So I am all moved into my new apartment. It has its perks and its downfalls but it will do for now. It is 10 miles from the highway and is tucked away in the country so that is something that I am not used to. I have been used to being close to everything and now being further out is something very different. It is quiet which is good, and the landlord is nice. The carpentry of the house is horrible, and we have no dishwasher and now drawers in the kitchen. I also have mold in my closet! :( ew! But it is month to month and is really cheap so I guess I can deal with all the downfalls. I have no Internet which makes things hard in that area. I have been utilizing Panera Bread's free wi fi for the time being. I do love my queen sized bed! After sleeping on a cot for two plus months it is so nice to have all my stuff and have a nice big bed to sleep in!

Today I am babysitting again, and then tonight my friends are having a cookout at their house which will be a lot of fun. Tomorrow is church, and we may be going to Roanoke to spend the night and will be celebrating Labor day at the beautiful Smith Mt. Lake! So the weekend looks very fun, and hopefully this week I can get a full time job! Continue to pray for that! Other than moving nothing much has been going on. I will fill you in on more later.

No Internet

Hey friends, so I moved into my new apartment yesterday and we have no internet so I will have to be going to places with free wifi for a while. So if you see that I have not updated that is the reason! I will be back on soon to tell you about my new place and all that is going on. Thanks friends!

So yesterday we wanted to move into our new apartment but didn't have a truck or Uhaul, so we filled out applications, took some to places and then met with a girl that does AMAZING photography. It was sooo good to meet with her, ask her questions, and get some tips for the wedding I will be doing in a few weeks. Then I went to the mall to look at camera stuff at Ritz, then Dina and I went to our friends Tim and Colleen's house for dinner. It was a lot of fun, they had fajitas which were amazing, we caught up and then had a yummy dinner. So that was fun!

Today I babysat a 4 month old girl. She was pretty good, she is getting a tooth already and was a little cranky but did a good job. I went to lunch with my sister which was good, and then came back to MJ's till the baby's mom came to pick her up. Tonight I was going to babysit again, but it got canceled so I am not sure what the night will hold. HOPEFULLY Uhaul will call us today and we will be able to move tomorrow! I am sooooo ready to have my own place and not live out of my suitcases! Continue to pray for a job! I don't even know what to do and I know the Lord will provide for me! Well.....I am going to go for now. I have had a headache all day so I might lay down.

Nice weekend

So today I went to church. It was a good service about serving in the local church, and I have signed up to work on host teams again which I am VERY excited about! I also signed up to be in a new small group, we will have 4 "classes" and then by October I should be in a new one. I am nervous and excited all at the same time but I love Brentwood and am so glad to be back!

I spent the weekend in Roanoke which is always fun! Friday after visiting my friends in DLP I packed up and we drove to Roanoke. Dina's family is out of town but let us stay at their house for the night. We went to my favorite restaurant Carrabba's for dinner which as always was amazing, and then we went back to the house to watch movies. Saturday we got up, went downtown to the Mill Mountain Coffee shop, and then walked around the farmers market. It is always fun to do that and see all the local talent and produce. Then we headed to the mall where Old Navy was having and amazing sale, and then I went to my favorite store Charlotte Ruse where I got a couple shirts on sale! So that was fun, then we headed back to the burg where we met MJ and went back to her place to watch a movie. Overall it was a fun weekend. Hopefully tomorrow we can move into our new place. It is not the most ideal place but for now it will do. For some reason I am really nervous about everything. I hate that my life is still in limbo right now and that I do not have a plan. I like routine and I cannot wait to have one! I will hopefully be joining the gym this week, and then getting settled into the apartment and hopefully will find a job this week or next. Well I am going to go buy a paper and hopefully see some job adds in there!

Nothing much

So, since I have been back I have to say I am not motivated which is not good. My bank account is dwindling, and I NEED a job or two actually but a lot has happened the past few weeks that has emotionally drained me. Not saying I am "depressed" but I just do not feel like doing much of anything. Last night I stayed up till 1am talking and this morning felt like a truck hit me. MJ (my friend who I am staying w/ at the moment) woke up this morning and went to Wal-Mart to get stuff to make breakfast this morning so we all had a nice hearty breakfast. Then we are trying to plan her wedding and spent some time looking stuff up online about having a backyard wedding, and now I am here. I had expectations for the day but each day seems harder to care. I know the Lord has a plan and a direction for me but I just still feel lost! Well...tonight me and my friend Amber are going to one of my favorite spots Panera Bread for dinner and to catch up so that should be a lot of fun. Tomorrow I have a Dr's appointment but other than that not much else going on. I might go to Roanoke tonight and spend the night there and then to downtown tomorrow morning and take some pictures and stuff....but I'm not sure yet. Well, if you think of me in your prayers please pray for me as I do need all I can get! I will write more later. :)

Back in "The Burg"

Well my friends, my Alaskan adventure ended sooner than expected. To make a long story short, Dina and I felt that leaving early was the best thing for us and Danilee and Tommy ended up leaving early as well. Even through the hard times, I have gotten to a point where I do not regret going. There for a while I regretted it everyday, but have learned once again that "Nothing is Random" and that God used this experience to grow me, change me, take me out of my comfort zone, and have a summer of "firsts". I do miss Alaska in some ways and in other ways I am glad to be home. I will write more about what is going on but it is late and I am not alert enough to write all of what I am feeling but I wanted to let all of you know that I'm Back!!!!! :)

Peace

So today I woke up at 5:30am and went to the gym with Dina. We worked out for a 1/2 hour, got showered and ready and I dropped her off at Sam's Club. I then went to Wal-Mart at 8:30am to talk to personnel about getting a job there. They informed me that personnel was in a meeting and wouldn't be available until after 10. So I went to my favorite spot, Banres grabbed a cup of coffee, and did my devotions.

It was actually an amazing time with the Lord. I am going through a book called The Intentional Woman. Last summer my church took a number of ladies on a retreat to Roanoke and we had to buy this book for a study the one day. We only went over one chapter of the book and it was good but I never had time (because of school) to do the rest. My amazing friend and hairdresser Sarah and I were talking before I left about me not knowing what my dream, purpose, and direction are in life. I was venting my frustration and she told me to read the whole book, and it may help me in my quest for all these things.

So today I read two chapters, and was really encouraged. Moving here has been fun but also a dark time for me. I always have a "plan" no matter what I do or where I go. Alaska has totally thrown that off and everything up here has been without a plan, and not what I expected. Everyone says that this is an exciting time in my life and I am doing a once in a lifetime thing, but for me I often sit and regret "leaping" and part of me wishes I could have stayed in my comfort zone for a little longer. Anyaways, So today as I got into the second chapter a number of verses were brought to my attention and I felt as if the Lord was speaking to me and whispering to me that just because I do not have everything planned out right now He does, and this time is for something greater than I know and that He is always there and will provide if I trust Him.

Here are some verses that encouraged me:
Ephesians 1:11 (msg) "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for."

Plam 138:8 "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever."

Isaiah 42:16 "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them, I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." -This made me think of my time in Alaska. It is "unfamiliar", I feel as if I am blind in the "darkness" on in a "rough place", but I know that no matter what God is with me, and he is leading me towards the "light". :)

Psalm 32:8 (nlt) "The Lord says "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." - This verse really spoke to me because I felt as if the Lord was saying "Erin I know what is best for you always and I have an amazing purpose for your life. I will always be right beside you on that path of life I carved just for you and I will protect you, encourage you, love you and guide you through it all.....you just have to give me your hand and stop trying to go it alone". This almost brought me to tears just thinking of how God does have a plan for me, and even if I don't know it now, I will in His time.

The author also said this which made me think of my time here in Alaska: "God is happy for you to slow down in order to determine where you want to go, what you want to do, and who you want to be. He wants-even expects- you to take responsibility for each area of your life." I felt as if Lynchburg was good, and my "comfort zone" but I had so much going on that I never had time to slow down, search God, and try to figure of where to go, what to do, and discover who I am. Even though Alaska has been hard for me in many ways, it has allowed me the ability to slow down and get away from all the busyness:).

So after my time with the Lord, I went back to Wal-Mart to speak to personnel and then they paged the personnel person they said that they were busy and I would have to come back. GREAT!!!! I thought, but I didn't get discouraged. I went to Sam's to eat lunch with Dina and then I updated my application there. I then went to the "mall" (if you can call it that, it is 1/8 the size of Lynchburg and Chambersburg malls...sad :) ) to ask about employment and no one is hiring. I went to Safeway, and they aren't' hiring. Then I went to Fred Meyer (its like a target and Kroger mixed) and asked about employment. They are hiring but you have to fill out an application online. I went to the Starbucks inside of there and the girl was like "YES! we are hiring now!" she told me where to go online and that I should call a lady tomorrow about an interview and gave me her number. So PLEASE pray that something works! I just REALLY need something!

Now I am back at the house. I have to go back in to Sam's to pick up Dina at 5pm and then we are gong back to the gym to do more cardio and weights and then back here for dinner. So....it has been a good day overall. I will let you know how tomorrow goes. I think I am going to go w/ some peeps to see the new Batman movie :). Talk to you all later!