Birthday #4

Mia and her profile as the sun was rising on Monday morning!!

Man, God is soooo amazing. I Love that fact that He chooses to speak to me though beauty.

(I love to photoshop!)

Mia and I on our hike in Napa on Sunday after church.

(We always wind up sweaty when we hang out!)

I had a lovely birthday, from the moment that I woke up and gave out my first meds in the hospital, to having my dear mother come out to see me for a birthday lunch. I had a lovely time at dinner with my friends at dinner, and Mia made my weekend wonderful.

I thank God for all the blessings that He has put in my life.

Birthday # 3

My birthday dinner was fantastic!!

Tanzi is amazing, but she is scared to admit it!

Chelsea and Jacki, I love them.

Me and Amanda! I love that girl ;)

Birthday #2 (For mother)

Mom, this is the dress and the rest of the outfit!

You like?

Birthday #1

This is the sight that I see when I get into my car, and 

it happens to be the sight that I saw the Thursday after my birthday. 

It is quit lovely.

(And it matched the dress that my mom bought me the day before. I love matching the leaves!)

Proud to Be an American!

I voted today!! 

Wow, I am so happy that I am an American...

 I sure hope that I still feel that way tomorrow when the votes are in! 

Either way, God is in control, and I need to just give all my worries to Him.

 He knows what He is up to!!!

Good night, and God bless America.

Sun Rise

This morning started with a restless Lindsay in bed. 

It was 5 in the morning and I was not able to fall back to sleep.... Finally after a half hour I got out of bed, and went to my car. I started driving, and since there are not many spots to drive to at 5:45 in the morning I drove into town. 

Nothing was open. Well, the gas station was open, so I got my breakfast burrito among other little breakfast type things and got back into my car and drove back toward my school. Now, along the road up to my school, there is a turnout. I used it this morning. As I sat there I was able to see the sky start to change colors, from a dark purple to light purple to pinks and goldens.

  I was reading "my upmost for his highest" by oswald chambers, and it was about Matt. 28:19 "go therefore and make disciples of every nation...."  The one thing that really stuck out to me in the passage was, "you can not make disciples if you are not a disciple" I realized that being a disciple is a daily choice. I will always be saved, and I will always be a child of the most high God, but I think that it is my choice to be an active disciple. To actively follow the Lord.

 I need to work a bit harder at carrying that cross on my back today, and every day for that matter. Pray for me. And let me know how I can pray for you.

xoxo

Lindsay

p.s. I wish I had my camera for the sun rise this morning, but my camera was asleep with the rest of the world.

 As of tonight, I am officially loving fall!!

I am sitting alone, along a stair well, admiring the sun go down and the coolness arise.  The schools "water fountain" is blocking out all other noises, and I am rather enjoying myself.

My week is over, almost... I can't wait until all the loose ends are tied and I can throw my head back and laugh a laugh of relief. 

I was able to take a few shots of the fallness in St. Helena the other day, and thought that someone (probably my mother) would enjoy seeing them. One of them is sideways, so you must tilt your head. I am truly sorry.  I was studying also, for you information!  

xoxo

Lindsay

Life in Angwin

I have finished my first clinical test!!!

I passed, and am so happy that it is all over, or I guess just begun...

Not to mention that I also had a beautiful Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday began, and normally I would be at work by nine, but not this Saturday, no sir!

I switched my hours, thankfully, to work the p.m. shift. This allowed me to study in the morning and attend the most beautiful wedding ever later in the morning!!! 

The Lord was the focus of the whole event. 

Magnificent.

Then Sunday came right behind Saturday, 

and I was blessed to be at church, a bit late I might add,

 Oops.

  I nabbed a ticket to Piano Fantasia which was at four p.m., where various world renowned 

artists showed us how talented they were.

 Man their fingers could move fast!

 Beautiful music filled the auditorium of my school. 

All in all, I was one blessed girl this weekend :)

Nursing Students!

I am so blessed to have these lovely girls with me in the nursing program...

God is good all the time!

Beauty

Weekends are lovely little things...

My weekend started out with my friend Mia coming over to Napa, and we were able to hit the local coffee shop (Napa Valley Coffee Roasters) and have fufu drinks, while we both read a bit for school... 

Now one thing that you need to know about my friend is that she loves creamy things... and being in Napa, I guess to her that means cheese! So we found ourselves at a winery/ deli, and were able to try many different cheeses. (She tried duck liver on a cracker too. Eww!!! And no wine, we are only 19!) 

Our next adventure was to my favorite consignment store "LoLo's". It has the best clothes, and the prices might be a bit high for used clothes, but the experience of the treasure hunt is priceless!

Eating cheese, bread from a local bakery, and "organtic" grapes brought an end to our fine day...

and my beautiful weekend!

The pictures above are of the beautiful sweater that I call my treasure from LoLo's!!!

Now, to me, my beautiful sweater symbolizes the beauty of my weekend.

How was yours?

Oh the Effort!

    I had to pull off on the side of the road, and jump a rock wall in order to capture the images of these grapes!! I was so proud of myself... I am not sure why I was proud, but I was! Are these not the most beautiful grapes ever?
 

 The bees were enjoying the sunflowers almost as much as I was:)

Well, well, well...

Today was fab-u-lous! I was able to start classes, and take a bit of a trip into Napa. Now I must study, study, study... I am in a repetitious mood! which is a good thing because studying is coming up rather soon!

God is Faithful

Loneliness...

I know that everyone feels this at some time. 

I just happen to be feeling it tonight.

When no one is around, God is still there... 

I can't even whisper to Him because I feel that the silence is too oppressive, but I know that He listens to my heart shouting out to Him. I want His love to wash over me and I want Him to get me though my lonely times. 

Once life picks up its pace, all will be well... But until then, I sit in solitude silently waiting for sleep to come.

Comfort me Lord

.  .  .

He is faithful, I prayed and he answered me, He is wonderful. Now I can sleep in peace and tomorrow worship with my family. Ahh...

Napa, Here I Am!

Well, I am back at school laying in my dorm 

room with the blankets wrapped close to my body. 

I fell the fall whispering my name, it is coming. I am looking forward to fall coming and bringing beautiful colored grape vines with it... Ohh I can not hardly wait to see the blazing grape vines, and smell the fermenting grapes as I drive though the beautiful Napa Valley.

Fall is a wonderful thing. I love how the crisp air makes your eyes water, and how it 

makes tea tastes even better than it already is when the weather changes for the cooler:)

All in all, I heart Napa, even though in just a few short days nursing starts, and life will get a bit more hectic!

 

Those silly Barmaids

              

Bowling shoes are entertaining....                     

     

And smiles are contagious!

                                        

Barmaids: a pin that is hidden behind another pin.

Bowling is a fun sort of activity...

It is the kind of thing that you do with a large group of people, that may or may not have very many things in  common.

I went bowling last night, and instead of actually throwing the ball down the ally, I took pictures:)

And so now you may experience the beauty of bowling through my eyes. 

Might you be inspired to put a bowling party together one day and enjoy peoples company that you might not otherwise be able to enjoy...

That Box

What is the purpose of planning anything? 

Honestly, what is its purpose.... Do you think that it is Godly to plan? 

I think that it is good to plan. If I don't plan something then I wont do anything. But it is bad to plan because when I have a plan life is more easily placed in a box. If I can wrap my ideas around what is going to be happening in my life then I feel as if I can control it. (warning sign to self)

I really am doubting that planning is a good thing at all... I mean, all the plans that I make are trumped by God. He has the ultimate authority.  I live my life in order to please Him. But am I doing that when I plan everything out, and leave no room for God to break my mold of what I have place in the box of my life? 

It seems if  I was in Gods will things would fall into place.

I wish that I was more willing to place my life into God's hands, and allow His will take over. Is God's will for our lives as smooth as butter, or does God enjoy chunky peanut butter better? 

I have decide that God likes peanut butter. I don't think that God wants us to be comfortable. I don't really want to be comfortable. Actually, I do like to be comfortable, but I know that I am better off if I am not, because that means that I am more able to feel God's comfort when I need it. 

So maybe, just maybe, God wants us to plan, so that He can change our plans and make us uncomfortable so that we can know Him better....

WOW! I am not so sure that I even understand what in the fat I am talking about, but it feels good to get it out of my mind and onto "paper".... 

SuccesS

Today was a lovely day...

I got to work and had to only stay for three hours, which covers feeding the people, and then doing vital signs (which I love to do)... 

The hospital was overstaffed!! Can you believe that?

I actually did not mind getting out of there today, because I had much too many things on my mind. 

I had to compare prices for car tires, a car inspection appointment that needed to be made, and a necessary telephone call that needed to be made to my college.

I found that two tires for my car will be quite a pretty penny, I made the car appointment for tomorrow at threeish, and I finally got ahold of my college after three failed attempts...

I feel as though this day was completely successful in-spite of the five hours of work that was lost...

And now I will get some shut eye, before the sun arrives.

Goodnight!

Trusting in the Unchanging One

I am so stubborn sometimes, well, most of the time...Life is constantly changing and the only thing that is truly constant is change. I also know that God is unchanging. 

Why am I so opposed to change? How can I change the fact that I hate change so much? Some people embrace change with open arms. How do they do that?

I really want the Lord to give me peace in Him, because he is the constant unchanging one in my life. Today I am ready to give my stubbornness to Him, so He will be the one who will keep me grounded when life becomes too much. When life throws curve balls at me, the Lord will be the one to help me in my trek through life. 

James 1:17 says;

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

I need to remember that God is perfect, he has no need to change because he is already perfect. I need change to be apart of my life because I am still not perfect... Change brings out my imperfections, so that I may see my need to be transformed by the living God. When I die I will be made perfect. Until that time, I will learn how to embrace change, because God is good and perfect. He will help me handle life...

Berries!

Summer is almost over, and school is going to start rather soon, yet my grandmothers garden is still producing beautiful raspberries!! 

I was inspired when I was washing the red jewels to capture their exquisiteness. 

I might want to start a garden of my own someday... but until then I will enjoy my grandmothers garden.

If nothing else, I hope that you may decide to go to the store and purchase a case of antioxidant rich fruit... :) :) :)

Work... I love to go to my job (mostly), and because I wake up so stinkin early, I get to come to work when everything has been freshly watered! (along with the sidewalk...) 

I've seen this reflection a couple times in the last few weeks and so I decided to bring my camera on an adventure in my scrubs pocket to capture this quite usual reflection. To my pleasant surprise I did not have to look too silly, because the people that are normally outside smoking were no where in sight. I took a few pictures slyly as to not feel absolutely ridiculous about taking a photo of the driveway, and then went on my way to clock in hoping no one had observed me in my pursuit to capture this image... And now I share it with you, ironic?

Lovelies

In Hebrews 10:23-25 it talks to me about how important it is to have a group of good friends that are willing to tell you the hard things, and able to uplift you and give encouragement as well.

I am extremely blessed to have friends that love me!

My friends are wonderful at following the Lord, and they truly are a blessing, and motivation.

LiFE

So...

I was in the library looking outside the window and was able to see the trees swaying in the wind... then I began to wonder why I like the wind so much.? (I was so on task in that library...)

 I feel alive when the wind blows on me...  Have you ever been somewhere when there is no atmospheric movement? It feels as if the life has been sucked out of you... Then going to the bible, I think of God blowing life into humans, and Jesus filled the disciples with the Holy Spirit when He breathed on them. Breath is the symbol of life. When observing a person to see if they are "alive", you look for chest movement. 

What does it look like to be alive in the spirit? What kind of "wind" are we blowing around as born again christians?

Here WE go!

Well...

I have never really done anything like this before, but seeing how I am to be starting school soon I need a way to relax and let out some steam.

Taking pictures is something that I find pleasure in and I look forward to showing some of my adventures thought this next year...

Nursing school here I come!