What to do when you have the studying blues...

1. Choose your study buddy wisely- being able to make you laugh is a must
2. Make sure you have plenty of natural light
3. Look for a space with a great view
4. Remember, coffee is your friend :)

Marathons

I have never trained for a marathon before, not a real one anyway. I have a hard time forcing myself to run more than 2 miles unless I am outside and distracted.

But this year I have slowly been training for a different kind of marathon. Slowly but surely I have spent my days and nights engrossed in CT scans, practiced my percussion skills, learned how to take an accurate patient history, performed back to school physicals on kids, drawn up shots, given shots. I have honed my clinical suspicion so that I now know when to be suspect a brain tumor and what is a classic presentation of a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

I have read, learned, practiced, taught, read and practiced more and more....and now in 2 1/2 months I will go out and be with real people with real problems. Not standardized patients but real humans who will not fit into my neat diagnoses boxes. Who may -gasp- have more than one problem and who have husbands, wives, children and lives. It is terrifying but at the same time I am so humbled at the opportunity to be able to be a part of people's lives in such a personal way. I pray that I am able to go beyond just treating my patient's medical problems and help shine the light of Christ in their life through my interactions with them.

Things I have learned.....

1. You can throw frozen bell peppers, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes into regular jar marinara sauce and make it something special
2. Home made bread is always better than store bought
3. Spaggetti actually tastes better in a taco shell
4. A whole wheat tortilla and extra sharp cheddar cheese makes a mean quesadilla
5. Dinner is always better when you have someone to share it with

For God so loved the world

This year has gone so quickly and as we enter into the second half of Advent I am reminded to stop and reflect on the coming of the birth of our savior. I heard a sermon last week in which the priest asked us to take this Advent to put a pause on our busy lives and look inward to find the way in which we could change the world for the better. For if the world does not change with Christmas, if we do not usher in the light of our savior, what hope is there for the year to come?

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life

John 3:16

Summer Blessings

This summer has been filled with adventure.
Starting at a new school.
Living in a new place.
Beginning my journey to become a medical professional.
But the most beautiful and wonderful adventure is just beginning...........
We are engaged!!!

friendship

Good friends are such a blessing and as you grow older you realize how wonderfully rare it is to connect with another person on so many different levels.

A good friend came to visit me today and although I was sad to see her car pull away, I am thankful that our paths crossed and look forward to the next time we get to meet.

Little things

When a lot of big things are going on around you, it is nice to be reminded of God's presence in even the most minute things of your life.

A loaf of homemade bread

My favorite tea in the morning

A beautiful flower

How wonderful that we can continually discover His unending love for us in new ways.

The lamp of the body is the eye.

if your eye is sound your whole body will be filled with light

but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.

And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

Matthew 6:22-23