Psalm.

I call to the Lord for help;
I plead with him.
I bring him all my complaints;
I tell him all my troubles.
When I am ready to give up,
he knows what I should do.

Lord, I cry to you for help;
you, Lord, are my protector;
you are all I want in this life.
Listen to my cry for help,
for I am sunk in despair.
Save me from my enemies;
they are too strong for me.
Set me free from my distress;
then in the assembly of your people I will praise you
because of your goodness to me.

I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king;
I will thank you forever and ever.
Every day I will, thank you;
I will praise you forever and ever.

The Lord is great and is to be highly praised;
his greatness is behone understanding.
What you have done will be praised from one generation to the next;
they will proclaim your mighty acts.

They will speak of your glory and majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.
People will speak of your mighty deeds,
and I will proclaim your greatness.
They will tell about all your goodness
and sing about your kindness.

Your rule is eternal, and you are king forever.
The Lord is faithful to his promises;
he is merciful in alll his acts.
He helps those who are in trouble;
he lifts those who have fallen.

Don't put your trust in human leaders;
no human being can save you.
When they die, they return to the dust;
on that day all their plans come to an end.

The Lord sets prisoners free
and gives sight to the blind.
He lifts those who have fallen;
he loves his righteous people.
He protects the strangers who live in our land;
he helps widows and orphans,
but takes the wicked to their ruin.
The Lord is king forever.
Your God, O Zion, will reign for all time.

Praise the Lord!

Portions of Psalm 142, 145, and 146

An All-around Good Day

Yesterday started off waking up at my dear friend's house, after a night of brownies and a great movie. Thanks, girl - that was fun! From there I headed home to read a good book, attempt a crockpot meal for the first time (it turned out badly, in my opinion), and spend time with my housemate. For lunch I enjoyed a Vegetarian hotdog at I Dream of Weanie in Five Points with a friend from college. I ran into this woman and her husband earlier this week at a restaurant. It turns out they live very close to me! What great news. After hot dogs, we enjoyed many of the local shops including The Groove , Great Stuff!, The Trunip Truck, and a Wine shop. We were killing time so that we could have ice cream at Pied Piper, the local homemade ice cream shop. I can't wait to grocery shop at the Turnip Truck, or go on more dates at Pied Piper. I live in the best part of Nashville right here - come and visit!

After lunch I felt a sense of accomplishment when I broke out the sewing machine and fixed a shirt for work. I'm finally moved in.

A friend of mine is remodeling a house and attempting to live in it at the same time. Yesterday was a break-through day with the purchase of appliances and the painting of the kitchen. I don't like to see my friends stressed, and I know that was a huge stress-reliever. Congrats on being one step closer to a completed home!

At work last night, one of my favorite families that I serve came in. It was their daughter's 6th birthday and she wanted to eat at Applebee's so that I could sing to her. What a joy that was to have a little girl excited to take pictures with me for her birthday. I'm also invited to the birthday party tomorrow, and I just might go.

Last but definitely not least - my dad received a promotion yesterday! My parents will be moving across state in the spring. A little intimidating for them, but this is the right timeing. I am so excited for them and can't wait to help move. Congratulations, Dad! I'm so proud of you!

Women are like cars.

I have finally moved into my own place! I was just telling my roommate that something about moving to this place has given me a sense of empowerment that I have never had. It's really fantastic. I love my house, my new roommates, my new possibilities.

I finally feel like transition is happening. Since moving here one week ago, I have finally called back people who mean the world to me but who I have not kept in touch with. The move created a stress reliever for me that gave me time and encouragement to get some other things done (including applying for more jobs).

My time here has been the best time of my life so far. I am enjoying and growing in community in a mighty way. Every day, someone new comes into my life that I am able to bless or that blesses me. And then there's men. Either there are more of them in this part of the country, or they have more courage than the ones in DC. Either way, there are certainly more of them interested in me than ever before. I've had more conversations about relationships than I ever have - and I'm a woman - I talk about men all of the time! So thank you, men in Tennessee. You have not only given me a great conversation topic and made my life more interesting, but you have given me great joy in the last few months through your conversations.

I was just talking with my new friend, Tony, about relationships. It turns out that Tony has great insight into relationships. We just met this week but have already had some great conversations. I thought I would share tonight's analogy with you.

Yes, chemistry is important. Whether or not you are attracted to another person is important. However, it's what's on the inside that counts. It's like a car. You can be attracted to the body, but the important thing is that the engine works. A great sports car will look good when you're standing next to it, but if the engine doesn't run or has something seriously wrong with it, you're going to waste your time and money!

Skunk

Just in case you ever needed to know, here is the recipe for taking a skunk smell off of a dog:

• pint hydrogen peroxide
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 tablespoon of citrus-based liquid soap

Then add a can of Oust to the surrounding area and you're good to go!

And to add an update:
I'm moving to my own place on Saturday. It's close to church so that I can create community with my neighbors and my church. I'm still attempting to find a "real" job, and I'm upset that I missed a month's worth of episodes of Chuck.

It's a Small World, After All

Today I served a man who is in town for a few weeks, but just happens to actually live down the street from where I moved from in Virginia. Weird. I miss you, Edison St.
Last week I went swing dancing and met a cool girl, Shawna. The next night at church, Shawna sat right next to me. We are now going to be roommates.
My friend Erin from grade school took a vacation to D. C. and spent a lot of time with my good friend, Matt, before they realized that they both knew me.
Do you have a small world story? I have tons, but unfortunately am too hungry right now to think of any more.

Affirmation

I believe that God affirms our decisions in one way or another. It's a way of him reminding us that he's on our side, that he loves us and will never leave us. My decisions for the last few months have been consistently affirmed by God. Words can't describe my experiences over the last few months. Each decision has been graciously affirmed and I am really looking forward to see what happens next. Although admittedly, I'm a little fearful that it will be something really not good - so part of this blog is a reminder of the joys of God these months so that I can look back and use them to get me through a tough time.

I tried to explain these last few months to my dear friend Matt Pritchard last night during a debrief conversation, and am glad that he just knew what I was talking about. the best way for me to attempt to share with you is by remembering a scene from the movie Hope Floats. Sandra Bullock's character tells her daughter that she always thought she was meant to be something great and extraordinary, but in the grand picture she wasn't something great, she was just a woman. But when I look at her character, she was something great....

I always thought and still think that I was meant to be something great and extraordinary. As I'm growing up a little, I realize that my idea of "great" isn't what I really wanted or what God wanted for me. But - with God in me, I am great. It's not really me though - it's God. The every day miracles that I see around me are what he created me to be a part of, and that is extraordinary. From a friend at work who wants to share her life story, to the guy who eats dinner by himself and notices that I enjoy my job. My job isn't to make great tips (but it really helps so please tip well :) ), but to just love the people that are in my presence each day. And God doing that in me - is always extraordinary. And people know it. The next lesson is to learn how to teach those people that I'm not just a good waitress, but that Jesus Christ lives in me and is the one that is loving them through me. Not easy in 20 minutes of a dining experience or conversation, so let's see if we can keep the conversation going. I hope that the Greatness of God will also extend past Applebee's and to my family, neighbors, and other community. I hope that for you also!

Off to a long weekend trip with dear friends for a wedding. Pictures will come next week, sorry for the day Ruhiyyih! Oh - and since you're one of the few that reads this - I want to say that I appreciate your cleanliness around the house. It certainly is helping me at this stage of my life, since I'm not as clean as others in my community. :-) Working on it though! Love ya girl.

Rewind

Thanks to my cousins, I am now able to download photos that I've taken since moving to Nashville. Enjoy the photos of my first Thanksgiving here!