iPods and Blood

Hello all ;]

I recieved an iPod nano my freshman year of high school-- and I have barely used it since. The only occasion of which I use my iPod is when I'm working out, which is not that often anymore! All the songs on this thing are several years old. I never really got into the whole iPod craze. I even have an iPhone and it only has one song on it! If you've been on a college campus in the past year or two you'll know that every other student is listening to an iPod. I never understood why someone would want to listen to an iPod while walking to class or studying. To be honest, I kind of thought people looked dumb with their headphones permanently attached to their ears. Prime example, my brother. He always has that dumb thing on his person. Anyways, recently I decided to test this super-fad and break out my ancient Nano and see if I could study with it. Well-- that was about six days ago and now I'm addicted to the little thing! What has happened? I thought silence was the best study aid. I'm slowly integrating myself into the world. My next step is to put my music on my iPhone so that I can just use that instead of my Nano.

I digress,

Today my friend Jana and I went to give blood for the Bedlam Blood Drive. As we were waiting for our numbers to be called, a girl sitting right beside us passed out of her chair and fell on the floor! I started screaming "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Jana thought that a backpack had fallen on the floor--no, it was a person! It was really frightening for me, so I can only imagine how scared that poor girl must have been. When I was going to get screened they checked my iron levels and told me that my iron was a 34 and it had to be at least a 38 to donate. Sadly, I was not able to give blood, but I was able to sit and observe others giving blood while Jana was being poked. As I waited, I looked around the room to those giving blood and those waiting in line to give blood. It was pretty packed full of students, more so than what I had expected. I sat there and wondered what their motives were for taking an hour out of their day to give blood--surely not the ugly free T-shirt that they give you. Things like this--really small things-- are what overwhelm me with happiness. Last I heard, over 600 students from OSU have given blood so far this week. SIX HUNDRED! I can imagine the joy that God feels when he sees his children working here on Earth for him. As believers, it is our duty to serve our God in every way possible, including giving blood! Service is one of the biggest parts of the Christian walk-- but the act of service has been dwindled down into very specific things like donating money, volunteering, etc. Believe me when I say-- God gives us opportunities to serve and glorify Him every second of every day. Here are some examples:

1. Donate blood (Or if you're like me, and can't, be there for a friend who is donating)
2. Hold the door open for someone
3. Pass up a good parking spot to let someone else have it
4. Offer to bring a friend coffee if he/she is stressin!
5. Lend them your shovel when they are burying a time capsule
6. If you're turning in homework in class, offer to turn in your neighbor's papers as well

These are just a few ideas :) As long as we keep our eyes open, God will provide the opportunity. As Christians, we are called to be his servents. God depends on us to do his work here on Earth-- and our reward is eternal life with Him! My days that I have a service-filled heart are so much more incredibly wonderful than days where I only think about myself. Test this theory! Tomorrow when you wake up, dedicate your whole day to serving God by serving others and see how enriched your life will be!

Do your job!

-Caramie