Looks like Love

This morning I was listening to some of my favorite music that reminds me of the JH Ranch and I started looking through old things, notes, pictures, etc.. I stumbled upon some things from when I was in Georgia and found a sweet note that I had written that I thought I would share:

There was a little boy who was about 8 years old. He was autistic. If I remember correctly he was H1N1 positive and we were trying to start an IV to get some fluids and medicine in him. Knowing that we would only be able to poke him one time before he completely lost it, we had to do it right the first time. His mom asked if she could come in while we were starting it, but we said no as we typically don't encourage parents to be in there because its harder to get stuff done with the kids freaking out and reaching for their parents all the more. As we were putting the tourniquet on and cleaning the area with alcohol prep pads, he begins freaking out. At this point he is absolutely hysterical and it seems as its going to be a challenge to even calm him down, much less get his IV going. We allowed the mom to come in with hopes of calming her son down. She came right beside him on the bed and grabbed his face. She had her hands around his face (kind of like blinders) and her face was right in front of him so they could only see each other. She said, "look at me!! Look at me! Look at me... 1... 2... 3..." He slowly joins in as he's calming down, "4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10" until he stopped freaking out and was focused on her. In the midst of that the nurse had still been holding his arm and just rubbing over the spot where she would poke him but as he was focused on his mom the nurse poked him and by the time they were done counting she had poked him and had him ready to go.

It was such a sweet moment to witness because you could tell that was their thing. What she has probably done with him countless times in order to help him relax. Later I started thinking about how the Lord desires us to do the same thing. If we would just focus on him instead of the the chaos and confusion around us it would make every situation better.

Change of Time

I have nothing in particular to write about but these are just a few things that have been on my mind lately..

I don't understand why its so cold. A constant cold. In Dallas. I think it has to be some kind of record because the constant cold temperature around these parts is unheard of. I'm ready for it to be warm. Not hot. Not 110 degrees, but 70 with a slight windchill would be nice. :)

As I prepare to head to Abilene for Sing Song I think of all the crazy things that will happen this weekend and I'm a bit overwhelmed. I can only imagine how many old friends and familiar faces I will see and I can only wonder how many names I will remember. I laugh at how we have slightly overcommitted our car to hold not just us 4 girls but an additional 4 people.. Should be interesting. The entire idea of Sing Song is absurd to me. I'm not hating on it as I have been apart of it, but I think the idea of it, how big of a deal it is to people is something I don't think I will ever understand.

I am on this never ending journey to figure out what I really want to do with my life I have begun to realize that the big decisions don't really matter. Alanna (my roommate) recently got a job and 2 days into it she has begun to dread going to work.. To her credit she is still just learning the ropes and doesn't have much responsibility and doesn't know a whole lot of people, but I think we have this perception that a job will magically fix things because it is our focus throughout college and even after. Although it does help in aspects, it's not an end all. I've realized that you never really arrive. Even if you try so hard to obtain something, after the excitement wears off, its not usually as great as you thought. The grass is always greener. It's the stolen moments.. like waking up to coffee already made, or sitting watching ridiculous television shows for hours, or late night conversations. Those are the ones that are the precious ones- the ones that have nothing to do with big life decisions or figuring out answers.

I have a few favorite words right now: ticky tuck, amoebic, bam bam, and shaggy. I don't know why so please don't ask.

I think I might take a break from the book. I have thought about it again as I sometimes get annoyed with all the commotion on there. So if I disappear off facebook for a while, don't fret. I'll be back whenever I get bored..

The Bruised Reed

Since I have been back in Dallas I have found a church that I absolutely adore! The Village Church has just opened the Dallas Campus in September and I am so blessed that it is close enough that I get to attend weekly. So this is mainly about what I love and why I love this church:

Matt Chandler is our lead pastor and he is such a gifted communicator. He was recently diagnosed with cancer and just had 1/4 of his brian removed due to a tumor. I am in awe by Matt. I love that he is going thru this time publicly and not being vague about what is going on. I think people need to see real faith lived out and not just the good sides, but every aspect of it. Matt does such a great job of keeping everyone informed about what is going on and allowing people to see how he and his family deal with this on a day to day basis. Things he chooses to tell his children, the ideas and mentality he and his wife share, and the questions they are asking. He is being so open and he given people a chance to go thru this with him and in that be able to see what the Lord is doing first hand.

"After conversion we need bruising so that reeds may know themselves to be reeds and not oaks. Even reeds need bruising by reason of the remainder of pride in our nature and to let us see that we live by mercy and mercy alone. Such bruising may help weaker christians not to be too much discouraged when they see stronger ones shaken and bruised. Thus Peter was bruised when he wept bitterly, this reed, till he met with this bruise, had more wind in him than pith when he said, 'though all forsake thee, I will not'. The people of God cannot be without these examples. The heroic deeds of those great worthies do not comfort the church so much as their falls and their bruises do (Richard Simmons, The Bruised Reed).

I love music. I love the worship at this church. I love the freedom that it allows. I love that people stand up and sing, feel comfortable raising their hands, or even to sit down and meditate to read or pray.

I attended our first meeting for our women's bible study. There are about 40 women but we are sitting in table of about 6-8 allowing for a little more intimacy. Its from 7-9 and a lot of weeks the girls get together before to eat dinner and fellowship. We are reading Ephesians and its a precept bible study. I have never done one of these but several of the women had done them before and love them. Most of the girls that had done it before said it was one of the things that they can point to and say not only increased their faith, but multiplied it. It's a lot of coloring (if you click on the link and click the picture of the workbook you can see what I mean) but everyone that has done it says that it really opens your eyes to different aspects of the word.. Each passage gets intensely broken down.. Kay uncovers context, encouraging you to look not only at the who, what, when, where, why, but also looking at how many times key phrases are used and the implications they have and why a certain word was used looking at the greek/hebrew words. More to come later after I have had the chance to figure out for myself what this will look like.

Some Kind of Wonderful..

So it has been a little bit since my last post, so I apologize to my avid readers.. haha but for real, I miss writing and now seems to be a good time to update. It's a rainy day here in dallas and it seems to be a perfect change. I love how the rain seems to slow people down. The change of pace is welcomed and its been refreshing to take a deep breath and re-screw my head on straight.

Here are some things going on in my life in no specific order:

I'm currently working for my dad as his personal assistant and I am licensed to sell insurance but I don't do that aggressively at all. The main reason I got my license was because dad thought it was a good idea while I was working here that way I could write some business and make some extra money. And I thought this was a good idea because that way I have something more to show from my time here on my resume. We had our Leadership Conference this past saturday morning and the Gala that evening. It was hectic but there was a lot of planning and stuff to do, so needless to say, I'm glad its over.

I'm all moved into my apartment, which is nice. It's about 8 minutes away from work and I love that I don't have to get on any highways. I'll post pictures once we finish getting things hung up. We had it decorated but it was all Christmasy and now that we took all that stuff down it looks bare again. I would like to get pictures posted soon but since we are getting the majority of our decorations from second hand/consignment shops its more of waiting for things we like to show up in those stores. So well see.. These are the girls I'm living with:

Me, Alanna and Emily:

Emily, Me, Alanna, Paige (basically a roommate):

I applied for a little brother/little sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters while I was in Georgia and that process finally finished. I got a little sister last week, her name is Natashay (but she goes by Shay) and she is 13. We have hung out twice but she's still a little shy. I know this will change as she told the match specialist she gets in trouble at school for talking too much haha but I'm excited to get to know her better!

I'm currently looking for a new job. After being in Rome, I don't think Child Life is for me. I love the field, the idea of the job, I love the people I have been privileged to get to know along the process, but I don't think its for me. So.. back to square one. I don't know what I want to do but I know I can't work for my dad much longer. So we'll see where I end up!

Carly Hamilton came to visit this past weekend which was fun! I'm so blessed to have her not only as a cousin, but a good friend as well. There is a World Mandate meeting conference in Waco that I am thinking about going to which will be a great chance to learn and hang out with the Hamiltons!

Christmastime was good... I love the holidays. I love the music. I love the weather. I love focus and how people seem to forget and forgive. I love Jesus. I love the decorations. I love theChristmas lights. I love the specialty seasonal drinks at coffee shops. I love the baking. I lovefires in the fireplace. I love giving and receiving gifts. I love friends and family. SO here are some of my favorite pictures from the Holidays:

Thompson get-together's would be nothing without a little sport, This year: Soccer.

BUT I love this picture because I caught Bryce in the middle of getting Justin..

And the chase begins...

Making cookies!!

Cousin love

Grandparents enjoyin the festivities!

The parentals overseein the cookie business

Like father like son

Cousin Seth... There are no words

Summer and Ava being adorable..

The HAM'S!

Phil and Patsy!

Grandma beatin Bryce in Ping Pong

In the car to Rosa's

I love this picture

Summer, KP and Ava

All the new parents!

Notice the hands in the pockets.

Sweet Jude

Cousins

Brandon being sneaky..

Carly getting payback

Chris being a little too intense

Bryce probably up to no good

Poor Carly Ann

Diana just can't be normal for pictures... :)

Pierson being a walking target

Ben and Justin so excited about their new games

All the parents taking pictures after the gift exchange..

Kim came to visit TEXAS! Kim lives in Nassau, Bahamas doing mission work. The area is well known for the tourist attraction Atlantis. But all the area surrounding is crazy. She had her luggage stolen right out of her friends car. She's thankful they didn't get her purse which had her laptop in it, but thats never easy. She is working with her pastor from the discipleship school she previously attended. Here are a couple pictures from her visit!

The view from our Hotel looking left:

The view from our Hotel looking right:

The view from our hotel looking down.. The Alamo is the one running horizontally:

I had to take Kim on a tour of the Alamo...

Our Hotel: Emily Morgan!

Our cute hotel room:

Kim attacking her veggie sandwich at Bear Moon Bakery (A Mack/Browder favorite stop):

So since the engagement of one of my very best friends, I am posting this in honor of her. She has been so very dear to me throughout all my years growing up, and I have treasured all the memories I have with her. Those memories have shaped who I am today, some more than others but nonetheless she is someone that has been so important to me. She has been like a sister and I love her dearly. Here are just a few snapshots of us together.

Congratulations Molly and Chris!

"Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always. A promise. Like a reward for persisting through life so long alone. The belief in each other and the possibility of love. A decision, to ignore or simply rise above the pain of the past. The covenant, which at once binds two souls and yet severs prior ties. The celebration, of the chance for two will always be stronger than one. Like a team, braced against the tempest’s of the world. And love... will always be the guiding force in our lives. For tonight is mere formality.. only an announcement to the world for feelings long held. Promises made long ago -- in the sacred space of our hearts.