Lately

Alright, let's hope this will get me caught up... before the next hiatus. Warning: long post, no pictures.

I'm loving Bryan/College Station, seriously loving it. It's hard to imagine how I ever truly loved Dallas. Except for friends, there's not much about the big city that I miss. I love the fact that I can go from my house in Bryan to south CS in 10-15 minutes. I'm actually early (or at least on time) to most places – which is a huge step up for me! I've finally settled in to a new norm here. The roomies are great, and it's been a blessing to be out of an apartment and in an actual neighborhood. Less stress, less noise, less corporate work = win.

That said, life has not slowed down in the least. But then, I don't think it's in me to really slow down much. Here's what been going on:

Dallas trip: Made a quick weekend trip back to Big D last month. Needed to take the Mac in for a battery replacement and figured I'd stick around and spend time with my pals up there. As soon as I drove in to town, and subsequently hit rush hour traffic, I thought – nope, don't miss anything about this place. I did eat at Panera twice and revamped that statement slightly (although I have since discovered that CS is getting a Panera soon!). But, it was a great time to celebrate birthdays, run at White Rock, worship, stay up late talking, hang out over pizza and American Idol, and share conversation over coffee. One of the neatest things about friendship with all different kinds of people is the unique perspectives you get on life. I've found that I am just as blessed and challenged by those very different from me as by those whom I have much in common with. It's refreshing to be able to share life with people from various backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs.

Gearing up for Guinness: Mercy Project's epic 49-hour baseball adventure is upon us. I'm hopeful that the 50+ players will not be so sick of my weekly emails that they fail to accommodate my lack of skill on the field, but one way or another, it's about to all go down (March 30-April 1). This is another one of those things that I am excited to see come to fruition. There will be countless innings and unfathomable scores along with great food, one huge campout, and (hopefully) lots of enthusiastic community support. (Beer Fest at the same location that weekend – score!) There will certainly be A LOT of money raised that will be a huge win for the kids in Ghana. We are excited!

Also upcoming: BCS Marathon Registration Opens – May 15, Art Auction – June 16, and Summer Group Trip – early July. Great stuff happening for the Kingdom.

Ghana Bound: It's that time again. 3 hours to DC, then a "short" 10 hour hop to Accra. 4 of us leave tomorrow (!) for an 8-day excursion – visiting villages, meeting kids on the lake, and whatever else we can get into. Please pray for our journey, that God would use us to further His work, wherever and whatever that may mean. I am pumped about being back. Honestly, this trip has completely snuck up on me. I'm not sure how that happens, but it just has. Testament to everything else going on, I guess. It's sometimes easy for me to lose sight of the big picture stuff when I'm focused on t-shirts, planning, emails, and day-to-day tasks here. Thankfully, I'm often reminded that this work is not about my schedule or to-do list. God is doing so much through Mercy Project; He continues to show up in ways beyond what we can imagine or hope for. "Hanging on for the ride" is right where I want to be: learning to surrender control and just be grateful for the journey. I have much to learn; thankfully we serve a gracious God.