un-expectations.

so this morning i was thinking of winnie the pooh. and how (a) he was, when it comes down to it, quite a silly old bear and how he (b) he spontaneously made up words. perhaps like un-expectations. so today, this word is dedicated to good ol' winnie the pooh.

the word, taken by itself, probably could be misunderstood. like unkempt. or unconditional. or unruly. i could have called it mis-expectations. like mistake. or miserable. but alas, i did not. and un-expectations is what we are left with.

it is kind of like things completely unexpected...but future tense.

speaking of un-expectations, God has sure handed me a fair share lately. surprises. blessings. stress. stress. (did i mention stress?). and reminders of the incredible blessings of relationships (one in particular, actually).

surprises. did i mention how much i love phone calls? jon called me TWO DAYS IN A ROW :) which made me smile. a lot. and made me miss him. again. a lot. and i made sugar cookies yesterday afternoon. the surprise part of my baking experience was that they tasted like cornbread. don't quite know how that happened because i don't remember adding anything that actually had corn in it. but nonetheless, it was quite a shock to my tastebuds when i went to take a bit of sugar cookie and instead got a mouthful of cornbread-tasting goodness. AND i get to go home on saturday. which is 5 days away, in case you were wondering. and although my trip home isn't exactly a surprise (being that i know it is coming), i am thinking that God probably has a few surprises up His sleeves :)

blessings. wow. too many to count. i am reminded during this season each year. how lucky i am. how blessed i am. how much i don't deserve anything that i have. i've been listening to financial podcasts a lot. and have been constantly reminded that everything--every thing--belongs to God. and He is generous enough to let me use some of it, just for a little while. my education. my finances. my exercise schedule. my knowledge. my breath, even. and since it is His--all of it--He can take it away at any time. privledges. hopes. stuff. but the coolest thing is that, more times than not, He doesn't. He loves us enough to bless us. beyond our wildest imagination.

stress. school has officially taken over my life. and my brain. yesterday was the first time in a long time that i actually wondered what it would feel like if i hit my head against the wall. but God is giving me perspective--again. He probably gets tired of giving it to me so often. really tired of it. but these exams are just one set. in my entire life. just two days. of my entire life. i can't even remember most of my exams from undergrad. and again, i probably won't even remember this set in a few months either. i am just praying (really hard!) that God infuses my brain with knowledge and opens it up to a sponge-like state so it can absorb anything and everything that my eyes run across.

relationships. i've been smiling quite a bit the last couple days. probably cuz jon called. and probably cuz i got to talk to him for more than 5 minutes. yup. talk. like i would say something and he would respond. it is an amazing thing, actually. apparently that is what people use telephones for--hmm...who knew?? but other than being able to talk to him, our 'contact' was an incredible reminder of how much he means to me :) God has blessed me more than i ever dreamed. and for that i am eternally grateful. and as our paths continue to be paved by the Almighty paver-dude, my biggest prayer is for prepared hearts. for God's will. for God's plans--not ours. for God's hand in our lives and in our relationship.

so yeah. there are lots of un-expectations. surprises. love. grades. that boy. snow, maybe? not to mention a handful of blessings.