1.1.11

Why 2011 is the NEWest year I've had . . .

I have been in Alabama a solid 5 months and 3 days (minus a couple weekend trips and my fabulous 5 days back home)

. . . Monday I'll begin my 6th month at Lifeline. . .

almost half a year in Birmingham?! That doesn't seem like very long - and it does, at the same time.

So although it has been half a year, I've been told it takes about a year to get settled. SO I guess I'm half way?

I'm so grateful to be called here. I know this is what God made me for . . . and made for me. Every day I wake up and thank Him for a new day, and another day here- work is my favorite place to be. It's my ministry. My heart cry. My co workers are my family and they're beside me on this journey. . . in this work. The women I work with are so brave- such a blessing to know.

There are lonely moments, for sure- and it's opportunity to know Him in the deepest places of my spirit and soul. . .to awaken to His love, His Presence, His peace . . .

Triple whammy of a weekend- my first full weekend here after going back to Hays. . .my first weekend being sick . . . and my first new year in a 'new' place -

1,000 miles from everything I've ever known.

and I'm grateful for who I've become because of it.
for all God has in store

going home was so sweet. . . everything it needed to be. An exact reminder of everything I've missed- moments to embrace those things. . . and much to look forward to upon my return.

Roots. Familiarity. Community. Church. Friends.

All things that grew deep in Hays. . .
and all things that are being grown here.

I'm rooted, and grounded, in HIM!
Here's to a NEW year. . . and how He makes me new!