Little Piece.

Several weeks ago I watched the film, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" at Wealthy Street Theater with the 'Adding Angles' Crew.

Wow, this movie is touching, eccentric, and thought-provoking.

The story centers around an imaginative 6 year-old, known as Hushpuppy, who lives in the 'Bathtub' Community. The Bathtub is a fictional place based on the actual areas in Louisiana that are located below the water levies. This community has contently resisted modern culture in many ways. Hushpuppy encounters immense fears: the pending flooding of the Bathtub and the terminal illness of her single-parent father.

Favorite quotes from the film:

"The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece... the entire universe will get busted" - HushPuppy

"When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me lying around in invisible pieces. When I look too hard, it goes away. And when it all goes quiet, I see they are right here. I see that I'm a little piece in a big, big universe. And that makes things right. When I die, the scientists of the future, they're gonna find it all. They gonna know, once there was a Hushpuppy, and she live with her daddy in the Bathtub" - HushPuppy

Oh, this little actress deserves ALL the awards that she has already won. So much talent!

Recap and Prep

Whew, It has been a while since I wrote anything down on here! Fall 2012 was full and good:

- Began working as a Sub. Abuse therapist at Catholic Charities WM with MDOC clients

- Completed 12 more credits of my Master's program (received all A's ;)

- Began mentoring a fun 5th grader at Burton Elementary School through Mars Hill Kids Hope

- Continued serving with the 2-yr-olds on Sunday mornings at Mars

- Played in Lauren's engagement video and watched with Bittersweet feelings as she moved back to Chicagoland!

- Chelsea moved back in, and we've begun the interesting adventure of two 20-something sisters living together again.

The fall semester ended in early December, and I have so ENJOYED the past weeks off from classes so much:
- Being able to come right home after work (and change into sweatpants)
- Time to cook
- More time for friends
- More time for crafts
- More time for reading
- More time for SLEEPING

Tomorrow it is back to the craziness again...My schedule will look something like:
(I write this in order to help myself remember!)

Monday
  7 am GYM 8:30 am - 5 pm WORK 6 - 9 pm CLASS
Tuesday
  7 am GYM 8:30 am - 5 pm WORK 6 - 9 pm CLASS
Wednesday
  7 am GYM 8:30 am - 3 pm WORK 4 pm GROUP COUNSELING
Thursday
  7 am GYM 8:30 am - 5 pm WORK 6 - 9 CLASS
Friday
 7 am GYM 8:30 am MENTORING 10 am  - 5 pm WORK
Saturday
 sleeping, homework, cleaning, friends
Sunday
  PPier, church, homework

[ We shall see how long and how often the 7 am gym thing lasts ]

Tonight I will enjoy ordering 100s dollars worth of textbook and getting out my backpack (joking!)

But really, I am grateful for this season and for all the learning and opportunities that I encounter.

cool chick

Light in the Night. Art Prize Oct '12 Grand Rapids, MI

I've probably mentioned before that encouraging feedback is hard to-come-by in my line of work.

Today I received a fun exception,

"Courtney, now don't take this the wrong way, but you are a cool chick"
"Thank you for what you do. I wish you all happiness".

This from a guy who has dual-diagnosis, significant life stressors, and has been working very hard on building up his coping skills....
his simple encouragement and gratitude brightened up my day so much!

three strands

 

This October Mike and Jan McIntyre (aka my Grandpa and Grandma) celebrate FIFTY years of marriage.

Their marriage is a testimony; their love for the Lord ripples out in endless ways.

When the Bible talks about "three strands"  Grandpa and Grandma are the example I hold.

I love them. I am so very grateful for them. They are my favorite people.

They complete each other in the best ways. Their lives are deeply interwoven.

I can't imagine what my life and my faith would be like without their influence.

They have been active in every aspect of my life (from prayer, car repairs, college care and every sickness I have ever had). They've been there.

Do you know what it feels like to know that you are prayed for everyday? I do. I can't really even fathom how true and blessed this gift is.

If you know them, you know that all this and more is true of them. They are a legacy.

Maybe someday, I'll enter into a marriage like theirs (ha, they also pray for this regularly :)

Grandpa and Grandma, here's to you! Happy 50th Anniversary! I love you.

Lord, make me

Note: I did not take this pretty photo

These past two weeks have been full in many ways.
I have much to share (maybe I'll write about it soon?).
I am loving my job.
It is so very challenging, but oh, so good.
 Every person that sits in the chair across from me has a unique story.
These are riddled with pain, trauma and hope.
Yesterday, Aaron led worship at church. We read this prayer. I love it and want to regularly pray this with my entire being.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
 

- St Francis of Assisi

ultimate mystery

"Aristotle was perhaps the first of many to observe that true knowledge proceeds from wonder. To wonder is to stand in awe of the ultimate mystery of life and to understand that mystery exists not merely in the ecstatic but in ordinary daily life..Wonder, unlike curiosity, does not try to figure out, to answer, or to explain. We do not wonder "at," "about," or "why"--we wonder "with."
--- Rob Lehman


Classes have begun again. A Busy and good time. I am enjoying them all and especially intrigued by my Intro to Holistic Health Care. I love how so many of the lessons directly align with my faith.

patient. good and healthy

via Alice, Eve & Lithium

I've been reading this blog for a while. I appreciate Lauren's thoughtful posts and her pretty pictures.

Her husband is also a writer. 

When I taught communicable disease/ healthy relationships in group therapy, I would sometimes share his writings with my teen boys...sparked some good convos.

From a recent post entitled,   

"Top 10 Saddest/Craziest/Understandable Things I’ve Seen Christians Believe About Relationships":

9. You’ll meet The One when you don’t want him anymore. Thanks to this gem, 95% of single women at your church are silently punishing themselves for not yet figuring out how to obliterate their desire to get married or have a boyfriend. And simultaneously blaming themselves for keeping a good man away (with their thoughts? their energies? vibes? Karma? God’s punishment/reward system? I’ve never understood the mechanics of this part.). Look, if you really want to be a mom or wife one day, don’t kill off your natural healthy desires just because you can’t fulfill it right now. You wouldn’t try to convince yourself that hunger is a sin just because dinner isn’t served for another hour and a half, would you? No. You recognize it as good and healthy, and you wait patiently before the Lord. Or the cook.
- Lauren Nichole