Goodbye Nightshift

Ahhhh, I am breathing a sigh of relief and am a bit overwhelmed with joy as my final nightshift draws to a close. To make this joy even more complete, I am on vacation next week, so I will be off for 9 days! It has been an interesting year, to say the least, working a rotating shift. I have learned much, experienced much, and overall decided that shift work is entirely unnatural and I prefer not to partake of it. The bitter counterpart to that sweet is that shift work brings with it a cameraderie of sorts that is not found in the dayshift world. We deal with issues and problems with very few people on site during night and weekend shifts, so we really have to work as a team. The other aspect of shift work to be missed is the off time. Although I have worked a lot of overtime this year, I have had 3 separate stretches with two weeks off, which is unprecedented in my 5 previous years here.

I may have some more thoughts later, but right now I am headed to give turnover to the dayshift foremen and wish them well for the next few weeks.

I will try to remember the photo of the week later on today. And before I forget, GEAUX TIGERS!!!! I am going to the Peach Bowl tonight and hope to see the LSU Tigers take the Miami Hurricanes by storm.

Morning Diversion

I should be fast asleep by now, but this morning I saw one of those rare glimpses of sunrise that captured my attention. Unfortunately my attention was captured for about 30 minutes. In fact, I gave up after a few unsuccessful tries at capturing it in a photo, but before I made it home I was turning around to give it another shot. The good news is that I didn't miss the greatest part of the sunrise. The bad news is I am realizing that it is near impossible to actually portray what I saw in a photo. This was the best I got, overlooking the Augusta canal, but it's a far cry from the real thing:

My favorite part of this shot is the hazy fog you can see hovering over the water.

Waffle House Wisdom

Waffle House is hands down my favorite restaurant. This is a place that offers familiarity, good food, warm smiles, cheesy music, and hot coffee 24 hours a day. What more could one ask for? There are also added bonuses for regular customers, such as receiving your "regular" without having to order, getting advice on any and everything from the staff, and discussing the local and national news with those of (extremely) varied opinions.

This afternoon I was having a pleasant breakfast at WH when a "regular" walked in and sat down at the WH bar. The waitress asked him how his Christmas was, and he replied that it was pretty good, could have been better, etc. Then he said, "I don't have everything I want, but I've got more than I need." It warmed my heart. Only at WH can one overhear such simple but profound everyday wisdom, because everyone at WH is there to dine together.

Merry Christmas (a day or two after)

To all who I have not spoken with this week... Merry Christmas a little late. I arrived back in Augusta last night from Columbus, GA where I spent Christmas with my family. It was a different Christmas for us, now that we have two young kids (my brother's) in the family, but different in a good way. My nephew was old enough this year to understand that we were celebrating Jesus's birthday and also to understand the idea of gifts. As of now, he can grasp the idea of receiving gifts but not giving them. One day he will discover the joy of giving, but that's a bit much to expect of a two year old. I think the fact that we all got to sing happy birthday to Jesus with little Ben leading the moment was a good enough gift for us.

Oh, the Places I Go

On my way to work last night, I passed a favorite Augusta landmark:

Then, on my way home this morning, I saw this:

Deep Thoughts from Deep in the Night

It's amazing how our brains work...

For instance, I can look at Chinese characters or some foreign alphabet and be utterly unable to make sense of them. However, I can look at words in English and be utterly unable to make nonsense out of them. Try it. Look at this page, or a page in a book, or a box of cereal, and try to trick your brain into not reading the words but just seeing gibberish shapes. So I guess that means we are trainable but not untrainable? I don't know what it means, but I just thought I'd share.

On another unrelated note, I have become aware recently of a band that I think I love. They're called O.A.R. Very well-done website also, at which you can listen to any and all of their albums all the way through. It is when I make discoveries like this that I really have to thank Sirius satellite radio for being infinitely more hip than the old-school radio. I would be lost in a world of bad music without it.

movies:::movies:::movies:::movies:::movies:::movies

I've seen the following movies in the past two weeks:

March of the Penguins
Elizabethtown
Pay it Forward (I had totally forgotten how this ended!)
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
Cinderella Man
Upside of Anger
Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I think my favorite of these was Cinderella Man, though I really enjoy most movies. You might say I should cut back on the movie-watching, to which I would reply, "I don't think so." Unfortunately, movies always come in spurts for me. Usually those spurts are just prior to a round of nightshifts when I am trying to stay up late (or right after the nightshifts when I just can't sleep). Trust me, there is really nothing else more worthwhile to do at 2am.

I still want to see Walk the Line, and I'm sure there are other good ones I can't think of right now.

Ramble On

Ahh, another beautiful Saturday night at the plant. I would give details about the happenings out here, but that's all top secret squirrel stuff. I am happy to say this is my last weekend of shift work, as I will be starting a normal 8-hr day schedule in January. It is a somewhat bittersweet transition, but more sweet than bitter.

This afternoon when I woke up, I went for a nice run/walk in the neighborhood. It had just rained but was not raining while I was out, so it was kind of nice. I like that damp post-rain feeling for some reason. I ran about 2 miles or so, not including the segments of walking. That's the most I have run in many months, so I was very pleased. I'm really thinking about trying another sprint triathlon next summer. The first and only one I did was in the summer of 2003 I think, and I haven't even thought about it since. But I really think a regular exercise schedule will be good for my neck, and the best way for me to exercise is to have a goal in mind. It got me out for a run today, so that's a start. I've been swimming here and there for the last several months, so the bike will be my next trial. Slowly but surely...

In other exciting news, I will be going to Waffle House after work tomorrow morning. I have been thinking about the hashbrowns (scattered, double-covered, and chunked) all evening. It will be a nice treat.

I can't believe Christmas is only 8 days away... wow, that crept up on me pretty fast. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family, and relaxing!

Photo of the Week

Georgetown, Wash DC - August 2004

Baby it's Cold Outside!

I'm sitting in my house right now, with the thermostat set at 67 degrees. It's cold. I know it's colder outside, but it really doesn't feel very cold in the sun. With gas prices climbing every month, I'm trying to keep a tight reign on the heat use this winter. I normally keep the thermostat on 78 degrees between October and April, so I'm doing well to stay around 67-68.

My realtor just left, and we decided to try to put my house on the market in mid-January. Unfortunately, that's not a great time to sell, but hopefully by late spring we can find a buyer. Now I just need to spend the next few weeks cleaning up and getting the house ready to show. Shouldn't be too much work as I have been taking small steps in that direction for a few months.

I spent the weekend (12 hours Sat and Sun) at work. Not a particularly bad weekend - pretty boring actually. I don't go back until Friday night, so my nice long weekend started last night. I went to a Wigalia (sp?) party last night, which is a traditional Polish Christmas dinner. It was really fun, and the food was good for the most part. The only thing I didn't try was pickled herring - can you blame me? They were also making mojitos, and I had a very good homemade mojito. For some reason I can't get them to mix up right when I try.

Today I will be studying for my Psych final, which is Wednesday. After that, I will have no school or class or tests for a good three weeks, and I am VERY excited! When I start back up in January, I will have only one class instead of two, which will be nice. AND I will be working dayshift, 8-hr days, so I will be almost normal. The other department that wanted to talk to me at work stood me up with the first meeting, and I haven't heard back. I'm still hearing rumors that I'll be going over there, but I still haven't been asked (or told) officially.

For today's simple thoughts, I was looking up the word "simple" where it is used in the Bible. It's interesting, because it seems that "simple" is used to describe idiots, but it is also used to indicate those who the Lord will show himself to and who will understand his word. So I'm still working on understanding that a little better, but I think there is some redemption to be found in simplicity as long as it is the right kind.

Photo of the Week

My Nephew as Santa - Christmas 2003

Photo of the Week

Bucharest, Romania - July 2002

These are children at an orphanage in Romania. Words cannot do justice to the experience of seeing and playing with them. The fallenness of our world really hit home.

Busy Week

Wow, no post since Monday, and tomorrow is already Friday! I know there are many of you out there (ok, maybe one or two of you) highly anticipating the Photo of the Week. If you are lucky, I will remember to do that before I leave for work at the pre-crack of dawn.

My only thought for today that seems interesting to me is that I find it hard to think of much when I have been so busy. On off days and down times, the thoughts are flowing like milk and honey. When I'm running around like a chicken, the thoughts become second fiddle to production, to-do lists, and planning for the next busy day or hour.

Most of the busyness this week has been school-related. Finishing up my on-line psychology course, studying for the anatomy/phys lab that I bombed last night, thinking about studying for next week's anatomy/phys test but not having time. Oh, and work for 12 hours a day. I actually took yesterday as vacation, but it didn't really seem like it due to the studying. Today at work was an eternity of meetings and various other nuclear fun. I found out that tomorrow I'll be having an interview with another department, potentially to start with them at the first of the year. I'm a little torn on whether to accept (assuming they offer me a spot) knowing that my desire is to leave in May. On the other hand, I am wanting to justify the move on two counts: (1) I think I will be utterly miserable in the position I am supposed to have this year if I stay in my department, and (2) I really don't know if I'll get into school, so I may stay at this job longer than I hope to.

Any thoughts/advice regarding this conflict would be appreciated, especially if you help me to justify making the move to the new department.

Word

Dictionary.com Word of the Day
lassitude \LASS-uh-tood; LASS-uh-tyood\, noun:Lack of vitality or energy; weariness; listlessness.

How did they know? I am supposed to be studying all day today, and I woke up this morning with extreme lassitude. I find it tough to fight lack of energy, especially when it's combined with lack of motivation and a warm bed. Somehow I eventually coaxed myself out of bed and into the shower. The lassitude is waning now that the day is half over, but I found the coincidence a little humorous.

Worship

This is as good as it gets if you ask me. I first heard this hymn about a year and a half ago and was instantly drawn to it. It's a great prayer and exhibits a desire for simple faith. Thought of it today for some reason, so this is what's on my mind. Words are by John Berridge.

Jesus Cast a Look on Me

Jesus cast a look on me
Give me sweet simplicity
Make me poor and keep me low
Seeking only thee to know

All that feeds my busy pride
Cast it evermore aside
Bid my will to thine submit
Lay me humbly at thy feet

Make me like a little child
Of my strength and wisdom spoiled
Seeing only in thy light
Walking only in thy might

Leaning on thy loving breast
Where a weary soul can rest
Feeling well the peace of God
Flowing from his precious blood

In this posture let me live
And hosannas daily give
In this temper let me die
And hosannas ever cry!

Photo of the Week

Strong Tree - The Four Seasons

*Sigh*

Just one more reason why I can't wait to leave this job...

Tonight, I actually had to listen to one of my technicians COMPLAIN about the free meal that was provided at work for Thanksgiving. He wasn't complaining about working the holiday, it's just that the free meal wasn't good enough for him. It consisited (surprise) of turkey, dressing, green beans, etc. He wanted steak. The food was 2 hours later than planned because the caterer got a flat tire, but his wife (on Thanksgiving) drove another car to pick up him and the food and deliver it out here. We are an hour outside of town. I was very grateful that they even bothered to deliver the food, especially after the flat tire.

I can't say that I'm the most uplifting, wonderfully positive person at work, but I've just about had enough of this guy who constantly seeks out opportunitites to whine and moan. I could ramble on about all the other things this guy complains about, but then I would just be making you miserable with the rest of us who have to hear it first hand. My advice to him: If you don't like the free food, then DON'T EAT IT. He ate a full plate.

Simple Thoughts

Warning: this is a long one, but I hope it will be meaningful for you all. Happy Thanksgiving!

This past Sunday, my pastor preached on Psalm 9. His main point was to illustrate the reality of God’s presence in the midst of our real life issues and struggles. Specifically, in this psalm, David is crying out for relief from oppression. Verse 9 says, “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble,” and verse 10 goes on to say, “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” So the real question here is: Do I trust God in the midst of real oppression in my life? Oppression can come in many forms, but it clearly says in the psalm that God is our refuge in the midst of it and that he WILL NOT forsake those who seek him. The pastor was quick to point out that God does not promise to save us from death, he does not promise to heal our diseases, he does not promise that we will not suffer, and so on. So what does it mean that he is our refuge? It means that he will give us eternal hope and eternal life and that the things of this world will not ultimately overcome us. Later in Psalm 9, starting in verse 13, David begins to thank God for what he will do in the future, indicating that he trusts him based on what has happened in the past and on what has been promised. This Thanksgiving, there will be a service at our church where people have been invited to share stories of being freed from oppression and how that looked in their lives. I will be sleeping that day, because I am working nightshift this week, so I will share my story here instead.

This summer, I was brought to a very low point in my spirit. I’ll try to summarize briefly the circumstances. I had been suffering from neck problems since August 2004, and the pain was particularly bad in June of this year. I was scheduled to go on a mission trip July 1-11 in the Dominican Republic, and prior to the trip I saw a neurosurgeon about my neck. He explained that I had a small rupture in a cervical disc and some degeneration in the discs above and below. He did not recommend surgery, but I insisted that the pain was not worth working through anymore. So after some discussion, the surgeon agreed to perform surgery to remove the disc and fuse two of my vertebrae together. This was scheduled for July 13, two days after my return to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic. Without going into detail, the trip was all around very good, but I spent a great deal of time in intense pain. I got through it with some strong alcohol on a few occasions and the knowledge that surgery was on the horizon. Upon returning from the trip, I had two obstacles: (1) I was sick with some kind of sinus infection, and (2) my surgery had been cancelled for unclear reasons. So basically my oppression consisted of a mixed array of emotions in response to all this uncertainty. I was being faced with a decision now of whether to go through with surgery with my surgeon who had flaked or get a second opinion. I didn’t know whether my mom, who had come to town for my surgery, should stick around or fly back home. I was in more pain every day, and none of my medications were helping, and I was going to work because of the delayed surgery. I had a lot of people at work waiting on the surgery decision because of needing someone to cover my shifts if I missed work. I just wanted it all to go away. I was at home one night, feeling pretty sorry for myself, when I turned (randomly, and yet not so randomly) to Psalm 25. It starts out in verses 1 and 2, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.” This was exactly the cry of my heart! I kept reading… verse 4 said, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths,” and verse 7, “Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways.” Wait a minute, this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. All of a sudden, I’m the culprit. But what about the flaky surgeon, what about the pain, what about my plans and how they weren’t working out?? Well, I read it over and over, and it finally hit me, that God is most concerned with my heart. And my heart was not in the right place. It was looking for someone to blame, and it was turning to surgery and pain medication for relief (unsuccessfully, I might add). Verses 16-18 go on to say, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.” Why doesn’t David say, “Look at my distress, take away my distress?” For the same reason I shouldn’t say, “Look at my pain, take away my pain.” It’s not that God didn’t care about David’s distress, and it’s not that he doesn’t care about my pain, but we should first trust God with our hearts and then with our problems. It is through our redemption, which is offered freely, that we can experience freedom from our pain, even in the midst of it. In 1 Peter 1, Peter says in verses 3 and 6-7, “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope … In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These come so that your faith … may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Have I been freed from oppression? For this situation, yes, I have. Have I been freed from the pain? It’s getting better, and I did not end up having the surgery. I can actually look back now and be thankful for the circumstances that seemed so unfair at the time. The point is that there will almost always be something that is oppressing me and you. It is just a matter of what it is and whether we will recognize it. But the answer is always the same, and David said it in Psalm 9:10, “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” He didn't forsake me, and he won't forsake you. Now that's something to be thankful for.

I Would Just Like to Say...

...War Eagle!

Psychology Book Says...

And I quote: "A number of studies have shown that anxious, neurotic people report more stress than others..."

Hmm, I hope they didn't spend too much time and effort on that research. Next time they need to know something like that, I would suggest calling a reasonably logical individual for the answer.

Photo of the Week

Carillon Beach, FL - September 2005

Photo of the Week will officially be on Fridays now. Enjoy!

Call Me Crazy, but...

You know the fact that there is no such thing as cold, that cold is the absense of heat? And the analogous fact that there is no evil, that evil is the absense of good? If you haven't heard that before, I hope it makes sense.

Anyway, I was just thinking, if both of those statements are true, then heat is most like GOOD and cold is most like EVIL. I'm sorry, I love the pretty leaves, I love fireplaces, I love a good warm blanket, but more than all of these... I LOVE SUMMER!

???

Clues to Me

Well, I had hoped to go to sleep at 3am, but I have tossed and turned for 45 minutes to no avail thus far (thank-you nightshift).

Today I was reading in my psych book about the idea that you can tell a lot about someone's personality by their room, office, home, etc. So, just for funsies, here are 10 things you can tell about me if you look closely enough. Note: these are not all particularly significant, just interesting I think.

1. The subwoofer in my living room is almost as big as the TV. I find music to be essential to life and television an accessory to life.
2. Constant items in my refrigerator include: Coke and beer. For some reason I find it more important to keep drinks on hand than food. (We'll leave the liquor cabinet alone for now.)
3. The little medicine cup on my Pepto Bismol bottle has no pink residue. I do not wash the cup, nor do I use it. I drink straight from the bottle as needed.
4. Aside from the occasional flower or two, there are no living plants in my home, and most of the outside plants are dead. I do not do well with nourishing non-expressive organisms (they never remind me to water them!).
5. My bed is almost always made. Mom raised me well on that one.
6. Books on my bedside table include: Bible, occasional novel (currently The Heart is a Lonely Hunter), occasional National Geographic. I like to read about God, creativity, photography, and culture.
7. My yard is basically maintained just above the level of embarrassment, but no more. I do NOT have a yard boy, thus the yard suffers.
8. I have all the right sporting equipment to play tennis, soccer, or golf and to bike, run, or swim on any given day. I'm halfway between prepared and schizophrenic in the athletic arena.
9. I have a small can of red paint which was bought to paint my front door approximately two years ago. The door is still white. I don't know what this means. Am I intimidated by the door?
10. My camera, battery charger, and camera USB cable are kept readily available. I like to take pictures, and I like to see them right away, and so I do.

Psychology Lesson

I have learned that Sigmund Freud can be described in two ways, not one or the other, but both:
1. brilliant
2. psycho

His psychoanalytic theory was well-named.

Morning Treat

This morning on my way home from work, I saw this at Lake Olmstead. For those of you that live in Augusta, you know that this is not the most beautiful lake. I have noticed, though, that it is always beautiful and serene in the morning...as you can see here.

School Status

Well, the ducks are continuing to line up for now... I will be finishing up my first semester of Anatomy&Physiology in a few weeks, and I should also finish my on-line psychology class by mid-December. Today (yesterday) I registered for A&P II, which I will take this Spring at ASU, and that should complete the prerequisites I need for grad school (Prosthetics and Orthotics) at Georgia Tech. Per the department there, I should hear something in February.

For those who are not familiar, I applied for admission last year and was not accepted. This led to a very sloppy cry and much despair at the thought of remaining here (at the nuke plant) for another year. After all that, I visited the department at GT and very calmly discussed with them my desire to attend. They basically said to take the aforementioned classes and re-apply, and that I should not have any problem getting in. So that is what I did, and here I am at the nuke plant in the middle of the night, praying that I will get into school and out of here as fast as possible.

As usual, with hindsight, I can see the good providence of not getting in last year. For instance, I was not ready to sell my house, I didn't have enough money saved up for tuition/living, I was not mentally prepared to leave Augusta yet, I have very much needed my good medical insurance this year, and the list goes on. With that said, if I don't get in this year, despite being led to believe that I will, I have to trust that it will be a good thing. I'm not sure what I will do, but I will cross that bridge if and when I need to.

Tree with House

I have been waiting in great anticipation for this day, the day when the tree in my front yard begins to turn red. Trust me, this is just the beginning. It will be absolutely beautiful for at least one day, two if I'm lucky, each year. In essence, I paid tens of thousands of dollars for a tree with a house on it's lot. The house is ok too. Anyway, I am hoping to have time tomorrow for cleaning up the yard and the roof so that when the glorious day comes, when the tree is at it's point of brightest red (just prior to shedding the leaves entirely), I will be ready to take a photo to use when I put the house up for sale in a few months.

A Wise Man Once Said...

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
-Ferris Beuller, from Ferris Beuller's Day Off

2005 Auburn Football Recap

Wins or losses aside, this season has been a tough one due to my LACK of being able to see the beloved Tigers play. The season has gone like this:

Sept 3 vs. Ga Tech - WORKING Night Shift
Sept 10 vs. Miss St - Watched game at the beach (this was wonderful)
Sept 17 vs. Ball St - WORKING Day Shift
Sept 24 vs. West KY - WORKING Day Shift
Oct 1 vs. USC - WORKING Day Shift
Oct 15 vs. ARK - WORKING Day Shift (but I think I got to watch this at night)
Oct 22 vs. LSU - Watched sporadically while at a WEDDING
Oct 29 vs. Ole Miss - Watched at a friend's house
Nov 5 vs. UK - WORKING Day Shift
Nov 12 vs. UGA - WORKING Night Shift (that's tonight)
Nov 19 vs. ALA - Will NOT be working!

So that's 3.5 out of 11 games. A disgrace. Would anyone disagree that I should be leaving my job???

Photo of the Week

NYC - April, 2005

I'm no professional, by any stretch of the imagination, but I love photographs. So I'll try to start posting one a week just for fun. This way when I run out, I will be inspired to take more, maybe.

The Day After

So I had the injections yesterday in my neck. By all indications, namely the little holes in my skin, I apparently had 4 total injections. I was under the impression that every facet joint from C-4 to T-1 would be affected, but maybe it was just C-4 AND T-1 (2 joints each). Anyway, I'll ask the doctor when I go in for round 2. It's been 33 hours or so since the procedure, and I'm definitely still sore from the needles. As for the typical back pain, it's about what it was prior to the injections yesterday. According to the doctor, it will be 4-5 days before noticeable improvement, so I'm still hoping for the best.

The Pear

I guess a little explanation would not hurt for the "SeekingSimple" photo of a pear. It's kind of a long story, going back to a battle that I had with stomach problems for several years. I came to realize that the purer the food I ate (consistently) the better my stomach would respond. For instance, eating an apple would be much better than eating an apple Poptart or apple flavored whatever, full of preservatives. I'm a big fan of analogies, and this idea of pure food eventually struck me as a great correlate to our need for pure truth. I would have to admit I would be hard pressed to prove that I have spent nearly as much time reading the Bible itself as I have Christian books. While there is nothing wrong with Christian books, they are like the apple Poptart, a mere representation of the real source of nourishment. 1 Peter 2:2-3 says, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

So the pear, like an apple, represents our need for truth from it's original source. I just happened to like that particular picture of a pear, which incidentally came from here:
http://www.kenygalleries.com/images/ac-tolstedt/t-pearprimarycolors.html.

Bring on the Needle

Today I'm trying option #87423 to treat neck pain. This will involve steriod injections into the vertebral facet joints from C4 to T1. I was praying that my pain would be high enough today to notice if this works, and it is!

Wireless Rant

So I finally have gone wireless as of about a month ago, wireless internet I mean. I've been experimenting with the various "hotspots" around town. I would just like to say that it is NOT COOL to have a "hotspot" that you have to pay for. So far in Augusta, Borders and Starbucks have T-Mobile access, which means you pay or you don't play. So I am sticking with Atlanta Bread or PJs Coffee as the winning (free) hotspots here. I was as excited as anyone else when Starbucks came to town, but lately I just think Starbucks Sucks (at least in Augusta).

Here's to Simplicity

I picked up an old book this morning to re-read some sections with a cup of hot chocolate. I didn't know this was in there, but how fitting for seeking the simple. And this particular idea, the struggle to seek God's will and yet not to be sure of it, has been on my mind for months if not longer.

"If we are in communion with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, we shall no longer try to find out what his purposes are. As we go on in the Christian life it gets simpler, because we are less inclined to say - Now why did God allow this and that? Behind the whole thing lies the compelling of God. 'There's a divinity that shapes our ends.' A Christian is one who trusts the wits and wisdom of God, and not his own wits. If we hav ea purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the leisureliness which ought to characterize the children of God." --Oswald Chambers

Of course, I think it goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) that this simplicity and leisureliness is not intended to equate with disregard and laziness. An active faith is not hidden away in a room - it's easy to find simplicity there. The greater struggle is to live boldly and in relationships with others, yet still find the simple in the midst of this fulness.

Just got back from a nice walk/run with Kelsey in the neighborhood. This is kind of an old picture, but she's still about this cute. Many specimens of her "scent" were left throughout the surrounding areas, so I think she felt good about the walk. I was just happy to run, even just a few blocks, and get some fresh air.

Friday on Monday

So today was Friday at work, my last day before having the next 3 days off. Then it will be back to the plant for 4 nights in a row. Such is the shift schedule. Anyway, it was a pretty good day. We had two new technicians in the lab, whom I had the privelege to spend some time with and welcome to our department. As it stands now, I'll be their supervisor next year, so I tried to start of a good rapport with them. Nice to see some fresh faces. Had class right after work, Anatomy/Physiology. I managed to stay in lab for about 45 minutes before bailing, which is pretty good for me. I'm just too tired by this time of night to focus on brains and muscles and words with more letters than I can count, much less memorize. I'll be working up motivation for some of that fun stuff on the off days. For now, I'm going to call on old college friend (and roommate) and catch up. I can't believe how long ago that seems now... it's only been 5 years.

Strong Tree

I would be delinquint if I did not introduce my favorite tree at this point. I don't have a fancy name for it, but I call it (her) the Strong Tree. She's all alone in this field yet confident and peaceful. She reaches to the heavens consistently, rain or shine, leaves or no leaves, to the sun, her source of life.

I am sorry to have to report that after several years of watching the Strong Tree (and thankfully documenting many photos), she is beginning to die. The heavy rains and sweltering heat here in Georgia finally got to her this summer, and she is looking quite lame. Branches are sagging and pointing in all sorts of unnatural directions. I would post a picture of that pitiful sight, but I like this one better. Maybe later I will reveal her in the unfortunate state of disrepair.

Post One

Well, here goes... I've tried one other web journal before, which I keep up with miserably. So my goal with this blog is just to keep it current, as much as possible, with life and thoughts. The best way for me to do that is not to feel pressured to always be profound and/or interesting. Sometimes life is just life, so I'll just record it as it comes.

Romans 12:12 (see profile), for anyone who doesn't want to look it up, says simply, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." So that's why it's my theme verse for seeking simplicity.

Today I am at work, which is at a nuclear power plant. It's a Sunday, so things are pretty slow, hence the random idea to start a blog. One of the redeeming things lately about work has been the drive home, watching the gorgeous Fall sunsets. Since the time change last week, it's pretty much dark by the time I leave, but I can still catch a few minutes of the setting sun.

This past week has mostly been marked by a flare up in my neck/back pain. I have some mixture of degenerated discs, ankylosing spodylosis, and maybe some facet joint inflammation. So if you know what any of that is, then I am sorry because you probably suffer from it too. I was reading up yesterday on some symptoms associated with chronic back pain, one of which is depression. I can definitely see how this happens. I thankfully am not depressed, but I have noticeable differences in mood when the pain is bad. The only way I have found to combat this is prayer, lots of prayer. Just like with any dissatisfied attitude, only Christ can redeem the sickness in our hearts that broods bitterness and anger. This might be easier for me to say today because the pain is improved greatly from the last few days. But I've been through enough ups and downs to know that it's not easy. I probably would be depressed without having hope to cling to. It doesn't have to be fancy hope, just hope in the right God. Back to Romans 12:12. The key is not to force myself to be joyful, patient, or faithful, but to ask God to brood these things in my heart. I can't do it. Thank God that he can and does.