Nothing to say?

How can I have nothing to say in such a busy and overwhelming time in my life? Have you ever had so much going on that you have no time to process, digest and dish it out?

Engagement: such a strange, wonderful whirlwind. It has gone so fast! There is just over two months left. Which means we have been engaged for almost 6 months. We still have a lot to do/plan. I've realized that wedding planning is not my calling. It has been a lot of fun working to make our day special and unique, but I will be glad once the day is here. I cant wait to celebrate the day with family and friends, but most of all I can't wait to be married to Joshua Akers.

Internship: such a strange, wonderful whirlwind. Being in a high school setting is somewhat surreal. Being there brings me new perspective on myself and has caused me to relive memories and moments that seem like yesterday. I look forward to working with the students and their families. The challenges are many; drugs, gangs, depression, peer-pressure. The rewards/blessing vast; an amazing high school/counseling staff, amazing learning opportunities, closer to having a masters degree!

Classes: not bad right now. Which is good because I am paying a lot of money for them! All in all I am mostly done with classes. I have several left, but mostly I'll be able to just focus on internship.

Work: paying the bills. As I get closer to being done with school I get more antsy to stop serving people food and start providing therapy.

Life: is that what is flying by?

God: is teaching me so much. I am learning to trust, rely and depend on Him. It is a continually process that takes work every single day.

By the way - what's up with my sidebar? How do I fix it?

Eight is great!

Tag . . . you're it! I've been tagged . . . twice

Here's the rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (If you don’t have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So here goes . . .

1. I don't really like straws. I will use them but prefer not to.

2. I like kits. Kits give you all the things you need to put things together, build and create things.

3. I have these wristbands for tennis that I like to wear all the time. It feels good to have my wrists supported while driving, doing chores or all the time really!

4. Chi Tea is both energizing and relaxing to me.

5. As I have aged I have become more introverted.

6. I get on kicks when buying things. I'll buy purses for awhile, then Cd's, then makeup, etc.

7. I like pink. I used to have a pink room.

8. I like schedules and scheduling. It is the one organizational task that I enjoy.

Tag - Jenni and Necon, Amber and Jake, Ryan W., Jessica W., Tabitha, and Kay (I know you're out there . . blurking, I know you don't have a blog but email me!)

Graduate School Made Me Boring . . . .

If you noticed I have not posted in a long time. That is because grad school has made me boring . . . . At least I thought that it had.

I just finished my first semester of graduate school and it was rough (actually I just started my second semester.) The first semester was intense and I was wrapped up and involved in everything I was studying. I couldn’t really talk to anybody about anything other than course work, what theory I was considering or how to integrate spirituality, psychology and theology into my practice. Once I realized that this was all I had to talk about I realized that I was big dull dud. At least I had other grad students who were interested in my dudness.

Then came a glorious Christmas break. Having three weeks away from school blessed me in so many ways and by the end of it I was able to see that I am not boring! I realized that I am a creative, fun and interesting person. I had moments where I could carry on conversations about things other than grad school. I started to see good photo ops and remembered that I like to take pictures and have some talent at it.

I realized that grad school does not define me. God has created me to be many different things and with many different talents. School is one strength that I am learning to integrate into my whole self. I think that so often as people we define ourselves in these ways. “I am a mother.” (well, I’m not a mother, but you know what I mean) “I am a pastor, a social worker, a student, a whatever . .” We define ourselves by our roles. Yes, it is a part of who we are, but only a part. I am a child of God that has been created to do and be many different things. I am a student, a daughter, a girlfriend, a friend. I am creative, intelligent, one who serves others and serves God. I am learning more about who I am, but I am not boring.

So my prayer for this semester is that I can remember other aspects of myself and take time to be a develop those strengths and talents as well. I hope that I can include my academic knowledge into who I am, but that it does not take over my personality or my conversations!