'Tis the Season

I have lots of updates for family and friends.... but I want to share something that has been on my mind first.

"For everything there is a season, a time for every event under heaven...A time to laugh and a time to cry, a time to grieve and a time to dance..." Ephesians 3:1&4


When life deviates away from the plan I have for it, I find myself wondering "why me" a lot. I mean, how selfish of a mentality is that? I should really be thinking "why not me". I have been blessed with a full life of highs and lows... laughs and tears... plans and uncertainty... love and hate. It's really not what happens in life. It's all about what you make of it. So 'tis the season to make the most out of this beautiful life.

Speaking of a beautiful life, my precious nephew, Jayden, turned 1 day. Our nieces and nephew have been such a huge blessing in our lives. They are growing up so fast! If the joy these kiddos give us is any indication of the love and joy we're going to have for our own children, we're going to be in trouble!!

Johnny and Jayden

Johnny and Jaycee when she was a baby

Johnny and Evania when she was a baby

I finished my Master's degree in Medical Sciences a few weeks ago (although I won't actually walk until August). I definitely have a huge reason to celebrate! I'm going to spend the summer focusing on my interests that have been so long neglected. I actually get to read! Maybe I should clarify... I actually get to read something OTHER than Gray's Anatomy, Guyton Textbook of Medical Physiology, and countless other medical publications. I finally get to be someone other than Meagan the smart girl. I get to be Meagan the house wife, the shopper, the crafty girl, the aunt, the friend, and the spontaneous girl. I have been waiting for this for a loooong time! Until Johnny gets back from the academy, I think I'll spend my time extreme couponing, cooking and baking, sewing, spring cleaning, and living life to the fullest. I think I'm going to create a bucket list of things to do before med school... Perhaps that will be my next post!

Until then, be blessed and be a blessing to others!

If you want me to

In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. (Ps 62.7)

Oh, you make me smile

Mama always told me that distance makes the heart grow fonder. After five weeks without my Johnny, I'm not so sure I agree. I'm pretty sure distance from your best friend is terrible and just makes you miserable. Any of you who know us well know that we are as different as day and night. He's a giant... I'm fun sized... He's easy going... I'm high strung... He's fearless... I panic...He's spontaneous... I always have a plan... He's muscle... I'm brains... He has unshakable faith... I worry...but somehow we seem to mesh perfectly.  A lot of people don't find true love in a lifetime. I'm immensely blessed to have found it... and at such a young age! He is the ultimate supporter, comforter, provider, leader, and friend. I'm excited to look back fifty years from now to see the life we built together. I thank God every day for him.

To update you all, Johnny is almost done with his fifth week at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy. It's been rough on his body (especially the shoulder he injured playing football), but he is doing really well and enjoying the challenge. He has lost almost 50 pounds in 5 weeks! I tried running two miles today, so I have a newfound appreciation of what he is doing every day. Two miles is nothing to him! I couldn't be more proud. Only five more weeks to go!

I'll leave you with the lyrics to a song that describes the way Johnny makes me feel... "Smile" by Uncle Kracker.

Even when you´re gone
Somehow you come along
Just like a flower poking through the sidewalk crack and just like that
You steal away the rain and just like that

You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

The path not taken

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I used to stare at this verse for hours. Actually, I stared at this verse for long periods of time until very recently. I guess I always thought that when God's plan for my life would be revealed that it would be some grand moment.... the light of Heaven beaming down on me, trumpets sounding... you know... that kind of stuff. I guess I never really realized that He has slowly but surely been guiding Johnny and I down the path of "the plan" all of along. Some of you may not know this, but I really struggled with my decision to become a physician. I was guilty honestly. I didn't want to take time away from my husband and future children. And Johnny... well... he just didn't know what the heck he wanted to do with life. The more I think about the last two years, the more I am blown away by the evidence that God that been by our side every step of the way and working in our favor to guide us in our callings. I can now say, more confidently than ever, that we are finally on our way. I am overwhelmed with excitement to become a physician now and start my family (eventually). Dr. Carpenter has a nice ring to it, don't you think? I really think that I'm more excited about the lives that I can impact in Mississippi and throughout the world with international missions. Johnny is the same way. He is currently in training at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy. He has such a heart to serve. I am so incredibly proud of him and how he stepped out in faith to start his career in law enforcement.

Just in case you haven't heard... Johnny and I received some amazing news this week. I received the Rural Physicians's scholarship which will contribute $30,000 towards my medical education each year. Not only will all of my school be paid for, I will get a small stipend each month. God is so good :)

Let your hair down

Most of you already know that I'm a planner. I have a strict daily schedule that must be followed perfectly in order for me to accomplish everything that is demanded of my day. I mean... when you work, attend arguably the hardest grad program in the world, and are responsible for a husband/household, you are forced into becoming a meticulous scheduler and list maker. All of my planning leaves little room for genuine surprises. My mother in law always says, "Meagan, I hope you get genuinely surprised one day. Sometimes surprises are God's greatest gifts." While I didn't receive the "surprise" she was probably referring to, I was seriously caught off guard when my husband's ring tone started playing on my phone this evening! Ever since I missed Johnny's one weekly phone call last week, I have kept my phone on loud every second of the day in hopes that "Stand by your Man" by Tammy Wynette (yes, he picked the song) would start playing. I was shocked since his weekly phone call was last night. The academy allowed him an additional call to ensure that I was safe after all of the terrible weather. While we only got to talk for a little less than one minute, his voice certainly lifted the spirits of my evening.... something I so desperately needed after studying cranial nerves all day. Even though I am still a fan of lists and plans, I have learned to let my hair down a little. Surprises are good. Actually, surprises are great. Maybe, just maybe, I'll start throwing my plans out the window so I can start receiving all the joyous surprises God has in store for me.

“Don’t brag about tomorrow! Each day brings its own surprises.” -Proverbs 27:1

Roll With the Punches

Well Monday has certainly lived up to its reputation today. I think for so long I was living in my happy little "college bubble". In my college bubble, everyone was cordial, carefree, and happy about living. When I graduated and got a big girl job, it wasn't long before my that nice round bubble popped right in my face. Turns out, the human characteristics I was so used to in my quaint southern college town are now just facades. I, for one, refuse to be the shell of a person where a fun-loving individual used to reside. Although, I have certainly had my days when all I did was sit in a poorly lit room with books all around me, eat the most unhealthy snacks because I was "too busy" studying to fix a suitable meal, and cried at the very thought of everything I needed to accomplish. It wasn't long ago that I realized that truth of John 10:10. "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." So what is I make a B? So what if my weight fluctuates five pounds? So what if I can't afford that dress I really want? Am I still living? Yes. Am I still loved? Yes. Do I still have a roof over my head? Yes. Then what in the world am I freaking out about? Today has taught me that nothing is what is really seems... but that's okay because that is the beauty of life. So that's why my southern remedy of the day is to roll with the punches.

A Day of Celebration

Today I turned 22. For some reason 22 seems so old.... like I have crossed to the "other" side. After your 21st birthday, it seems as if there is no more excitements for birthdays. Instead, we begin to dread birthdays and dread the stigma attached to each additional number. I have always been the baby. I'm the youngest in my family. The youngest to graduate from high school and college. They even had to add a new year to my master's degree program application so I could apply. Now, I don't feel like the baby anymore... even when I am usually still much younger than those around me. I guess a mortage and car payment has a way of making you feel old. These feelings were nothing some birthday cheesecake couldn't solve... which I had far too much of. With all that said, I had a wonderful day. Johnny was home for most of the day, and I heard from old friends that I haven't talked to in quite some time. I was overwhelmed by the outflow of love and birthday wishes from family and friends. To top it all off, it was Easter! In all my 22 years, my birthday has never fallen on Easter. This "double holiday" gave me a pretty good excuse to stay away from anatomy today.

While I don't know if anyone will take the time to keep up with my blog, I want to document my journey through life, love, and medical school. This is my exploration of my southern remedies for life.