This blog was intended to be an update for all the folks back home, wherever that may be for you now. And just so you know, you're all missed so much! It's been an interesting transition to South Carolina. One that we thought might be temporary at first, but everyone knows that plans and intentions always change! And actually, I'm thankful that we're staying here for a while. Being in one place opens the doors for relationships to form, and that has been one of my TOP priorities lately. Stephen and I have been here for about six months now, which is a nice benchmark to stop at and look back to see what we've accomplished.

First of all, we both have settled into our jobs. Hooray for work! It's definitely a blessing to even have work these days, and I'm thankful everyday that we both enjoy our jobs. Just today, a man from Stephen's work (Mark) came over to help Stephen install a new head gasket cover in my Honda! He's been coming over the past couple weekends to work on this difficult car job. I've been so impressed with what Stephen has learned, not only for his job, but also off the job. I.E.--with my car!!

Besides work, we've just been hanging out with people every chance we get. And I think we can go ahead and say that Millbrook Baptist is our current church home. No, we haven't "officially" joined, and I think Stephen would tell you that getting baptized (AGAIN) and signing up to be on the roster isn't exactly Biblical when it comes to being a part of a body of believers. But getting back to the point. Millbrook has a ton of opportunities for us to get involved and serve the community, which I love. Right now we're working with small groups for the middle school kids. The groups meet at different people's homes and hang out and do some Bible study. I'm with the 6th grade girl small group, and being around these kids really brings back some memories. Teaching the G.A.'s class with Kelli, Lindsey, Lori, and Megan at Emmanuel gave us some good experience with mentoring. And seeing those same G.A. girls grow from 4th graders to being in high school is something that just can't be recreated. So, in a way, I feel like I'm starting over with these girls at Millbrook, and it's hard! It's hard because I want to get to know them and be able to teach them to think about the Bible in a deep and critical way. It's not going to happen overnight. I just know that discipleship is where a lot of my passion in ministry lies, so in order to get the ball rolling I'm going to need to build up these relationships. And tonight, I felt like the ice was finally broken. Do you know that feeling? When a group of people FINALLY feel comfortable around each other? I'm very excited about this, and I hope that the next school year will prove to be more fruitful.

Now, speaking of breaking the ice.... Another way to describe this point in a relationship is the tipping point. When you start inviting yourself over... or whatever. No plans. No reason. I just want to hang out. Meeting people that you can connect with on that level is not easy outside of college...or should I say AFTER college. Because having the convenience of similarity and proximity to people who are just like you can be taken for granted! It's true. I meet people who haven't had this experience, and I honestly feel sorry for them on some level because the friendships that came out of Tech are irreplaceable. Yes, I know that college is what you make of it....yada yada. But really. Dorms are like relationship building sessions on crack. You know I'm right.

Excuse me for being so obsessed with this concept right now. It's probably about 45 percent of what I think about. Anyway. Tomorrow starts a new week, and I'm totally pumped about seeing Anna, Bryan, and our nephew Ben on Saturday!!! Look out, North Carolina!