sunny with a high of 75

My turtles are so funny... Kibo likes to perch on top of Shin on their platform in the "sun." But she is super-jumpy, so any time I come near them (especially with a camera!) they move more quickly than turtles should be able and dive back in the water.

I am moving this week! I wanted to move out of my apartment into something cheaper... even if it meant paying the lease-breaking fees, it would save money. A couple at my church (my small group leaders, Adam & Jessica, actually) offered their spare bedroom. They said they just have a desire to share what God has blessed them with, and to grow in hospitality. What a blessing to me-- a free place to live AND great people to live with! Then I even found someone to take over my apartment lease, so I dont have to pay all those fees! How amazing! I am in the process of moving things over this week, and will officially be out of my apartment by Sunday.

The nursing job search is getting a bit dismal. Hospitals are reacting to the economy, and though there is still a great need for nurses, they have very much slowed their hiring... especially when it comes to new graduates, which require far more financial investment initially. Some hospitals around here have even been laying off nurses in some departments, which of course makes the competition even more fierce for the few existing open positions for the inexperienced such as me. So how grateful I am to have the jobs I have!

Still, I really long to be in health care... my new strategy is to begin as a Nurses Aid. I was a CNA in Colorado at a nursing home, and was going to get my license transfered when I moved here but it turned out I couldnt (all because the class I took was 105 hrs instead of 112 hrs!)...... but now Ive found a loophole that should make me eligible because I am the holder of an in-state RN license! (How many RNs are looking for CNA licenses? hah!) Ill only have to take the written test. I sent in my application today, so hopefully that process can get rolling!

friends visit

Last week was Spring Break for some. And I was the happy recipient of a visit from Crystal and Melissa! It was such a joy having them here! We went to see the Grand Canyon for a few hours, visited Lauren in Flagstaff, explored a bit of Tempe, and spent a good deal of time just being together- what a blessing to me:)

This is the Grand Canyon.



This is us at Tempe Beach Park.

Then last night, my friends accompanied me on a special trip to Petsmart... I had long been deliberating about getting a new sister for Shin. Part of my problem was that I couldn't think of a name! Finally, I decided there was no need to be terribly original. Shin (which translates to mean Faith from the Japanese) used to have two brothers named Kibo (Hope) and Ai (Love), and what better name for a new turtle than Kibo II??

super amazing fishness

The ocean is so cool! Check it out. This is a real fish. And so is this one. WOAH. National Geographic, I love you.

focus, focus

I have never been very skilled at multi-tasking. It seems I can concentrate on only one thing at a time... in school, if I had two finals in one day, I was in a world of hurt because I couldn't devote all my free time beforehand to one or the other!

Usually, I choose to devote my concentration to that which is the most urgent... and all too often this is at the expense of what is important.

Right now I feel like surviving the jobs I have now, pursuing a nursing job, and trying to decide if I should move into a cheaper place, is consuming my limited concentrating abilities. And all of these things are valuable, I guess........

But what is most important? The apostle Paul gives me a good idea...

What am I doing to KNOW CHRIST? Hmmmm...

I also have a deep need for developing real community here. What am I doing to make that a priority?

The Christian radio station here has a program that I listen to sometimes called Intentional Living with Randy Carlson. Just the name itself is compelling to me, as I tend to float aimlessly sometimes. But this is their general message:

Is there something - ONE THING - you could do today that would please Christ and make a huge difference in your life? You can do it - and we're behind you all the way! Ephesians 5:10 says it this way, "Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it."

The message may sound cliche, but I am going to endeavor to adopt it in these two areas of life (knowing Christ and growing great friendships here) in addition to the others mentioned. Because when the "trials" of working retail/fast food overtime, being without a nursing job, and indecision about where to live are over, I want to have not neglected that which is most important! Phew.

strength, song, and salvation

some recent life-giving words...

"The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation." (Exodus 15:1/Psalm 118:14/Isaiah 12:2)

"But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently.... And we know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed into the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Romans 8:25, 28-29)

"The Lord your God is with you;
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

It is a great comfort to be able to say these words. They provide relief and peace.

Yet it is also a privilege and a calling. A beckoning to continue on, to do the "next thing," to persevere... to press on.

Arizona is like...

Chatting online today. Was asked what Arizona is like. This photo came to mind. Right now Arizona is like having cactus prickles poking your foot, and incidentally some in your fingers from trying to remove the ones from your shoe.