All grown up

So today I became an adult.  I am all grown up with a mortgage. 

Going to the chapel.....

.....and Scott and Susanne are getting married!!!!

This is the 6th wedding I have been a bridesmaid.  It was beautiful!  I am so excited for them and the life they have together!  Love you Sus!

Surprise Visitor

I was surprised today at my office!  Amy stopped by to see my new digs and to say hi!  It was such a blessing!

I feel like a freshmen all over again.

Today I feel like a freshmen myself.  The first day of school....not sure what will happen and who you will meet.  Will anyone like me?  Will I do okay? 

Today I start a new job.  It's totally a blessing, but I am nervous too.  I hope that I can do a good job and connect with my students.  I hope they show up! 

I am nervous, but probably not as nervous as the REAL freshmen I am going to meet!  I think I'm ready....deep breath and here we go!!!!

Uncle Jake

I had a great time today with my brothers and family celebrating my Uncle Jake's life.  It was very surreal being back in the church, though.  The last time I was there we were saying goodbye to my daddy. 

Uncle Jake was full of spunk, humor, and love.  He will be truly missed.

Rest in Peace

Lost my great-aunt Louise today.  She was the older sister of my nanny.  I have a lot of funny memories of Aunt Louise.  She was one of those ladies that said what was on her mind whether you wanted to hear it or not. 

She was 84 years old.

Changes, Changes, Changes

First, if you are reading this (instead of hearing it in person), I am sorry! It was not intentional in any way! It’s just happened fast, and I choose this medium for no other reason that it will reach the majority of people who need to know! (Also, there is a tag limit. Not being tagged doesn't mean I didn't want you to know!)

The short story is I have accepted a job at the University of Oklahoma and start August 10. If you want the long story, keep reading.

It will be no surprise to most of you reading this, I have had a rough couple years. God has been teaching me a lot of hard lessons in trust and security--mostly by walking me through the loss of these things. Recently He prompted events in my life that have led me to prayerfully beg for direction and understanding.

In the last month and a half, I have been asking God a lot of questions about where HE wants me. After much prayer and council, I came to a place of peace that the immediate future included a new job. This was hard because I love my job, my co-workers, and my ministry. However, I felt as if God gave me a little push toward the door and told me “I have something new for you, trust Me.” So I did.

After prayerfully pursing several paths, I was lead to the current decision. Decision one was accepting the job I did which created a collateral, secondary decision of staying in Norman.

I applied/interview at several places including Tulsa, OKC, Dallas, and Norman areas. It was narrowed down to two choices—Dallas and OU. There are a lot of cool answers to prayers in all of this I wish I could explain in writing. If you want to hear them, ask me! Anyway, it was clear the OU job was for me.

I accepted the position of “Student Programming Specialist” in the Graduation Office at the University of Oklahoma. That is a fancy term for helping at-risk freshmen adjust to new intellectual standards, find new social relationships, and make appropriate decisions about significant events.

This program is brand new, and I am excited to be in on this ground-floor program. Since it is a new position how it will “look” is still being formed. I should be assigned roughly 30+ students to mentor weekly and on a 1-on-1 basis. I also see the eternal significance of this job. Although it will be a secular, university environment, I’m really excited to bring a spiritual mind-set to the job. OU will be paying me to positively influence freshmen, most of which probably won’t be believers. That excites me!! Please pray that I can truly impact these students lives while they are at OU, but more than that, have an eternal impact in their lives!

One of the other exciting parts to this new job is half-priced tuition. I have goals to start working on a masters degree in Human Relations. OU has an amazing program designed for those with full time jobs…take classes on weekends and work your way through at your own pace. So I want to start that in the spring or fall of next year. ☺

Now, Norman. Since I knew God called me to stay in Norman, I needed to figure out where to live! So, along with my new job, I am going to try to buy a house. PLEASE pray for this! It scares me to death to make such a huge commitment. I also know it makes sense too. Pray God will lead me to the perfect house, that I will make wise decisions, and wait on His peace and timing in all of this!!!

Finally, I will be staying at my church. I’d previously committed to helping start a new ministry through my church that will help college graduates transition into the “real world.” Because I will be here, I can still do that. I am super excited about that. Between my job and this ministry, I guess God calling me to a “transitions” ministry!

I am excited and have seen God walk me through things in ways I can’t express. It has not at all been easy or tear-free…..but as the Psalmist writes in 126:5, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." He also writes in 145:9, "The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made!"

SO that is an update on me. As things progress, I will be updating! Thanks for your love, prayers, friendship, and support.