onto the next thing

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd share a little from my heart today. All of you know by now how much I have loved working at the elementary school from the end of January until the end of the semester, which is next Wednesday the 24th. While I have loved it so much, it's the full time thing that is just too much for me. I also feel like our lives have changed a bit too much for me to work outside of the home for now. I can't really talk about certain things here, but just know that we've reached a new phase of life all of a sudden. Because of all of this, I know without a doubt that it's time to stop working again, at least for now. I can always go back to it if the need arises, but it wasn't a need that led me to a job in the first place—it was a want. I'm glad I proved to myself that I can do hard things, and I am grateful for the time that I've worked there. I have made some wonderful friends, and honestly, I can see myself going back in the future to volunteer. 

So, I don't know what is in store for me next in life, after next week. I know that I'll enjoy being at home, and getting my house back in order. It may not look bad on the surface, but there are things that are driving me crazy, like the seasonal décor that I have still laying around. Everything needs to be cleaned from top to bottom, and I have quite a bit of organizing to do. I'm looking forward to it all! I also have a big writing project that I need to finish, which is our next fall women's Bible study. I still need to write my second half, make tweaks to the first half of what I've already completed, and then I have to make edits on it all. We need to meet sometime soon to get a gameplan in place as far as what the cover should look like, and to just touch base and see what everyone is thinking. It's one of the greatest honors of my life to be able to help write Bible studies for women! We are working on our fifth one, and we've dwindled from six of us, to five, to just four of us now. I'll do this as long as the Lord allows me to do it! 

We've written on the books of Hosea, Philippians, Esther, 1-2-3rd John & Jude, and we're now working on the book of Judges. Thinking about all of this is getting me so excited to finish my portion and to start meeting with my friends about all of this! I have also seriously missed going to Bible study and cannot wait to get back to studying it again over the summer. Aside from a few things like this, I don't know what the next thing for my life is, and I don't necessarily mind that I'm in the dark about what's coming next. I think that in not knowing #allthethings, it allows for me to more heavily lean on and trust in the Lord and His perfect plan. I'm not stressing about anything at all, I just know that when the next thing comes along for me, I will be here for it, as long as it's in the Lord's will for my life. 

My pastor said something so beautifully profound about this yesterday, and I can't stop thinking about it. He was talking about being in the will of God and how to know if something is in His will. The way you can know you're in the will of God, if you're a believer, is by praying about a few things. One is to pray and consider if whatever it is will draw you nearer to God, or if will drive you away from Him. His will won't ever be for you to be further away from Him. You can pray and consider if whatever it is will benefit your family, or if it will cause trouble for them. I think because one thing is ending for me and because I'm uncertain of what (if anything) is next, that all of this resonated with me. 

I promise I won't keep talking about this forever. I just enjoy writing it out, because it helps me to process all of what's in my heart. If you're still here reading kind of the same old things each day, I appreciate you! While I love you and knowing that I have faithful friends who read all the time, this space is still something I consider very much for my own self. I love fun things like link-up parties and Friday Favorites, and talking about all the frivolous things like that, but I also really enjoy pouring my heart out through words. I also love to encourage women and I figure if I'm feeling these feelings, someone else may be feeling the same kind of things. I love the encouragement that takes place through this sweet little blog space that we all participate in. It's wonderful to have friends you don't know personally, but love just the same as your other friends that are friends in real life. 

So, thank you for reading my blog. Thank you for being a friend and an encourager. You have no idea how much I appreciate the thoughts and prayers you've extended to me and my family about different situations I've had come up over the years. I never want to take your kindness for granted. Love to all!