Thankful

I am thankful for:

1.  My husband.  Mikey is loving, kind, considerate, hilarious, talented, humble, wise, and just plain awesome.  I am blessed beyond words to be married to him (almost 3 1/2 years!!!)

2.  My family.  It was so great getting to spend time with my parents, my sister, my grandparents, and my in-laws over this Thanksgiving holiday.  I had a great time catching up with everyone, and I was reminded once again how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life who give me such support and love.

3.  My friends.  I am so lucky to have some amazing friends who love me for who I am, who are always there for me when I need them, and who are amazing in and of themselves. I am so thankful that they honor me with their friendship!

4.  My career.  Ok, so maybe being in school does not quite make medicine my career yet, but med school is a full time job...and I love it!  It is not all fun and games of course, but I get to learn super interesting things, work with amazing people, and prepare to really impact peoples lives in a major way in the future!  I am definitely right where God wants me to be, and I am extremely thankful for that!

5.  Lazy holidays to take some time to spend with all of my favorite people, doing some of my favorite things (like hanging out with said people, reading, sleeping, eating, and exercising to my heart's content)!

6.  Great conversations with people I love.

7.  Wrapping up an amazing Thanksgiving holiday by cheering on the Steelers with Mikey and the pups!

my theology

"The whole point of what we're urging is simply love-love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God" -1 Timothy 1:5

My theology:


God is good.  He is perfect, beautiful, holy, righteous, gracious, glorious, creative, powerful, and King.


God made the world.
The world is not so good.  Not so holy.  Not so beautiful.

There is no sinner or saint, no man or woman, no righteous or unrighteous, no ruler or subject among us.  There is only human.

Broken.

All of us.

Those of us that know God and those of us that don't.

But
wholeness,
holiness,
is
not
impossible.


Because God is loving.  He IS love itself.


He loves me.
He loves you.


He made me.
He made you.


He saved me.
He saved you.


He has restored us.  Given us the opportunity to be beautiful, like Him, like we are meant to be.


The difference is our heart, our future, our hope.


When we know God, we don't magically stop sinning.  But we want to.  For God. For His holiness and goodness and beauty.


So when we look at other people, no matter who they are or what they have done, we should look as fellow prisoners, seeing our common ground, our common desperate need for God.


And we should love.  We should share God through our love.  We should share God in love.


And it should always be about God...not about rules, not about categories, not about risks or benefits.


God first.
God last.
God only.


I pray that God keeps speaking to my heart every day, reminding me of who He is, who I am, and who He has called me to be.  I want to honor Him.  I want to glorify my King, the only one who is perfect and glorious and holy in Himself.

pupdate!

It has been a while since I have given everyone an update on our pups...Oliver and Berkeley.

Berkeley is now almost 8 months old!  She just got spayed last week, and she was so unbelievably pitiful for the first day or so after her surgery.  However, she quickly bounced back, and we spent the rest of the week trying to keep her from wrestling with Oliver and jumping all over the place.  It is so great to have her back to her normal, healthy self.  She is healing up nicely!

It is just so crazy to believe that the little 11 pound puppy we brought home 6 months ago is already a 75 pound puppy/dog.  And although she has eaten 2 kindles, 1 droid smart phone, multiple pairs of shoes, AND the windowsill in the room we keep her in, she is an amazingly lovable pup!  She is getting better everyday, and she has become such a sweet girl.  She loves to cuddle and to play.  She loves her walks, especially with her dad!  And she really loves her "big" brother, Oliver.  Here is a picture I took of them on Mikey's phone yesterday...sorry the quality is so bad. 

But aren't they adorable?

Here is a pic from when we first got her to remind you of how much she has grown!  

Things I have learned this study week:

1.  Med school is hard, but wonderful.

2.  All good hair salons are closed on Mondays, even when you desperately need a good haircut to reward yourself for finishing your practical exam before jumping back into studies for your written exam!

3.  Barnes and Noble does not open until 9, so do not get there before that hoping to study with the aid of a venti skinny marble machiatto...you will just have to study in your car...without caffeine...until they open at their appointed time.

4.  Husbands who mute every football game for an entire week so you can concentrate on your studies are the best ever!

5.  Friends who encourage you drawing all over yourself with washable markers to aid in your study of anatomy, namely dermatomes and nerve pathways, are the best to keep around during study week...they make you feel like less of a dork and more of a fun and lovable character!

Oh...and I have also learned a bunch of stuff about the human body and how it works.  That too.