Livin' la Vida Loca

My life is crazy. Crazy I tell ya. In the span of a little over a week, things are changing dramatically.

First of all, regarding quitting my job: I am still VERY much at peace with the decision, and continue to be more and more excited at what might be in store for me. People at work are finding out and I am so encouraged by the things that they are telling me: "If I was (your age, didn't have kids, wasn't married, etc.) I would do the same thing." "You only have one life, you should live it to the fullest." "Don't get stuck doing a job you don't like, otherwise you might never leave." Stuff like that. Granted, most of the comments are just about the quitting aspect, and not necessarily about what I am quitting for. But, it is just encouragement to hear people bless me while leaving. I am just so excited for what I'll be doing. Any fear I have is quickly disappearing. I sometimes think that the Lord had me quit without knowing whether I had a job to quit for just as a measure to grow my faith. In the face of my fear, would I quit and trust and rely on Him to come through for me? Would I trust Him to provide for me? To give me immeasureably more than I can imagine? A test of faith, if you will.

For some people, quitting a job for "nothing" might not be that scary. And, compared to some things some of my friends have done, it didn't seem nearly as crazy of a decision. But, as one friend pointed out....she sold her condo and moved because she had something to move FOR. And, another friend pointed out that yes, she moved across country too, but all she had to worry about was a car payment. I have a mortgage and women living with me who depend on me for the very roof over their heads. When put that way, I realized that quitting with no "safety net" really IS a big deal. Yet, I am completely confident that I made the right decision. I had a moment of panic earlier last week when my boss said something about working a few weeks longer and having an extra paycheck and benefits for the month of Sept. But, I have to believe that the timing on this was and is key.

So, here is where it gets even crazier. I was talking to a friend of mine last Sunday and chatting about crazy decisions and she tells me that another mutual friend is moving to LONDON for three months. I about died! So after getting off the phone, I called this friend. She tells me what she will be doing in London for those three months and then says: "I don't think I will be able to go, but I think YOU would be perfect. Can I pass your information on if I decide not to go?" And, of course, me, loving London the way I do (oh, just wait, it gets better), say YES!

So, Friday night comes, and we are at dinner for a birthday for Chatel's husband Garrett and I end up chatting with this friend. She says: "I decided not to go, and I have given them your information." !!!!!!!!!

What I would be doing, and this is still a big question mark because I have not heard from anyone yet, is living with a family from ChristChurch Fulham (the church I went and helped the youth with last August, and have had several members stay with me) and nanny for them three days a week. This couple is the new assistant pastor and his wife and their two boys. She is going back to work part time and they need help with the boys. I would also on the other days help raise up some new prayer teams, teach freedom and restoration with the church. So, for room, board, food, and a salary, I would be living in the city I love, working with the church I love for three months!

So, all of this happens, and then on Thursday I get an email....our preschool is ON! It is a go. We are moving forward, full steam ahead.

This leaves me in a bit of a quandry. Do I leave for London at the end of September or do I stay and work the preschool? I have not even officially been asked to nanny for this couple, and my flesh says "GO." But, I also want to be a woman of my word and if those involved with the preschool believe I should stay, then I have to believe that this is the right thing to do as well....that I will be blessed by sacraficing my dream. Maybe it will only be a temporary sacrifice, but there is no way for me to know that at this point. Or, maybe they will release me from my committment and I'll get to go. There is no way to know quite yet what will happen.

And so, the crazy life continues. I am proceeding with the preschool as though the London thing is not happening, because that is the right thing to do, yet, it is at the back of my mind and I feel like I check my email hourly waiting to see if I have one from this assistant pastor.

Please be praying that I would do the right thing, no matter how hard that might be for me to do. Saying no to London would be even harder than quitting my job, but if there is one thing I have learned this last week: The Lord honors our faith.
Erin

The Race is On and It's Erin in the Lead....

Three weddings in one year. I think it must be a record. I will now be a bridesmaid in three weddings this year. One of my small group gals, Katy, got engaged this weekend and asked me to be a bridesmaid. Here's the dress:

D-Day

Well! The day has come! I gave my two-week's notice at work on Friday, and lo and behold, the world has not ended. It was easier than I thought and harder than I thought all at the same time. The actual handing in of my letter of resignation and speaking to my boss was pretty easy, over-all (more on this later). However, thinking about leaving the people and the comfortable-ness of a job I have been doing, and doing well, for the last six years was harder than I thought. At the same time, I am at peace that this is the correct decision and had some confirmation on that on Saturday as I drove past a school I have done some work with. As I drove past it, I thought about what if I was scheduled to go do a classroom visit there on Monday, would I be excited about it or do I feel something else. And, quite frankly, I was not excited at the thought of going there at all. It just felt like confirmation....the very thing I that has taken up 80-90 percent of my job (doing classroom visits) just wasn't appealing to me any longer. Why would I want to stay at a job that I am bored with just for the sake of having a cushy, comfortable job? The only reason I would stay would be out of fear. And, I am not a woman of fear, that is not who I am. The spirit of fear does not mark me and is not how I live my life.

One of the gals I work with said to me that when we are afraid, sometimes we do things and THEN the fear leaves. Walking in the opposite spirit is how I would phrase that in "church" terms. That is exactly what this feels like. I am walking out of fear and into faith.

Trusting the Lord in this time will be an even more active thing because I still don't know for sure that the preschool is happening. Yes, you read that right. We have not heard back from the location we want to have the school if we will even be able to use their building or not. They know we want to use it, and are just waiting. I have enough money in savings to go a while without any income, and I am applying for some part time jobs because even if the preschool happens, I will need some additional income. I am honestly not worried at all. My finances are better right now than they ever have been. In actuality, I could probably not have much of in income for many months and still be OK. I would just cancel some bills that are things I could live without (newspaper subscription, etc.).

Anyway, I will be posting more as I know what is happening. All's well here, though.
Erin

Prayer Requests

Well, this week is our church's Jesus Ministry Conference. This conference is always amazing and wonderful for everyone involved. I missed much of last year's conference due to strep throat, so I am excited to be able to be involved with this one! Over 600 peopel from 14 different nations are in town, including two gals from London, Charlotte and Caz, who are staying with us. I know Charlotte from my last trip to London (Jess' roommate) and when I heard she was coming, I offered her a place to stay. It is quite fun because she and Caz are sharing Lora's bed, and Lora is upstairs with me and Jackie, which is like having a big slumber party up there. We laughed until late last night up there and had a blast. Prayers for endurance are needed. If you would like more information on our conferences, click on the Newsong Church link to the right and then the Jesus Ministry Conference link from that page. Or, you can email me directly by posting a comment and I would love to tell you all about how this conference changed my life, and the lives of so many people I know, completely. I am not the same person I was five years ago because of this conference.

Prayers also for a health concern. I am chosing not to post the details of it on my blog because this is such a public forum. If you would like more details on what is happening with me in this area, please email me privately, or post a response with your email address and I can write you directly with the details. Prayers are needed and appreciated! I will say this, I weighed in at the doctor's office today and am now over the 40 pound total loss!

Still waiting on preschool stuff to come through. Sometimes the sense of humor that the Lord has cracks me up. It is like when you need something at midnight and here the clock is 11:59:59 and it finally comes through. That is what this feels like. Prayers for greater faith and trust in the Lord in the face of my fear and unbelief are coveted as well.

Blessings to you,
Erin

Holy House Appraisal, Batman

As many of you are aware, I have been in the process of getting my house refinanced. This process is pretty straightforward and in layman's language, I am basically buying the house from myself and taking the profit to pay off debt. The whole thing depends on my house being appraised for more than I owe on it. The deal is made or broken on an unbiased person coming in to my house, looking around, taking measurements, comparing my house against similar houses in my neighborhood and tellingme what he/she thinks it's worth. If it appraises for not much more than I owe on it, the whole refinance cannot happen because there is not enough equity (the difference between what it's worth and what you owe) to off-set the cost to file the paperwork and fees. My whole financial future (and as an off-shoot, the preschool) hinged on this one thing: my house being valued significantly more than I owe. I just got off the phone with my mortgage person and, drumroll please!

It is worth almost $100,000 more than I owe.

Yes, that number is correct, you are not mis-reading it, I did not type too many zeros, my computer has not been infected by a virus that adds numbers randomly. HOLY CRAP! I was thinking that if it came in $30,000 more I would be in hog heaven...but with this amount!? I don't know what I am going to do with myself. This does not mean that I will take the whole $100,000 out. In fact, it would be very wise of me NOT to do so. However, this amount is way more than enough to pay off my car AND my student loan AND have a nice big fat chunk in the bank in savings or to invest.

As much of a pain as it has been to own a house (read: there is no landlord to call when things break/go wrong) that is 80 years old, it is the BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE WITH MY MONEY! Seriously. I got into the Tacoma real estate market when prices were reasonable, and they have done nothing but skyrocket since. My house has almost doubled in value in three years. Man, when the Lord provides, He provides. I am doing the happy, happy dance over here right now and I cannot believe it. How in the world did I get so blessed?!!

Erin

Put Your Best Foot Forward

Well, after my bee sting last weekend, my foot swelled up over the weekend and got itchy so my roommate Jackie took me to Urgent Care on Sunday. The lady seemed to think it must be an infection because part of the stinger might have gotten stuck in the wound. So, I am on antibiotics and they are messin' with my digestive system in a royal way. Anywho, the foot feels better and the swelling/redness/itching are going away. It feels almost normal today.

Life is simplifying-up on me. I am done with the following things: piano lessons for a few months (piano teacher is closing up shop and taking a break for a while), editing Freedom Resource book (finished it up this week), seminary (don't think I will be able to affford to/have time), and small group/Thurs. night church (for the rest of the summer). The small group will probably start back up again in September, but for now, we are on a break. So, that means, drumroll please, all I have on my regular agenda is: House night, and preschool planning! That's it! I actually have had time this week to get some other stuff done like a haircut (haven't had one since November. Yes, November.) and lots and lots of prayer for housemates. This is probably part of why life is being simplified so much...because I am pouring into more people in a relational way and things are ramping up with the preschool.

At any rate, I am the house refinance is going along well. I have signed and filled out some paperwork, but don't know when the funds are coming through. When the refinance happens, I will have enough money to pay off my car. What an answer to prayer. My mortgage payment is not going up much at all, and in fact is more than made up by having a fourth person in the house. So, all in all, I am not going to need much money to live off of at all. All I'll have a need to pay each month will be my portion of the mortgage, one small student loan, car insurance and utilities. That's it. Not much at all! Woo hoo!

Weight Watchers is also well. When I very first posted waaay back in Sept. that I wanted to lose 40 pounds I thought I would never get there. And, as of last week, I am 0.4 pounds from the 40 pound total loss! As I have gotten closer, I have revised my original goal several times over. At one point it was going to be 44 pounds, which is about 4.4 away. But, as I am inching even closer to that goal, I am thinking I may end up just going all the way to the 50 pound total. I am not 100% sure yet. I kind of want to wait and see how I actually feel when I hit the 44 mark. I mean, at that point, six more pounds is hardly anything. We'll have to wait and see, I suppose.

At the end of Sept. I am making ANOTHER trip out to London/UK. This time, however, I am going strictly for visiting purposes. Not a single ministry happening. I am going to Jess and James' wedding and then probably visiting some other countries while I am over there. Perhaps staying with friends in Dublin Ireland for a while and getting to see some other folks in Scottland and Wales. It is the only way to travel, if you can....getting to stay with people you know is the best and only way to go, in my opinion. If you really want to know what life is like in another country that is the way to do it. You learn things that you just cannot learn by staying in a hotel.

Well, that's it for now. Blessings to you.
Erin

Pics from the Reception

A few Wedding and Bachelorette Pics

I've Got Sunshine, on a Cloudy Day

Do you ever have what I call an "overcast" kind of day? You know, things aren't horrible (like a rain-storm) but they aren't beautiful (like a sunny day). They are just kind of blah, like an overcast day. I woke up this morning and just have been in a bit of a funk today. I can't quite pinpoint it. I am just slightly off-center. I think I am under attack in retrobution of the enemy because I stayed up very late last night working through some stuff with my one of my roommates (praise the Lord, I am not too tired today, though). When I got up this morning and looked out at my pond and saw the state that it was in thanks to a raccoon raid, I think that just started my day off on the wrong foot. I had forgotten to plug my electric fence back in after using the extension cord for something else yesterday....how do those critters seem to KNOW that it isn't plugged in? Seriously! .....I even had a split second thought last night as I went to bed about going back out there and plugging the fence back in. Totally the Lord, but did I listen? Nope. I think I am just mad at myself for not listening to that still small voice. This is the second time in three days that something like this has happened. On Monday I was walking around my yard barefoot and as I started walking through a patch of clover I had a thought, "You'd better watch where you step, there are probably bees in this clover." And then zap, I stepped on a bee and got stung. What causes me ignore the Lord when He whispers stuff like that to me? I know I don't ignore Him all the time, as I have been saved from stuff like that in the past, I am sure. It makes me angry with myself that I can still just keep on with what I am doing as though I haven't heard.....three days in a row now.

There has to be a lesson in here somewhere, but I am not sure what that is other than "LISTEN." I know it could literally save my life some day, but yet I still need to work on it!

I would like to believe that the raccoon "attack" on my pond is the only thing bothering me today, but that is probably not the case. I am not sure exactly what is going on 100% other than I am just feeling like a bit of a cloud is following me around today. Bleah.
Erin

The Mrs. Part Deux

Well, now we have another one off and married. This wedding went a lot smoother than Sara's. I am not sure why. Perhaps Chantel was a little more organized? I think, really, she just had more help. Sara only had herself and a few of us gals. Chantel had her mother and sister, plus a few members of the wedding party who took time off work to help. At any rate, I can't think of a single thing that went "wrong." It was a very hot and steamy day inside that church, and I was dripping with sweat, but it was a beautiful wedding. VERY unique. They took a lot of Biblical components. For example: Psalm 45 speaks of the bridesmaids following behind the bride; so, we bridesmaids entered behind Chantel. It was strange to have everyone standing as we walked in (they were standing for Chantel, but since we were in behind her, they stood for us too). Chantel and Garrett also had a chuppa (see chuppa pic above)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuppah due to Garrett's interest in all things Jewish. There was also a LOT of singing and special music, including a gospel choir! Very fun. I don't have a lot of pics from the wedding because my camera's batteries ran out, but I do have some of the rehersal and the getting ready time in the morning. I'll try to upload those later.

I also had a five-day weekend this past weekend. VERY resting and relaxing. I managed to sunburn myself, but got to sleep in on Friday, Sunday and Monday (and a little on Tues the 4th as well). Had lunch with my good friend Bryna on Friday before the rehersal dinner, spent all day Sat. with wedding stuff. Hung out with new roomie Jackie on Sunday before church, worked in the yard Monday and spent a relaxing day on Tues at home with all four of my new roomies on before heading over to Bruce and Paulette's house for the rest of the 4th.

I am enjoying having four of us at home.....even though it is a little cramped upstairs, it just feels nice and full. Hardly strange at all to have that many of us there. It actually feels pretty normal. We had a good house time for the first week, and are all getting along great so far.

Preschool stuff is still plugging away. We should know by Thurs. what the final verdict regarding funding will be. I am at peace with whatever happens!

House refinance is also going well....just waiting on the appraisal and some final paperwork, but excited about that!

Not a whole lot else new right now. Have a blessed week.
Erin