the Good that He has Ordained

"I love thee for giving me clusters of grapes in the wilderness, and drops of heavenly wine that set me longing to have my fill. Apart from thee I quickly die, bereft of thee I starve, far from thee I thirst and droop; But thou art all I need." | Valley of Vision

i've started this blog and deleted it so many times. asking myself, where do i start with the goodness that God has been showing me these past few months? 
i don't even know where to begin, but i'm certain that i want all of you to experience the reality of God's goodness. whether you "feel" Him or not, His plan for you is being fulfilled. 

i catch myself at times- whether sitting at my desk at work or driving around with friends- in awe and wonder: "how on earth did I end up here?" I'm amazed at how acquainted with the depths of my heart the Lord is-He knew what I needed before I did: to be introduced to the Blue Ridge Mountains, to move away from familiarity, to be single for a season and to work in an environment where I'm completely uncomfortable most days. He knew that I would be captivated by Fall in the mountains, that I would love working for a summer camp and that I would face (multiple) seasons of joyful loneliness. 

We are living out what He has already 

o r d a i n e d.  

In the midst of this crazy, beautiful mess I am constantly comforted by the truth that my plan is already set in stone. the Lord has ordained more adventure and purpose for my little life than I could have ever dreamed. My confidence in this truth is real because I see it every day as I work for Merri-Mac and live in this dreamland of North Carolina. There will always be circumstances that remind us we aren't home yet, but 

take heart, dearly Beloved, He has 

g o o d g i f t s 

in store for you.

crunchy peanut butter.

on this day, at this moment- I'm listening to wilco pandora, gazing out the window of the Dripolator coffee house in the tiny town of Black Mountain, North Carolina. It's a breath of fresh air I breathe in slowly and deeply; I'm finally here.

my last days in Mississippi were nothing short of a whirlwind. filled with humbling love, generous friends, supportive family, sweet notes of encouragement, Gilmore Girls and a plethora of emotions.

i'm surprised at how much God is sustaining me. dang that sinful nature that resists trusting His promises. my sweet friends here are taking good care of me, and i'm lucky to have a good amount of alone time to process exactly what is happening. Here am I, in this sweet familiar town, but there is no camp. No other counselors, no campers. It's slightly bizarre. Yet nonetheless, I love it and it strangely feels like home. 

Thusfar, I've done a little work for camp but my full job starts Monday. I've set up my room for the summer, been grocery shopping, spending as much time in the Word as I can and went running today! grocery shopping was amusing. if you know me well, you know i can't cook. bread, peanut butter & honey sandwiches for me! tried crunchy peanut butter for the first time...pretty good! I also tried Curry for the first time last night (YUMMY).

Our Father is sweet to give us good gifts. THIS is a good gift, a sweet season of trying new things like crunchy peanut butter, curry and cauliflower.

Look up, my darling.

Spring has a special way of kissing me on the cheek. It's as if God is leaning down saying, "Here you are, my darling, I know you needed this."
Besides the pollen, no body needs all that.
But, really. The blooming flowers, the enticing sunshine, the constant celebration...It's a season of rejoicing- Winter is over! It seems that this should be the part where I make some sort of analogy for how this is representative of life. For some of you, maybe it is. But for me, right now this doesn't reign true.
God is teaching me to embrace all the sunshine you can get- whether it's just a ray or a full afternoon of it. Metaphorically, of course, I mean that on good days or bad days, when I feel happy or sad, God is still good and you can find sunshine when you look for it.

I'm learning that everyday you have the ability to look up, look outside yourself and be thankful.

from one to another.

from one to another, it seems transition might imbed itself into my life for the next few years. yet it's in transition that i find myself most reliant on my Constant. so, for that I'm thankful. on days like yesterday where i'm thankful for belhaven, a beautiful day, a walk with a friend and boisterous laughter, i actually do question my move. i'm finally comfortable here, Jackson's not so bad. 

for the record, jackson's absolutely not bad. it's definitely not the most hoppin' city around, but fun, friends & true community can be found. this sweet season has been just that...sweet.

while i've taken quite the break from blogging, some of you may not know. in less than two months, i'll embark on my next journey...moving to the mountains of NC! it's unforeseen how long i'll stay or exactly what i'll be doing. but, for a year at least, Black Mountain will be home to me.

the Lord has held my hand through lots of emotions, as I'm sure he will for the remainder of my journey on earth. i've been excited, nervous, anxious, uncertain, sad and many other things over this hooplah called moving. it's really quite the ordeal. but, if not now, when? never again in my life will i have such a wonderful community in two places (black mountain + jackson). following the love God's given me for camp, the people at Merri-Mac and the glorious mountains has resulted in this decision.

but, for now.. I'm completely content. Moving is becoming more a reality, but I'm not there yet. I'm here. in Jackson. working for a church I love wholeheartedly & allowing Jesus to steady my heart daily.