I'm moving!

It's official.  I'm moving to Penn State!  I've accepted a job as an advisor and instructor -- something a bit different than my current role that will allow me to expand my skillset while playing to my strengths.  I am excited for the transition: to learn new things, to meet new people, and to see what God has in store for me in this new season.  I've prayed for change for three years, and now it is here (after two false alarms about jobs I was "sure I would get" - ha).  I can barely believe it.  I leave this Thursday.

This change also offers me some changes I've been praying for -- additional stability, empowerment, and the opportunity to buy a house.  I prayed for clarity: clear yeses and noes.  I don't think that could have been answered any better, and God has been in the details from the big to the small.  It has been so kind, and has spoken to my heart in such a tender way.  Three of my favorite examples of God stories are

• The house - I prayed for the right place to live: one that would be convenient to campus, good for entertaining, and a place of peaceful sanctuary for me and others.  The house I bought was perfect, in my price range, and only on the market for 8 hours.  The way I got it was such a God story, and I am grateful.  I really feel like the Lord set it aside just for me.  I am excited to see the way He works in that house.

• A gig - There was some rockiness to the way my position ended.  In the end, I was asked to write a report that expounded on some ideas I had at work.  This gig not only allowed me to keep my benefits for the summer, it also pays me enough to buy a new washer dryer!  In a season where I am writing checks all the time and draining my savings to buy a house, this is no small thing.  Additionally, it provided me a little external validation that I have good ideas - something I hadn't felt in awhile.

• The washer/dryer - I had been watching sales on washers and dryers since I didn't want to pay full price.  I called my realtor to see if I had a gas or electric dryer hookup (I didn't remember).  He called me the next day and explained that he had a client who already had appliances who had just purchased a high end home that came with a washer/dryer.  He asked if I would be interested in purchasing the old washer/dryer - for $200!  What a gift.

As excited as I am for the change, Arkansas has been my home for the last nine years.  I've made a tremendous set of friends who have become like family.  I loved my job and the students I got to meet as part of it.  I experienced the dark night of my soul here and had to figure out who I was and what I valued -- and I came out on the other side.  I am a gentler, more balanced, more confident, and overall better friend, co-worker, and teacher than I was when I moved here.  Although I am sad to leave Northwest Arkansas, the people I met and experiences I had here fundamentally changed me and will always be a part of who I am.  I am forever grateful for that.

Adventure: it is exciting, and it is scary.  And it is happening.