Keep on rollin'...

It seems like just yesterday was Mother's Day and now here we are at Father's Day! Life is definitely rollin' right along at an amazing pace. This should remind us to "redeem the time, for the days are evil."

I have recently been slapped upside the face by my always loving mother. Her encouragement was for me to get out of my comfort zone and start using my "abilities" for ministry and to bless others. Nothing with me is ever gradual or moderate. So I decided to jump into the icy cold water instead of slipping in inch by inch. I just wrote an email to my cousin and offered to play the piano for his wedding! And now I am literally shaking and hoping that he has already found someone else. It would be a huge blessing to him though (provided I don't flop!) because he just got out of graduate school. Being tight on cash, he obviously does not relish the thought of hiring someone to play music for his wedding.

It is five weeks until I graduate from High School! That seems like such a short time! I seriously do not even comprehend getting everything done. Some mornings I wake up and just groan when I think of everything I need to do. Then I sit there, staring at my books, and getting so overwhelmed that it takes me ten minutes to figure out where to start! Talk about pathetic...I need to get my act together...quickly!

The Lord has been so faithful through my time of getting laid off at work. I am finally back and just working three hours a day. I had previously decided to stop working when my brother left for college. The Lord had impressed on me very clearly that I was not to work for a man outside of my family. A meeting with the owner of the company that I work for had been set up for Friday afternoon. On Friday morning I had confirmation after confirmation (You know when it's so obvious that you get weirded out??) that I was not to work for a man outside of my family. I had done that once before during a two week time period. Those two weeks are etched in my memory as two of the most miserable weeks of this past year. Life is always miserably confusing when you knowingly do something contrary to the Holy Spirit's leading. Friday afternoon I walked into this meeting very nervous about explaining my thoughts and fearing the unknown of what he would say. Again, God is SO faithful! The owner was so understanding and respectful of my convictions. He is going to do his best to place me under another lady in the office so that I can continue working there without compromising. In fact, after confessing that I had previously compromised in order to work there, he said to me, "Don't you ever do that again." Talk about some much needed hand slapping! :)

This morning pastor announced Chris leaving for college in nine weeks. This morning really got to me for some reason. I would look over at Chris, who was sitting next to me, and examine his new dress shoes. Just the fact that he bought those shoes for when he goes to college made me start to lose my composure. Or singing, "As the Deer" and trying not to cry as I hear God speaking to me about trusting in His as my all-sufficient One. During that song, Chris leaned over and whispered, "Hey, you ok?" He won't be standing next to me in nine weeks when I am struggling with the same thing. Yet, there is One who will never leave me.

On the bright side of things, our family leaves on Friday to go camping for a few days. I am looking forward to lots of hiking, biking, swimming, picture taking, and memory making with my bro!

Well! The mounds of ironing are calling my name...