Busy Body!

WOW! Second week of the semester....it's supposed to get easier, right? Wrong! This semester is really going to test me in so many ways. It's going to test my time management skills, my dedication to certain commitments, my study skills..the list goes on and on.  But, I will get through it- I hope. 
Classes this semester are going to be tough but I'm hoping that because it all pertains to what I want to do with my life that I eventually find it more interesting then anything; that way it wont feel so much like "work." 
Aside from school work there is so much more going on. Work, church, the aquarium volunteer work, the gym, clubs, and somewhere in there a social life happens too.  It seems like a lot- if I were to share my day planner with you it would look like a lot too but most of it is so much fun. I really only get stressed out when I do so much stuff I don't pencil in time to do my actual homework.  But doing things like the aquarium sleep overs are fun- not demanding or hard or stressful...just fun. Same thing with all my other volunteer work- its rewarding and feels good and puts me in a great mood. Church and all my other bible studies- same story... spending time with God and learning his word is relaxing, interesting, rewarding, awesome...the list goes on. But none of it ever feels like "work." Sometimes even my job doesn't feel like work...because giving tours is so fun to me that I don't feel like I'm doing some stressful thing. I just feel like I'm walking around campus showing it off.  The only time I ever get overwhelmed or stressed out with all of this is when I am having so much fun with my extra activities that there are times where I don't feel like I've given myself enough time for homework. So I rush to the library between classes, or activities to get it done- which just makes my days feel looooong when I leave my apartment in the morning and don't come home till later that night. But I probably did a lot of fun things in that time that make up for the 3 hours spent in the library.
Most of my days feel long- they are so filled with so much great stuff and I am tiered every night. Sometimes it gets hard to have my own time, or to just be by myself to think. I have a hard time saying "no" to people, so when they ask me to do something with them, or need my help with something if I don't have something else planned then I go for it. Why not right? I have nothing else to do--then I realize when I havn't had time for myself in 2 weeks that it's because I do so much with my time that I forget to schedule in "me time."  Which has always kinda been a problem with me. I get so bored quick that I love to have a full schedule and have so many different activities planned. Granted that doens't leave much room for spontaneity or anything but at least I always have something to so.
I think this semester one of my goal should be to leave some space open and that way I have two options...I can have me time or when someone wants to do something out of the blue I have the room to do it.  But in order to have that open space I need to turn somethings away and say no to some things....which is hard on its own. Easier said than done right? Totally.
Well, that's where I'm coming from so far in this semester....it's going to be a fun time. A lot going on, and long days...but a fun time.  I hope everyone else is doing well and all have had a great first month of this year! Can't believe tomorrow is February already! Crazy!

xoxoxoxox- Jess

Thankful for Life

Today I received a call from a friend who is an EMT Firefighter. He was at the hospital and was calling to ask me if I would pick him up and take him back to his station. Confused I said sure, and as he is telling me more I find out his first fatality accrued in his arms today. I felt special that he called me for the support he needed but I also had no idea what to say or do except to listen. As he told me about everything above and beyond the accident an overwhelming feeling happened. We got stuck trying to go back to the station because they were clearing the scene but during that time I felt God gave us that extra time together for my friend to really let go of his emotions and just lay it all out. I tried to give him the best support I could but I've never been in that situation before so I just told him God has a plan and held his hand as he told me the rest.  The thing that stuck me the most that he said to me as he was holding my hand he had two fingers on my wrist and gently just says "it feels good to feel your pulse".  Those words hit me so hard and that's when I realized my friend just spent 45 minuets trying his best to save a man's life and couldn't. And that's where I started to pray, and I continue to pray. Up until that point my friend was just telling me about a problem he had today, but once those words came out of his mouth I felt his pain of not being able to do anything as this man died.
Sometimes there will be nothing to we can do when it come to God's plan. And every time he does something we don't want to happen- it will be hard to accept. Despite the incident, I felt today was a good lesson for me and everyone else to learn. Life is short. And God will take you away form everyone, and when he does we have to realize it is all part of his plan for us.
I wont give all the details, but hearing my friend explain everything he tried to do to save this man's life kept me thanking God that I was alive at that moment.
The accident the man was involved in was spontaneous and happened in an instant and we most of the time never know when God is going to take us.  I makes me so incredibly thankful for not only life, but everything I have in it. I am such a blessed individual and sometimes I might take that for granted but today I just wanna thanks God for allowing me to be here and giving air to my lungs.  I might not know when life will be taken from me, or what God's plan for me is- but I do know that I am very blessed, lucky, loved, and thankful for my life and everyone in it.
God Bless everyone tonight, and tell someone you care about that you love them- because you never know when the last time you will see them will be.  Enjoy every minute we have on earth and laugh, love, hug, kiss, dance, play in the mud, be happy, and thank God. 
I love you all
XOXO