things are going well here in seat-hole. we’re befriending our new house and trying to make it home. erika had an interview with a media company this morning that she hopes went well. she’ll wait for a call back from them, and she has another interview tomorrow. casey has an interview for an administrative position with seattle pacific university tomorrow- she’s excited and nervous, i can tell. pray for her if you think of it. sam is working at target, and doing a great job….this sunday, we will hopefully see kari and jeff! they are en route- near south dakota. the carpenters are hoping to close on their house thursday (as in tomorrow) so pray for that. okay, that’s the end of my update.
a poem for her.
the city
like a monument rising out of the soul
sounds of stations and passing faces
fill the dirty air
it is just as we’d hoped
perfectly balanced, completely complex
hoping not to lose our way
in the great madness, the beautiful chaos
the city.
like words all spoken at the same time
a million voices, saying everything and nothing
through the urban fields of sidewalk and cement
we walk in slow motion
like walking through time.
listen to her sing- the feet, the jingling jar, the passing cars
she’s quiet and loud, safe and scary
organized and cluttered.
the city feels us like no other: the pounding of feet, the clamor of music,
the smell of poverty, the thrill of life.
she feels it, she knows it, holds it, like a prism-
a monument, rising out of the soul.
a prayer from ephesians
to the saints in ephesus, and faithful in Christ. grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
having predestined us to adoption as daughters and sons by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the beloved.
in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him.
i am sitting in a cafe down in the pike’s place market. i’ve done address changes, some job searching, and a bit of sitting and staring at all the people walking by. skirts, backpacks, running shoes, shopping bags, babies, homeless people… it’s all here.
the weather is gorgeous. sunny and 75 degrees. pretty much been this way since i got here. i unpacked some more last night. i love our house. it’s kind of a strange location, in that, i mean, i’m not sure what the local demographics are…. but it’s a great place. averi and i are sharing a room and it’s nice and spacious. i’m excited for her to get out here!
i am still in job search mode, but most of the positions i’ve applied for don’t have application closing dates until beginning of august. so now is kind of just waiting and listening. i’ve been learning some of the bus routes- one downtown, one to northgate (where the target is- very important), the one to christy’s house.
hope all of you are doing well. i am sipping my iced vanilla latte and wondering why God is so good…
what now?
“I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for Me, you’ll find Me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” -Jeremiah 29:10-14 MSG
i am reading this great book called ‘Now What,’ that really asks some interrogative questions. Like “What is your life purpose?”, “What are your dreams?” and “How are you fulfilling them now?” I’ve been able to spend some time thinking about what excites me, what motivates me, where I am spending time and money, and such. The verse above is such a reminder of His faithfulness and provision. This morning I met a man named Stefan (a neighbor and member of the church in Gig) who offered us girls his furniture for free. Nice furniture. A kitchen table. A cherry wood computer desk. A white end table. A bed frame.
It is unreal- and in these moments I feel so undeserving, but there it is, whether I understand it or not. God just decides to show himself through a random neighbor or through a free meal (which we had today, thanks to Diane & Jeremiah). It’s crazy being on this rollercoaster. It’s crazy being this scared, but yet, this sure about it all.
my friend christy and i were having a discussion about faith and life, and she said something that has been really spinning around in my mind. she said, “maybe it’s easier to please God than we make it out to be. what if He’s just pleased with us for the little choices we make to honor Him along with the big ones.” i listened and nodded. “i think we need to celebrate His pleasure in us, even with all the flaws.. He delights in us in our current state.”
finding work
so, i’ve spent the last two days looking through dozens and dozens, maybe hundreds of job postings in the seattle area. It’s a frustrating process- especially when you find one that offers almost everything you’re looking for except one minor, yet entirely important detail.
casey and i went to goodwill today and she got a new blanket for her bed and i got some speakers to plug into my laptop for $2.99. pretty good deal, if you ask me. oh how i love bargain shopping. it’s really the only shopping i do these days- partially out of fun and partially out of necessity.
i applied for a job that sounds really cool- with a nonprofit downtown called Reel Grrls. yes, the name brings automatic connotations, but check it out: http://www.reelgrrls.org/. the position is for an office manager, and i think i can handle that.
pray for this, and other things. the difficulty is that the closing date for the application process isn’t until august 1st. so do i wait, and hope that this pans out? or do i get another job that i may not really like for two weeks and then get a call from this place saying they want an interview? that’s kind of a sticky spot to be in. i guess i’ll cross that bridge when i get there. at this point, i just need a job. period.
we’re kind of all in that boat, i guess, but we’ve been so taken care of since the day we got here. actually, some members of the community in gig harbor found out who we were and what we’re doing, and have literally brought carloads full of food and shampoo, other random supplies to us. so we definitely feel loved, even by people we’ve never met before.
tonight the five girls sign the lease for our new place! we are so excited, and we’re going to go early to check out the neighborhood, bus stop, etc. and make sure everything’s sound. pray for the beginning of our relationship with the landlord. he seems a bit skeptical of all we’re doing, but nevertheless, he fought for us to get this place even though 4 out of 5 of us were unemployed!
more to come…
spiritual lessons
there are some lessons that can only be learned through experience.
take, for instance, faith.
i can’t say i have faith if i am not willing to prove it through my actions. and if i am good at talking the talk but can’t test and approve God’s will (His good, pleasing, and perfect will), then I really have nothing. this is the great test i am facing. the moment of truth, if you will.
i have discovered that to most people, i look absolutely crazy. selling my stuff, packing the rest into boxes, moving to a random place with lots of people i know but don’t know, to start a church. insane. i mean, seriously, who does that?
i am so sure that this is going to break all of my comfort levels, this is going to completely break me. but i’m ready to see who i become through all of this chaos, this transition. i know one thing fore sure- the situation asks that i give up my will (my desires) for the will of the team and the mission. that is hard for me.
there’s something al and joyce said to me before i left that has resounded since i got here.
“you will have every opportunity to be offended. but it is your choice. you can choose not to take offense. this applies to your fellow team members, your friends, people you haven’t met yet, and acquaintances. this even applies to your fellowship with the Lord.” to maintain unity really takes work. we all come from different places and have different opinions and spiritual backgrounds. we all bring in so much diversity to the mix, but we need to be spiritually in agreement. we need to be able to trust each other with the important things, and be willing to see through the unimportant things. please pray for that.
also, we are searching more for jobs today. please pray for that whole situation as well.
and everyone who’s reading this…thank you. bless you…
how long will we be homeless?
hopefully not very long. we (as in me, sam, casey, erika, and averi) looked at several houses the last couple days and kept coming back to one we all really enjoyed in bitterlake area (north seattle).
the problem is: 4 out of 5 of us don’t have jobs, which means filling out a housing application is a bit difficult. we’ve sent in the applications, done all we can, and are just waiting to hear a response back.
Here is the info about the place:
This is a very special and unique home located right across the street from Bitterlake in north Seattle, with views of the lake from two bedrooms. It is a newer N.W. contemporary-style, 3-story house located in a private, park-like setting. The home would be great for a large family, a family with an relative who needs their own space, or friends who want to share a newer home minutes from U of W or downtown Seattle.
4 Bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, 2-car garage, with Mother In-Law basement apt. The middle level include a living room with cathedral ceiling, modern kitchen with a large island and all appliances, formal dining room, fireplace with woodstove insert, 2 decks, washer/dryer, and baseboard heating throughout. The upper level has two good-sized bedrooms with lake views and a deck, and a full bathroom The master bedroom has its own full bath and windows looking down upon the living room below, giving it a loft feel. The basement Mother-In-Law apt. includes a full kitchen, full bath, wet bar, separate washer/dryer, rec room, own large bedroom and a separate entrance. There is a large, fenced-in back yard and public access to lake swimming and boating right across the street.
The home is in a small community of newer, contemporary homes on a quiet, private drive that is within easy walking distance to shopping, restaurants and bus line. U of W, Shoreline Community College, NW College, downtown Seattle are all 5 – 15 minutes away, with pretty quick access to I-5.
It’s older, but really spacious and has alot of unique architecture. we like it and we’re praying that this works out. tomorrow will be spent searching for jobs… wish me the best…
bye for now.
