For Sloan

Saying that this post is overdue is an understatement. But thankfully, Sloan called me out and here I am, on a Sunday night at my work computer (more explanation on that to come) typing out a belated blog post on my life.

Some highs in my life:

-I finally moved into an apartment at the foot of Signal Mountain! I will dedicate a WHOLE post to that this coming week with pictures and all!

-I bought a new phone--a Samsung Captivate. I could not do it justice, but I LOVE this phone. I am on my phone 24/7. Whether it's texting, phone calls, checking emails, or looking something up (or playing a game), my students consume most of my phone time so I decided to get a phone worthy of using so much.

-School is in full swing for the kids and I think I'm finally starting to get into a routine. As I said in my last post, this is a 24/7 kind of a job so I do breakfasts at least 3 days a week, but get the chance to go back to the apartment to nap if I will be with students until sundown. I love the flexibility.

Some things that I wouldn't necessarily call lows because life has been great, but some realities I've been facing:

-My job is hard in the way that life is hard. I am living life with these girls and life gets a little bumpy from time to time. Think back to middle school; everything was a big deal. I hear about the "she said, he said" tiffs, but I also hear about the divorces that these girls are going through or have gone through, the heartbreaks of boyfriends, the questions when something in life happens that just doesn't seem to make sense. Those are the moments in my job that I realize I need God the most. And so do they.

-Ministry is not a job for the weak of heart. I'm still the new kid around here and I mess up more than I want to admit to. And I have to learn to step up, apologize, and learn from my mistakes. That's a harder pill to swallow some days than it is for others.

-Making time for friends my age/realizing that my weekends are more like Fridays (sometimes) and Saturdays (sometimes). Being back in town for Sunday mornings can make for a tight weekend schedule if I ever want to get out of Chattanooga.

I am planning on getting a new laptop AND new car in the next few months, will be settled into my apartment AND my office at the church hopefully by the end of this week (maybe even get my TN drivers license too?), and will never plan on being caught up on sleep again. :) I am so blessed and that's definitely not a statement that I say lightheartedly.

I just realized late last week that September 23, 2009 was the day I packed up and headed north for Chattanooga so that makes me an official Chattanoogan for a whole year now. This past year has been the CRAZIEST of my life but the fact that this is where God has me now, it's all been worth it. I've learned more than a blog post could do justice and I never would have put myself where I am today. It just all goes to show that God's plans are bigger, better, and more perfect than my own. He's taught me so much about trusting Him through the thick and thin, and all of this just points to the fact that He is calling us to glorify Him through our circumstances. (Could I sound anymore "youth leader-y"?!)

My next post will contain pictures with more regular "life" details and I just might even get caught up on reading all of your blogs too! Thanks for your patience and I promise (it's in writing, so I can't take this back!) to become more regular once I get a new laptop and internet at my apartment (because otherwise, I have to stay longer at the church to use my work computer and their internet!)