Arden's Garden

I just want to make a quick post about this. I live in South Florida, so I'm not a stranger to sharks and other aquatic dangers, but this was a bit crazy.  A few days ago, I went out boating and snorkeling with my dad and brothers. We left the inlet and anchored at some shoals that were exposed due to low tide. The waves were moderate, but still crashed over the top of the shoals. All around the shoals was sand, spreading out - consider the shoals to be like a rocky sandbar, and it was deeper all around it. The beach was close, but not close enough to swim there easily - we were much farther out than the buoys which mark off the "swimmers only / no boats" area close to the shore.  There, I set the scene.  So we raised our red and white dive flag on the boat (which is required if you're swimming outside of the buoy-marked zone) and anchored beside the shoals. I'm a strong swimmer so I donned my mask, snorkel, boots, and fins and swam over to the shoals.  Even thoug...

This poem (I actually wrote it as a hymn) has no specific form. I just wrote it according to how I sing, so I didn't pay any attention to syllable count or such structure.  "Carry On" 28 May 2025 On down the line we go  Never fast but rarely slow  Where you're heading, [I] hope you know  Carry, carry on  Some days short and others long  Sing always a praising song  For in His arms we all belong Carry, carry on Whether rain or snow or hail Open wide salvation's sails  His faithful love will never fail Carry, carry on  Extend your hand and bring a friend  To the whole world we all were sent  To preach the news until the end Carry, carry on  All the earth must know and hear The good news that we bear  So go, be swift, and never fear Carry, carry on Take a moment, seek the Lord  Rest in His eternal Word  Sharper than a two-edged sword  Carry, carry on  Know the road you labor on For all your sins are dead a...

It has been a little while since I've posted an update, so I thought now would be a great time. This post will not be long, but a few amazing milestones have passed.  My application to the Army HPSP was finally processed and accepted! I worked through the final steps and was recently sworn into the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant of the Army Reserves (inactive member). That's my official title (title? rank? position? I have so much to learn). Nearly my entire family came to watch the ceremony. It was small and held at the recruiter's office, but I prefer it that way. I expected that I would have to make a 4am trip to Miami as I had to do for MEPS, and I did not want my family to feel obligated to join me for that. So, I was relieved when I learned that it would be a mid-morning ceremony only 45 minutes away. My grandfather, who was in the Army, did my first salute, and my recruiter swore me in. Two of my brothers even participated by holding up an American Flag behind me during th...

I just wanted to write a quick post today about something I just realized, while watching Season 1 Episode 7 of "The Chosen", and it blew my mind.  When I was a teenager, I was really into Greek and Roman mythology, so I learned about the "Rod of Asclepius". Asclepius was the Greek god of medicine and healing, and his symbol was a snake on a pole.  This is the symbol seen on ambulances and at hospitals, and it is still a symbol of healing and medicine.  However, I just realized that it must have originated from the bronze snake that Moses put up on a pole in Number 21, when snakes went throughout the Israelite camp. Many people died from snake bites, until God instructed Moses to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole for everyone to see. Then, anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed.  I can't believe it's taken me this long to figure it out. This revelation carries so much weight for me, since I'm going to star...

Here is that passage of the Bible:           Some time later, God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”      “Here I am,” he replied.      Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”      Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.       On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.       He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”      Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the...

Here is that passage of the Bible, which occurred right after Jesus rose on the third day:      Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.      He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”      They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”      What things?” he asked.      “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they cru...

This poem is in a "quintilla" form, with a rhyme scheme AABBA.  “The Cost” 25 February 2025  ~form: quintilla, AABBA rhyme scheme~ The world is dark and cruel and cold Dims, dulls, and taints the heart of gold  Sordid motives and desire Stoke flames of forthcoming fire  Despite the warnings manifold    Though righteously once shone the light  Upon the earth, for all was right  And peace abound from east to west Each creature bountifully blessed All according to His good sight    Until the seed of darkness raised His ugly head, his red eyes blazed Disdained the work of sanctity  And plotted a calamity  The perfect world at once fell razed   Since that moment, all have toiled  Finite years of life now soiled In the dust and filth and mire  While, in our Maker's eyes, a fire Burned, as His holy blood boiled    His children, holy creation Now at risk of hell's damnation So, in His wisdom, He prepared A way ...

Ah, the pain. It seems as though every time I have free time to write, I don't want to, but as soon as my schedule is packed with other obligations, all I want to do is write.  So, how do you write when you have no time? This is a question I've struggled with for a while, and my answer is simply this: make time or be content.  How do you make time? I keep a planner in numerous forms to schedule the week's responsibilities, the day's, and then, if a particular day is very busy, I even schedule things down to the very hour I plan to complete them. It's a little chaotic and yes, I do spend a chunk of time simply making these schedules, but I think that they do more good than harm. Now, about scheduling in time for writing.  Step 1: Prioritize . I identify the most pressing items on my schedule, then I set strict guidelines for myself according to when I need to complete those things. Trust me, as a graduate student and soon-to-be medical student who still lives at home...

This isn't really a recipe, I guess. I wanted to make tea the other day, since it helps me focus on studying. When I have a cup of hot tea beside me, I find myself getting up less often and my studies are not as interrupted. Anyway, I wanted tea, but all we had in our bucket of tea bags were Earl Grey and some other flavors I don't particularly like very much.  I was about to abandon the idea, but then I remembered the little herb garden in the backyard. It had been started and largely forgotten by us, except to clip some sprigs of cilantro to go on top of rice. Oh, and Black Swallowtail butterflies laid eggs on the dill so we now have a lot of adorable chubby caterpillars.  Realizing that tea is simply tea leaves and that I didn't really need the caffeine in the tea anyway, I wandered out to the herb garden and took some clipping of peppermint, lemon balm, and spearmint. I ripped them up and place them in a glass container, then boiling water and poured it over top of the ...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain  I heard this quote a long time ago and I think it's appropriate for how I feel right now.  I have an Instagram account, but I am constantly deleting the app for a couple of weeks, then downloading it again. This is because I have poor self-control when it comes to social media and will spend hours scrolling endlessly. So, when life and studies pick up and I know that I don't have extra time to squander, I delete it to focus on the pressing matters. Then, inevitably, I download it again to snoop on the lives of my family and few friends.  Anyway, all that's nearly besides the point.  I recently re-downloaded it again but, a few days ago, I realized that I am now seeing many ads for summer internships, summer jobs at national ...

I decided to post this poem because it was either the first or the longest (one of those, LOL - definitely the longest, maybe also the first?) poem that I ever memorized. I still have it memorized, actually. Back when I was younger and determined to become an ornithologist (bird scientist), my mom showed this poem to me and I absolutely loved it. I had just begun to write my own poetry, so such a beautiful poem about a bird and the deeper connection really struck me. Anyway, I hope that anyone reading this poem loves it as much as I do.  Image Credit: "The Bedside Book of Birds" by Graeme Gibson ~ "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow  or reap or store away in barns, and yet your  heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much  more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:26

This is a totally random post. I was on my own to figure out dinner a few nights ago, so I made a super easy (very unhealthy) meal. I made elbow noodles and, while the water was boiling, I melted slices of American cheese in a bowl in the microwave with a splash of milk in the bowl too. I let those melt until it made a cheese sauce, then I added a small amount of hot sauce to the cheese sauce and stirred it up and *voila*, buffalo cheese sauce. When the noodles were done, I mixed them into the buffalo cheese sauce and topped the whole thing with diced tomatoes and diced bologna. Oh, and I sprinkled some cilantro on top just to give a fake appearance of health. It was so good, and super easy to make.  So whether you eat or drink or whatever  you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Honestly, I don't know what to title this one. I just named it a moment ago, but I'm not super confident about that title. Also, I started making lines for it as a rap song in my head and I wrote it all down at once and now, a couple weeks later, I can't remember the beat to it. So, I guess it's just a poem now. Besides, I might be decent with words, but I can't play a note of music! Anyway, here it is: People say they care but then they up and walk away  But my God will never do that, yeah He is here to stay  So I am following His path and everything He say(s) Because without His guiding hand I cannot make it through the day  This world it will betray you yeah the devil is your foe  But you are well protected if God’s word is what you know  And when this life is over yeah to heaven I will go  So while I am on earth the seeds of truth are what I’ll sow Praise the Lord, He’s always there for me anytime I call He’s closer than a BFF yeah closer than any (of) ...

This is a bit different from my usual posts, but I wanted to share two memories from my childhood that I still remember at random times and smile about. These memories are both about the same person and, although I've long since forgotten his name, I'll never forget his kindness.  When I was young, the mail carriers who visited our house would change every few years, but there was this one mailman who visited our neighborhood for at least several years. He always wore a large straw hat and carried a huge mailbag, since he would park at one end of the street and walk the entire length of the street, on both sides, before returning to his truck.  I was about eight to twelve years old (so, maybe 2010 to 2014?) when my siblings and I took up a fascination with rubber band guns. We would make them from a forked stick and a twig, with a single rubber band to connect the “trigger” (the twig) to the “gun” (the forked stick). Then, we would use a second rubber band as the “bullet” by l...

I guess that now is a good time to post this update! After scrambling like a madwoman to get letters of recommendation and fill out my applications to both D.O. and M.D. schools (they use different portals: AACOMAS and AMCAS, resp.), I finally got them submitted well in advance. It helps that I was able to submit the applications  before the letters of recommendations were received. I was even able to edit some of the recommenders afterwards. The AACOMAS portal allows for a maximum of 6 letters of recommendation, so I asked 6 people for letters and all 6 agreed to write them, but then 1 person stopped answering all of my emails and calls and never submitted the letter. Oh well. It happens, life happens, and I certainly understand that. However, that person happened to be a science faculty member, and that letter was going to be pretty important! Thank God, I was able to edit that recommendation request on AACOMAS and another science faculty member agreed to write a letter for me! S...