....as a dog....

Sick. Bleh. Sick sick. sick as a dog.

It started with flu on Wednesday evening...my family had been passing it around so it's not all that surprising. I was on the couch with a fever and aches until Saturday morning...and felt great until about Saturday evening, when a headache came on and left sinus pressure, sore throat, and (somehow) fever again in it's wake.

I'm told that really the immune system is only as strong as your mind tells it that it is...thus the best way to stay well is to decide that you, simply, DON'T get sick.

apparently my mind over matter skills suck.

However obnoxious it is to be battling the germs again, it couldn't have happened at a better time. I fell sick just after Matt left on Wednesday morning and since I was spending Thursday-Saturday at home (mom and dad were out of town so the siblings hung out) I got to spend the sick days on the couch along with my sister who was in similar shape. We watched a lot of TV but also got quite a bit of talking about college life and such in. Good times.

I'm still in reflection of the fabulous weekend I had a week ago (already?). My trip to DeKalb was another instance of "perfect timing"...After a week of slamming books and taking multiple tests, I was able to shed my coat of constant stress, completely ignore school for a few days, and enjoy the freedom of a road trip, the joy of seeing Matt after a month's absence, and the unpredictable fun of living in someone else's life for a weekend. Met lots of friends, played lots of video games and cards, went to his church, and praised God on many occasions for the protection that he and his friends had during the shootings on Thursday evening. The tone of the campus was very solemn though not defeated, and it was wonderful to be at his church that sunday morning, where many plans were already in motion for the formation of care packages for administration, police, and fire departments. They were also undertaking a grief councelling training class for the church body, so that upon arrival of the students today they could be involved in some hands on healing ministries. Good to see the body of Christ working so quickly and broadly to help. In a more lighthearted turn of events, Matt was able to come home for a few days because their classes were canceled for the remainder of the week. This meant that we got to spend a bit more time together between my classes on Monday and Tuesday.

This weekend Mom and Dad got to get away to Michigan and hobnob with the "choir gurus" (sp??). It is the first time my dad has gotten to be away and relax in quite a good while and he looked quite refreshed on coming home. For those of you who hadn't heard, Dad has spent the last several months considering a job change to Baylor university in Texas...after several rounds of interviews, they offered him the position which threw our family in to a tailspin as far as discerning the will of God. After much praying and discussing with Millikin folks, Dad made the decision to stay put, seeing some new windows in the MU program and potential growth in some related events to be appealing and right for now. We're praising God for the clarity he gave us and the way we learned to trust Him through the brush with potential changes. It's funny how we often forget how stubborn we are until we are asked to surrender something we consider immovable. A great reminder...and an interesting process to go through as a family.

All told, we feel quite relieved not to be house hunting and packing up in the next few months...and yet we see quite a few changes on the horizon regardless. Life is like that...and I'm glad. It'd be boring otherwise.

Well, I've a proposal to write and some GRE prep vocabulary to study. ...as well as final work on my newest undertaking, my millipede research experiment, which will take place over spring break. No, I'm not going to the beach with Faith as invited...you can find me holed up with lots of legs and some electrical shocking plates. Exciting. Oh well, it will be good to get it out of the way without the regular stresses of school.

Challenged this morning about my dependency on God's word this morning with a familiar passage:

"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us in our time of need."
Hebrews 5: 12-16

May we be exposed by His word and transformed by His spirit, and may we accept His grace with a heat postured in complete vulnerability to Him.

Blessings...