Blessed II

(Part two cause I titled a previous post "Blessed."  Apparently I need to get more creative with these things!)

Tonight, I'm feeling so blessed.  I'm not sure how to articulate all the different thoughts swimming around in my head, but one word keeps surfacing.  Blessed.

I just got back from a trip to Brazil with Living Bread.  It was a great week of serving beside pastors who are in the trenches of ministry day in and day out.  It thrilled me to think that shortly my life will be an even greater investment into this organization that encourages and supports these servants of God.  Blessed.

This is my last week of work on staff at Liberty.  It's a bittersweet week because I'm definitely going to miss my Liberty family and the familiarity of my days on campus.  I've been there every day (with the exceptions of summers during undergrad and my student teaching semester) for almost eight years.  Crazy. Looking back at my time there, I am overwhelmed with the opportunities I have been given and the people I have gotten to know.  Blessed.  (See, there's that word again!)

I just got home from an evening of VBS at my church.  I love getting to share a few crazy moments with a crowded room full of energetic kids.  I get to bounce around and act slightly insane and totally get away with it.  It's often tiring, and sometimes I don't feel like it, but having a small child run up to hug my legs or catching a little one I don't know yet grin from ear to ear when I smile at them makes it all worth it.  Blessed.

I keep reminding myself that I need to remember these days of immense blessing so that when dark days come and storm clouds brew, I can know that my same Savior and Lord today is my Savior and Lord through the valleys of life that will inevitably come my way.  Thankful and blessed.

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Hit the Road, Jack

I like to think I'm an adventurous person.  I think I might have proven it to some doubters recently.  On the spur of the moment (with about a week of planning), a wonderful friend and I roadtrip-ed across the country.  Utah to Pennsylvania.  1900 miles.  30 hours of driving. 8 states.  3 time zones.  3 days.  2 fun-loving chicks.  1 '96 Honda Accord.

A few superlatives from the trip:

Most sought after tune for the drive:  Call Me, Maybe (Not sure how proud I am of this, but it is what it is.)

Most flat/boring state:  Ohio

State with the most antelope: Wyoming

State with the most FedEx trucks: Nebraska

State with the prettiest rainbow: Illinois

State with the most tolls: Ohio

State with the prettiest views: Wyoming

State with the most people who knew the town where we were going in PA: Wyoming

State with the most bird casualties: Wyoming

State with the biggest farms: Iowa

State with the most time zones: Nebraska

State with the most pigs: Indiana

State with the most sheep: Wyoming

State with the most cows: Iowa

State we were most excited to see: Pennsylvania

State with the highest penalty for construction zones: Iowa (10,000 fine and up to 14 years in jail if you hit a construction worker.  Yikes.  In PA we just have to turn on our headlights!)

State with the most snow fences: Wyoming

My road trip buddy!

The story of our weekend.  I-80 East

The prettiest part of the drive - this gorgeous stretch of Wyoming right before Cheyenne. 

Our favorite road trip song.  Don't judge.

Across the country adventure? Check.  Next up?  Brazil! 

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I quit.

I quit my job.  That's kind of a big deal.  I didn't just up and walk out, but I did let my current boss know that I will be leaving my position over the summer.  The exact timing is not yet concrete, but it's been nailed down to sometime in July.

I quit my job.  But I love my job.  It has been a huge blessing in my life, and I have had the privilege of meeting lots of interesting people because of this position.  I have learned lots about myself, my strengths, and my weaknesses.  I can look back at the fresh-out-of-college girl who started working at Liberty four years ago and thank the Lord for how he has grown me and taught me more of himself over the four years and three positions I've held here.  I am so thankful for this job, so it is hard for me to leave.  It's hard for me to leave what has been so good.  It's hard for me to leave what has become so comfortable and normal.  I'm sad about it.

I quit my job.  And I am so looking forward to the new opportunity I have in the days to come. I will be working on staff at Living Bread Ministries.  They are based here in Lynchburg, so I don't have to move.  But I will get to travel often and enjoy the flexibility of largely setting my own schedule.  I am excited to share more about Living Bread and their ministry and why I'm so excited to join the team, but for now I just want to share the big news and let that sink in.  I'm happy about it. 

So this is one of those happy/sad times.  My family has used this phrase ever since I can remember.  We moved a lot and had lots of new beginnings while I was growing up.  We looked with anticipation toward the new opportunities ahead, but we left behind the familiar, comfortable life we'd grown to love with a tinge of sadness.  So this summer will be one of a happy/sad transition, but I am confident that the Lord has great plans for me ahead.  He has ordered my steps to this place, and I trust that he will continue to lead me through the places he wants me to go.

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May Days

It's May.  Where has the time gone?  

It seems that each month of 2012 so far has brought some very exciting things into my life.  I am often overwhelmed by the ways I am being blessed.  

It's the small things that are speaking so loudly to me lately.  An evening with friends becomes a time of precious memories with people who love me and who love the Lord.  A commute to dinner becomes a meaningful conversation with my dear roommate.  A child's birthday party becomes an inspiration as little ones are playing together and loving each other with innocence that isn't found anywhere else.

What little blessings do you have in your life?

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Overflow

This weekend my heart has been in a constant state of overflow.  I took last Thursday and Friday off work to participate in all the wedding festivities of my dear friends Jennifer and Clifton.  Jenn and Clif are two of my closest friends, and they have been a big part of why I love my current life/work/friend situation.  Getting to push pause on "real life" and indulge in a fairy tale wedding weekend was nothing less than magical.

I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed all weekend.  Overwhelmed with joy.  Overwhelmed with awe.  Overwhelmed with love.  And I wasn't even the one getting married!

First of all, Jenn and Clif are a special couple.  I've gotten to watch them grow together and figure out the ins and outs of establishing a romantic relationship in the context of being best friends first.  Their relationship is fun and endearing.  They are a picture of love in its ultimate sense:  forgiving and patient, caring and genuine.  But most of all, they love Jesus, and this love is reflected in their relationship.  They desire to reflect the love of Christ through their marriage.  Getting to observe this in Jenn and Clif has given me an even greater appreciation for marriage and made me more excited to experience it some day.  It's easy to get caught up in the romance of weddings and of relationships in general, but the true romance is one that chooses love even on days when someone is unlovable, one that is selfless when it's much easier to be selfish.  I was super excited about the wedding this weekend, but I am also super excited to watch Jenn and Clif continue to grow in their love in the context of marriage.  Love them.

Secondly, the whole weekend, I was surrounded by people I love.  The wedding party was made up of some of my closest friends, and we had way too much fun spending the days celebrating!  From planning and coordinating different things with Miranda, my wonderful roommate, to bonding with a couple of the bridesmaids from out of town, to the "after-party" with a few friends after dancing the night away left us tired and blistered.  It has come up several times in the last couple weeks how blessed I am with the friends I have.   The community of young adults who love the Lord and are passionate about glorifying him with their lives is worth more than I often realize.  So, so thankful for these people with whom I get to share life.  

With the lovely couple, Clifton and Jennifer!

My heart is so full, it can't help but overflow...

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