one week down?

it's so hard to believe that my first week at work is already over! c-r-a-z-y! it has been a crazy week...here's a quick recap...


-Christmastime is here...ok, so not really, but it's kind of felt like it this week. an office, a computer, a work phone, an official email address, free food, new friends...while some of these things may seem like nothing to get excited over (like an office), they have each been very exciting for me. seeing as how i have spent 2 summers in a costume closet, 2 semesters @ CPS as a transient intern moving every few weeks to a new office, and a semester at a dining room table as a desk, i see having a real office with a real desk as a significant improvement.


-i need a better memory...or maybe i just need to remember how to use the one God gave me. i have met SO many people this week at the care center and at church and i think i might remember like 10 of them's names...remembering names is so difficult for me in the beginning. so, i've taken to marking people in the pictoral directory everytime i meet someone. i have tags going EVERYWHERE on that thing. this weekend my goal is to make flashcards with the care center volunteers so that i can quiz myself. btw i am so glad that we're making a new directory---it's hard to remember people's names/faces when their picture isn't in the directory!


-overwhelming...the good kind of overwhleming and the not so good kind of overwhelming. there have been multiple times this week when i have thought, "what the heck am i doing here??" it's at these times that God speaks directly to my heart and says "but I have you here for a reason. you CAN do this. you were CREATED for this." and the feelings of being overwhelmed go away a little bit. then there is the good kind of overwhelming---being welcomed to a new town and family with open arms. there have been so many times when i have been on the verge of tears because of the awesomeness of my new "family" here. during vbs this week, the kids have gone to a service/missions class each day and part of what they have been doing is appreciating the volunteers/teachers by making them little treats or writing notes or something and putting them in folders in the hallway. i got to have a folder because i spoke in the missions class one day and today as i was going through my goodies, there was the sweetest note from one of the teenagers. she talked about how she was glad that i was here and that she knew God had great things in store for me here and she was looking forward to getting to know me. it's times like those that i know that God has me here for a reason, a reason for me to learn to fly here.

so, that's just a quick recap of the week...it's been wonderful...a little overwhelming, but wonderful. learning to fly is hard work, but i know that the view from the sky is going to be spectacular.

title explanation

so i've returned to the blogging world. some of my friends have begun similar blogs about "life after graduation" so i thought i too would jump on the bandwagon. i have attempted blogging several other times in life but never been quite successful, so maybe the fourth time will be the charm...:)

anyway, on to the reason for this post...a little bit of explanation about the title of my blog...

last night at church, Rick was talking about how we are all created by God to do something before we even have breath---that we are set apart to do something special by God and that He is most honored and glorified when those purposes are lived out in our lives. he used the illustration of a mama bird and baby birdies in a nest when it is time for the babies to learn to fly and how the mama bird pushes the birds out of the nest and makes the babies learn to fly this way. i love this illustration because i kind of feel like this is what life is like---that i'm being forced out of the nest and having to rapidly flap my wings to see if i can fly, if i can make it on my own. i know that just like the baby birds were created to fly, i was set apart for this---for community ministry and missions---that this is what God created me to do. yet, it is terrifying. just like those little birdies must be terrified as they head out of the nest, this new life is terrifying to me. will i fly? will i drop to the ground? will i live up to what God has called me to do? will i disappoint my Creator? so all of that to say, this blog will be about my journey as i am pushed out of the nest and learn to fly. it's not always going to be easy, but i believe it will be worth it as i become the person God created me to be.