My First Vespa Ride!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Rp_KSsZjQ&sns=em

Sent from my iPod

Driftwood

I said yes.

To a cross-country move. To a pay cut. To more hours. To a new state. To a less than year-round job. To a lot of uncertainty.

But, I also said yes to a job that makes me do a happy dance when I think about it. I said yes to the South and it's slow, liquid tempo. I said yes to spending more time with my family. I said yes to the realization that life has to keep changing, and I have to welcome those changes when they come.

And I say no to fear (constant, constant fear) and guilt and shame and anything else that has weighed down this heart of mine for so long. I reject those things with this gesture.

And I step forward into a new season, remembering what God gently reminded me a few days ago, sitting on a plane at the Nashville airport. I was thinking through all the things He hasn't given me, all the things I ache for that I haven't found yet. I was trying to muster up a desire for him that could overshadow those other things, but I was failing miserably. And I heard him tell me in my heart, you've been given Me. I know you think I am silent, and there is still so much for you to learn about Me, but I have indeed given you my friendship and my love and my intimacy. More than you have ever experienced before.

I have given you the joy of knowing me in my (and your) sufferings, and you have never until now really known that there is great beauty in this.

I have given you the incredible gift of knowing that in the midst of the worst seasons, you still choose me.

I have planted in you gentleness, and compassion, which would never have grown unless I was able to begin to tear out your harsh and judgmental spirit.

I am awakening in you a spirit as open to me as the skies above you.

I have shown you that you are not alone, and that there are arms to hold you and ears to listen to you and voices to soothe you.

But my great joy is pouring my Spirit on you, and inhabiting your praises, and being loved by you. There is nothing better than Me, nothing that you still need before you can be whole.

And oh, there is much that I still want. But God has, and is, and will always be giving me Himself, as much as I can handle and in many different ways and forms. And this is the beauty of my life. This is the longing of my heart, to be filled so full that I cannot contain Him.

So, lets get to it.

• Driftwood Education Center.
• St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Pittsburg, KS to SSI - 18 hrs by car.
Nashville to SSI - 9 hrs.
Chicago to SSI - 17 hrs.
Santa Cruz or Portland to SSI - well, that would be a whopping 45-48.
Savannah to SSI - 1 .5 hours - guess who is going on a field trip.

• Job Description - Environmental Educator. This is not an exhaustive list, but the highlights are: we have alligators that we let the kids touch (and we hold!), we actually have and care for VENOMOUS snakes (sweet, but makes me a bit nervous), and we have an owl that lives outside the staff house that we also use with the kids (and the word on the street is that he hoots at his girlfriend all night); we take field trips to the National Seashore barrier islands around St. Simons via the ferries, and we teach over 30 classes, all having to do with the water. I'll live in a Staff House (hello, roommates...) and get to use my Vespa everywhere.

• Commitment: 1st week of September, through Thanksgiving. Start back up in January, end right before the summer hits. Basically we follow the school year.

• Travel Plans to Georgia: Still in the works. Maybe a cross-country Vespa trip...we'll see.

So, those are the basics.
I am so excited.

But I think mostly, the reason my va-cay was so good, was just family.
Just being with family is good for the soul. Can I get a witness.

Nashville

Spent some much needed time in the hot, sunny, gracious South with Simon.

I have to say, every single time I visit Nashville I come to a new and big decision in my life. This year's was no less big, but more on that later.

Here, a snapshot (well, a few) of my long lovely weekend.

We drank lots of good wine and watched a bad movie.

I bought this amazing candle, that smells like heaven.

We had gourmet popsicles. Me, multiple times. Where is Las Paletas in Santa Cruz?

We drank good coffee and sat in the sun. I got sunburned on one side of my body.

We planted sunflowers, hostas, and herbs. Simon's house looks a-ma-zing.

The only photo you are gonna get of the white pants. The verdict is still out.

Imported From Detroit

My dad sent me this amazing specimen of a hat in honor of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and our beloved Red Wings. If they actually get somewhere this year I will wear this hat every day til they win or go home. Yes, I sure am that cool.

Thanks Daddy Goog!