goodbye.

Well my friends, we are about to embark on the journey to Kansas. We leave tomorrow morning at 6AM and will hopefully arrive Wednesday evening. I think I'm ready at this point. We're packed, moved out, loaded up - good to go. Now I'm ready to hit the road. 

It hit me today, however, that even though I will indeed return in a couple of months for my brother's wedding - after tomorrow I will no longer be a resident of Nampa, Idaho. I know, groundbreaking isn't it? But even though I'll be back to visit for the wedding it is just strange to me that this technically won't be my home anymore (I'll always be from here of course) after tomorrow. 

So, with that said I want to say goodbye. I'm going to miss each of you more than I probably even know, but I'm so thankful for everything and everyone. Thank you to all of you that made my going away memorable and special. I appreciate it so very much. We both do. Goodbye Nampa. See you soon. 

don't ever do this.

So, I just got a letter from MidAmerica about financial aid. It was a letter, from a large institute, talking about money, telling me that the matter was urgent, and speaking of the federal government. SO, with all that information let me tell you this: the ENTIRE letter was written in Comic Sans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COMIC SANS?!?!!!!!!!!!!! why, why, why? 

It's never okay to write anything in comic sans - especially one that's about finances. Bleh.

party.

I'm using the blog world for things it may not be intended for again. BUT it's a good cause. 

YOU'RE INVITED TO RYAN AND CLAIRE'S GOING AWAY PARTY!!

It's just a little get together in order to get in those last goodbyes before we head off to Kansas. 

Here's the info:

When: June 29 7-10pm

Where: Seward House 2115 E. Greenhurst Rd

We're just going to be having a little barbecue and hang out time. You can swim if you want. But we'd love to have you! 

Let me know if you have questions. 

the road to home.

I live in a town that I love. In the last month or so I have done my fair share of  "taking it all in" as my departure from this place is drawing closer and tonight as I drove home from my parent's house I had one of these moments. With the sun just getting ready to set, it's golden light that is so familiar in the summertime touching every part of the valley - I saw what I love...

The road to my parents house that I know like the back of my hand. The one I walked down to go to elementary school, rode my bike to Leah's house and wrecked more than one vehicle. The high school that I watched years of football games being played at and spent so many hours inside planning dances and assemblies. I passed the softball fields where I watched my sister and brother play and eventually learned myself. When summer finally arrives I always just see so much of my life around here. There are people walking everywhere with their kids and dogs... half of which I know the names of. As silly as it may sound, every street has so many memories. It's just that every time I drive around I see the last 16 years of my life. And then I realize why my heart is here. 

I saw Prince Caspian a while ago and somehow it just keeps coming back to me. There are these two songs that have really just meant a lot to me from the movie that talk about saying goodbye and what home is. Every time I hear either of them I think about this movie and how these siblings are torn between two homes and trying to figure out which one they belong in. And I say all that to say that tonight while I was driving down the street from my parent's house I finally felt like I could have both. This home will always have my heart, but I think that with time I will call Kansas home... and that will be good too. 

If you get the chance - The Call by Regina Spektor and This is Home by Switchfoot are definitely worth a listen and think of me when you do! :) 

half.

Well, today marks the 6 month that Ryan and I have been married! Half a year! Kind of weird to think about, but I love it. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I'd say I have one of the most legit husbands I've ever known. YAY!!!

That's really all I wanted to say. 

god is good.

Well, some good news. Our car is fixed! After quite a bit of deliberation and discussion with LOTS of people we decided to keep the car and hope for the best on our trip to Kansas. It's very very possible that this car will continue to be high maintenance - which is why we were wanting to just get rid of it. However, we decided that it was one thing that we really couldn't deal with right now. So... yeah! We have a car and for now it works and that is a good thing. Very good. 

God is good, I'd say. Whatever happens, I know He will provide. I think I'm just going to count on that for now. Continue to keep us in your prayers as we start getting ready to move! 

part the waters.

There is this song by a group that I love that says:

When I think I'm going under

Part the waters Lord. 

When I feel the waves around me

Calm the sea.

When I cry for help, oh hear me Lord

and hold out Your hand

Touch my life, still the raging storm

in me. 

Right now, I need that. I don't really love to just dive into my personal life much in the blogging world, but I know that a few of you who read this could be a bit of support. Life is getting hard for us right now. As many of you know, we are about to make a pretty big move. Well, a couple of things have arose in the last couple of weeks that are making the move seem fairly overwhelming. Our car is broken and the move is very, very expensive especially with the ever rising price of gas. Not to mention the already existent stress of moving away from my home, family, and best friends. I just don't know how to manage it all right now.

So, if you're into it, we'd really appreciate your prayers for us in the next couple of weeks. We're just really trying to trust that God is bigger and will take care of us. 

thanks dudes. 

belong.

I had a conversations with my parents in the car the other night that made me think about a conversation I had a long time ago with Ryan. I think the thought is valuable so I'm going to share it with you now. 

We often use the tactic of "finding a place of belonging" to reach out to people in order to get them to come to church. A lot of times the idea of belonging to a community is what gets most people in the door and eventually it is why they stay. The thing is - every member of a congregation needs that sense of belonging. The pastor, the board members, those people that you think were probably birthed at church, every person joins the community of a church body, in part, for a sense of belonging. And yet, so many people feel like nobody knows them or recognizes them when they come to church. So many feel like they don't truly belong. In fact, it was Ryan that told me he felt this way many times on Sunday mornings and my heart hurts a little to think that some people walk in the doors of church in the morning who go there every week and feel the same way...every week. 

Ryan said something to me in that conversation that made me realize the potential danger, I guess, of the situation. He said, "No one at church makes me feel like I belong there." Then I thought, if we're all standing around church thinking that we don't belong then who is supposed to be making us feel like we belong? The point is, it is easy to spend a lot of time within a church body finding ways that other people aren't doing a good job of being a part of a church body. We all seem to think that it isn't our responsibility to be the one giving that sense of belonging; that church is for only me. And then I think, what have I done to make someone feel like they belonged at church lately? I just wonder if I spend so much time stewing about everyone around me doing a lousy job at loving me that I don't do much in the way of encouraging anyone else. 

It can't be only one person's job, you know? It's not just the worship team or the group leader's or the pastor's job to be the people that say you belong within this community. Wouldn't it be amazing if we all stopped stewing on Sunday mornings and just looked someone in the face and said, I'm so glad to see you today? Maybe this is stupid and something that is really "duh" to other people, but it was a really great reminder to me that I'm capable of making someone feel like they belong and I would have to imagine that by doing so the feeling would be reciprocated. So, I'm really going to try making a habit of doing so. 

*I apologize for the "we's." It isn't my preferred way of addressing church. Just couldn't think of another way to approach it. Peace yo.