.embracing newness.

this is now where i call home, not too shabby huh?
i am living in newness right now... and i really have mixed feelings about it. but first... a blog tour.

i love yellow and i really love that our house is yellow. we have a cute patio, but it's not ready for your viewing pleasure quite yet.

this place is so peaceful. i like hangin' out in here. it's not quite finished yet, but when it is, i'll re-blog tour it.

this is our little dining area. it's quaint, it's cozy and i have to say my parents have great taste in picking out wine racks and tables. i've come to love happy hour at this little nook.

this is what sold us on this house. hands down. it's just been redone and it's awesome... loaded... gorgeous. this is one of my favorite places to be - now to find friends/college students to cook for :)

i had to go public with my new bedding because good gracious it wasn't cheap. the reason i had to get new bedding was not because i thought i deserved it or because i now have a job and can afford it. nope - none of the above. the reason is because the paint color on the walls of my bedroom is HIDEOUS. my friend came over and his description was, "flesh toned." i call it peach. my roommate is attempting to make me feel better and call it light salmon (her bedroom is a delightful color of yellow mind you). my room has a tinge of pink it it and if you know me, that's no bueno. needless to say, it is also not ready for your viewing pleasure quite yet, i have some diverting to do. but i do love my new bedding.

and your grand finale... my commute to work. right. this is not a joke. i drive south on the 101 for about 20 miles and 12-15 of it is ocean. unbelievable and considering the rain we just got, the hills on the other side of the freeway look like ireland. it's absolutely the most beautiful place to live and i feel like God is spoiling the heck outta me by letting me live here and have the job that i have. [i'm planning on posting a "new job" post this weekend, stay tuned].

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okay back to the whole mixed emotions about the newness thing.

reasons i love being new in town:
- new coffee shops, stores, neighborhoods to explore
- people always want to know why you moved here and what you're doing
- for some reason people here like texas, so they want to hear all about it
- i get the chance to 'start over' in some ways
- i get to visit churches and see what God's up to in alot of places before i commit to a community
- i could spend the next 6 months going to a new restaurant every friday night and still not even scratch the surface
- my house is 3 miles from the beach. not even double digits - bliss :)
- i love to organize and new houses/offices call for lots of organizational skills
- i like getting to know people so it's fun to have the opportunity to make new friends
- my house is 1 mile from some really fun friends with 2 stinkin' cute little boys
- everything here is SO much closer and there is no traffic, i'm diggin' the small town gig

reasons i DON'T love being new in town:
- i get lost sometimes, but thank God for my iphone
- i feel like an idiot my first day at spin class... and at the office... and taking the trash out on the day the recycle goes out
- i am 2 and a half weeks in and am getting really tired of telling people who i am and why i'm here
- i miss being known, like truly known by people and not having to explain myself
- i miss not feeling 'at home' when i walk into church and i'm ready for the awkwardness to wear off
- i don't like stubbing my toe on my dresser in the middle of the night because i don't know where things are in my bedroom
- i don't like the transition period that goes with a move and the 6-12 months of unsettledness

i know these are normal things that come with moving and i know "this too shall pass." all of those things are true and clearly the good outweighs the bad and i have absolutely no doubt that our great God spoiled me rotten by making my next assignment santa barbara and there's no question in my mind that He has purpose for me here. this was undeniably the right decision. i have a community of people (mostly young life staffers and their people) who are here and have loved me well from day one and let me tell you - i. am. grateful. they've been amazing with everything from beds, to showers, to meals, to laundry, to wine-football-nachos parties at midnight, to helping me move, to being a listening ear. and i have had an overwhelmingly warm welcome from the community that already exists surrounding my new job.

i know that in each place i've moved, i've experienced more of God, grown more in my faith and become a better, stronger person for having lived there and i have no doubt that santa barbara will be the same because my God is faithful. and because He is faithful, i am embracing newness.

.music mondays - garden.

i really, truly hate to be the girl that does a repeat band 2 weeks in a row, but as i thought about music mondays, there just seemed no more appropriate song for me. i have this amazing friend in the oc, erin, who makes me mixes of music that are stellar, no lie. she made me one for my 2 hour journey up to santa barbara when i moved 2 weeks ago and number 8 on that mix has breathed life into me these last 2 weeks. for the first week, it made me cry every time i heard it and this week it cheers me up - it is my prayer and well worth a listen. i PROMISE to switch bands next week. pinky promise.

"garden" by needtobreathe

Won't you take this cup from me?
because fear has stolen all my sleep.

If tomorrow means my death
pray you'll save their souls with it.

Let the songs I sing bring joy to you.
Let the words I say confess my love.
Let the notes I choose be your favorite tune.

Father let my heart be after you.

In this hour of doubt I see
who I am is not just me
so give me strength to die myself
so love can live to tell the tale.

Let the songs I sing bring joy to you.
Let the words I say confess my love.
Let the notes I choose be your favorite tune.

Father let my heart be after you.

Father let my heart be for you
For you
For you
For you

Let the songs I sing bring joy to you.
Let the words I say confess my love.
Let the notes I choose be your favorite tune.

Father let my heart be after you.

i pray that it will breathe life into you as is has me. and happy monday :)

.a faithful, prayer-answering God.

i have seriously never been as overwhelmed with how good our God is as i am today. on a number of levels, for a number of reasons. he has answered so many prayers and i am seriously in awe of him tonight.

- i woke up at 4 and texted janelle to tell her i was praying and she texted me back from the ukraine saying that they were still praying and waiting as well. i got another text from her at about 530 that just said, "Final decree is Monday at 4pm. But all is well according to translation. hallelujah!" anja is theirs, officially on monday, but unofficially today. there is so much joy and so much peace knowing she'll be raised in their home and loved unconditionally. yay God!

- kristen's husband, mark flew to miami this morning on pure faith that the government would get the kiddos processed and through the embassy to the US today - not knowing if that would happen and not knowing if keanan would be one of them. and this was her post about an hour ago, "The plane has landed. Mark is waiting with the other adoptive parents, while the kids go through customs. I am jumping out of my skin wishing I was there!" and then this: "(Kristen) is thinking of the memory her son will have, flying to the United States on a military plane with all of his best buddies at the same time . . ." amazing. again, yay God!

those things were so heavy on my heart and in my prayers last night and tonight? done. unbelievable. we serve a big God. and a little side note in my own life - i am here in santa barbara and will write more about my job/life/house later, but just have been really praying for a church that will have a somewhat seamless transition for me - a place i can call home where their vision propels me to move forward in my work and ministry, where there are like-minded people doing kingdom work, where the teaching is solid and the people are authentic, etc. and i was invited to go tonight to a church that i think i'll be calling home. i got there and teared up during worship because God is so stinkin' good and had answered yet another prayer today. unbelievable.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

.orphans in waiting.

i'm writing this post tonight because this is what's on my heart and mind right now. two sets of parents who are in adoptive processes that have taken WAY too long and are waiting to bring home kiddos. 2 different stories, 2 different countries. 2 different precious kids that need to be home with their families.

- my cousin and her husband http://dhfam.blogspot.com are in the process of adopting a little girl named anja from the ukraine. it's been a LONG RIDE for them these last few months and years of waiting and tomorrow is the day. in 5 hours they will walk into a courtroom and some judge they've never met, whose never heard their story will decide the fate of their little girl - will she come home to colorado where they feel that being her mama and papa is the absolute best thing for her or will she have to stay living in the orphanage in the ukraine only to become another statistic? i hate this limbo for them and i hate that it has been so difficult. so if you're the praying type, please pray for janelle and casey, for the judge, for their translator and ultimately for anja - that whatever is best for her is what will be done.


- my friends, the howertons http://thehowertons.blogspot.com have a CRAZY story of their little man keanan who is currently living in Port-au-Prince, Haiti - clearly not an ideal living situation for him... read their blog and pray for them, they are trying desperately to get him back here on humanitarian parole and are pretty stinkin' close. the worst thing for them as parents is to know their child is there in haiti, living in those conditions when he could be home with them. there are going to be so many more orphans in haiti following this earthquake that it truly seems irrational to keep him there. again, if you're the praying type, please pray for mark and kristen, for their government connections, for the people who are rallying for them and for them to get keanan back here safely and quickly.


i love the heart of our great God for orphans and how he is a Father to the fatherless. and i love the hearts of the people in my life for orphans and just deeply respect their willingness to fight for these kids... because they're worth it. join me in praying these kids home.

.music mondays - something beautiful.

i heard this song a few weeks ago for the first time and i am hooked. on the song, on the band, on everything needtobreathe. it speaks volumes for itself so i'll just let it speak. happy monday! it's my last monday living in orange county :( but next monday i'll be working at my NEW JOB!!! :)

here ya go:

"SOMETHING BEAUTIFULl" by needtobreathe

In your ocean, I'm ankle deep
I feel the waves crashin' on my feet
It's like I know where I need to be
But I can't figure out, yeah I can't figure out

Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your tide rushes over me
There's only one way to figure out
Will you let me drown, will you let me drown?

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees.
I'm waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful

And the water is rising quick
And for years I was scared of it
We can't be sure when it will subside
So I won't leave your side, no I can't leave your side.

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees.
I'm waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful

In a daydream, I couldn't live like this.
I wouldn't stop until I found something beautiful.
When I wake up, I know I will have
No, I still won't have what I need.

Hey now this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I'm in reach
Cause I am down on my knees
I'm waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful

Jesus - this girl is asking you for some numerous "something beautifuls" in my life. beggin' you to show up and trusting that you will.