Random Thoughts While Working The Desk

I am once again surprised to find out that people not only read my blog, but enjoy it and they are able to connect with it.  It really makes me feel bad when my grammar is wrong, or I make absolutely no sense as I go off into random tangents.  It also amazes me just the variety of people that read my blog.  I’ve had anywhere from my extended family reading it to people I just met, to people I don’t even know, but end up adding me on facebook for one reason or another, usually because of my faith. 

 That’s another thing that has me staring at my life like a deer in headlights: the ways God brings various people into my life!  The vast majority of it has been through facebook and the statuses I post.  A lot of my facebook stories have to do with expressing my faith or my awe at how AMAZING God is and people see that!  For example, I just recently had someone add me because he saw that I was friends with the Woodbury Marine Corp Recruitment Station and some other people who are joining the Marines.  He also saw that I was strong in my faith, so he added me as he is strong in his faith and joining the Marines.  He read my blog, especially the one about being a military girlfriend/etc.  He said it really helped him see things from that end of things and he was grateful because he has a lady currently and is leaving for the Marines as soon as he gets his post-grad.  I’m really glad my writing could help someone.  That’s all I ever want to do is to connect with people; whether that be through writing, photography, talking, music, or any other way out there.  I live for that moment when someone smiles at me because of something I’ve done.  I live and breathe to make people smile.

  It’s been brought up, on a few different occasions that I should go into ministry with my knack for having people randomly add me or talk to me just because they want to talk to me about faith, but I think that would almost ruin it.  I think one of the reasons why I am so approachable about faith is because I am just a regular person and I don’t hold some sort of figure-head in any church.  Some people are afraid to talk to those in ministers because they are afraid of being judged.  It is another reason, also, why I feel I am called to be a teacher or do overseas missionary work just building and living amongst the people, not necessarily preaching to them.  As a teacher students could come up to me.  Yes, I know in some public schools this is not allowed, but it is something I definitely want to look into and see where the rules bend at that.  I’ve also explored the idea of being a photographer for either TIME magazine or taking pictures of our troops overseas… I would LOVE to share my faith with troops overseas.  I think a lot of them lose their faith because they see so much hurt in the world and that just kills me inside.  They need faith more than anyone else, I think, BECAUSE they see so much hurt in the world.  In a world of hurt, it helps me so much to know that I have a light that is my amazing Lord and Savior.  It is a burden lifted to know that my Lord has a plan for everyone in all of the darkness, even if it is not the plan we have.  It’s like Shane Claibourne says, “The second I accepted Christ into my life, my life became chaos.”  The ways of the world are not the ways of the Lord and we need to learn to live for Him and not for this world.  Marissa put it really well during her speech at IV tonight, “we are not students on this campus above everything else, (as most organizations will tell you when they talk about how you need to focus on school instead of the organization) we are on this campus because God called us to this campus.”  That just struck me completely because it is SO true.  We get so caught up in our school work and the stress of trying to achieve that goal in the future that we miss the little things God calls us to RIGHT NOW.  And it is, with that thought, that I leave you my friends.  Do not close out the small things God calls you too, for it is sometimes, in those smallest moments, that the seed of faith is able to grow.

It's The Small Things

It is the little blessings that God puts into our lives that amaze me the most.  I was making a deposit through the drive through window at the bank when I looked over and saw a minivan two isles over.  In the back of the van was a small girl with blonde hair who looked to be about the age of four.  I couldn’t help but smiling and waving at the adorable character and she turned away from me and towards her mother.  Although I could not see the girl’s face, I could only assume that she told her mother in the front see about the lady in the truck that just waved at them, as the mother looked at me and smiled.  The mother then proceeded (I thank the Lord for my lip-reading skills on this one) to ask the daughter if she had waved back.  Before long I had 2 little girls’ faces waving at me (I had not seen her twin sister in the seat next to her) with sparkling eyes complimenting their broad smiles.  The mom continued to look back at me and smile even after her children had stopped waving.  I couldn’t help but to feel a surge of joy come within myself.  A smile I know I have caused is all it takes to make my day and I had just received three.  Live for the moment and rejoice in the simple things in life.  God’s beauty is all around you and nothing can take you away from that!

The rest of the day consisted of a drive up to Birch Shores with me randomly quoting a single line from Family Guy by shouting ‘butt scratcher!’ at random moments throughout the trip.  My mother would be annoyed by it one minute, and the next minute she’d be laughing hysterically.  I think I frightened the lady at the Walgreens pharmacy by randomly saying that line as well.  Oh well, such is life and I enjoy it!  I am now at Birch Shores, surrounded by temptations that have brought me away from God’s grace in the past, yet I feel a certain peace about this year.  I have a feeling at this year, the enemy’s temptations will have no taunt for me as God is my Lord and Savior and there is nothing that I need in this world besides Him.  In the mean time, I look forward to once again being in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so close yet so far from school, and waking up to the smells and the sounds of Great Manistique Lake.  Thank you, Lord, for your almighty beauty.   

Thunder Storm

Nothing makes my day more than a rainstorm.  Today I came home after sleeping at a friends house, hopped in the shower, then just lounged around my house.  It wasn't long before I heard the clash of thunder outside and watched the rain quickly come down.  So naturally, of course, I put on one of my cute summer dresses, hooked my iphone up to some speakers in the garage, played "slow dancing in the burning room" by John Mayer, and danced barefoot in the mud and pouring rain.  It really is the simple pleasures in life that make it worth while.

Upon returning inside my dog, who had been barking the entire time I was dancing, greeted me as if I'd been gone for months.  When I went upstairs, she tweaked at the bottom barking and barking.  I just ignored her, but thought it was strange that she was acting so crazy.  She then, apparently, became so desperate she attempted to go up 3 steps, realized she was afraid of stairs, then started yiping.  I immediately went to get her... poor dog was shivering like mad... Forgot this is the first thunderstorm of the year... oops.  The second I picked her up and was near her she was fine.  She refuses to be further than a foot away from me and if I go somewhere she cannot, she barks until I get back.

What really got me thinking, and maybe this is a bit out of the bark, was at one point she was sitting calmly on my stomach and then the thunder roared and she immediately was at attention on the top of the couch barking and then silently observing... I always wondered if that was what it was like for soldiers on the battlefront.. They stand tall and brave and strong as they protect their country and their loved ones, but inside is just a little boy holding a toy gun shivering with fear at the unknown darkness stretching out before him.  This thought sends shivers down my spine and suddenly I'm really missing all of my Marines fighting for our freedom.  I really hope Ian and David are alright... I don't know what I would do without my 2 best friends... although one is a real brother and one is not, I love them both and it is just difficult to see them afraid.  Ian it is a bit easier to picture as that small boy holding a toy gun, because it does not seem all that long ago that he and I were playing 'secret agents' with our little toy nerf guns.  Now he is walking up to live bombs and saving lives by defusing them... My big brother is all grown up and so must I be as I sit here and pray; waiting for my Marines to come home.

Summer Time

Well, I somehow survived finals and have now floated into the glorious beauty that is summer.  I promise I will get better at writing in my blog, especially now that Ian is deployed.  For now it is off to my usual busy Wednesday!

McConnell Out

Final Photography Project

These images plus one or two more are images I plan to use for my final 'Artist's Statement' photography portfolio for my AD117 class.  They are meant to show the effects of deployment on the homefront.

A Brother's Homecoming

Ode to the days when a mother runs around like a chicken with her head cut off. For many mothers this is a common 'illness' that will bereft them during the holidays, but for a military mother whose son is headed home it is a different matter entirely.

You can always tell when my brother is coming home because the house is suddenly impeccably clean, his room is put together with new sheets placed on the bed, and I am being yelled at to clean up my 'crap' in the bathroom... Our Marine is coming home and he has not been home for a year.

It's interesting, the anticipation, as you await for that phone call from your Marine to come in at any minute declaring that his plane has landed. At first I was thinking I would remain at home and wait for him to walk through the door, but when my mom's phone rang I knew I had to go to that airport; there would be no holding myself back.

I was in charge of driving to the airport. I was a little excited, but I was generally keeping my cool; that is until Ian came into view. My brother, my Marine, my best friend was standing there just a short drive away within view. My heart started racing as I pulled up next to him, threw the car into park, swiftly opened the door and jumped (literally) into my brothers arms. (I was determined to beat my mother to him and I did so by a mile.) My brother was in my arms again.

I still cannot get over it. You get used to saying goodbye after a while, but you can never get used to saying hello. The emotional relief that washes over you the second he is back in your arms is unbelievable. You were so busy going about your day-to-day life and so used to doing so with this emotional stress that you were able to back stock it in your emotional venue. However, the second they are back in your arms safe and sound, the release of all that tension is amazing and you suddenly are made aware of just how heavy the emotional burden you were bearing is.

Sitting down and talking to my brother the first night he is back is always fun. However, this time he was explaining about how his team for his deployment to Afghanistan is the most stacked team and therefor they will be the team sent in to perform more solitary missions deep in the heart of the enemy. The dangers my brother will face send shivers down my spine. I have no idea how I will survive this deployment, but that is months away and for now my Marine is home.

Music filled the house through guitar and piano once again. The sound of a song once created by an innocent high school band lover now flowed through the fingers of a strong well trained machine. There is no better way to describe a Marine than to describe them as a machine. However, they are Machines with hearts. When they come home they love their families and it is as if all of the metal is melted away to reveal the human underneath. When in battle, however, they are at full armor their heart encased within.

He's home... I still cannot register it. Yet the smile on my face combined with the tears in my eyes tell me that this is the truth and my Marine truly is home safe and sound with his family. It is a Merry Christmas, Praise the Lord for my Marine is home.

Until Next Time!
McConnell Out

"This is my covenant with them," says the Lord. "My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children's children forever -- Isaiah 59:21

Flying Solo

Airports… the hustle and bustle of people rushing to get to their gate on time; the nervous cluelessness of people as they go through security; the curiosity of children’s faces as their eyes take in everything that is the terminal; I love every bit about the airports and there is no place where I feel more at home.

Growing up with a dad working for Northwest Airlines, we traveled a lot. Holidays were often spent with relatives elsewhere and once a year my dad would take me and my brother on separate trips to whatever location within the United States that we wished to travel. I was always fascinated by the terminal with my wide-eyed curiosity at everything that so much as looked like a plane, but my love for the terminal did not come until the more recent years when I began to travel on my own.

When most people walk into a terminal they are stressed and worried as they frantically try to remember what can and cannot go in a carry on and what they have to remove be

fore going through security. I, however, enter the terminal with a sense of excitement running through my every fiber. I hop into line and look around at all the different people that surround me. My mind engulfs all that it can in the few precious moments as I stand there. Everything from military personnel to a small child running circles around their parents is in my view. The airport is the ultimate view of the middleclass American melting pot.

I step up confidently to security to have my i.d. viewed and my boarding pass checked and marked off before making my way to the bins. It is fun to see unprepared people attempt to juggle all of their belongings as they dump change from their pockets and throw off their jackets and untie their shoes. In the mean time, my laptop is in my arms waiting to be placed in a bin. My shoes are already off, I have no metal on my person, and my jacket sits waiting with my shoes. They go through so much craziness and still have to have their bag checked because they forget to take their laptop out, or they have to be wand searched because they forgot the keys in their back pocket. As they or their luggage gets searched, I already have my shoes on, my laptop packed, my belongings secured, and am ready to start the rest of the adventure.

As much as I love the confidence booster of

being the only person knowing what they are doing on a flight, what I love even more is the waiting area and the flight itself. I love people watching and the airport waiting area is the perfect place to do so. People go bustling by of all sorts of shapes and sizes carrying luggage of the same diversity. I always like to imagine stories to go with some of these people as to where they are going and where they are from. Anytime I get the chance to actually meet the majority of these people I am usually completely off, but it’s still a fun game to play. I wonder how people see me…

One woman just walked by, cute, redhead, about mid20’s, carrying a child who seems to be about a year old. Behind her is what seems to be either her sister or friend, a brunette about the same age, carrying the baby’s carrier and looking

rather unhappy. I can only imagine she must not be too excited about her situation, I too would rather be

carrying the child in comparison to the child’s carrier. The child is a redhead with the brightest blue eyes I have ever seen and, oh, what a smile this child has. She could most certainly steal the hearts of many. Oh she is crawling around and just being an adorable, explorative child. I think I have made a new friend. Nothing brightens up people waiting in an airport more than an adorable, smiling, explorative child. (Although, on the flip side, nothing puts them in a more sour mood than a crying infant on a plane.) My best wishes to my new friend as she explores the exciting world of airport and airplanes.

The big looming question still sits in my mind as I scan the gate. Who will I sit next by? As a single passenger it is usually inevitable that I will sit by some a random person. (Child just sneezed into her blanket and looked up at her mother with a huge smile as if to say silly me, mommy, look at what I did.) It is always my favorite part of life itself to get to know that person. I have made lasting friends simply by sitting next to them on a plane. My first airport friend was named Cal. I was sitting in the airport in Detroit waiting for my connecting flight to go to Florida for my brother’s EOD graduation. I was missing a Packers game (I was a packers fan at the time because my boyfriend at the time was. Now, I have a mind of my own and am an ever faithful Vikings fan) He was watching the Packers game on the phone and I asked him how it was going. Conversation continued on from there and we ended up exchanging numbers and keeping in touch. We both travel a lot and I end up in the Detroit airport a lot (where he is from)and he ends up in the Minneapolis airport a lot, so we now both have another place to stay if we ever get stuck in a layover. We’ve had lunch a few times when he has been in the cities over the summer it is just good to know that I have a new friend from a random encounter. Another one that stuck with me was a guy named Jake. Oh Jake… how that guy made me laugh. I sat down next to Jake and, I don’t remember why, but soon after the plane was in the air he was making fun of me. We talked about everything. He did some work for some water company and had just finished a project in Marquette. I do not remember where I was flying to for this flight, but I was going to Detroit for a layover first. We walked to our next gate and waited for my plane to board together. I remember at one point he asked if this was going to be like in those chick flicks where the guy meets the girl and never sees her again and forgets to ask for her number. We exchanged numbers and stayed rather good friends after that, but we have sort of lost touch since. On my way to Haiti while flying to Miami I sat next to this one guy who was working towards being a Catholic priest. He was an interesting fellow to talk to. He was telling me to serve God and to go out in the world, but never really gave me a chance to tell him the irony of the fact that I was on my way to spend a week in Haiti. I wonder who I will meet on this flight.

I am sitting in seat 1A for this flight, first class, oh boy. First class usually is lofty people who do not like to talk. I rarely end up making long terms friends with a person in first class, but, who knows, maybe I’ll be surprised this time!