Month: May 2007

Day 68

Yesterday was a Good Day, circumstantially. I finished my second year of grad school. The weather was lovely, making my strolls around campus enjoyable. In the morning, I had fun IMing with Pete in Sudan and Emily in Kenya at the same time. I unexpectedly received two great tickets to a Brewers game. Even the cashier at Walgreens was extra nice.

And it all wrapped up with dinner in a pizza parlor with my friend Caroline. Over spinach whole-wheat thin crust pizza and a rich chocolate cake, we talked girl talk and read verse by verse through the book of Colossians, discussing this thought or that idea along the way, marveling at the supremacy of Christ and the riches of God. It was one of those times of sweet fellowship that make you wonder, “If it’s this great here on earth, I can’t even begin to imagine how awesome heaven will be.”

Not all days have such good circumstances. Sometimes the things that happen in a day are extra crummy. But the God who is God over the Good Days is also the God who is over the Bad Days, and I take great comfort in that.

He never changes.

Day 69

Must’ve been  the exams. Must’ve been. Yesterday was my brother’s birthday, and though I was cognizant of the fact that he turned 28 (and I did remember to call him), I completely forgot to write a blog entry for him, as has been my tradition for other Special People. Reminds me of the time we forgot Mother’s Day. Mom remembered, of course, but the rest of us. . .well, let’s not go there.

So, Luke. Or Luka, as I call him (the Swahili name just stuck). He’s my big brother, the only big brother I got. And we are about as different as two siblings can be. He’s laid back and easy going – one of those go with the flow types. I’m not. He’s a person of few words. I’m not. (This can be unfortunate at times.)

When we were younger, our differences seemed to outweight our similarities. Now it’s the other way around. We’ve gained a lot of respect for each other. Two of the things that bring us together are my broken computers (yeah, plural) and our love for Philly sports teams . . .

Luke is a whiz with computers. There have been several times I have been on the phone with him trying to figure out weird error messages and whether or not I should just dump the thing. He is kind and very patient with my ignorance. And one time he even bought a broken computer off me, fixed it up, and kept using it. Quite the impressive feat.

Both of us are big Phillies and Eagles fans – when the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl a couple years back, it was Luka I called first. I was surrounded by rabid Packer fans eager for the Eagles’ demise, so it was great to have an ally, even several hundred miles away. One time when I was unable to watch a playoff game, he text-messaged me the score every little while. It’s fun to be able to share that with him. Now if only I can get him to come out to Wisconsin so we can go cheer on the Brew Crew at Miller Park. Hint hint.

Until then, Luka (or more likely, until July), happy belated birthday. Thanks for you kindness to me, your generosity, and your encouragement. I love you!

Day 70

Well, faithful reader, the battle is almost over. I’ve taken 3 finals, leaving a single one still hovering overhead like a cloud threatening to rain on this march toward the finish line.

I’ve learned one thing thus far this week – no matter how long or how hard you study for your neuromuscular disorders cumulative exam, if you fail to study the right thing, you will inevitably turn to a page on the test and find yourself face to face with 9 or so questions about your external innercostals and your diaphragm and your thoracic vertebrae and which aspect of respiration will be affected based on this or that level of injury to the spinal cord. Also inevitably, these are questions for which you have no clue what the answer might be. And suddenly, your best “educated guess” begins to resemble a sophisticated version of “eeeny-meenie-minie-moe”.

Yep, that’s pretty much what I’ve learned. But the haze is clearing, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

So, onward.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I shared this verse a while ago, but it fits me this week. The Lord’s rest is so perfect, so completely suited to our needs, felt and unfelt.

Day 71

Sometime between yesterday and today, we hit the halfway point in the countdown. It’s not exact because I started this blog on an odd number. So actually, we are over halfway there – hooray!

Also, by approximately 7 PM tonight, I’ll be halfway done with finals – double hooray!

And the white blossoms up top are what those snow-covered trees of 11 April look like now. They are the essence of newness and sweet scents. I just love spring.

Onward.

1 Peter 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Day 72

“There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.” – G.K. Chesterson

And with that quote that Em sent me, I’m off to continue to study a very interesting subject; in essence, motor speech disorders.

Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden upon the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”

Day 73

Since my life these days seems to revolve around the joys of neuroscience, I can’t think of anything else to write about.  So here are some little tidbits for my readers:

You have 12 cranial nerves, which are apparently very crucial. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to see, smell, hear, taste, chew, swallow, sneeze, gag, smile, etc, etc, etc. Important functions, no?

3 of these nerves have a main function of controlling eye movements.

3 nerves are involved in taste – one takes care of the front 2/3 of the tongue, one the back 1/3, and one the throat. Yes, your throat can taste. (If you’ve ever swallowed a chloroquine pill the wrong way, you KNOW your throat can taste).

There ya go. And here I go to try to ingrain these facts into my brain. But before I do, I’m needing this right now:

Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. ³⁰ Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, ³¹ Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

Day 74

Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men . . .You are serving the Lord Christ.”

This is my theme verse for finals week. Even my studying should be to God’s glory.

Day 75

1 cent. That’s all it is, so I guess a lot of people don’t see the point of bending over and risking scraping your fingernails on the concrete for 1/100 of a dollar. For some reason, though, I do. I collect the pennies that have fallen through the cracks on the sidewalk, on the floor next to the checkout at Jimmy John’s, in the crosswalk at the corner of 16th and Wisconsin (though I won’t be risking my life if the “Don’t Walk” sign is flashing and I can’t get the penny on the first swipe).

I remember finding pennies when I was little and what great treasures they were. “Look, look! I found a penny!” Now I pick them up more out of habit – and because I can’t stand to see money, no matter how small the denomination, just lying on the ground. I have quite the collection back at my apartment – maybe someday I’ll take it to the bank.

But for right now, I’m content with just picking up the pennies.

Onward.

Life’s not fair, that’s true. We all know it. But do you really want fair? Do you really want what you deserve? The Bible says we as sinners deserve to go to hell. That’s what’s fair.

When the age of grace we are living in has ended and God judges this sinful world, it will be completely fair. It will be completely just, it will be completely righteous. It will be what sinners deserve.

Revelation 16:5-7 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; ⁶ for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” ⁷ And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Indeed, this life we live right now is not fair. Thank God.

Day 76

Today’s “Non Sequitur” cartoon:

Onward.

Colossians 2:13 “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Thanks, Ian, for sharing this verse last night. I am amazed by the certainty and finality of the verses – I was dead, now I am alive with Christ. My sins are forgiven, my debt is canceled, nailed to the cross.

It’s wonderful to walk through life relaxed, resting in such wonderful absolutes. There’s tremendous assurance in these truths.

Day 77

Last night as I was walking home from class, I passed a couple of the MU basketball stars on the sidewalk. These are the guys, who barring major injury or disaster, will make it to the NBA someday (and for one of them, possibly this fall). They may become stars there, too, or at the very least, solid players. Here at Marquette, they are the celebrities – people want to be near them, to know them, to be known by them.

It’s kind of weird (or not-so-weird), but I felt this fleeting need to talk to them, shake their hands, maybe ask for an autograph. After all, these are Important People, so if I’ve talked to them, I must be important by association. I can drop names, tell people I met so-and-so. My friends may be impressed. We are impressed by those to whom we assign this artificial importance – whole industries have cropped up to broadcast the minutae of the lives of celebrities. Indeed, they must be Important People.

However as I continued home in the twilight, I had to do some mental rearrangements, mainly dealing with that prickly sneak-up-on-you issue of idolatry.

I’m not denying that many people are very gifted – they may be athletic, beautiful, intelligent, charismatic, or amazing actors or musicians. It’s not wrong to appreciate and enjoy the talents of others. I do it every time I watch a baseball game or listen to the 5 Browns. Yet in reality, these people are not any better or any more important than I – an ordinary girl living an ordinary life – am. 

They are sinners in need of a Savior just as much as I am. Christ died for their sins, just as he died for mine. When they stand before God, it won’t matter how brilliantly they played the violin or portrayed a character in a movie or how many NBA championship rings they earned. Just as it is with me, all that will matter is who they trusted for eternal life – their works, or the One who finished the work.

And the fact that they were Important People here on earth will just go up in smoke.

Day 78

I find it irritating when the weather website posts the forecast of “100% chance of rain”. That’s not a chance! That’s a definite! If you want to put chance into the equation, make it a 99%  chance of rain. Hey, you can even make it a 99.999999999 % chance of rain. That means there’s still a .000000001% chance it won’t rain.

Just don’t talk about certainty and chance all at the same time. Please. It’s oxymoronic. Instead of this “100% chance” stuff, a simple “It’s absolutely-positively-no-doubt-about-it going to rain today” will do.

Reminds me of what the Lord promised me when I trusted Christ alone for my salvation: “You absolutely-positively-no-doubt-about-it have eternal life.”

John 10: 28-29 “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. ”

John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

Eternal security – there’s no chance in that!