Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Friends are the joy of life.....

Okay friends, I must start with an apology. I missed my writing a blog yesterday :( I am so sorry. I was really proud of myself for getting one written everyday, but yesterday was a crazy day. As many of you know, my job has not been going well. I LOVE what I do, teaching preschool, however, I work at a small Christian school that is privately funded and we have been DEEPLY AFFECTED by the economy. I have only been averaging 4-5 hours a day and I just cannot make it on this little amount of money. So yesterday, I had another interview in the line of interviews I have had lately. I went into each one prayerfully considering that God had a plan and I wanted his will. This interview was at another daycare, one that is growing and expanding and offers job security. One that will even offer to help pay for my education to get my Child Development Associate or my Early Childhood Associate. This will open many doors for me! Within a half hour of the interview, I got a call, offering me the job! I had been told they had others to interview and Id hear back by the end of the week, but when the call came, they shared with me that they didnt want to interview anyone else, I had impressed them so much that they knew that they couldnt find someone better. This was both exciting and humbling for me! Humbling because I dont see what they see....Im working on that, but Im not fully there yet :) And also because it was pretty obvious that God was speaking to me clearly that he had my life in his hands!!

Today was no less busy. Starting with a meeting at 10 am at church where the pastor offered me a volunteer position with young adult ministry in our church. This was a great meeting, because I have been looking for a place to minister more. I lead worship every other Sunday and I am the missions director, but I WANTED TO DO MORE! I then went in to work and had a great day with my kiddos. After work I had another meeting to discuss the Camp I will be co directing the youth program for this summer, Camp Zion is going to be alot of fun. We also had to discuss the upcoming retreat that we will hopefully be having for the youth in our Evangelical Conference. And then it was home to have some supper and relax and watch Parenthood :)

All of that to say that I finally see God beginning to move in my life and show me the reasons he has called me back to Oskaloosa for this season of my life! I went through a pretty tough place and have been really upset and concerned, but Im here now, seeing that God had me in his hands the whole time!!

So now to share with you about my friends. I am going to combine yesterday and todays blogs :)

First of all, Megan, Angie, and Stephanie. These were me 3 best friends in high school. We had some great times together. One of my favorite memories with these 3 girls is our annual Christmas parties! Every year at Christmas the four of us would have an overnight Christmas party. We would exchange gifts, watch Christmas movies, play games and just laugh and have a good time. I remember the year that we got in a fight and Megan and I started talking to each other in sign language because we knew it and Ang and Steph didnt :) We were in high school, we werent being mean, we were just being teenage girls! I remember the year that I went to get a hair cut, Meg had gone with me and they stylists had talked me into a very short hair cut, we came back to the house and noone knew what to think or say. IT WAS AWFUL! Id scan it in if I had my scanner, but to give you an idea, my brother called me "mushroom top" for the next few months. My curls made my hair poof and the top of my head did look like a large toadstool! These parties were so much fun. And so was our friendship.

Megan- Megan and I were like sisters back in high school. I was at her house alot and her family was like my family :) We had lots of Friday Night sleepovers. I remember when I had my baby think it over project for high school. I had to bring home one of those baby dolls that you take care of for the weekend. Megan and I were doing a great job taking care of her. We didnt have a night light when it came time for bed, and we wanted some dark so we could sleep for a few hours, so we had the idea of turning her lamp on and then just putting a tshirt over it, hours later, we woke up to a small fire in her room!! We got it put out, no serious injuries, but a memory that I will have for the rest of my life!
Megan and I loved music. We were on worship team together, she played piano and I got to sing. Her dad played guitar, and we had a great time. Our talks were some of the best talks ever. See with Megan, I know that I have a forever friend. Megan and I have not seen each other for several years, but I know that if I need someone to pray for me, she will. I know that if I ever needed someone to talk to, I could go to her. I am SO PROUD of the woman Megan has become, she is a beautiful mother to 2 equally beautiful boys, she is an incredible wife and most of all, she is an amazing example of Christ. I am thankful to have her in my life and I promise you that had she not been a part of my life, back in those high school years, I would not be who I am today.
Angie and I didnt get to be quite as close as Megan and I, but I still knew that she was always there to make me laugh. Angie is a very loyal friend and cares about the poeple in her life very deeply. I have always admired that about her. She has love in her heart for people that is a love much like the love of Christ. Angie has made a huge impact on my life in just recent years. I dont get to talk to her much, but seeing the life she is living, I am so proud to know her. Angie is married to a man who has been suffering from Cancer, they are both young adults, dealing with problems that most young adults dont go through and really shouldnt have to face, if we lived in an ideal World. But to see the grace that Angie has as she goes through this trial, I am amazed. To see the unconditional love that she has for her husband. To see her loyalty to the God that is standing beside her and Brian through this, it is all just a beautiful sight to watch. I am proud to know Angie and am thankful for her willingness to love God, trust him, and life life for him in the good and the not so good times.
Stephanie and I had a fun friendship. I remember that because Steph was a few years younger than me, I would sometimes ride the bus home from school with her and her brother and hang out with them when her mom would ask. One day her little brother took out a bebe gun and wanted to shoot me because I had made him mad about something ;) Stephanie and I suffered through an illness together that none of our other friends ever had called Bels Palsy. I had it for only 3 weeks. Poor Steph had it for months! But somehow this created a bond for us :) I loved going to her home and playing games with her and just having a great time. Steph is also a beautiful and incredible mother and I am quite thankful for her influence in my life as well.
All 3 of these women life far away from me and I dont get to see them much, but they have had a profound affect on my life and I would be the same had they not been in it and were they not in it, in a different way now.

I also get the chance to get tell you about 2 of my close friends now! Marianne and Lauren are 2 of my friends that I met at work at the daycare I teach at. I will say this in a way that I hope is not too conceited, but it has never been really tough for me to make friends. I love having people in my life and I love the friends I have. I am very thankful for these 2 girls as well. With everything that is going on at work, as I shared at the beginning of this blog, I have needed them in my life.

Marianne is someone who shares my faith. To know that I have someone in my place of work that loves God the way I do, is INCREDIBLE. When I share with her that God has been speaking to me, she doesnt look at me like Im crazy, she understands and listens and then shares with me what God has been saying to her as well. Marianne has a passion to serve God and Im thankful to have someone like that, because I have that passion too. Marianne gets excited with me about the little things in life :) Weather its a guy that I like, maybe its a book Im reading that God is really using to speak to me or a band I like, Marianne gets excited with me about it and that is just something I really am thankful for in a friend!

Lauren is another great friend at work. We have both been through some dark places in our lives lately and to know that we have each other to lean on is priceless. She is the friend who I can have fun with! We laugh together. We are VERY HONEST with each other ;) Lauren is a very great friend and I am thankful for her too!!

All in all, God has blessed me with some INCREDIBLE women in my life and I cant imagine life without them, and even if I could, I wouldnt want to. I love you girls!!

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