Thankful

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Maybe this post comes a little late than necessary but it is a culmination of events over the past 10 days.

So...

I explained that I lost my job. Well, I am thankful!

I am thankful for the time I have had to spend time with the youth last Sunday at the Toby Mac concert!





I am thankful for the time spent with family this week, which wouldn't have happened, had I not lost my job!!!











I am thankful for time spent with friends on a trip to Longaberger country (the Red Velvet cake at Popeyes in Dresden was the BEST!) and the fellowship at church today! (No pics for that one)

I am thankful that today I was able to use God's gift of photography to raise funds for Romania!







I am thankful that even when I am home and enjoying family, I have another family in Ohio now that I am missing! And of course Ryan, who I will THANKFULLY get to see in less than a month! (Lord willing)




"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Faithful God

So today I go to Starbucks (my place of employment) which is inside a mall...I walk in and they are packing everything...I mean everything into boxes and bags...I was like what in the heck?

So then I went to see my store manager at another store she manages...We are closed...and I don't have a job...nice right?

Well...thankfully God has purposed me for other things and I am completely confident that this move for me was not a decision made by Starbucks or anyone else but God Himself...They may think they made it but it was God...ha!

So, plans? Well, I have no clue how it will all work...but I will be raising prayer support and finances to move to Romania...Lord willing, that will be sooner rather than later so I don't have to search for a job then leave shortly after!

I DO know that this works out better in the short term because I was going to take 3 weeks off, unpaid, to go to Romania for Christmas...Well, now I will be receiving severance pay and unemployment and that was more than I would have gotten otherwise!

During my trip, I will not only celebrate Christmas and New Years. I will also be visiting apartments and investigating what living expenses will be that I will need to raise to live there. I will also be working on small projects at the house being built. Painting ceilings, maybe making curtains for the windows, helping to install light fixtures, etc. are all on the list of to do's while there.

After I return I plan on visiting churches and writing letters and working on taking photos for donations to the Romanian fund!

Pray that I would follow the Lord daily and that I will continue to recognize His faithfulness even when I get bogged down in my humanity...Cause He is ALWAYS faithful...


"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands."

--Deuteronomy 7:9

Christmas is coming!

So, needless to say for a while I was struggling...

I was struggling with being here in Ohio, missing my friends and family, and most of the struggle was because I felt trapped here. My store manager at Starbucks is not very lenient...That and she has the dates between black Friday and New Years Day completely blacked out for requests. We can't request so much as a minute off let alone enough time to visit home or family for a day or two...So that had me getting depressed.

So I was down but certainly not out and was praying and asking God to allow His will to be done but to know that I was not going to be very happy if I couldn't go home though my real desire was to travel to Romania...

So...I thought, I will ask Lee Ann, my store manager...Can't hurt right? Worst she can say is no, then I can apply for leave and see what happens there...

So, I mentioned it to her one day. She said what I thought...that I couldn't request it but to get her the dates in case I could apply for leave or something. So, I thought that it would be a no for sure...I thought, well I will just go home one day at a time when I have a day off...

Well...I got to thining I might just apply for leave and see what happened...I thought, I will apply for as close to Christmas as possible so that my chances maybe go up...Then one day when Lee Ann was in I told her the dates that I had in mind....December 21-January 13.

AMAZINGLY she said, THAT SHOULD BE FINE!

PRAISE THE LORD ABOVE! I mean seriously! I never dreamed she would say that!!!

God is so good and I believe with everything that He prepared her heart, the timing, and everything for it to work out...

I know that it would have been a super tough Christmas if I had not been able to spend it with Ryan or the family in Kentucky...but God worked it out as He usually does...Praise Him who is more than worthy!

More to come on what I will be doing while there...besides enjoying Christmas with my boyfriend! There WILL be work!