Life musings part 2

I love to travel.

Did you know that?

Why am I the way that I am? Where did this itch to explore stem from? My childhood vacations were spent in Seattle, returning home to our extended family or on Florida road trips camping and the like. My dad has never been out of the country; Granny barely made it out of Florida.

Maybe part of the desire to GO was instilled in my soul from a dear family friend who treated my sister and I as one of her many grandchildren. Each Christmas and birthday, she gave us gifts from whatever country she had visited that year, usually with a picture or accompanying explanation. I was always intrigued by the places she visited... Maybe this is where my interest was piqued to begin with? Then there were rare stories told by my mom of her youthful days spent traveling Europe, and a phenomenal Spanish teacher who infused our lessons with applicable knowledge of other cultures.

My first trip was right after graduation with our Spanish classes, to England, France and Spain. There were two types of people in this group... Those who were hesitant to try new things... Who found comfort in frequenting McDonald's and complained about "not another museum!" And then there were those who snuck away from the group as much as possible. Fortunately I found myself in the latter. I left the group to explore the louvre by myself, finding myself move at random works by artists I've never heard of. I snuck away to explore the grounds of a castle in France, chancing upon what I dubbed a "secret garden" of sorts that still sticks out in my memory. With a friend, we left to climb down to stand next to the waves crashing on the rocks on the coast of France... And again in Barcelona, figuring out the bus system to lay out at the beach (no one technically told us we couldn't leave Las Ramblas...)

I love people. I love to hear their life stories, how their cultures differ from my own. I am so thankful for the opportunities that have presented themselves in order for me to experience even a minuscule portion of this world. My hope is for God to use the "gifts" so to speak, that make me, well, me, both here at home and abroad.

Life musings

On a flight to Seattle, sitting next to a sweet couple who shared they've been married for 53 years and are about to embark on an Alaskan cruise together. The lady to my right just pounded her second margarita.

And I, two days after returning home from a phenomenal vacay, hopped right back onto a plane to spend the next two weeks with my sister gallivanting through the woods and various breweries.
My mind is in such a sweet place; rather than anxiety over the big move, I'm at peace for this next phase of life. Filled with excitement and hope that God is preparing the perfect place for Michael and I. My prayer is for our relationships with the Lord and each other would grow during this time, that we would throw ourselves into making the most out of the months ahead. This chapter is ending, and who knows what's in store for the future? I'll take each day, one at a time, and fill it with only joyful things. Thats the goal, at least. I'll have the best school year yet and love on my coworkers and students recklessly. I'll create an extensive Goodbye For Now, Florida bucket list and try my best to check them all off. I won't worry about what's going to happen to the house and the dog and will I be able to work where we are going and how can I possibly function without the proximity of my family and friends and will I hate where we are going will there be air conditioning will I contract food borne illnesses and what if it's smelly and dirty and impoverished and will I make new friends and was this the right decision after all??

Simply going to live in the moment.

Sweet littles

My sister and her family decided to come spend the week with us in st auggie. We had such a fun time... And I certainly ate my weight in junk food. Not good seeing as I'm leaving the country tomorrow and am planning on eating my way through the next two weeks...

So much for weight watchers.

But anyways, so glad to have spent the time with my sweet littles. They were a blast!!

Kristin and Rachel's Day of Fun

On a whim we decided to trek to Gainesville to float down the Ichetucknee and eat lunch at Satchel's. These are two of my favorite things to do in life. Mike would argue that I say everything is my favorite, but this REALLY is. The Itchmetouchme is serene-- we were a little chilly because it was overcast but it was worth it.

And Satchel's? Ohhhhh Satchel's...

I would quit my job and work there or move into the van. Or eat it everyday. There's nothing like it... I ordered an extra pizza for leftovers and slapped a Satchel's bumper sticker on the truck. Real classy.

As for this weekend, my older sister Tanya and her family are staying. We are celebrating my mom's bday as well as father's day, and Lynn Johnson was gracious enough to book her condo for us for the weekend. On the beach. What what?

So fun!

Sweet words

When school is in session, I tend to neglect the most important role that I should be nurturing the most. Stress and hopelessness and feeling like nothing I do matters should challenge me to pursue Christ harder, to figure out the 'why' behind my life, yet I usually allow my mind to be swallowed up in self-pity and the monotony of life. 

And then summer arrives. 

There's something so sweet about starting my days off quietly journaling and contemplating life, so to speak. I'm able to take a step back and catch a mere glimpse of how God sees me, whole and complete and so worthy to live out this life that He's blessed me with. My devo this morning (PS-- it's "Jesus Calling." I have NEVER found a devotional that I've actually liked, but this one is phenomenal. I think it was written for me...) began and ended with:

I am creating something new in you: a bubbling spring of Joy that spills over into others' lives... Enjoy my Presence, which permeates you with Love, Joy and Peace. 

I was so moved by these words! I've always made it a goal to find joy in the little things and to let negativity roll off, but this year I lost that. I allowed myself to become judgmental, prideful, angry... but I'm already finding myself being healed from the hurt of last year and able to look forward to next year. That last day of school-I was done. Ready for a new school, career, whatever to get me out of the place I was in. But, I'm already feeling hope for this new year, that what I do at that school DOES matter, that God has given me a unique calling to bring his Joy to middle schoolers. As soon as it got rough, I was ready to bail... but what if this next year is different? What if I spend this summer with God, building up strength and endurance and delve myself whole heartedly into this next year with His purpose in mind? I believe this next year could be the best yet. 

I'll leave you with scripture the scripture that prompted this post:

Galatians 5:22-26 (The Message)

What happens when we live God's way?

     He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard- things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

     Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good- crucified.

     Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in or hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. 

     Diego and his BFF Bandit playing at the beach. D's still knocked-out exhausted.