The Move

As many of you know, we just moved back to Miami, Florida. We had one week scheduled with the truck to move everything into an apartment we had to find. Fun, huh? Not so much. We left Monday at noon after packing up the truck with the help of some wonderful friends (Thank you guys again!!!). Then lost an hour b/c of the time difference. After enduring 60 mph winds, a hail storm, along with severe thunder and lightning in Georgia, we arrived safely in West Palm Beach at 3am. Those last 30 min. felt like 4 hours.

We spent the night at my mommy-in-law's house. We awoke to amazing omelette's and fresh fruit salad. Then, set off to Miami to see my family and find a place to live.

By Wednesday, I was frustrated because we didn't have a place to move into. Meanwhile, God was being the amazing God He is...I had three job offers (still don't know which one to pick). Then, when I was at the point of frustration ready to throw in the towel (mind you, this was only 3 days after we moved), we find the perfect condo. We saw it, loved it and placed the offer to the landlady for it. She accepted it and we moved in the next day. Then on Friday we returned the truck (a day before it was due).

We still have boxes everywhere in the condo, but for the most part have it set up the way we want it. I still have to pick a job by Monday and we need to find a church. But overall, the Lord is amazing and has led us and provided for us every step of the way, despite my impatience and frustration.

Truth Seeker

I am a truth seeker. I strive to know the fullness of the Lord, his grace and his love. I want to understand his Word with all that is in me. However, the Bible is a HARD book!!!

There are several times where I have read a verse and even memorized it, but it wasn't until years later that I read that verse again and it meant something to me. It's as if the Holy Spirit reveals something new everytime I read His Word. It's facinating really, but at the same time...so frustrating when I can't quite grasp the hard stuff.

It's not that I don't understand the verse, it's that I don't understand how it reflects Jesus or His purpose for the Church. I just want to interpret the Word of God the way it was intended to be understood and not changed or interpreted to make it more comfortable for my lifestyle. Being a Christ follower is not about comfort or tolerance. It IS about love. It's about going agaist the grain...about not conforming to the world, but being light and salt.

Through several conversations with different individuals over the past few weeks, I've discovered that the more I strive to know God, the more I realize I know nothing! I come to him with an open heart and desiring to know Him more, hoping He continues to reveal His truth to me at the right time in my life.

I know there's only so much our minds can comprehend about God, but I have so many questions. Some I know he'll answer, and others I think I won't know until I'm face-to-face with Him on that future date.

This blog is a very loaded one with a ton of underlying questions. This is simply me right now in my continuing spiritual journey with the Lord.

Friendship that lasts

This weekend I visited one of my best friends from college in Columbus, Ohio. Only for a friend would I drive 5 1/2 hours each way =p. Even though it was only a 2 1/2-day trip, it was enough of a refill on our friendship.

We're not high maintenance friends. We email each other about once a week on the current happenings in each other's life and text when it's something a little more urgent (like prayer for something). Because neither of us are phone people, it works for us. But when we're together, all we have to do is talk and we're enjoying ourselves. No need to find something to do to entertain ourselves, or places to go so we don't get bored with each other. In fact, everywhere we went, we would sit down and just talk for hours.

For me, that's friendship. We are loyal to each other and most importantly, we edify each other and challenge one another to grow spiritually or think beyond what we normally would. This weekend was a spiritual renewal in a way. Both of us are at that point in our lives that we're sick of "playing church". Because we both relate to one another, we feed off of the spiritual growth and knowledge of the other.

I love hearing her point of view and realize how alike we are and how different at the same time. I love to learn from her and see how her life has led her to where she is and how the Lord continues shaping her views and life. It's a beautiful thing to see friendship grow and see how the Lord is working in a friend's life and walk with Him.

It only hit me this weekend that we've been close friends for almost 5 years. During that time, she's been an inspiration to me and helped me in more ways that I can thank her. She's an amazing friend that not only makes me laugh more than anyone else, but helps me grow spiritually and really think outside of my comfort zone.

I thank the Lord for friendship and for friends like her. Wish I could have her closer by, but this is how it is...for now =)Love you Heath!!!

Hired!

WOW!!! All I can begin saying is wow! God is amazing. In the midst of this economy and downsizing and hiring freezes, I get hired! It simply captivates me how God's love and provision are so real and at times tangible.

As I recently blogged, we felt the Lord leading us back to South Florida. We're moving the first week of July back (possible end of June) and we had been looking for employment for about a month. But as many of you can testify, finding employment in one place when you're living in an entirely different state is incredibly difficult.

Nonetheless, we knew that if the Lord was calling us back there, he would open the doors and provide our for our needs. I had been looking for a teaching position, but due to the fact that I do not have certification, it became increasingly frustrating and difficult to find the right school. Then, out of curiosity, I went to my old school's website and noticed they were hiring an English teacher for the 2009-2010 school year. I couldn't believe God's sense of humor and I just laughed when I saw that because I said I'd never go back (once again...never say never).

So, I told my husband and mom that I was NOT going to apply. They both told me I should and see what the Lord would do with that. Long story short, I applied, interviewed by phone, and accepted the position this morning. I can't begin to explain how excited I am. I am anticipating what the Lord is going to do and how He is going to use me to minister to these students.

The Lord never ceases to amaze me when I ask him for anything and he supplies beyond what I can imagine. I was originally going to blog about something completely different, but I felt the need to testify about God's amazing provision!

Now we're just waiting for Lucas' job, but we know the Lord well enough to wait on Him, because he's got it all under control.

Moving back home

When I moved to Tennessee, I didn't know what to expect. I definitely didn't think I'd fall in love with it so soon. After only a month, I knew I wanted to live here forever; however, my husband did not agree. He liked it, but did not love it.

I tried to convince him week after week to see all the advantages of living here...the beauty, the trees, the seasons, our church, the people, the traffic (or lack of), the laid back lifestyle...etc. I figured with what he loves, this would be a perfect fit, but it wasn't until March that I realized it was never going to happen.

In March, we went down to Miami/West Palm Beach to visit all of our family. The second we landed he said "we're home". Mind you, his least favorite place of all was Miami, and all of a sudden he missed it. Odd how things play out.

I then realized I married a fish. All he was talking about was how much he missed the ocean, the lakes in every corner and boating. I didn't want to admit it to him at the time, but I too felt like I was home. I was so torn because I never wanted to move back and I really loved Tennessee, especially living in Franklin, but there's just something about South Florida.

It didn't take me long during our vacation to realize what I dreaded - we were moving back. I told him under NO circumstance would we move to the crowded, over populated city of Miami or even Ft. Lauderdale or West Palm for that matter. We would go to Central Florida.

But of course, never say never...Miami here we come. It's bittersweet really. I'm going to miss our friends and church family and of course my family, but I'm really happy to go home. It's the first time in awhile I've said that.

I know the Lord's hand is in this. We prayed for a long time before making this decision and we're pretty confident we're on the right track. Everytime we've asked for confirmation making sure we're heading in the right direction, we've received it. So...I'm happy, excited even, to see what the Lord has for us in Miami.

Change of temperature, one season year round, completely different cultures, lots of traffic, fast-paced lifestyle...polar opposites, but I still love it here! And looking forward to being close to family again =)

Standarized Exams

I'm currently studying for the FTCE Exam which is a subject area exam for Teaching in the State of Florida. Well...as you can tell, I've taken a break to write and I've nearly just begun.

I despise standardized exams with a great passion. I have great disdain towards schools and institutions that rate you based on your SAT, GRE, GMAT, PSAT, LSAT score or any other standardized exams.

Why do I feel so adamant about this? I am a terrible standardized exam tester. I can ace an exam in a heartbeat within the classroom, but place me for 4+ hours in a sterile room with a calculator, pencil and paper (or a computer nowadays) with a supervisor that hates that fact that he/she is there, and you've created a disaster situation for me. You never really know what to study, and you stress out regardless....not to mention it's soooooo long!

I think a student should be "graded" by your GPA score. Why? Because that shows longevity and consistency over a period of time. It shows that there was a lot of time and energy put into making it as high as possible. But standardized exams?!?!? I know people who are brilliant, but lazy in the classroom and never do any homework. They have low grades and an even lower GPA, but when they take a standardized exam, they get high scores! That's so frustrating.

On a different note, I really hope I pass this the first time so I don't have to take this 4 hour and 20 minute exam again. Just thought I could vent at the same time =p

In Spite of Me

My mind has been on overdrive for the past two weeks. So much to think about that I hadn't even worried about the week before. All of this happened during and after my trip to South Florida.

Thoughts of moving, relocating, career changes, and basically a new life have completely enveloped my mind.

I've always struggled with trying not to worry and take control of my life. I know in my heart I want to trust the Lord with everything, but that doesn't always translate to my mind and actions. I want to know who, what, when, where, and how anytime I make a big decision, especially moving. Moving to Tennessee was like that. I knew where we would love, what we would do, and had a pretty good idea of our life.

But of course, as it always happens in my life, now that I'm comfortable and have a scheduled life that is planned out and the way I like it - change is looming nearby.

Now, if we do move, I have no clue what to expect, where to go, what to do. I think God likes it like that because I have to really rely solely on him. I hate when He does that to me....but at the same time, I always feel my faith stretching and growing.

So, as much as I dislike the unknown, I know that as the daughter of the King of Kings, I'm in good hands and He's got it all under control, in spite of me.