Arrived :-)

Wow. So this is my third official day living in texas.
Mckinney, texas.

I'm applying for about 5 different jobs today(cross your fingers for me!).
My pad is sa-weet! Seriously. I love it already. I know at this point it's really unrealistic dreaming, but i went to benjamin moore today to get an application, and ended up walking out the door with color swatches. AMAZING COLOR SWATCHES!
teal, ocean blue, seascape, burnt orange, and dark blue and purple, and gold-y yellows(not the gaudy tacky ones though).

I managed to almost entirely paint my side table yesterday, and i'm not going to lie, you want it.

I've spent lots of time with Jason & BR, Albert and Teresa. As Bonnie Ruth says, Jason and Albert are like a married old couple-albeit highly entertaining.
We talked about what all of this will look like, and where I fit, and what's their plans.
WE'RE STARTING A CHURCH! AND I LOVE THAT I'M DOING THIS WITH THESE PEOPLE!

ok. I promise I won't capitalize any more complete sentences. maybe fragments though... it makes them seem like a more legitimate sentence. Don't ask.

My passion is really connecting with teens and young adults and just doing life with them. Letting people see that God is not religion, or tradition, or some guy upstairs that never comes down to relate to us, or see things from our perspective. I want to communicate how RELEVANT God is to every day we live, every challenge, every joy, ever tear, every thought. That He is real AND relational.

So i went to the pool last night and hung out with a few people, that I met when I got there. Got offered some beer (always a good idea when swimming), and I'm pretty sure some quality weed.

I met Chris, Jack, John, Cindy, Heather, Lily, and Lauren. All of them are hilarious. John is 40 and knows everything(although when he's telling you, you're pretty sure it's probably not true), with a heavy accent like the leopard-speedo-wearing guy in king of the hill.
Jack is fresh out of the penn. 6 day stretch. hard time.

Lily and Lauren are beautiful, amazing girls, 19 and 18.
Chris is about 26, and keenly interested in Beer. Any form. He and John share a keen interest in the cops that patrol at the time the pool closes, and the one that lets you stay longer because he lives there. I swear they said his name was OSCAR MEYER, turns out it's just officer Meyer. And it was a close call, because I almost started singing the song, which can be dangerous in a group of people you do not know.

Cindy pokes fun at John's supposed but really lacking complete knowledge of everything. They've been married a few years.
So that has been the past few days.

My roomie gets here this coming weekend I believe, so I'm excited, but it's been nice to have everything to myself.

Scatter-speak

I leave tomorrow morning.

This still feels big, but oddly there's not alot of anticipation; i just want to be there, and have the whole process done. It feels normal to be there.

Saying goodbye at work was hard; a few co-workers cried, i got half a dozen cards signed by everyone, gifts...these people are jewels.
People are jewels, if we're patient enough to wipe off the clay and find out.

I found a new roomie, and her name is Dawn, and she'll be getting there a week and a half after I do.
This is right, I can feel it.
My Dad asked me if there were times I wanted to quit and felt justified in doing so, what would I do. I said stay. unless God gives me new direction, this is what he said, even when it's uncomfortable, or maddening, or stressful. If something never felt that way, I would honestly wonder if it was really what God wanted me to do; of course it's going to be hard, that's why it's worth it.

End of rabbit trails.

A friend.

Sometimes when life is chaotic and full and insane, when your mind never stops bouncing from thing to thing that could stress you out (but you're carefully choosing not to let them;-), it's so comforting to have that friend that just....de-complicates everything.

That friend that listens, maybe makes a small joke, and helps you to see that a few mole hills do not equal a mountain, is so very valuable.

It's easy to lose focus of the "big picture" and get caught up in the web of detail and forget our purpose and our direction. We get tangled and all twisted about, and we shout, 'I'm drowning!' while standing in 2" of water. And this friend, this friend gives us a little towel and tells us to walk across the bridge already.

Thank God for this friend.