Mary the lab tech

I recently went to go and see a doctor at a clinic in Wyoming MN. Now I have to say that everyone in the clinic was great, I loved the doctor and everyone was so nice - but one woman stuck out to me in particular and that was Mary.

I had to have nine tubes of blood taken and I always give difficulties when it comes to giving blood.  A student came up and asked if it was alright if he drew blood from me and I figured that I might as well let him have a try because if I was in his situation I would want someone to let me try. He tried with all his might but he was just unable to get my blood from my arm or my hand. I wasn't frustrated because I knew the risks and I could tell that he felt so bad that I just reassured him that it was okay and told him he would have better luck with someone who had bigger veins. :)

Mary came over and told me she was a veteran at this so she would be able to get the blood out. She chatted with me and I could just tell from her voice that she was a person full of love. She made me feel so peaceful and calm and she helped me to remember God's love. She didn't have an extraordinary job but she decided to make her job extraordinary.

I need to be more like Mary. I need to be loving and compassionate no matter what position I find myself in. Life isn't about being in a loving situation constantly it's about bring love to all of your situations.

She even gave me a tootsie pop because she thought I was so nice to let the student try on me a couple of times. Mary inspired me and reminded that each day I have an opportunity to minister to others.

Gotta keep my chin up and a smile on my face. . . Life is what you make it!

Relationship Quotes

If she’s amazing, she won’t be easy. If she’s easy, she won’t be amazing. If she’s worth it, you won’t give up. If you give up, you’re not worthy.


When a woman stops crying over you, that means someone else is making her smile…


Protect her like a daughter, love her like a wife, respect her like your mother.


Sometimes, all a girl wants is for you to fight for her. Make her believe that you may want this relationship more than she does.


Place your heart in the hands of God and he will place it in the hands of a man who he believes deserves it.

A Good Christain

The other day I was walking home from work with some co-workers and two of them were talking about how mean and frustrating another co-worker is. They talked about how she made them feel bad all the time. They made a comment about how she is suppose to be a Christian and how un-Christ like she really is. I really didn't know what to say in the conversation because I have to admit I was also pretty frustrated with the persons attitude.

A couple of days later the girl who everyone had been complaining about posted on her facebook about how she wasn't going to stoop down to other people's level and how "no one people are turned away from Christianity". My heart sank when I read that because I immediately began to think: "Oh my gosh, is she talking about me? Am I a bad Christian? I don't want to be a terrible person".

I can't tell you how long I've spent thinking about this situation over the past few days. It's really got my brain wrecking because both parties said the exact same thing about the other person... I had a lot of anxiety trying to figure out what was wrong with me and how I could become more like Christ.

You see, I'm not saying this because I condemn either set of people but because I realize how terrible and cutting words and attitudes can be. I think one of the blessings about having a terrible self esteem is that I almost never think that i'm better than someone else, rather I always think I'm the worst person on the face of the earth. I really beat myself up about this whole situation and just wanted to be a better person. Then it hit me - God is teaching me a story about Mercy - Again!

In Mercy we forgive the incompleteness in another person. (even ourselves) We are always going to meet people who drive us crazy, annoy us, and don't do things in a manner that we want them to. Also they are going to be things about people that we get frustrated in because we do not see God, but we cannot then treat the person like they do not have God there at all. Blessed are those who believe without seeing -

I think sometimes i'm the worst person in my office, I get frustrated quickly and often speak when I should be silent. I don't always have the best manners and I can be judgmental. Then, I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and remember that God did not come to heal the healthy but to heal the sick. Knowing my weakness can help me to know how much more I can grow. I am Nothing without God and I am sorry for the times in which I let my humanness get the best of me.

This year has been really difficult for me having so many different medical issues and being so far away from home. I made a huge sacrifice by staying here and completing my voluntary service rather than going home and dealing with my own medical issues. I know I made the right decision because I feel like I am at peace but that does not mean it doesn't come with a lot of difficulties. I have a thorn in my side and unfortunately i'm not as holy as Paul so sometimes I have a hard time dealing with it. Sometimes when I lash out in anger it's from feeling completely alone and surrounded by pain. God reminds me that I need to turn to Him for comfort and not to let it out on those around me. A lesson i've been trying to learn for a while now.

Because I am weak, I can be strong in Christ. I have to rely on Him to make it through the chaos of my current life and I need to remember at the end of the day he is a God of Mercy.

"There've been times when I've turned from His presence... And I've walked other paths, other ways; But I've called on His name, in the dark on my shame, and His mercy was gentle as silence."

Am I a good christian? Do I turn others away from Christianity? Maybe... but I guess that just means I need to start praying harder so that I am more of Him and less of me. 

Beauty

I guess it's time in life to admit your failures and start to grow up a little bit. Growing up I went to many different church events and they would always talk about how God thinks you're beautiful. In my mind it always something like alsdkjf;aweirjflkdnb;laksd;fliaeur bull****. I just thought that what you saw on TV and magazines defined beauty. No matter how many times you hear that it's not true, it never really hits you until you start to think to yourself... what if they are right.

I never really cared if I had a beautiful face or body but I learned to care if I had a beautiful soul. When I approach someone are they turned away by my disposition to them or am I loving. I thought by making myself a better person I would be beautiful on the inside and that's all that would matter.

Now don't get me wrong - I still think that is the most important thing in life... BUT I have also learned that in fact it is important to view everything about yourself as beautiful. God doesn't make junk, and when I say that I really mean it. In order for you to see yourself as beautiful you need to start seeing beauty in the world. If you pass by a man on the street and are grossed out by his poverty you will never see the beauty in his eyes. His tattered clothes and stinky smell will hold you captive to negative thoughts. I challenge anyone who doesn't see themselves as beautiful to look at ugly situtations in the world and try to find one ounce of beauty. It's not just standing in front of a mirror saying "you are beautiful" that makes you find your own beauty - rathers it's finding beauty in everything else that will help you to realize you fit just perfectly in the world. By focusing on outside beauty of things we normally overlook we will realize in the choatic mess everything to a certain extent has some beauty. And we no matter how we look are no exception.

My bright side today

I've always been one to look at the positive and I have to be honest, there are many times in life when I feel like I am on the brink of only darkness and there is going to be nothing good that comes out of the situation. I am always shocked over and over again when I see the good at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes this good can take days week or even years.

People will promise you that they will always be there - and they won't
People will promise you that they will never hurt you - yet they still will
People will promise you the world - and you will watch it crumble in your hands. . .

But don't worry - Remember... To every dusk there is dawn. And just when I thought one person had taken my heart and shoved it soo deep into darkness another person comes in and lights a candle.

This picture is my bright side...

Todays Awesome Day

So today was a really awesome day in which I did very little of anything.

I woke up - prayer - my cousin Nick came over and John and I made breakfast for him and the house! :) Pancakes and Bacon!!

Then Nick had to go so I went to Red Box with John where we got the informant... it was a really lame movie. I honestly really disliked it. I think it could have been funny if watching it with a big group of people while being excitied!

Then I decided to take a nap and then a few hours later my mom called me and I woke up. I think maybe now I am finally caught up on the abundant amount of sleep that I had been lacking. My life seriously needed more sleep. I did stay up super late last night talking to a good friend. I sometimes think those are the best parts of life - staying up late - talking about nothing important and everything important all at the same time!

I am ready to go home on friday! I am excitied to see my family! :) The older I get the more time I want to spend with my family and the less time I spend with my friends. I don't think its because I can't spend time with them but the older I get the easier it is to relate to my relatives. Ha. That seems ironic - relate - related.

Anyway - Then I ate dinner watched some bones and then we piled a ton of blankets on John for no apparent reason -



Then we played Boccie Ball :) Yay! I lost - really badly... but it was still fun!




Have a great day!

Awesome 80's Prom

So I am trying to take more photos- actually I might even try and get a photo a day... no pressue but just for fun. Anyway last night John and I went to the 80's prom. I couldn't find my camera before we went but I found it when I got home !! ~

Here is a picture of our sweet digs ~
After that we went to Jose` burrito with Sam and Erica - We got some dessert chips and then tried to go and look at the stars. It was too bright outside with the moon and also it was super cold and windy! We came back and hand fun anyway. <3

Our converse party~

Life is Good! :)

Hey All,

I decided to put up some photos from my PIF tour. :) These are just a tiny snapshot!
I mostly put the one with my new LEMAR!! :) <3 I love my lemar. John bought me the Lemar at the Houston Zoo. I didn't have my ID and the guy wouldn't let me use my card - so then I got it as a gift from John! :) Yay!!! You can see that we put him up on the podium!
This is the group of Minnesotans! :) We really enjoyed hanging out with each other and I love them all very dearly! They are my fav!
This is us all nice and pretty after the "celebration". This was a good night - we ended up just hanging around and talking for a really long time. Great people. Great Boys - My Fav :)
This is John and I after the celebration. I was a little sun burnt from the service project earlier that day. I didn't actually do much service but rather walked around being the person who documented it all and made sure everyone wasn't getting hurt. We also talked with the executive director for a long time about our organization and exactly what was going on. She really wants to do a massive service project with our whole organization. I really hope it works out. That would be awesome - help me remember that all the work we put into this is worth something.

DSU is done :(

Well sad news the DSU bus won't be going out... but my letters are printed out so I am going to send them anyway because I will now be going out of Iowa City - Crazy...

I am on the phone with Kelsey right now - she has spring break and is in Ely - I am super jealous of her!

I made homemade bread today - as soon as i walked down the stairs I immediately thought of my grandmother. She makes the best homemade bread ever - I would have to say that for my first ever batch of home made bread it tastes pretty dang good! :) I am super excitied. I did learn however that yeast smells really bad at first! Icky. Oh well!

Other than that I had a really good discussion with John as we were debating the pro's and con's of different tours.

Adoration tonight was good - its always good to spend time with the Lord. I feel blessed that I am able to spend time in adoration. I don't think people realize what a beautiful gift it is.

I am listening to Michael Buble and I will leave you with a line from him that makes me smile:

"You're a falling star, you're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say."

The Sun Is Out

:)

The sun is out today! :) This makes me very excitied! Also I probably am most likely going to get my boot off tomorrow. I can take it off as long as it does not hurt to walk!

I have a lot more patience than I thought I would when waiting for my news back from Alliance for Catholic Education through Notre Dame. My interview went really well. The guy who interviewed me also had a broken foot which I found was super entertaining. We talked for 45 minutes and the whole time I was at ease. Maybe I was nervous enough before hand to get rid of it all - or maybe it was the Holy Spirit. Probably the latter of the two.

Anyway - We have been practicing for an ecumenical worship service on friday night. Hopfully we get a few people to come. It has been nice because it has been Sam, John, Katie, Nolan and I. I think we are a really interesting group of people coming together.

Speaking of that - I really should be working on advertising for this thing - but alas I am here on my blog because I am going to try and get better at blogging!

I am also going to try and get better at my lenten attempts! I have failed miserably so far- but if I start again today then it will still be good right? You can't change the past!!

Anyway today is a good day... hopfully it continues that way!

Off to lunch with Matt soon!

Today is a good day

So, I ended up being sick this morning with a pretty high fever. But there are still some good things that have come out of today so far... for example - I slept until 2pm in the afternoon. It was that sick sleep where you are kind of asleep but not really asleep, so you don't really know what to do. But then when you wake up your fever is reduced and your body doesn't hurt so bad.

Then I finished a part of my homework with Erica - I enjoy working on homework with other people... is that because I am a slacker or because I much perfer social interaction to homework?

Christine came over this afternoon and talked with Sara and I for a long time - that was good. She is very sweet!

I still have my boot on my foot... I get to go back to the doctor next tuesday to see how my stress fracture is holding up. Hopfully it will be better - but its still pretty painful when I do put pressure on my foot.

Tonight we have Mass! Yay Jesus!

We get to sing.

Drews House!

Amazing things from the Braun Family -

1. Drew's Mom is AWESOME. Kind, sweet, fun!
2. We took a road trip to go get pasties! haha
3. We went ICEFISIHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4. We caught 2 walleye and a few perch.
5. It was awesome.
6. We took a road trip around town - this included CARIBOU.
7. WE MADE POTICIA!
8. The Poticia turned out pretty well.
9. I slept SUPER well.
10. His family didn't force me to eat breakfast.

Monday Dec 14th!

1. We have a new bishop!!! (Yay Duluth Diocese!)
2. I went and worked out today, and didn't feel like passing out! Stupid Doctors!
3. I didn't have any finals today
4. When I went and painted today my painting prof talked to me- and made me remember why I enjoy the class. He is a great teacher, and basically I am going to pass no matter what!! :)
5. I ate spagetti and bacon! Ha! I love slovenian food!
6. Andrea is still here
7. My eye is getting better
8. Scott is super excitied about our trip to Micronesia!
9. We are having a study break party tonight!!
10. I might get to see Drew soon, and that is super exciting.


On another note, I realized that I got mad at one of my friends yesterday. Afterwards I went to apologize and they were confused at to why I was apologizing. I feel like there is an increase in virtue if an individual feels guilty enough to apologize without showing an outward sign of anger. Now if only I could be like this towards my family - its much easier to show anger towards them! Like St. Francis said- I have been all things unholy if God can work through me, he can work through anyone! - Try and be a little less angry/mad. Or at least bring it to prayer!

I ovbiously failed at this! :)

So, after being close to three full months without posting I realized I have failed to keep updated with ten good things about each day.

Although I have been failing, here are a list of a few good things that have been going on anyway.

1. Its almost the end of the semester
2. I am not failing any classes... haha not that I am even close, but still thats a good thing!
3. I NEVER have to take another class with Katerine Benson ever again.
4. I am taking beginning painting TWO next semester.
5. I realized how much I appreciated taking psychopathology with Heather Peters! She is an awesome prof.
6. I took a road trip literally across north dakota. Its prettier than most people give it credit for.
7. I saw my sister on the way back from my awesome road trip.
8. My secret santa left me some awesome fridge magnets
9. I get to go home soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10. I got to go to Youth 2000
11. While at Youth 2000 I was blessed with the ability to see Ben & Brandon.
12. I stayed at the Gogolins house... and I SAW SETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13. My senior seminar went REALLY well.
14. Drew calmed me down before my senior seminar
15. I got a cake for being done with my senior seminar
16. I got a package from St. Nick
17. Christmas party :)
18. Jesus!
19. BVM
20. My eye is finally almost better!!!

Sunday September 27th

1. A Little boy winked at me in Mass
2. the vikings won
3. DETROIT WON
4. We had PMC bonding
5. PIZZA RANCH
6. Scott and I had a good convo
7. I talked to eavolk on the phone
8. I took a long nap
9. John didn't die on the way to Melrose way to late at night
10. Zach is coming to the twins game with us! :)

Wednesday September 23rd

1. We went to Maggies house!
2. I ate turkey loaf - it actually was much better than the last batch I tried to make!!
3. The doctor I saw today was super nice
4. I have better than 20/20 vision with my contacts in!
5. I got two pieces of free Chocolate
6. I visited alot of sweet people at my table today
7. I am finished with my psychopathology already for tomorrow
8. Sam came and saved me today
9. I had a really good sleep last night
10. Seth Gogolin called me today!!! :)

Tuesdays September 22nd

1. Jeff Carlson and I spoke on facebook chat
2. Adoration
3. John brought my ipid to campus for me
4. I had lots of interested people while tabling
5. I played piano
6. Erica put up Twins game pictures - that was exciting
7. My roomates are all home now!
8. I am going to eat ice cream
9. Alex Griep is going to be on my HS PIF tour
10. I am trying to be an optimist even on a bad day - thats a good thing

Monday September 21st

1. Mallory Tabled with me!
2. I enjoyed the rain a little bit
3. I only had one class - like always but it always makes me happy
4. I got a good hug
5. I finished my paper!
6. We had an ice-cream dance party
7. Work didn't seem so bad
8. Book study had free Pasta
9. We prayed EP as a group
10. I didn't have to stay for the chapter core meeting!!!

Sunday September 20th

1. Newman Center beat the Parish at Volleyball
2. I made spagetti and bacon for my housemates! :)
3. It was SUPER nice outside
4. My favorite dance crew in ABDC made it to the finale
5. I got to sleep in
6. I don't have my cell phone on me... it feels good
7. I got to talk to Meghan
8. The dishes all got done, and I didn't have to do them
9. I had fun playing volley ball
10. We prayed evening prayer together :)

Saturday September 19th

1. I ran into James Larson
2. I went to Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel
3. I ate dinner with Kelly Nistler
4. I saw the Jay family - it reminded me of Drew
5. I feel I had been given the gift of wisdom today
6. I made a small amount of progress on my painting
7. I am going to play piano
8. I saw Zach at Mass and it brought me great Joy
9. I realize that even though i've made mistakes tommorrow is a new day
10. My house mate Sam made me smile!