8 Months later....

"The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14

Wow. Last time I wrote was July and it was the last week that we were in Daytona. A good amount has happened since then! After a battle of deciding whether or not to MOVE to Daytona, I decided to just see where else the Lord would lead me, and if he lead me back to Daytona, I would be there in a heartbeat. I got back from my adventurous YouthWorks! summer on August 2nd with so much fear of the future in my heart. All I desired was to serve the Lord like I had been in Daytona by investing in youth and in a community. I had no idea what that was going to look like. I applied for 3 jobs the next day. One was for a day care center in Waukesha, another was for a homeless outreach center in Madison, and the last was for a Big Brothers Big Sisters agency in St. Cloud, MN. A couple days later, I had a phone interview with BBBS in St. Cloud for a School-Based Coordinator position. A week later I had an in-person interview in St. Cloud and a day later, I was offered the position. All the while, the prayer of my heart was to allow myself to not fear God's will for my life, whatever that was. I accepted the position with excitement! My first full time job, a job that I wanted and was very passionate about!!! Praise Jesus! Two weeks later, I was moved into my new one bedroom apartment, and beginning the next chapter in my life. It still blows me away when I think about it. Crazy!

It's been over 6 months since I moved to St. Cloud, MN and started working for BBBS. (I even have Minnesota plates and license...) I can't even express to you what I've learned. Not only from starting my first full time job, but from living by myself, and not knowing anyone in the community. It was a tough road, a lot harder than I ever thought. The crazy thing is, it was a wonderful place to be. I wouldn't have told you that in my first couple months here. I was quite bitter about not having a significant other/fiancee/husband, not having friends/my friends being so far away/friendships changing, and just not really knowing if this was where I was supposed to be. I was alone a lot. If you know me at all, you would know that's not how I roll. I like a little time alone, not a lot. I spent a lot of time at Barnes and Noble reading a book called Lady in Waiting (ladies, read it!). Seriously, I would go there after work and take the book off the shelf and read a chapter, then put it back. Hour by hour, and lonely weekend after lonely weekend, God stripped away so many insecurities, bitterness, fears, doubts, and anxieties as he brought me closer to Him in the quiet of my one bed room apartment, and at a corner table at Barnes and Noble. He taught me lessons (and continues to teach me) in my brokenness and surrender. I began to see things differently. I saw my life differently.

As I learned about reckless abandonment to Jesus and the power of the Word of the Lord, my view shifted and I enjoyed my time alone. The Lord slowly began bringing friends into my life and enhancing my friendships with my co-workers. Speaking of co-workers, I love them. They are all simply wonderful, and I am so blessed to have ended up in an office filled with such wonderful people. Grace. That is something working with them and in this field has opened my eyes to. The abundance of grace. It truly is a wonderful thing. Anyway, I started volunteering at a homeless shelter and looking for other ways that I could serve the community I was in. I went to a couple different churches (church shopping is cool, but not something I want to do again) and finally found one that is solid, challenging, and encouraging. I started volunteering with Youth For Christ with the young girls ministry there. Looking outside myself and being about other people, being about Christ. It was so easy for me to think about myself and pity my place in life when I first moved here. My eyes have been opened even more since Daytona. In fact, I realize now that Daytona was only the beginning of my vision being enhanced and changed. I have a purpose. Serve. That is my purpose. That's your purpose. Serve. No matter where you are at. No matter if it's your mom or a man standing on the corner with a sign that says "Will work for food" or a young child who's parent is incarcerated or a high school girl who is just looking for some guidance. Serve by loving. Serve by giving. Serve by sharing. Serve by listening. That is what I'm supposed to do here in St. Cloud. It only took me moving some where new, not knowing anybody,and being broken at Jesus' feet for the millionth time to figure this out. God used Daytona to teach me a lot and give me a lot of fuel for the fire inside me. It continues here in St. Cloud, MN. I'm ablaze with the love, joy, and peace that comes with knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior and I want to share it with everyone I meet.

With that, I have decided to continue my blog. My hope is to write about ministry here in St. Cloud. There's so much need here, just as there is in any community. We just have to choose to look outside of ourselves before we can see it. I will be 23 soon, so this blog might also contain some life lessons of a twenty-something. There's so many already, it's ridiculous. I have no idea how many people will actually read this, but that's okay. I will write anyway. I still can't believe I'm here. Working a job that I truly enjoy, living on my own, and content. I love saying that word, content. It's truly wonderful. God is good.

Thank you to all of the wonderful people that have been praying for me and who listened to me cry numerous times over the phone (especially my mom).

I hope this blog can be an encouragement to everyone and maybe help you to see things around you differently, through God's eyes instead of your own.

In Christ,

Jessica