Nashville

I am in Nashville, TN!  This is my first time here, and it has been great.  So you may be wondering what I am doing here?  Well, I was asked by one of my supervisors to come here and help present FMSC to the record labels that are coming together for an offsite packing event in December.  Wow, huh?  I am honored to have this opportunity.  So today we did two of the presentations and then visited the site of the event.  Tomorrow morning I give the final presentation and then fly home.  I go straight from the airport to another event in MN.  I am a busy bee this week!  But I wouldn't trade my job for the world.  God is working some incredible things in my life; growing and challenging my heart to be focused on His mission always because He has plans for me that are bigger than my wildest dreams!!  I am trying to be fully in each moment, and chase after Him as passionately as I know how.  And I am excited to live those dreams out.

Today I was at an event all day in Richfield, and it was awesome.  It was an incredibly long day, but so full of laughs!  I don't know why it is so hard for me to get through my brain that God provides what is needed.  He is consistent and faithful, and I am forgetful and doubtful.   When it is a long day that I think I am just going to drag through, he provides laughter and encouragement.  When i doubt about meeting or exceeding a goal, he takes care of it so I don't have to worry too much.   It seems like I compartmentalize God sometimes; trusting in his providence in some areas of my life, and thinking I need to control other areas.  It is silly.  So tomorrow I will try harder.

On Friday and Saturday I was had the privilege of working at one of the permanent sites for FMSC.  When I first starting working at FMSC two years ago it was at the Eagan site, and even though we are in a different part of the building, it still feels like coming home to family when I get to work there.  There is so much I love about working at sites, and it was great for me to revisit those things.  Also, I got to work with some people I haven't worked with in awhile, and that was refreshing!  I was a little disappointed when no one came dressed up on Halloween, I thought for sure at least one person would.  And in the spirit of Halloween I put a sticker on the floor of the washroom that made it look like there were rats coming out of a sewer grate, but again disappointment followed as it scared no one; I am pretty sure no one even looked twice at it.  Oh well, it made me laugh!  

The next event is the end of this week, so until then I will be working hard to get that CD finished.  I will also be relaxing as I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me. 

okay, okay

well, here is hoping that someone might still be reading this?  i have been wracking my brain as to what I should use this blog for; i am not away from home anymore and i don't think my life is all too crazy.  But I thought I might try blogging about work.  Now before you stop reading, hear me out.  My work is pretty darn cool.  I work for Feed My Starving Children (www.fmsc.org), and I am a full-time teamleader with the offsite packing division.  That means I get travel around the country, facilitating packing events!  I think it is pretty awesome.  So, if you think that is awesome too, keep checking this blog out.

right now i just finished my chunk of time at an event in Crystal Lake, IL.  It has been a great event.  I really enjoy flying out to the Chicagoland area so often.  There are so many great people out here.  We had 8 cells (16 funnels) packing food yesterday and today.  Tonight was a crazy shift, so many people packing so fast!!  We couldn't keep up with the wrapping and strapping of the pallets!  I am heading back to MN tomorrow, and won't have an event until next weekend.  It will be good to have some time at the permanent sites, and to catch my breath (not to mention finish that CD I am releasing on the 16th!).  

Change is good (most of the time)

Wow, it has been awhile! I don't know if that is such a big deal because I don't know who is even checking this after such a prolonged absence. For those of you who are still interested in what's going on in my life (or what has happened these past few months) here is an update:

1. I left my job out in Colorado and came back to Minnesota. I am currently working with Feed My Starving Children as a Mobile Packing teamleader. That means that I get to work the events that are held offsite from our permanent packing facilities (i.e. churches, schools, businesses, etc.).
2. I am recording a CD. I bought some equipment along with a new computer and am actually taking the steps to record my music, rather than just talking about it.
3. A second shipment of food from Feed My Starving Children has gone out to my friends in Swaziland. It has been such a blessing to stay connected with the missionaries over there, and to be able to be connected with a partner of Feed My Starving Children (hopefully I can go back sometime soon!).
4. I accomplished my 2007 New Year's Resolution goal to read 50 books (I actually read 52, let me know if you want the list, I kept track!). This year I am focusing on the classics. I know I won't get 50 of them done, because they take a little longer to read, but I am going to try and read as often as possible.

I miss the friends I made in Colorado terribly and think of them often, but I know that God has called me back to Minnesota and it feels good to be home.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It's been awhile, and I am sorry. I am not sure if anyone is still reading this as I have left my job in Colorado and am back in Minnesota. And I think Minnesota missed me because it gave me a big welcome home present on Tuesday afternoon/evening! Lots of snow! Fun to look at, not so much to drive in. I am convinced that just when drivers learn how to drive in the snow it melts. And it takes them a whole year to relearn, so nobody knows how to drive in snow until it is too late! I did get to learn how to use my Dad's snow blower though, it was pretty fun. Although I think that means I will be expected to use it more.

Yay! It snowed! Below is a picture of my car covered in snow yesterday morning. It is already gone, boo! This weekend I got to visit some family friends in Colorado Springs, what a treat! It was soo good to see them and spend time with them before I move back to MN. Part of the weekend treat was that I got to attend church. It doesn't happen very often as we work on the weekends here at camp, so this morning was special. And I can't help but think that it was a divine appointment because of the sermon. The sermon was based on Philippians 4:6-7, in a nut shell: don't worry and give thanks. I am not usually a worry wart, but lately because of my circumstance I have been worrying more than usualy. Will I ever get a full-time job doing something I love? Will I ever get to record my music? When will I be able to move out of my parents' place? Why was I called here to Colorado to be called back home? So many questions, and I always read those verses thinking, yeah, it's just as easy as switching the worry off. But the pastor this morning put it a different way that I never thought before. He said that you don't just stop worrying, you turn you focus onto God; worship, praise, and adoration. With your focus on God, the worry isn't in the forefront and dissipates. Here are some other thoughts about worry that hit straight to my heart:

• Worry is stepping over the line of proper concern.
• "It is not just wrong to worry, it's infidelity" -Oswald Chambers
• Worry takes an opposite stance from any scripture.
• Worry and worship cannot live in the same heart.
• Worry is that which you an I were never meant to assume responsibility for.

I definitely don't have it all down, not even close. But I love hearing new perspectives on life, perspectives that I can actually apply to MY life. Praise God for his Word, and the Spirit that gets my attention!

p.s. sorry this one is so long, it makes up for the days I haven't blogged!