Inspiring words in 140 characters or less

I am a social networking person... I have Facebook, I have twitter, I have LinkedIn... You name it I have it. BUT... the one thing I enjoy the most of all of these is Twitter! I love the words of encouragement, inspiration, and faith that various people tweet. The following are some of my favorite tweets from the past few weeks

"We are not "Pro-Life" if we fail to support the foster care system. Caring for the born & neglected is much harder than opposing abortion." -@robbieseay

"Jesus offered thirsty people a drink; most people don't want a speech, they just want a straw" -@BobGoff

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." _ Galatians 5:6b" -@lolly1440

"Joy is a quiet gladness of heart as one contemplates the goodness of God's saving grace in Christ Jesus." John Calvin"- @mattchandler74

"When we live by the power of God rather than our flesh, we don't have to strive for power w/our words. 1 Cor 4:20" -@cory_marie

"still stewing over this @clayton_king quote: "it's not about trying harder, it's about surrendering more." -@mcdzl

"Show up before you speak up. People wanna see you live the gospel before they hear you preach the gospel. Matt 5:11-16" -@mandisaofficial

"Expect the unexpected...dare to venture into the unknown...learn to live magnificently in the tension between here and not there yet..." -@christinecaine

"There are ZERO limitations for the person who is motivated by the WORD of God and filled by the SPIRIT of GOD!!!" -@perrynoble

"You won't ever find a perfect church...perfect worship...a perfect christian..or perfect teaching...you will only ever find a PERFECT GOD" -@christinecaine

"you CANNOT abandon the pursuit of JOY and still accomplish the will of God. - John Piper' -@bcoop

"The "peace that transends understanding" (Phil.4:7) comes from trusting God fully in situations you don't understand." -@rickwarren

"JOY is the result of serving God's purposes, from his perspective, by his power, & for his glory." -@rickwarren

"God specializes in the element of surprise! u never know when or where He will invade the reality of your life with a holy surprise." -@markbatterson

"9 times out of 10, God doesn't want 2 change your circumtances. He wants 2 use your circumstances 2 change you!" -@markbatterson

"To grow a mature faith u must learn to trust that God is working in other's lives even when you disagree with them."-@rickwarren

"The only people who will not give people another chance are the one who fail to realize how many changes Jesus has given them!" -@perrynoble

Limiting God

So I was recently reminded of an important part of life and even more important part of faith in Jesus Christ. We, as Christians, cant limit the possibilities of God. As Christians we should have God-sized goals that are scary and overwhelming because our God is that big. As Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church (Charlotte, NC) said, "If the size of your vision for your life isn't intimidating to you, there's a good chance it's insulting to God."

This aspect of just how big God is plays into dating as well. As a single person I was reminded that I cant limit who God might be trying to bring into my life. Who am I to decide what is best for me when the creator of the universe, who knows every hair on my head and who created my inner most being, created someone far greater than I could every ask for or imagine (including the possibility (and probability) of not being who I would expect). If I cant imagine it or ask for it (Eph 3:20), then how am I to say someone is or is not right for me just based on one aspect or another without truly getting to know someone. I don't deserve anything. What I deserve died with Christ on the cross. But God knows who HE has created for me and what is best for me. I am not shutting any doors or closing any windows before God says to close them. I am not going to put God in a box because if it is a box I can imagine or comprehend, it is far to small for Him and his unfathomable creativity.

The following are a few verses that have really struck a cord with me lately...

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known....." Isaiah 42:16

"For I know the plans I have for you...." Jeremiah 29:11

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..." Proverbs 3:5

Lion Chasing

I recently finished a book by Mark Batterson titled In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. I started it early last semester, but when school got crazy, it got washed to the wayside. Well... I started it again and recently finished it. VERY good book. I would highly suggest it.


The book is based off of a passage of scripture from 2 Samuel 23:20-21 where Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Despite the slippery ground and snow, he caught and killed the lion. It is possibly one of the most courageous and yet somewhat audacious acts in scripture but is often passed over. Benaiah goes on to be chief of Solomon's army for his courage.

Batterson uses this passage of scripture to suggest that we all face lions on snowy days in our lives. However... to live the life that God has planned for us, there are times when we have to face the lions in our life and chase them. If God can do immeasurably more than we can ever imagine (Eph 3:20) , we have to trust that the God-sized risks He is calling us to are the path we need to take. Batterson suggests that when we take the time to look in the rear view mirror of life "you'll see that God has purposely positioned you everywhere you've been-- even when it seemed you'd taken a wrong turn." As I think back through my life... Gods hand has been in it all. Right there.... even when I felt like I had not only taken a wrong turn, but was totally off the map and path.

The following was posted on Mark's blog recently. He calls it the Lion Chaser's Manifesto. It has been resonating in me recently... maybe because its the new year, maybe because my life as I knew it changed recently... who knows and well... its really not important why. But... I hope that maybe you will find some sort of courage or strength to chase the lions God has put in your life as it has me.

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue god-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Criticize by creating. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion."

I read this poem over at the LPM blog and thought I would re-post part of it. It pretty much sums up where I am in life right now... the desire to be bold, to step outside my comfort zone.... you should head over here to read the whole thing.


"Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love. "
- Sir Francis Drake

What a trip!!!

Wow! What a trip! It was a whirlwind of a week, but a great one none the less! I have learned so much, seen so much, and been influenced and changed because of all that I have seen and done!!!

Thanks, Lindsay, for letting tag along for a great adventure!!!

and of course... a few last pictures of our trip!

1- Lindsay in Gronigen on Sunday evening.

2- Amsterdam-- Specifically Dam Square, which is where our hotel was. We were only there for about 14 hours. So we did not really see any of the city since we did not get to town until about 7pm. But... at least we stayed in a great location and could have dinner at one of the cafes on the square!

3- Lindsay and I in Gronigen... same time she was having her coffee above :) (probably should have taken my glasses off.... oh well. too late now!)

Gronigen Day 2

Today was my last full day in Europe on this adventure. Our day was a busy one, but a very good one and we learned and saw sooooo much! Today we spent our entire day (930am to 430pm) at Martini Hospital in Gronigen.

Martini was the only hospital we visited that we actually had a positive response from. Lindsay had been in contact with Atti, the head neurology nurse. Atti was a wonderful lady, who was so sweet and so eager to help us. Atti set up a whole day that included meeting with her to see how the neurology unit worked/operated, a meeting with the building construction manger, a meeting with infection control, and then a tour of the entire facility.

We were able to see and learn so much that will be wonderfully valuable for both my research as well as Lindsay's research on the semi-private patient room. Martini is such a different hospital from any hospital I have ever seen in the US. The attention to the life cycle of the building, design of the exterior, views to nature and access to natural light, as well as the overall design of the facility was incredible. I think American health care designers could learn a lot from European designers and hospitals like Martini.

Here are a few pictures from our day at Martini!

1- "Famous" facade of Martini Hospital. This is the southeast facade that has a double skin facade where there is the facade of the building and a second glass facade about 24" out from that. The glass acts as a sound barrier as there is a busy road there, but also acts as a heat gain controller. During the summer (like when were there) the censors open rows of the glass skin when the temperature between glass and building gets to 21 degrees C. That creates a stack-effect ventilation where the hot air rises, drawing cool air up along the face of the building cooling the building. During the cold winter months, the glass facade helps keep the building heated and warm!

2- Here you can see where the glass opens to allow the double skin facade to vent.

3- One of the foot traffic areas where visitors and hospital staff can go from one side of the building to the other. The glass windows on the left of this picture look out to the court yard that is created by the two connected wings of the building.

3- The walls in the hospital are all wall systems that are easily movable and changeable should the building use ever change. They are also magnetic (yet dont feel like metal) which allows patients to display all of their cards and what not.

4- The main entrance of the hospital (at the end of the road). I love that the Dutch ride their bikes everywhere!!!

5- Typical 4 bed room. The typical unit in Martini is comprised of 32 beds-8 private patient rooms, 4 4-bed rooms and 4 2-bed rooms. The boom with the screen on it at the top of the picture is actually for entertainment. Each patient has their own entertainment screen and telephone.

6- Typical private patient room.

7- The workers from the lab use scooters to get around the facility (which is HUGE) and has over 500 in-patient beds plus houses outpatient doctors unit as well as outpatient oncology!

Gronigen

Hey Everyone!

Today has been a somewhat boring day.... we mainly just traveled. We work up this morning in Deventer, packed and headed to the train station. We caught the train from Deventer to Zwolle and then Zwolle to Gronigen. We got to Gronigen about 1pm and took a taxi from the train station to our hotel. Our room was not quite ready, so we sat in the sun room at the hotel and waited for about 30mins for them to finish in our room. Once it was ready, we freshened up a bit and then headed out to find lunch! We had lunch at another little street cafe. I had a great sandwich with some sort of ham, goat cheese and marinated tomatoes. It was SOOO good! After lunch we walked around town. Gronigen is similar to Deventer except a bit bigger. It is probably about the size of Greenville or Columbia. This evening we walked around a bit more and then stopped at one of the cafes for a soda. All of the stores are closed (maybe because it is Sunday... we are not sure as most stores in Deventer were open this morning when we left). So, we have come back to the hotel. We will probably watch a movie or something.
Tomorrow we will be at Martini Hospital all day. They have been so gracious as to set up tours for us of the facility as well as meetings with different departments. It should be an interesting day! After we finish at the hospital tomorrow afternoon, we will catch the train back to Amsterdam. We will spend the night in Amsterdam and then catch a plane back to London. From London, I will immediately catch a plane back to the States, but Lindsay will remain in London for a few more days!

It has been a great trip and I have loved seeing these places and being in Europe. However, I am very excited to be going home as well! I am ready for a home cooked meal, being at home, sleeping in my bed. Plus I am really excited about this semester and what the future holds!

Today may be my last post for a few days... I am not sure what tomorrow's schedule will hold as we will be leaving Gronigen around 530 or 6 and then wont get Amsterdam until about 8.... so I will update with more pictures and more stuff, but it will probably be when I get back to the US!

Deventer day 2

Today we spent the whole day in Deventer. As I mentioned in the previous post, Deventer is a pretty small town, but it is a bit bigger than we realized. This morning we made our visit to Deventer Hospital. We had been told it was walkable... it was walkable... but it was about 5-6 km... or about 3-3.5 miles. We walked over there and got pictures of the outside, but did not go inside. Lindsay had already been told they would not give us a tour, and since we, as Americans, seem to stick out like sore thumbs, we decided not to try to get inside. From the outside though, the facility was very different from American facilities and was more of an architectural statement than any hospital in the US I have ever seen. We decided we had gotten our exercise for the morning, so we caught the bus from the hospital back to the train/bus depot. From there we walked back into town. (the hospital sits on the very edge of town... on the opposite side of town from where our hotel is) We stopped and got a quick bite to eat while we were walking. After lunch we came back to the hotel for Lindsay to get some work done and I took a nap. After a little break, it was back out for some more walking around and sightseeing. The city is such a cute little town with picturesque views, cobblestone/old brick streets, classic dutch architecture. So despite that there is not much to do here in terms of big museums or what not, we have loved walking around and looking in all the shops and windows. Plus the weather is SPECTACULAR!!! The highs have been between 70-78... so the weather is great and the cool breeze through the alleys and streets feels wonderful! Tonight we had dinner a cute little Italian cafe. In typical Deventer fashion, we sat outside overlooking the street/walkway. (In the city proper, there are very very few cars... so all the roads are one way and are more like big sidewalks that periodically have cars on them but mostly just serve the pedestrians and bicycles). It is fun to people watch and just sit back and relax! It is a slower, relaxing pace. The servers are not eager for you to leave. People have drinks before their meal, and then slowly have a 2 or 3 course meal, and then have drinks or coffee or tea after dinner. It is a wonderful break from the fasted paced world of the US. We are back in the hotel now (it is about 915pm here) and about to split a bottle of wine and watch a movie. We have the windows open and periodically the street performers come by the cafe just a few doors down and play the accordion and clarinet. It is wonderful to hear the music! Such a treat!

In the morning, we will get up, check out of our hotel, and head to Gronigen. We will sight see in Gronigen tomorrow afternoon. Monday, Martini Hospital in Gronigen has planned a day of tours, meetings, etc at their facility, so it will be a total work day. Monday afternoon/evening when we finish at Martini, we will catch the train back to Amsterdam for one last night together before I head back to the states and Lindsay spends a few more days in London.

As we will be traveling tomorrow, please continue to keep us in your prayers.

I will post a few pictures in another post once I get them off of Lindsay's camera!

London Day 2

Hello Friends and Family!!!

Today has been a fun day. The weather today has not been as wonderful as it was yesterday, but we made the best of it and had a good time.

Our morning started a little later than planned (someone I am traveling with, who shall remain nameless) apparently turned the alarm clock off when it went off at 730. So..... we woke up about 915 when this person's friend, who lives here in London, called! So. After we got ready for the day, we got on the tour bus (our bus passes from yesterday were good for 24 hours... so they were good until this afternoon) and rode over to visit Evelina Children's Hospital. They were less than friendly.... and more or less asked us to leave. Disappointed we did not get a tour or really even see the hospital, but we made the best of it and went on our merry way!
We decided to walk from Evelina towards Buckingham Palace. Yesterday's tours took us by the palace several times, but had not seen it from the front. So we walked across the Thames River, passed the Parliament and Big Ben (who I was corrected... Big Ben is the bell itself not the tower...), past Westminster Abbey, and on to Buckingham Palace. After many pictures along the way, and many more at the palace, we walked up the long mall towards Trafalgar Square and our hotel. We stopped and had a quick bite to eat at a local deli. While we were eating, it started raining (and of course it was when I forgot my umbrella in the hotel room). So, after that we headed back to the hotel. Lindsay needed to send an email and we also just wanted a little break. We took our short break, ran out for a quick errand and then came back to the hotel for a few.
This evening, we met up with Lindsay's friend Erin, who was SO sweet, to watch her intramural softball team play a bit. She has been sick, so she was not able to play, but we had fun chatting with her! After we left the softball games, we headed to the pub they usually hang out at. We had dinner while the team finished their game. We had great girl chat and enjoyed a good beer and dinner. About an hour and half later, the team showed up. We stuck around for a few and then headed back to the hotel.
I think it is fair to say that today has been a good day, but we are both a bit tired as we are still adjusting to the time change. Tomorrow morning we have an early day as we are meeting with a local architecture firm at 930am London time, which is only 430am EST. After that, it will probably be more sightseeing since tomorrow is our last day in London. Friday morning we will check out of our hotel at about 430am and head to London Heathrow to catch our flight to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam, we will catch the Eurorail to Deventer and then, a few days later, on to Gronigen.



Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure! I Hope that everyone is doing well. Please continue to keep us in your prayers for safe travel. We are having a great time though!!!



1- Lindsay and I on our way to Evelina... over looking the River Thames and the Parliament Building. (The hospital is literally across the river from the Parliament building)




































2- After Evelina gave us the boot... we walked across the bridge to get a closer look at this building, the Parliament Building.

3-Buckingham Palace (no sights of the queen... she is off to Balmoral for the summer)

4-View down the mall towards Buckingham Palace and the fountain that sits right in front of it.

5- Evelina Children's Hospital... from the outside.

6- Lindsay on the tour bus heading over to Evelina.

7- Wellington Circle- Side view of the Arch at the circle. The statue on top of the arch is the Angle of Peace landing on the Chariot of War. I really liked it. It overlooks one of the many parks of the city.

8- Detail shot of the sculpture of the Angle of Peace landing on the Chariot of War

Leaving on a JET plane!!!

I am leaving on a jet plane! Headed across the pond for a (quick) European adventure!

I ask for prayers for safe travels!

I will be sure to update through the week as we travel!!!