Moving Day

Yesterday was part one of moving day. Rudy and Starr came over in the morning and between them and David and I, all my stuff was on the uhaul. Another hour past that and all the cleaning was done. It was a glorious thing to take that key off my key ring and leave it on the table inside the apartment.

Last night, David looked at me and I just started to cry. Moving has been way more emotional than I expected. I feel as if I am starting completely over at square one. I won't have my family, or my friends, or the kids from my job or my church, or the comfort of the classroom. I'm moving to Georgia, finishing school online, getting married, and finding a job next year. Growing pains are no lie. I'm in a place where I have to let go of what's been comfortable and move into a place that is unknown, yet exciting. 

I'm ready for it. I love David and can't wait for October 18th. Now is the time to just trust the Lord. He has brought safe thus far, and I know He will lead me on. But that doesn't take away the fear of the unknown. I think this summer will be exciting, as I finally get to fall into a rhythm with David. We have been dating for 13+ months in a long-distance relationship. I am looking forward to how God is going to begin to use the two of us in ministry- together!

Today is part II of moving day. We are Georgia-bound!

In His Mercy.

5 Months

Five months from today is David and I's wedding!!! It's hard to believe that we're down to five months. We set the date back in early september- 13 months ahead of time! Eight months have passed and although it seems like it's still so far away, we have come a long way! I'm looking forward to October 18th- the day I marry the man I love=)

I move in six days!!! Moving week is finally here!!! I am so filled with excitement about this that I don't even know what to do with myself. I just have one more paper in between me and getting out of here. There is a lot of trusting that I have to do in the midst of all this. But, a lesson in trust is always a good lesson for me!

In His Mercy.

Greener Grass

Today was my final Mentored Ministry class. We were talking about how to deal with those difficult people who make being in ministry tough- ya know....the ones that make you want to  run towards the hills! But then our prof shared this little saying, which amazingly I had never heard: The grass isn't greener on the other side; the grass is greener where you water it. 

This quote rolled around my head all through class. It's so true. No matter where we are in ministry, the grass always looks greener on the other side. But in reality, we have spent so much time trying to figure out why their grass looks so much greener that we have forgotten to water our own. This could potentially revolutionize the way that Christians minister. There's always going to be those weeds that we cannot uproot, but we certainly can water our grass anyway.

And lo and behold, Jesus tells us that He is Living Water- now that's the kind of water I want to water my ministry with!

In His Mercy.

C'est la Vie

I haven't written in a while, mostly because I have nothing to say, yet everything in the world to say. I am 15 days away from moving to Georgia. Crazy, right? I am in a place where my time at Asbury is coming to an end- at least the campus part- and a new chapter of life is getting ready to begin. And let me tell you, in all honesty, I am a mess right now. One day I'm fine. The next day I'm indifferent. And then, with little warning, a rush of emotions comes pouring out. Then I go to bed, wake-up, and feel fine. Poor David....having to deal with this;-)

But seriously, I was sitting around this morning, drinking my coffee, and trying to figure out what is so hard about leaving Wilmore. Wilmore is not exactly my favorite place. I realized it's not so much Wilmore, but the experience I have had here. I have a handful of close friends that I have to say goodbye to. I had to say goodbye to the kids at church on wednesday- some of them have been there the whole two years I have volunteered there! Next week I have to say goodbye to the precious kids I have nanny-ed for the past 2+ years. I'm dreading that. God has given me some incredible opportunities here these past 3 years.

So while I am letting go of a lot, I am getting to move towards a life with a man I love so incredibly much. David is probably the greatest blessing in my life and DEFINiTELY the best thing that came out of Asbury for me=)

Here I go....I'm diving deep.....

In His Mercy.

Daughters and Needs

So Wednesday night was yet another stressful night at the church. Don't get me wrong- I love those kids and I love being there. But the stress? That's another story. A frustrating thing happened on the bus with kids before we even got to the church. Some of the older boys love to yell out the windows of the bus. Try as I may, they won't stop. Wednesday night was the final straw. We had pulled into the apartment complex to pick up a slew of our kids. We were parked there and lo and behold, the yelling began. I started hearing things like "Hey girl! Can I have your number?" Ok, these boys are in elementary school!!! Well, all of the sudden they start shutting the windows and sitting down and getting really quiet- very suspicious. This girl's father had climbed over the fence, walked over to the bus, and started telling the driver how we are supposed to be a Methodist church and every week we pull in and those boys start yelling at his daughter and he doesn't think a church should be acting like this. He's absolutely right. My heart sunk in that moment because this is exactly why there are people who are so skeptical of Christians. I also felt horrible because I had all but given up on trying to get those kids to listen to me. This ends next week.....

I also wanted to share the following quote from a book I am reading called The Marriage Builder. "When by simple faith I accept Christ's shed blood as full payment for my sins, I am brought into a relationship with an infinite Being of love and purpose who fully satisfies my deepest needs for security and significance. Therefore I am free from self-centered preoccupation with my own needs; they are met." I must have read this quote about 20 times over and over again. This is a very honest word that I need to hold onto. I am ridiculously in love with my wonderful fiance, but he can't be my everything. The Lord is my everything and only He can fulfill my deepest needs!

In His Mercy.

Random Collection of Thoughts

A lot of random, theological discussions have occurred between my friends and I over the past few weeks. The one that pops into my mind at this moment is about this man from the pacific northwest who is pregnant. By now, I'm sure most people know the story, but here's a quick re-cap: he was born a woman, was a model growing up, but decided that she felt like a man. She started to take testosterone, had some re-construction surgery (got married before all this) and then decided "he" wanted to have a baby- good thing "he" kept "his" ovaries.

So Oprah had him on her show a few weeks ago. The most disturbing thing "he" said was that he always felt that he wasn't "supposed to be a woman." This really, really bothered me. As someone who has a strong grasp on my identity in Christ and what it means to be created in God's image, I cannot accept someone saying that they feel like they weren't supposed to be a woman. If they weren't supposed to be a woman, then God would have created them to be a man. Starr, Rudy, and I got in a discussion about how the church should deal with issues like this. It's something to think about because the reality is that with today's medical procedures, it's pretty easy to accomplish sex changes or any other cosmetic changes. So the question remains: What is the church's role?

Think about it.

In His Mercy.

And the Beat Goes On

It's amazing how crazy life can feel. I'm only taking three classes this semester, but yet find myself scrambling to get things done. I came back from Spring Break on Monday only to realize that I had two assignments due this week that somehow slipped through the cracks. So, I had to take care of that.

Last week David and I went up to Connecticut for 5 days to wedding plan. We got a lot done. I think our run-in at Bed,Bath, and Beyond to do our registry pretty much sums up my life right now. We were standing in front of the wall of kitchen utensils and I got so frustrated and overwhelmed that David and I had to work through some tension. Kitchen utensils....that was my downfall.

I guess I just feel like Wilmore at this point is old news. I'm tired of being here and I'm tired of this whole long distance thing with David. He is what matters most to me (After the Lord, of course) and I can't even be in the same state as him.

The good news is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm beginning to see it. In a little more than a month I'll be packing up my stuff and heading down to Georgia. A line from a Waterdeep song keeps coming to me: "Though the world moves like mad, you O Lord are faithful." Praise God that He is a rock I can stand on and His promises are true!

In His Mercy.