I wish I could live under this umbrella... 

Life is getting a little bit less dreamy here.  I am still 100% excited to be living in Orlando and getting to serve the Lord here through ministry and school.  I am having a blast getting to know the students of CFL Wesley and trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. But... those sneaky little desires that have lived like little hobbits stowed away in my heart for years and years are getting antsy.  There's something about being in a place where everything is new and exciting- it's distracting.  Unfortunately, living in a state of constant newness would not be healthy or even fun after a while.  The past couple days have been "hard" ones.  I hate to say they've been hard because I feel like I'm whining, but in my heart I have felt uneasy and restless.  I miss my family, the freshmen staff, River Point, being comfortable.  Reality is setting in, and though I still feel very called to be exactly where I am, I am seeing more and more that this season is not about me ministering to freshmen or about me learning to be a counselor.  This is a season for the Lord to really capture my heart if I'm willing.  He has removed the easy hiding places I have so often run to.  Those nooks don't exist here.  I am feeling very exposed before the Lord these days, and there's a scared peacefulness that bubbles up in my heart.  I trust God to move in me for the good of His kingdom, but that stirring could take me places I never planned to go.  

I'll leave you with a quote from a book I'm re-reading... Better Than My Dreams by Paula Rinehart (great book!)

"I want to suggest that it's just these places in your experiences- where dreams and expectations don't work out- that you are being issued the invitation of your life. Disappointment is, strangely enough, a doorway to the real adventure. It's the point where you start to leave behind most of your notions of how your story should read- and enter your relationship with God as a journey.  A true journey, one that's wild and adventurous and not anywhere close to predictable."