INSPIRATION: Redeemed

Taken in Evanston, IL

REDEEMED

By: Big Daddy Weave

"Seems like all I could see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me "son
Stop fighting a fight it's already been won"

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be
I am redeemed, I'm redeemed

All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, "Child lift up your head"
I remember, oh God, You're not done with me yet

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be

Because I don't have to be the old man inside of me
'Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I've got a new name, a new life, I'm not the same
And a hope that will carry me home

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, 'cause I'm not who I used to be

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe every stain, yeah, I'm not who I used to be
Oh, God, I'm not who I used to be
Jesus, I'm not who I used to be
'Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed"

XOXO Alexa

The Adventure Begins!

As most of you probably know, Jimmy accepted a volunteer position with
AmeriCorps Vista:

(n): A program of volunteers that serve all over the United States for various amounts of time to fight poverty.

"WHOEVER IS KIND TO THE NEEDY HONORS GOD."

-Proverbs 14:31

 He will be working for the next year in Pembroke, NC with
Native American Interfaith Ministries (Healing Lodge):

(n): An organization that "aims to alleviate health disparities among our Native people through awareness, empowerment, and advocacy. We seek to provide wellness and crisis ministry to those in need. This may include but not limited to: domestic violence, health and financial issues, homelessness, substance abuse, and other concerns. "

I am very impressed with this organization (see link above) and so proud of Jimmy for following God's prompting to work with them. He will specifically be in charge of organizing an after school program for children in the area affected by poverty and the hardships accompanied with poverty.

"HE WHO HELPS THE POOR LENDS TO THE LORD, AND HE WILL REWARD HIM FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE." -Proverbs 17:19

Hiking trip in TN, sunset on the road, and a gorgeous rest stop!

Jimmy left on Saturday, July 21st, to start this great adventure! He made many stops on his 18hr drive to North Carolina. Those stops included Columbus, IN (to see his sister-in-law's family), Chattanooga, TN (to see his aunt and uncle), and Atlanta, GA (for an orientation to the Vista program).




Today is his first day of work with the organization in North Carolina, please pray for God to use him in mighty ways!

XOXO Alexa

Inspiration

Taken in Panama City Beach, FL



REMIND ME WHO I AM

By: Jason Gray

"When I lose my way, and I forget my name

Remind me who I am

In the mirror all I see is who I don't wanna be

Remind me who I am

In the loneliest places

When I can't remember what grace is

Tell me, once again

Who I am to You, who I am to You

Tell me, lest I forget

Who I am to You, that I belong to You

When my heart is like a stone, and I'm running far from home

Remind me who I am

When I can't receive Your love. Afraid I'll never be enough

Remind me who I am

If I'm Your beloved can You help me believe it

Tell me, once again

Who I am to You, who I am to You

Tell me, lest I forget

Who I am to You, that I belong to You

I'm the one You love, I'm the one You love

That will be enough, I'm the one You love"

XOXO Alexa



Florida Photos

Here are some photos from my trip to Florida in June. I thought I'd share the pretty ones :)

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." -Ephesians 3:20

Street Smarts

Before I started my internship my parents weren't so sure that I had good enough "street smarts" to be downtown alone as a young woman. I was shocked to hear this, because I thought I did. Well guess what...they were RIGHT! Downtown Chicago is a whole 'nother ball game compared to the corn fields of Dekalb. I soon decided to make it my mission this summer to equip myself with more than enough street smarts.

WHAT BROUGHT ON THIS DECISION YOU MIGHT ASK?

1. There were THREE separate attacks near the hospital at the beginning of the summer against hospital employees. (One doctor was actually punched in the face!)

2. The news and my co-workers had plenty of stories on violent attacks or fast muggings to share.

3. My own encounter with some shady characters---
One night I took the red line back to stay with a friend after work instead of having to commute from Dekalb. It happened to be the same day of a big parade downtown. Therefore there were tons of people in the city, using public transportation and probably intoxicated by this time. When I got off of the red line I had no idea how to get down to the street and there were mobs of people. I quickly spotted a business man in a nicely tailored suit who I decided to follow down to the street. While I was so focused on following him, I did not realize I had walked right into the middle of a fight between a couple! (He was getting on the train and she was screaming at him--err well in my ear--to get off the train! Yikes!) I finally navigated my way out of the train station and down to the street. I thought I was "all clear" as it was only a half-mile walk to my friend's place. However the street was starting to have less and less people on it and a couple of guys were walking behind me. I soon heard them talking about me! "Ooh look at that young girl up there. She's all alone. I wouldn't be walking alone if I was her." This was the first time I have genuinely felt scared downtown. I picked up my pace, ran through the street as it was turning red, and lost them thankfully.

BELOW ARE MY "TIPS" TO SHARPEN
YOUR "STREET SMARTS":



$10 at any
sporting goods store

1. Always carry PEPPER SPRAY---in your hand! If someone comes up to you unexpectedly (which attackers do), you will not have time to dig through your purse!


2. WALK FAST and with a PURPOSE as my mom always said. If you look like you know where you are going then you do not look as vulnerable. (If you don't know where you are going---fake it!)

WRONG!

3. LOOK PEOPLE IN THE EYE as you pass them. Don't stare them down as a threat, but rather just make eye contact. This will make you look confident. If you are staring down at the street, you look vulnerable and will not be able to see anything coming.

4. DON'T BE ON YOUR PHONE---especially if you have a fancy iphone or other smart phone. Do not even take your phone out of your bag. If someone sees you have an expensive phone, it instantly makes you a target. (If you use your phone for directional purposes like me, my advice is to write down the directions from your phone on a piece of paper before you enter the street or public transportation.)

5. CARRY YOUR BAG IN FRONT OF YOU. This way someone can't just slip their hand in to steal something without you noticing. Also it makes it harder for someone to use your bag as a way to grab you.

6. DO NOT FLAUNT EXPENSIVE THINGS like designer coach bags, jewlery, etc. (One of my co-workers actually knew a nurse that was walking to her car after work and someone came up to her with a gun and told her to give him her earrings. They were diamond studs that her husband gave her for their anniversary.)

I could go on about other ways to stay safe, but these I've found are the most important ones. These six tips apply more so to after-dark rather than the "morning commuters rush"---BUT you never know when someone will attack and you can NEVER be too safe!


XOXO Alexa

DON'T rushhhh

REASONS TO ALLOW EXTRA TIME COMMUTING TO THE TRAIN

Like anyone who has to commute a rather long way to work (two and a half hours), shaving minutes off anywhere you can is very important. HOWEVER, the drive to the train station is NOT the opportune time to shorten your commute. Below is a list of reasons that I have personally encountered that could potentially make you MISS YOUR TRAIN!

1. STOPLIGHTS

I cross SEVENTEEN (17) stoplights on my way to the train station.

Can you imagine if you got stopped at every single light?!

2. THE POLICE

On my drive one morning I actually passed THREE different cop cars. While I may get the urge to use my lead foot on country roads, the tickets are KILLER these days...

$120 = cost of a speeding ticket

3. FREIGHT TRAINS

I had no idea a freight train even passed through Elburn, but sure enough I got stopped one morning. Luckily I caught only the end of it, but one might not always be so lucky!

4. DUCKS CROSSING

I literally had to slam on my brakes one day as a mother duck started leading her ducklings across the road. I couldnt even try to use the other lane to get around them because they took up both lanes!

5. HEAVY FOG

We have all experienced the annoying-ness of driving through morning fog. It is difficult to see and you usually have to significantly slow down. Here's an added twist to the average fog dilemna:

You usually allow exactly 30 minutes to drive to the train station.
You hit a long stretch of fog where you can only see one car lengths ahead.

If you slow down to less than 55mph, you will miss your train.

WHAT DO YOU DO?!?!?!

I ASKED MYSELF THE SAME QUESTION ONE MORNING

Good Message

This past year I discovered a speaker named Jeff Bethke. He recently gave his life to Christ, which I love because he gives such a fresh perspective in his messages. Every so often he releases videos on YouTube that share a message that has been on his heart. His latest one is called "The Unforgivable Sin." I felt compelled to share this video, because it made such an impact on me.

If you enjoy this video, check out his other ones at www.youtube.com/bball1989

Internship

This has been such an incredible summer, because I have the opportunity to work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Northwestern Memorial Hospital . The only downside is the commute, but it is still worth it. Below is an example of what an average day at work looks like for me. I even put it in military time because this is how we document!

0425: My alarm goes off and I get ready
              (I make my coffee, breakfast, and lunch the night before
               to make my mornings easier)

0445: Leave to drive to the train station

My view each morning

0515: Arrive at the train station, finish my breakfast, and
              pay the parking fee at the kiosk

0526: The train leaves
              -Take a nap
              -Read my bible
              -Talk with my friend Lizzie who rides the same train

0644: The train arrives in Chicago

0655: Take the bus from the train station to the hospital





















0710: Arrive at the hospital, have a snack, and check out my  assignment for the day

0730: My "work day" begins. I use quotations because it doesn't even feel like a job. I just love it so so much! (Hopefully this feeling doesn't wear off haha)

My day consists of being paired with my preceptor and following her assignment. We can have anywhere from one to four babies depending on if they are in a critical situation or closer to going home. My basic role consists of doing assessments on the babies and feeding them every three hours. I cannot believe I get paid to hold babies! Beyond the basic roles we do anything the baby or the family needs. This can include breastfeeding education, oxygen support, temperature regulation, discharge education, and SO MUCH MORE! I really love the educational aspect of teaching the parents.

I obviously cannot post pictures of my patients due to privacy regulations.
However this is a GOOGLE picture of a NICU baby so you can see just how cute they are :)

2000: Off work! I then take a bus, shuttle or taxi to get to the train station depending on how long our report to the night nurse took.

2040: The train leaves to go back to Elburn.
              -Read my book
              -Texting or talking on the phone

2204: Train arrives in Elburn

2235: Finally home!!! I will usually grab a light dinner or snack when I get home. Then if I work the next day I quickly make my lunch and head to bed. If I am off the next day then I will usually fall asleep to a movie.

I feel so unbelievably blessed to have this opportunity to work in the NICU over the summer. I love the babies, the relationships with the parents, and the great nursing skills I'm gaining!

CATCH UP (PART II)

4. JEN COMES TO VISIT
Jen's summer plans of working at Eagle Lake Camp came to an end too soon due to the wildfires in Colorado. If you haven't heard about these fires, then watch this video. While it was a tragic event the narrartor to the video explains how God was moving even amidst this disaster.

Coincidentally camp was cancelled at the same time her mom had already booked a vacation to Illinois to see their family. It was great timing because I had three days in a row off from work so Jen came to stay with me in Dekalb before she went back to Arizona. It was so awesome to have this unexpected opportunity to spend time with her!

We try to keep up with each other through texts, but I had not seen her since last December. Like I mentioned earlier, dekalb is boredom central in the summers, so Jen and I had to get creative with ways to entertain ourselves. We layed out in Jimmy's pool, made many trips to Aspen Leaf for fro yo, walked around campus, took scenic pictures, googled plans for our futures, made a mexican dinner (aka tacos), attempted to blog, made bracelets, watched a creepy movie, and spent hours upon hours catching up with each other :)It was really sad to say goodbye at the airport, especially not knowing when we would see each other again. We are crossing our fingers that shes can fly out during her fall break this semester!

COMING SOON: details on my internship!

CATCH UP (PART I)

WOW! Only ONE MONTH left of summer and I have not blogged at all! TSK TSK on me! I had all these great plans for detailed blog posts, but since I'm behind I will do a two part "catch up" to summarize my summer thus far.

1. FLORIDA

Before my internship started I went to Panama City Beach, Florida for a week with my family. It was a 17 HOUR car ride, but we made it through some how. (I even managed to pull a 6 HOUR driving shift straight in a row!)



It was such a relaxing vacation to spend every day at the beach riding the waves and reading my books.

2. FISHING

Since Dekalb is nothing but boredom during the summer, Jimmy and I had to make our own fun. One of our favorite things to do is go to Lake Shabbona to go fishing. It's definitely not as good as Timberlee fishing it was still a good time. The two songs below ALWAYS put me in the mood to go fishing. (Click links to hear them)

   "You get a line, I'll get a pole,                                        "You and me go fishin' in the dark,

We'll go fishing in the crawfish hole,                           lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars...

  five card poke on Saturday night,                                  down by the river in the full moonlight

     church on Sunday morning"                                                    we'll be fallin' in love"

BOONDOCKS by Little Big Town                        FISHIN' IN THE DARK by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

3. DAD'S BIRTHDAY

The end of June was my first chance to come home after starting my internship. It was so great to see my family and for them to see Jimmy before he left for Americorps. This was also a perfect weekend to come home because it was my Dad's birthday! I would have to say the highlight of his birthday was going bowling.

DISCLAIMER: My family is extremely competitive about bowling. My dad even calculates scores each round so we know what we need to bowl the next time to stay ahead of each other.

So naturally it turned into quite the competition. I was proud of myself for getting a score OVER 100 on my first game, because that is usually a struggle for me haha. However that really irked my Dad because he lost to me AND didn't make it over 100. That made for a very intense second game of my dad trying to beat me and jimmy trying to beat my dad. (See scores to the right) We are crazy about bowling to say the least but I always have a blast!

Stay tuned for "CATCH UP (PART II)" featuring my internship and visit from Jenny!