Whirlwind Week

Wow. I just caught my breath after such a whirlwind week! As crazy as it was, and despite the fact I am utterly exhausted…part of me is strangely energized by the fact that I had one of the busiest weeks I have had in a really long time. And that’s a really good thing, something I am very grateful for, considering how long I have been without activity. But boy was it insane!

I started things off well, by heading to Pine Cove for the Woodcreek Women’s Retreat. This was such an awesome weekend! I know I have mentioned how much I love my church before, but I was so grateful for the opportunity to spend a restful weekend with such beautiful women of God. The theme of the weekend was “Praising God in Every Season,” so it was such a blessing for me at this time in my life. From car-ride sing-alongs with Lindsey, to playing catch phrase in the cabin, to having a dance party in our pajamas with all of the women of the church, to standing by the lake in awe of His wonder…it was an awesome weekend! I got to spend the weekend praising God, relaxing, enjoying His beautiful creation, and just hanging out with the sweet girls in the 20s group. It was most definitely a “retreat” for me, and the perfect way to start all the new things in my life.

Here is a picture of the 20s group of girls who were at the retreat:



As soon as I got back into town, I dove right into preparing for my licensing exam. I spent pretty much every waking moment preparing. I spent 3 days in a prep course, trying to learn the ins and outs of the insurance business. Let me just say that I had awful flashbacks to my college days lol. It was a massive amount of information in a short period of time. I was definitely nervous to take my exam this morning, to say the least. But God was SO GOOD, and I passed my exam!!! Just barely (I made it by the skin of my nose!), but I passed the first time. I have never been so happy to make a C in my life! So I am now official. I am a licensed General Lines Property & Casualty Insurance Agent in the state of Texas. I do have to say that it was a complete miracle from God, considering my lack of preparation time, and lack of knowledge on the subject. But I was able to walk into my new office with my head held high, because I passed! And I can now sell you personal or commercial lines of insurance- haha. (Well, I actually have to send my test scores and fingerprints to TDI, and then they will issue me a license. Details).



Since I have been in a classroom all week, or holed away studying, I haven’t had a chance to set up my new office. So I will spend the rest of the week doing that. Well, perhaps I should be fair and say that I have a new cube. LOL. It’s actually a nice little cube…a corner cube in fact- hehe. But it’s mine, and I couldn’t be more excited! I am trying to brainstorm on ways to personalize my new space…if you have any suggestions, let me know. I will spend a lot of time in the cube, and my boss wants me to personalize it. I will try to grab a picture when I have time…because you care so much.

And as if things weren’t crazy enough, in the midst of all retreat, my exam, starting a new job…I am in the midst of packing because I move this weekend! My new lease officially started yesterday, and I actually went by to see my new apartment during lunch today. It was a fun feeling to walk in the door and know that I live there now. My parents are coming into town and I have recruited some of my brother's friends to help. It will be a busy weekend, but I am excited to finally move!

Every Season

Every evening sky, an invitation
To trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration
For freedom that is ours
And I notice You In children’s games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
You are summer

And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn

And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation
Shivers underneath
And still I notice you
When branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter
You are winter

And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring

~ By Nichole Nordeman

Movin on Up...To a Deluxe Apartment in the Sky

Today I signed a lease for my new apartment! I can't tell you how absolutely EXCITED I am about this. I have been "moving" for 4 months- lol. No really, I have. I gave my 60 day notice with a plan to move out at the end of December. But when I lost my job and found myself without another to replace it, I was forced to go month to month on my lease. Each month I would give my apartment a new move-out date...each month thinking that within the next 30 days I would be moving. Sigh. And the commute the past 10 weeks with the temp job has been murder. I never want to live more than 20 minutes away from anything again- lol. This morning my usual 50 minute commute took me 1 1/2 hours because of a bad accident. I am more than ready to move closer to work. I will still face traffic, but I won't have to go as far! It's closer to work, BSF, (and Laura!) and it's not any farther from my church.

And now I get to move for real! I have to say that I absolutely LOVE my new apartment. It is much larger than my current apartment. It's in a great location, close to major shopping and restaurants, yet tucked away next to a golf course. I just have to dote a little on my apartment because I am super excited...it has a direct-access garage (which means no neighbor below me), it is on an outside wall (which means one less neighbor beside me), it has a fireplace, and I even got to splurge for a second bedroom! I no longer have to share my room with Sasha...she gets her own room- lol. Her massive kennel will no longer crowd my personal space. I plan to make "Sasha's Room" a multi-function study/scrapbook and craft room/guest bedroom. And since there is a second bathroom, no one has to go into my bedroom to get to one...which is a really nice bonus.

Here are a few pictures of my new home. As soon as I get my keys and move in, I will make sure to show you inside:

Ok. Enough doting. I am just so grateful for how God has provided for such a fun place to live. Because it is only from His hand that I was even able to sign a lease today. My parents will come up next weekend, and my brother has recruited some of his friends to help make the move across town. I am SO excited and can't wait! Thank you, Lord, for sweet blessings!

Dying to Be Thin

I write this blog post with a heavy heart and a desire to make people aware of the difficulties associated with treating an eating disorder. I don't personally suffer from one, but someone very close to me does. She is 14 years old, and when she was recently admitted to the hospital for a second shot at treatment, she weighed 81 pounds. The issue of eating disorders is so prevalent in young girls (as well as men and women) today. The numbers are no where near accurate, as many are very good at hiding their disorder. For this young girl, her battle started when she just wanted to "lose a few pounds" and be like the other dancers in her peer group. A few pounds quickly turned into a full-blown eating disorder. Though it sounds strange outright, I thank God that she began having migraines, because that is what led her parents to take her to the doctor. They had no idea (because she had become very skilled at hiding her drop in weight) she was starving herself. But that is when she was diagnosed and they began the long road of getting her help.

This little girl (because that's what she is at only 14, for heaven's sake- a little girl) cannot look in the mirror without seeing "fat." If you and I were to look in that same mirror, we would see skin and bones; because at this point, she has no more muscle mass. The lies that pour into her mind tell her that she is not thin enough and she needs to be thinner. My heart breaks over this very thought. What has this world come to when a 14 year old girl can't see how absolutely beautiful she is, and will literally risk her life to be just that much thinner?

At this point in her journey, she cannot see the harm she is doing to herself. She acknowledges that people die from eating disorders; she knows the facts- she's a smart girl. And yet, she is willing to risk it because she doesn't think it can happen to her. She admits to her disorder, but is actually proud of it. She's not ready to get the help she so desperately needs. While at the first treatment facility, she learned all the tricks to falsifying her weight so the staff would think she was gaining the required weight. You would think that an eating disorder treatment facility would also know all those tricks and would prevent them....but that's another issue I won't get into right now. Her parents are doing everything in their power to make sure she gets the treatment she needs while they still have the legal right to do so. This young girl is just yearning for the day she is not a minor so she can be left alone to live her life as she pleases....eating disorder included.

Now she is making her second attempt at treating her disorder; or I should say that her parents are. Because of the way the laws are written, her parents fought insurance companies to get her the life-saving help she so desperately needed. Because of the way the laws are written, her parents lost against the insurance companies, as the treatment center pushed their daughter through treatment as quickly as possible because she couldn't receive adequate coverage because it wasn't a "hospital." They were even told that many girls leave the center before they are ready because of insurance. The consequences of bureaucracy were that she didn't get the treatment she needed at the center, and had to be admitted to the hospital a week ago because of the dangerous weight she was hovering at. Despite the fact that it cost twice as much to receive treatment in a hospital than it did at this center, insurance wouldn't pay for it because it wasn't a "hospital." How on earth does that make sense?

So here is where I make my plea: there is a pending legislation that requires insurance companies to cover the treatment of eating disorders. Right now, there are 5 bills pending in the Texas House of Representatives:

1. Rose—H.B. 1418
2. Coleman—H.B. 2967
3. Coleman—H.B. 2969
4. Coleman—H.B. 2976
5. Farabee—H.B. 868

To read the text of a bill, go to the Texas Legislature web site at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/. Enter the bill number (ex. HB 1418) in the "Search Legislation" box at the top of the page. You will then see a screen reporting all action on that bill to date. If you click on the "Text" tab at the top, you will be able to obtain a copy of the text of the bill.

Here's what you can do:

1. Contact Representatives Rose, Coleman and Farabee and tell them:"I support changing the law so that "Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified" are added to the list of "Serious Mental Illnesses" in the Texas Insurance Code. Eating disorders are the most lethal of psychiatric illnesses and they should be treated as such."

2. Contact the members of the Insurance Committee, especially John Smithee and tell them that you support the changing the law.

3. Contact any other representative you wish and let them know the same thing.

4. Pass this information to your family and friends and ask them for their support in this effort. Let them know that we need a lot of help bringing this very important issue to the attention of our lawmakers.

5. Please pray for my cousin as she battles this life threatening disorder.

em • ployed, adj.-

em • ployed, adj.- working; having your services engaged for; utilized; put to use; having a job especially one that pays wages or a salary

After long months of prayer and waiting, God has finally spoken through the stillness: I got a job offer today!!! I cannot put into words the relief and joy that flooded my day! It was as though the floodgates burst open and all of the long-awaited blessings came gushing out. The days of uncertainty for this trial are over. I am super excited about this new opportunity, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store.

I will be making a career jump...from event coordination to insurance. Which is so completely random, and yet so completely God. I have to admit: it was hard to let go of my dreams. It was difficult to walk away from all that I had worked and hoped for. I would be lying if I said I let it go without a fight. And yet while I wrestled with God, He slowly opened my grip and gently nudged me to take that last step of faith in a long series of steps of faith. I really had to question Him on this one: Insurance, Lord? Really? It was something that was so far out of the realm of my thinking that I just couldn't believe He could possibly use me there. And yet, here I find myself...and overjoyed, no less!

One by one, God closed the doors on event coordination. It was a painful process, but one I had to endure. I don't think God has closed them for good; but I do think He has other things to do with me before He lets me go back to those dreams. And after deep prayer, and ultimately complete surrender, I am ok with that. And so now in faith, I am walking through the door that God has swung open for me...God has good plans for me. And I can't wait to see what He will do in the coming months...

So, ummm....I HAVE A JOB! I just like saying it- haha. I have a job. I am employed. I can join the ranks of employment again. What a blessing from God, especially in this troubled economy and failing job market. I really like the company I will be working for. Over the past 10 weeks in my temporary work with them, I have grown to enjoy the people I work with. I am unsure of what exactly is ahead for me, as I am diving into something that is outside my comfort zone, or really my realm of knowledge. But I do know that this is the place God has for me, and I know that He will be with me every step of the way. His timing is perfect, His gifts are good, His blessings are abundant. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!