God's Purpose Prevails

To start off...

"Winter storm warning in effect from 6 pm Monday to 7 am cst wednesday,
Winds will also produce dangerous wind chill values. 
Impacts, travel will become very hazardous or impossible. Isolated power outages are likely in some areas. 
The extreme cold following this storm system will produce a critical sheltering event for those with any prolonged power outages. 
Definition, a winter storm warning means significant winter weather is expected or is occurring. 
Precautionary/preparedness actions, delay travel and stay home if possible until conditions improve. 
Make sure you have an adequate supply of food, water and necessary medication to last through the duration of the winter storm."

Pray for us! I do not understand how yesterday was beautiful and 75 degrees and a crazy storm starts in less than 24 hours! I am definitely going to Walmart to stock up on some food tomorrow. If you have any tips or advice for me on how to survive my first winter storm, let me know! 

On another note, I had a great weekend! Yesterday was Trevor's birthday party at Celebration Station and it was great seeing Gracie and Luke and the rest of the family. The place was PACKED and really loud but the kids loved it. And although Trevor didn't seem impressed by the present I got him when he opened it, I talked it up later and now he thinks its pretty cool ;) I'm telling you, its so much easier to shop for girls! 

Today was crazy busy but really wonderful. I have to leave my house at 7:20 on Sunday mornings to get to church on time- good thing my church has delicious and cheap coffee! Service was great and everything on the middle school side went smoothly. And I met a lot of new students today! (And accidentally introduced myself a second time to several students too... there are just so many of them to remember) After service I helped out with auditions for the middle school worship band. I played Paula and told all the kids that they did great :)  

I also went to small group tonight. One of the best parts about going to such a large church is the opportunity to meet so many people my own age. I went tonight with my friend Ashley to Chris Newkirk's group and I loved the people. It was actually one of the best small groups I've ever been to- just a ton of discussion and truth and love :) 

Then after small group I hung out with another new friend, Sydney. She's also pretty new to the area and is on Young Life staff! Thats so fun since I did Young Life for 6 years during high school and college. I'm so grateful for the girls I've been able to meet and become friends with already and I'm really excited to get to know them all better. God is so good! 

I know a lot of you are praying for my second job situation and I appreciate it. Tomorrow I'm going to turn in a substitute application for Crossings Christian School, which is between Yukon (where I live now) and Edmond (where the church is). A couple of people I've met have told me that I should apply and it seems great. As soon as I get a steady second job, I'll be moving to Edmond so I can be closer to friends and my middle school students. And not have to spend so much money on gas driving back and forth! :) 

Here's a great verse to keep in mind. Its one thats been especially good for me over the past few weeks!

"We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, 
   but God's purpose prevails."  -Proverbs 19:21 (The Message)

Goodnight :) 

Sunny with a high of 75...

Today I got ready and put on a long sleeved shirt, scarf, jeans, and boots, and headed outside... to the 73 DEGREE WEATHER! What?!? I was actually hot and had to take off my scarf and turn on the air conditioning in the car. I just don't understand this bipolar Oklahoma weather. This weekend is perfect but in 3 days, we're supposed to get a crazy winter storm. Silly. And I forgot how good 70 degree weather feels! Oh Phoenix- how I miss your amazing weather this time of year. 

In fact, I missed a lot about Phoenix today. Like the fact that my family and friends live there! I decided to go to the mall today (yay Dillard's sale!) and everywhere I looked, I saw girls with their mom or a group of girls with friends. And I so wished that I could call up my mom or Jessica or Julie or Kara... or a lot of other people, and just meet them at the mall. Especially when I tried on a dress but I couldn't tell if it looked good or not. I have a hard time making decisions on my own! And its just weird to ask a stranger for their opinion. Oh well, I get to visit AZ in a week and a half and I'm really looking forward to it :)

I did get to hang out with Lesley tonight though! We ate at Panera (a lot like Paradise Bakery, for all you Phoenix folk) and went shopping for shoes and my 5 year old cousin's birthday present. So thank you to Lesley, for making this kinda homesick day much better! 

My last bit of news is that I applied for my Oklahoma teaching certification today! It will take a few weeks to hear if I have to take any extra classes or tests to get it. I'm reallllly hoping I won't have to! But either way, it will be nice being certified here. Hopefully next school year I can find a half time special education position :) 

Well, tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I'm really looking forward to going to Celebration Station for Trevor's birthday party and seeing some family I haven't seen since I moved. So goodbye for now! Time for some rest :)

In the Beginning

So I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile and now that I'm living far away from my friends and family in the great -and warmer- city of Phoenix, it seems like a great time! For those of you who don't know my journey to Oklahoma, I'll start from the beginning...
Last summer, I got the opportunity to serve at a camp called Centrifuge for the summer (amazing experience!) and taught a class for middle and high school girls in the afternoons. We talked about sacrifice and girl's issues and boys and relationships... And I loved it! Every week, I saw God work in the lives of the girls and I was so humbled to be a part of it. So thats basically when I realized that I was called to work with teenage girls.
Fast forward a little... When I was coming to the end of student teaching, I started looking for and praying about positions working with girls and I came across Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond (thanks Skyler!). I contacted the girl's ministry director, Kelly, and just a few months later, I was hired as the middle school girl's intern! I graduated on December 16th, packed up my stuff, and officially moved on January 10th.

I love love love my job. God is soooo good! Basically, I get to hang out with really awesome 6th-8th grade girls and build relationships with them. And help plan events and do whatever else they tell me to do. :) It's fantastic. I actually already got to go on a missions trip with the middle school students! The first weekend I was here, we went to a church in Oklahoma City and we were able to help them out by painting, landscaping, and prayer walking/hanging up flyers. It was so much fun and I got to know about 60 of the students right away. I'm so excited about whats to come- excited to get to know more students, excited to build deep relationships with them, and excited to see what God is going to do in their lives!

Other than all of that, I've been busy trying to find a second job. I interviewed at Childtime a couple of days ago and was called yesterday about "moving forward with the application." I don't think thats where I'm supposed to be though. I'm just not feeling at peace about it. So... I'm still praying and looking. I have to keep reminding myself that God has it figured out and to leave it in His control. So much easier said than done!

Well, its late here and I planned on going to bed awhile ago- but then got too excited about my new blog. lol
So finally, goodnight!

"He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."
John 3:30
:)