Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Free

With bags nearly packed, possessions disbursed, and feeling chock-full of great memories from THREE going away parties thrown by my amazingly stunning friends... I'm ready to hit the road. The question is, where to? First to Texas for a week of vacation with my family. After that, I'm rather unsure. There is a high likelihood that I will be going to some city in California, but applying for travel nursing positions has not been nearly as seamless or simple as I thought it would be. Most hospitals want 2 years of NICU experience, which I don't have. Regardless, tomorrow I will have a phone interview that could land me a 13-week position either in San Diego or Modesto. If the interview doesn't go well, perhaps I'll just point the car in a direction and see where I end up. HA:). This is fun. I've been asked about a thousand times if I feel nervous at all, and I suppose I really should. But there's none of that. I have such a peace about leaving that even though I don't know where I'm going, it's ok. God knows where I will end up, and that's enough. But I would appreciate your prayers! I'll keep you posted as I travel.

"For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living." Psalm 116:8-9

Monday, July 28, 2008

Scattered

Something deep within me screams for beauty
Its appearance in the oddest of places
Suddenly with the coming of sun after rain
In Charlie's face... Charlie with down syndrome
Discovered today: a scrap of paper loaded with memories
Of a year past.
In church with a best friend on either side
Fighting tears at the safety of such a thing.
Her eleventh week of a longed-for pregnancy
The fear of it
The joy
Imagine little fingers and toes.
We need rain God!
Please send rain.
Leaving the grocery store:
"Can you spare some change?"
Startled. Rare here.
An empty wallet save for $3 and some change
Hardly anything
"Every little bit helps"... the response
What can anyone do except
Every little bit
As hard as possible
For Jesus.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Tingly with Excitement!!!

The last week has been a crazy one... I put in my two weeks' notice at Meritcare (which was very difficult... I LOVE my coworkers) and began making preparations to leave Fargo. God has been challenging me in many ways regarding the 'stuff' I have accumulated, and teaching me to hold possessions very loosely. He is definitely asking me to "put my money where my mouth is" to borrow the phrase. I am trying earnestly to be obedient and the more I am, the more freedom and joy that I feel. All I really need is HIM! In early August my family is going camping in Texas, and I'll fly directly from there to California to take my first travel nursing assignment. It will be 8 weeks and a lot of work, but I'm excited!! Since travel nursing assignments are only 8 weeks, there will be plenty of amazing opportunities to travel... like the opportunity to spend 4 weeks in Africa in October!!! I'm seriously praying about doing that. The thought of being in Africa again gives me so many excited butterflies in my stomach that I've hardly been able to eat anything the past couple of days. I've kept in touch with several friends in South Africa who are part of an organization called Ten Thousand Homes (www.tenthousandhomes.org) and God is doing some amazingly sa-weet stuff. I'd like to visit them for a few days to check it out, then head up to Mozambique... where I am quite sure I left my heart. Maybe I'll find it and if I do, I'll let you know:).

Though I am excited about the news things on the horizon, the biggest challenge of leaving is saying goodbye to the amazing friendships I have here. God has blessed my socks off, that is for sure. I'll miss the coziness of having such dear friends so close at hand. The other day Isaac's babysitter was sick, so I got to hang out with him while Tiffany was at work. I'll miss things like that. We had a GREAT time! Here are some pics...





Does Jazz like Reeses Puffs?! Yup.


Isaac wanted to make sure that I got a picture with Jazz too:).


Here he wanted me to take a picture of Jazz's butt:). We laughed about that for a while.




CUTE!!!!