"And now, O Lord, we surrender our hands and our heads and our hearts, knowing that Your nearness is our only good." 

I got to spend some delightful time this past week at Red Mountain Community School, and heard this prayer from the mouths and the hearts of the kids and teachers each morning. It has been rolling in my mind ever since. What a sweet way to begin each day! 

As some of you know, I have been on a serious job hunt for the past two months or so. Okay, well, the first month was me not seriously looking for a job...we were just settling into the married life and enjoying the holidays. You know how that goes. But then, Ryan and I got to talking and decided that, like it or not, it was time for me to really look for a job that provided some extra income for us. So many bills to pay in this grown up world! Anyway, I just happened to mention to magen that i was looking for a job. a few days later, she just happened to get a mass e-mail from an architecture company that was looking for a receptionist (which just so happened to be just what i was looking for). so, i called them and we set up an interview, which happened to go very well, i thought. and today, i got a call back from them and they just happened to offer me a great job! which is soooooo exciting! :) but really, i know all of this didn't just happen to happen, the Lord has led me here-which really is what is exciting about all of this. i know that He has directed my steps, even as ryan and i have been praying He would. for this, i am so thankful!! :) this is going to be my first "real" job. i mean, i have worked quite a few jobs, but for some reason, they aren't really classified as "real" jobs to most...which is a peculiar thing, if you ask me. i guess, though, there is something about working a job after you graduate from college. i mean, now, after working hard for many years, i have a college degree-which makes me "more" qualified than some. interestingly enough, in my interview for this job, they asked why i wasn't working in the "church" world with my bible college degree-i mean, "don't most people who go to that kind of school do church work?" i paused to think about the people i know who actually aren't doing church work with their bible college degree... which is not a bad thing. i mean, i think about how we are taking what we have learned (hopefully) and applying it to the world in which we live. isn't that so much of what we learned at sebc? that this stuff isn't only for working specifically in the church-this "stuff" we have learned and what we believe are to be applied wherever we go! righty-o? anyway, enough rambling for me..... for now! :)