God among us

My mom always said that God was sending a message that he was among us when we saw deer. Today as my parents were leaving my house after a visit with the Samster after church, Sammy started barking and sure enough, there were deer across the way from us. They were beautiful and strong and a nice reminder of God's presence among us. Today's church service was a reminder that we cannot go about this journey alone. Another great point was that we are called to be peace makers, which is different from peace keepers. Our call is to bring peace but not to bend over backwards or compromise ourselves and our values to keep it. I love how honest the pastor is about the things that we all struggle with and the ways that God can use us and our imperfections. I was reminded of how God uses our trials to teach us things, to grow us, and that we ought to use our testimonies from our trials to encourage others. I don't think we can hear that message enough. I am really excited to get more involved in the church and to be starting a small group at the house soon. I am so thankful God brought me there and that it has helped me get to the place where I am right now. I feel mostly at peace and I am working to get all the way there. I feel like many of the hurts in my life are healing and that I am recommitting areas of my life where I had drifted away from God. I am also so thankful that God brought my parents to this church with me and that they are getting so much out of it as well.

I just had to share that testimony before getting back to paper writing and then working on wedding invitations with Laura and her sister-in-law for a few hours. I need to find my motivation for these papers and finish strong at school and not sloppy as I am so tempted to focus on other things. I would also really appreciate prayers about my starting the process of sending in job applications. Part of me just wants to go back to work where I did this summer and then start looking but I know I need to give God the opportunity to work in finding me a great real full time permanent job before deciding if that is the best option for me or not.