So, as some of you know, my cousin Katherine (married into the family) had a stroke last year. She has made remarkable steps in her recovery and the Lord definitely has his hand over her. So many people are praying for Katherine's complete recovery and we know that anything is possible with the Lord. She has already started to be able to swallow soft foods, talk, and walk with help. The muscles in the left side of her face have atrophied so she just recently went through a 13 hour surgery that hopefully God will use to completely restore the movement in her face. She still won't be able to feel anything on her face but it will help her speak more clearly and hopefully smile again.
This summer I will be working for Katherine and Jason in L.A. California. I will basically be serving them in any way that they need. Katherine had a son named James about a year and a half ago and I will also help take care of him. P.S. he is the cutest baby in the world and that isn't up for discussion. Jason will be studying this summer to pass his bar exam which is very intense, so he needs someone to be there for Katherine and James full time. Not only do I feel honored to be able to work with this incredible family, but I feel incredibly blessed as well. Katherine has the most amazing spirit. She is still so strong despite everything that has happened to her, and her faith is even stronger.
So many of us take life for granted. I know I do. I sometimes wish the time away so I didn't have to still be in school, or still have to do this paper, or still have to go to this meeting. I narrow my focus to what I have to do that I forget what I have. I am so blessed and it's easy to get caught up in everyday life. I don't often stop to thank God that I can walk or that I can eat. I hardly think about those things.
It's like when a light is on inside of a house at night. If you walk by the house you can see inside, but the person inside can't see out. I so often turn the light on inside that I can't see anything beyond myself. It's so hard to turn the light off, but when I do it's so much easier to see.
and that's pretty much it...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Oh Middle School...
So for the past 8 weeks, I've been mentoring a group of middle schoolers and they read their final pieces last night at the University. 4 of my 7 kids showed up. I was told that one of my students' excuses for not being there was that his mother broke her arm last week and she had to go get her cast during the presentation. I hope she's ok...
Speaking of writing this is pretty funny...
Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays in order to have them published and sent out for the amusement of other teachers across the country. Recent winners:
1. His thoughts tumbled around inside his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
2. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
3. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like the sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
4. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
5. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.
6. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
7. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
8. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil,this plan just might work.
9. Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like" Second Tall Man."
and thats pretty much it...
Speaking of writing this is pretty funny...
Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays in order to have them published and sent out for the amusement of other teachers across the country. Recent winners:
1. His thoughts tumbled around inside his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
2. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
3. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like the sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
4. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
5. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.
6. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
7. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
8. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil,this plan just might work.
9. Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like" Second Tall Man."
and thats pretty much it...
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Ant
Like I've mentioned before, I sorta over think things. It's difficult for me to trust what I don't understand. I constantly question everything and I'm not quite sure how to turn off my brain. Before I can fall asleep, I literally have to repeat the word "sleep" over and over in my head, otherwise I suffer from insomnia. With all that being said, I've been struggling with trusting the Lord because I can't possibly understand everything that He is. I want to conceptualize Him and put Him away in a little box among the rows of shelving in my brain. But God can't fit in a box and I hate that I want to limit my understanding of Him and tie it up with a bow. I'm constantly learning new things about the Lord, which is overwhelming and exciting, but I'm also learning more things about this world. Sometimes I wish my brain could digress to a time where everything was new and simple. Where you could find an adventure under your bed or in your backyard. I miss that child-like joy and understanding of the world, where everything was beautiful. Maybe I focus too much on the destruction and deterioration of this world and the people who live in it. Maybe I focus too much on myself. Actually, I know I do.
All of this started becoming overwhelming to me the other day and my nerve endings were frayed. I decided to take a nap outside in the sun with my roomie. While my pale white skin was blanketed by the sun, I saw a single ant struggling to climb up a blade of grass. My first reaction was, I hope I'm not laying on his family. My second thoughts focused on how small he was compared to the blade of grass. Then I stared thinking more deeply about it. This ant doesn't know anything outside of his world. He just does his job of collecting food or whatever and joins his fellow colony members in their hill. He doesn't understand that there is greater life beyond him or that towns, cities, states, countries, continents, oceans, and planets exist. He couldn't possibly understand the vastness of our planet or our universe. All he knows is his little ant hill.
I realized we are so much like little ants. We can't possibly understand the things we can't and don't know. There is a huge world beyond us and a huge God that rules over it all. Just because that ant doesn't know that I exist doesn't mean I don't. Just because I don't understand what is beyond this world doesn't mean it can't possibly exist. I now find rest in knowing that I fit in the palm of God's hand and that He knows everything even though I can't. My world was reduced to the size of a pin-head and the view is far more beautiful.
and that's pretty much it...
All of this started becoming overwhelming to me the other day and my nerve endings were frayed. I decided to take a nap outside in the sun with my roomie. While my pale white skin was blanketed by the sun, I saw a single ant struggling to climb up a blade of grass. My first reaction was, I hope I'm not laying on his family. My second thoughts focused on how small he was compared to the blade of grass. Then I stared thinking more deeply about it. This ant doesn't know anything outside of his world. He just does his job of collecting food or whatever and joins his fellow colony members in their hill. He doesn't understand that there is greater life beyond him or that towns, cities, states, countries, continents, oceans, and planets exist. He couldn't possibly understand the vastness of our planet or our universe. All he knows is his little ant hill.
I realized we are so much like little ants. We can't possibly understand the things we can't and don't know. There is a huge world beyond us and a huge God that rules over it all. Just because that ant doesn't know that I exist doesn't mean I don't. Just because I don't understand what is beyond this world doesn't mean it can't possibly exist. I now find rest in knowing that I fit in the palm of God's hand and that He knows everything even though I can't. My world was reduced to the size of a pin-head and the view is far more beautiful.
and that's pretty much it...
Friday, April 24, 2009
SOOooo yesterday was my 21st birthday. I would have to say my favorite part of the night was when we played charades and my friend Dave acted out a gazelle getting malled by a lion. After Simba's attack we headed out to the bars. It was fun to go to the pickle (a really gross bar) and spin the wheel. I was one click away from winning one hundred dollars, but unfortunately the peg stopped on 1 dollar. That was severely disappointing, but I got over it and danced the night away. You must all know something about me; I love to dance. I love all kinds of dance, but my favorite is ballet, which I pretend to be good at. My mom enrolled me in ballet lessons when I was 5. I hated it and disturbed the class every session. I never liked anything that required discipline or structure. My mom taped a session where we had to bring in our favorite baby doll and dance with her. In the video, the camera sweeps across the class standing in first position and lands on me, smacking my baby-doll's head into the floor. My poor mother. She must have frequently questioned my sanity.
Overall it was an awesome birthday. It is rather dissappointing that instead of growing an inch or two taller each year, I now grow an inch or two around my waist. It's hard to not compare myself to others when everything around me tells me that I'm not pretty enough or skinny enough; and it's a constant battle to know that my identity is in Christ, not in the way I look. I think sometimes it's easier to believe lies rather than truth. It's easier to pick apart my flaws than thank the Lord for what he has blessed me with. These verses always speaks truth to me.
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14
"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1Peter 3:3-4
"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord." Psalm 45:11
and that's pretty much it...
Overall it was an awesome birthday. It is rather dissappointing that instead of growing an inch or two taller each year, I now grow an inch or two around my waist. It's hard to not compare myself to others when everything around me tells me that I'm not pretty enough or skinny enough; and it's a constant battle to know that my identity is in Christ, not in the way I look. I think sometimes it's easier to believe lies rather than truth. It's easier to pick apart my flaws than thank the Lord for what he has blessed me with. These verses always speaks truth to me.
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14
"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1Peter 3:3-4
"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord." Psalm 45:11
and that's pretty much it...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
BIRTHDAY!
So as an early birthday gift I checked my banking account online and saw that the charges on my card added up to $1.00. This was strange considering I spent $30.00 on gas yesterday. Sure enough the $1.00 charge was from KWIK TRIP. My rationale is that God wanted to give me $29.00 for my birthday. Hopefully my ignorance of the situation doesn't land me in prison for credit fraud.
To commemorate the day of my birth I will produce a detailed summary of every birthday gift I have ever received. But not really.
When I was 12, I got a life-like baby doll from Roxanne's Doll Shoppe. My mom worked thier at the time and I remember going to visit my baby in the "nursery" as I liked to call it, before I took him home. I distinctly remember naming him Micheal, but because all of my old baby clothes were pink or floral, Micheal looked like a girl. I remember taking Micheal everywhere with me and trying to convince strangers in the grocery store that he was real. I would tell them that he was born 3 days ago and that he was my child. Both of these statements didn't help sway many people, considering Micheal had long blonde hair and I hadn't hit puberty.
When I turned 9, I received a beautiful purple bike complete with a water bottle holder and clickable gears. I was ready for the roads and quite possibly mountain terrain. In the video taken on my birthday, It shows Shannon, my younger sister of 2 years, riding gracefully on her hot pink bike with beads in the spokes and light-up handlebars. My mom shouts encouragement to Shannon, praising her accomplishment. Because as a child I found it necessary to always be the center of attention I dutifully stepped in front of the camera and busted out my purple mountain bike, while sporting a glittery "birthday girl" tiara and scratched up knee pads. As I hopped on and rode shakily down the driveway my mom narrates, "Oh, and Natalie just learned how to ride a couple of days ago!"
The average child can ride a bike without training wheels at the age of 5-6. Now, when I watch my younger self on screen, my thrilled expression and proud grin indicates that I was completely unaware of my developmental lag. But, I was a pretty weird kid. I suppose some things never change.
and that's pretty much it...
To commemorate the day of my birth I will produce a detailed summary of every birthday gift I have ever received. But not really.
When I was 12, I got a life-like baby doll from Roxanne's Doll Shoppe. My mom worked thier at the time and I remember going to visit my baby in the "nursery" as I liked to call it, before I took him home. I distinctly remember naming him Micheal, but because all of my old baby clothes were pink or floral, Micheal looked like a girl. I remember taking Micheal everywhere with me and trying to convince strangers in the grocery store that he was real. I would tell them that he was born 3 days ago and that he was my child. Both of these statements didn't help sway many people, considering Micheal had long blonde hair and I hadn't hit puberty.
When I turned 9, I received a beautiful purple bike complete with a water bottle holder and clickable gears. I was ready for the roads and quite possibly mountain terrain. In the video taken on my birthday, It shows Shannon, my younger sister of 2 years, riding gracefully on her hot pink bike with beads in the spokes and light-up handlebars. My mom shouts encouragement to Shannon, praising her accomplishment. Because as a child I found it necessary to always be the center of attention I dutifully stepped in front of the camera and busted out my purple mountain bike, while sporting a glittery "birthday girl" tiara and scratched up knee pads. As I hopped on and rode shakily down the driveway my mom narrates, "Oh, and Natalie just learned how to ride a couple of days ago!"
The average child can ride a bike without training wheels at the age of 5-6. Now, when I watch my younger self on screen, my thrilled expression and proud grin indicates that I was completely unaware of my developmental lag. But, I was a pretty weird kid. I suppose some things never change.
and that's pretty much it...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
HELLO
So, if you are reading this blog it means 1 of 3 things.
1. you are Alex or Mary Austin Wolf, or my sister
2. you saw it on facebook
3. you are bored
Either way, I am glad you decided to read about my fairly uneventful life. I can promise you that this blog won't be in any way riveting or intense, but hopefully, somewhat entertaining. Note: This is not an attempt to convince you that I am cool. I am simply writing about the strange/funny things that happen to me surprisingly often and random thoughts that somehow find their way from my mind to my fingertips. I am sort-of the definition of an over-analyzer. I completely exhaust subjects until I can't remember what I was thinking about in the first place. It's unproductive. So, this blog will serve as a sort-of window to my mind. If that last sentence frightens you, click the small red x on the upper right-hand corner of your screen.
To the few of you who are still reading:
There are a few things you should know about me...
1. Jesus Christ is the absolute love of my life.
2. I love to read.
3. I love learning new words. For example, last week when I was with my cousin Mary Austin, after eating a large meal, she used the word lethargic to describe how she was feeling. I asked her for the definition she said "fat and sleepy." She later informed me that it means sluggish...so kinda the same.
4. I am borderline obsessed with anything that has to do with the Twilight franchise. I am team Jacob, but Robert Pattinson is adorable and we will be getting married in the fall.
5. I like to sing very loudly and on pitch in the car. Lately I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. Anyone who says she is lame can bite their tongue. I found out that the worship band at my church sang this song a few weeks ago and that made me laugh.
6. I am rarely embarrassed, except for when I trip or burp.
7. My favorite cereal is Reese's Puffs. I ate a whole box of them yesterday in one sitting and then I started to cry.
8. When I was little, I used to eat small pebbles found on the playground.
9. When asked, "Why did you do that?" I frequently use the phrase, "because my mom said I could." I've found that it's funny and it effectively deflects the question.
10. I am going to be living in California this summer to nanny for this adorable child, James.
11. My greatest dream/ambition in life is to get married and have children. If that doesn't work out I will start an orphanage for cats.
12. I love cats.
13. My favorite color is orange.
14. In order from least to greatest my 3 main fears are that I will either drown, get eaten by snakes, or die alone.
15. Family is everything.
16. I am sometimes under the impression that I can control my life. I can't and it's sometimes frustrating.
17. I am extremely gullible.
18. I sometimes snort when I laugh.
19. I love bargain shopping and a sensible cardigan.
20. I have ADHD
21. I love to cry, but not as much as I love to laugh, and definitely not as much as I love to make people laugh.
I will stop at 21 for now, solely because I will be turning 21 tomorrow! Happy birthday to me.
and that's pretty much it...
1. you are Alex or Mary Austin Wolf, or my sister
2. you saw it on facebook
3. you are bored
Either way, I am glad you decided to read about my fairly uneventful life. I can promise you that this blog won't be in any way riveting or intense, but hopefully, somewhat entertaining. Note: This is not an attempt to convince you that I am cool. I am simply writing about the strange/funny things that happen to me surprisingly often and random thoughts that somehow find their way from my mind to my fingertips. I am sort-of the definition of an over-analyzer. I completely exhaust subjects until I can't remember what I was thinking about in the first place. It's unproductive. So, this blog will serve as a sort-of window to my mind. If that last sentence frightens you, click the small red x on the upper right-hand corner of your screen.
To the few of you who are still reading:
There are a few things you should know about me...
1. Jesus Christ is the absolute love of my life.
2. I love to read.
3. I love learning new words. For example, last week when I was with my cousin Mary Austin, after eating a large meal, she used the word lethargic to describe how she was feeling. I asked her for the definition she said "fat and sleepy." She later informed me that it means sluggish...so kinda the same.
4. I am borderline obsessed with anything that has to do with the Twilight franchise. I am team Jacob, but Robert Pattinson is adorable and we will be getting married in the fall.
5. I like to sing very loudly and on pitch in the car. Lately I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. Anyone who says she is lame can bite their tongue. I found out that the worship band at my church sang this song a few weeks ago and that made me laugh.
6. I am rarely embarrassed, except for when I trip or burp.
7. My favorite cereal is Reese's Puffs. I ate a whole box of them yesterday in one sitting and then I started to cry.
8. When I was little, I used to eat small pebbles found on the playground.
9. When asked, "Why did you do that?" I frequently use the phrase, "because my mom said I could." I've found that it's funny and it effectively deflects the question.
10. I am going to be living in California this summer to nanny for this adorable child, James.
11. My greatest dream/ambition in life is to get married and have children. If that doesn't work out I will start an orphanage for cats.
12. I love cats.
13. My favorite color is orange.
14. In order from least to greatest my 3 main fears are that I will either drown, get eaten by snakes, or die alone.
15. Family is everything.
16. I am sometimes under the impression that I can control my life. I can't and it's sometimes frustrating.
17. I am extremely gullible.
18. I sometimes snort when I laugh.
19. I love bargain shopping and a sensible cardigan.
20. I have ADHD
21. I love to cry, but not as much as I love to laugh, and definitely not as much as I love to make people laugh.
I will stop at 21 for now, solely because I will be turning 21 tomorrow! Happy birthday to me.
and that's pretty much it...
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