He holds my future in His hands

in the first two weeks of this year, my world has already been turned upside down. maybe that's a little dramatic. things have changed, and are changing, and will continue to change, and sometimes it's overwhelming. most of the time though, i've been pretty ok with it.

this year, i have to take things one day, one event at a time. if i start going through the first two months of this year, i already go into panic mode, and so today, i'm simply reflecting on this day and preparing for tomorrow. because everything past that? there's nothing i can do about it yet.

but for the sake of this post, i'm going to get ahead of myself...

tomorrow, i have a gigantic interview with the District Manager of Jamba Juice. i'm in line for a promotion, either as a shift lead, or a shift manager. one of my best friends just quit her position as manager (and today she got hired at starbucks! isn't God good?!), and essentially, i'm taking her place.

even that position is still up in the air though. i don't know exactly which position i'll get, and because of that, i really have no idea what my schedule will look like yet. i'll either be a manager, which means more hours and more pay, and a little more pressure, or just a lead, which means more pay and more hours, without the pressure. in my heart of hearts, i'd almost prefer the lead, just because it would leave a little more flexibility in my schedule. but this position is totally and completely in God's hands.

i'll be totally honest and tell you that i really don't want to stay at Jamba forever. i'd much rather be working in a coffee shop, or maybe somewhere on campus again, but for right now, this is the door God has opened, and i'm going to walk through it until it's time to close it and walk through a new one.

a week from today, school starts. i haven't even had a chance to think about that yet, and all the e-mails i've been getting from professors are totally catching me off guard! school? what's that?

then again, this will be the first semester that i'm taking a teaching class, and i'm looking forward to that! the past 5 semesters have been strictly focused on history, but i'm not planning on becoming a historian - i want to become an educator, so i'm excited to finally gain some exposure to that field.

in just about three weeks, my best friend is getting married, which is HUGE and so exciting. her brother just got married on saturday (a vegas post is coming, i promise!), and now it's her turn to walk down the aisle and say her 'i do's.' so that's just another little thing coming up; it's not big deal, really.

as soon as i fly back from the wedding, valentine's day is just around the corner, and then T's birthday, and then our one year...which will just be one romantic and a little chaotic whirlwind, but i'm looking forward to it!

on top of starting mission trip leadership training, raising support, and organizing the team, as well as the many changes that are happening at church, and all the uncertainty that entails as well, this year so far has been one big lesson on trusting God - releasing control to Him and just walking behind Him as he leads.

in light of all those changes, i've been thinking a lot of my priorities - what's important to me, what i want to give the most time to, and where i want to best invest my life. this is the list that keeps coming to mind:

#1 God - church, college group leadership, service, missions, rest, quiet time.

#2 Travis - spending quality time with him, encouraging him, and working and growing alongside him.

#3 Friends and family - honestly, these don't fall very far behind T at all - in fact, i'd almost say it's a very close tie. the time i had to reconnect with friends this past semester was so precious to me, and i don't intend on giving that up on behalf of 'busy-ness' again. no thank you.

#4 School

#5 Work

and somewhere in there, photography and growing in that art, is also incredibly important to me. the good thing about photography as that it just fits into every area of my life - i don't need to fit my life around it.

 i keep hearing jeremiah 29:11 in my mind...

' for i know the plans i have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future '

God's plans are long-term, and even in the learning, growing, stretching, and challenge, His plans prevail. i don't think this year will be easy by any means, but it will be so so so rewarding.