Ask... Seek... Knock...

Photo credit: http://www.idea-sandbox.com/blog/2011/05/now-is-when-youre-waiting-for/

When I made the decision to leave a secure, good paying job in the financial industry almost 2 years ago to finally finish my bachelor's degree, I knew that I would have to make certain sacrifices.  Obviously the loss of income was a big consideration, but another biggie was medical insurance.  Since I had been a fairly healthy person, going without insurance seemed to be a pretty safe risk.  After all, with the current economy, medical insurance is a luxury that many cannot currently afford.  Whatever came, I would trust God to guide me through it.  For a number of years prior to this decision,  I prayerfully considered changing careers.  One night, in the middle of the night, I was startled awake and was unable to fall back asleep.  I turned on the TV and was instantly intrigued by a story about an online Christian university that was playing on the channel it was tuned to.  An answer to prayer!  I didn't want to attend the big state university downtown and the private Baptist university was expensive and was located in a high crime area of the city.  Neither option appealed to me.  I had considered going to Penn State because they had a fairly developed online degree program.  As I hear about all the troubles that they are having now, I'm glad that I didn't go that route.  So, through prayer I was led to Liberty University.  It has been such a blessing to connect with other Christian students and professors around the country and in other parts of the world.  

Within just a few months of leaving my job, I experienced my first gallbladder attack.  Well this wasn't part of the plan?!  I had faithfully followed where the Holy Spirit was leading me.  Wasn't it supposed to be smooth sailing from then on?  Ummm, not exactly.  He doesn't promise us we won't have hard times when we follow Him, actually Jesus says the opposite is true (Matt 24:9).  We are told, however, that we are to... "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you" (Matt 7:7, NLT).  Over the past year and a half, I have connected with others that have experienced similar things, prayed with friends and strangers, and have relied on God to see me through.  I've learned that when we decide to step out in faith, it doesn't mean until the first bump in the road comes along.  There have been many times that I haven't exactly had a heart of thanksgiving, though.  Every time I begin to feel really ill, I play the "what if" game.  What if I had stayed working until I had the surgery to remove my gallbladder?  What if I had been more thoroughly checked out while I was working?  What if...what if...you can make yourself crazy thinking what if.  All that I have found from this line of thinking is guilt and worry.  On the other hand, when I thank God and truly put my whole trust in Him, I find real peace knowing that He will see me through any challenges that I am facing.  

I recently found insurance that accepts people with pre-existing conditions and will hopefully have surgery next month.  I will be graduating this summer with the degree that I always hoped to have.  God is so good!!

Christmas magic

I just love this time of year.  I can't get enough of the made-for-TV Christmas movies.  Hallmark has a pretty much continual marathon of Christmas classics.  The cheesier the better!  Christmas should really last two months long.  January is such a depressing after-party to the magic of Christmas.  The decorations begin to come down and the holiday commercials are replaced with ones about New Year's resolutions, specifically weight loss - and who needs that?!  I have boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations.  I keep saying that I have to narrow it down, but I never manage to.  So, I'll leave the tree up until February, I'll keep watching Christmas movies on DVD, and I'll wage my own little war against the doldrums of January.  

Creative Juices

Ran across this while studying abnormal psychology for an upcoming exam.  This 2003 cartoon from the New Yorker Collection by Alex Gregory (cartoonbank.com) resonated with me.  So much of our creativity or our inspiration is a result of suffering somewhere along the way.  Anyway, this is a short post, but I thought other bloggers might identify with this also.

Human Nature

Human nature is a complex, wondrous, and utterly baffling thing.  During a recent trip, I encountered many genuinely lovely people.  People that were willing to go out of their way to help a complete stranger with little to no benefit to themselves as a result of their effort.  On the other hand, I also encountered people that were needlessly unpleasant towards an obvious newbie at an event.  I wonder what compels people to behave one way or the other.

Fragment of a bronze portrait of Marcus Aurelius at the Louvre courtesy of:

http://ookaboo.com/o/pictures/picture/12403958/Marcus_Aurelius_bronze_fragment_Louvre_P

In Meditations, the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius wrote, "to move from one unselfish act to another with God in mind. Only there [will you find] delight and stillness."(1)  The outward expression of disdain or concern must surely be a reflection of the inner struggle for contentment or peace.  John 13:34-35, ESV, says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  I can think of one opportunity that I missed recently to love as I have been loved.  Instead, I'm sad to say that I was short with some young, inquisitive girls when I could have...should have... slowed down to let His light shine.  I know that sooner or later, I will again fall short of acting unselfishly in my interactions with others.  I hope, though, that I am convicted each and every time to be better in the future.

1. source: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/17212.Marcus_Aurelius 

 

Why Pink?

My favorite color has always been pink.  I absolutely love it; always have!  When I was young, my grandmother told me that that would not always be the case.  As in everything, my tastes would change even for my very favorite color.  For some reason, this really affected me.  I couldn't imagine, in my young mind, a time when I would stop loving the color pink.  So, I decided right then and there to always love pink...no matter what.  A weird pledge, perhaps, but there it was.  Considering my affinity for variety, this has been no small feat.  Some years back, Aerosmith had a song entitled "Pink."  When I first heard it, I remembered that conversation with my grandmother and it occurred to me that I still adore pink!  Some of the less suggestive lyrics of the song:

Pink is my favorite crayon, yeah
Pink it was love at first sight
Pink when I turn out the light
Pink it´s like red but not quite
And I think everything is going to be all right

More importantly, though, I named this "Pure Pink Think Tank" because the thoughts herein, my thoughts, are written from a woman's perspective.  The slant of my posts will be a feminine one and pink still seems to connote femininity or the female gender.  If you look close enough (or perhaps not even that close) gender bias will be evident.  This blog is dedicated to women, all things fun and girly, some things sensitive and serious, and to my very favorite crayon...carnation pink.  

Inspiration

 

http://openlibrary.org/works/OL2739823W/The_book_of_think

When I was a little girl, my mom bought me the The Book of Think.  I loved that book!  I read and reread it over and over.  It shaped my young world.  That may be going a bit of an overstatement, but it did teach me some valuable lessons.  I learned to look at things with an open mind; not to be afraid to turn them upside down and look at them from a different perspective.  I'm not sure what made me think of The Book of Think again, but whatever it was, the memory of that book inspired this blog.  In it, I hope to reawaken the desire to think creatively, to ponder, to daydream, and to look at the world through a different set of multi-colored lenses.  If you know of any child between the ages of 9 to 12 (publisher suggested), or even 7 to 14, I highly recommend this book.  Actually, I'd recommend it for any age.  I think I might even pull out my old copy and reminisce a bit.