Sometimes Resolutions Don't work....

I face the reality that in all my desires to be more consistent in my blogging this year, in many ways, I have failed. It is clearly April and it is only my second blog this year! However, I guess its ok, because that is why God created grace. He knows were not perfect and he gives us grace to help us in our weaknesses! I'm glad for that!
So here I am trying once again. This year is going by so fast and as I face my second to last quarter of classes before I officially graduate from Fuller Theological Seminary, I have a very large question mark lingering in the future. Thinking back to only about a few years ago upon my graduation from Hope College, I remember being in a similar situation. I walked across the stage to receive my diploma, only to face the truth that I had absolutely no clue what was next? The future was suddenly staring me right in the face. Though my current situation is almost identical to that of the transition from Hope, my feelings and anxieties are significantly less. Though not completely gone, my fears are smaller because I can see how God has lead me thus far, and I trust that he is not going to stop now! That is a great comfort to me while the details of the rest of this year still hang in the fog of the unknown future. This summer I will graduate with a Masters in Cross Cultural Studies and with the requirements associated with an amazing scholarship that I was blessed with this year, I have covenanted to serve some place with a non-profit organization in some other country besides the USA for two years. The world is open to me right now, and in the waiting I am excited to be exploring a variety of options though none has proven to be the right one yet! However, as stated previously, I know God still has a plan even if he is going to wait until the last minute to let me in on it! It is a wild adventure that I anticipate with great expectation and excitement. You just never know what is going to happen when following such a Big God!!
This weekend was a prime example of this very principle. One of my dear friends at Fuller, just got married in Carmel, California! She graciously asked me to help her celebrate by manning the guest book, a task I took great pride in! I drove up the 6 hours to northern California just short of the San Fransisco area taking advantage of the scenic highway one for part of the way. Not only was the wedding amazing, but I was so blessed with the opportunity to meet some great people along the way. A friend recommended a dear couple that I could crash with in Monterey. They were fellow Midwesterners whose hospitality was truly a blessing and an example for me to emulate with future visitors. Seated with me at the reception was another person who after we waved good bye to the happy couple, volunteered to show me around Monterey. We had an amazing adventure as we raced downtown before the aquarium closed. Running through the streets of Monterey in strapless dress and heels in hand, I along with my friend found a secret entrance and were able to drink in the beauty of exotic underwater creatures for the last ten minutes that the place remained open! We then proceeded wandered the city and even were able to enjoy some live music at a very trendy coffee shop! The next day I took my sweet time coming home along Highway 1! The pictures attached will explain why it was so hard for me to leave. Going into the weekend I never knew what adventure awaited me, but God had a different plan for me. With this weekend fresh in my mind I have tremendous hope for the future that truly Psalm 40:5 will ring true once again.
"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you have planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare."
I'm excited to see what is next, but in the mean time I am going to drink in what he has placed before me. I will try to keep you posted on the next adventure as I discover it! Thanks so much for reading and for staying connected! I would love to hear what is going on in your lives as well, so if you get a chance, shoot me an email to let me know what is going on with you! Thanks again and I hope you have a truly blessed Easter celebrating the sacrifice and resurrection that gives abundant life!