March 31, 2014

Well! I didn't mean to take off weekends on this blog, but for this first week at least, it kind of happened that way ... the weekend was very busy with thinking, studying, reading, and traveling, and I just didn't have time to get to my poor blog. But even though the week is shaping up to be even busier than the weekend, I'm determined to keep this habit going.

I've been under a lot of stress lately (not necessarily bad, just stress) as I cull through information about graduate programs and decide what I'm going to study. I thought I had my degree all mapped out, but as has happened to me many times, someone asked the fateful question "are you sure?"; and the answer to that, for me, is always "no." So my parents have been helping me look through information about a somewhat different program that would have me doing more abstract writing and research rather than hands-on clinical work, and I'm hesitant to change, but interested in having more opportunities. I've visited one college so far and am digging through websites, and once again facing the question of who I am and what I'm doing in life. Neither of which I have answered yet. And yes, I am very aware that I am 25 years old.  :-)

I have also, as has been evident on Sunshine and Shadow, been thinking a lot about marriage lately ... not for any particular reason, as there are certainly still no young men on my horizon; mostly just because so many people are getting married, and it makes me feel uncomfortable, like any good Anne Shirley or Jo March feels at this time of life. The discomfort has, interestingly, produced some interesting musings and I actually think I might be getting somewhere in my attitudes.



And when I don't have the mental power to philosophize, I just watch videos of my dear Josh Groban and hope I don't end up like the spinster on Alfred Hitchcock Presents who pursued her celebrity crush around the world and wound up in an appropriately horrifying situation ...

Well, I'd better go study a bit for my quizzes tomorrow before heading for bed - tomorrow is one of those days where I'm going to try to be superhuman and do three days' worth of work in one.  :-)  I'm so thankful that the Lord will sustain me!!

Lots of love,
Vicki

March 27, 2014

I finished all of my papers at 4AM this morning, staggered through my day, and finally finished up all of my emails and such. It's time to relax!

What a wonderful evening this has been!! I will always love Fred and Ginger!  :-D

March 26, 2014

March 25, 2014

What a long, crazy, stressful day this has been - clearly I'm not cut out to be an administrator of large groups of people!! I'll be glad when this week is over and things get back to normal ... I've been sick for several days and am not quite back to full-strength yet, so I'm feeling a little more stressed and irritable than normal. Father, remind me to turn to You for rest and help as the week goes on. Thank You for always being there when I come to rest in Your arms!

I did get my Spanish paper finished and turned in, yay! And all of my final exams came back with grades that didn't make me scream or faint, so that's good too ...  :-)  Now just to slog through the other two papers that are due on Thursday ... which I haven't even started on yet ...

We had a crazy day of weather today! Snow, sun, wind, ice - classic March weather. Thankfully, the day did end with a glorious sunset:

Well, I'd better try to get a few things done so I can hopefully get more than 4 hours of sleep tonight. Tomorrow is another long day!!

Praising the Lord,
Vicki

March 24, 2014

Writing a HUUUGE Spanish essay tonight ... Lord, help me stay focused and get it done!!

~ Vicki

March 23, 2014

Well, it's the last night of spring break before classes start again. I'm curled up in my usual thinking spot - the left-hand end of the sofa - trying frantically to wrap my head around everything I have going on this week. An essay due Tuesday, another due Thursday, several club events this week and next week that I'm at least partially responsible for ... ah yes, the peace of self-directed days is once again giving away to the tightly organized, mind-buzzing race to keep ahead of the deadlines chasing me.

I did get to enjoy pizza toast for dinner tonight:

This was my "before toasting" picture ... I meant to take an "after" one, but we ate it all up too fast to get any pictures!  :-)

***

While nursing an accidentally self-inflicted injury with my head upside-down this evening, and therefore pondering the issues of the universe, I got to thinking about this proverb:

Via http://tribesports.com/tribes/fitness-motivation-photos-quotes

I often think of this in a dating context because that's where I first saw it - don't soothe your loneliness by dating a jerk now, because it might make you miss out on the wonderful young man you're actually supposed to marry. But there are so many more practical applications for this (I mean, after all, I don't actually have a plethora of young men to choose from). It reminds me of Hebrews 12:15-17:

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

"For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

It's terribly saddening and humiliating to say so, but I have a lot in common with Esau. Maybe I wouldn't be dumb enough to sell my birthright for a bowl of stew, but what about selling an "A" on my paper for an evening of funny videos? Or trading a rested, focused morning for The Return of the Jedi? Or exchanging a peaceful, God-focused mind for a ramped-up rock song? Those things are pretty dumb, too. And believe me, there have been many times that I have sought my "A" carefully with tears, and most certainly not found it.

It isn't just the "A" that I'm trading when I do that, either. In ten years, do I still want to be sitting on my parents' couch, watching Return of the Jedi? Certainly not. In ten years, I want to be a busy professor and helper of mankind, with lots of intellectual friends, a ministry that I'm excited to jump up and work on every morning, and a confident, positive outlook on life. A lovely husband and a couple of children wouldn't be unwelcome either. Every time I throw away my time and responsibilities to indulge myself because I'm "tired" or "need a break," I'm selling that future for a few hours of instant gratification.

So with the last leg of the semester heating up tomorrow morning, it is my prayer that I would be a wise servant who invests her talents and reaps rewards, not an Esau who throws away her whole future for a few Tom Hiddleston GIFs. Wonderful though those may be.

***

And now it's off to bed ... I've had a feverish cold all weekend and have to be up bright (dark?) and early to get to class on time. Here's hoping that it will be warmer than the weatherman says it's going to be tomorrow ... !!

Love,
Vicki

March 22, 2014 - Introduction

Well! Starting a new blog - it feels like starting a new diary, or a new school notebook ... I'm never quite sure whether I should completely re-introduce myself, or just go on writing like nothing has happened, or something in between. It feels so fresh and new that I think I ought to do something.


So, I'll introduce myself quickly, in case you're not acquainted with me. My name is Victoria "Vicki" Sands, and I'm a college student from the Midwest who is dabbling through a degree and a bunch of classes with the ultimate goal of being some kind of world-changing professor and health care provider. My greatest earthly passion is writing, as might be obvious from my voluntarily keeping a blog - I've actually been paid for my writing at various times, which makes me very happy. And I do look a bit like Anna from Frozen, which is why she serves as my profile picture.  :-)

Above all, however, I love and am loved by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the One Who suffered horrific death in my place, so that I could be free from the slavery of sin and live the life that God created for me, following Him on big and small adventures. These adventures and His daily faithfulness are going to be the subject of this blog.

In addition to chronicling my little adventures here in my Captain's Log (name explanation in a minute), I also blog over at my main blog, "Sunshine and Shadow." That is the space where I pour out my heart on things that are particularly troubling or interesting me - marriage, theology, college, and just life in general. I continue to update "Sunshine and Shadow" in addition to the Log, because that is my space to discuss these issues with my dear friends. This blog, in contrast, will be a place for me to actually write about daily life, more like a diary. My goal is to update it every single day, with some snippet about my day or something encouraging.

And finally, in case you're wondering, Captain's Log is a reference to two things: Firstly, my love of the sea and my dreams of living in a coastal town one day; and secondly, my love of the original Star Trek show, and my fantasies of being a bridge officer.  :-}  You'll find that I'm an awful geek.

So, yes ... I think that wraps up the introduction bit, don't you? As I said, I hope to write a little in this blog every single day; so you have a good night's sleep, now, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Love in Christ,
Vicki