Some overdue thoughts....
(note: I posted this on both blogs, so no one would miss my post)

Alex found a turtle. Alex is Catherine's (the girl I nanny) brother, and he was walking on the wet pavement and saw a little critter in the middle of the road. I cannot tell you the excitement that swept through my veins when I saw the little guy with a brown and yellow shell and his long neck and pointy little nose creeping out of his shell. Oh turtle......how I love thee
Rainy days are good sometimes. When you can stay indoors and watch classic movies with an adorable 6 year old, the rain just isn't so bad.

Life has been hectic. God has been faithful. I almost feel like saying "enough said," but I suppose I should expound a little. Last week and a few days before was the week o' packing and carrying heavy boxes......and it is still NOT over. Will it end?? I suppose it will.....someday. But amidst this fun time, friends have gathered together and helped one another and have had fun, despite trying conditions. People have listened to me whine and drag my feet, and for putting up with me, I give them 500 million thanks. I have been stressed.....really stressed. Yet, opportunities have arisen that are wonderful and scary and exciting all at the same time. It is absolutely amazing how God has worked through Darren and I in Bible study. We have been completely vulnerable and humbled before God so many times this summer, and God has been faithful to answer our prayers. It is beyond my comprehension that so many people have been blessed by this study. I have been challenged by some really tough questions, and I have learned so much about God and my own shortcomings. God has used my trials and my blessings to teach me so much in these past few months. It is all Him. I have been shown exactly how much I need Him in so many ways. The more you learn about God and how holy and perfect He is, the more you realize both how far we are from Him in our own nature, and also how close we are to Him through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord.

I am talking to Jeremy at the Artisan today. I really want this job. A huge part of me is so nervous because I want this job so badly. It is extremely possible that I won't get it. If I don't get the job, that is not where God is leading me. Please pray for me. Pray that I will realize God's will in whatever outcome that occurs.

Also, I am starting to really miss my friends who aren't here. I started to name most of them, and then I didn't want to leave anyone out, so I stopped. You know who you are. Know that I love you. If you are reading this blog, you are probably one of them. Though I may not have kept the best contact with you this summer, I am thinking and praying for you. I am getting sad thinking about this, and so I'm going to stop going on about it.....
To Whitney, I love you more than you know. I am sorry for neglecting you. I have not meant to at all. I tried to call. I want to know all about Seattle. ALL about Seattle......... I MISS you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was a much-needed blog. I just needed to get my thoughts out. There are so many more floating around my head, but these are some of them.

Oh, and one more thing.....our life as Christians equals Christ. Our lives are not separated into sacred and profane once God takes ahold of us. I was really convicted yesterday at the Crossing about this very thought. I want to be courageous. I want to live my life for Christ, being completely willing to die and completely wanting to live my life to its fullest for God at the same time. Darren talked about God's passion for us in Bible study last week. We are His passion. He died for ALL of us, so that we could spend eternity with Him. I don't know about you, but that very thought makes me want to run even harder after Christ. It makes me love Him even more, not out of obligation, but because He has taken ahold of my soul. Seeing just a glimpse of God's greatness is enough to make everything else pale in comparison. That is why we have a passion for Christ. Because we know that there is nothing else in this world and beyond that even comes close to Him. He is our God. He LOVES us. I come back to that statement over and over again, and I am still in awe.

Philipians 1:21, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (NAS)