friday, friday, everyone get down- oh, Lord, I can't even do it.

hello, friendship

I'm super glad you stopped by :)  I finally got the nerve to post the link to this lil blog on facebook and I got a lot more views!  Woohoo!  I sure hope you come back again.

Today was absolutely crazy, weather-wise.  So many schools in south Louisiana were closed, and many of the bridges in the New Orleans area were closed.  I fear a dangerous wreck occurred around the corner from my apartment building.  Yikes.

so I'm gonna lift up my school community tonight...

wonderful Heavenly Father,

I am so thankful for today.  It has been ridiculous, weather-wise, but I can't imagine today going by any other way.  I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunities this dreary and icy Friday afforded me, both the ones I took and the ones I didn't, and I am thankful.  Most of all, I am thankful that You walked through today with me.  You didn't have to choose me, but You did.  And You didn't have to give me today, but You did.  God, I am so thankful.  So thankful.

hey, thanks for LSUHSC and what it does for the people of New Orleans.  I am so grateful to be a part of this community.  I lift up everyone involved here: let they all be safe in the icy weather going on.  Let the crazy, unimaginable decisions required by the administration on a daily basis be easily concluded and peacefully attained.  I pray the students learn how to be good ambassadors of health and wellness so that we can spread this knowledge, in the form of care, throughout the world... wherever our feet land.

Thank You for letting me go to school here.  I'm really looking forward to becoming a nurse next year, and I wouldn't be able to do this if it weren't for you.

I love you greatly.

amen

[xoxo]

t.h.u.r.s.d.a.y.

thursday, my love, my favorite day of the week

I have always loved a Thursday.  It really means the week is on the way to being over.  Tomorrow really is Friday, the weekend just a day after that.  And ever since I started college, it always meant the potential for a long weekend.  Just one more day of the week to get through before that blessed break we call the weekend.

My weekly schedule is currently opposite of the standard: my weekend is the middle of the week these days!  I am taking clinical courses about an hour from my apartment in the city, near where family and friends live, so I spend the middle of the week away from the city and with my family and friends.  It is strange, especially because I don't want to be spending my weekends studying all day, but at some point I have to study!

So, off we go, then.

My wonderful, Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much for this week in clinical.  It has been a wonderful experience of watching babies come into the world.  I do wish I was able to do more, but I know those opportunities will come in time.  I am so happy to be helping babies be born.  I am so glad You brought me to this place.

I am praying for my church community again this morning.  St Timothy is such a wonderful place.  I love that we spent our 20-somethings group talking about how much we love shift and the people that make it up.  I could not be more blessed to have found such an amazing community of people to live life with.  It sure is going to be hard to stay connected to them, and feeling connected to them, while I live in New Orleans and they aren't here and I'm not there (isn't spontaneity the spice of friendships?), but I pray our friendships persevere.  I pray the closesness doesn't fade.  I also pray for each of these wonderful people, and I pray we continue to be friends for a very long time.

Thank you so much for STUMC and Shift, God.  Thank you for being so awesome as to bring these things into my life.  I know this summer would have been so much more awful without being a part of this group of people.  Thank you, God.

I love you so much.  Thank you for everything.

In Your name I pray, amen.


[xoxo]

wwweeedddnnneeesssdddaaayyy...

oh Wednesday, I love you.

So many times in my past you have meant something special to me, whether that was high school youth group (Fusion, what what!), Wesley chapel, or just the preparations for the end of the week.  It truly is the turning point of the week, oftentimes a point of reflection or stress as we prepare for those end-of-week deadlines.  It's the beginning of the end, truly.  I like this about Wednesdays.  Always a day of preparation.

Oh glorious God,

Thank you for this Wednesday, this incredibly busy but fulfilling Wednesday.  I am so glad You have blessed me with it.  Thank You so much for finally getting me to the OB rotation, it makes me glad every day, I am so blessed.  Thank You, God.

Today I am praying for New Orleans.  Oh God, this wonderful city.  I am so thankful every day for the chance You gave me to live and learn here.  I am so happy that it is such a cool place, God.  It's so interesting, everyone here is so interesting and has amazing stories to tell.  I love it.

God, please keep New Orleans safe.  There is a risk to living here, as we all saw in 2005, and I know You have the power to keep that from happening again.  I lift up everyone who calls New Orleans home, whether or not they actually live here.  May they all be coming back to You.

Lastly, thank You for the physical city itself.. I am so floored by the magical union of naturalism and industrialism here, the beauty in the balance of these two things that we live in.  It is amazing, God, such a cool place.  I am grateful.

love you,
K

[xoxo]

tuesday tuesday tuesday

hey y'all

I hope you're having a delightful Tuesday!  What a super dull day of the week, but very necessary, I believe.

And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."  And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.  And it was so.  And God called the expanse Heaven.  And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
Genesis 1:6-8 (ESV)

I love the English Standard Version because I love the verbiage.  I really like the way the words are written out.  It is translated from original writings, but in more of today's language than the King James Version.  Definitely one of my top favorite translations.

Anyway, onwards to today's prayer...

My glorious Father,

Thank you so much for this Tuesday.  Thank You for the opportunity to help women become mothers today, God, I am so grateful for that.  Thank You for supplying the means necessary for me to shadow a clinical nurse practitioner tomorrow- I am very excited to do so!

So since it's Tuesday I want to pray for the United States.  Goodness God, there is so much going on here politically.  Gay rights, abortion, TSA observing text messages and emails and other communications, already the talk of who is running for President in 2016, the issues over the Navy Seals that died overseas in August 2012... Oh Lord, the list does continue.  I find it so hard to decide where I stand on these topics so that I can vote consciously and be a good citizen, thankfully, votes are far between these days so there isn't a lot of pressure.  So I just want to pray to vote and act the way You want me to.  I know there are Christians all over America praying for the state of the Union and I pray we all act to keep America in Your hands.

I lift up our President and his Cabinet, the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and every other person holding office in government at any level, in any state, in any parish/county/city throughout America.  We are looking to our leadership to represent and support us, and though money often seems to have a louder voice these days, I pray that they remember what their job is.  And no matter what is coming for this nation, God, please be with us.

In Your name I pray, amen.

[xoxo]

delayed prayers

Goodness gracious, y'all, I am terrible at this, apparently.

friday | saturday | sunday | monday
school | family & friends | me | world

my Heavenly Father,

Thank You for another day, I am so grateful for it.  It is so beautiful outside and I get to spend the day with my mom and see my dad, sister, T, and close friends (S, and hopefully J, L and A) all within today.  And tomorrow I work the labor & delivery rotation in the new family unit.... Oh goodness, God, what glory!  I can't wait to be a part of Your magic, and hopefully help these new families feel Your love throughout the painful process of fulfilling Your promise to Eve.  :-|  but I know You will be with me and with us in every new creation, since You're in the creating business, and I know You will help make the transition very smooth.

My God, I lift up my LSUHSC community to You again today, hoping and praying that the lives of everyone associated are blessed by You.  That You bring to us all Your glory and hope and love and grace, so that we can pass it on to everyone we care for and help care for in the New Orleans area.  There is a great power and responsibility in knowing how to take care of someone, and I pray for all of us who are being blessed with that... May we all be wise, conscientious, and never run short on grace.

I want to pray for my family and friends, too, God.  I am so grateful for them.  J did such a wonderful job at the Shift service yesterday, I just love her heart so much.  What a blessing it is to know her and to witness Your love through her.  I also want to pray for M, who is making big plans for her future.  I worry about her a lot, even though she sometimes annoys me, and just want her to be happy.  I hope she doesn't forget how much You love her.  Lastly, God, thank you for those (T especially) who love me for me and push me towards my dreams without a second glance.  This environment of love I've found myself in is unreal.  I am so blessed by it, God, and I know You orchestrated it.  Please help me make sure I give as much love back out into the world.

I also want to pray for my schedule, my commitment to my classes, and my commitment to becoming an RN.  I know this is the path You want me on, God... I know it the way you know about a good melon.  ;-)  I love being in the hospital setting, God, but I am acting too much like I am taking a class and not enough like I am a nurse.  I must be more like a nurse when I'm in clinical, God.  If I don't, I fear I will come off as lazy or lackadaisical to my clinical teachers, who may or may not see the promise of a great nurse in me.  I know it's there, and I know You know it's there... I just want to make sure it comes out so I can have a promise of a great future ahead in nursing, Ya know?  I worry a lot about the future, God, but what's most important is now.  I am trusting You with what's coming, I'm giving that up right now, even if I pick it back up in a little while I pray You remind me that You've got this and that I don't need to carry it.  Ah, what a blessing that is... I can breathe a sigh of relief at the thought.

Lastly, I'm praying for that big blue world out there, God.  It is big, blue, scary and intimidating, but most of all it is Yours.  I pray that Your will is done out here, my Lord of all.  I can't imagine my life without You and many people are out in the world doing exactly that.  They are brave, God, and I boldly pray You are able to get them back and close to Your heart.  I boldly pray for my fellow Christians who are out seeking to get those close to Your heart... may they stay near to You as they are out being Your hands & feet.  And just like J said in shift yesterday, the Christian life is the atypical.  I know so many people whose lives are typical, but the atypical always catches the attention of someone else.  It is how You love.  I pray for that in my own life, God, and I pray for my fellow Christians (especially my friends and family, with whom we walk this path) to be atypical.  Let us be daring, bold, and genuine, God.  Let us move about the earth with boldness & a genuine spirit.  Let us be Yours in this world, God.  Let us be only Yours.

What glory is this, my Lord.
love, K

[xoxo]

so. behind. on. prayers.

oh my gosh y'all, this resolution is so much trickier to manage than I anticipated. This week in clinical was crazy, trying to figure out how to manage my schedule on the northshore with all my things in the city. What to bring, what to leave... Y'all. It made a total mess of my schedule. I can't exactly say I'm looking forward to living out of a suitcase for half a week, every week, for the next 4 weeks. But I am looking forward to every day in the labor & delivery unit and helping more women become mommas and taking care of the littlest babies I have ever seen... I love.

So... We're off!

monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday

world, united states, greater new orleans, church community

My beautiful and glorious Heavenly Father,

What a week it has been, God. It has been so wonderful being in a labor & delivery unit. I can't wait to see how the rest of this rotation goes and be even more involved in the most amazing, but most everyday, of miracles. I am so honored You brought me to this place and I ask for Your continued grace and an openness do mind and spirit as I learn how to be an L&D nurse. 

First and foremost, my God, I want to pray for the world. And not the world that I know, my short-reaching, nearsighted, few-hundred-thousand-populated-at-most tiny portion of the world, but the whole actual world. With all the heartbeats You're counting and all the breaths You're allowing. Blessings that we don't even know, God, too great are they for our minds to comprehend, but is all in a moment's work for Your heart. I pray for every soul on this Earth, God. I know You have placed all of us here for a reason and purpose, and I pray that these purposes are realized and the glory comes back to You. Your heart must break a million times a day for all the heartbreak You witness. I am so sorry for our imperfections. 

I want to pray for my country, God, the good ol USofA. God, I love my country. I love what was scribed into our foundation so many years ago. I feel incredibly blessed to live here. I am so thankful You allowed me to be born in and be a citizen of. I thank You, God. We live in a state of constant turmoil here God, and it can be hard. Legalities and repression and bullying and indecision and greed can oftentimes seem our rulers here. Please hold us and watch over us, God. We're a bit of a mess. And I know everything gets better when You're a part of it, so I pray that happens here. 

For New Orleans and the surrounding communities and suburbs, God, please take us into Your knowing and loving hands. I am blessed to live in an area where I can comfortably be myself, but I know many here are uncomfortable, and I know many others feel not just uncomfortable but repressed and struck down. I pray these feelings are lifted. I pray for more love to be abundant in this great city. I pray for those who are without warm coats, food, and homes to find those things, God. I pray for all of us to find the love in our hearts and share it among ourselves in the New Orleans cityscape. I remain unconvinced that there is anywhere more interesting, and rich with history, that one can live in the United States. Thank You for blessing me with the opportunity to live and learn and work and love in this great city. 

Lastly, my God, I return to You with prayers for my church community. It is far-reaching in this town and I love that so many people are a part of it. I know we have been blessed with amazing pastors and staff. It is really easy to see Your hand in the church, blessing it, allowing Your love to shine through it and working through it for the members of the community and New Orleans proper. I am so thankful for this community and what it means to me. I pray Your love never leaves it. I pray we always know Your presence and seek it. I am so thankful for STUMC, God. Thank You for it in my life. 

Thank You again for what this week has meant to me and what is yet to come in it, God. Keep me near You, drawing ever nearer into Your presence and grace. Oh, God, I love you. 

In Your most glorious name I pray, amen. 

[y'all have a wonderful Thursday now... more regular prayers are on their way.]

[xoxo]

saturday loves & sunday selfie

hello friendship.

Today has already been an eventful day and it's only 0840. I was borderline sick for a couple of days but I think it really settled in overnight. Sore throat, stuffy nose, whole nine yards. Boo. 

Well anyway, enough about me. More about my family and friends, for whom I'll be praying today. (FYI, in prayers like today's, I'm only going to use the first initial of his or her first name.) 

My glorious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for giving me a new day to wake up to this morning. Thanks for the glory I find in everyday little things, that remind me just how perfectly you created our world. I also love that You placed the people in my life that You did. I know everyone is here for a reason, and it am very thankful. I am so humbled by Your forethought that we would need companionship and that You have fulfilled this need in my life in various ways, but consistently, from day 1. Lord, You are gracious and glorious and amazing. Thank You so much, God. 

I'm praying for the hearts of those closest to me this morning. I am so happy You decided to bring them into my life.

On Sunday...

I apologize for the delay, I was working on praying for my family and friends, and I couldn't figure out what to say.  Though I pray for them frequently, I found hesitation when I was trying to figure out what to say when they might read it.  Felt a little awkward.  I'm just going to power through it, though.  I will also add today's prayer at the bottom of the continuation of yesterday's.


Anyway...

God, I'm sorry for interrupting yesterday's prayer.  I'm going to finish it now.

Thank you for my friends and family who are closest to me, and everyone who is in my life, for that matter.  You know what is on their hearts and minds today.  You know what is worrying them, what is a celebration to them.  I pray You are with them, all of them, in those joys and concerns that are on their heart.  I am just so thankful for them, God.  I am so thankful for them.  And I hope they know this.

I'd also like to lift up the concerns that are on my heart this Sunday... I am stressing about school, about gas money for driving to and from clinical, about how and when I will get all my schoolwork done, and about making the right choices.  You know what's on my heart, my God.  You know all my stresses, and best of all, You know how they're going to turn out.  I am so grateful for that, God.  I'm so grateful that You're here with me now and with me in the future.

I would also like to say a special request: please help me to completely let go of the past and let it stay there.  God, I'm grateful for my past and for what it's meant to me in my present.  It has brought me exactly to this point of my life, but boy am I grateful it's in the past.  I pray it stays there.  I pray I leave it there.  Nothing matters more to me than my present (since that's the only time I truly have), and I want to invest in my present.  I can't invest in my past, because it's passed.  I just want to live and love in today.  Please direct my focus to that, God.  Please help me leave it where it belongs.

Lord, I love you forever, I am so thankful for You in my life.  Thank you for what prayer is and what it means to me.

love, K

[xoxo]

friday prayers

hey y'all.

Today's a Friday, which means a few awesome things...

Last day of class for the week.
Full weekend ahead with a visit home!
I'm a full day closer to trying out my dream job in the clinical setting.
School prayers.

If you don't already know, I attend the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing.  I am in the second semester of my Junior year (read: Junior II), taking Pediatrics, Women's Health, Nursing Research and Genetics.  I am going to rock out this semester, y'all.  It's been a tough 2013 and I'm ready to start the 2014 school calendar by totally and completely rocking it.  Especially because OB/Labor & Delivery/Women's Health has been drawing me near to it ever since I learned of its existence.

But let me not delay the prayer any longer.  It is why we're here, after all!  [So many levels to that statement!]


My glorious Heavenly Father,

What a gorgeous day today is here in New Orleans, all foggy and cloudy.  I love the variety you give us in the weather, my God: You know how much I love to appreciate the cloudy, rainy, dreary days so that I can appreciate the sunny days all the more.  I think the weather is a beautiful metaphor for life in this way, and I think You have known that all along :)  I love that about You, God.  That omniscience of Yours.  Floors me.

I am praying today for my school community.  God, LSUHSC reaches so far beyond its address.  Students of all kinds live and learn in all areas of the city, and graduate and move to become doctors and nurses and occupational therapists and physical therapists and physician's assistants and grad students all over the state of Louisiana and the country and, I'm sure of it, the world.  How beautiful that is, God.  The teachers of this community are raising up people who impact people all over the world.  I could not be more humbled at the thought of the magnitude of your work in just this school alone... much less med/nursing/graduate/therapy schools all over the country!  I love that you put these desires in our hearts to become these certain kinds of people, and then you give us all sorts of opportunities to actually become those certain kinds of people.  LSUHSC is just a small portion of that fulfillment.  I love this, God, I love this so much.

I'm lifting up the whole school today, God.  Every researcher with their offices and labs in the MEB.  Every med student/intern with their stethoscopes in hand, holding them up to listen to robots or patients.  Every nursing student, standing nervously with their all-white uniform and clipboards, hoping they remember all the meds they were supposed to learn last night.  Every therapy student.  Every grad student.  Every future physician's assistant.  All the administrators stressing about syllabi and budgets and whether or not the money will come through... God.  You have it all.  I pray for every one of these people's hearts.  I pray for their minds to be clear as they seek the mysteries You have laid out for us, or the common knowledge You've given us years ago.  There is so much to pray for here, God, but I believe You know it all and You've got it all in Your big hands.  We have nothing to worry about, because we have You and You have us.  And You know what's coming, and even if it scares us, just the fact that You have it is enough to comfort us.  You are the greatest and best and only source of true hope, God, and I pray that each and every person involved with LSUHSC knows or comes to know Your hope, my God.  What an even more impactful place this school would become.

I love you and I know You've got this.
K

[xoxo]

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it's thursday.

hey y'all!

Today's a Thursday: which means I'm gonna pray for my church community.  I actually became an official member this week!

I'd like to pray for the Shift community specifically today.  It's a small percentage of the church membership, but it's one that's passionately interested in community and what that means in today's world.  I don't know if I could love it more.


my Heavenly Father,

Thank you for giving me another day to pray to You.  Thank You for the opportunity to live in New Orleans and still attend the church that I love on the Northshore, St. Timothy.  I'm lifting up the Shift group there, God, small though it may be.  It's a passionate one, and I love to be a part of it and want to be a part of it more.  I lift up the hearts of everyone who attends both the service on Sunday mornings and the small groups during the week.  I pray for all of them and their wants and needs.  I pray that You are ever-present in this group, God.  I pray that You continue guiding and leading them, showing them how to be Your hands and feet in the greater New Orleans area.

God, I thank you so much for each and every attendee's passion to love others.  There are so many opportunities to serve through Shift and I know it's because we all just want to love other people.  It's all we crave.  Church isn't just a Sunday morning thing for us, God, and that is super cool.

For all these hearts and all of these people, I thank You.  Keep us safe, keep us loving You and others above all else, keep us coming back to You.  Year after year.  Day after day.  Hour after hour.

I, and I know the Shift community, love(s) you.

love you -
K

[xoxo]