Death by coconut?

So, a quick update on the past week and a half of my life. I'll give you all the short version. I made a quick trip to Athens last weekend, October 11th and 12th. On Sunday, October 12th I apparently ate something cooked in coconut oil. I have known that I am allergic to coconut, but I was unaware that I was eating something prepared with coconut oil. For reasons not fully known and too long to explain, I didn't have a normal allergic reaction after I consumed the meal.

Instead, the following day as I was driving down the interstate, I began vomiting everywhere and had to stop driving. My roommate and another friend from up here had to drive down to get me off the interstate and bring me back to Asbury. I wound up going to the hospital where much was done. In short, I had a very high fever, extreme pain, severe dehydration, and was somewhat disoriented. The diagnosis was a "non-allergic" reaction to the coconut that they could identify in my system. The doctor said that for some reason I had digested the coconut and because I am allergic to it, it simply began poisoning my body. All of the pain was coming from the poisoning. Have you ever been poisoned throughout your body? They hooked me up to an IV and kept me for a while to give me fluids, pain meds, and some sort of medicine whose job was to interact with the "poison" in my system and help me to start getting rid of it.

I have since been trying to regain my strength and appetite. I continue to find myself so exhausted. All of my professors have been generous with me missing class and even mid-terms.

If you are interested, I encourage you to look up products that contain coconut, coconut oil, or coconut extracts in them. You'll be amazed. I think I have finally figured out why my nose always itches while I brush my teeth!

So, I'm not dead; however, I am firmly and dramatically aware now that my death could come by coconut. Crazy isn't it?

May you all find health and blessing throughout your day and may you never bring a coconut anywhere near me! :)

Culture Shock part 1

I have had the great privilege of traveling to many different parts of the world. I would not consider myself a world traveler. However, I have had numerous experiences that have helped shape both my heart and my perception of all life around me.

Throughout all of these experiences, the greatest "culture shock" that I have ever gone through was coming back to America after I spent time in Ghana, West Africa. Granted, I have been "shocked" by many parts of the cultures I have visited. But when I returned from Africa, readjusting to life in America again was very difficult. I would find myself angry and broken quite often. However, this post isn't about that experience.

I wanted to share with you about the culture shock I have experienced within the States. I also have been able to travel to several different parts of the U.S. and have seen glimpses of the many cultures that comprise our country. The two experiences that rate the highest on my "culture shock" barometer have both occurred within the great state of Kentucky. When I was in high school, I participated in an ASP (Appalachian Service Project) in a very rural and poor area of Kentucky. The poverty there overwhelmed me as a high school student.



The second culture shock experience has been the past month and a half of my life, living here in Wilmore, Kentucky. Can you say WHITEVILLE? I realize that I have never lived in an inner-city environment, although I did spend much of my time while in Athens in the inner-city (I miss those kids soooo much). However, I have lived in the South and I am now realizing how much of a blessing it is to be surrounded by such diversity.

There is no diversity here in Wilmore. In Culture Shock part 2, I will share more with you about the different type of diversity here on campus, but this is a very white city. And this entire area of Kentucky is very homogeneous. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but it has been quite an adjustment for me. Some of the friends I have met here, especially those from the North, such as my roommate from Minnesota, say there is more diversity here than any place they have ever lived. I cannot imagine that. Do you recognize, value, and appreciate the diversity in your world? I encourage you to pay attention to it. Your world view will truly be enhanced by expanding it to understand and respect other culture's perspectives.

I am not trying to get on some political hot topic. I am simply making an observation of the strangeness of this culture to me. I am realizing more and more everyday the richness and benefit that comes from the varying degrees of diversity that have surrounded me throughout my life. I expect that the Lord has as much to teach me with the lack of diversity here as He has through other stages of my life, but I NEED SOME COLOR! The Lord made us all. We are ALL made in His image. And I want to be continuously and constantly reminded of that.

May you all be blessed by and be conscious of the richness and treasure that surround you in the diversity of your environments. (more to come in part 2)

Dwelling

For those of you who have been asking...






















So, I live in this room, with this desk, under this vent, up this stairwell, inside of this building, sleeping under this promise. Got it? Sorry, I can't figure out how to organize the pics like I wanted them.












And by the way, the previous video post was of JJ Heller singing her song "Love Me." She has some really good stuff.

Love Me