Tuesday, August 23, 2011

new adventure

(make sure you read 'roll away your stone' first. or you will be lost.)
i had my first class at ball state today. definitely drove around for 20 minutes trying to first read my map the correct way and figure out where i was. then i tried to figure out where to park. luckily, i got to class on time. oh, how i miss being on a college campus...hah. 


what the Lord teaching.
to me, a plan to quit a big kid paying job, enroll in school full-time, defer loans, pay less on a credit card that with the big kid job, i can have paid off in a few months, and work only...1 job...part-time, sounds like crazy talk. i decided all this saturday and then went to church sunday where i realized...this past year has been full of MY attempts work finish school and pay off loans, etc. i know this new crazy plans is the Lords and i feel like he is saying, jen- you've been trying it on your own for a year and it hasn't worked. i know my plan sounds crazy and it is not anything like what you would choose or even want to do, but just try it out and see how i work it all out.
ok Lord. 
and then sweet things started happening. just like the Lord would do. 
i registered too late for my online classes and had to have Cedarville sign something. did not think it would get processed in time to take the classes-- got processed a day before it should have and was able to register. thought i would have to pay everything upfront- which turned out to be almost $200 more than i expected and had.-- was able to work out a payment plan. thought i would have to order my books online from the university bookstore- $200 bucks.-- was able to order them from amazon for $40 WITH expedited shipping!!


there were some changes in management at my LOFT store so instead of working at my store which was 5 minutes away, i was being transferred to a store in carmel- 30 minutes away. found out that my dear girl- another sales lead got a big kid teaching job and was stepping down- i'm back at my store. 
haven't been able to defer the loans because they are being consolidated, but pretty sure that is going to work out too. it's been a hard but great time of learning to trust the Lord and also to see how he works things out. 
i've been thinking about the future and where to go after i have my degree- in DECEMBER! holla. i'm just restless, ready for something new and big. thinking of moving to boston with some besties. thinking about grad schools- Harvard please. thinking about AmeriCorp for a year. all kinds of ideas, away from indiana. i know once i am done with school, it will open so many doors to do something that i am passionate about. i just feel like school is holding me back from doing so many things. ready to be done. ready for a new adventure.


also been reading in the Word more. checking out Job- learning more about suffering. just learning that the Lord uses everything for good, even bad things. been listening to Christian music lately. i'll be honest- it is so hard. i dislike so much of the pop-y christian fluffy music. but, lecrae and emery are helping me through. and technically, they are not 'christian', but mumford and sons is legit and solid. can't get enough of them.

so, new adventure for the next 5 months. lots of rowing will be happening. i'll get rocking biceps. i don't know if i can say i am excited, per say. i'm longing to be done with school and i am going to bust it out. i'm really ready to see how the Lord will work and eager to learn new things....i'm sure this new adventure will produce many a new blog posts.
until then, check out the best songs ever right below... :)
peace.
............
mumford and sons: stars hide your fires/these are my desire/and i will give them up to YOU this time around... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O-BwV0DDUY

emery: i'll be happier when i've give up/wisdom, light my way into the dark/your words, the melody that carries me/we can't make a change until we know who we are/fire refining me...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yYFwMB5_h4


roll away your stone, i'll roll away mine.

i'm sitting in my bed listening to mumford and sons (love them) and looking at Harvard's public policy Master's program- they have a human trafficking and modern day slavery program. i think i want to go there... :)


it's been an interesting few weeks, an interesting year actually. i've again slacked on the blogging, but such is life. it has been really busy. for those that don't know, i started a new adventure today. i quit my job at CGI and had my last day friday. i'm back to working part time at LOFT. and i will be a full-time student this semester, FINALLY finishing up my undergrad. holla. it's a big change, and a hard one.

it all started about a year ago around this time when MY plans for finishing up my last few classes for my undergrad fell through and i decided to take matters into my own hands. this past year consisted of trying things on my own, holding multiple jobs, basically, trying to be superwoman, only to find out that whatever powers i had in college that allowed me to do a million things at one time and still survive, apparently vanished as i drove away from cedarville. in the midst of the craziness, i was able to finish on class this spring and MY plan after getting my first big kid job was to pay for classes as i went, one.at.a.time. for those of you i talk to on a regular basis- you know that i hate that i have school to finish, that i want to be done so badly, and that i have considered quitting on multiple occasions.
so, fast to a few weeks ago. i was stressed at work already. but add to that driving every tuesday/thursday to muncie (45 minutes away) for class, a 2-3 hour volunteer session each week, AND a few nights at LOFT just so i could save to pay for my classes, which now have to be finished by MAY 2012. i  knew i could barely do it- remember, the powers had disappeared.
had a bit of a freakout moment 2 saturdays ago. my mom said my rent's would help me pay for one of my classes. we talked through it and figured i had enough to pay for 2 up front and could afford monthly payments on my ball state class by working part time at LOFT. i just needed to leave the big kid job and defer the loans.
so, long story short, i did just that. gave my notice. said i'd take my position back at LOFT. almost paid for the 2 classes and registered. had my first ball state class today. :)
 

the Lord is CRAZY. really crazy. in the past year He has been working all on my heart. and since i feel like this blog post is getting lengthly- check out the newest one for how he is working.