This week in pictures

I've been sick again. [shocking.] I realized

a couple weeks ago that I receive a lot of picture message via text. 

I thought it would be fun to keep a collected of my favorite

ones. This week's theme? 

Mountain life & puppies. 

Not sure if there is anything better in the world than those 2 things. 

Clockwise from top left.

1. My favorite niece-dog, Bellatrix. Her ears kill me. [Harry Potter namesake ftw!]

2. My backyard, sent from Dad. Luckily, I get one of these almost every day. 

3. My favorite stuffed animal look-alike Tomalo.

4. A herd of deer hanging out near our house. I think this one was

sent to rub in the warm CO weather. 

Happy Tuesday. 

What it looks like to trust

I've been wanting to write for a few days now, 

but I've struggled to wrangle my thoughts into something

that follows a cohesive path. Since the start of school a few weeks ago, 

it seems I've struggled to do anything in an orderly fashion. For some reason,
this week has made me painfully aware of my introversion & deep need
to be alone & reflective. As I sat down tonight to grab a few silent minutes
 before starting a 14-hour-day tomorrow, I was delighted
to read the perfect encouragement for a night when I find it hard
to trust that all this busyness has a purpose:

"If you believe that I am sovereign over every aspect of your life,
it is possible to trust me in all situations. Don't waste energy regretting
the way things are or thinking about what might have been. Start at the present
moment-accepting things exactly as they are- and
search for my way in the midst of those circumstances."-Jesus Calling

Tonight, trusting Him looks just like that. Accepting things the way
they are [as disjointed & busy as they may be] & looking for Him there.
I can do that.

New Day

It's been dreary and rainy here for a week now. 

I know this is normal for parts of the world, but my

sunshine-loving Colorado soul is missing the 300+ days

of sunshine we get yearly back at home. My first thought upon

waking this morning was, 

"I think I've forgotten what the sun looks like."

I immediately realized that this was a rather melodramatic

thought. But this whole internal conversation got me thinking about 

how momentary-minded I am as a person. 

When I'm sick, it's all I know. 

When I'm stressed, I can't remember peace.

When it rains, I forget the sun. 

By midday, the sun had dissolved the clouds & everything seemed new.
I even got a short bike ride in, which I've been itching for lately. Suddenly it felt
like I hadn't just spent the last several days wishing for the sun to shine-once it came,
it was all that mattered. I've talked about it before here, but I've been thinking
a lot lately about how quickly our perspectives, emotions, & perceptions change.
I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, or even if I need to decide one way
or the other. But I do know that I am thankful for the newness that comes
with each new day. 

To see in 2013

I'm only halfway through my second week

of spring semester & I'm already finding my productivity

at a new low & my media consumption at an equal high. 

If I could get paid for the hours I spend listening to music, 

watching movies & researching what is coming out in either of those 

topics, I would not be in school for OT. Anyone who knows me

well, knows I love movies. I've spent an embarrassing amount of time

making a list of old movies I want to see this year. I should probably be

preparing for my day of class tomorrow, but instead, I'm 

going to make a list of my most anticipated movies coming out in 2013: 

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

 [duh. Part 1 of this movie was honestly one of the best movies I've ever seen.]

2. Mama. 

[Yes, I will have nightmares for days. But my love for Guillermo Del Toro is unending.]

3. After Earth 

[I am1 of 5 remaining M. Night Shyamalan fans. & I lose all my credibility as a movie critic when I say I'm excited about this. But it's got Will AND Jaden Smith. 

4. Don Jon's Addiction

[My love for Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also unending.]

5. The Lone Ranger

[Johnny Depp. love.]

6. Untitled Terrence Malick Project

[Music. Austin, TX. Christian Bale.]

7. Gangster Squad

[Because who doesn't love gangsters?]

It's also a good year for books made into movies: 

8. Ender's Game

9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

10. World War Z 

[haters gonna hate]

Grow where you're planted.

A week ago I stepped off of a plane and found myself back in Nashville,

anticipating my second semester of graduate school, & ready to 

continue building onto the life I started here back in August. It seems

like no matter where I am these days I'm missing something. When I'm

in Colorado, I'm missing Nashville's weather, my friends there, or my little

apartment. I think even for a moment I missed being in school.

[It was a fleeting moment.] Naturally, upon arriving back to Nashville,

which is "home" for now, I'm missing my family, my friends back there,

& I've started to feel a longing to be back in the mountains. 

The constant state of my restless soul frustrates me at times.

I've talked about it before, but I really struggle to be content where I am-

to "grow where I'm planted" as a friend of mine says. 

But I'm working on it. 

To help alleviate the "missing" feeling I often experience, I've

got a lot to look forward to in the next couple months. There's

a growing Nashville bucket list, designed by one of my friends

in the program, & I'm excited for it. 

I claim this.

I'm not sure if I was expecting to feel different when I woke up in 2013 than I

did when I went to sleep in 2012,

but I do know that I woke up on January 1 almost exactly as I did the day before.

In fact, everything about the start of this year was eerily familiar to the end of the last.

It seems like the newness of the new year just isn't here yet. 

It's got me thinking about change & how sometimes it just feels 

so dang slow. As I sit here next to a box of tissues & a stomach

full of cough drops, I think about the times I've been really sick.

It seems like every time I get really sick, [a rather common occurrence for me]

 I forget what it feels like to be healthy. I'm just sick. & then one day I'm better.

The days in-between are usually a gradual process of healing, but all I know 

is that during those days, I'm not well. For some reason, it's really hard for me to track my progress. All I can focus on is my current state. 

That's sort of how I feel about this past year, the first 5 days of 2013, & growth in general.

One day you just wake up & realize that things have changed. 

[most of the time that you've changed]

but by the time you've realized this, the days in-between are a blur. 

The end result is undeniable; there was most definitely a change. But there exists

no monumental catalyst for the change; it just happens.

This is where I am. I know there is movement happening, 

but when I try to pinpoint that movement, I just can't. But I know one day 

I'll be able to. Until then, I've claimed this chapter for 2013: 

Psalm 40