The externship....

What an experience this externship is shaping up to be! After tomorrow I will be half way done. I am looking forward to October 29th when I will be completely done. Until then I am going to learn and try to figure things out the best I can.
So far my favorite part is working with the patients. Some are a little frustrating, but for the most part I love them. There are some of the patients that I wish I could spend a couple hours just talking to and getting to know better. Today, I met the sweetest man who used to be a medic in the army, I wished I had more time to talk to him. Something about him really touched me. I'm pretty sure he said he had been in WWII or one of the wars anyway. His face was deformed and he looked like he was lucky to have sight in his left eye. He had a sweet and gentle spirit about him that really endeared him to me. I wish I could have talked to him longer and heard the stories that I am sure he has to tell.
Another man that I met today told me he had survived a heart attack, and was coming to get a check up. He sort of slipped that he had quit smoking into the conversation as I was getting him checked in. I had an impression that I needed to praise him for his accomplishment. I said "That is really great, I admire you, that is an awesome accomplishment, and it couldn't have been easy." I was surprised at how I felt as I said that to him. I wasn't just saying it, I really felt it. Even though I had just met him I did admire him, a lot, and I was truly proud of him. I looked at him and his face was unforgettable, he looked so happy and proud of himself, like he was free. Like he had won the victory. As he smiled he said "It's been seven months, and I feel so good now." I think he was my hero of the day.
There are so many interesting people in this world, and the Lord loves each and every one of them. He knows the trials and troubles that they are facing, He knows the heartache they feel, He knows the loneliness they feel, and He knows the desires of their hearts. He understands the pain that they are feeling and He is always there with open arms ready to pour out blessings to those who turn to Him. He loves us because He paid for us with His life. He loves us because we are His.

(Greg Olsen painting)

Cow Tipping...What You Ought to Know......

Nostalgia

Do you remember Pogs? How about kaleidoscopes? Gyroscopes? Giga pets? Animaniacs..."Good idea/Bad idea"? How about the Nintendo Duck Hunt game? Well, I do! Infact, just thinking about them makes me miss my childhood a bit.... like a healthy amount, not a weird over the top amount... :) I can still remember the how the pogs smelt, how the kaleidoscop felt, how the gyrscope sounded, how much I wanted a giga pet, how funny I thought Animaniacs was, and how hard I concentrated when I played Duck Hunt. It's funny looking back now, some of those things that I thought were so cool are really so stupid. Those were some good times! Oh the memories :)

Incase you don't remember here are some pictures and videos to jog your memory...

Pogs: Doug used to share some of his with me, but it was only because he knew he would just win them all back from me the next time we played...

Kaleidoscope: I got one that looked almost exactly like this for one of my birthdays


Gyroscope: This is one of the things that I still think is really cool! I need to go dig my old one out of storage!


Gigapet: This is the one I had. My parents thought it could replace the real dog I wanted...


Good Idea Bad Idea:


Duck hunt: Please don't waste your time watching this whole video... the first little bit is more than enough to get the idea :)

Lessons I Learned Driving in the Dark

The sleepy feeling I had before getting into the drivers seat didn't last long. It was eight thirty, getting dark, and I had a two and a half hour drive ahead of me. I was going home. The stretch of road heading out of Salmon and continuing on through Leador was a rather dangerous stretch of road to be traveling at night. Deer cross through there at night like leaves falling off of trees in Autumn. The danger that I was facing was more than enough to wake me up a bit for the drive. I only had to slam on the breaks one and a half times the whole trip... that doe and her fawn were lucky, I was blessed. I also felt blessed that I only had to stop once to ask a guy if he needed a ride home because the deer he had just hit had his car all mangled up. He had someone on their way to pick him up already.

As I was driving through that stretch of road I had a few thoughts. These are the multi-layered lessons I learned:

• When the lights are on dim and visibility is low always be extra alert for dangers that may suddenly appear. This might, and probably will, require you to slow down, be patient, and carefully watch what is happening around you. Move forward with faith.

• When the lights are on bright and visibility is good then move forward, and do it confidently, but still be alert for dangers that could take you off guard, because they are still there. The bright lights show us where we are headed. If we have been shown our path, we shouldn't dawdle.


• Never lose focus. Don't allow yourself to be caught up by smaller distractions that are not important. Not seeing, and so consequently hitting, a deer for instance, is much more dangerous than hitting a bunny that you didn't see.


• Offer help to those who have been in a wreck and are all alone.


• Take time to look at the beauty that is around you, because there is always something beautiful, even if it does not seem like there is at first. You might not be able to see much, but the stars are still shining, and they are beautiful.