May 14, 2014

It's a quiet, cool morning, and I'm perched on a stool in the kitchen, writing emails to faculty researchers at my two grad schools of choice, asking if they need any new students to help with their research next year. I've been struggling with seasonal allergies that are much worse than usual this year, and I woke up feeling sick and extremely drained - not a great way to start the day. I'll be heading for work in a minute. But I've been limping through with small things:

- Macaroni and cheese! I'm taking an "off" day on my diet to enjoy some comfort foods, like peanut butter and macaroni. It's cold outside and the warmth helps me feel better.

- A little childish fun. I found my sheet of Captain America temporary tattoos from years ago; it had fallen behind a cabinet ... so I indulged a bit and put a cool one up on my shoulder, where my sleeve will cover it for work.  :-)  But even though they won't know it's there, I will have Cap's awesomeness with me all afternoon!

- Being thankful. I read a very interesting article this morning - interesting in a bad way - about an anthropologist's research on how evangelical Christians experience God's voice; and she talks at length about how a substantial number of Christians report that they connect with God by "imagining" that He is sitting there with them. They talk about sitting out an extra cup of coffee and pretending what He would do and say if He were sitting there with them. While I certainly have done this sort of imagining once or twice myself, mostly when I was much younger, and while I certainly go through periods where it is more difficult to feel God's presence than others, just like any Christian ... I am very thankful that God's presence is real with me, and I don't have to psych myself into a strange mental state to connect with Him in some way. Without being dogmatic, I pray that these people are true Christians, and not just pretending about that, too.

- Listening to music:



:-)  :-)  :-)

I'm getting better on my exercising - I haven't specifically kept track for the last few days, but I did time my plank yesterday at 1:05, which is incredible for me! That's very encouraging!

I hope you guys all have a wonderful day. Enjoy the small blessings God brings your way today!

Hugs,
Vicki