My Chains, His Stains...Only by grace: Nashville

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Current Events

So I spent the day with an old friend yesterday, it was so neat to finally see her again. She was actually my roommate from Ft. Lauderdale and it's so funny that we live only a few streets away from each other now and haven't been able to spend time together until now.

We had lunch at a cute little cafe in downtown Franklin and then drove into the city and got ice cream at this adorable little home made ice cream shop in Nashville and just walked around enjoying the day. It's always good to catch up with someone you've shared so many memories with. I love that!

Here are a few photos from our walk in the city:

I've still had no luck with the job search. :( I've been praying about it so much, I feel the Lord just saying sit still and wait. I've registered with a few nanny agencies and I've put my resume out there several times and I've told everyone I've come into contact with that I'm looking, so I'm just going to sit back and wait for a little while and see if something opens up. As hard as it is to watch the days go by and the bank account dwindle, I've got complete peace that if He wants me here for an extended period of time, He's going to provide for me. In the mean time, I've set up my own little shop called dh refined on etsy.com (One of the most fabulous websites I've yet to come across, everything is handmade and it's so inspiring to search through the pages and pages of handmade goods. I could spend hours on that website, it's a scary thing!) and I'm selling a few things I've made. Check it out if you get a chance and pass the word along to your friends who may be interested. :) www.dhrefined.etsy.com

Here are a few photos of the things I've made:

I'm so very excited to say that the boyfriend is coming to visit this weekend (tomorrow actually)!!! I haven't seen him in 3 weeks and ah it's been so tough. His visit will be short and sweet, but I don't care, I'll take all the time I can get with the boy! It's been a more difficult transition for us than I had imagined. I haven't shared much of our story, but for a little background - we started dating long distance. He told me the night before I moved away for school in Ft Lauderdale (August of 06), that he liked me and he couldn't let me leave without knowing it (it had to be one of the most confusing nights of my life!). Needless to say, we talked on the phone almost every day until April of 07 and then finally decided to put a title on our relationship. We've been dating ever since, and I didn't move back home until October of 07, so we thought we were prepared for the distance thing again when I made the decision to move to TN but it's been a lot harder than we both had expected. I'm not sure how much longer we can endure the distance, but while it's tough, it has been so good for us. God has truly shown me where my heart is and He's showing me more and more each day that I can't live without him. I'm not sure what that means for my time here in TN, but until God makes that more clear, I'm just soaking up the time I have to truly focus on writing and spending time at His feet. :)

Well, I better get going, but I hope you're all doing well! Let me know what you think of the etsy stuff if you get a chance to look at it! :)

Lots of love and many many blessings,

d

Friday, January 16, 2009

In the quiet...

Sweet Amber, thank you for your blogging accountability - you know I need it! :)

So I'm here! I've made it to Tennessee, and boy is it COLD! This Florida girl is sooo out of place! I woke up yesterday morning, looked out the window and thought, "hmm, it's a perfect morning for a run!" I put on what I thought was "warm clothes" and headed out the door. The air hit me like a brick wall. "Just get going, you'll warm up once your blood is moving," I tried to convince myself. A mile later I couldn't feel anything below my neck. "This is ridiculous," I thought, "I'm heading home." I got back to the apartment and ran to check the temp - 12 degrees and getting colder!!! I sat in front of my heater and tried to do anything to feel my legs again - 4 hours later I finally felt normal. Note to self : don't go running without checking the temp. Today is colder, this morning my weather.com app said 10 degrees but feels like 2 degrees. We're supposed to have weather below zero a little later this week - I can't believe people live in this all their lives!

Enough about the cold, Tennessee has been an adventure. The people are ever-so friendly, my new roommates are wonderful, the apartment is coming along (well my share of it at least), it's beautiful and wintery (quite a change from my flat, hot & humid homeland), and the best part - I'm at total peace about the entire move. My life has come to a screeching halt, I've gone from crazy busy to almost bored, but it's been such a blessing! I've had such a wonderful time "nesting" (if you can call it that at 21), creating my little sanctuary, cooking my own meals, catching up on my much missed quiet time and just relaxing. No agenda, no meetings, no stress and no pressure - it's been wonderful! I can't keep this up forever, I'm starting to get a little bored, but it's been nice for a few days or so. Before I left home, I kept feeling a tug on my heart saying "listen to me." I totally brushed it aside until I got here, but now that I've had time to listen, that little voice has become the music my heart sings to. My boyfriend and I didn't really do resolutions this year, but we did set a goal to go through the Bible in a year together. So far so good. It's been so neat going through it together, it makes the distance a little more bearable. A Psalm I came across has been resonating in my heart over the past few days of quiet, "But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is Godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord." Psalm 4:3-5 I've read that verse several times before, but this time it really spoke to me. He has set me apart for Himself and He's listening! :) I love that! So many days I feel like I chatter prayers on and on in my quiet time or just throughout the day and by the end of it, I feel as if I'm just talking to myself. Regardless of my chatter, He is listening, He hears me and He's delighting in me! Simple truth, but one that grabbed me.

Once again, it's been over a month since I last updated, so here are some pictures to make up for lost time. I hope you're doing well. I'm missing all my GB friends and family so much, know that you're all being thought about and prayed for daily!

Love and blesings,

d

(Sorry, they're all out of order)