Maimed

I want to issue you a challenge. The following is taken from "My Utmost For His Highest", a devotional by Oswald Chambers.

"And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Matthew 5:30

Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off the right hand, but - If your right hand offends you in your walk with Me, cut it off. There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but, says Jesus, if it hinders you in following His precepts, cut it off. This line of discipline is the sternest one that ever struck mankind.

...The unspiritual person says - Whatever is wrong in that? How absurd you are! ... But it is better to enter into life maimed and lovely in God's sight than to be lovely in man's sight and lame in God's.

Think seriously today about all those things you do that may be "perfectly legitimate" by the world's standards, but hinder you in following God. Movies that may be funny but not pure, books that may be an "innocent escape", jokes or conversation topics that are okay with everyone around you but don't glorify God, music, artwork, TV, anything that draws our hearts towards earthly things and leaves it there. I'm not saying we cut out everything in our lives that isn't EWTN and KLOVE and "Lives of the Saints", for even Jesus had a job as a carpenter, spent time with His family, and ate and drank and laughed with His friends and with sinners too. But maybe we're too cavalier with how we spend our time and energy. What if the world saw us, and what they saw pointed them to something greater? What if we could look at truly everything we did and say, For the greater glory? It will be crazy to the world. It will be crazy even to a Christian world. Think about it.

Sunday with Nelson, Atkins, and Me

If you know me (and if you don't, why are you reading my blog? Seriously, it's not that good), you know that I love things that make me feel artsy, like going to the symphony or plays or art museums. But I rarely go because I never have anyone to go with. Well, today, that was not excuse enough--I went to the art museum all by my lonesome. And it was won-der-ful. Got to set my own pace, skip what I didn't want to see, and best of all, it was FREE.

I love the emotions that art can evoke, the different styles and ways of representing things, and there were some really great well-known pieces, which were fun for me to see. They had some fantastic old Egyptian and Ancient Greek stuff, a few really cool religious pieces, and a fun contemporary collection, along with a big statue garden. Pictures of some of my favorites are below.

One of the cool contemporary pieces

Rodin's Adam. The Thinker was outside in the sculpture gardens. I used to play a computer game called Thinker, and ever since then I have wanted to see it in person. Check.

One of the giant Shuttlecocks out on the lawn, commissioned especially for the museum

Andy Warhol's Baseball

Caravaggio's Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness. Very cool.

Things that are fun about my new city

1. Fireflies. Yay! Now I have to finish my jelly so I can make a firefly jar and spend all my evenings at the park.

2. Fun parks nearby. Here's me at Antioch Park across the street. There's a whole village for the kids to play in, including a jail (complete with a "secret escape tunnel"). I also have discovered Loose Park which is huge and beautiful and will be making future appearances in my life I'm sure.





3. Little Hugs drinks. 'Nuff said.

4. My hands are silky smooth and I never need lotion (see, there is an upside to smothering humidity).









5. K-raig's t-shirt. And K-raig (he's K-raig 'cause we also have a C-raig). And all my fun new friends. I've found people to watch soccer with, people who know the "Denver the Last Dinosaur" theme song, people who carry footballs in their car "just in case", and people who make up songs about me while they brush their teeth (kind of endearing, kind of creepy).

Small Successes

I'm stealing Marie's idea (which she stole, so it doesn't count) of documenting my small successes, and come my first 30-hour call shift or Code Blue (that stupid alarm is already giving me heart attacks when it goes off), I will look back and say, "Wait, remember how Kansas City isn't a complete failure?" So here goes:

1. Successfully passed PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) and NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program) training with flying colors. I now have an inkling of what will transpire during a potential code situation. However, if I show up and it's a real kid instead of a manikin, I may hide in a closet until it's over.

2. Planted fresh basil. It smells so amazing, and I didn't even have to buy potting soil because I found a "soil buddy" in my class who gave me some. I will also throw "bought garlic press and garlic" in this one because I am determined not to eat like crap while in residency. Please disregard the SIX frozen dinners and ice cream in my freezer.

3. Made some new friends. I know you all think I'm a natural friend-maker, but I consider it a not-so-small success to have attended three--count them, three--happy hours with my class, found World Cup watching buddies, organized a class trip to the Royals game on Monday, and even met a handful of new people through Rachelle who I have gotten together with all by myself (the new people, not Rachelle, but her too). I think I just moved one point over on the Meyers-Briggs I/E scale. Watch out, world!

4. Got my Kansas driver's license. Okay, so this is a mixed bag, because with it, my Colorado driver's license was demolished, (and I didn't actually get Kansas plates because my insurance doesn't start until tomorrow, so I still have to go back and sit at the DMV) but it means I'm slowly embracing this new life. Add to that my first paycheck--heck yeah!--and I'm well on my way.

Well, there you have it. I'm looking forward to "my last real free weekend ever" as one of the chiefs so nicely reminded us today. And still a little bit in denial about this whole residency thing starting in full force next Thursday. But I'll be fine. Just look at all I've accomplished already!

Montana Crimson

That is the color of my brand new couch. I love these names they come up with. Wish I could remember what they call my recliner color. I'll call it...mmm...espresso. That's pretty much what it looks like. I like to think my couch is more of a "high risk red" cause that's what my colorstrology color is. Not that I put a ton of stock in it, but I do love red, all things red, and if I want to say that being around it brings out my best qualities, who are you to argue? It's not your couch.


I'm all moved in, and here's what's been done since I arrived in the Land of Humidity.

Day 1: Sign lease, get a Broncos ATM card from US Bank, let a fly in the apartment (I know, Michelle, it's a pain), move lots of boxes, drip sweat, move really heavy desk and almost kill myself trying to come up the front step, fail at getting desk through bedroom doorway, almost have a meltdown, invite Rachelle over and watch how in 2 seconds she figures out how to get desk into bedroom, dinner at Denny's, sleep.

Day 2: Fill 2 shopping carts at Target yet still decline opening a Target Card, listen to torrential rain on the roof, waltz into Nebraska Furniture Mart (wait, what's it doing in Kansas?) and find clearance couch and killer recliner plus tables/lamp/bookcase and load it all in the U-Haul, watch it stop raining long enough to get furniture in the doorway, screw 12 table legs on with an Allen wrench thereby giving myself carpal tunnel syndrome (tragically, I can no longer hold a flashlight), more rain, Mass at my new potential home parish, finally figure out how to work the DVD player, STEAK'N'SHAKE (can you tell what's important?), sleep.


Day 3: Figure out bookcase is broken and will need 7 days to send replacement, buy one of everything at Hen House Market (except ketchup, dark chocolate, spicy brown mustard, and worchestershire sauce which I had to go back for), trip to the yuppie malls with Rachelle, more torrential rain (apparently my new rain jacket is not so effective at keeping my PANTS dry), watch While You Were Sleeping while unpacking, run in Antioch Park (read: the African jungle) set up NetFlix, make my first meal in the new apartment, fall asleep to MORE rain and a running toilet.

Day 4: Get butt kicked by Jillian Michaels' Yoga Burn, Blueberry pancakes (good nutrition is important), get library card, buy a new bike and accessories, have 3 of 4 maintenance requests checked off the list...waiting for more rain, praying that the money spending stops soon.

Well, there you have it. I've pretty much figured out my little 3 mile radius plus some of the nearby highways. Downtown will provide its own set of challenges. Here's to a new chapter. Stay in touch.