Riding Shotgun

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

This is a verse I have had to repeat to myself over and over again in life and I find myself having to repeat it again right now. Over the past couple of days I have realized that I have become extremely anxious about some upcoming events/situations in life. While thankfully I have a peace and know that God has a plan for each of the events/situations when I look at them on an individual level but when I look at them as the bigger picture apart of my life I am extremely anxious. I think this has a lot to do with several of these events/situations are out of my control – meaning there is nothing I can do to affect the outcome, whatever is suppose to happen is going to happen. Which if you know me at all you know I am a person who likes to be in control.

Once I realized this I had to laugh at myself but then I was also frustrated with myself. I laughed at myself b/c how can I have a peace and know that God has a plan for these events/situations on an individual level as to how they will affect my life but not on the bigger level – that makes no sense whatsoever. I am frustrated because while I am trusting God on the individual level, I am most definitely not trusting Him and that he has a plan for how all of this is going to play out. I know He has a plan, and I have learned that His plan is so much better than my plan ever will be, but just because I can’t see His plan I am having a hard time believing that right now.

So right now I am just going to try enjoy riding in the passenger seat of the car, while God drives since I know this is the best option, even though I am struggling to keep my hands in my lap and off the steering wheel.

Week 20

So this is my 3rd to last week living with the parents since the official moving date has been set and in reality for two of the last three weeks I am not even really living with them as much as I am living at their house since they are out of town for two weeks. Kind of sad that I am not getting to hang out with Maverick and Dad the last three weeks but not so sad that I want to stay.

Since they were out of town my life at home was pretty uneventful thankfully when it comes to drama – I really enjoyed being able to cook and just have some down time. The week started off celebrating two good friends engagement – congrats Kaity and Brandon! I can’t think of a better way to start off a week then being able to celebrate with two amazing people. The rest of the week was pretty normal – thankfully Lesa was out of the office until Thursday, so we all were able to just get caught up at work and just have a normal week – a rare thing I know. Thursday night I had the chance to cook dinner for Anne and just hang out and catch up with her – such a sweet time of catching up and great conversation. It was definitely needed by both of us.

I will say the weekend was probably the highlight of my week because several of the girls from my Brazil team and I headed out to my families lake house for part of the weekend. Even though this week wasn’t crazy for me the past several weeks had been crazy, so I was in need of some good get away relax chill time and having some amazing girls along with me was a huge plus. I love these girls and I love being able to hang out with them and all the amazing fun conversations we have when we are together. Thanks for such a sweet time of hanging out girls.

Playing Hookie

So I have a slight confession to make yesterday was one of those days where I woke up feeling crummy and really probably should have put on my big girl pants and gone to work but I just couldn't seem to put on my big girl pants and do it. So I didn't! So I only sort of played hookie. But I have to admit that it was one of the better decisions I have made in a long time. I ended up sleeping until around 9:30am - which in and of itself proves I didn't feel well because I am not someone to sleep past 9am ever. After I slept in I ended up waking up feeling almost like normal. I spent most of the morning being lazy, reading, journaling and just enjoying my quiet time. Around noon I ventured out to meet a friend for lunch (which was actually already scheduled) who I hadn't seen in quite some time, so it was really nice to be able to have catch up time and not to have to constantly being looking at my watch to rush back to the office. After a nice catch up time with my friend - I ended up heading back to the house to do laundry and even take a nap - something I rarely allow myself to do. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading, uploading some pictures, returning some emails, and just enjoying not having to be anywhere or do anything. While I know I can't play hookie nearly as often as I would like to do - just to have a break from the real world or at least the real world of my job. I must say that it really allowed me some much needed down time to just process life over the past few weeks. I also must add that I actually did do some work yesterday from home since I had my laptop, so I guess I didn't completely play hookie altogether. While I can't encourage you to play hookie from work - I will encourage you to just take an unplanned day of just downtime, you might just be surprised how good it will be for you.

World School

So I am sure some of you are wondering what the heck by the title. Well one of my 8th graders, Becca, and her brother and sisters have set out on a journey around the world in a years time. If you read the Dallas Morning News you probably saw the story on the front page yesterday (Sunday 8/2). It is kind of crazy but a really cool idea - they are going to learn a lot and see some amazing things in the next year, and I know that none of them will come home the same kids that they left as. They are going to visit 6 of the 7 continents and a total of about 35 countries (if I can count correctly). Please be praying for Becca, her siblings, and her mom as they just started their journey a few days ago.



If you want to follow their journey or just read more about it - their website is...

http://www.ourworldschool.com/

Week 19

This week was completely crazy but not all bad craziness. Work was just really busy with Stephanie (allocator) and Keisha (planner) both moving off the team this week and Mark (new planner) and Kathryn (new allocator) moving on to the team. I am sad to see both of them gone but excited for them as they move on to the next step in their careers - both good moves for them and they will do great. On top of that we had Line Review for Holiday and surprisingly for the 1st time in 6 Line Reviews on this team someone actually thought about looking at all the paperwork that I did for the meeting - it made me so very happy. Friday was our Season Kickoff Meeting for Summer/Transition 2010 - yes I am aware that we are just finishing up Summer 2009 but that is how far out I have to work - so if you wonder why I get confused on the dates sometimes that is why. As if I didn't have enough to do at work these days, I am co-captain for my entity for the United Way Campaign at work. JCPenney is one of the biggest supporters of the United Way in the DFW area so it is a huge job and a lot of added work - I don't mind doing it. In fact I actually enjoy the change of pace from my normal everyday job and it means I get to interact with people more not inside my company but outside as well. If you know of any good places that I should hit up to donate gift cards or prizes to the cause let me know.

Besides work this week the most exciting news I have already written about which is that I am moving out of the parents house on Aug 22nd. While I have a few mixed emotions about moving out - I am really very excited about the whole thing. I am sad to be leaving my dad b/c he spoils me rotten and treats me like a Princess - there is just something about coming home to a meal that you didn't pay for or cook and then Saturday morning waking up to breakfast. He does tons of other things for me along the way that I will miss but that will be a blog in and of itself before the move. I will of course probably miss Maverick the most - I have enjoyed having my dog again - I don't think dad is going to let Maverick make the move but oh well. I will still have to stop by and see him on a weekly basis and have dad bring him to see me like we use to. Oh the one super low point of the week was that I had to be an adult and spend a ton of money on my cars "Goldie's" breaks. Granted this was the first real expense she has caused me in the four years I have had her so I am thankful to her for that, but it really stinks to be an adult and have to spend money on my car.

The week came to an end with a house warming celebration for Jessi, Abby & Ginger - their house is so cute and it was fun to hang out with everyone. Saturday night was a birthday celebration for Brooke - Happy Birthday Brooke! That is pretty much the past week in a nut shell - nothing to earth shattering, thankfully I am glad my life seems to look like it might be getting back to normal soon. Although I am not sure it was really normal to begin with so may-be normal for me.