kindred spirits

My dearest friends Hannah and Joanna (aka JoHannah) came to visit last weekend! Joanna is home from Jordan (yes...the Middle East) for the summer and Hannah needed a break from her 6 days/week of small kids. They came Friday night and we moved my mattress into the living room, made a bed on the floor for Hannah and Jo took the couch. We stayed up late and drank tea and ate chocolate chip cookies and laughed and caught up and just enjoyed each other.


Saturday we spent the morning working on Hannah's Children's church craft and doing hair and nails. We dressed up in cute sundresses, went to Bruegger's Bagles for lunch and then I dragged the girls out to David's Bridal to try on a bridesmaid dress for a friend's wedding in October. From there we went and sauntered around town taking pictures. It was a HOT Charleston day, so we went to Kaminsky's for dessert and sipped on Cappucino floats and milk shakes while we enjoyed the air conditioning.
On a totally unrelated note, I'm learning to have a thankful heart (or maybe not...b/c I'm so thankful for my girls, but anyways...). I've been reading my Jesus Calling Devotional every morning. If you don't have this book, you should order online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble immediately, or ask me to give you a copy. On June 22nd, i read,

"Thank me for the very things that are troubling you. You are on the brink of rebellion, precariously close to shaking your fist in My Face. You are tempted to indulge in just a little complaining about My treatment of you. But once you step over that line, torrents of rage and self-pity can sweep you away. The best protection against this indulgence is thanksgiving. It is impossible to thank Me and curse Me at the same time.

Thanking Me for trials will feel awkward and contrived at first. But if you persist, your thankful words, prayed in faith, will eventually make a difference in your heart. Thankfulness awakens you to My presence, which overshadows your problems." Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young

The verses referenced by this devotional were Philippians 4:4-6. If you haven't memorized them, you should....they're a good reminder.

Anyway, that devotional kinda punched me in the face. The night before I was worrying about finances and the future and life in general and I was so convicted of having an ungrateful heart. So, this is what my journal entries have looked like for the past few days:

"Lord, thank you for a new day. Thank you for community nursing, peds pre-planning paperwork, and sim lab. Thank you for the chance to be recorded in sim lab and then watch all of my mistakes. Thank you for Dr. Hudson, Mrs. Williams and Dr. Smith. Thank you for my singleness and my desire to be married. Thank you in advance for changing my heart to be a grateful heart." (etc, etc.)

In the beginning it did seem contrived and awkward, but I've noticed a difference in my attitude during the day. The temptation to complain about one of said instructors or about the busy work is not as strong, and as I've chosen to be thankful even when I don't feel it, the Lord has responded by giving me a truly thankful heart.

The Lord has blessed me abundantly with friends and family. He continues to wake me up every morning and convict me of sin in my life and then he responds with blessing when I choose obedience. I love my Jesus and He loves me beyond words. He will provide for all my needs and His Holy Spirit will continue to guide and lead me.