Oh my gosh, life has been wonderfully crazy! I LOVE IT! Please forgive me for just now updating the blog.
Okay, so let’s wrap up Aspen. There truly aren’t adequate words to describe this incredible experience. Right now, as I ponder those 2 months, I can’t help but smile at how much God taught me in such a short time. It’s funny how the Lord works, because I never actually intended to go to Aspen. It definitely was not in MY plan. But, through other people’s decisions and a spontaneous moment, the Lord changed my life. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” –Proverbs 16:9
For me, a constantly busy and overly involved person, God began to teach me about the peace and serenity in free time, mostly free time with Him. I worked adult hours, and all my new friends had about 3 jobs and therefore were going to work around the time my last patient left. This free time (because I didn’t have friends, lol) gave me such interrupted time with the Lord: time to read, study, podcast, and learn from wiser Christians. I now understand why Paul praises the season of singleness and the undivided time with God.
My best friend Tara came to visit, and it was PHENOMENAL! Despite the fact it took her 20 hours to get here thanks to the weather, we walked in 2.5 ft of snow at 2 am because the taxi couldn’t make the hill, and she had to take a shuttle from Denver because the flight was canceled, it was totally worth it (for me anyway). It was my birthday weekend, and I was quite homesick. We had a blast just catching up on lives, scoping out Aspen, skiing, staying up late talking, taking pictures, making random friends, and slipping on the ice in our cute shoes. Tara is definitely an irreplaceable friend!
My birthday week was so great! More cards, flowers, balloons, letters, and gifts from home were sent than I deserved. It was such a humbling and loving feeling, especially because I was far away from everyone I really knew. My Mom sent me this HUGE basket of food, and my coworkers said “oh wow, you are from the south.” haha. The clinic threw me a party, and we went out to celebrate a few times. Patients brought in cakes, balloons, and presents. Then my welcoming new friends from church took me salsa dancing! They honestly were an answered prayer.
Tying up the loose ends from work was decently easy. Although my coworkers have a special place in my heart, I was ready to move on to different challenges. Saying goodbye is always difficult though, and I might be terrible at discharging patients because I like them too much! Aspen Sports Medicine took great care of me, and we definitely celebrated. And, I will never drink sake again….
Saying goodbye to Pam and John probably was the most difficult part of it all. The experience of living with phenomenal people that basically adopted me for 2 months was definitely the work of God. They both are ALL IN for Christ, and their lives reflect their devotion. Every single day was filled with encouragement, lessons, advice, wisdom, and examples. Pam and I had such a heart-to-heart right before I left, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Honestly, praise God. Seriously, I’m not sure what I would have done without them. I tear up just a bit thinking about them!
Then…My family came to pick me up!!!! Is that not the most adorable thing you have ever heard? Yes, parents, brother, sister, in-laws = Family Vacation!! Oh my gosh we had a blast! Besides being just fantastic, our family is just so fun. It was an opportunity to share my new life, new friends, and experiences they have heard so much about via the telephone. We enjoyed the mountains, fun Aspen-y places, homecookin’, shopping, and just talking. The same ole thing- we all stayed up all night laughing. I LOVE IT! Seeing my family was just the icing on the cake for the entire experience. They made everything wonderful again (yes, that’s from a song).
Basically, in a nutshell, an experience of a lifetime directed by God.
Showing posts with label Aspen- The Winter Wonderland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aspen- The Winter Wonderland. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Finally an update! Aspen, weeks 6 & 7
Okay, so I’ve been terrible the last few weeks about keeping you updated. Please forgive me.
Aspen Sports Medicine: Life in the clinic has been grrrrrreat! I’m finally beginning to independently get my own patients, and legitimately think like a therapist. Hopefully, lol. My favorite patient is an 11 year old ski racer who tore both ACLs….ouch. He is absolutely adorable, and a really fun kid to treat. We have many other exciting patients, some famous athletes, etc….Aspen definitely protrays a different world. There was also the opportunity to spend time with a renowned spine surgeon, and he is really a great teacher. The experience also reassured me that our spine class was extensive and we are prepared.
Other adventures: Went to Denver for a cheerleading competition of a girl I’ve babysat. Oh wow, it brought back a plethora of memories! While there, had the chance to meet up with Joy, Yvette, and Courtney who are doing rotations in the New Mexico/Denver area. Seeing familiar faces made my heart smile! The following weekend went out with the co-workers to celebrate my birthday, G getting into PT school, and Valentine’s day. We had a blast enjoying fancy Italian food, delicious wine, a great “Jack Johnson-ish” concert, dancing, chatting, etc. Loved it!
God: Have learned more about God than imaginable these past two weeks. Honestly. This is the first time my life really has ‘margin’ where the schedule hasn’t been consistently overlapping. The opportunities of learning are abundant in the middle of God’s creation with free time. Read a TON, prayed, journaled, etc. all apart from the busyness of life. It forces one to consider and ponder the things that activities and plans kept from the mind. This is a season in my life that I will cherish forever! There have also been a multitude of “God Winks” (I recently stole this term). Feel free to ask about them.
Aspen Sports Medicine: Life in the clinic has been grrrrrreat! I’m finally beginning to independently get my own patients, and legitimately think like a therapist. Hopefully, lol. My favorite patient is an 11 year old ski racer who tore both ACLs….ouch. He is absolutely adorable, and a really fun kid to treat. We have many other exciting patients, some famous athletes, etc….Aspen definitely protrays a different world. There was also the opportunity to spend time with a renowned spine surgeon, and he is really a great teacher. The experience also reassured me that our spine class was extensive and we are prepared.
Other adventures: Went to Denver for a cheerleading competition of a girl I’ve babysat. Oh wow, it brought back a plethora of memories! While there, had the chance to meet up with Joy, Yvette, and Courtney who are doing rotations in the New Mexico/Denver area. Seeing familiar faces made my heart smile! The following weekend went out with the co-workers to celebrate my birthday, G getting into PT school, and Valentine’s day. We had a blast enjoying fancy Italian food, delicious wine, a great “Jack Johnson-ish” concert, dancing, chatting, etc. Loved it!
God: Have learned more about God than imaginable these past two weeks. Honestly. This is the first time my life really has ‘margin’ where the schedule hasn’t been consistently overlapping. The opportunities of learning are abundant in the middle of God’s creation with free time. Read a TON, prayed, journaled, etc. all apart from the busyness of life. It forces one to consider and ponder the things that activities and plans kept from the mind. This is a season in my life that I will cherish forever! There have also been a multitude of “God Winks” (I recently stole this term). Feel free to ask about them.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Winter X Games; Aspen, week 5
My apologizes for the delay! I’m a few days behind the usual weekly update.
Winter X GAMES!!! Let’s start here. Phenomenal experience! Okay, so town was crazy crowded, equipped with parties and events and stereotypically ‘yo bros’ everywhere. It was a bit of a mess, and a lot of locals don’t necessarily like this week. However, the games themselves were soooooo spectacular to watch. I only went to a few events, but did get to watch the skiing super-pipe finals. We were standing on the edge of the pipe, literally within reach of the inside, and about half way up. We were at a perfect position where the skiers basically flipped OVER our heads. It was amazing!!! The fantastic tricks these athletes perform are sick! As a PT though, my mind was a bit warped in thinking ‘oohh that’s a concussion’ ‘there goes his ACL’ ‘lumbar spine injury’ etc rather than just enjoying the show. There were a few terrible accidents, but most of the competitors got up and back on the slope. Impressive. Other fun things: Held an X-game medal. Took pictures with a few champions (although not really sure who they are, or what they competed in). Paid $17 for a disposable camera, b/c my batteries were dead. Also, it was FREEZING.
Quotes of the Week:
“They will be back soon.” –a patient, as a few X Game athletes came into the clinic prior to competition
“Do you usually socialize with all the new people you meet a work?” -a patient
“Well typically my new friends are on crutches and taking Vicodin.” -me
“Only you can go on a date, without realizing you are on a date.” –Jodie
“Went drinking for the first time since before surgery, and I swear ALL the alcohol went straight to my knee." -knee patient with excessive swelling
"Ahh, it's free. Bring some beer, and we'll call it even." -ski rental guys
“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." –Brad quoting Kate Moss
“Honey, I am from Dallas. These are flats." –back patient wearing heels! :D
“It is interesting what you just taught me about women. However, I am going to choose to ignore it, and still live in my man world." –Jeb
“You look exceptionally pretty today. Wait, that doesn’t mean you usually look bad, because you always look good. Not to be weird or anything. Okay, I’m just going to stop talking.” –a charming patient
Aspen Sports Medicine: LOVE LOVE LOVE my job! The patients are incredible, and I am now officially beginning to get some responsibility. One of my patients, an 11 year old ski racer with bilateral ACL reconstruction, always provides entertainment and innocent refreshment. He taught me how to play lacrosse on Tuesday, and adorably explained knee anatomy to me, lol. Other things, surgeries, MD rounds, business things, etc are continually a blast. 3 surgeries tomorrow!
Crossroads Church: Definitely changing my life! Praise God!
Winter X GAMES!!! Let’s start here. Phenomenal experience! Okay, so town was crazy crowded, equipped with parties and events and stereotypically ‘yo bros’ everywhere. It was a bit of a mess, and a lot of locals don’t necessarily like this week. However, the games themselves were soooooo spectacular to watch. I only went to a few events, but did get to watch the skiing super-pipe finals. We were standing on the edge of the pipe, literally within reach of the inside, and about half way up. We were at a perfect position where the skiers basically flipped OVER our heads. It was amazing!!! The fantastic tricks these athletes perform are sick! As a PT though, my mind was a bit warped in thinking ‘oohh that’s a concussion’ ‘there goes his ACL’ ‘lumbar spine injury’ etc rather than just enjoying the show. There were a few terrible accidents, but most of the competitors got up and back on the slope. Impressive. Other fun things: Held an X-game medal. Took pictures with a few champions (although not really sure who they are, or what they competed in). Paid $17 for a disposable camera, b/c my batteries were dead. Also, it was FREEZING.
Quotes of the Week:
“They will be back soon.” –a patient, as a few X Game athletes came into the clinic prior to competition
“Do you usually socialize with all the new people you meet a work?” -a patient
“Well typically my new friends are on crutches and taking Vicodin.” -me
“Only you can go on a date, without realizing you are on a date.” –Jodie
“Went drinking for the first time since before surgery, and I swear ALL the alcohol went straight to my knee." -knee patient with excessive swelling
"Ahh, it's free. Bring some beer, and we'll call it even." -ski rental guys
“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." –Brad quoting Kate Moss
“Honey, I am from Dallas. These are flats." –back patient wearing heels! :D
“It is interesting what you just taught me about women. However, I am going to choose to ignore it, and still live in my man world." –Jeb
“You look exceptionally pretty today. Wait, that doesn’t mean you usually look bad, because you always look good. Not to be weird or anything. Okay, I’m just going to stop talking.” –a charming patient
Aspen Sports Medicine: LOVE LOVE LOVE my job! The patients are incredible, and I am now officially beginning to get some responsibility. One of my patients, an 11 year old ski racer with bilateral ACL reconstruction, always provides entertainment and innocent refreshment. He taught me how to play lacrosse on Tuesday, and adorably explained knee anatomy to me, lol. Other things, surgeries, MD rounds, business things, etc are continually a blast. 3 surgeries tomorrow!
Crossroads Church: Definitely changing my life! Praise God!
Monday, January 25, 2010
One Month Already? Aspen, Week 4
Oh my gosh, it has been a full month! Crazy… and kind of sad. Time is going by too fast! This week has been full of phenomenal new experiences, a few challenges, and some homesickness, with the cure being a best friend visitation!
Aspen Sports Medicine: The good news, patients are getting better!!!!!! Yay!! Okay, seriously. Let’s see, many of you care more about this aspect than anything else in the Aspen experience, so I’ll try to fill you in. Conveniently, work encompassed most of my life this week. Tuesday provided a GREAT trip to Vail. We spent the day at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic, one of the most famous orthopaedic surgery facilities in the nation, and watched a really phenomenal hip surgery! For all the medical nerds out there, this was her 5th hip surgery, she had damaged femoral head cartilage, osteoporosis, and unexpectedly NO LABRUM! Dr. Philippon did a spontaneous labral reconstruction with the IT band. It was awesome! We then saw some patients with Dr. Millett and chatted with the other physicians. Dr. Steadman went to medical school at UT Southwestern and still goes back to Dallas to teach! Small world. Dr. Karli then gave a lecture on the use of PRP (plasma-rich platelets) and the up-and-coming evidentiary support. You will be seeing this as injections and in surgeries in the near future, as they are already common here! Okay, back to English. Wednesday mornings are rounds with Dr. Pevny in Aspen, who happens to be an Aggie and a spectacular surgeon. The clinic is going well, and I am really learning more than imaginable. Those of you who know me, know I need more feedback than “doll, you are doing great”, but I’m learning to adapt to that too. Overall, the clinic has just created more questions than before! This dose of clinical skepticism, hopefully which is a healthy dose, keeps my nose in the books. Either way, based on it, we found a mistake in an older edition of the McGee textbook. Crazy! I feel as if UTSW provided a fantastic educational foundation, and in the clinical we are now improving hand skills, clinical reasoning, providing an appropriate plan of care, time/patient management, plus much more. However, I am still very much a student, because my thought process is still extremely textbook. Eventually it’ll be different…..Oh, yeah, most of our patients are post-surgical, so the opportunities to REALLY evaluate patients are limited. However, where there has been the occasion, the therapist and I have come up with the same conclusion! Whew!! That’s a good sign.
Texas Visitation: This week was more difficult than normal in regard to being a bit homesick. Pam, who I live with and have grown extremely close to, was in Denver all week. I worked super late every evening so didn’t have the opportunity to meet with the normal crew, or make it to the young adult group on Wednesday night, or ski, or really chat with anyone. Getting off work late, and then adding in the time change, there was not a good opportunity to talk to anyone from home either. New friends are fantastic, but my close friends are still in Texas and I miss them soooooo much!!! It was a semi-lonely week, but then Jodie made it on Friday!!! Yay! She is such a blessing, and a great friend from college I terribly miss. Jodie is one of those amazing individuals who is completely real, down to earth, always bluntly honest, funny, and a blast to be around. She says things the way they are, and I have missed her friendship dearly! You can be confident you look good around her, because she would politely tell you to change if you didn’t, lol. Unfortunately, both of her flights were delayed, so she was late getting to Aspen, and really late getting home. Overall, her trip was a blast! The weekend with her involved seeing Aspen both day and night, talking, hiking (in the snow), shopping, more talking, laughing, trying new restaurants, the chocolate factory, a lot of laughing when Joey, the teenage chocolate salesman, gave us free hot chocolate then worked hard to impress us with bar-tending flare of the whipped cream can, a lot more laughing when he let us know when he was free to hang out, watching it snow, playing in the snow, slipping on the ice, more talking, a few games of pool, and my personal favorite response to gay ski week, playing “yay” or “nah” in guessing the sexual orientation of almost every guy in Aspen.
Crossroads Church: Still spectacular as always. Ended the Fast. Amazing experience. AMAZING sermon on Sunday evening about the Power to Change. Recommend podcasting it. Go to http://www.crossroadschurchaspen.com/flash_web/front/1510/media/media.php?a=1 and it should be up soon, for the 1/24/10 service, under the “Jesus is my Homeboy” cover. Yeah, I know what you are thinking about the title. Its great though!
Aspen Sports Medicine: The good news, patients are getting better!!!!!! Yay!! Okay, seriously. Let’s see, many of you care more about this aspect than anything else in the Aspen experience, so I’ll try to fill you in. Conveniently, work encompassed most of my life this week. Tuesday provided a GREAT trip to Vail. We spent the day at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic, one of the most famous orthopaedic surgery facilities in the nation, and watched a really phenomenal hip surgery! For all the medical nerds out there, this was her 5th hip surgery, she had damaged femoral head cartilage, osteoporosis, and unexpectedly NO LABRUM! Dr. Philippon did a spontaneous labral reconstruction with the IT band. It was awesome! We then saw some patients with Dr. Millett and chatted with the other physicians. Dr. Steadman went to medical school at UT Southwestern and still goes back to Dallas to teach! Small world. Dr. Karli then gave a lecture on the use of PRP (plasma-rich platelets) and the up-and-coming evidentiary support. You will be seeing this as injections and in surgeries in the near future, as they are already common here! Okay, back to English. Wednesday mornings are rounds with Dr. Pevny in Aspen, who happens to be an Aggie and a spectacular surgeon. The clinic is going well, and I am really learning more than imaginable. Those of you who know me, know I need more feedback than “doll, you are doing great”, but I’m learning to adapt to that too. Overall, the clinic has just created more questions than before! This dose of clinical skepticism, hopefully which is a healthy dose, keeps my nose in the books. Either way, based on it, we found a mistake in an older edition of the McGee textbook. Crazy! I feel as if UTSW provided a fantastic educational foundation, and in the clinical we are now improving hand skills, clinical reasoning, providing an appropriate plan of care, time/patient management, plus much more. However, I am still very much a student, because my thought process is still extremely textbook. Eventually it’ll be different…..Oh, yeah, most of our patients are post-surgical, so the opportunities to REALLY evaluate patients are limited. However, where there has been the occasion, the therapist and I have come up with the same conclusion! Whew!! That’s a good sign.
Texas Visitation: This week was more difficult than normal in regard to being a bit homesick. Pam, who I live with and have grown extremely close to, was in Denver all week. I worked super late every evening so didn’t have the opportunity to meet with the normal crew, or make it to the young adult group on Wednesday night, or ski, or really chat with anyone. Getting off work late, and then adding in the time change, there was not a good opportunity to talk to anyone from home either. New friends are fantastic, but my close friends are still in Texas and I miss them soooooo much!!! It was a semi-lonely week, but then Jodie made it on Friday!!! Yay! She is such a blessing, and a great friend from college I terribly miss. Jodie is one of those amazing individuals who is completely real, down to earth, always bluntly honest, funny, and a blast to be around. She says things the way they are, and I have missed her friendship dearly! You can be confident you look good around her, because she would politely tell you to change if you didn’t, lol. Unfortunately, both of her flights were delayed, so she was late getting to Aspen, and really late getting home. Overall, her trip was a blast! The weekend with her involved seeing Aspen both day and night, talking, hiking (in the snow), shopping, more talking, laughing, trying new restaurants, the chocolate factory, a lot of laughing when Joey, the teenage chocolate salesman, gave us free hot chocolate then worked hard to impress us with bar-tending flare of the whipped cream can, a lot more laughing when he let us know when he was free to hang out, watching it snow, playing in the snow, slipping on the ice, more talking, a few games of pool, and my personal favorite response to gay ski week, playing “yay” or “nah” in guessing the sexual orientation of almost every guy in Aspen.
Crossroads Church: Still spectacular as always. Ended the Fast. Amazing experience. AMAZING sermon on Sunday evening about the Power to Change. Recommend podcasting it. Go to http://www.crossroadschurchaspen.com/flash_web/front/1510/media/media.php?a=1 and it should be up soon, for the 1/24/10 service, under the “Jesus is my Homeboy” cover. Yeah, I know what you are thinking about the title. Its great though!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Okay, I live here; Aspen, Week 3
Aspen is now my home. They say it takes 19 days to form a habit, and today makes day 20 of Colorado life. Pam and John, the owners of the B&B where I live are absolutely phenomenal. They each have a huge heart, are very wise, and are so encouraging in faith! Finding Crossroads, living with Pam & John, having two bible studies, and making some amazing friends is DEFINITELY a God story. It has all worked out so perfectly!
Aspen Sports Medicine: Splendid! Learning extensive medicine, skills, communication, business, etc. Also treating a bunch of famous people, former Olympic athletes, etc. I usually don’t know who they are. More about the clinic next week.
Traci Lately:
1. Learning to breath…I can run again! Almost fully altitude adapt!
2. Colorado is so healthy! Walk everywhere, church-wide fast, and can’t afford anything to eat.
3. A little girl at the mountain said “excuse me, but you are very pretty.” She made my day, and I wanted to keep her forever! Sadly, I was sitting there with ice on my injured shoulder, a Stella, and Advil. Awesome.
4. Cooking vegan!
5. Great restaurants with new friends (yes, cheated on the Fast).
6. Soup Skol- trial soup competition from all the local restaurants. Awesomeness.
7. Winter Skol- annual celebration of Aspen ski season. Ice sculptures, live music, beer garden, fireworks, etc.
8. Haven’t mastered distinguishing frozen puddles from ones where my foot sinks into 4 inches of water.
9. A lady next to me brought her yappy dog named “Bruiser” to Church. Yes. Inside Church.
10. My co-workers frequently refer to me as “Tex”.
Growing in Faith: Philippians 3:12-14 (check it out) is me right now. I have so much to learn, and am not there at all. Simply in the process.
Like previously mentioned, Pam demonstrates a Proverbs 31 woman well, and I’m really learning a lot about living for the Lord. We have spent quite a bit of time together studying the Word, praying, walking, talking about Christ, and praying for Haiti. Haiti…something similar can happen so fast, to any of us. Is this life all there is?
I don’t believe so… Therefore, God is teaching me (an on-going process) about dying to self and letting Him live in me; ie, pride.
Do I TRULY rely on Him instead of my own talents?
Do I sincerely expect Him to come through?
Have I put God in a bubble? Am I in a bubble?
The other revelation God has given me, going along with pride, is often our lack of reverence for Him. This is the CREATOR we are talking about! I choke on words when speaking to Gerard Butler, but so casually approach the Throne of Christ? (Psalm 8) What? The “Religious” God I’d known for so long is minuscule in comparison to who God actually is, and yet God is often thought of in the following manner: Stand up. Sing. Sit down. Stand up. Bow your head. Say this creed. Tithe. Check the list. Repeat next Sunday. Seriously? What punch did we drink that made us think this is the relationship God desires? Scripture definitely does not agree. Religion and Relationship are such vastly different concepts, and they are so often misconstrued. I’ve been here, but why do we profess the Bible, when, if being honest, we don’t really know what it says? How can we know God’s heart if we never read His word? Or pray? We stand on Biblical bits and pieces we learned in 4th grade VBS, and consequently never become spiritually mature (Heb 5:11-14; 6:1-3; 1 Tim 4:7) As spiritually immature believers, we never develop a defendable faith. How can we expect the world (US Government, etc) to honor Christianity if we can’t defend it? Honestly, it isn’t a chore, obligation, or intimidation to read the Word, it’s a blessing that people all over the world die for. Check out "A Case for Christ".
One spectacular characteristic of Aspen, a city of the ‘world’ very far from the ‘Bible belt’, is that the Christians here are completely on fire for God rather than being complacent. It isn’t cool, expected, or required to be a Christian, the way it is at home. Instead, the smaller church is full of people with Genuine, Sincere, Trusting, Relying, Encouraging, and Deep Faith. I want to be more like this.
The Daniel Fast…It’s been hard this week and I’m hungry. Made everyone laugh hysterically as my face blatantly coveted Devin’s food today. And I’ve cheated a bit, which shows my people pleasing habit because I don’t want to come across as a ‘Religious fanatic’ to a new friend. But who am I trying to please, God or man? (Gal 1:10) Why can’t I trust God? (Romans 1:16-17). Good news, the Fast is requiring me to rely on Him much more, expose my addictions, and live 1 Thess 5:16 much more.
Adieu! Love and miss everyone so much! Thanks for being in my life!
Aspen Sports Medicine: Splendid! Learning extensive medicine, skills, communication, business, etc. Also treating a bunch of famous people, former Olympic athletes, etc. I usually don’t know who they are. More about the clinic next week.
Traci Lately:
1. Learning to breath…I can run again! Almost fully altitude adapt!
2. Colorado is so healthy! Walk everywhere, church-wide fast, and can’t afford anything to eat.
3. A little girl at the mountain said “excuse me, but you are very pretty.” She made my day, and I wanted to keep her forever! Sadly, I was sitting there with ice on my injured shoulder, a Stella, and Advil. Awesome.
4. Cooking vegan!
5. Great restaurants with new friends (yes, cheated on the Fast).
6. Soup Skol- trial soup competition from all the local restaurants. Awesomeness.
7. Winter Skol- annual celebration of Aspen ski season. Ice sculptures, live music, beer garden, fireworks, etc.
8. Haven’t mastered distinguishing frozen puddles from ones where my foot sinks into 4 inches of water.
9. A lady next to me brought her yappy dog named “Bruiser” to Church. Yes. Inside Church.
10. My co-workers frequently refer to me as “Tex”.
Growing in Faith: Philippians 3:12-14 (check it out) is me right now. I have so much to learn, and am not there at all. Simply in the process.
Like previously mentioned, Pam demonstrates a Proverbs 31 woman well, and I’m really learning a lot about living for the Lord. We have spent quite a bit of time together studying the Word, praying, walking, talking about Christ, and praying for Haiti. Haiti…something similar can happen so fast, to any of us. Is this life all there is?
I don’t believe so… Therefore, God is teaching me (an on-going process) about dying to self and letting Him live in me; ie, pride.
Do I TRULY rely on Him instead of my own talents?
Do I sincerely expect Him to come through?
Have I put God in a bubble? Am I in a bubble?
The other revelation God has given me, going along with pride, is often our lack of reverence for Him. This is the CREATOR we are talking about! I choke on words when speaking to Gerard Butler, but so casually approach the Throne of Christ? (Psalm 8) What? The “Religious” God I’d known for so long is minuscule in comparison to who God actually is, and yet God is often thought of in the following manner: Stand up. Sing. Sit down. Stand up. Bow your head. Say this creed. Tithe. Check the list. Repeat next Sunday. Seriously? What punch did we drink that made us think this is the relationship God desires? Scripture definitely does not agree. Religion and Relationship are such vastly different concepts, and they are so often misconstrued. I’ve been here, but why do we profess the Bible, when, if being honest, we don’t really know what it says? How can we know God’s heart if we never read His word? Or pray? We stand on Biblical bits and pieces we learned in 4th grade VBS, and consequently never become spiritually mature (Heb 5:11-14; 6:1-3; 1 Tim 4:7) As spiritually immature believers, we never develop a defendable faith. How can we expect the world (US Government, etc) to honor Christianity if we can’t defend it? Honestly, it isn’t a chore, obligation, or intimidation to read the Word, it’s a blessing that people all over the world die for. Check out "A Case for Christ".
One spectacular characteristic of Aspen, a city of the ‘world’ very far from the ‘Bible belt’, is that the Christians here are completely on fire for God rather than being complacent. It isn’t cool, expected, or required to be a Christian, the way it is at home. Instead, the smaller church is full of people with Genuine, Sincere, Trusting, Relying, Encouraging, and Deep Faith. I want to be more like this.
The Daniel Fast…It’s been hard this week and I’m hungry. Made everyone laugh hysterically as my face blatantly coveted Devin’s food today. And I’ve cheated a bit, which shows my people pleasing habit because I don’t want to come across as a ‘Religious fanatic’ to a new friend. But who am I trying to please, God or man? (Gal 1:10) Why can’t I trust God? (Romans 1:16-17). Good news, the Fast is requiring me to rely on Him much more, expose my addictions, and live 1 Thess 5:16 much more.
Adieu! Love and miss everyone so much! Thanks for being in my life!
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Real World: Aspen, week 2
This week has been quite an introduction to an abundance of new experiences!
Aspen Sports Medicine: I’m actually kind-of a PT? What? When did that happen? Week 1 on the very first clinical has been phenomenal! Co-workers, stellar. Wednesday rounds with a fellow Aggie physician, very educational. Scrubbing in on awesome surgeries, such as a total knee arthroplasty, spectacular! It’s so great to be reminded why we entered this profession in the first place: to see patients. And fortunately, I remember more than I thought. whew! However, there is SOOOO much to learn, and embarrassingly more that I didn’t retain from the world of academia. An intern is an interesting place to be though, because we as students were taught “latest” practice, and in the clinic things can be done very differently. It is a learning process of incorporating the clinicians practice with the professors insight to best treat the patient. I feel smart enough to be dangerous, haha.
Crossroads Church: Day 7 of 21 of the Daniel fast (basically going vegan) has been so insightful! This is my first food-fast, so I’m learning how to be hungry for God while teaching self control and opening conversation. And surprisingly, I’m not really that hungry, but rather feel very refreshed and healthy. I do notice an increase in prayer time and more fruitful quite times, and just began the book “The Rewards of Fasting”. More on that later. Also, the young adult group met Wed night, studying the Song of Solomon. Getting new perspectives on loving the Lord has really sparked growth, however, I do miss “Still the one”, TNS, The Porch, and Watermark in Dallas.
Aspen-Life Lessons:
1.When locals say a ski-slope is “fun” or “pretty easy” don’t believe them.
2.High-heels in the winter. Just. Say. No.
3.Pay attention on trails when praying, running, ipod singing, and observing the beautiful scenery: 5 miles away = 5 miles home = 10 miles total.
4.New friends make for new adventures. Yet, old ones are irreplaceable!
5.Randy Rogers Band came to Aspen! People listen to country, but no one is country. They purchased the $600 Stetson at Kemo-Sabe earlier that day.
6. The Mexican food here is terrible.
7.Aspen is a small town, and the people are so welcoming and friendly! Reminds me of small town Texas! :D
Aspen Sports Medicine: I’m actually kind-of a PT? What? When did that happen? Week 1 on the very first clinical has been phenomenal! Co-workers, stellar. Wednesday rounds with a fellow Aggie physician, very educational. Scrubbing in on awesome surgeries, such as a total knee arthroplasty, spectacular! It’s so great to be reminded why we entered this profession in the first place: to see patients. And fortunately, I remember more than I thought. whew! However, there is SOOOO much to learn, and embarrassingly more that I didn’t retain from the world of academia. An intern is an interesting place to be though, because we as students were taught “latest” practice, and in the clinic things can be done very differently. It is a learning process of incorporating the clinicians practice with the professors insight to best treat the patient. I feel smart enough to be dangerous, haha.
Crossroads Church: Day 7 of 21 of the Daniel fast (basically going vegan) has been so insightful! This is my first food-fast, so I’m learning how to be hungry for God while teaching self control and opening conversation. And surprisingly, I’m not really that hungry, but rather feel very refreshed and healthy. I do notice an increase in prayer time and more fruitful quite times, and just began the book “The Rewards of Fasting”. More on that later. Also, the young adult group met Wed night, studying the Song of Solomon. Getting new perspectives on loving the Lord has really sparked growth, however, I do miss “Still the one”, TNS, The Porch, and Watermark in Dallas.
Aspen-Life Lessons:
1.When locals say a ski-slope is “fun” or “pretty easy” don’t believe them.
2.High-heels in the winter. Just. Say. No.
3.Pay attention on trails when praying, running, ipod singing, and observing the beautiful scenery: 5 miles away = 5 miles home = 10 miles total.
4.New friends make for new adventures. Yet, old ones are irreplaceable!
5.Randy Rogers Band came to Aspen! People listen to country, but no one is country. They purchased the $600 Stetson at Kemo-Sabe earlier that day.
6. The Mexican food here is terrible.
7.Aspen is a small town, and the people are so welcoming and friendly! Reminds me of small town Texas! :D
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Vacation: Aspen, week 1
Aspen is absolutely phenomenal!! Here is the recap from the vacation-part of Aspen.
Roadtrip: The drive through OK, KS, then to CO definitely attested to be more fun than typical. There is just something about being from Texas! Everyone wants to be your friend, mention they visited Texas in 1993, and ask if you know their cousin Charley. I secretly love it! We also took tons of fun pictures. See facebook.
Day 1: Arrive in Aspen around 7 pm. The quaint little town sparkles with Christmas lights, glimmers with snow, and the buildings look like Gingerbread houses. It feels like a tangible fairy tale. The drive from Texas to Aspen was simple. However, the half-mile drive up the mountain to the new home was more than the TX vehicle could handle. Haha. Yes, ice, sliding, snow, getting stuck, getting rescued, and ultimately leaving the car in town was quite an eventful experience. *note* WE did not get the vehicle stuck. A friend from Aspen, who thought he could make the hill did. Then he rescued us. It was rather entertaining.
Day 2: Aspen in the day! Lovely! We learned the bus system, became oriented to the town, ate local food, and met quite a few people. The people are great! Everyone is so friendly and helpful. It honestly feels like small town Texas. Aspen is rather small, about 6,000 people, but this week (Christmas-New Years) has about 10,000. There are quite a few restaurants/bars and the scene seems similar to uptown Dallas. Interesting note, there are probably twice as many guys here than girls. It’s a nice ratio. ;-) Either Amber and I became smoking hot upon leaving Texas, or all women get continual attention here. Yet, the guys are very much gentlemen. Oh yeah, minor detail. WE MET GERARD BUTLER!!! We were in line to go to Belly Up, and he was right in front of us. I honestly didn’t believe it was him, until he accidentally bumped into us. So we chatted for a couple of minutes. Mesmerizing eyes, check. Sexy accent, check. Traci forgot her name and has no idea what we talked about, check.
Day 3: Skiing= awesome! Aspen has 4 mountains to ski. Buttermilk. Aspen. Highlands. Snowmass. Buttermilk is the Xgame mountain with the jumps and pipe. Aspen is literally at the base of Aspen mountain. Highlands is BEAUTIFUL! Snowmass is the largest ski acreage in Colorado. Snowmass village is a cute little mountain area. Very cool note. Our charming ski instructor/actor friend gave us free lift tickets. The guys at the rental shop gave us equipment. Honestly, single ladies move to the mountains!
Day 4-6: Visited the clinic, LOVED everyone! Semi-terrified of not remembering anything from school. Spent a lot of time walking around town, getting lost, making more friends, shopping for things we would never actually buy, taking a ridiculous amount of pictures, eating at famous places, including OUTSIDE at Ajax (detailed in the movie Aspen Extreme), and doing the Aspen touristy thing. It was a blast! Because it is a small town, we ran into the same people over and over. NYE: Celebrated with a pro cyclist and fellow medical professional, dressed as Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber. They were hysterical, and very entertaining tourists from Vermont. There are very few people actually from Aspen this week.
Day 7: Love LoVe LOVE the church, Crossroads. I was rather nervous about moving from the network of believers in Dallas to the middle of ‘worldly’ Aspen. God totally provided!! Crossroads is very similar to my Dallas church, Watermark, on a MUCH smaller scale. The pastor, Dan, actually went to DTS. Already have a bible study and a semi-good friend. Pam & John, the amazing B&B owners where I am staying, are so encouraging and wise. The Lord definitely lives in their home! Opposite of my concerns, I have a feeling this will be a fantastic place to grow spiritually!!!!! Oh yeah, Crossroads is doing a 21 day Daniel fast that started today. I’ve never really fasted before, so I’m really excited to see change when being hungry for God!
There you go everyone! That’s the LONG update from this week of vacationing! The rest won’t be daily entries, so no worries mate. In addition, day one of clinical rotation one begins tomorrow! I’m semi-terrified that I don’t remember anything!!! But,extremely excited too. Aspen Sports Medicine, here comes Dallas.
Roadtrip: The drive through OK, KS, then to CO definitely attested to be more fun than typical. There is just something about being from Texas! Everyone wants to be your friend, mention they visited Texas in 1993, and ask if you know their cousin Charley. I secretly love it! We also took tons of fun pictures. See facebook.
Day 1: Arrive in Aspen around 7 pm. The quaint little town sparkles with Christmas lights, glimmers with snow, and the buildings look like Gingerbread houses. It feels like a tangible fairy tale. The drive from Texas to Aspen was simple. However, the half-mile drive up the mountain to the new home was more than the TX vehicle could handle. Haha. Yes, ice, sliding, snow, getting stuck, getting rescued, and ultimately leaving the car in town was quite an eventful experience. *note* WE did not get the vehicle stuck. A friend from Aspen, who thought he could make the hill did. Then he rescued us. It was rather entertaining.
Day 2: Aspen in the day! Lovely! We learned the bus system, became oriented to the town, ate local food, and met quite a few people. The people are great! Everyone is so friendly and helpful. It honestly feels like small town Texas. Aspen is rather small, about 6,000 people, but this week (Christmas-New Years) has about 10,000. There are quite a few restaurants/bars and the scene seems similar to uptown Dallas. Interesting note, there are probably twice as many guys here than girls. It’s a nice ratio. ;-) Either Amber and I became smoking hot upon leaving Texas, or all women get continual attention here. Yet, the guys are very much gentlemen. Oh yeah, minor detail. WE MET GERARD BUTLER!!! We were in line to go to Belly Up, and he was right in front of us. I honestly didn’t believe it was him, until he accidentally bumped into us. So we chatted for a couple of minutes. Mesmerizing eyes, check. Sexy accent, check. Traci forgot her name and has no idea what we talked about, check.
Day 3: Skiing= awesome! Aspen has 4 mountains to ski. Buttermilk. Aspen. Highlands. Snowmass. Buttermilk is the Xgame mountain with the jumps and pipe. Aspen is literally at the base of Aspen mountain. Highlands is BEAUTIFUL! Snowmass is the largest ski acreage in Colorado. Snowmass village is a cute little mountain area. Very cool note. Our charming ski instructor/actor friend gave us free lift tickets. The guys at the rental shop gave us equipment. Honestly, single ladies move to the mountains!
Day 4-6: Visited the clinic, LOVED everyone! Semi-terrified of not remembering anything from school. Spent a lot of time walking around town, getting lost, making more friends, shopping for things we would never actually buy, taking a ridiculous amount of pictures, eating at famous places, including OUTSIDE at Ajax (detailed in the movie Aspen Extreme), and doing the Aspen touristy thing. It was a blast! Because it is a small town, we ran into the same people over and over. NYE: Celebrated with a pro cyclist and fellow medical professional, dressed as Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber. They were hysterical, and very entertaining tourists from Vermont. There are very few people actually from Aspen this week.
Day 7: Love LoVe LOVE the church, Crossroads. I was rather nervous about moving from the network of believers in Dallas to the middle of ‘worldly’ Aspen. God totally provided!! Crossroads is very similar to my Dallas church, Watermark, on a MUCH smaller scale. The pastor, Dan, actually went to DTS. Already have a bible study and a semi-good friend. Pam & John, the amazing B&B owners where I am staying, are so encouraging and wise. The Lord definitely lives in their home! Opposite of my concerns, I have a feeling this will be a fantastic place to grow spiritually!!!!! Oh yeah, Crossroads is doing a 21 day Daniel fast that started today. I’ve never really fasted before, so I’m really excited to see change when being hungry for God!
There you go everyone! That’s the LONG update from this week of vacationing! The rest won’t be daily entries, so no worries mate. In addition, day one of clinical rotation one begins tomorrow! I’m semi-terrified that I don’t remember anything!!! But,extremely excited too. Aspen Sports Medicine, here comes Dallas.
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