First Aid 101

So....something really funny happened at school today and it just made me laugh. I was leaving and heading for the parking lot and saw a group of guys playing football over in the grass. Well, one guy threw the ball and one was running in the direction straight for a light pole. He was looking back at the ball to catch it, so I knew he was going to run into it. Sure enough...he did. Except what I didn't think he would do, he did. Right before he ran into it full force, he looked straight ahead which meant he pretty much did a face plant into the pole. He immediately started bleeding and I had some tissues so I felt I should help. I went over and he had a big gash in his forehead and his nose was bleeding nonstop. The other guys went inside and got the security guard. He was a little out of it obviously and they were getting ready to take him to the hospital once they got the gash to stop bleeding; the security guard said he probably broke his nose. I did feel bad for him, but the look of the scene and his responsiveness was hilarious....oh it just made my day :)

A Parking Ticket?!

So today started out good. It was friday for me in a sense that I am done with school for the week. My classes went by fast, I don't have that much homework over the weekend, and I received news that I do not have philosophy class on tuesday, and it was a beautiful day to eat lunch outside. Pretty good, huh. Yeah.....I assumed a good day too soon. As I was putting my stuff in my car, I noticed a white paper tucked in my windshield. I stopped abruptly and grabbed it to see what it had to say. A parking ticket....it said it I was in a prohibited spot. Well, I parked in front of the library like I do every day. In fact, I have parked in the same spot since the first day of school. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to park in the library parking lot at the beginning of the year so I simply asked and they said it was definitely ok. So the there was no purpose to thisparking violation right? I took it to the security desk and asked for a reason behind the ticket. The policeman said that there had been too many students parking in the library parking lot and that they made a new rule that no students were allowed to park in that parking lot for more than 5 hours. I asked him how I was supposed to know about the new rule and he stated that they sent out an email to all the students stating so. Guess what, I never received an email. I think the policeman could tell I was a little flustered/frustrated and he explained to me that the first time you receive a parking violation, it's just a warning so that relieved all my worries. He knew I parked there every day so as I was leaving he offered my same previous parking spot daily for five bucks. To be polite, I just laughed and said no thanks. Did he really think that was a deal? :)

Experiencing Grace or Earning it?

Last night as I was reading The Cross Centered Life, Mahaney said something that really struck me as interesting. He said, "What God had intended to be a means of experiencing grace, we have changed into a means of earning grace." A lot of the times we struggle with "so many things to do and so little time to do it" and we just want a time to chill out....well, we can just chill out and receive God's grace; we don't have to do anything to try and earn it. God loved us so much to just give it to us over and over again. We try daily to measure up to a perfect standard when we cant....we're humans! God had intended us to glorify Him throughout our life and enjoy it. So, just chill out and experience His grace :)

CS Lewis

So over the summer I have really gotten hooked on books by CS Lewis. No, most of the time they are not easy to understand, but it is a great feeling of accomplishment when you finally figure out what he's trying to say. At first I needed many friends' guidance and advice as I read to explain it to me because I just didn't understand. Now, I am becoming more familiar with the way he writes and I love it! I have read Screwtape Letters, Problem of Pain, and am currently reading Mere Christianity. My favorite was Screwtape Letters, but I think Mere Christianity will top it :) Last night one of the quotes stuck with me throughout my reading so I decided I would share it. Lewis said, "The almost impossible thing is to hand over your whole self-all your wishes and precautions-to Christ...until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self." That is so true. We as human beings, or atleast myself, always want to be in control of our lives so it is very hard for us to hand our lives completely over to God. But when we bite the bullet and turn our lives into God's hands, thats when we really start to live. Cool, huh? :) Well, maybe that will spark some of your interests out there to start reading ;)

Music to My Ears

Since I have graduated, I do not play my saxophone any more....sad I know :) Therefore, my saxophone sat all summer untouched in my closet. A started practicing hers a little before school started and DD started playing his trombone when school started. DD loves instruments....making up songs, changing keys and rhythm, and so on. Also, his only volume is loud :) But that is to be expected since he is a boy. Anyway, he seemed very intrigued by the saxophone Allison was playing; asking how it worked, how to put it together, and so on. Since mine was not being played, A and I gave it to him to play with thinking he wouldn't know much about it, get bored and only play with it for a couple of days. We were wrong. He plays with it almost every day! The funny thing is, he doesn't know any of the fingerings for any notes so he just blows.....like a brass player :) The other day it was being abnormally squeaky and mother went in there to check on him. She found the issue......the mouthpiece was on upside down :) Oh.....gotta love him! :)

Magnetic Box

So....last week at school I did something I never thought I would do - lock my keys in my car. To be specific they were in my trunk. How they got in there I don't know. You see, I use my trunk as kinda my locker since those don't exist at college and I think they dropped in there when I was grabbing all my philosophy books for class. So....before class I was talking to a classmate and suddenly realized I didn't have my keys and flipped out. My eyes got really big and I told him I'd be right back and started running down the hallway. Of course, with my luck, it was raining outside. I guess he noticed I was trying not to panic so he tried to help me. I called my mother and she ran to the wickerts to get a spare key. My classmate, I guess, tried to help. He asked where my magnetic box was on my car that held the spare key. I was so excited! I already have a spare key? Sweet! I told him I didn't know but to look for it. He got on the wet ground and looked under my car for it until finally he told me he didn't see one anywhere. He asked where Ihad bought the box and how long ago I had purchased it. I was so confused, so I asked "You have to buy the box?" He replied, "Of course, you just dont get a care with an extra spare key attached to the bottom of it!" "Oh, I guess that does make sense. I don't know much about cars." He just laughed and walked away. Silly me, I was just so confused, I did think it was kinda weird to already have a spare key, especially in a little magnetic box under my car; oh well. Mother did finally bring me the real spare key about a half hour later, but it only opened my drivers seat door, not the trunk. Of course, I did not know where the "pop the trunk" button was in my car so I had to go home and read the manual to get to the rest of my books and my purse and my lunch in my trunk.....oh I hope that never happens again.

Will you live it or leave it?

I have been challenged lately with the question of "What will you do with the time God has given you?" Time is such a precious gift that I take for granted too often. With this previous questions come all sorts of other questions. "Do you live with no regrets?" "Do you love what you do and the people you encounter?" "Do you let the past stay in the past?" "Do you take your hurt to God instead of trying to figure it out on your own time?" "Do we give our time first to Jesus and then to our other priorities?" Then, finally, "Are you ready to go home, or do you want to stay and live your life on earth?" Will God say, "Well done,"? Just something to think about :)