"you make me laugh. at you, of course. not with you."

as i write this, there is a torrential downpour sweeping across huntsville. i didn't get to park my car very close to the dorm on when i came home tonight. and, as expected...i didn't mind that one bit. yes, i was just ready to be home and dry and asleep. but i will always, always love the rain. what can i say, it makes my heart happy.

i've started a workout routine with my awesome friend meagan. with the exception of uber wet days, like tomorrow will be, we meet at the track in the mornings to jog for a while. it's nice. i like jogging. i like mornings. i like my awesome friend meagan. if you ask me, i've got a pretty good deal goin on.

the morning jogs have also helped me get back to the morning person i used to be. i mean, i still am...i just haven't been acting like it. i LOVE mornings. lately i had been missing out on my nice slow mornings with the Lord. but the accountability to show up and work out with a friend makes waking up a little bit easier, even if i only got a few hours of restless sleep.

speaking of restless sleep...i've started to become concerned about my sleep. i'll be tired but completely awake until the wee hours of the morning. then i find it hard to wake up, because i don't sleep well. part of the reason for that is that i have been having really awful nightmares every night for the past 8 months or so. i'm at a loss for what the cause of this might be. my awesome friend elizabeth suggested there could very possibly be a connection between my nightmares and my freshman year of college. i haven't been letting myself get uber stressed like i used to...but starting college has its own daily stresses and i think perhaps elizabeth is right--perhaps it's just wearing on me. i think it does that to everyone, to an extent.

mondays are not just tiring because they are the first day of the week and there's so much week left. they're tiring for me because they are my fullest days and i don't get a break until the evening. today, for example, i didn't eat at all until after 6. not healthy, i know...but with my schedule sometimes i forget to eat. especially on mondays. this monday was an especially long one. i'm thinking that i know why...

i am thankful that the only lasting rest is found in Christ. i am physically (and often emotionally) exhausted by the end of each day. but my soul is at rest, and i rejoice that no matter what life brings i can have that rest. i also rejoice in the new day...for so many reasons, but most of all because the new day is fresh and beautiful and finds me ready and willing to begin it. it's like an empty piece of paper...i am always scared to write that first sentence but, even moreso, i am eager to write on that page, to pour myself into it.

monday is coming to a close and i am utterly exhausted. i look forward to tomorrow.