a different place

today is november 14th. it has been almost a year and a half since i last posted anything on this blog. i thought when i came home from italy, i would continue my blog, but as it always does, life happened. i decided though, that i would like to start blogging again. i think it will be therapeutic for me to get my thoughts out there. i don't know if anyone will be reading anything that i write, but that's okay. this isn't for you anyway. :) just in case i do have some faithful followers, i guess i should bring everyone up to speed on where i am in life now. so many things have happened in the last year and a half that i don't really know where to begin or what is even important to share.

i guess the most overwhelming part of my life right now would have to be school. i am currently in my second year of graduate school, studying school psychology. right now i have three classes, i work at a middle school three days a week for practicum, and i work in the autism clinic that we have at school as part of my graduate assistant duties. and that's just the school part. it has definitely been challenging trying to juggle everything on my plate...especially when the plate is completely filled up by school...where does the rest of my life fit in? this has been something i have really struggled with in the last couple of months. don't get me wrong, i absolutely love my program and everything i get to do with it. i feel so honored that i get to make a real difference in the lives of children with disabilities. it makes me feel alive when i work with those kids. if i had my choice, i would probably be with kids in some capacity 24/7...who needs adult interaction anyway? well i guess that might be important.

as far as adult interaction goes, i'm happy to share that i have finally found a church home and an amazing community within it. i am a proud partner at the austin stone. i began attending this church in may of this year and joined as a partner at the end of the summer. i cannot tell you how blessed i feel to be a part of this body of believers. there are some really great things happening in the church right now and i'm so excited to be a part of it. i am blessed to get to hear the teachings of some wise and gifted men of God every week, and always feel so challenged and loved when i leave service. i've also been so blessed to be able to take a theology class through the stone. this semester we studied the truth of scripture, attributes of God, the trinity, the person of Jesus Christ and the work of Jesus Christ...we studied these in a way i never have before, and my eyes have been opened to just how much i don't know about my God. this is comforting in a way because i know he is so much bigger than i could ever imagine. i could (and will) search my entire life to know more about him...his love, his grace, his power, his wisdom, his perfection, his nature, his will, his provision...and i will never cease to learn something new about him. i'm so thankful that i serve the one true God...the God of creation, of the universe...the Savior of my heart and lover of my soul. how truly blessed i am! i've been able to see glimpses of the attributes that God has allowed his people to share with him through my new community group at the stone. i am involved in a group of about 15 or so single coeds that desire to live in community and on mission for God. i have just been amazed at how beautifully God orchestrated the group. i have been looking for this kind of genuine community for quite some time and think i have finally found it. praise God. i will keep you posted about our weekly gatherings, as i'm sure there will be much to share. i'll say this though, every week renews me. thank goodness.

i guess this post is long enough already, so i'll cut it off now. look for more posts, as i'm hoping to be pretty regular about this. now i'm off to clean my apartment and write some reports! a lovely saturday indeed. talk to you all soon.

ciao amici...yes, i will be continuing the use of my italian in this blog...i just love it too much :)

vi voglio bene.