Engagement, Moving, Starting a new job...

Well probably most of you that read this blog have already heard that Gabe and I got engaged on Sept. 18th....I am a little slow at posting as you can see:)
I also moved to Greenville, SC a week ago to be near Gabe. I am living with his parent's and sharing a room with his little sister, Sophia (she is 13). She has been gracious enough to let me share her room and her bed (it is a queen so that's nice).
Probably about the beginning of August after a lot of roommate situations fell through in Atlanta I was encouraged by close friends to look into moving to Greenville. So here I am almost two months later moved:) I put in an application at Spartanburg Regional Hospital, got called the next day, interviewed two weeks later and got the job. I put in my notice at Emory and started packing up. So I start my new job Oct. 13th. I am taking a pay cut, going to night shift, moving to a new state, sharing a room and a bed, taking out a loan to pay emory back...I guess that's what love does to you:) I may be in more debt when its all said and done but I know I will be happier. And I am engaged to be married....June 6th! So save the date and send me your mailing addresses if you want to be included in this celebration of God's grace and love in Gabe and I's relationship. Gabe was my first kiss and I love it that I am marrying the only man I have kissed!
He is wonderful and did such an awesome job proposing. He suprised me at the top of Stone Mountain in Atlanta. I was hiking with a friend (Leah, she convinced me to go with her that day to hike) and when we got to the top I saw a guy that looked a lot like Gabe...I said to Leah twice "man that guy really looks like Gabe from far away", before I realised it was Gabe and that the whole thing was planned. He proposed to me there and then we went to a little secluded area in the trees where he had set up a picnic for us. It was very sweet and romantic. He even remembered my favorite cake, red velvet cake.
Anyway so we are extremely excited and now we have quite a bit of planning to do. We would appreciate your prayers on this next chapter in our relationship!

Fountains, beaches, sunshine and sleep

Just a few of things I have experienced in the last few days:)
I am taking a break from work and enjoying the beach, while visiting a long time friend, Shelah and her husband... Gabe came too.
A short update on my living situation...The girl that had committed to living with me has decided she is not going to anymore. This is the second time that has happened so now I am back to square one again. Please pray.
A quote for the week: "But in order that life should be a story or romance to us, it is necessary that a great part of it, at any rate, should be settled for us without our permission. If we wish life to be a system, this may be a nuisance; but if we wish it to be a drama, it is an essential."
Just something to think about as we try to control our little world around us, but wish for excitement and romance...and at the same time question God when things happen that we don't understand.
"The thing which keeps life romantic and full of fiery possibilities is the existence of these great plain limitations which force all of us to meet the things we do not like or expect."
Both quotes come form the book Heretics by G. K. Chesterton.

NOT FOR SALE!

I just found out this week that Atlanta is the #1 city in America for Human Trafficking, a $32 billion/year industry, and Atlanta is #5 in the world! I was dumbfound by the numbers...27 million people are forced into slavery today %50 are children. Its time for us to do something about this! I will continue to post on opportunities to fight this epidemic, but for now YOU can do something...RAISE AWARENESS!

SOme websites:
Notforsalecampaign.org (non-profit organization)

Slaverymap.org (Where anyone can go and report Human slavery...check out your town you might find out where it is happening near you, or go to the police station ask about any human trafficking cases that have happened recently and post it on the website...anyone can post)

SlaveLaborProject.net (My small group leader's blog)

Read the book Not For Sale by David Batstone.

RAISE MONEY:
Free to play- sports teams can donate $1 for every goal/basket/touchdown they score.
I am trying to set up donations on my unit for every delivery we have we put 10 cents in a box.
Get creative you to can contribute.

Any questions about this post a comment for me!

Father's Day

In light of Father's Day (yes I know it has already passed but I wanted to post anyway), I just wanted to comment on how thankful I am for my Dad. In a society where a lot of fathers are absent in their children's lives I think my Dad has done an awesome job of staying connected to his kids. He always made sure when we were younger to set aside time to play games with us or read books to us. He would even leave his computer home when we went on vacations to make sure that he wasn't tempted to do any work.
A statistic that i heard at my church this weekend: Of all the kids that are taken to church each week by their mothers alone only 17% of those kids will continue to have a relationship with the Lord, on the other hand of all the children that are taken by their Father's to church not including their mom 68% continue to stay connected to God. That is so shocking to me. My pastor also commented on how most of the generational curses or sins that we have to this day stem from fatherlessness. He continued to preach an awesome message to the Father's... here are a few points from his sermon that are the 5 strategies Satan uses to get past the Doorkeeper of the house (ie Fathers).

1. Disorder - He has made it very unpopular for a man to lead his family and, consequently, many men have abdicated their authority to their wives, contrary to the order God has established throughout Scripture.
2. Distraction - He tries to get men so caught up in their careers, hobbies, sports or whatever that they withdraw from their families and stop paying attention.
3. Deception - He tries to get men to remain ignorant of, or forget the power of media and allow things into our homes that are not of God via the Internet, TV, movies, music, etc. Once we fall for this deception, we are easily bound.
4. Division - Knowing that a house divided cannot stand, Satan works to sew discord and disagreement wherever possible. It's the man's responsibility to make sure his house is in a place of agreement. If you and your wife aren't in agreement, it's your responsibility, men, to do what it takes to bring that agreement.
5. Desertion - Satan tries (and all too often succeeds) to convince men into leaving their families altogether. This can be physical desertion, when the father actually leaves for whatever reason, or emotionally; he may be physically present, but he's completely checked out otherwise.
6. Here is a link to his message http://victoryatl.com/p/11998/Default.aspx, click on the doors series and JUne 15 message. I strongly encourage any Father's reading this to listen to the message or any men that are going to be Fathers at some point, it is very empowering.
   

Found a place...well a roommate:)

So I found a girl from church that would like to get a place with me...Yeah! Her lease isn't up until the end of July but some friends of mine that live in the area are going to let me stay at their place for two months (or however long I need). So you can continue to pray that Faith and I find a place in the next two months...plenty of time i think to find the perfect place. We will get a two bedroom unless we find another girl to join us...which would be nice cause it would help us save money. Anyway this is such an answer to prayer. I will be moving on the 31st and I am hoping it will be a pretty easy move!

One of the many places suffering from post-election violence in kenya

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7310000/newsid
_7310200/7310215.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=
1&bbcws=1

A nice break!

I am sitting in Gabe's parent's condo in Charleston, SC enjoying the peace and quiet from the city life of Atlanta. I decided to plan my work schedule to have a five day weekend of rest (a little birthday present to myself:) I pleaded with Gabe to go down to Charleston again and we got his brother Anders to come along.
It has been so nice sleeping in, reading books, swimming in the pool, watching the sunrise over the Atlantic and just being free from all the things that nag at me when I am at my house...even when I am off at home there are too many things to think about doing (pay bills, clean my room, pack, look for a place to live...that's mainly the stress of being in Atlanta).
I have started reading the book "The Sacred Romance" again. This is my third time to pick it up and it just makes sense this time. Its interesting how at different stages in your life certain books just really get to your heart. I am also doing the work book that goes along with it (Esther if you have missed it, I have it:). There is a question in there that asks you to list all the activities you normally do in a week. Including things like showering, brushing your teeth or doing devotions. Then it says put a check beside the things that you do out of duty or obligation and a plus sign by the things you do because you have a desire or passion to do them. Then see which you have more of checks or pluses. Well my list had more checks and this made me realize I need to add more things into my week that I really enjoy or desire to do. Living in this career/work/money driven culture where everything is just go, go, go doesn't let my heart express itself. I miss all the things that God puts in my path to give me joy or show me that he loves me...his love encompasses romance, adventure, intimacy and so much more. And those sunrises or beautiful spring mornings that tug at my heart were made by God just for me.
Make your list see what happens...try to do something you really truly enjoy this week! For me it was going to watch the sunrise this morning.

The search continues...

So here's the dilemma. I would love to have a roommate or roommates but some things pose problems. Each person that I have talked to about rooming with them is not comfortable with the fact that Gabe comes to visit a lot. I can understand where they are coming from, but what happened to people living with each other for accountability. That's what I need but each Christian female I talk to about it says they are uncomfortable, which leaves me to consider living on my own or what I am doing now, living with non-christian friends. This of course is not my first choice and poses issues for Gabe and I's relationship. 

Anyway so that is my dilemma....and this is what I am praying for...a place close to church and close to work, a place that I feel is my own, christian roommate(s) who is okay with Gabe and will keep me accountable, and a place that is relatively cheap...is this too much to ask for?

Life...

My first (of hopefully many) post on my new blog...

Just got the boot...from the place I currently live that is. In a nice way though. So my current landlord wants me to move out by June 1st. Kind of hard to think about moving but I pretty much saw it coming. I have outlived my stay...just as plain as that. They were helping me out and now its time for them to not have someone else living in their home. I work days they work nights...just isn't compatible.
So I am house/apartment searching again....what to do? Live on my own, find a roommate/s, rent a another room or actually get my own place that I can call my own. They all have their pros and cons.
Prayer is what I need for this next step...I would greatly appreciate yours:)

Blog move

So I decided to move my blog...

I did this in the hope that it will make it easier for me to post more often.

Xanga costs money to do anything unique or cool. 

Xanga is too hard to figure out. 

I can post pictures via flicker now. 

But... don't expect much:)