burned in flames all at the same time...Impact team though incredible for a season was just that a season that came and went in my life...God had other things in store...I made friends easily and found a comfortable place within the GCSU community...my major was challenging academically as well as spiritually and the people around me seemed to be lost in a world I could not completely comprehend...these friends led to the oppurtunity for me to be asked to join in the sisterhood of PHI MU fraternity...the BEST decision of my life!...from there the memories poor out like a rushing waterfall, from formals to socials to ritual to tears to recruitment to love to honor to truth to sisters to family, things I never dreamed of...as my active Phi Mu membership progressed into alumni status God works was yet to be finished...in my last months on campus my life was poored into a small and intimate Bible study that proved to be one of my fondest college memories...

I say it was all bitter sweet because I leave a piece of me behind but gain a piece of me to carry on from the experience of what a college oppurtunity is all about...

It is with an overwhelmingly joyful heart that I get to share the testimony of a lifetime...

The Sunday before Easter my world came crashing down as my parents delivered the news that I had been wait listed for the nursing program at Georgia State. I was hurting, feeling as though God was no longer in control and that I had missed His purpose and plan for my life. Graduating in just a few short weeks with NO plan for tomorrow. My job and housing in Milledgeville would remain intact until the end of July but then the unknown burdened my life like the spance of the ocean. Looking off into the horizon there was a dim future, one I had not imagined. Little did I know that in the midst of my tears of sorrow and doubt God was preparing the way for me...

M. Cagle, family friend, called that same Sunday extending an invite to Easter brunch. This was uncharacteristic because for the Cagle's Easter was always a family occasion. Mom of course accepted the invitation graciously. M. Cagle during her invite mentioned that her aunt the Deen of students at Mercer Atlanta and former RN would be at brunch as well. To M. Cagle, who had no idea of the struggles I was going through with nursing school, she simply thought good conversation would flow through the group.

After a brief introduction Dyes, Deen at Mercer, and I were deep into conversation about my passion for nursing. I went into detail about my struggles and my disappointments. My dad stood close by almost acting as my wing man (Thank you dad for your silent encouragement, for your questions at all the right moments, and for your never ending confidence in my abilities!) supporting and leading the conversation into even deeper bowels. Dyes was an incredible encouragement, reminding that perseverance is key to obtaining the goal. Little did I know that Dyes was providing me with a jewel. Vines a coworker and friend of Dyes is the Director of Admissions for nursing at Mercer. Dyes gave me Vines' email address and told me I should contact her with the information I had told her today. An email turned into a phone call, which turned into an application process, which led to God opening the door He wanted me to walk through...

"CONGRATULATIONS! You have been accepted into the nursing program at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University for the semester FALL 2009. You have the opportunity to become part of a distinctive tradition of nursing."

This all happened within a matter of about three weeks...God is so incredible...His timing perfection.

The coolest part to me about this incredible act of God in my life is that through it all someone else was being just as blessed if not more blessed than I was. M. Cagle was responding to a tug on her heart by the Lord when she invited us for brunch. At the time NO one except the Lord new about the events that would unfold. As I tearfully told M. Cagle of my acceptance into nursing school there was silence on the other end of the line. Finally I could hear the soft russell of a woman with tears streaming down her face. Tears like those shed by the woman washing Jesus' feet. They were tears of remembrance of who He is, tears of a thankful heart, tears to testify. M. Cagle needed this blessing from the Lord, she needed to be used by Him in a mighty way. Thank you M. Cagle for being so willing to answer the call of the Lord. You were not just a pawn in the eyes of the Lord but a willing vessel to be used by the King.

"I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Today is another day...

Today is another day, a day filled with hope in what seems like a hopeless point in life. Hopeless may not be the best word because in reality the world lays at my fingertips just waiting for me to grab hold and conquer what lies ahead.

Easter Sunday in all its overwhelming glory brought about a renewed since of perseverance in my life. As I stood in the kitchen of close family friends and met some of their extended family God paved the way for hope to be restored. The quiet conversations, the laughter, the popping of champagne bottles filled the background noise of a conversation that might just change my future. CCD the dean of students at Mercer Atlanta listened intently as I poured out my heart about my passions and my disappointments. Her words simple encouragements with one large grain of hope...the email address of the director of admissions for Mercer nursing school. An email later, a phone call, and one incredible God opened the doors for me to apply for the Fall '09 nursing program at Mercer.

The future is still uncertain but just as in Lamentations 3 where Jeremiah reminds us that the sorrows of yesterday bring the hope of today!

I can look back on yesterday and see all the Lord has done and know that his faithfulness is new EVERY morning. He hears our cries and answers but just as our parents for so long have heard our cries and answered it's not always the answer we desire.

I've not been guaranteed entrance into Mercer and have not even been given a false hope on human terms but on the terms of my Heavenly Father I am given hope through remembrance.

I have spent the last five years...

Nursing Essay
I have spent the last five years realizing that the healthcare community needs a dedicated staff that are not just working for a pay check. My college career began on a one way track to medical school but a couple of years in I realized being the doctor was not all it was cracked up to be. I found that most of the time doctors had little interaction time with the patient and that the day in and day out work was left up to the nursing staff. As I spent hours in the hospital doing what I thought was shadowing doctors, I soon realized that I was actually shadowing the nurses. These hours redirected my one-way path to medical school onto a slightly different path to nursing school.
Biology has opened my eyes to the world around me in an entirely new light. It has made me look at life systematically and question the things around me. My BS in Biology was my first educational goal but it was never my only goal. Throughout the last five years I have longed to learn about the body and all that it encompasses. Becoming a registered nurse is only the first step in a bigger plan for me.
Since before I can remember I have been passionate about serving people, so when it came time to decide on a career path I wanted something that would marry my passion for serving with my desire to work. Healthcare was the answer. Initially I did not know to what degree this would be, but as the years have unfolded I have found myself longing for more and more healthcare education. Although I have enjoyed my time as biology major, I am inspired to learn about medicine. When I’m in the hospital, or working at Dr. Garnto’s office, I am like a sponge just longing for someone to drop even an ounce of knowledge on me that I can soak in. Education brings knowledge, and knowledge brings quality service.
I have had the great honor of working alongside two nurse practitioners at the Compassionate Care Clinic in Milledgeville, GA. This clinic is a nurse-conceived, nurse-led primary indigent healthcare clinic funded by the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation. These nurse practitioners have instilled in me the desire to achieve more and to raise the bar high. They have allowed me to talk through patient’s primary complaints to begin to determine diagnosis and plan of action, teaching me how to think like a provider. Through formal training by a phlebotomist I have acquired the skill sets necessary to draw blood on patients of all ages, varying in body habitus. Also through time spent working with these nurse practitioners I have been able to dip my hands into the vast world of pharmacology. We have discussed the pros and cons of differing blood pressure, insulin, cholesterol, and psychiatric medications determining which is best for the individual patient allowing my pharmaceutical knowledge to grow. All of these individual things draw me into the field of nursing and even more so inspire me to go beyond registered nurse to nurse practitioner.
Working at the Compassionate Care Clinic has rekindled my desire to serve the underprivileged, especially those in third world countries. I have been around the world and back serving the Lord in all capacities but medicine is my link from the physical to the spiritual. Medicine opens up opportunities to enter people’s lives in a truly honest capacity; relating their need for physical healing to the spiritual and physical healing of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. Mountains Beyond Mountains is a book that portrays the life of Paul Farmer, M.D. In this book the author describes how Dr. Farmer spends four months a year as a professor at Harvard medical school and the rest of the time in Haiti working around the clock at Zanme Lasante, a healthcare system serving over 100,000 in its catchment area. Dr. Farmer inspires me to take hold of my love and call for missions and go to any extreme to see it come to fruition. Nursing school is the first step in achieving my ultimate goal of bringing healthcare to those without.

The twist and turns of life...

The twist and turns of life are inevitable, lacking in preidctability.

What comes next is the question that lingers on the mind of every individual crossing the stage of their college graduation. In my mind I always believed it would be nursing school but God must have other plans or at least other plans for this moment in time.

I've struggled with the disheartening emotoins of rejection and embarrassment as the door for nursing school has not YET been opened. I use YET because I know where my passion lies and that in God's timing he will give me the desires of my heart, i have only to be patient.

Spring Break '09...

Spring Break '09 was just another day at the office but with some added spontaneous moments. I had planned to spend Tuesday night in Macon with my dear friend racequ for dinner and some cherry blossom festivities. I got off work on Monday and called racequ to catch up and plan events for Tuesdays when she said that she was going to see Slumdog Millionaire with my double mint twin who I had not seen in quite some time. On a whim I decided to spend my evening with friends, spontaneous I know but a good change for me! The movie was not what I expected but blew me away in its ability to take me on an emotional roller coaster. We walked out of the movie, which by the way we were the only three people in the theater, to an almost empty parking lot. Chatting away we saw an unidentified male take trash out of his car and put it on the ground...

this does not make me happy...

so I decided that we should teach this young couple a little lesson...(in hind site I should have taken the trash and thrown it away because I am sure it just ended up scattered around the parking lot but none the less I thought it might make them think the next time they decide to litter)

So spring break '09 started out with little potential for anything fun or exciting but with a little spontaneity a week of fun began!

Tuesday night turned into an exciting time when Mr. inc., one of my dear friends invited to join me on my Tuesday night Macon journey, told me that he a secret love for sea lions. This came as a surprise for a couple of reasons:

#1 he is in his 20's

#2 who even knows about sea lions?

He later explained to racequ and I that when he lived in California there were some near him and he went to see them a lot or something to that extent. Anyway so knowing his love for the sea lions we decided that we would go and see the sea lions at the Cherry Blossom Festival, they were surprisingly a fairly popular attraction.

We then ate dinner at a quaint little Italian place in downtown Macon, the food was good and the company was wonderful!

So all in all spring break '09 was one spent watching friendships blossoms as time was spent with these extraordinary people!

Life has been wonderful...

Life has been wonderful, well other than being sick for three weeks. About a two months ago I had a long conversation with one of my BCM friends. After this conversation, almost totally focused on the past two years of my life as a Phi Mu, she asked me to speak at an upcoming BCM. I didn't give her an answer that night because I was really unsure about it at the time. In all honesty I was hoping she would forget she even asked...

But lo and behold she sends me a facebook message. She tells me topic of the night she wants me to speak is "eyes that see the opportunities around me." Fitting for a sorority girl"s testimony. Several days went by and after counseling with several friends I felt God give the ok...

On came the nerves, the what ifs, and what does God really want me to say. As time got closer and closer I had been jotting some things down here or there but nothing conclusive, so Sunday night before I was to speak on Tuesday I broke it all down, wrote it all, and searched deep into the word of God. By Tuesday night I was overwhelmed by what God had revealed to me and overwhelmed with the difficult direction he was taking my talk into. I have never been one to care about stepping on people's toes but for some reason I thought some of the things I might talk about would crush toes instead of just bruise them. Why I doubt God and His plan I will never know but He is incredibly faithful...

Tuesday night came and I had a complete since of peace, well until the room started to fill up! Let me just say God was waiting for me when I walked up to that music stand. He spoke through in an incredible way, in a way I didn't think was possible. We started in Matthew 28:28-20 where we are told to go. Then we were reminded about how we were created in the image of God in Genesis 1:27. Next we ate with Jesus and the tax collectors in Matthew 9:9-12 and Luke 15:1-7 because we needed to be reminded that it is not the righteous who need to be eating with the Lord but the unrighteous and how Jesus built relationships with these people. John 17:6-26 Jesus prays for his disciples and future believers where we are shown to be in the world not of it and that we are to be unified with the trinity because that is our catalyst and example for relational ministry. Avalon speaks clearly about being in not of the world in there song "in not of." But even the righteous make mistakes and so instead of being sharpened by believers I was being sharpened by the world Proverbs 27:17. Building relationship with unbelievers can be difficult especially when we see what God says about the plank in your own eye in Luke 6:37-42. God says he will never leave you nor forsake you...how true this verse is when the very people I was scared would have crushed toes welcomed me with open arms, others came crying for the changes they knew they needed to make, and still others just said thanks...so again why do I doubt God's plan, I will never know.

It wasn't just my opportunity to speak at BCM that has made life wonderful it is also my Monday night Bible study. God continues to blow me away with what he is doing with this intimate group of girls. But it is not just what happens on Monday nights but it is what takes place in between. We love, we support, we listen, we care. These girls are incredible and they have so much to offer. I am overly blessed to call them my friends. Each of their individual personalities warms my heart in a very unique way filling me up in the ways only sisters in Christ could!

A cup of coffee...

A cup of coffee made my morning as I sat relaxing on the couch. I have not been able to do this in so long I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy it. Still sore from the craziest greek week ever (3 football games and 3 soccer games = too much for this 23 year old body!)

(WE GOT FIRST IN BOTH THESE SPORTS! PHI MU HELL YEAH!)

and my first biological systematics test and my senior exit exam, I needed this quiet morning to relax and kick up my heels! I could not be more grateful for this relaxing time and it could not come on a better day!

Signed, sealed, and mailed...

Signed, sealed, and mailed. My application for the GSU nursing program was mailed today! (It is pending my acceptance to GSU and them recieving all the transcripts and test results I have requested to be sent.) This has been a long process that I am so glad is finally over. It is liberating and scary all at the same time. I am scared of the rejection that may come but I know that God is in control and He is going to put me exactly where He wants me but even being confident in this knowledge rejection is still a very real feeling. Now I can only pray that God will open and close the doors around me so I know clearly what His plan is!