Jumbled Mess

Its been a long time since I wrote last. For those of you who follow, I am very sorry about that. I get a desire to blog at very strange times...like while on a 12 hour road trip or at 1:30 am when I should be asleep. When this happens I often find myself not blogging. Because I have had so many thoughts I've wanted to write about, this post may be a little jumbled (hence the title). I apologize in advance.
First I must tell you about how God blessed me abundantly last weekend while I was in Pennsylvania. Shannon and I had planned to be home for Kyle and Ashley's wedding. However our plans got stretched and shifted very suddenly with the loss of Randy Moskaluk. We went home 2 days earlier than planned. The time spent there was busy, but the weekend was a clear picture of how God gives and He takes away yet He is still God. On Thursday and Friday, along with many others I attended Randy's services. I can not express how blessed I have been to have the Moskaluk family be a part of my life for the past 8 years. Beginning with a friendship with Keifer at camp, I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to get to know this beautiful family. Their love, prayers, and support through my high school and college years has meant more than they may have realized. God used them to encourage me on a variety of occasions. Randy is and will continue to be greatly missed but he left behind a beautiful legacy.
Saturday I spent at a beautiful wedding ceremony of two dear friends, Kyle and Ashley. It was amazing to see them take this next step in their life together and to know that they are continuing to seek God together.
Often we do not understand why God does things. We do not like His timing. We want things to happen our way on our schedule. However, as the song that was shared at Randy's memorial service says, "God is God and I am not. I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting. God is God and I am man, So I’ll never understand it all. For only God is God."
I also want to share with you about one of the many ways I have been blessed recently. God has taught me a lot through other people recently. I am so thankful when He speaks to me right where I am at. This afternoon a friend came to the house. He brought a jalapeno. Now, I realize this does not seem like a big deal, and if the story ended there it would not be. However, this jalapeno is the first fruit of his garden. It was a tangible, real way for him to be a blessing to us through sharing the first product of his toil and God's providence.
Finally, I will briefly update you on what is going on in my life. I have been working quite a bit, but enjoying it for the most part. We are still in that awkward living out of boxes stage, but are mostly settled. Eden (my puppy) is getting big and mischievous. We have found that she likes to steal shoes and doesn't like change. She also has a new dog friend, Kaya who spends a lot of time with us. I have a potted plant garden that is doing well. If all goes well, we will have two different kinds of tomatoes, three kinds of peppers, zucchini, and squash in addition to the flower beds in front of the house. This has been one of the things I have greatly enjoyed since moving here. It is amazing to watch something grow and provide fruit and even more amazing when you know you had a hand in producing that. I can't wait until we can begin to harvest.
Well, that is all for now. However, I will try to write again soon.

Home

So after months of spending hours on craigslist, emailing literally hundreds of people, looking a close to ten houses, and having a rental application rejected, we (Patty, Sarah, Shannon, and I) have found a house. I have included a few pictures and as we begin to move in and get settled I will share more. I thank you for all your prayers during this time. It was not easy, but we are excited about where and how God is leading each of us to minister in east Tennessee.



May your home always be too small to hold all of your friends. ~Author Unknown

Journey

Ok number one, every time I get on here I realize that I do not write often enough. I get these great ideas about things to write, but I don't get to this page nearly enough.
Number two, I registered for classes this week. Now, this is not the first time I have done so. In fact I have registered for classes six other times over the past four years. This time is the last time I will register for classes (at least for now). This means I graduate in May!
Yes that is an exclamation point. I am excited. But I am also absolutely terrified. For those of you who know me, you know that I am a planner and I like to be in control. Yet as May gets closer and closer, the next step still is not planned. Control is slipping out of my hands a little more each day. And that scares me.
Yet God has surrounded me with some of the most amazing people. These people are reminding me day after day that I need not worry. You see I serve this really big God. He is way bigger than I could even imagine. He understands more than I ever possibly could. And He is directing my steps.
So, no I don't know where I am going to be or what I will be doing after I graduate. But I do know I serve a big God. And He will guide me and be with me all along the journey.

Accident

So...I'm finally writing a post that I probably should have written a week ago, but my life has been a little bit crazy. For those of you who do not know yet, I was in a car accident on Friday June 4th. I was hit passenger side & my car spun into another car on the drivers side and then into the guardrail. Most people who have asked me about it, I think expect me to say how scared I was or something like that. But honestly, it all happened so quickly that I didn't have time to be scared. I didn't even see the truck coming before it hit me. Thankfully I was wearing a seat belt (as always), which kept me from being hurt much worse. I do have some nasty bruises from the seat belt and the cartilage that attaches my ribs to my sternum is bruised as well. That could take up to six weeks to heal. It was as though I was protected throughout the entire accident. I praise God for the ways that He works even when we don't understand.
My car on the other hand, did not fair so well. The passenger side of the vehicle took most of the damage as the place of initial impact. However, my driver's side rear door had some damage as well as the back window and bumper. Both the airbags went off and the passenger side of my windshield broke.
My grandparents on both sides have been very helpful in helping me to find a new car and figure all of that kind of stuff out. So my dad will be flying to Florida next week to bring my new vehicle home. Until then, I guess I'm still without a car, but I'm thankful for the many ways that God has blessed me through this process.

Small Things

I've been home for almost two weeks now. Its crazy to think that. In some ways, it seems as though it has been so much longer than that. In other ways, I already feel as though the time is flying by. Either way, in those two weeks, I have been reminded that life has its meaning in the small things.

Small things like:
Watching one of my best friend's face light up as she tries on wedding dresses.
Having time to read what I want, because I want to.
Putting up a dear friend's artwork on the walls of my room.
Seeing my sister begin to grin as she finishes cutting my hair, and knowing she did an amazing job (again).
Spending hours at the camp doing whatever needs to be done, because I love every moment there.
Reconnecting with an old friend.
Family shopping day...(I never thought I'd enjoy that)
Youth ministry meetings over wings.
Being reminded that God will provide.
Sitting on my bed with my puppy at 12:30 am, realizing all I have to be thankful for.

You see, while I've been here for a mere two weeks, God is already doing tremendous things. For that I can not give him enough praise and glory. I am so thankful for the amazing people in my life. Whether I am close to them or far away, they remind me every day of the small things. It is these small things that make life worth living. They are the things that bring a simple smile. The small things eventually add up to the big things. And that is what makes everything go on. As I prepare to start my internship next week, I hope to keep seeing the small things. And I hope each day, you're able to see the small things too.