My Week

I realized the other day that I don't spend enough time talking about what's going on in my life here at what is supposed to be a blog about my move to a new city...oops!  I've gotten into new hobbies and crafts of sorts and have neglected any of you who may be interested in what's up.  So, for those (few) of you who care what's up, here's a bit about my week :).

I had a good start to my week on Monday because I had just finished having a wonderful time with my dear friends, Anne, Derek and Sarah who came in (except Sarah who lives in Naperville) from Lexington to spend the weekend with me and Stephen.  The only thing that stunk about Monday was that I had been used to having a full apartment of 5 of us and it dropped to only me.  Sarah left on Sunday morning before church, Anne and Derek split town after lunch on Sunday and then Stephen left me early before anyone should even be awake on Monday morning to head to work and then to hop a plane to New York City for the week.  That's right - I've been alone for a week...ugh. Thoughts on that will come later.

I had classes all week and I've had this new "pressure" of my new job as a research assistant on campus.  I put the words "pressure" in quotations because I feel like I'm the one that's putting pressure on myself.  The people I work with are incredibly lenient on when I come in and my hours but when I'm not there, I'm constantly thinking, "should I be there?"  "do they think I'm slacking?"...that's me - overanalyzing e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.  I really need to get over that!
I feel incredibly blessed to have this research assistantship for so many reasons!  The first reason is because it's such a great opportunity for me professionally.  My role is to act as a "liaison" to the elementary schools we work with and our project.  Our project is one that helps schools go through a reform to create more intentional teaching, which in return will create stronger students.  I feel like I'm constantly learning how I can be a better, more intentional teacher when the time comes.
The second reason that I feel blessed to have this assistantship is because it pays for my tuition.  You just read that correctly - I'm currently going to grad school for free.  On top of that, they pay me a stipend on top of it.  Unreal.
The third and most important reason that I feel blessed that I have this assistantship is to share my life with the gals who work in the office with me.  It's an interesting work situation - interesting because it's so different from what I've experienced in the Bible belt of KY.  I'm praying that God will show me how to love the people I work with and how to share my life with them in a way that glorifies Him and shows   how much He loves them.  Prayers are appreciated.

School is sucking my life out of my life.  It's okay, it's only because the end of the semester is creeping closer and things are drawing to a close, which means I have a lot to do before the beginning of December...eeek!  Did I mention that I'm enrolled in an Independent Study and my wonderful teacher who is working with me is going to allow me to turn my paper in after winter break?  You know what that means, don't you?  Yup!  I'm going to have to be working on that dang paper over the break...ay yi yi!  That's okay - don't feel too bad for me because after this semester has concluded I will only have 1 more semester and 1 measly class to take over the summer and then I am DONE - DONE-ZO - FINISHED!  ahhhhhhhh!

I started BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) officially for the first time this year and we've been studying the book of Isaiah.  Let's talk about how intense and difficult the book of Isaiah is, then let's talk about how incredibly happy I am that I'm reading it and diving into it through BSF because I'm getting SO MUCH information that I don't think I could have ever gotten if I had tried to read this book alone.  Talk about conviction and stretching.  I feel so loved by our Father who has every reason to wash His hands of me but doesn't because He loves me.  I feel blessed by BSF, my small discussion group in BSF and my discussion group leader.  It was hard for me to not compare her to my beloved Frankie (my old Bible Study Leader) and I finally snapped out of it.  Frankie will always be near and dear to my heart and she'll ALWAYS be my sister and mentor in Christ but I've moved into a new phase of life and God will bring new people into my life to show me His love and how to better know Him.

I feel like I just left you on overload...big time overload.  I'll stop for now.  I'll leave you with a video from a song I heard on the radio while I was driving to my friend Amanda's apartment on Friday (Amanda also shows me Christ's love, especially when she calls me throughout the week and invites me over because she knows I'm all alone this week while Stephen's gone).  I love this song because it makes me think about all the truths of the Bible, specifically from what I've been reading in Isaiah.  Despite who we are and what we deserve, God loves us.  More than I can possibly try to explain here.  I pray that you feel His love for you in this moment and throughout your day - it's unlike anything else you could possibly experience.