Title...

Hello.

So I started this poem...it all just popped in my head one day...and now I can't finish it.

There’s This Thing Called Love

There’s this thing called Love:

With patience it waits for the lost,

With kindness it brings hope to the hopeless,

With strength it protects the weak,

With gentle hands it heals the hurt,

With open arms it holds the broken.

Some search far and wide for a glimpse,

Some wait years for a feeling,

Some hold it deep within themselves,

Some do not understand it,

Some fight long and hard for it.

That's all I got.

Hello.

"The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it."

-Psalm 24:1

The US game today against Algeria...

Hello.

So I don't know if anyone else saw the soccer game today. AMAZING! It's games like that, that just make me absolutely love soccer more than I already do. I missed all of the 1st half because I had class this morning, but I was able to see the 2nd half. I was told we had a score, but yet again...a ref didn't count it for who knows what reason. The game was scoreless for 90 minutes, both teams constantly taking shots on the other...the US missing some very easy shots too. 4 minutes was added to the end of the game and Landon Donovan finally scored in the 91' on a rebound from the goalie. I'm pretty sure every single American that was watching at that time was on their feet, jumping, screaming, and celebrating. I don't think my heart has ever beat that fast during a soccer match...whether I was watching or actually playing. Landon Donovan was crying during the interview after the game which shows just how much all of this means to him and how exciting all of it was. He said in the interview, when the rebound happened and he was running up to score..."all time just stopped...". It was soooo amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_2m4EH7-0g

I still get goosebumps every time I watch it.

Father's Day...

My dad is the best daddy in the whole wide world and I love him lots and lots and lots.

Today is Father's Day and I am so thankful to have such a wonderful dad!

(Also in the picture is my dad's dad and dad's brother)

Extraordinary...

Hello.

Today at church, the pastor had 2 sentences that really struck me and rang in my mind the rest of the service (well I guess they were more like questions).

These past couple weeks I have had it in my mind that I am just an ordinary girl, with an ordinary life, and I will never be anything more than that. I wondered if there really was anything extraordinary about me, anything special at all? I don't live a super glamorous life, I don't go on awesome adventures ever really, and I don't get straight A's/perfect ACT/perfect SAT scores. Can I ever be different, extraordinary, special?

What Pastor Tommy asked was: "Does your heart break for what broke Jesus' heart?" and later on "Do you look at the world and want to fix what is broken about it?"

I realized I don't have to do extraordinary things to be extraordinary...yes Jesus performed many miracles, died for our sins, and rose again; but He was an extraordinary man even without all of that. He was soooo full of compassion towards the people that are just thrown off to the side or looked down upon. He lowered Himself to raise them up. Obviously I can't heal blindness with the touch of my hand, or cure a man of leoprasy, or anything crazy amazing like Him, but I have a lot of compassion in my heart that is just screaming to be shared with people. I have love coursing through my veins that some people in this world have never experienced (love from family, friends, God) and I can't keep it all to myself. Just by serving, and letting Jesus live through me...that's what makes me extraordinary. I am special in every way.

Hello.

So, I got a pneumonia shot right before I came back down to school. The Dr. wanted to see how my immune system reacted to the infection. I'll get lab work and find out how my immune system does in about 3-4 wks, but I'm pretty sure my immune system is doing something. I'm sooooo exhausted which means my immune system is at least fighting...right? I wake up, go to my 2 hour class, come back, eat, take a nap, study, and then by 3 or 4 o'clock I'm ready for another nap.

I'm super, super, super excited for the beach! I'll sleep on the beach if I can't make it through the day. I get to see my family and it's just going to so super fantastic! I miss them.

Bad Luck...

Hello.

So, this past semester I had been sick 8-9 times not including the 1 right before winter break and 1 during winter break. I went to Taylor and Health Wellness Center (which is the on-campus doctors' office) with no almost help. The 1st time before winter break, I was told I had a bacterial infection and I was given antibiotics, it seemed like most of my 2nd semester was spent in Taylor, strep test after strep test done, different lab tests (drawing a lot of blood) and...nothing. The last time I visited Taylor I was told every time my symptoms looked like coxsackie virus (foot and mouth) but it just wasn't that and then the Dr.'s medical diagnosis was "it seems like it's just a run of bad luck." 6 months, every couple of weeks, I spent 1-2 weeks with a sore swollen throat, a high-grade fever switching off with a low-grade fever, my throat so swollen I couldn't eat for a couple of days, fatigue, all the fun stuff.

I come back to Omaha and within 3 weeks it was discovered that every single sinus in my head was completely swollen and inflamed and it was drainage and such that was irritating my throat. Sick, but at least they figured it out.

But I'm gonna peace out...I've got a migraine. I'll get better someday...