One more...

This is finals week for Purdue and I have one more exam tomorrow. One more exam and I am officially FINISHED with my semester. After that I only have one more semester and I'm officially FINISHED at Purdue. Hard to believe...but very exciting.

And isn't summer wonderful! There's nothing quite as refreshing as long sunny days after a long gloomy winter. Our yard is covered in dandelions and I couldn't be happier to see them.:)

So...let's all thank God one more time for today!:)

Babysitting

Bryan and I were babysitting so Luke and Ann could head out for a date night and here's where Bryan and Adrian ended up hanging out for most of the night. Adrian hadn't had a nap that day and fell asleep pretty much right after climbing onto Bryan's lap. Apparently Bryan hadn't had his nap yet either. So adorable. what is it about sleeping kids that makes them so stinking irresistable?

Bryan looks pretty good holding the little guy too...I'm starting to think that maybe we shouldn't wait quite as long for kids as we had planned.:)

What is our life?

Bryan and I love to talk about the future. It's pretty common for him to pause in the middle of a bite of dinner and ask, "So Babe, where do you see us in five years?" :) For some reason, dreaming and planning about our future together gives us a rush. In fact, to make it a little easier to keep track of all our ideas (and because Bryan loves spreadsheets), we have compiled an Excel spreadsheet entitled "our life".:) (unfortunately, that document is top secret and will not be included in this post):) If you're thinking this sounds a little strange, don't worry...we are also aware of our tendency to over-plan our lives. Though we really do realize that our best-laid plans are foolishness compared to God's, it's still a constant struggle to be patient and wait for Him to lead in His own time.

So, lately we have been talking about an exciting new idea that has kept my mind spinning with endless details and possibilities. I spent a lot of my prayer time this morning talking to God about all the questions that Bryan and I have been having and asking Him where He wants us next. After that I began reading through different Bible passages. With our newest idea running through my mind, I was struggling to stay focused on the words on the page until I got to James 4.

Here's some of what I read there...
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)

Pretty humbling to be hit in the face (again) with the undeniable fact that no matter how wise or confident we feel, our lives are small and fragile and completely in the hands of our God. While being excited about what opportunities God could bring into our lives next is not a bad thing, it should never distract us from living fully today or from an unexpected path that God may want to lead us down.

So, that was my little Sunday lesson. I wanted to share it in case it could speak to anyone else and because it's always so exciting to see God completely in tune with our hearts and teaching us...even with the seemingly small things.

Victory

BRYAN-1...TAX SEASON-0

Ballet and a sore throat

Today was a momentous day. I gave my last speech in COM 314 for the semester! Though it was supposed to be a happy day and my chance to show my professor "all that I've learned this semester", it was actually a sad disappointment. It all started Saturday night when I felt the beginnings of a sore throat. That usually means I'll soon be getting very sick if my body doesn't find a way to ward it off. Sadly enough, it continued all day yesterday and by the evening was accompanied by a lovely little ache in my head.

So, instead of bouncing out of bed and going through my day with my customary exuberance and fast-thinking alertness (I'm being a bit sarcastic here), I felt rather more like a giant bowl of oatmeal...not good...especially when you're under-prepared to give a 9-minute persuasive speech worth 1/3 of your grade. I found out that oatmeal doesn't think too well on its feet and has a much harder time finding the right words than does the average human.

Due to the fact that I lacked the brainpower to effectively shorten it while I was talking, the speech actually ended up being 9 minutes and 22 seconds. Who knew I could talk that long? Especially about why these "parents" (imaginary situation) should enroll their children in ballet class. The one plus was that I got to wear my ballet clothes again...which I've missed so much since I've stopped taking classes.:)

Oh well, this kind of thing is good for me...and for all those of us out there who can tend to lean a little bit too much toward the perfectionist way of thinking, if they're not careful. And thankfully for all of us, life is about much more than attaining perfection.:)

Procrastination & Rationalization

That's exactly what I've been doing for the past few days. I have a giant paper due by tomorrow and instead of being responsible, I'm sitting here at Ann and Luke's house drinking a coffee drink and waiting for our tapioca to cool so we can have dessert.:) Before that, I spent Friday evening and night at a friend's personal shower, Saturday at my Grandma and Grandpa's 60th anniversary party and Saturday night hosting some friends overnight at our house. It is now 9:00 on Sunday...scary how fast time goes. But somehow, I don't feel guilty at all because I've been telling myself that the time was well spent reconnecting with the people I love. I mean after all, life is about people not grades. Though a valid point, my paper is still far from finished. So instead of spending more valuable time blogging...I will leave you with a Calvin and Hobbes comic that I found particularly funny at this point of time in my very burnt-out, tired-of-school, ready for summer state.