Friendship

Ive always been the friend that LOVES getting "the group" together.
The friend that loves to make sure everyone is staying in touch.

Ive been through quite a few stages of life now so whether its my high school friends, undergrad friends, or grad school friends.. I am always the one that wants to plan those get togethers.

I just treasure each of those times in my life so greatly. So Why wouldn't I want to keep reliving those memories and creating new ones with people I cherish?

The last few days Ive spent going through a lot of my pictures in my Facebook albums just reminiscing. God has sure blessed me with some amazing friendships. And even though I may not keep in touch with them as much as I would like, they each always hold a special place in my heart because of the memories we've shared.

My friends always joke that I am basically the paparazzi of each friend group, but, I can't help it! I want to remember these memories when I'm 80 years old and sitting on the front porch in the evenings drinking ice cold lemonade. I suppose this is what I envision when I am old? ha!

So this post is for all those friendships I cherish-- thank you for being my friend, for all of the inside jokes, for all of the laughing attacks when I can't breathe and do my hissing laugh, and for all the adventures!

Im Scared.

The truth is I am scared. I am scared of not passing my National Boards Part 2. I am scared of not finishing and passing my competency in dental school. I am scared of not passing my dental licensing exam. These are all HUGE obstacles for me to overcome in these next 10 months. I do not think of myself as the best by any means but rather someone who works really hard, which is scary as well.

Today I read in what has become my favorite devotionals - she reads truth - its an app that is amazing. Today's devotional was about Ruth. Ruth couldn't see the whole beautiful tapestry of her story, God had blessings and goodness planned for her.

-- He promises that His plans are always good for us, and that He is enough (Rom. 8:27-28). He holds our future and we are safe in Him.--
-- Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. (Psalm 16:5) --

These two verses really struck me. I shouldn't be scared of these obstacles that appear in-conquerable, but, yet I am.

My prayer today and everyday is I remember His plans are always good for us, that I am safe in the arms of my loving father, that He is holding on to me.

A BIG end to a BIG year.

And by year I mean "school year". However soon my life will no longer revolve around a "school year". For the first time in 20 years when I think of a year I'll think of January-December.

I want to write this down because I don't want to forget this moment of anticipation for the end of this year. 

At the end of this year:

- I will finish Dental school.. WHAT

- I will never be in school again 

- I will be a licensed dentist.. Can't even believe those words 

- my husband will turn the Big 3-0 

- my husband will have completed his first year as an orthodontic resident! 

- I will move away from a state I've called home for the last 12 years. 

And lastly and most importantly ... 

My husband and I will FINALLY be done with this long distance journey !! 

There are so many challenges between now and the end of the year.. And my prayer tonight is that I rely on God's strength and not my own. 

the Skills I have

Today I was reminded that the ability to have the hand skills needed to be a dentist does not come from how great I am, rather, it comes from how great God is!

I was reading through exodus today about how God gave specific people in exodus certain skills to use to glorify his kingdom.

In the same way God has given me the skills I need in Dentistry to glorify his kingdom. I needed this reminder.

So that is my prayer today-- that God would use me and the skills He has given me in dentistry to glorify Him!

Sex

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the road less traveled.

Hi friends and internet world (otherwise known as my husband, who is probably the only one reading this :)) !

You could say I've been inspired by the movie Julie & Julia. Tonight I decided I wanted to start a blog because well I'd like to write my thoughts and experiences down somewhere to remember them later. Be aware my blog will always have a lot of grammartical errors... you've been warned... enjoy :)

the road less traveled is what is on my mind tonight.
I should probably explain what I mean by that. My husband is stationed in Oklahoma as a dentist and I.. well lets just say I commute to California for dental school. You are probably thinking we are crazy and you are probably right. We are crazy about each other :) Ok I know a little cheesy but hey its true!

When we got engaged in 2013 people could not believe us when we told them we were going to have a long distance marriage. One of the more frustrating parts were the constant conversations with the far too common comment "I could never do that!" Well obviously we do not want to be apart, but, you do what you have to do. Its not by any means normal and we certainly know that. However, I have definitely been encouraged by others who have done it or are doing it. You'd be surprised its a bit more common in the world of medicine/dentistry/etc.

We got married in September 2014 and its been the best and hardest 4 months. Hardest because well I miss my husband constantly when I am apart from him. I definitely have a new understanding of what God meant when he said "the two shall become one". When I am apart from Gregory I literally feel like I am missing half of myself.

You know its easy to feel jealous when we see our other married friends who it seems like everything lined up perfectly for... they met, fell in love, got married, moved in together, and bought a place. And then I am quickly reminded how many blessings my husband and I have. One of the blessings that brings me back from that awful place of jealousy is that he is not deployed, that we get to see each other every couple weeks or less, and most importantly that I have him.

I think its so easy to post pictures on instagram/facebook and to give others this impression that life is "perfect" and everything is going just right. I am definitely guilty of this. When in fact that is far from the truth. Life has struggles, Jesus said there would be struggles, but He is always with us. In Jesus alone do we find rest, peace, and joy through our circumstances.

John 16:33 " I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world".

So this road less traveled is so hard and just because my husband and I are leaning on the Lord's strength everyday to get through it does not mean we don't struggle in questioning God, in finding joy, and in finding peace. However, the road less traveled is also amazing. I fall more in love every single day with Gregory. The time we have together is never taken for granted. We are definitely growing closer to the Lord by choosing to lean on him everyday and trust in Him.

So that's the whole truth.

Just one more thing... I am married to such an incredible man who truly supports and encourages me as I finish dental school in a different state!