:: Imbalance ::

The theme for this next school year is…BALANCE!

In case you have been wondering where I have been, school has taken up my entire life! I can honestly say that I have never endured a harder academic quarter than spring quarter IN MY LIFE. On top of five classes, two of which with weekly quizzes, I had my internship, in addition to another internship for about a month.

RJ and I calculated it out, and just work and school alone, I was putting in 40 hours/week. Throw in 2o hours for homework makes it a grand total 60 hours. No time for Navs, no time for people, no time for myself, very little time for the husby…and even worse, less naps!!

But what could I have done in order to have made my life more balanced last quarter? I mean, seriously…I couldn’t back out of internship, I can’t skip (too much) school, I can’t stop doing homework…I had to keep reminding myself that it just comes with the season. This season of my life includes major sacrifice, studying, school work, and little time for myself. Which is hard, because I came from a job where I had so much freedom and was encouraged to seek balance.

But this appears to be the hardest quarter with the most classes, thank God! And thank God I am not in med school, I have no idea how they do it! From here on out, the amount of schoolwork will hopefully lessen and life will become more balanced.

So if you were wondering were I have been…there you have it. Now I’m a second year. Booyah.

:: Freed to Freer ::

[Lucky you guys!  You get two posts in two days!]

 

“Through you I am saying to the prisoners of darkness, ‘Come out! I am giving you your freedom!‘ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare.

They will neither hunger nor thirst.  The searing sun and scorching desert winds will not reach them anymore. For the Lord in his mercy will lead them beside cool waters.

And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys.

Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their sorrow.“

Isaiah 49:9-11, 13

 

I came across this passage yesterday in my time with God (can you tell Isaiah is my fav book  of the Bible?).  It reminded me of why I wanted to go back to school to get my Master’s in Marital and Family Therapy, even why I went into ministry in the first place.

God, in His grace, has freed me from so much captivity: captivity to an eating disorder, captivity to depression, captivity to anxiety, captivity to negative thinking, captivity to negative behaviors, captivity to obsessive compulsiveness…so much darkness and barrenness in my life.  In this passage He calls those previously freed to become the freers. How can I read this and not respond??  How can I be so unbelievably freed and just watch others drown in captivity??

My prayer is that this passage would reflect who I am as a therapist, that God would use my life to free others, to lead them to LIFE abundant, to lead them to His goodness.

:: Post-”Bachelorette” ::

I called the graduate admissions office at Cal State University San Bernardino about a month ago about the prerequisites for the Masters in Clinical Counseling.  I asked them about taking classes “post-bachelorette.”  The lady was kind of confused, and then probably thought I was a valley girl idiot.  Nevertheless, she answered my questions.  RJ later informed me that the proper way to say it is post-baccalaureate (bac-ca-LOR-e-et).  I’m just glad I didn’t give her my name otherwise I would have been red-flagged for idiocy.

Anyways, I just found out that I’m accepted into the Graduate School at CSUSB to take prerequisite post-”bachelorette” classes for the Masters program!  Yay!  And RJ and I are still praying that God would open doors if it’s what He wills, but if this isn’t the path He wants for me that He would make it clear.

So…I’m a Coyote now??