A few days ago I became the unfortunate bearer of the worst sunburn I have ever experienced. Who knew that such a seemingly small amount of time spent in the direct path of the sun would yield such unsightly and painful results? Luckily it seems to be going away. Unfortunately, it is taking the top layer of my skin with it. Sad day. I am beginning to understand how snakes must feel. Minus the whole striking fear in the hearts of 90% of the population thing. I hope...

I'm sorry I haven't been very faithful in my updating of the ol' blog lately. Life has been a bit insane lately. I promise I will fill my faithful readers in on the goings-on of my life at some point, but that point will not be now. I've got 3 days in a row of work staring me in the face, and my bed is looking pretty good right about now. Goodnight.

Answer to Mark's comment from the previous post, because I can't find a way to comment on your blog: the Bible study we just started will be roommates only. But, when school starts we're planning on hosting a group Bible study for anyone and everyone who would like to attend. We're actually attempting to find people who might help us lead it a bit. If you or anyone you know is interested in attending/leading, that would be fabulous! And, for those of you reading not named Mark: see above.

The roommates and I started what will become a weekly Bible study tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. I think it's cool how different people can have totally different perspectives on the same ideas, and how talking about your ideas out loud can make you realize things about yourself or how you think that you never would have figured out on your own. But I'm thinking maybe God designed things that way all along...

Tonight Megan and I went out and played volleyball with a bunch of friends. It was a lot of fun. I miss big group events like that. Of course, when approximately 90% of "the group" is married to each other, large group gatherings seem to lose a bit of their appeal. Sad day for us single folk. Oh well. I've been feeling lately like I need to start doing something with my life. I go to work my 3 days a week, and I think that's meaningful, but what do I do with the rest of my time? Honestly, the majority of it is spent either in my bed sleeping, or on the couch in front of the TV. What is that accomplishing? As I mentioned before, I recently began reading The Purpose Driven Life. I am really enjoying it so far. Today's chapter was about how everything and everyone was created to glorify God. This has always been a bit of a mysterious phrase to me. How exactly does one go about giving glory to God? It sounds like a good idea, but what does it look like? The author suggests that everything in creation gives glory to God when it carries out the purpose for which it was created. For example, a bird glorifies God when it flies, and builds nests, and feeds its babies regurgitated worms, because that's what it was created to do. Now, at this point I may not be 100% certain of what God's purpose for me is, but I'm pretty sure it's not sleeping 14 hours a day and watching 6 episodes of Friends in a row. Just a guess. I do believe that working as a nurse is a big part of God's purpose for my life, but I also believe that there is more. I don't know exactly what. Maybe it's being there for my roommates, family, and friends. Maybe it's being nice to someone who's having a bad day. Maybe it's making people smile. I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure I won't figure it out from my couch. I want to get out and start living my life, instead of simply existing.

Approximately two days ago, a fly decided to take up residence in my bedroom. It keeps making laps around the room. Every few minutes a small dark speck zooms across my line of sight. I've tried a couple of times to catch it, but so far my attempts have been fruitless. Sad day. Perhaps I should just resign myself to the fact that I now have an additional roommate. Only slightly smaller, and peskier, and who makes a small buzzing noise as he darts past my face. I suppose I should name him as well, because, after all, every other living thing (be it human, animal, or plant) residing in our house has a name. I think I'll call him Henry. Hopefully Henry's stay here will not be a long one.

I started reading The Purpose Driven Life today. I was bored, and began scouring the roommates' shelves in search of a new book to read, and stumbled across this one. The hype surrounding this book in the last few years has made me bit of a cynic. I wonder if it really is such an amazing, life-changing combination of words, or if it's just one of those "Christian fads" that people claim are so wonderful, yet practical application is mysteriously absent, or short-lived at best. But then, I suppose the outcome of the reading has little to do with the words of the book themselves, but rather the attitude of their reader. And so, I have determined that with an open and prayerful heart I will peruse the pages of this book to see if the wisdom of one Rick Warren will encourage me on my journey to discovering God's divine purpose for my life. I must say, I found the first chapter rather thought-provoking. It was a discussion of the concept that God is the provider and sustainer of every person on earth. This is a rather basic, yet essential concept. I am here because God wants me to be here. Long before I was born, or even thought of, God knew who I would be and what he would do with me and through me. And that means that God made me exactly as I am on purpose. If I criticize some supposed flaw in my character or personality, I am criticizing God's handiwork. Am I really brave enough to do that? Or what about when I get so frustrated because I feel like I don't know who I am? I look so far within myself, I look to my friends, I look to my family, trying to define myself. Why is it the last one I think to look to is God, who made me, and therefore knows me a million times better than I could ever know myself? Interesting... Another thought that occurred to me while reading this chapter was, if God created me exactly the way I am on purpose, then that must mean he created everybody else the way they are on purpose. Even the people I think are weird or creepy or annoying. Now I'm not saying that people, myself included, don't make choices that are contrary to God's design, I'm just saying that everyone was hand-made by God and has a story. That's hard for me to remember sometimes. Something I've been really working on lately is seeing people through God's eyes. It can be quite challenging at times... So, as you can see, I am hopeful about my journey through this book. I may post other thoughts about what I read from time to time. Any additional thoughts or insights or points to ponder are more than welcome!