This had been an exciting week, working on plans for next semester's electives, preparing to start grad school next week, and enjoying the company of a wonderful couple from church who had graciously opened their home to a "cripple" (as my friends affectionately call me now) to avoid climbing 18 stairs every time she wanted to leave her apartment.
Yet, today I find my emotions of excitement muddled and fragmented with the somber realization that instead of starting a new chapter of my life next week, I will spend most of it in mid-TN closing an old one and sharing with my family the conglomeration of emotions and feelings that loss expects. I know God is faithful and loving and will see us through time as He has so many before.
8.24.2007
8.22.2007
An Interesting Verse
I believe that there's a verse to go with every situation in life.
I think I found mine for this situation in life after studying Hebrews 12 tonight at church:
"And make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed." Hebrews 12:13 (emphasis mine)
So is this telling me that I should give up traversing all those crooked rocky hiking trails? I sure hope not. :o) Hmmm....
I think I found mine for this situation in life after studying Hebrews 12 tonight at church:
"And make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed." Hebrews 12:13 (emphasis mine)
So is this telling me that I should give up traversing all those crooked rocky hiking trails? I sure hope not. :o) Hmmm....
8.19.2007
Praise
So I was originally going to title this post "Ponderings and the Pentateuch" but I've been reflecting on too many praise-worthy things lately so I just thought I'd share a few:
1. A new cast...which meant my old one was too loose because most of the swelling has disappeared (as long as its elevated). Recovery is going well. I didn't realize how much I needed this "mandatory down time," and how wonderful it's been to sleep in past 9am without feeling guilty about the precious hours of studying missed. I can't remember the last time I've slept in for so many days and so many hours and I definitely have no feelings of guilt for doing so.
2.Catching up on reading. Between being on crutches or a Roll-About (which is an ingenious invention that attracts as many stares and comments as taking a puppy or a baby to a park) and my hometown trying to vie with the Sahara desert for the title of "driest and hottest place to live," I haven't had the opportunity to do much more than read and watch movies. You've probably already noticed my recent reviews and reads.
3.Farmer's Market. Hands down there's nothing better than a freshly picked heirloom tomato sliced and eaten or some summer squash sauteed with onion, peppers, herbs, and placed on a piece of locally-made sourdough bread topped with melted Montery Jack cheese. Dee-lish. And if you attend a market in East Tennessee, you may just be pleasantly surprised by the sound of some local bluegrass music (no the musicians are not for sale).
4.U-Pick. If you're ever in Flag Pond, Tennessee around this time of year, stop by the Heavenly Holler Farm and pick some blackberries. The taste? Just heavenly of course.
5.Abel. He and his parents finally were able to return to East Tennessee!!!www.caringbridge.org/visit/abeltyson
6.It's almost Missions Seminar Time! September 14-16th. Mark your calendars.
7.A wonderful new temporary residence. Forget staying in my upstairs apartment, I have a room/house with a view, a pool, and an excellent environment to catch up on my reading and thinking about how I should probably start studying for my upcoming classes. Yay for those who practice hospitality :o)
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8
1. A new cast...which meant my old one was too loose because most of the swelling has disappeared (as long as its elevated). Recovery is going well. I didn't realize how much I needed this "mandatory down time," and how wonderful it's been to sleep in past 9am without feeling guilty about the precious hours of studying missed. I can't remember the last time I've slept in for so many days and so many hours and I definitely have no feelings of guilt for doing so.
2.Catching up on reading. Between being on crutches or a Roll-About (which is an ingenious invention that attracts as many stares and comments as taking a puppy or a baby to a park) and my hometown trying to vie with the Sahara desert for the title of "driest and hottest place to live," I haven't had the opportunity to do much more than read and watch movies. You've probably already noticed my recent reviews and reads.
3.Farmer's Market. Hands down there's nothing better than a freshly picked heirloom tomato sliced and eaten or some summer squash sauteed with onion, peppers, herbs, and placed on a piece of locally-made sourdough bread topped with melted Montery Jack cheese. Dee-lish. And if you attend a market in East Tennessee, you may just be pleasantly surprised by the sound of some local bluegrass music (no the musicians are not for sale).
4.U-Pick. If you're ever in Flag Pond, Tennessee around this time of year, stop by the Heavenly Holler Farm and pick some blackberries. The taste? Just heavenly of course.
5.Abel. He and his parents finally were able to return to East Tennessee!!!www.caringbridge.org/visit/abeltyson
6.It's almost Missions Seminar Time! September 14-16th. Mark your calendars.
7.A wonderful new temporary residence. Forget staying in my upstairs apartment, I have a room/house with a view, a pool, and an excellent environment to catch up on my reading and thinking about how I should probably start studying for my upcoming classes. Yay for those who practice hospitality :o)
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8
8.14.2007
Motion
Motion: the thing which allows us to leave the previous and move on to the next moment of life. It is the characteristic which separates life from death. Without movement our lungs cannot breathe, our blood cannot traverse the circuitous route of vessels to deliver oxygen to the body, and our nerves cannot deliver those thoughts which define our individual self.
As humans we crave motion. We look forward to our afternoon run, feeling our legs move under us as they connect and reconnect with the ground below. We spend hours repeating the same movements of fingers and hands until we have mastered a piece of music or conquered our opponents in some form of raquet sport. We save our money and our time so that we can move ourselves from one hemisphere of the globe to the next, defining such gross movement as "travel." We envy those with vehicles that can produce faster, quicker, more accurate motion than our own.
Our lives are often defined in terms of motion "a journey," "being stuck in a rut," or "about to take the next tep."
Our jobs are often defined in terms of motion "a rat race," a "climbing of the corporate ladder," or "feeling trapped at the bottom."
Even our thoughts "race," our words "stick," and our feelings "float on Cloud Nine" or topple us "head over heels." Where does all this motion take us?
We're told that 10,000 steps a day is encouraged to maintain good health, but what if those 10,000 steps furthur define the same rutted routine that we've been doing for years of our lives? And what if our thoughts continue to traverse the same boring path inside our mind, never taking the "road not taken"? Is that healthy motion? Is there such a thing as healthy and unhealthy motion or is just the lack of motion that may be unhealthy? But then again, sometimes it seems sufficient to "be still."
So not per usual, I leave you with no quote. Just a post about motion.
Just Read: All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou
Currently Reading: Numbers, Status Syndrome by Michael Marmot
Going to Read: The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis
As humans we crave motion. We look forward to our afternoon run, feeling our legs move under us as they connect and reconnect with the ground below. We spend hours repeating the same movements of fingers and hands until we have mastered a piece of music or conquered our opponents in some form of raquet sport. We save our money and our time so that we can move ourselves from one hemisphere of the globe to the next, defining such gross movement as "travel." We envy those with vehicles that can produce faster, quicker, more accurate motion than our own.
Our lives are often defined in terms of motion "a journey," "being stuck in a rut," or "about to take the next tep."
Our jobs are often defined in terms of motion "a rat race," a "climbing of the corporate ladder," or "feeling trapped at the bottom."
Even our thoughts "race," our words "stick," and our feelings "float on Cloud Nine" or topple us "head over heels." Where does all this motion take us?
We're told that 10,000 steps a day is encouraged to maintain good health, but what if those 10,000 steps furthur define the same rutted routine that we've been doing for years of our lives? And what if our thoughts continue to traverse the same boring path inside our mind, never taking the "road not taken"? Is that healthy motion? Is there such a thing as healthy and unhealthy motion or is just the lack of motion that may be unhealthy? But then again, sometimes it seems sufficient to "be still."
So not per usual, I leave you with no quote. Just a post about motion.
Just Read: All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou
Currently Reading: Numbers, Status Syndrome by Michael Marmot
Going to Read: The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis
8.09.2007
More HodgePodge
So it's POD 15 though I feel like it should be POD 35. I'm learning alot (such as it's not a good idea to go outside in 100+ degree weather with a cast on...it's not a good idea to go outside in 100+ weather period), healing alot (or so I hope), and catching up on all the hours of sleep I lost the first 3 years of medical school and all the hours of sleep my friends lost the first 3 years, and all the hours we'll lose intern year, etc..
I have no great epiphanies or pearls of wisdom to offer you. I do have new respect for those patients in the VA wound care clinic who patiently let the neophyte surgery student (me) remove their stitches and staples sans much experience.
I have a new respect for caregivers. I'll readily admit that patience and dependence are not two of my natural gifts; rather, I seem to posess an abundance of the opposite qualities. You could say they are my Achilles heal, or peroneal tendon in my case. It's been a struggle the past few weeks letting people do for me and help me, accepting help, even non-perfect help, slow help, not-quite-what-I-was-expecting help. I'm learning...slowly.
So three more weeks in a cast, two more in a boot, and finally (hopefully) I'll be able to use two feet again. I'm almost there.
Just read: Exodus
Currently reading: The Status Syndrome (recommended) by somebody Marmot, Real Food by Nina Planck
Plan to read: All my public health books (in a few weeks, or at least look past the front cover)
(ok so all of the above are recommended)
I have no great epiphanies or pearls of wisdom to offer you. I do have new respect for those patients in the VA wound care clinic who patiently let the neophyte surgery student (me) remove their stitches and staples sans much experience.
I have a new respect for caregivers. I'll readily admit that patience and dependence are not two of my natural gifts; rather, I seem to posess an abundance of the opposite qualities. You could say they are my Achilles heal, or peroneal tendon in my case. It's been a struggle the past few weeks letting people do for me and help me, accepting help, even non-perfect help, slow help, not-quite-what-I-was-expecting help. I'm learning...slowly.
So three more weeks in a cast, two more in a boot, and finally (hopefully) I'll be able to use two feet again. I'm almost there.
Just read: Exodus
Currently reading: The Status Syndrome (recommended) by somebody Marmot, Real Food by Nina Planck
Plan to read: All my public health books (in a few weeks, or at least look past the front cover)
(ok so all of the above are recommended)
8.02.2007
Ones and Twos
Several moments of boredom have prompted me to create a hodgepodge list of one and two item suggestion that you may find helpful, amusing, or simply a means of passing a few moments of your own boredom:
One + One = One Great Dessert
Half of our fabulous female Quillen quartet accepted the invitation to have lunch today with one of the other members. The result led to the decadent dessert of homemade brownies coupled with Breyer's All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream. Wonderfully delicious and absolutely no calories (because calories don't count on birthdays, sickdays, girls' nights, etc..)!
One Website to Check Out:
www.freecycle.org Based on the principle that "one man's junk is another man's treasure, this site allows people of the same geographic area to post and accept unwanted items that would otherwise go into the trash. So whether it's a dozen toilet paper rolls, a bicycle, or an old printer, check out this site to find donors or recipients and leave trash for the trashcan.
Two Great Vegetables, One Great Recipe
I know you are all wondering what to do with all the fresh summer squash and zucchini you purchased at the market. Here's a great recipe to take care of some of your squash surplus:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. Vidalia onion, finely chopped
2 cups zucchini sliced thinly and unpeeled
2 cups yellow squash sliced thinly and unpeeled
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly-shredded mozzarella cheese
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
3 cups cooked brown rice
3 Tbsp flax meal (optional)
Heat oven to 400 degrees and grease 8x8 pan. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add garlic and onions. Cook until tender (3-5 min). Add squash and zucchini and cook another 5-10 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and stir in additional ingredients except flax meal. Place mixture in 8x8 pan, making sure it is packed into dish. Sprinkle with flax meal. Cover and bake 25 minutes.
(Adapted from Lean, Lucious, and Meatless Cookbook)
One Way to Dispose of Extra Flowers
Whether its a business event, wedding, or other event, a great way to dispose of all those extra freshly-cut flowers is to take them to a local nursing home. It'll brighten the patients' day and save those beautiful flowers from an untimely demise in the dumpster.
Two Random Facts
If a surgeon in Egypt lost a patient while performing an operation, his hands were cut off. (I guess there weren't many surgery residents back then!)
Gloucestershire airport in England, reportedly used to blast Tina Turner songs on runways to scare away birds. (I'm glad to know Tina Turner is helping keeping our airplanes safe)
So there's my list of randomness. Feel free to add your own list of ones and twos!
One + One = One Great Dessert
Half of our fabulous female Quillen quartet accepted the invitation to have lunch today with one of the other members. The result led to the decadent dessert of homemade brownies coupled with Breyer's All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream. Wonderfully delicious and absolutely no calories (because calories don't count on birthdays, sickdays, girls' nights, etc..)!
One Website to Check Out:
www.freecycle.org Based on the principle that "one man's junk is another man's treasure, this site allows people of the same geographic area to post and accept unwanted items that would otherwise go into the trash. So whether it's a dozen toilet paper rolls, a bicycle, or an old printer, check out this site to find donors or recipients and leave trash for the trashcan.
Two Great Vegetables, One Great Recipe
I know you are all wondering what to do with all the fresh summer squash and zucchini you purchased at the market. Here's a great recipe to take care of some of your squash surplus:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. Vidalia onion, finely chopped
2 cups zucchini sliced thinly and unpeeled
2 cups yellow squash sliced thinly and unpeeled
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly-shredded mozzarella cheese
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
3 cups cooked brown rice
3 Tbsp flax meal (optional)
Heat oven to 400 degrees and grease 8x8 pan. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add garlic and onions. Cook until tender (3-5 min). Add squash and zucchini and cook another 5-10 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and stir in additional ingredients except flax meal. Place mixture in 8x8 pan, making sure it is packed into dish. Sprinkle with flax meal. Cover and bake 25 minutes.
(Adapted from Lean, Lucious, and Meatless Cookbook)
One Way to Dispose of Extra Flowers
Whether its a business event, wedding, or other event, a great way to dispose of all those extra freshly-cut flowers is to take them to a local nursing home. It'll brighten the patients' day and save those beautiful flowers from an untimely demise in the dumpster.
Two Random Facts
If a surgeon in Egypt lost a patient while performing an operation, his hands were cut off. (I guess there weren't many surgery residents back then!)
Gloucestershire airport in England, reportedly used to blast Tina Turner songs on runways to scare away birds. (I'm glad to know Tina Turner is helping keeping our airplanes safe)
So there's my list of randomness. Feel free to add your own list of ones and twos!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
