.attention getters.

I was working in the Writing Lab, helping a student with their introduction to a basic English 101 essay and we were talking about introductory sentences to start a paper and then the beloved thesis statement. I talked about using quotes, lead-in stories, etc., so that the reader gets "sucked in" to reading the rest of your paper. And then of course, there is the thesis statement which (especially for student struggling with an English 101 paper) blatantly focuses all of the reader's attention to the main points of the essay--spelled out for basic clarity. Normally I don't really think about what one of my conferences sounds like with a student, but I couldn't help but laugh at myself when I used the phrase "attention getter" with a student. REALLY?! Even I haven't said that since the good ol' days of middle school REACH. Regardless of how ridiculous I sounded, there IS a connection here.
I feel like sometimes when I'm getting back to "the daily grind" of the typical 7-8 hour school day, dinner, homework, and Bible study stuff...I am merely just living life one activity to the next. That's totally true this week. With the beginnings of the endless days of quizzes, research projects, Bible study lesson planning, and just living life, I haven't really taken any time to LIVE LIFE. Shuffling between activities with a passing "hi" to friends and roommates...what kind of life is that?! And why am I living like such!?
Well....thanks God. You have caught my attention. I HATE HATE HATE being sick more than anything in the world, and sure enough, Sunday night in the middle of the chaos known as my life, I start feeling gross. And here is Tuesday and I'm feeling worse. Bleck! Regardless, when I am sick, I can TELL that I'm not the nicest person to be around. I caught myself talking to my Dad in a less-than-nice way on the phone yesterday...WHY!? Thinking about this common cold has brought me to this realization. I may be "sick" for the next week, but soon I'll be better. I have been extremely blessed with good health! I seem to think that being sick for one week is the end of the world. So in reality when I'm freaking out about having a scratchy voice and throat and a runny nose for a week is NOTHING in the greater picture of things. I neglect to be thankful for all these things when I realize how I've completely freaked out over such a tiny cold. It is SO easy for me to overlook the small blessings in life. I'm pretty sure God is using this to say "Emily! Sloooooooooow down and take a breather. Realize that there's more to life than test after test." After this conclusion, I spend nearly an hour on the phone with my best friend from HS. Just taking that 54 minutes out of my day to talk to her (despite having tons to do) made me feel SO much better afterwards! Yet another blessing--phone calls with friends! Thanks God. :)
After realizing this last night, I took a new attitude on the situation and I made a good day out of it, regardless of feeling gross. Hmm....not sure that this post makes all that much sense; however, I will blame that on the cough medicine. :)