Blue-Eyed Breather

It's football season in Texas. If you're not from Texas, you may not understand the weight that sentence carries. Let me try to explain. Football season in Texas is CRAZY. Everyone rallies around their team to cheer them on, even if they know nothing about football. There's so much excitement in the air! You don't miss your team's game. Period. And if you do, you pretend you watched it. It doesn't matter what the weather is like, you WILL be at home games, rain, shine, heat, or ice. Saturdays are consumed with watching football. Rivalries are like none other. I can't fully describe football in Texas, but know that it is an atmosphere like you've never experienced before. Baylor's first home game is today against Wofford. I know, who's Wofford? (It's some school from North Carolina). But even though this game should be a piece of cake, I will be there in the 100 degree heat, cheering my bears to victory! I am just as excited as everyone el...

Some of my best blogging times have occurred while I'm at the gym. I don't like watching TV in general, and my mind tends to go crazy if I just listen to music the whole time I'm working out. Therefore, I blog. Obviously, I can't really run and blog well, but I can bike or get on the elliptical and type pretty decently. It's one of my many talents. So here I am, biking away on the stationary bike. (By the way, have you ever thought how weird it is to bike, jog or stairstep in place? You're not actually moving forward, but your body is moving as if you were. Who came up with this stuff?) Anyway, as I'm exercising, I can't help but notice how out of shape I must seem to people who don't know about my CF. I'm huffing and puffing on such a low level of resistance, I'm trying to cover up my progress so others can't see how I'm doing. Not to mention the fact that I'm a sweaty hot mess. How I yearn to be able to run a mile without st...

I'm halfway through my undergrad. WHAT. When did that happen?? The older I get, the faster time seems to move. I think it's important to take time to reflect on lessons learned in the past as well as think about any future goals because that's how you grow and mature as a person.  I don't want to stay stagnant; I desire to see growth in all areas of my life!  I've typed up a simple list of goals for my junior year and plan to revisit them frequently. It'll be a sort of accountability for me, and I'm excited to see how God uses these goals to glorify Him. 1. Be approachable and available. I come across as being a bit closed off, usually because I'm not the life of the party or super great at small talk. I'm reserved and really don't feel the need to keep conversation constantly flowing. When I talk, it usually has a purpose. However, this can come across as being uninterested or disengaged. I must learn to be an approachable friend so that peopl...

I put pretty much every detail of my life in a calendar--my workout routine, my class assignments, my appointments and medical needs, even my social "hang out" times. Call me crazy, but it makes me excited to organize my life. When my many to-do lists are made and calendars created, I feel like I can breathe easy. Part of this is because of my personality. My mom is an organizer, and I definitely take after her. I'm WAY more productive when I have a plan of action, and I love this efficiency. A little organization never hurt anyone, right?? I also know that I am more organized because of having to balance CF with daily life. I have to manage my time wisely so that I can do breathing treatments, get enough sleep, eat enough calories, exercise, go to school, spend time with friends and family, mature in my spiritual life, get homework done, and maybe (just maybe) have some downtime. Planning has been key to my life thus far. But here's the problem.  I am not ver...

It's quote day on my blog today! Enjoy the quotes below along with my comments about how the quote touches my life.  Outward beauty will fade. I don't care if you're Miss America or the highest paid model on the runway. Our physical bodies are wasting away. No exceptions. Sorry to burst your bubble.  Five, ten, even  twenty years from now, will people see beauty pouring from you by the way you live your life and through the confidence you have in your identity in Christ? Or will they simply remember a pretty face?  The world we live in is constantly changing. When we think we've found some solid footing, an earthquake shakes through our lives, and we fall flat on our faces. I personally NEED the assurance from God that He is my rock and my foundation. With Him, my solid ground will not be shaken; I will not sink. "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." Loving God and loving people are what we are called to do. All of our actions s...

I've slept about 4 hours   tonight.  After giving up any hope of getting good rest, here I am. (Background info: I'm back on a course of steroids to try to help my lungs and, well, let's just say I woke up WIDE awake. I'll be needing a nap later today!)  In my many hours of laying awake, I started thinking about my life--what else is there to do at 4 am?? I made a mental list of the many blessings in my life and thanked God for each ad every one of them. I love doing this because it causes me to come out of any self pity I have to praise God for all He'a given me. My life's not always a walk in the park, but I still rejoice in the Lord! Here are a few of the blessings I listed. I'd encourage you to make a list of your own.  1. My family 2. Baylor friends 3. Austin friends 4. My connection group at church 5. My faith 6. My Austin church and Waco church 7. God's love 8. Baylor University (sic em) 9. My job in the speech pathology clinic 10. Lessons learned...

The Lord has been convicting me lately to have a vibrant and active faith. Not just a faith that I can talk about and agree with half-heartedly but a faith I literally can't contain. A faith that will stand strong no matter what life throws at me. A faith that is exemplified in an intentional prayer life. What would it look like if we all prayed believing that God can do ANYTHING? He can move mountains, He can heal illness, He can wash a person clean from all sins. Mark  11:22 -24 says, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." If I'm being honest, I struggle praying for big things. I know God is all-powerful and sovereign and relational and good and merciful and gracious, so why d...

I was introduced to the song below recently, and my heart was just overjoyed  listening to the powerful lyrics. For followers of Christ, we have an unbelievable home in Heaven to look forward to. This world is not our final destination. While I will always see life as precious and beautiful, I know that eternity with God is beyond my comprehension. Go ahead and prayerfully read the lyrics. I pray God uses this song to speak to you today! You Hold Me Now by Hillsong United On the day when I see All that You have for me When I see You face to face There surrounded by Your grace All my fears swept away In the light of Your embrace Where Your love is all I need and forever I am free Where the streets are made of gold In Your presence healed and whole Let the songs of heaven rise to You alone No weeping No hurt or pain No suffering You hold me now, You hold me now No darkness No sick or lame No hiding You hold me now, You hold...