He is Risen!

Happy Easter! This is one of my, if not my favorite days of the entire year. I think it's so incredibly special that we have a day to devote to remembering Jesus Christ's sacrifice for each and every one of us and give Him glory. It's also a day to be refreshed by this reminder - refreshed and renewed to glorify Jesus in everything we do.


I love this quote by Max Lucado that I read in my devotions yesterday:
"Take a stroll ... out to the cross where, with the blood, the hand that placed you on the planet wrote the promise, 'God would give up His only Son before He'd give up on you.'"

Just think about this. Every morning when you wake up, God has another day prepared. He knows what  adventures will take place, what struggles you will face, and how you feel through the midst of them. And at the end of the day, no matter how many mistakes you make, He is waiting to remind you that He gave everything for you.

That's Easter! That's the amazing Savior we worship! I cannot help but be overwhelmed with His grace - it surpasses my comprehension. What can I do when He has done it all? God has answered our questions of humility: Take up your cross and follow me. Is that a challenging answer? Yes. But we serve and love a Leader so kind that He has gone ahead of us with His cross and proved that there is  no battle He is unable to win. As we follow Him, He invites us to share in the victory that has already occurred.

My prayer for all of you is that as you worship Jesus Christ on this Easter Sunday, you will hear with excitement the invitation He gives. Let us now go out in the world and share the unbelievable Truth of the gospel with others!

Using Everything

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'"   ~ Erma Bombeck

Last fall, I was in the musical, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, and I played the role of Snoopy. I distinctly remember the last performance we had. All those participating in this show were tired and burnt out by the time Sunday came around. Our voices were getting shot and the energy and emotions were all over the place. It was exciting because it was the last performance, but also sad in a way too. Snoopy's big musical number comes at the end of the show when he (or in my case, she) sings about Suppertime. I recall the moments leading up to this song. I had decided to give it my all. This was the last show, the last time to perform a song I had grown to love, the last time to be Snoopy. I was going to go for it and leave it all on the stage. Looking back, I can see that I did just that. I believe it was the best performance I had ever given and I felt proud of myself. Sure, my throat was a little sore after that, but it didn't matter because I gave it my best and didn't hold back.


A week ago, I attended the Suzuki Association of Minnesota Graduation in the Twin Cities. This graduation is held every year to commend violin students for their achievements during the previous year. As this was my last year a part of this association and I had reached the required levels, I was honored by being chosen  to play a solo along with five others. I was very excited and also nervous. The past weeks have been filled with tedious practice, going over difficult passages time and time again. But when it came time to perform my solo, there was no holding back. To me, this wasn't simply an honor. It was a reflection of twelve years playing my favorite instrument; twelve years with a violin teacher who has supported me, challenged me, and taught me; times of struggle and even physical pain, but, by God's grace, persevering onward. All of these things I thought about as I walked on the stage that day. And I gave it all! At my following lesson, my teacher told me that it was the best I had even played the piece.

This quote by Erma Bombeck really spoke to me. If I was so intent on giving my all for these performances, why am I not even considering the energy I give out to others in the name of Jesus Christ? God is constantly giving us gifts that we can use to bless and encourage others. Are we conserving them for ourselves? Are we holding back and letting pride get in the way of using them? Or perhaps we are simply not listening to how God wants us to use them. Whatever the reason might be, God gives us these things for a purpose. I only had one last musical performance and one chance to play that violin solo. Similarly, we only have one life to live - make the most of it! We need to take advantage of the time we have and the gifts we are given so that when we see God face to face, we can be confident in the knowledge that we didn't hold back. We left it all on the stage called life! That's what we are challenged to do, as Christians. Let's accept that challenge and use everything we have and give God all the glory!

The Big Picture

Last week, my blood sugar numbers were crazy! Most of the time, they were in the 200s and 300s and I couldn't seem to get them down. I was giving myself extra insulin, exercising more, and even eating a little less at mealtimes. But nothing seemed to be working. Fortunately, I didn't have ketone issues with all those high numbers. Even so, I was getting pretty frustrated with what my body was doing.

On top of my diabetes going out of control, I was stressed out with school, violin, and work. Semester finals were coming up and I was getting towards the end of my strength rope. This is usually the point when God does something drastic to regain my attention on what's truly important: Him. Last week was no different. Here's how it went:

Last Wednesday, my supper blood sugar was 300. My nine o' clock reading was 225. I was going to bed and I set my alarm for 3:00 am because every Wednesday I have to get up in the middle of the night to check my number. At around 1:00 am, I woke up to a horrible feeling. I was extremely hot. My body was physically going crazy! An anxious feeling swept over me. Right away, I knew that something was wrong. I checked my blood sugar and it was 43. Quickly, I ate probably about 40 carbs worth of food, trying to get my blood sugar up and calm myself down. Eventually, I fell back asleep and things started to get back to normal.

The next day I thought about the previous night. What if I hadn't woken up? I was really tired; what if I had simply slept through my feelings of low blood sugar? Obviously, if that was the case, I would never have woken up. My family would have had no reason to check on me at one in the morning. I would have died. As scary as this was for me to think about, I learned two very important lessons from this experience:

1. God is always in control. He was the reason I woke up. I can't control everything in my life...I can barely control anything in my life! He has my life and can do with it as He chooses. I know that He will always take care of me and He knows what's best for me.


2. You just never know about life. What if I had died last week. Would these finals have mattered? Would stressing about getting things done have mattered? No. I'm not saying that I'm never going to study again because I might kick the bucket in the middle of the night. I'm saying that this experience taught me to have a new perspective on life. Spend time with family and friends. Enjoy their company. Appreciate every moment. Don't waste time arguing about stupid little things. When I thought about

the conversations I had on Tuesday, there were so many things I regretted. Tell others that you love them and care about them. I look at life and I realize that I'm so blessed to be living in such a beautiful world. Every day I wake up is a new day that God has plans for. It doesn't matter how many days are left, but what we do with them.

Keeping the Focus

This is a song that I have listened to almost every day since Thanksgiving. It sums up very well the theme of Thanksgiving and Christmas: Concentrate on what we have to be thankful for and look outside of our own interests. I will share the lyrics with you. They are so inspiring. :)

"Thankful" By Josh Groban

Somedays we forget to look around us.

Somedays we can't see the joy that surrounds us.

So caught up inside ourselves we take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.

And on this day we hope for what we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change.

And even though we all can still do more

There's so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves there's so much sorrow.

It's way too late to say I'll cry tomorrow.

Each of us must find our truth.

It's so long overdue.

Even with our differences, there is a place we're all connected.

Each of us can find each other's light.

So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.

And on this day we hope for what we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change.

And even though we all can still do more

There's so much to be thankful for.

A Diabetic Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a wonderful day! This was my first Thanksgiving since I've had diabetes, so obviously a few changes were made from the usual "eat-til-you-drop" attitude that I have had in the past. My family always eats the "Big Dinner" at around three in the afternoon. Fortunately for me, this meal fell over my fifteen carb three o'clock snack. WIN! So there I found my challenge: Thanksgiving dinner in 15 carbohydrates. It followed as such:

~ A huge helping of sugar-free strawberry Jello (FREE)
~ A serving of turkey (FREE)
~ A lot of green beans (FREE)
~ A small portion of mashed potatoes (8-10 carbs)
~ 1/2 piece of lefse, sweetened with Splenda instead of sugar (12-15 carbs)


So I overdid my carbs a little bit, but it was worth it! It was an amazing day to celebrate all of the things we have to be thankful for. Especially this year, I was so thankful for God's provision over my life the last six months that I have had diabetes. There have been many ups and downs,  but I am grateful that through it all, my Heavenly Father continues to show me his paths and get me through tough times.

Last summer, I started writing in a Thankful Journal at the end of every day, expressing gratitude for things in the day that I usually take so for granted. This has really opened my eyes to be aware of how many blessings God puts in our lives. This poses the perfect Thanksgiving question: How often do we take a moment in our busy days to just be still and think about all the gifts God has blessed us with? I certainly don't do it enough. But I can tell you that spending five minutes every night to write what I am thankful for in my day is sometimes the best five minutes of my whole day. When I am upset, crabby, or self-pitying myself, I usually don't want to write down what I'm thankful for. But I will sit down and do it anyway. When I do, my mood is entirely changed. How can it not be? God our Creator is so amazing that I cannot remain upset when I am focusing on His wondrous deeds in my life.

 
On this Thanksgiving weekend, I am looking at my Thankful Journal over the past six months. I will never be able to express how much I love God and am thankful for Him in my life!

International Diabetes Day

Happy International Diabetes Day! Many people wore blue today to show their support for diabetes. I was decked out in about seven different shades of the color, which, despite portraying an epic fashion faux pas, was surprisingly encouraging. In fact, this entire day seemed to brighten my spirits in regard to this disease that I live with every day. Somehow, I felt proud to be a diabetic today. This day was a reminder to me that diabetes isn't a set-back in life. It is a part of my life.

We all have struggles in life, whether it be a disease or a difficult situation that we are being faced with. But I think we could all use a day like International Diabetes Day. A day, not to celebrate the problem, but to celebrate how far we have come. We can look back and appreciate the people that have supported us in our times of hardship. We can be proud of ourselves for continuing on, despite frustrating circumstances.

Today, my family wore blue for me. My teacher wore blue for his diabetic students. My diabetic friends and I made jokes about our mutual disease. It was a day that reminded me that I am proud of my diabetes and that I am so thankful for the countless people around me who help to uphold me during the hard times.

I am also so grateful to my Heavenly Father for His grace. There are so many situations where I do not make the best choices in regard to diabetes and I prefer to put my own selfish desires over the care of my body, His temple. But He is so forgiving and is always willing to give me another chance.


For all of you who are going through a difficult time right now, I encourage you to make your own "Day." A day where you can look at the positives in life; look for the celebrations. I know that sometimes it can be hard to find, but God will always place His blessings in our lives. We might just need to take a day to look a little harder!

The First Rain of Autumn

My great aunt loved nature and she expressed her feelings through poetry. It's a cloudy, autumn day today and it reminded me of a poem that she wrote. This particular poem is very special to me because my grandma and I always used to read it together on a rainy fall day. Now, I am simply blessed with the memories that come with this poem. :)

The First Rain of Autumn

Rain clouds, come down! 

Come down and soften the hard earth of autumn;

Soften the shells of the durable seeds

That escaped the hunger of finches and quail

And have lain forgotten on hillsides since springtime.

Rain clouds, come down!

Come down and awake manzanita and toyon,

The sage, the chamise, and all chaparral,

Patiently waiting throughout the long dryness

To drink deep, then quickly grow, bloom, and ripen

In the brief time of the moisture blest season.

Rain clouds, come down!

Come down and furnish dry stream beds with water

And fill, fill at last the low lakes for our needs.

Leave pools in the rocks, too, for wild creatures' comfort,

For foxes and wild cats, road runners and jays.

Rain clouds, come down!

Come down and startle the newly grown birds, 

Clean dust from the wings that have never known rain.

Surprise the young coyote, now full-sized and rangy.

Who tests the odd wetness with inquisitive tongue,

Who shakes quite in vain his strangely damp pelt,

And in place of the dust feels mud slip through his toes.

Rain clouds, come down!

Come down and deafen the children in classrooms

To the hum of instructions and questioning words.

To eager young faces to long streaks of rain,

Scarce remembered from far away days in their childhood.

Let them walk through fresh puddles with open delight

And see a new wonder: rivers are flowing.

Rain clouds, come down!

Come down and make me rejoice in wet leaves,

The greening of ranches and roadsides and hills;

In a new spring that's coming of poppies and paintbrush,

Lupines and owls clover deep in the grass.

And then rain clouds, 

These first ones of fall, roll away! Roll away,

And let the sun shine once more on far mountains,

Arrayed in fresh colors, sharp as new printed fabric.