Blue-Eyed Breather

I hope you all have enjoyed the weekend so far and are feeling rested, recuperated, and ready to start another great week on Monday. This weekend, I had the joy of babysitting for one of my favorite families at church. Christine and Nathan hosted my small group at church for two years in their home, and I grew to love them as well as their two adorable children. They always have a different verse written on a dry-erase board in their kitchen, and when I am at their house, I make a point to read it. This weekend at their house was no different. The verse was Psalm 20:7: “Some boast in their accomplishments and others in their abilities, but I will boast in the name of the Lord, my God.” I’m not going to lie, when I read that, it hit me square in the heart. How often do I boast in “my own” accomplishments and skills? How frequently do I forget to give glory to God for ALL things in my life? My intelligence? From God. My musical abilities? From God. My love for growing deep with ...

If you are in anyway connected to the CF world, you will think the following video is absolutely hilarious. I saw it a few days ago thanks to my mom. I was pretty glad I watched the video alone in my apartment because I'm pretty sure my roommates would think I was crazy due to my excessive laughter.  Seriously though, I related to the video so much!! I just wanted to share it with all my friends so that they could understand more about my life (which I guess is why I'm posting it on this blog). I dare you to watch the video and not crack a smile--I don't think you can. :) If you do not know much about CF or are new to the disease, you may find the video strange and maybe even a bit disturbing. Think of it this way; CF affects every part of a person's body--the lungs, the digestive system, the pancreas, iron levels in the blood, the reproductive system, the bones, the nasal passage, the chemicals in the body, etc. Pretty much every system. When you watch the video, ...

The older I get, the more I realize one very important fact--I don't have all the answers. Shocking, I know. I don't know understand the world we live in. I don't fully comprehend God. I don't know how technology works. I don't know why people are born with certain diseases. I don't know what my future holds. I really am pretty clueless, come to think about it. But once again, the older I get, the more I realize I am okay with this. I am comforted by the fact that even though I don't have all the answers, my God knows all things. My God is all powerful. My God is sovereign over everything. My God is worthy of all praise. Now, I know it's easy to say that you surrender your life to Christ and trust His timing, but it's a whole different ball game when you actually live it out. What does it look like to trust God with your life instead of trying to stay afloat on your limited knowledge? In my experience, trusting is an active process. You have to c...

Sunday mornings, I have the joy of going on early morning runs. Before the day gets going, before I have to get ready for church, before a packed (but wonderful) day, I love setting apart this time to run, think, pray, and crank up my worship music. This morning, my lungs were struggling a bit more than usual, so I walked more of my "run" than I normally do. That gave me extra time and energy to take in the beauty and creativity of my God. On my run, I saw... A beautiful sunrise, An absolute stillness and peace, The president's super awesome house, A Baylor squirrel who let me get extremely close to him, And much needed reminders through Scripture around campus.  Thank you God for these still and quiet moments with You on Sunday mornings. This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Most of the time, I don't want anyone to know I have CF. I have no desire for people to know how hard it is for me to breathe sometimes or how much pain I'm in when I forget to take my pills or my stomach just decides not to cooperate. I hide how my health is doing from the majority of people, simply because it's impossible to explain CF fully enough to do it justice to a healthy person. However, there are definitely times I wish everyone knew about my CF totally and completely. Take today in anatomy and physiology, for example. I sit in the 2nd row in the middle of the room. We are pretty packed in that room, so naturally I am surrounded by peers. I had a minor coughing fit before class started today. Nothing big, just a few typical CF coughs. After the spell had passed, the chick who sits in front of me turned around, glared at me, and then purposefully scooted her desk a good six inches forward. I kid you not, there was a considerable amount of room between her desk and ...

Have you ever felt like your world is just falling apart? You don't know where God is, what's going on, or how to take the next step forward. You feel like your whole life is spiraling downward before your very eyes, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Maybe the cause of your feelings is an illness. Maybe it's from a broken relationship with a trusted friend, significant other, or parent. Maybe you lost a job, or the fear of the future is consuming you. Am I striking any chords with anyone yet? I know I've experienced this feeling of helplessness and worry before. Honestly, who hasn't? (Side note--if you say you've never had any monumental troubles in your life, I'm pretty sure you're lying to yourself). Life is hard! When I'm at a low point in my life and feel suffocated by my circumstances, I can't help but cry out to the Lord. (Actually, I know I need God ALWAYS.) Psalm 23 says that He "restores my soul". I love that pict...