Travel Blog - Part 1: Prep and Flights

Hey there!

      As I prepare to embark on a journey to London, I thought I'd try my hand at this travel-blogging thing. If this post is repetitive to some, I apologize. It has taken a couple of different trips for me to figure out what works and what doesn't, so I hope this helps at least some of you! This particular entry will discuss prep and that dreaded (or exciting) portion of the journey: the flight.

      But first, prep!

      Pack as light as possible. My first journey overseas was extremely difficult to pack for, because I hate having to wear the same clothes over and over again in front of my fellow travelers. My remedy? Accessories! You can mix and match different items of your outfits in order to create a different look with the same clothes. That being said, try not to bring any pieces of jewelry that are too valuable. Again, that might sound obvious, but I've heard one too many stories of people who brought irreplaceable items with them and lost them. Remember to pack your jewelry in organized, separate boxes or bags to keep them from getting tangled or lost!

      One of the best tricks I've learned is to take a collapsible duffel bag and pack it in your suitcase. Place your souvenirs into it for the return journey and use it as your carry-on!

      I also recommend packing plenty of bandaids/blister patches/neosporin/whatever works to use on your trip. Keep some with you during the day, just in case. Your shoes should be well broken-in, but even if they are, you may still get blisters. It never hurts to be prepared! I've always had to apply and reapply blister protection, unfortunately.

      Also remember to pack any electrical outlet converters you may need. I got mine from Target for a great price ($20 for a set of four, I believe). The outside of the box should list the countries that that particular box of plugs will work in.

      Any important items like medications, makeup (yes, I am that attached), etc. should come with you in your carry-on, just in case your luggage gets lost. I believe that information is also on the TSA website, but there you go.

      Remember to contact your bank and credit card companies to let them know where you'll be and how long you'll be there, just to make sure your account doesn't get blocked by them when you try to use your cards in another country. As for phones, you can either use yours and get a temporary international plan (which is what I do, because I need access to my emails and the internet), or you can buy a pay-as-you-go phone from a drugstore once you arrive at your destination. And currency? Don't bother getting it from the airport as it's time-consuming and expensive. I always find an ATM once I get there and withdraw what I'll need for the time. Use your actual cards as little as possible as there's a charge on each transaction from your bank.

      And, this may be a bit paranoid, but I always register with the State Department before I leave, just in case something happens in the country I'm in. It's just a precautionary safety measure.

      The flight:

      This is my least favorite part of the journey. Maybe some of you enjoy flying, and that's great, but those trans-atlantic flights bore me to death! There's nothing to see, and hardly any room to move! I'm not one of those lucky people who can sleep on planes, so I'm usually stuck trying to find some way to amuse myself and make myself comfortable for 7 hours or so. *sigh* And then, of course, the whole journey usually takes 9-14 hours, so I'm completely exhausted and worn out once I finally arrive...and then I have to stay awake until a decent hour to get on their time. But it's a small price to pay, yes?

      I won't waste your time going over TSA regulations. We all know they're paranoid, just pack anything controversial in your checked luggage and you'll be fine. Remember to put liquids in ziplocs!

      Now, as far as attire goes...dress in comfortable layers. I'm all for traveling in style, but remember to do so with comfort and function in mind. I made a huge mistake when traveling on my first "big girl" trip to St. Louis with my best friend, Cait. We had decided to dress up like women used to when flying about fifty years ago. Classy, right? Well...yes and no. I chose to wear a LBD with gorgeous red stilettos:

     Beautiful, right? They also turned out to be so painful that they brought tears to my eyes. And my classiness was destroyed after I tottered/stumbled down the ramp when I boarded the plane. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, a fellow passenger took it upon himself to inform me of my unwise choice in footwear. On the return journey I made another bad choice when I chose to wear adorable gladiator sandals...that laced up. Needless to say, I held up the security line.

      My advice? Wear a pair of cute, comfortable flats. If any article of clothing takes more than 2 seconds to remove, rethink it. Make sure everything is easily accessible (including boarding passes and passports, of course!).

      One of my favorite fashion gurus, Victoria Beckham, advises dressing in the classy style that I described above regarding my first trip. Classy is always fabulous, I agree. However, she advises changing into a comfy sweatsuit on the plane and applying as much moisturizer as possible to keep your skin hydrated (we all know how awful airplane air-conditioning is for our skin, right?). In my case, I disagree with her advice. She travels far more often than I do, but she also travels first class or private, which makes a big difference in the amount of comfort one can aspire to.

     My solution is to keep a small, TSA-friendly bottle of rosewater spray in your carry-on. Spritz your face and hair at your convenience (remember to keep in mind others around you who may protest) and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Drinking lots of water will also help with jet-lag. Avoid caffeine, if possible.

      And ladies, regarding makeup...apply lightly. Moisturize well, then apply what's necessary to look nice, but somewhat natural. When you're tired, sleeping on-and-off, and traveling for 14 hours or so, your makeup tends to smudge, fade, and altogether melt off your face. I usually apply primer, foundation, enough eye makeup (waterproof, if possible) to make my eyes show up behind my glasses (I travel in glasses because traveling in contacts for so long, being so tired, and in that airplane air-conditioning tends to get uncomfortable), blush, and a tinted lip balm to add some color and, again, keep moisturized. I like the tinted lip balm by a line called Fresh:

http://www.sephora.com/sugar-lip-treatment-spf-15-P57002

      It usually costs about $22, but it lasts a long time and it works really well! It's one of those "desert island" beauty picks, for me.

      And there you have it! I know that was a bit of a long one. My posts should get less mundane once I get there!

      Until then, cheers!

Peach Breakfast Bake

Hi there!

I know it's been a while, but I'm back! My best friend (Cait) and I made this recipe for breakfast the other day and it was so good that it brought me out of my long-though-unintended break from blogging! It's like peach cobbler for breakfast!

Picture taken from the "Chocolate-Covered Katie" blog (http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/06/26/peach-breakfast-bake/)

This recipe came from a blog called "Chocolate-Covered Katie: The Healthy Dessert Blog." Cait and I made a few alterations:

Serves 2

2 1/2 cups sliced peaches
1/2 T lemon juice
1/2 T arrowroot (or cornstarch, but we used flour)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup of oatmeal
2 T brown sugar
1 T melted margarine or oil (or butter, which we used!)
1 T applesauce (For a more buttery taste, replace this with an extra T of the margarine)
1/4 tsp salt (use only 1/8 tsp if using margarine)
A splash of coffee creamer (we used caramel macchiato flavor!)

The oatmeal can be prepared however you prefer. Cait and I made ours on the stove. For the filling, mix the peaches, lemon, arrowroot, cinnamon, 1/2 the salt, and 1/2 the sweetener in a bowl. Let sit for ten minutes. Meanwhile, stir the remaining sweetener, remaining salt, melted margarine or oil, and applesauce in a bowl until well-blended. Serve an equal portion of the peach mixture and the oatmeal into bowls and add your creamer, should you so desire.

Enjoy!

England

Greetings, friends!

I have returned. England was absolutely amazing, in every way. I had a rocky start (as many of you know), spending the flight from NYC to London with intense abdominal pain, then my first night there in the ER. But God provided in amazing ways, giving the doctors wisdom to give me the right medication and keep me relatively pain-free for the rest of the trip! Because of all the medication, I was able to eat almost normally! Yay!!! I did try some traditional English dishes (Alas, not Fish and Chips), including a Trifle, which I was then taught how to make! I stayed with some dear friends (from London originally, but they've relocated to America) and their family, who live in London. They were more than happy to take me around and show me as much as they could from my (rather long) list of sites to see. I saw many things, including:
Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Framlingham Castle, Leeds Castle, Highclere Castle, the Tower, The Royal Observatory, the Prime Meridian, the 2012 Olympic Stadium (and several other Olympic sites), the National Gallery, "Much Ado About Nothing" (starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate), "War Horse," "Flare Path" (starring James Purefoy, Sienna Miller, Sheridan Smith, and directed by Trevor Nunn), the London Eye, the British Library, the British Museum, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, the Charles Dickens Museum, the Globe Theatre, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's Church, St. Bartholomew's Church, Southwark Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Scotland Yard, the Royal Albert Hall, the Albert Memorial, the Greenwich Naval College, and more!
Sorry, I know that's a lot, but people have been asking me what I saw while I was there, so those are the main points. :D
God perfectly orchestrated my time there so that I could A) feel relatively normal, B) spend some quality time with my friends and their family (and experience England with the locals!), and C) witness His kindness and care in every single detail, from the sites I saw to when I saw them to exactly what I saw there. I'm so overwhelmed by His kindness and His grace. As my dear friend (whose family I stayed with in London) pointed out, I did not need this trip. I wanted it, badly. This long-awaited trip was the kindness of my Father to His daughter. I'm SO grateful that God cares about what we care about! That's what I learned about the most on this trip. I saw things I've dreamt of seeing for most of my life, and they were absolutely incredible! And the fact that that mattered to God was even more amazing. I knew that before, but I experienced it in a major way on this trip. He's amazing!

Here are a few pictures! Until next time, cheerio!

Below:

Highclere Castle, The Globe Theatre, Buckingham Palace/Victoria Memorial, Kensington Palace, and Leeds Castle

A Royal Wedding!

Okay, I know everyone's posting about today's royal wedding, but...it was breathtaking. I wasn't going to watch it because the way I saw it, they've already been living together for years, and the royal family isn't exactly known for their long marriages. So what was all the excitement about? But then I changed my mind. I started reading tidbits of their wedding preparations, getting excited... And I woke up before 6:00 today to watch the ceremony with my Mom. Then I left around 7:30 to join some of my American and English friends in a tea party to watch the pre-wedding excitement, the ceremony (again), and the post-wedding excitement. I was thrilled by the fairytale feel of the day, the beautiful (EXPENSIVE!) clothes, the breathtaking music, the gorgeous, smiling bride and her strong, dutiful groom...it was lovely. SO romantic!

I suppose, on one level, it was no different than anyone else's marriage. On a broader note, they had the usual inconveniences: their wishes were altered by an imposing family, they had an exhausting day, the wedding planning stress... And then on a personal note, it was simply a man and a woman pledging to spend their lives in love and support of one another. That's a big job for anyone!

The tradition that was woven throughout the day was absolutely beautiful, but I also love the personal stamp that the bride and groom had placed on it. They were responsibly complying with the wishes of their subjects by having a public procession, wedding, and kiss, and then they had a more personal, private ceremony and reception. I love that! I hope and pray that that sort of attention to the importance of privacy serves them well. A royal wedding is fantastically romantic, but it's probably much more unromantic to those taking part in it. I'm glad that this couple has taken pains to make it their day, and not just England's day.

I'm very happy and excited for this new couple, and this important chapter in English history. It was the first royal wedding that I've witnessed, and I'm so glad to have seen it. I'm also glad that I was able to get excited about it! The excitement continues as I watch the post-wedding coverage on the DVR with my Mom, since she had to go to work and miss it when it was live. I can't wait to read all about what the bride was wearing over the next few days! I LOVE her dress (designed by Sarah Burton, of Alexander McQueen!), and she did her own makeup! That's inspiring! Maybe I'll do my own makeup on my wedding day too! If Princess Catherine of England can do her own makeup on her special day, I suppose I can do the same. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. ;)

God Save the Queen!

Remember Me?

Hello everyone!

Remember me? Sorry, I know it's been a while. The last time I spoke with you I was days away from beginning my first semester at Regent University, and now I'm days away from finishing it. I have been enormously blessed during my time there. I've made many wonderful friendships, learned four different accents (and the IPA system to learn more!), honed my Improv skills, Tap basics, and learned the technicalities of Text Analysis. It's been a productive semester, to say the least! I had a blast, and I'm actually sorry to see this semester end. I'll start my summer classes in June, so I won't be away for too long! Again, I've been so blessed this semester. I've learned so much, and God has shown His love and purpose for me in amazing ways over the past few months.

My best friend got married in February, and it was beautiful. The wedding and the couple were (and are!) inspiring and fairytale-like. Just before that, rehearsals for "The Play" began, culminating in our best run of performances yet, which ended just this past week! Hundreds of people were brought to Christ, and our audiences left excited and encouraged by our performances. Thanks be to God! His strength carried me through this intensive week, and I'm so grateful!

Now, with only a few more classes to finish up, I'm looking ahead to a dream vacation that I'm going on in just a few weeks! Some close friends of mine are from England, and they're going to visit their family in the south of London for 3 weeks. I'll be heading out a few days ahead of them to meet up with the group from Virginia Wesleyan that I went with to Paris and Rome last year. I'll spend 5 days in London with that group, then meet up with my other friends for the remaining 2 weeks. I'll be there from May 15-June 5! This was a complete gift from God, and I'm so excited! I really wanted to travel with my friends and stay with them and their family (we've talked about it for years), I wanted to travel this summer, and I've ALWAYS wanted to visit London. Now, all three will happen. All of the details got worked out, no matter how dicey they seemed at times. From nearly-impossible-to-get tickets to see David Tennant and Catherine Tate in "Much Ado About Nothing" to convenient travel schedules, God has gift-wrapped this trip for me, and I'm so excited! He is so kind!

The saga with my stomach continues. I am currently in the beginning stages of a detox diet. In a few weeks, I should be able to incorporate fresh fruits and veggies back into my diet, along with other foods (so long as I'm not allergic to them). I'm so excited! My doctor says that I should be able to eat semi-normally by the time I go to England! Yet again, evidence of God's love and kindness at work.

My last post mentioned fears and apprehensions about this year. I hope I've been able to give you encouragement in this recap; God is ALWAYS good, kind, loving, and sovereign. He has comforted me and made me content (even EXCITED) about where I am now, and where He'll have me in the future. God is faithful, and I am so grateful for how He's tenderly held me close and walked me through each and every moment of my life, showing me His love and care with unimaginable patience. I love Him so much, and He has made me rejoice in Him. I'm looking forward to posting (hopefully more frequent) updates about what's going on in my life, and how He's continued to be faithful.

Until next time...

~Micah

Happy New Year!

Well friends, here we are in 2011. It seems like 2010 just began! This year is going to be a full one, I know. Personally, I'm apprehensive, but I'm praying that it's a year of harvest. Last year was a year of sowing, and God brought me through many things that I never thought I could get through at the beginning of the year. Even in the last days of December, God was taking me into situations that I begged Him to never put me through. This year, I'm afraid of many things. Last year was so difficult, and I'm so afraid this year will be more of the same. But...I grew so much this past year. As hard as it was, as much as I don't want to go through it again, I'm grateful for it and I don't regret it. God showed me His faithfulness every step of the way, and He allowed me to encourage others as I was learning those lessons. God provided many blessings, and I know He'll be faithful to fulfill each and every one of His promises. It won't always be this hard, and when it is, He'll be right there with me, making every moment worth it. So I guess the question and challenge I'm faced with this year is this: Knowing how much God has done for me, knowing His faithfulness and promises and blessings...am I willing to face the worst, if it comes? Are the prospects I'm facing too big to handle for Him, the Creator of the Universe and the Author of my life?

Of course they're not. So yes, I'm willing to go through what I'm afraid of. Today as I was thinking of the year ahead, God reminded me that I'm not to worry about tomorrow. He has it all taken care of, and worrying about it won't come to anything. Especially if it never happens!

And I have a lot of blessings to look forward to this year as well! I start my Masters in Theatre at Regent University (my dream field of study at my dream school) on Tuesday, and I absolutely can't wait! I have reason to hope...in fact, I have more reason to hope than to fear! Fear may look bigger and more powerful, but in the end I know I have victory in Christ. This year will be full of blessings in many forms, I just know it.

Have a blessed New Year!

Christmas

Hello, all.

Sorry about the extended silence! I was buried under papers and exams for a few weeks there, but I've been free for about a week now and I'm LOVING it! One more week until grad school!

I was incredibly blessed by those who came to celebrate my graduation with me last Saturday. I was extremely humbled and grateful for those who came, and for their generosity! I felt so loved! Thank you all for showing me how God cares for even the smallest details in my life, and for reminding me of the many blessings He's given me in you all. :)

Well, friends, as you all know...tonight is Christmas Eve. I love Christmas, it's my favorite time of year. It's always over too quickly though. I wish we still celebrated it over twelve days, like they used to. In any case, it will be nice to spend some time with my family. My grandparents (from both sides) are here, so that's really nice. We plan on eating (Mom made me special sugar cookies that I can have!), going to church, then opening presents tonight. It's unusual, but we're usually all alone out here, and there was never a reason to wait until Christmas morning to open presents. I guess a lot of people do that because they go to their grandparents house for Christmas Day, but that would be a 6 hour flight for us! Some people might find that lonely, but we've always enjoyed ourselves. It's nice having quiet, family Christmases. But it'll be nice having our grandparents with us too. We have Spanish/Puerto Rican food from Mom's side of the family, and Italian food from my Dad's side, made by Papa, who came over on the boat from Italy in 1921 (so it's the good stuff!). It's not food I can have, but it's nice that everyone else can enjoy it! On Christmas Day we usually open our stockings, have breakfast, and go see a movie. This year we'll do something along those lines, but we're also Skyping our cousin Rosanna in Verona, Italy. She doesn't speak English, so Papa will have to translate. We'll see how it goes...it's nice being connected to our family over there. :)

So those are our plans. I feel an extra sharp sense of what God's done for me this Christmas. I've felt His strength throughout this year while encountering several trials and I've come to realize how He really IS present with us, always. So "Emmanuel" has a special meaning for me now. "God With Us"...do you realize how rare, how AMAZING that is? The God of the universe sent His only Son to become a man and live on this earth, amidst trials, pain, suffering, evil...everything He hates. And He died to save us, unworthy traitors, from dying in our sins. It would have been more than enough if He only died to save us, but He also made us heirs with Him! And He sent his Spirit to be with us, always. God is so amazing!

Thank you, Lord, for what Christmas means. Thank you for sending your Son to die in my place. Thank you for being with us.

Merry Christmas!

A Smattering of Things...

It's been a busy few days, so this one post will cover several things.

First of all, I went to see "The Lion King" with the Honors and Scholars group from my school on Thursday.

WOW....

I was stunned. By the end of the first song I was shaking with excitement, shock, and joy. I had no idea they could do shows like that on stage! It was completely magical. The actors moved so at one with their puppets that it was easy to believe that they were simply the soul of the animals they portrayed, so full of life and grace. The singing and dancing were magnificent, and the music was fantastic. They handled the scene changes with the finesse only found in professionals, and the lighting was absolutely gorgeous, completing the world created by the designers. I've never seen a show so magical, and I hope I get to see it again someday. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

Tonight we set up our fake tree and decorated it while watching "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." I'm so glad our tree is set up now, and the movie was even better than I remembered. It's been a long time since I watched that one. And that fact that it snowed tonight as we decorated made it a beautiful picture.

Today I finished one of my term papers, which is a huge weight off of my shoulders. Just one more, then my story (in place of a regular paper for another class), then exams. 8 days until graduation, and then 3 exams to take. It's going to be fine... The paper I finished today was on Christianity in Ancient Rome, just after Christ's ascension through Constantine. I decided to start my paper with some background on who Christ was and why He would have been meaningless to the Roman Empire were it not for the mob demanding His death to Pilate. The charge they finally assigned to him was "King of the Jews," after Jesus finally assented to the title. What struck me while I was researching and writing was the sovereignty of God. Everything was so planned, so exact. Pilate's decision was based on the only thing that sounded like it could POSSIBLY be credible, Jesus' trial was filled with fake witnesses... and everything went according to plan. Everything, right down to exactly the way His body would fail Him so that He would die of a broken heart upon the cross, not asphyxiation like most victims. None of His bones were broken. Prophecy was fulfilled to the letter.

Why? Why would the Son of God leave heaven to come and die for me? For you? As I read the details of His sufferings I was struck afresh with my own utter and complete wickedness and the kindness and love of God. I'm overwhelmed, completely in awe. All I could do was cry and apologize to Him, again, over and over. But every time that happens, no matter how aware I am of my sin, I'm MORE aware of His love and forgiveness.

How kind is God???

No other religion is driven by this love. God calls us to love Him, as HE first loved US. That's incredible! We follow Jesus because we love Him, and He demonstrates His love for us daily, in ways that we may never see until we're with Him in heaven. He really HAS given us abundantly more than we could ask for or imagine. His love is unfathomable, but it's the most real thing in the universe. He loved us before time began, and nothing can take us out of His hand.

I pray that you're given a fresh view of how much God loves you. It's getting close to Christmas, when we celebrate God sending His son down to begin the lowly life that would lead Him to a criminal's death and the wrath of His Father. All to reconcile us to Him and bring glory to His Father. We're so blessed...

Happy Sunday.

To Dad

I went to bed around 3:00 AM, and my Dad was still at work. He's always had to work long hours, because that's show business. It's not unusual for him to work 70-80 hour weeks. When there's a show (or several shows!) coming up, I'm usually the only one who really gets to see him because I'm the only one still awake by the time he gets home. Last night, he was doing freelance work, which means that it wasn't part of his regular job, he was earning extra money.

My Dad inspires me.

He's always worked this hard. He could have made lots of money if he'd chosen to light films in Hollywood. Instead, he followed God's leading into the ministry, where he makes less money and still works twice the amount of hours in a normal work week. He doesn't complain, he just does what needs to be done because "the show must go on."

I so appreciate that.

Show business runs in my family. My great-grandfather, on my Dad's side, was in the very first barbershop quartet, performing on radio shows and having celebrities like Eddie Cantor over for dinner. Dad got into the technical side of things, lighting films and shows with what is clearly a God-given talent. I've learned about lighting, and what precious little I know was very difficult for me to understand. It's second nature to Dad. He loves it. So it makes sense that he always understood my desire to act, and he was my biggest supporter. He and Mom made sure I understood how unreliable and difficult it would be to get into the business, but they always supported me. Now, God's leading me to pursue acting (my dream), opening a door that I thought He had closed. I don't remember when I caught the acting bug, but I've had it ever since I can remember. My first role was Baby Jesus, and then I was in a commercial for CBN at age 3. I do remember that instance, and I remember wanting to have a career in acting even at that young age. My parents always encouraged me.

I'm so grateful that they wanted me to have a career doing something I love, and sacrificed in order to help me pursue that dream. Mom and Dad fully support my being an actress, as well as encourage me to be a published author and history teacher (what a busy life that would be!). All three of those were my areas of study, and none of them are definite money-makers. Most parents don't encourage the acting thing, or anything else that isn't a known, reliable way to make money. That's never been the case in my family. Dad's always cultured me with movies of all kinds and shared his wealth of movie knowledge, and Mom participates/cheerleads. She didn't come from a movie-family, but she loves ours, even if she doesn't always understand us, hahaha.

I love you, Mom and Dad. Thanks for your love and support. I'm so grateful for you.

Thanksgiving

Yes, I know. Thanksgiving isn't until tomorrow. But, since tomorrow will be busy and I was inspired by our pastor's post, I thought I'd post today.

I'm thankful for this year. It's been really tough. Had I known what I was headed for on New Year's Eve, I probably would have begged God to change His mind and felt sure that I could never make it to Thanksgiving. But...here I am. And I'm grateful. I've grown so much this year, and I've made it through lots of things I didn't think I could, by His grace. I'm struck down, but not destroyed, persecuted, not abandoned. Tomorrow, I will be able to enjoy some turkey, a little mashed potatoes, some gluten-free stuffing (we'll see how that turns out...), and a gluten-free pumpkin pie that will form its own crust, of sorts. I can even have some cool whip on it! It's the little things in life, you know? These are things that I never thought I'd be thankful for, or that I'd HAVE to be thankful for, but God's taken me on a surprise trip this year. And it's okay. I won't have to worry about holiday weight gain, and I'll be able to truly understand what it means to be grateful with less. And you know what? I have more than I need. "He is in covenant with us through His Son to never stop doing us good, and showering us with mercy, and overwhelming us with faithful care, and working out all things for our good. God is good and his steadfast love endures forever!" (SGC pastor's blog).

Tomorrow, we're spending Thanksgiving with some family friends that we haven't seen in a while. I'm excited to serve them and catch up on our lives. Thank you, Lord, for my family, for good friends, for food, and for chances to relax and reflect on all you've done for us.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thankful

I guess, since I now have a blog to keep people posted, it's only fitting that I should update people on the health issues they're praying about. Today's been rough.

For those of you who don't know, I have gastroparesis. That means that my stomach muscles don't pass food along like they should, so food just sits there and, at times, comes back up. So I feel sick all the time, to some degree. My diet has been drastically changed because of this, which I'm getting used to. If I have more than 20 grams of fat per day my system shuts down to take care of it, which gives a whole new meaning to pain. So that's the main problem. I won't get into the others. The next step for me is a feeding tube, but I'm praying against that. I wasn't planning on making this my blog post, but after reading the blog of an acquaintance who's also finding "beauty in ashes," I thought I might as well.

I wanted to write about this tonight because I'm grateful for it. Yes, it's difficult. Honestly, I hate it.

BUT...

I have no regrets. I'm actually getting tearful now, thinking about how amazing God's been through it. It's not easy, but God's never left me. By taking away my physical strength, He's given me His. He's encouraged me, and surrounded me with friends to walk with me and care for me in ways I've never experienced before. I'm so, so grateful. God is SO good. I am clinging to the hope and promise He's given me; one day, He'll dry my tears. One day, I won't be in pain. One day, I'll sit at a banquet in heaven with Him and eat anything, without getting sick, or worrying that I will. I'll be healed.

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified." Isaiah 61:1-3

Amen, Lord. Thank you. If this is how you want to be glorified in me, thank you. I'm honored, and I'm grateful. Help me in my weakness to serve and honor you. Thank you for comforting me, and for your promise to give me beauty for ashes, gladness instead of mourning, and praise instead of a faint spirit. I love you.

Reflections...

This may sound odd coming from a woman who's about to head to grad school, but...is it possible that school makes us over-think things?

I understand analysis when it comes to Theatre. You really do have to break everything down there. But in English it can seem overdone. Today in my English Theory and Criticism class (which, believe me, is even worse than it sounds) we psychoanalyzed a dream written by James Joyce. I understand that psychoanalysis has its uses. I use it on myself quite a lot, actually. But, as a writer, I would hate to have someone a hundred years from now dissect my writing and say I had some sort of problem or opinion that I don't. Isn't it possible that Joyce simply had a weird dream? And no matter what it was, does it really have any bearing on life in 2010? No matter how you look at it, there aren't huge ramifications that could come from it. Joyce died long ago, and so did everyone else of his generation. Society has changed quite a bit. To psychoanalyze his dream would only serve a few, limited areas. That's not really fair to a writer, is it? I, for one, enjoy a good story. That's it. Period. Yes, psychoanalyzing it can be interesting and even insightful, but it's not conclusive, and it can easily do a disservice to the author.

But that's what schools train us to do: over-think things. They intellectualize everything, so they make it sound like they are so advanced mentally that they can never just accept things. Like the Gospel, for example. There's no room for the supernatural in their narrow little minds that they consider so open. They don't really do their research to find out how shallow their arguments are and how the facts really do prove Christianity. Instead, they just "think" and"reason." Taking things as they are is never an option for them. Can Christianity hold up to intellectual arguments? Absolutely. But they don't even take it that far. They are "wise in their own eyes," I suppose. Which is a shame.

But enough of that!

I'm grateful for the truth. I have a heavenly Father who is more real than anything. He created everything and everyone, and He holds it all together.

"For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is God!), who formed the earth and made it (He established it; He did not create it empty, He formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right. "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'" Isaiah 45:18-23

Thank you, Lord, for being a sovereign God who saves!!! Who is the very source of truth, and therefore swears by Himself! He is always right, He is always good, and He is always kind. We serve a loving King.

It's helpful to remember that I'm only in this world, not of it. Someday, I'll be home.

My First Attempt...

Well, here it is. Here I am. After vowing to never create a blog just to talk about life, here I am.

I gave it some serious thought first, of course. This wasn't an easy decision. You see, to me, creating a blog would be saying to the world:

"Here! Listen to me! I'm really important, so you should spend time reading my worthless ramblings!"

And to some extent, I suppose that's true. At least, for most of the world. I hope to do something different with mine, however. Yes, it will be about some random facts of life. There will probably be no rhyme or reason to most of my posts. It will probably be about what affected me that day, or something I've been mulling over. But I would always like the focus to return to Christ. I realized, after viewing several of my friends' blogs, that they could be used to encourage and challenge others. If I can make you stop and reflect every once in a while, then this will be worth it.

And if nothing else, it'll be fun. ;-)