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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

waking up to perfection.

so i have no internet at my house and the library is usually closed by the time i get out of work which makes the whole blogging thing difficult...also i forgot my camera plug in so i can't even upload pictures yet. :-(

but i just want to say i am the luckiest person in the world!
at first i wondered what i had gotten myself into...but each day i am trying new things, meeting new people and just pushing myself to go above and beyond anything i have ever been before. this summer will undoubtedly leave me changed...

it is finally hitting 80 today which is awfully hot to work in...but we get to take a few swim breaks throughout the day now which i can definitely live with :-) i am developing lasting friendships with everyone i work with too...callie and kara are the two girls i work with and two (of the 9) girls i live with...in just one month we have come to feel so comfortable with each other! they are amazing girls and make being up here and away from all my best friends totally bareable. i also work with 7 guys and our work days have just become a ton of fun! we are always joking around and playing dumb little games to pass the time but it feels good to be with so many random people and feel so comfortable. there are people from all over michigan and all over the nation working with me...we are all completely different and yet we are such great friends. it is a beautiful thing to be a part of and something that gives me a greater hope as i will leave and continue in life making new relationships.

besides the people there is the beautiful sunsrets...the stars...the lake...the ice cream :-) there are just so many things i get to do up here that i would never be able to do back home...as much as it stinks to work it is completely worth it and every day that i am up here i am more and more reassured that this is exactly where God wants me to be. i am growing in ways i never thought i would and realizing a lot of things about myself that i'm not sure i would have if i had continued living the "normal" life i have been.

being away is still hard though and i miss everyone everyday.
praying and thinking of everyone always! <3

Friday, June 6, 2008

seek ye first.

i have been up north for almost 3 weeks now. the work is becoming more routine, but no less demanding. it is the first manual labor job i have ever had and it is completely draining. each day we just come home and fall into bed only to wake up at 6am the next day to do it all again.

but for the first time in my life i am in a place completely alone. but every single day i am guaranteed a chance to see lake michigan and every time i do God takes my breath away. being up here is the first time that i have been forced to trust in God alone. i have no friends or family surrounding me, no comfortable church or pastors faces reminding me of his grace. no Christians surrounding me in my workplace. just me and God.

but because my life has become so quieted of all busyness and running around i have come to realize just how loud God's voice really is. after stripping away all that was caked onto my life and faith i am finally making strides with God. God's glory is being revealed to me through his quieting love and faithfulness. in each one of those take your breath away moments God taking me to a point when words are not enough. when i can't describe the love i feel because it is so much bigger than me and so i just soak it all in.

in driving around up north and then in driving home this weekend i am beginning to feel a sense of excitement and contentment for any place i may be. in the past week i have been exploring the ways that God reveals his glory and i am getting into the habit of looking for it in every circumstance. God's glory is revealed in the precious conversations i have been able to have while away...in the fear that i have in this life changing experience but also in the fear i have for God's power.

i read a story talking about how a soldier goes through boot camp and training to be retrained in the way they think. they are broken down and built back up so that their whole mindset is no longer for themselves...they develop a sense of awe and complete respect for their commanding officers and drill sergeants. and this is completely necessary, because until a soldier is so in awe of the people above them they are putting themselves and their fellow soldiers in danger. the same is true with God. until we have broken down and succumbed to our own will and desires and are in complete awe of our maker we are not going to be able to follow Him wherever he may lead.

there is so much more i have been learning and i will have to save it and write more later. but please send me letters and make sure you put a return address on them because i would love to write you back! i have limited internet time so i'm trying to write a lot more! :-)

9296 Esch Rd.
Honor, MI 49640