Thursday, July 19, 2012

p.s. I'm a workin' girl again.

This summer I started babysitting for a particular family and have been privileged to get to know their three beautiful little girls! The parents asked me if I would come along on a week long vacation with them. As soon as they mentioned the word vacation I automatically was thinking Florida or somewhere else beautiful and full of sunshine. Well, turns out the grandparents have a vacation home up near Lake Superior. A little too close to the Canadian border if you ask me! No offense to any of you Canadians, but if I ever invest in a vacation home, I'm going as far south as I can go! As we were driving to our destination I started to realize we were getting farther and farther away from civilization. The busy interstate slowly turned into back roads with horse drawn carriages lined with Amish stores. For a girl who dreams of the city, a town with a population of 88 frightened me a little bit. Luckily the week wasn't as quiet as I thought it would be. I was responsible for three little girls, ages 5, 2, and 2 months. The two oldest love their candy, which means they were rarely without energy! The week was full of swimming, boating, swing sets, and snuggling. I wish I would have brought my camera along, but unfortunately I forgot to grab it before I left. There was very little time to stop for pictures anyways...with two little girls running around and a baby to entertain, I was busy to say the least. After a long week of fun and meeting lots of new people, we ventured back home. After cleaning potato chips out of my hair and wiping off all the spilled juice, I made it home with new memories, new challenges overcome, a closer relationship with a lovely family, and a terrible burn on my elbow that won't seem to disappear. {That's what happens when I try to have a little fun and go tubing!} By the last day, I was looking a little exhausted and ready to go home! The pathetic face in this picture explains that I suppose. =P


BUT...I am home now and I have some exciting news to share with you all! I GOT A JOB! I'm only home for 5 more full weeks before I have to head back up to school and I was done even thinking about the possibility of anyone hiring me, but this employer needed someone to start right away so they decided to hire me! I'll be working as a caregiver in an assisted living organization for adults with developmental disabilities. I actually worked with this organization a few years ago for a summer and I absolutely LOVED it. And what's even better is that the 32 hour/week job is squeezed into 4 days per week so I still have lots of time to continue babysitting for the family I was talking about before. So basically I have two jobs right now and I'll be able to put some money towards my school bill finally. I can't express how relieved I am. Now I don't look pathetic, but I look like this>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


That is my best friend, Kelsey, by the way. She is another reason I am smiling so big in this picture. =)

So basically...I got to go on a week long vacation, hang out with cute kids, get to know a family better, got a job I know I will love, and I have beautiful friends like Kelsey I get to hang out with the rest of summer. You could say I'm content with where this week has taken me.

Yes, you could DEFINITELY say that.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Running to Reality.

Today I decided to go for a run. It has been way too long since I've ran and I am determined to get back to running consistently! As soon as I turned up my music and started to run I realized how much I had missed it. Running is simply an escape from reality. The stresses and demands of life are momentarily erased from my brain and I can run far, far away from everything. But then I was hit with a thought.

If I'm running away from reality, where am I running to? I don't want to run so far that I find myself lost in the midst of nothing but a whole lot of emptiness.

I closed my eyes (this is probably a good time to mention I was running on my treadmill) and listened to the music coming from my headphones. I was no longer focusing on running far away from the realities of my little world, but instead found myself running harder and faster towards the reality of my life in Christ. I usually make it a point to listen to upbeat positive Christian music when I run. That way not only am I being motivated to keep going until my run is over, but I'm also being motivated to push myself harder to be the person God wants me to be. I realized that my time running shouldn't only be a time to escape the realities of daily stresses, but more importantly it should be a time to run towards and reflect on my ultimate reality; and that is living a life pleasing to God.

How do you spend your time running? Do you listen to certain music, think about important decisions that need to be made? I challenge you to use it as a time to reflect on how you can push yourself to live a life that will further please the Lord! Spend time in prayer and talk to God. You'll be happy you did!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

circumstances of the day.

Trying to hold on to the bigger picture of life can be a challenging affair. Circumstances are often not within one's control. I know I have experienced the truth of that. I expected to come into this summer with a full-time job so I could earn some money to go towards my school bill and be able to provide for myself a little bit instead of having to depend on my parents for every little thing I needed. Well I came home and there was still no job. Even after multiple interviews which seemed promising, nothing happened. I have a few babysitting jobs here and there so I am grateful I have at least that. Yesterday, I would have been leaving for NYC if only I had the money. I was so looking forward to going and teaching summer school like I did last year and I am still crushed that I'm here and not there.

Trying to be content with where I am in life is no doubt a battle. I constantly feel stuck. I just want life to progress but instead I feel like I'm taking ten steps backwards. Looking at my life a year ago compared to now proves it.

So I guess my goal for today is to remember that even though life isn't necessarily progressing how I would like for it to right now, God has a big plan for my life and I just need to be patient until He reveals what it is. Today I am heading out to babysit. I am one of 5 babysitters for 17 little kids. Definitely not the life I want to have forever. Love kids, just not 17 at once. Ha! But basically I am reminding myself as I am reminding you, that the circumstances of today do not determine the reality of the rest of my life. Things will progress how God intends them to, we just have to keep doing the best we can at whatever we are being dealt right now!