The Season of Mardi Gras

Craziness is consuming my life right now, so haven't had much chance to stay up with anyone. I feel very out of the loop (my own doing). Here's an update on me. :)

School is going well. After we come back from the break next week, I'll be starting co-therapy. Kind of scary, but everything is so busy I haven't had time to get truly nervous about it yet. Schools in LA are off from Mon.-Wed. of next week for Mardi Gras. Then Thurs.-Sat. is the Louisiana MFT conference in Baton Rouge and I'll be going to that. Should be great. Several MFT big names will be there presenting, so I'm looking forward to it.

My job at the center is going well. The people there are great. Every Wed. are small group meetings called Huddle. (This place is like no other place I've worked before.) My group is called Catfish and Grits and is all about learning about the Mississippi Delta. I could devote several blogs to talking about that. The culture here is very different and so we've talked about that and had a chance to take some field trips. Yesterday we went to the Tensas Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately we got lost so didn't see too much wildlife. Mainly deer and a few birds. There are alligators and Louisiana black bears (estimated count on the refuge is between 400 and 650) and tons of other wildlife. Really wanted to see a bear, but of course, didn't happen. I could have settled for an alligator, too. Instead just got to see cypress trees and cypress knees. Very interesting. Loved the trip. It was so nice to be outdoors and I heard it was 85 degrees yesterday, so it was a pleasant day for a trip like that. Not too humid either. :)

A couple weeks ago I went to a local Mardi Gras parade. It's a big deal here, of course, and hearing what I've heard about New Orleans, I didn't know how much I wanted to go to this one, but I was assured it was family friendly and pretty harmless. The parade was at night, so taht was different. I still need to look this up, but the theme or name of the parade or something was the Crewe of Janis. Not sure what that is all about, something French maybe? Lots of people were wearing masks. I saw some crazy hats and a lot of green, purple, and gold. The other big thing was all of the beads. People on every float were throwing the beads and the idea was to get as many as possible. It's different than New Orleans, because here, all you have to do is yell and scream and they throw them at you. Like I said, it's the family friendly version. I've never seen so many beads in my life. Side note, today a guy I know had beads that he had gotten from the Catholic student center at lunch, so there are different meanings for them depending on where you are. There were the normal bands that came through, which is always my favorite part. One of the most interesting parts was the sons of the confederacy. According to my friends there were many more participants this year than there have been in the past; they believed it was due to Obama becoming president. All I know is that there were a lot of rebel flags and there were definitely no black people in the group. They didn't reenact anything, but they did shoot a few times. So that was my Mardi Gras experience. Also, a girl brought a King Cake to class this morning. It was pretty good -- more like sweet bread with gold, purple, and green sprinkles on top. This one didn't have a baby in it. Supposedly the baby represents baby Jesus. I asked what you get if you find the baby in your piece and they said that you get to bring the next King cake. After being here and seeing all the fun traditions, I have a new take on Mardi Gras. Don't really care to experience the New Orleans version after what I've heard about it, but the Monroe version has been a blast! Which brings me to the all-important question that must be asked at this time of year. What are you giving up for Lent? It's a great chance to put a little discipline into your life. I recommend it. I believe this is year number 8 for me, and each year it gets a little sweeter. That is, if I don't give up sweets.

From Sea to Shining Sea

Well, it's been forever since I've been on here. At least it feels like it. The semester has gotten off to a hectic, but good start. I'm trying to become more disciplined and better with time management, but it seems like there are not enough hours. I'm going to my GA every morning at 7:30. I scan in kids ID cards who come to Math class in the math resource room aka MRC aka math lab (sorry I've been so slow in getting back to you about that, Nan!). The math lab is the new way they are teaching math these days which is on the computer. It is a complicated mess sometimes as you can imagine when technology is involved. They go to math lecture 2 days a week and then they come to the lab 2 days a week. I also check attendence and recheck attendence and check again. Then I email students who were absent to tell them that we know they were absent and if they miss 25% of class they will fail blah blah blah. It's a lot of mind numbing busy work that I really don't enjoy, but the people who work in there are pleasant and I get a kick out of watching freshman stagger into their 8:00 classes. Kind of weird, but it's my morning entertainment. At that point in the morning I've got enough coffee in me that I'm beyond the staggering myself. By the way, I've decided I'm a big fan of cinnamon, gingercookie kind of flavored coffees. Flavored coffees in general -- Delicious!

Then at 8:45 I take off from the math lab and go to class on M, T, Th, and Fri. On Wed. I don't have class, so I work longer in the lab. My classes are definitely more interesting and relevant this semester. Not as many tests, but more reaction papers and research papers and lit reviews. Aaargh!!! When class gets out at 11:45, I go to my new job at the Center for Children and Families and am there till 4:30 or 5. This job has been great so far. Secretarial work, mainly filing and data entry kind of like what I did at Herald of Truth. It's kind of nice because this work is mindless -- not mind numbing -- but it's a nice break from thinking about school stuff. As you know I king of enjoy having things organized and that's what this is about. There are tons of Marriage and Family therapy people who work there who have been through ULM or are there presently, and somehow, mainly from them I've been given the nickname Skidmo. Another nickname several people at school call me is potato/potatoes/taters and most recently sweet potato. ha Kind of weird. As long as I like the people, I don't mind nicknames and I like these people so it's all good. They aren't calling me Jessie and that's what counts. :) Back to the schedule. On Mon. nights I have class from 5-8. On Tuesday nights I'm in supervision (right now observing 2nd year MFT students do therapy at the clinic) from 5-8. Then on Wed. nights is church. Last semester I wasn't really disciplined about going, but I'm so encouraged and energized after going that I'm building it in to my week this semester. Right now they've just started a study through Colossians that's going to be good, plus the music is always great. So that's my week presently. I'm going to start meeting with the main counselor at White's Ferry Road for supervision each week (therapist mentoring?) and hopefully I will be doing co-therapy with his wife later in the spring and then eventually taking over her clients. Soooo, that's my life in a nutshell. Kind of detailed and probably more than you wanted to know.

Thinking about the potato nicknames has brought to mind something I've wondered about a lot since I've been here. What kind of stereotypes or things do you connect with certain states? With Idaho, people always say potatoes or the Boise State blue field, but many people don't know that Idaho is the home of fry sauce and many Idahoans don't know that other states don't have it. I'd say that Arkansas and West Virginia have definite hillbilly reputations across the country. I think sometimes the things that people associate with certain states are not so much what the residents of that state might say. And then again they might. So, I'm curious which states you have automatic thoughts or stereotypes that come to mind. For example with Montana, I think milita, unibomber, and the quote, "Montana: where the men are men and the women are too." When I think South Dakota, I just think Mount Rushmore and the reptile gardens. When I think California, I think San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, and liberal. I'm especially curious about the reputation Louisiana has to you and things people think about this state in general. The more I'm here, the more interesting this state gets. It gets lumped into "the South", but the Southern states all have their differences. I'm hoping to do an EET article soon about the culture here. I love that each state has its own laws and culture and reputation and I love being in states where people have a lot of state pride. Some states definitely don't have as much pride as others, which I think is a shame. If I was a long-term native of one state, you can bet I would have some state pride. As it is, I'm just proud of all the states and their own unique characteristics. I could go on all night, but I'll stop now. :)

The break was so great! Really loved it. Had a blast in Oklahoma with Dad, Mom, Tricia, David , Matt, Brittany, and Nat, in David's apt. in Edmond for Christmas. It was one of the best Christmases ever! Christmas Eve we ate breakfast burritos and played games. That might have been my favorite evening. The night before we ate out and went to see this great Christmas light display in Chickashaw(sp?). I really, really enjoyed David's graduation -- more the party afterward than the food. He has some great friends. It was fun watching them together.
Then Lubbock was super fun as well. I told G and G this, but I always enjoy being at their house. Ever since I was little, I love going to see them or have them come see us. As with many things in life, I appreciate them more, the older I get. Also Nan and Billy came over. Got to see more of Nat, Chrissy and her sweet kids, Ethan, Uncle David and Janet, and Uncle John. I'm so thankful for lovely family. Oh yeah, I can't forget one of the highlights on the way back to Lubbock: getting to drive Nat's truck. That thing is great!
On the 31st I drove over to spend New Year's with Heather. We went to singing night at church with her family. Gotta love the old hymns, especially when they're led by 3 year olds. Possibly every male of every age in the church led a song. Then she and I went to the Cheescake Factory for dinner. I got an "Incredible Grilled Eggplant Sandwhich" or something like that. Yes, sounds weird, but it's something I would never fix for myself at home. It was pretty good, but I probably wouldn't order it again. We got back to the house just in time to see the ball drop and then we dropped into bed for a few hours of sleep. Then, she so kindly took me to the airport early the next morning so I could fly to Boise.
Ahhh, Boise how I love thee. It would be nice to somehow transplant that city right here for the rest of the time I'm in school. Mom, and Dad, and I played several good games of scrabble, walked, shopped, and drank coffee, and... not sure what else, but it was relaxing. They've just started small groups at church and the first one was excellent. Very challenging. I got to hang out with my friend Gina a lot. It was good to catch up with her. We went night skiing one night. So, so fun. And I didn't fall a single time! Also we went and ate dinner with her and her husband one night. Saw several other friends also and enjoyed seeing people at church. Man, I'm overusing the word "enjoy", but no other words are coming to mind right now.
So, here I am, back in Monroe. My flight back was very enjoyable (can't stop using it). The first flight I sat next to a girl who's in grad school in Omaha, same age as me, very similar family background, and altogether a delightful person. My dad told me when he dropped me off at the airport that he prayed I would have good conversations on the plane. I kind of thought with dread, "Oh great." When I pray or others do when I fly, pretty much always, I will talk the entire flight and often talk with people about God. Should be a good thing, right? I pray; God answers. Should be good, but I had a bad attitude and was tired and didn't want to have that kind of in-depth conversation. The first person who struck up conversation was a somewhat creepy middle aged man, and I thought to myself, "Well, this is the guy Dad prayed about. Here we go." In a few minutes though, he fell asleep and the girl next to me started talking. Have you ever talked with someone and walked away feeling refreshed and enthusiastic about life? This was that kind of situation. I am fired up about the semester after talking with her. It is still amazing to me how faithful and generous God is to me even when I have the opposite of an attitude of worship and love for him. I did not want to listen to someone's life story or talk to them about the Lord. In my selfishness, God was gracious to me and gave me encouragement. I didn't see myself in need of encouragement at the time, but wow, was I refreshed afterwards! God knew what I needed, when I needed it better than I did. I'm thankful for my dad praying. I'm thankful for Bekah who was very obviously intentional about sharing what's important. A couple of things God showed me through our conversation was how I need to love my classmates and coworkers. Sounds simple, but is not so simple to live out. One of the ways I can do that is to speak positive encouraging words to them and about them to others rather than being part of negative gossip. Last semester I saw and was part of in some ways, I think, some very destructive gossip. In a class with 15 females and 2 males of first year mft students who love to talk and analyze people, you can imagine that gossip is rampant. I've been wondering recently, what is it about me that will make me stand out to others as being a follower of Christ? More than that, am I the kind of person who is expressing God's love in the true and healing way his love is expressed to me? Being committed to God is a radical way of living life (see Nat's blog. it's good.). This means a little self-sacrifice, and probably a lot. For me, it means not taking sides or participating in the drama and divisiveness that goes on. I get sucked in all too easily. It's always easier to get wrapped up in the content rather than the person. The content is often a distraction from what's real and what's important in life -- loving people and dishing out as much hope as possible.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

I don't know if there'll be snow, but have a cup of cheer

The semester is over!!!! I'm almost bored, but not quite. I've been going to the activities center on campus to jog with a friend the last couple of days. Yes, that's right. I did say jog. I did a 13 min. mile today, but that's what happens when you're in bad shape. My eventual goal is a 12 min. mile. From there, well, who knows how fit I may become!! Fitness is not a big deal at this school at all. There are 5 treadmills and a few other kind of machines, and that's supposed to service the entire campus. Louisisana recently became ranked as the most unhealthy state in the nation. It is second worst for obesity, so I guess the number of treadmills and the low numbers of people working out shouldn't surprise me.
I went and watched Twilight last night with a couple of friends. I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would, especially for a vampire movie. Vampires are all the rage right now, apparently. It had a good message, I thought. Haven't read the books, but as usual, everyone is saying the movie isn't as good as the book. Have any of you read them or seen the movie? I'd like to hear a more expert opinion (Brittany) on the movie and books. :)
The temp has really dropped here in the last few hours. Supposedly, we may get some sleet tonight. Yesterday we were around 70, and having severe storms and even tornado warnings in the area. And now, it's very overcast, 40 degrees, with a windchill of 33. Brrrr. This kind of dreary day normally makes me dreary, but since I have no homework!!!, I'm curling up in my little blue chair with a book and a cup of hot tea or coffee. And I think I'll turn on some Christmas music. Yay for Christmas!!! I love this season!

A few goings-on

Recently, I've been realizing what a lovely family I have. Maybe it's because of being in the season of thankfulness (my favorite holiday by the way) or maybe it's because Tricia and David were just here or maybe it's because I had to make a genogram last night. I don't know why, but I have been overwhelmingly thankful for everyone. I am NOT saying that anyone is this family is perfect. That would be a lie. :) Everyone is far, far from perfection. Rather, I'm saying that I feel really blessed to have a fairly good relationship with everyone -- I think. If I'm estranged from one of you, please let me know! That was something I was supposed to put in the genogram.

This is finals week for me. I should be studying right now, but I decided to procrastinate some more by doing this. This Thurs. night our first-year class is having a tacky Christmas party. It's going to be hilarious.

Phil, a friend we met in Korea, is coming to visit this weekend. He's at Heather's right now, and then he will be driving over. He's from England, so I'm trying to come up with some very American and Louisianan things to do and see. Wal-Mart and Sonic are about all I've got right now. One night some friends from church are getting together and going to this cajun restaurant in the country.

Tricia and David came this last week for Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed them being there. Our meal was quite excellent, if I do say so myself. Especially for a first time. We all cooked in some way. I especially enjoyed our dressing and pies -- thanks, Mom, for the recipes. A girl in my program came over to eat with us and brought a couple of dishes, so we had tons of food. We ate a lot. I ate a lot anyway. Pretty much no restraint. Thurs. aft we played games and then in the evening we watched Home Alone and ate some more. By Friday afternoon it had been raining a lot and we all had cabin fever, so we decided to go out. We ate lunch at a place called O'Charleys. Trish and I got catfish. Yes, that's right, I ordered fish. Officially, I like catfish. It was delicious!! Very popular down here and it didn't taste fishy. Maybe because they get it right out of the bayou? After lunch we decided to battle the crowds and go to the mall. It really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The mall has super cheap movies, so we saw the new James Bond movie for $2.50!!! That's what I'm talking about!! I thought it was good. Then we went home, ate more food and hung out and talked and David worked on his photography class. I admire David's artistic talent a lot -- especially with writing and photography. He holds most of the creative talent in our family for sure. That evening we made caramel apples and drank wassail (sp?). David went home on Sat. morn. After he left Trish and I went to this big park in West Monroe to exercise. It was cold and misty still, but definitely needed the exercise. The trees here are just now at the peak for changing, so the park was especially beautiful. I haven't seen trees this brilliant in a long, long time, maybe never. Really gorgeous. We didn't do too much the rest of the day. Oh, we did try out a new coffee shop. Wouldn't have known it existed except that Trish looked some up. We ate dinner and watched Mary Tyler Moore on my computer. It's my new favorite show. Fancast.com. Then there was church on Sunday and Tricia headed out after lunch. Annnnd, one of the most exciting parts of the weekend was that Trish brought me a dresser, and put it together!!! I'm no longer living out of a suitcase. Also I had some curtains I had found really cheap at Ross, and have been trying and wanting to get them up, but to no avail. So, she put those up, single-handedly. I told her like 50 bazillion times how glad I was that she did it, but still there's no way to put my gratitude into words. Yes, this may seem like an extreme response. But, if you are the kind of person who does stuff like that well, you are a great person in my opinion. Whether you like to do it or not, that is a big service for the rest of us who don't have a clue. Tricia will now confirm that I don't have a clue after some of my dumb questions while putting the dresser together. I do NOT enjoy building things or anything that involves any kind of mechanics and when I say mechanics, I'm talking about anything from working on a car, to putting a vacuum cleaner together, to hammering a nail in straight, to using a screwdriver. My brain does not work that way. I was, still am very appreciative. It's been really nice having them up. My pictures didn't turn out that well, but here's the idea.

Tricia with her handiwork and she's wearing her new cute glasses.

This really does not show them in all their glory. I love them.

Bring on the snow. Or rain. Actually, I'll be happy if the weather stays just a little cold. "I'm Tom Dubwakva, wight heah in the weathuh centuh." Anybody remember that guy? I don't remember if he was in York or Abilene. Happy first week of December!!

I shall not be, I shall not be moved...

2 weeks and my semester is over!!! It has gone fast. I can really say that although the schoolwork is not my favorite, it is good to be here. This is not so profound, but I started to like it a lot better here when I started looking for ways I could meet other peoples needs instead of feeling sorry for myself and lack of blah blah blah. Of course I'm so far far from doing that perfectly or even well, but it's amazing what a change of mindset can do. I like that God allows us to choose. I could turn this into an argument about free will and predetermination (called by some, predestination), but I don't know where I stand exactly on the matter, so right now in this post I'm taking the position of believing that God gives us free will. Hopefully I will make a little sense, but my mind is all over the place so I won't guarantee it. Also, the fact that this is so amazing to me does not mean it will be to you, so in advance, sorry. Now that I've got my disclaimers out of the way...

Often in life there are things that happen that are not in our control. Very often. Then there are things in life that we may think are out of our control, but really aren't. There are things that we think we have control over, but really don't. And then there are those things that we do actually have control over. I have control of my hands at this moment and am choosing to type the words: yep, I have control. Choice looks different for every single person. A person down the street from me may not have physcial control over her hands. Her daily choices are going to be a lot different than mine will be. This blog is not about things in life that are out of our control.

The main part of choice I like is the ability to make a choice about what I will think about or dwell on and what I value. Some people do not have the ability make these kind of choices, but that's an entirely different discussion. If you have the mental capability to do so, though, this idea is amazing -- to me it is anyway. God, in his perfect love, beyond what I can understand or attempt to describe (although I am attempting to briefly describe it right now), gives us choice or free will, to in many ways be part of shaping our own present and future as well as the future of others. [Side note: Have you watched The Truman Show? If you haven't I really recommend it. I think it's a good example of how control doesn't equal love. An engineered, supposedly perfect life, does not beget contentment. I saw part of it last night which has brought on some of these thoughts.] As humans, we need the ability to change - to have the potential for growth. I've had many times in my life when my heart and mind have consistently(key word) been set on despair, on my circumstances/situations, on my past, on my feelings, on my loneliness, on my __________, fill in the blank. By the way, I'm not saying it's bad to feel despairing, sad, or lonely, but rather I'm talking about being stuck there. God, in his generosity, gives us a way out from being stuck in that place of discontentment. He doesn't force me to stay in that place. On the flipside, he doesn't force me to be in a constant state of happiness. [Another side note: If I was in a constant state of happiness, would it really be happiness, since I never got to experience the opposite?] God gives free will. So this is a passage that's come to mind recently (not in my control), and I've chosen to share it (within my control). :)

"Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Col. 3:1-4 and then on down in verse 12-14: "Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

When I have chosen to think all about myself and value myself above all else, I get frustrated with myself, easily annoyed with other people, I talk bad about others (or even if it's not outright meanness, I put them in a bad light), I eat things that I like to make myself feel better, I watch shows that will make me feel better, I listen to music that will make me feel better or at least music that matches my mood, I go out and buy clothes or furniture to make myself feel better, I complain and tell my situation or story to everyone I know, I sleep a lot, and not surprisingly, I become increasingly discontent.

On the other hand, when I choose to think about God's grace to me, the fact that I've been "raised with Christ", that my "life is hidden with Christ in God", that I "will appear with him in glory", and when I value other people and choose to be patient, compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and forgiving, contentment becomes a reality. Don't get me wrong. This is not about pretending your problems away and not dealing with pain and hurt and grief and sadness. This is about an general attitude that controls your life - what you think about and what you value.

To close, on a totally random note, my house is down to 60 degrees and it's 35 outside and dropping. I'm going to turn the heat on. Didn't make it as long as I hoped, but my hands are pretty much numb right now. Forget the $20 electric bill! Louisiana has gotten colder than I thought. Yay for cold weather!!!!!

National Pride

Yesterday I waited in line for 1 hour to vote. The lady at the exit poll probably thought I was crazy, since I'm thinking that the American pride emanating from me was visible. I was smiling ridiculously, but what can I say? I love the US! Does anybody else get excited about voting like I do? You would have thought it was my first time to vote. But seriously, I love the whole process. I eat it up every election year and have ever since I was a kid. Hilarious not-so-PC moment of the night was when Sam Donaldson (sp?) said, "Well, it's not over till the fat lady sings. Uh, er, uh, or I mean um, any person of any svelte (sp?)."
Not so sure what the future will hold politically: change, levelling of the playing field, spreading of the wealth, less taxes, more taxes, more money for college, world peace, socialism, no more talk radio, and persecution are just a few of the things I've heard mentioned. To hear people talk around campus today, there's a lot of pride, fear, cynicism, disappointment, anger, happiness, hope -- the range of feelings everyone has had about this election is all over the place.

This story is not analogous, but I've been thinking a lot about the story of back in the day when Saul became king and here are the random thoughts that have come to mind. The people were dying for a king. God said okay. The people were happy. God chose the man. The nation became powerful. The man made A LOT of mistakes. God's working was far beyond what the people could see. I'm not trying to make a political point with this. Mainly I'm thinking that it's nice to have history to look back on and see that God is faithful and was always there, both in the good times and the bad times. In history we can see that God wasn't just passively there, but he was often active, whether the people of that time realized it or not.

I'm not adjusted to the time change yet and I haven't gotten much sleep this week because of my paper, which I turned in today!!! So, as they say here in the South, "I need to get in the bed."