Serve, Celebrate, Love, Share, Enjoy

Serve- There are few joys greater than the joy that comes from serving. I cannot explain how amazing it is to me. This weekend, I had the honor and privilege of serving with a small group from Church of the Highlands. We were at Woodlawn High School in downtown Birmingham. We were in charge of "renovating" a whole courtyard. We pulled up old shrubs and bushes and planted new beautiful bushes. It rained most of the time but it was awesome. I can add this experience to the list of fun/amazing things I've done in my life. Serving with new and great friends...what can be better!

Celebrate-Celebrate Jesus. I am in awe of how much Jesus did for me. I am a horrible sinner and Jesus saw fit to come and rescue me. There are those times in my life when I don't recognize it but this past week, the Lord has reminded me of how dirty I am. Really, it disgusts me. I can be so selfish, jealous and inconsiderate. Praise Him that he has placed honest, God-Fearing people in my life who can tell it like it is. I need that!

Love-Love those around you. So, I've been in Birmingham for 9 weeks and 4 days now and I can honestly say that I feel like I've made friends that I'll keep for a lifetime. I never thought it was possible until I moved to Monroe and God proved Himself faithful there and then I moved here and He has done it again...Wow! One person in particular, Valerie, is pretty much amazing. She is a lot like me. Outspoken, fun, happy...and she's beautiful...inside and out! We have become so close and shared so much of our hearts with each other in the last 4 weeks that I can hardly believe it. I'm looking forward to the growth of our friendship. And she's just the beginning, there is a core group of us, about 10-15 that has formed and we just enjoy being around each other!

Share-Sharing with each other. That's what we have been doing. Just sharing our hearts, our dreams, our fears, our thoughts, our beliefs. It has been so freeing and just great. All because of Jesus!

Enjoy- What else is there to do but enjoy all of these things.

Jesus, Thank you for these gifts. Thank you for making it happen in my life. I can't imagine where I would be without you. The people you've brought into my life are WOW! You are amazing and your love even more so! I love you.

Until next time-
Les

For you, Ashley

What were you doing 10 years ago? I was about to turn 14 years old. I was starting 9th grade. I don't remember a whole lot about this time. But I do think that the summer between 8th and 9th grade was a good one.

Favorite Snacks: Anything with ice cream in it. I love sweets but every now and then I want something salty too. I don't really snack much these days which is a VERY good thing!

To Do List: I usually have to do lists on the weekends if I have a lot to do around my apartment and I want to make sure to get it all done. I also make these when there is a lot to do in general and I don't want to miss anything.
I never used to be a list writer but after going through Grad school with TONS of stuff due every week, you just have to!

Jobs I Have Had: File Clerk for the Clerk of Court, Babysitter, Jewelry Store Sales Clerk, Physical Therapy Tech for a short time; Computer Lab Worker and Graduate Assistant during Grad School...I'll be looking for my first big girl job pretty soon!!!

Places I Have Lived: Louisiana and Alabama.

Bad Habits: Biting my nails, although not as often as I used to; Saying too much;

5 Random Things People May Not Know:
1. I can say the alphabet backwards very quickly (And no, not just turned with my back to you, actually backwards!)
2. I LOVE the Atlanta Braves baseball team and pretty much any baseball. I just don't get to watch it that much.
3. I'm Italian. You can't tell because of the red hair but it's true....Right Dad???
4. I love to read....I have to keep myself from getting new books because all I will do is sit and read.
5. My greatest desire in life is to become a wife and mother and be successful at both.

CDs I would want if stranded on an island: Any of Mercy Me's CD's, Bethany/Deluge

What I'd Do if I Were a Billionaire: Buy a house and probably a new car; help my parents as much as possible; Travel a lot; and use it to help the world....I don't know exactly what I would do but something to help make life better for those less fortunate!

It's been a great week!

Like I always say "God is so good!" This week has been absolutely amazing. It all started on Sunday night with Discovery Seminar at Church of the Highlands (COTH). It is designed to help believers find out what their personality type is as well as what their spiritual gifts are. I discovered that my top spiritual gifts are Hospitality, Exhortation (encouragement), Service, Helping and Giving. I am not surprised by these and actually excited that I can use them more and more for the Kingdom. My personality type I-C-S. Some of the characteristics of this are sociable, optimistic, enthusiastic, resistant to change, stable, systematic....etc...Sound like me??? I think so! I am looking forward to this Sunday because I will get the opportunity to put that into practice by joining what is called the "Dream Team" at COTH and I'll start serving in various areas of the church.
I have been praying for God to stretch me in my life and He has been faithful. I've been placed in numerous situations to be stretched and it has been such a blessing.
Thursday night we had small group and once again it was so good! I'm getting sad about next week being the last meeting but I know that the friendships formed will be forever so I am looking forward to what is to come. I met some new people last night and it was so encouraging. This Saturday night we are going to have dinner at Cajun Steamer and then everyone is coming over to my apartment for dessert! I'll be making Chocolate Eclair Pie and Fried Oreos! It should be just wonderful.
I'm down to my last 9 days of internship and I can hardly believe it. I'm going to miss it some but at the same time, I'm looking forward to what lies ahead. I'm anxious for the new things to come. I'm most excited about looking for a job and getting to get paid for what I love to do!
Today at work, one of the supervisors asked us to pray for something and we just prayed right there in the office. It was such a blessing and a great reminder of how good our God is!
I'm looking forward to travelling in a few weeks. I'll be heading to K-town, MS first for a wedding, then home for a week and then to Monroe for 2 days and then to Columbus to visit Abby! I'm super excited and looking forward to all the fun things to come.
I also just booked a flight to Disney World in November which I am very very excited about. It is going to be a great trip with wonderful people and I can't wait!
Besides all of that, not much is going on :)

Until next time-
Les

Ask and it Shall be given unto you

Seek and you shall find...knock and the door will be opened unto you.

If I have said this once, I've probably said it 500 times. God is so good. He NEVER ceases to amaze me. This past week I was at small group talking to one of the guys there. We were on the subject of missions and we talked about how we look back at our time in college and wish we had spent those summers more wisely. Instead of working so hard, we wish we had gone on missions trips or studied abroad. Then we realized that those decisions shaped who we are now and give us a bigger appreciation for what we have the opportunity to do now. But still, you always wonder what if.
During our conversation, I mentioned Campus Outreach and that some of my friends from SLU had spend their summers with Campus Outreach and that one summer, I was given the same opportunity but I didn't go for various reasons (none of which seem important now). I told him that those people came back from those summers with lives that were COMPLETELY changed. Not just a little changed but completely different. The one thing about those summers that I wish I had experienced was the growth in spiritual maturity. Specifically, sharing my testimony. These people learned how to share their testimony simply and most of all learned to befriend non-believers, which is something that is difficult for me. So, all that to say, this week I asked God to stretch me. I usually am afraid to pray these prayers because I know He will do it! But this week, I was ready and good thing because immediately a situation was presented to me.
The best thing that came from this situation is that I realized that I can be friends with those who are not exactly of the same mindset as me. Talk to them, find out what they are about, love them like Jesus, right Ash??

I hope that all of you are doing well. Until next time-

Les

Calling Home

This week, I called home to talk to some friends. Their 3rd oldest daughter, Lindsey, answered the phone. She was excited to talk to me and after we talked for a second, she started giggling. I asked her what was funny. She replied, "It's just been so long since I've heard your voice or seen you, I'm excited!" Wow, that just got to me! It feels good to know that the children that I spent so much of my time with at one point in my life still love me and care about me! I miss those kids so much.
You can bet I'll be excited to see all of them when I get home in August!

Life is still good here. I'm up at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. I fell asleep about 8:00 because I was just worn out! Apparently, I only needed 6 hours of sleep because I'm wide awake. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a little more shut eye soon!

Until next time,

Les

"I need my leg!"

Oh my goodness....Internship gets more and more interesting everyday. Today one of my patients, who I see once a day and at the very last time slot of the day, was very interesting. She has a prosthetic left leg and she has been unable to wear it. Today during my session, she began crying and carrying on about how "that lady" (the PT) was trying to steal her leg. I had to keep myself from laughing! It was quite interesting. She was frantic, so we finally just brought her back up to her room. The psychologist said that we need to just let her carry it with her from now on.....I'm sure it will get more and more interesting. I probably won't get anything done with her!

Until next time,

Les

Job Hunting

I'll be job hunting starting in August and I don't have the slightest clue where I should start regarding Benefits, Insurance etc!!! Any tips would be great!
God Bless!

Until next time!

Ephesians 4:29

About a month ago, I decided I wanted to start memorizing scriptures. I've done this some before and it is so amazing how much those scriptures help in everyday life. I wrote down the scriptures on index cards and I am just now getting back to them to start memorizing. I started tonight with Ephesians 4:29....."Let no unwholesome talk come from your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it might benefit those who listen". By the way, I didn't have to look...I learned it already! Amazing how easy it is and yet I waited forever because it seemed like such a daunting task.
This scripture has so much relevance in life today. I was just listening to a sermon about marriage and preparing for marriage and the pastor was saying how important it is to encourage rather than discourage. Those encouraging words are right for SOOOO many situations and relationships. I know that life and death are in the power of the tongue. We have been given the power by the Lord to speak life and love over those we are surrounded by. It can be as simple as telling someone they look nice in their outfit. Or telling them that they helped you a great deal by doing ________. So many times compliments and nice words are hard to take and it's because we don't hear them and speak them enough!
Let's change that! Let's start today encouraging one another, guarding our tongues and speaking life not death!

Until next time,
Les

Monday, Monday

I am constantly aware of how good our God is! Today, I woke up thinking "Man, this is going to be a long day!" The long weekend with lots going on made me feel that way and wouldn't you know....the morning flew by!! Then, I had lunch with the other speech student and we were both saying that we hoped the afternoon would go by quickly as well and it did.
Each day, I am loving the career field that I chose, more and more. The patients are so diverse and interesting and I learn so much every single day! My supervisor is so amazing and just constantly encouraging me and helping me to stretch. For example, those of you who know me, know that I am a planner. Well, in the hospital setting, it just DOES NOT work like that! Each day, I have to be prepared for something new and God has never let me down.
Please be praying for me over the next few months as I look for my first "real" job. I will start looking in the Birmingham area and just go from there. Sometimes, it is easy to find jobs and sometimes it isn't. Thankfully, there are many recruiters who are willing to help out. They are rather ambitious though so I have not contacted any of them yet. One of my friends did and he got 50 phone calls and the same amount of e-mails in two days! I don't have any time for that.
I will have a break between internships in August so that's when I'll begin the hunt!
Between now and then, I'll do the internship thing and continue on!

Until next time---

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Well, here I am!

I've been contemplating becoming a "blogger" for a few months and for some reason, today is the day! I love to write and I love to keep in touch with people especially now that I've moved from home and then from Monroe. I am currently living in Birmingham, Alabama. This is week 7. I am loving it so far. I am meeting lots of new people and making all kinds of new friends.
I am attending Church of the Highlands and I am getting involved with a great small group. It's been just what I was looking for it and God came through once again :)
I'll update as often as I can...I am really looking forward to this!

Love you all,
Les