Kelly: The Christmas music has started, the cats are hyper and I've been awake since 6AM. Just another day of livin-la-vida-loca! The reason I've been awake so long is that I had another MRI today; hopefully the last for a long while. This one was done because last week, one awesome doctor FINALLY has a name for all my ankle problems!!!! After 2 and a half years of groveling, knocking on doors, pain and frustration, YES. There is a name! Anyway, this MRI was done to see the extent of the problem and what is the next step treatment wise for me; casting first or surgery. She said (the good doctor) that surgery is very unlikely, so keep your eyes open as I will be posting updates. I don't go back to see her until the 10th, so again another waiting game continues.
Anyway, during the scan today the tech asked what radio station I liked to listen to, and I said I'm very fond of K-LOVE; they played music for me since MRI's tend to be rather noisy...if you've never had one, take my word for it. I've had 3. So anyway, I was laying on my back, drifting in and out of sleep and then the radio DJ's who do the morning show were talking about something they read about this guy who was his own "minister of happy." What this guy did was just that...he was just happy. But what he did was change his mindset. The radio DJ's kept talking and mentioned the encouraging word which was from 1 Corinthians 15:58. The premise of this verse is that everything we do is not useless and that we're to work in all things for Christ. One of the DJ's said that with that kind of mindset, daily, it can provide the same eternal gratitude as leading someone to Christ. What a concept. Just something for us to take home; instead of "going through the motions" and going through the daily grind, how's about we take our mundane every dayness and use any and every moment possible for God? Thoughts and actions like that could change us...even the world.
Holly: This especially struck me today. Last Tuesday was my last day at my job. Which means yes...I am now unemployed once again. With the exception of my Mary Kay. To say I'm anxious, uneasy, worried, all are understatements. Most of the time I try to keep the faith but sometimes it's hard to not get discouraged. But when I heard about being our own ministers of happy, it was like a light switch. Yes, times are scary and uncertain for me right now. God is taking me through a season that is uncomfortable, boring, scary...I feel sometimes as if I'm on pins and needles, waiting for an email, phone call, ANYTHING. But that isn't how it has to be.
So how does someone like me be a minister of happy even in the dark times? I know for me that I have to undergo a serious change of perspective. I know that I need to use this abundant spare time for God, for rest, for prayer, and being serious in my faith to the point that I solely rely on God for my utmost needs and desires. Which at this point is work. I need to work! I need to stay busy! But what I keep praying is that regardless of where I end up I want to be used by God. For now, I wait. And do things. Like tonight: I auditioned for a dance ensemble at Berea. I have absolutely no idea if I'll even get into a piece, but it was the most fun hour and forty five minutes I've had in a LONG time. I'll plan my party. I'll sleep. And pray. And keep faith. Because we do what we have to do.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
The Crisis Mode!!!!!
Kelly: This morning sis and I had somewhat of an interesting conversation. We were talking about really really stressful situations and what we did to get over them. Our responses were typical; we did the usual "short term" relief efforts to combat our stress. Here's what I mean.
Last year when I was in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) after watching a patient go through a seemingly routine surgery, her BP shot through the roof. This was related to several factors, but anyway it escalated pretty quickly. I noticed that the nurse kept IV pushing two medications that I had never heard of. I later learned that they were anti-hypertensives but were very short acting. So every few minutes the nurse would have to give just a little bit more. While this was going on, I was thinking "well shouldn't somebody be trying to figure out what the problem is or look for a more long term solution?" Eventually they did and the patient was transported to intensive care.
"Wow! Great story Kelly! Now what in the heck are you talking about?" Well I'm getting there. In a crisis situation, when you feel like there's no way out, often times we turn to short term solutions just to temporarily take the edge off. People do this in many ways; post about it on Facebook browse a few recipes on Pinterest, or turn to more harmful measures such as drinking or smoking. And sure, those measures make us feel good and block out the world for a bit, but the minute you turn off the web browser, or put that bottle down or put that butt out, what you were trying to avoid is still right where you left it. It didn't go away, so we keep going back to those temporary measures. But like the patient I saw, until a long-term solution was reached, the nurse was going to have to keep pushing those medications. So here's a challenge for you all (and for me as well), instead of seeking temporary relief when stressful times hit, look into the root of the problem and come up with a long-term solution. That way, you won't have to be standing over yourself self-administering that temporary fix.
Holly: Ugh....now that I'm older I am so over these "quick fixes" to life situations. My philosophy is if it ain't a permanent solution then I'm not even going to waste my time! I used to be a horrible procrastinator. Still am, I suppose. But while I was busy all aboard the procrastination express, I had the mindset of "Oh, well, God will provide this and that, etc." Which is VERY true. I'm not mean to be sacrilegious. But yesterday Kelly and I were doing our LoTR devotional and a topic similar to this one came up, and it dawned on me: Yes, God DOES provide, and He is faithful, but sometimes He might want us to change something about our lifestyle, a nasty habit we have, etc.
Think about it this way: Say you have a monster deadline/paper/project/major life stressor due in a short amount of time. You've known about it for a while now, but now it's getting down to the wire and you realize you've barely put a dent in it. As that time you thought you had so much of comes to a halt, you remember your thinking something along the lines of "Oh, I've got time, it'll get done, I'll finish it..." (Sounding a little familiar yet??????)
When you say you want to stop procrastinating, or stressing yourself out, or whatever you need to fix, say the words and PUT ACTIONS behind them. With me, I combated my procrastination by doing my work, REALLY DOING my work, DISCIPLINING myself to do my work, and I set a goal. If I reached that goal, I would spend 15 minutes or so indulging in mindless internet culture. After my 15 minutes (I timed myself...seriously!!!!), it was back to work. Ask Kelly what she does. Seriously. She is ON TOP of her game this semester, y'all!
One more piece of advice: if you KNOW of something coming up that you have to do, take the necessary steps to prepare it. If you're a slow reader, start your reading earlier. If you have a paper due in two weeks, write a little bit every day, even if it's just a paragraph or two. Be diligent with your time and LIMIT yourself if you have to (Which, let's face it....YOU DO!!!!!!!!!!!!). If you just do a little bit of planning, preparation, and extra work and initiative, then you will avoid crisis modes for a long time to come.
Last year when I was in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) after watching a patient go through a seemingly routine surgery, her BP shot through the roof. This was related to several factors, but anyway it escalated pretty quickly. I noticed that the nurse kept IV pushing two medications that I had never heard of. I later learned that they were anti-hypertensives but were very short acting. So every few minutes the nurse would have to give just a little bit more. While this was going on, I was thinking "well shouldn't somebody be trying to figure out what the problem is or look for a more long term solution?" Eventually they did and the patient was transported to intensive care.
"Wow! Great story Kelly! Now what in the heck are you talking about?" Well I'm getting there. In a crisis situation, when you feel like there's no way out, often times we turn to short term solutions just to temporarily take the edge off. People do this in many ways; post about it on Facebook browse a few recipes on Pinterest, or turn to more harmful measures such as drinking or smoking. And sure, those measures make us feel good and block out the world for a bit, but the minute you turn off the web browser, or put that bottle down or put that butt out, what you were trying to avoid is still right where you left it. It didn't go away, so we keep going back to those temporary measures. But like the patient I saw, until a long-term solution was reached, the nurse was going to have to keep pushing those medications. So here's a challenge for you all (and for me as well), instead of seeking temporary relief when stressful times hit, look into the root of the problem and come up with a long-term solution. That way, you won't have to be standing over yourself self-administering that temporary fix.
Holly: Ugh....now that I'm older I am so over these "quick fixes" to life situations. My philosophy is if it ain't a permanent solution then I'm not even going to waste my time! I used to be a horrible procrastinator. Still am, I suppose. But while I was busy all aboard the procrastination express, I had the mindset of "Oh, well, God will provide this and that, etc." Which is VERY true. I'm not mean to be sacrilegious. But yesterday Kelly and I were doing our LoTR devotional and a topic similar to this one came up, and it dawned on me: Yes, God DOES provide, and He is faithful, but sometimes He might want us to change something about our lifestyle, a nasty habit we have, etc.
Think about it this way: Say you have a monster deadline/paper/project/major life stressor due in a short amount of time. You've known about it for a while now, but now it's getting down to the wire and you realize you've barely put a dent in it. As that time you thought you had so much of comes to a halt, you remember your thinking something along the lines of "Oh, I've got time, it'll get done, I'll finish it..." (Sounding a little familiar yet??????)
When you say you want to stop procrastinating, or stressing yourself out, or whatever you need to fix, say the words and PUT ACTIONS behind them. With me, I combated my procrastination by doing my work, REALLY DOING my work, DISCIPLINING myself to do my work, and I set a goal. If I reached that goal, I would spend 15 minutes or so indulging in mindless internet culture. After my 15 minutes (I timed myself...seriously!!!!), it was back to work. Ask Kelly what she does. Seriously. She is ON TOP of her game this semester, y'all!
One more piece of advice: if you KNOW of something coming up that you have to do, take the necessary steps to prepare it. If you're a slow reader, start your reading earlier. If you have a paper due in two weeks, write a little bit every day, even if it's just a paragraph or two. Be diligent with your time and LIMIT yourself if you have to (Which, let's face it....YOU DO!!!!!!!!!!!!). If you just do a little bit of planning, preparation, and extra work and initiative, then you will avoid crisis modes for a long time to come.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Potpurri Post #5
Kelly: We have nothing concrete to talk about, so we're just going to blah on and on. It's going to be a busy week for me. Doc's appt tomorrow, test tomorrow, test on Friday and a Women's choir concert on Sunday that you all should come to cuz it's going to be awwwwwwwwwwwwesome!!!!!!!!!
I'm really excited about the Hobbit too. I had seen the trailers and whatnot on TV but seeing it on the big screen was super cool! And to think, the next time we see it on the big screen it'll be for real! I also have my tentative clinical placement for next semester; anybody ever been to a surgical ICU? I was pretty mad at first that I didn't get a placement at Berea, but life goes on. And now we're watching Gangam style. Life is pretty good. Nothing really to report for me. I'm boring :P
Holly: So we really don't have a specific topic...so we're just going to catch y'all up on our lives and babble endlessly until we feel like stopping! :}
To start, almost ONE. MONTH. Until The Hobbit appears on the big screen!!!!!!! To say that Kelly and I are excited is a gross understatement. We saw Wreck-it Ralph with some friends last night and we saw a preview and I think we scared our friends and everyone else in the theater! lol. But yeah. We have our tickets and everything. It's going to be amazing!
A bit of sad (ish) news: I have just about a week and a half of my job left, and then I'm back out into the world of unknowns. I can't believe it's already been six months. When I got hired on and they told me everything would wrap up in November, it seemed a million miles away, but now it's here. It's been so awesome, and I've been really blessed with awesome co-workers. And of course, the sweetest (and smelliest, and greasiest) dogs anyone can even imagine. I will miss it terribly. So I'm going to do my best to make the most of these last few days. I've sent out some applications; I'm looking for something a little closer to home. Because I do love my job, SO. MUCH, but the commutes are kind of crazy. So there's that. Please send good vibes/pray/whatever you do for me in these next couple of weeks.
Another endeavor that I've recently joined is Mary Kay. Yes! After several months of friends dragging me to events and yanking my rope, I signed up about a month ago. It's been a little slow-going, and it gets pretty frustrating, but overall I am enjoying it, and things are slowly picking up and I'm making progress. I have goals and I know what I need to do to reach them, and I'm confident that I will do so. The women are so amazing and encouraging, and of course the products sell themselves! I'm excited to see where this whole thing goes; I'm looking forward to it. :)
That's about all I have to report on my front. Keep on keeping on. Be blessed!
I'm really excited about the Hobbit too. I had seen the trailers and whatnot on TV but seeing it on the big screen was super cool! And to think, the next time we see it on the big screen it'll be for real! I also have my tentative clinical placement for next semester; anybody ever been to a surgical ICU? I was pretty mad at first that I didn't get a placement at Berea, but life goes on. And now we're watching Gangam style. Life is pretty good. Nothing really to report for me. I'm boring :P
Holly: So we really don't have a specific topic...so we're just going to catch y'all up on our lives and babble endlessly until we feel like stopping! :}
To start, almost ONE. MONTH. Until The Hobbit appears on the big screen!!!!!!! To say that Kelly and I are excited is a gross understatement. We saw Wreck-it Ralph with some friends last night and we saw a preview and I think we scared our friends and everyone else in the theater! lol. But yeah. We have our tickets and everything. It's going to be amazing!
A bit of sad (ish) news: I have just about a week and a half of my job left, and then I'm back out into the world of unknowns. I can't believe it's already been six months. When I got hired on and they told me everything would wrap up in November, it seemed a million miles away, but now it's here. It's been so awesome, and I've been really blessed with awesome co-workers. And of course, the sweetest (and smelliest, and greasiest) dogs anyone can even imagine. I will miss it terribly. So I'm going to do my best to make the most of these last few days. I've sent out some applications; I'm looking for something a little closer to home. Because I do love my job, SO. MUCH, but the commutes are kind of crazy. So there's that. Please send good vibes/pray/whatever you do for me in these next couple of weeks.
Another endeavor that I've recently joined is Mary Kay. Yes! After several months of friends dragging me to events and yanking my rope, I signed up about a month ago. It's been a little slow-going, and it gets pretty frustrating, but overall I am enjoying it, and things are slowly picking up and I'm making progress. I have goals and I know what I need to do to reach them, and I'm confident that I will do so. The women are so amazing and encouraging, and of course the products sell themselves! I'm excited to see where this whole thing goes; I'm looking forward to it. :)
That's about all I have to report on my front. Keep on keeping on. Be blessed!
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