This last month has been a whirlwind of emotions.  I went from loving my surroundings and my church to wanting to leave and never look back only to find myself thinking maybe it’s not the end of the world if I stay here a little bit longer.  The bottom line is I have to do something and after glancing at my savings account I think I know what I have to do.  As much as I would love to get back to a bigger city, I need to stop pre-judging every opportunity that comes my way.  I also need to be realistic about my current financial situation and that means accepting an opportunity within my preferred salary range either here in Jacksonville or back in Memphis and sticking with the job for the next few years so I can get my debt paid off, replenish my savings account, buy a new car, buy a new Macbook and buy a new Galaxy. I am literally living on borrowed time with all three of those absolutely necessary items!  I mean I know my phone is old, but I didn’t realize how old until I was until I was taking a picture of a lion at the Catty Shack Ranch.  Everyone was lined up along the fence, zooming in for the perfect shot and I couldn’t believe the captures of the people next to me.  I might as well been standing there shaking a Polaroid.  At least that’s how I felt. 
 
Anywho… Once I allow myself to accept a boring (my perception) new job with a decent salary, I will be able to put the focus back on my writing, my video devotional series and the books I have planned to write! I will also have more energy to devote to the ministry leadership opportunities that are currently sitting in my lap.  I guess what it all comes down to is trust.  I am going to have to give up, give in and trust that God knows exactly what He is doing.  I would like to say that I am in the Hall of Fame when it comes to trusting God.  I have certainly trusted Him with some pretty big items: keeping me cancer free, the move to LA, and the move to Florida.  While I might find it easier to trust Him with the big-ticket items above (items I feel I cannot control) I am realizing that I don’t trust Him when I have or feel that I have partial control.  It’s like if I can touch it then I can screw it up so it must not be in the cards type of thinking.  I have to come to a point where I realize what walking in grace actually means.  I had a conversation with Jesus this afternoon regarding some opportunities – good opportunities – that I totally flaked.  I told Him that I guessed those type of opportunities were long gone considering my inability to accept parachute number 250.  His words to me were this “Did you not think I would know how long it would take you to relinquish your control?  Do you still not realize that you always walk in My grace?” 
 
Perhaps it is time to start trusting God for all the things I secretly want in and for my life.  Not begging for them, not petitioning for them, but just trusting for them to appear when they are supposed to appear.  Perhaps it is time to realize that while there may be a direct route to where we each want to go in life, we seldom ever choose it.  If we did, we’d miss out on so much.  Besides, don’t the best things in life come in unexpected packages?  I think I’ve heard that somewhere.  So maybe, just maybe…when life pushes you into a corner thereby taking away your ability to pick and choose – it’s actually for your own good. 

What Up Folks!  So far 2016 is looking a lot like 2015 only with less sweetness because I gave up extraneous sugar for this 21 day fasting thing.  I surprisingly did not have a hard time without my fix of fro-yo every weekend.  I did, however, find it hard to not buy any sweets at the grocery store, which is why I am glad I kicked the sugar as my way of participating in a fast.  It is easy to break promises I make to myself; it is harder to break promises I make to God.  I can actually recall myself tooling down the frozen isle scoping out some new fro-yo only to remember “oh wait, this is a God promise. CRAP!” and I tooled on along down the isle and out of frozen land.  While I have not officially lost any weight yet, my stomach is flatter and this improvement is all I need to keep extraneous sugar kicked out of my life!
 
On another front, I can say that my excitement for church is coming back!  I have no idea how either.  All I know is that once I finally relented and started going to the church that I felt God was constantly re-routing me to – something changed on the inside.  I have found that I wake up excited on Sunday mornings even though my situation has not changed.  I still go to church alone, sit alone, leave alone and go home to hang out alone, but I have an excitement that I cannot understand, an excitement beyond all understanding if you will.  This is something I have been wrestling with while in Jacksonville.  I have told God that I don’t like not having the excitement I had in LA.  I told Him I want to enjoy my Sundays again, I want that excitement back, I want Sundays to be legendary again.  Somehow the excitement is back and I am very grateful for it.  I guess it lets me know that I can have joy in the middle of what was a situation that brought nothing but disappointment and tears.   That’s definitely something, a God something, a Philippians 4:11-13 something.  I also changed where I sit.  I like to be in the middle of the action so I sit down front now regardless of when I arrive. I used to relent and go up the stairs and found that it interfered with my participation in service.   They have these usher/bouncer dudes all over the place and I just make them find me a seat as close to the front as possible. I mean it is their job so why not let them be of service.
 
I am also trying to dig deeper in my Celebrate Recovery involvement.  While I have been a facilitator/leader for the ladies share group at the beaches, I have only been fulfilling the role in the small group session itself.  This past month I have been digging deeper in that I have been focusing on building better relationships with the women who come to the beaches CR.  Instead of talking to friends at the café afterwards, I am focusing on talking to some of the ladies in the group, trying to get more of a feel for where they are in life, where they are mentally and where they are spiritually.  I want to be an encourager, a cheer leader, an ear, and a guide for these ladies in their own battles and the only way to do this is to spend time with them and so far I am loving what I am learning.
 
I have had that Live Love Lead book by Brian Houston for a while now, but just recently started to read it.  I came home from the grocery store on Saturday and felt a prompting to go to the beach.  Due to the cold weather I hadn’t been in about a month and it was a sweet 67 degrees and already 3pm so I decided to head to the closest beach for some relaxation.  As I was leaving I felt the nudge to pick up Brian’s book so I grabbed it with no intention of actually reading it.  Once I got to the beach I was glad to see some soft sand and nestled in to watch the waves roll in and out.  I find their rhythm hypnotizing and healing.  The waves do something for me that I cannot do for myself and after my recent vacation I found that the sound of the waves can be just as beneficial and so I took out the book and started reading.  I got through the introduction and the first two chapters and feel that God was trying to re-confirm His plans for me, my ministry calling and His promise in the verse He has gave me last year. (Joel 2:25) 
 
Life has just been hard and it is getting harder.  The pressure is on at a level that I have never experienced.  I know I have to make a move, but the move I want to make and the move that is most likely going to be available are not the same.  To make matters worse, I am conflicted about staying in Jacksonville.  In Los Angeles I had everything I wanted, but felt that something was off, that I wasn’t supposed to stay and that prompting turned into busted fire hydrant pressure.  Here in Jacksonville, I have nothing that I want, but feel complete peace and have absolutely no prompting to do anything except focus on the tasks I feel God has given me like this blog, the new video series, a possible memoir and continuing with ministry leadership training.  It is so strange especially since I know that I have to make a career change due to impending financial ruin.  Jacksonville does not seem to offer the career options I am looking for and I feel very conflicted about leaving and more frankly I don’t even know if I can leave at this point.  You could say that just like I relented on the church I felt God leading me attend, I am ready to relent on Jacksonville and so I tell God daily – If you want me here – then plant me.  If not, then move me.  But whatever You do, do it quickly - One thing I am looking forward to is the job hunt being over!  I need to focus on the video series and I cannot do that if I am spending an hour a night job hunting.  That hour should be creating time if not resting and relaxation time.  I can’t keep going on all cylinders all day and all night, especially with a job that drains ones soul like mine does.  To be frank, I need a minute and some fun to boot.
 
Overall, I do have a good start to the new year.  Eating is going better thanks again to the fasting thing at church.  I am delving deeper into ministry leadership, looking for a better paying job, making an effort to venture out more via local Meetup groups and in a few weeks I will be participating in a small group and the women’s ministry stuff for the spring semester at my church.  All of these are in my goals for 2016 and to quote my calendar for the month of February…

I have written so many versions of this blog that I am not even sure what number I am at this point.  God has been doing a lot of talking and I have been listening for a change. 
 
A couple of months ago I started a frenzied job hunt that resulted in a possible position with a Christian non-profit in Kansas City.  As soon as that happened I started questioning whether or not I could actually leave the coast.  I also started looking into the reason why I felt like I should be so thankful that an organization across the country felt that I was a qualified top candidate.  Why was I risking everything to move across the country to what as might as well be the tundra to my SoCal-Flori skin?  The answer was fear.  I realized that I was afraid that nothing else would come along.  I was afraid that no one else would want to hire me.  I was afraid that given my current state of financial crisis I should just take whatever I can get wherever I can get it or else anger God.  I was afraid of past so-called mistakes like that job in Nashville I rejected.  I was afraid that I was making another mistake by not going for it and I was afraid I was making a mistake by going for it.  I was just afraid and while I don’t know much I do know that making a decision based on fear will almost always lead you somewhere you don’t want to be.
 
I spent the day after Christmas on my front porch.  I just sat outside and enjoyed the 79 degree day and the sweet breeze available on the front porch.  As I sat there sipping soda (something I don’t normally drink) I felt God enter into a conversation with me.  He began with “You know it’s not too late to live out your dream of living on the water?  With the right opportunity and your continued financial management, there is no reason why you can’t begin your own beach front bargain hunt in ten years or less.  As long as you are either working on or near (within an hour or two) the water you could have your primary residence on the water!”  In all honesty, I had forgotten about this life long dream of mine.  But God hadn’t forgotten at all, in fact, it never slipped His mind.  He really does know my heart better than I do.
 
I guess I had kind of given up.  I am 35, single and in a financial pit in the middle of a financial desert with no help in sight.  One unfortunate instance could have me packing up a rental car and heading back to Tennessee in defeat.  Those reading my blog on the regular know how hard the move to Jacksonville has been on me.  I left a great church and great friends in Los Angeles only to find myself unable to find any sort of community in Jacksonville.  I have been straddling two churches and trying to get involved at both and my efforts have frankly been a giant disappointment.  No one seems to be interested in knowing me.  I do have one friend here that I am very grateful for and we do hang out most weekends, which helps a lot, but my happiness cannot depend on one person and it never should.  I need a community and I cannot seem to find one no matter how hard I try, no matter how many groups I join or events I attend.  I didn’t have to try in Los Angels – everything just kind of fell into place.  Jacksonville has been quite the opposite and my job has been the worst part of it all.  I am use to being in a rather mobile position that includes a lot of social interaction, but my current job involves me sitting at a desk all day long and staring into a computer without so much as a peep from my co-workers.  YUCK!  Of course, I never meant to be in this job this long – it was a till I get myself sorted out and find something good sort of job that somehow has almost lasted a year.  The people are bad, the work is bad, the hours are bad and the money is really bad as is the vacation and holidays.  I know I am worth so much more.  It is just a matter of finding someone else who thinks so at this point.  Of course I also want to make sure the next position I take is a better fit for my personality and financial future.  I want something I can stick with for a while.
 
The interesting thing that came out of the KC option was that I found a new appreciation for where I live regardless of how disappointing my daily life.  I live in a city on the beach.  I can sit with the waves any time I want.  I even have a new appreciation for the church I find myself going to these days.  While it is no Mosaic, it is a good substitute.  I cried through most of the service today.  The guy speaking ( don’t know who he was as he forgot to introduce himself) spoke on what happens when the escalator stops and you have to make a move.  It was about endings, seasons in life and how sometimes you don’t know what to do, but it doesn’t mean you should stop either.  He talked about how many of us feel like we are on plan triple Z when in fact, we are actually on Plan A.  If God knows everything, then He knew every decision, mistake and stupid action we were going to make and it is all included in His plan.  We didn’t run a million miles in the wrong direction only to miss out on His blessings.  As long as we strive to keep Him first in everything we do – we are on plan A.  I guess I needed to hear that.  I mean if I had said yes to that Nashville job,  I would have never gone to Los Angeles and if I hadn’t gone to Los Angeles I would have never gotten sober around the best recovery in the world and I would have never found Mosaic and never been lit on fire by Erwin and Hank and never met the amazing friends who love me for who I am and taught me that I am lovable.  Had I never gone to Los Angeles, I would have never learned how to survive the entertainment industry, which taught me so much in life and in work.  Had I never gone to Los Angeles, I might not have heard of Celebrate Recovery.  Had I not left Los Angeles when I felt called to Jacksonville, I would not have had the time to get involved in CR, become a small group facilitator, write and give my testimony and I wouldn’t have been open to going through the Redeemed Esteem class at Celebration.  If I hadn’t said no to Nashville and yes to Los Angeles – I don’t know who I would be right now.  Maybe the decisions we look back on as our biggest mistake are actually the best decisions we ever made. 
 
God said something else to me recently and it was not sweet or reassuring.  The pastor from Celebration Orlando spoke in Jacksonville recently and while I was minding my own business (my antennas were erected) keeping watch on a guy who peeked my interest and partially listening to this dude named Josh tell a story about a conversation he had with his wife, a bomb detonated.  The story was something about his wife asking why it had taken this long for him to get an opportunity like the one he was about to embark on (I think he was about to speak at one of the Hillsong locations) and he claims that the Holy Spirit immediately told him that his character could not sustain the platforms he was seeking.  This catapulted me out of dreamland and into the reality that this little nugget was for me.  Insert frownie face.  I immediately wrote that quote down and a few other things and haven’t looked at the page since.  I didn’t need to, I know exactly what God was referring to – my inability to not act like a 35 year old going on the terrible twos on a really shouldn’t be regular basis.  Ever since that sermon, I have been acutely aware of everything I do that has to change!  It’s horrible.  I really do have to find a way to ride the wave of life without say throwing the church program down, pouting through worship, refusing to greet anyone and yelling at the traffic guy for trying to direct me around the traffic circle (I’m not stupid!)  In other news I might have had a complete melt down at a Christmas Eve service this year and it pretty much included every verbal and nonverbal thing I do that has to stop!  I like to blame my little outbursts on being a Scots-Irish Taurus Female who is diabetic and sober and trying to deal with it all, but I guess it is time to put my big girl britches on and stop acting a fool.  I have to if I want to step onto the platforms for Christ that I desire.
 
And with that I give you my 2016 Resolutions.  Some of you may find them a bit vague, but for where I am right now, they are exactly what I need to make my focus for 2016:

1. Get my health back via proper eating and working out as I have fallen into quite a few bad habits in my seclusion here in Jacksonville.
2. Obtain a good paying job I will enjoy and stay with for a while. (Jesus has a big part to play in this, but I have big part too seeing as how I should know what works and what doesn’t by now.)
3. Successfully launch my new video series/Youtube Channel – I am still in the content creation stage.
4. Work on my character (errr outbursts) so that it can sustain the platforms I desire.
5. Go to the beach more!  I live here.  It is my peace.  I should enjoy it more often.
6. Do more adventuring – hiking, kayaking, SUP and visiting neighboring towns.
7. Get involved at Celebration since that seems to be where I am landing.

 
All in all, I want to appreciate the people, places and things in my life and continue striving toward the dreams God has placed in my heart while staking a claim for my own place in the sun/sand.
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I turned 2 on August 26th.  I have officially been clean and sober for two years.  While I still have cravings and yearnings of times gone by, I can most certainly say that I do not have any desire to go back to the life I used to live.  I cannot even imagine being that person again.  When the cravings and yearnings come for that so called simpler time, I am immediately reminded of my inability to control my drinking and who that drinking made me become and the yearnings disappear. 

What seems like an easy answer is often times nothing of the sort.  More often than not, easy answers lead to even more trouble and don’t actually do anything to help one out.  The way I see it, the use of drugs and alcohol is a self-induced mirage.  Dude has a bad day, Dude goes to bar to blow off some steam, Dude forgets about how stressed out he is for a few hours, Dude crashes into bed, Dude wakes up and is stressed beyond belief all over again.  Another example of this self-induced mirage is a woman getting over a heart break by going to the clubs and getting smashed out of her mind and going home with someone she won’t even remember, she forgets everything for a few hours, but come morning she is sneaking out of an apartment and trying to figure out where she is and how to get home and the heartbreak and loneliness return a few minutes later.  Both scenarios are culturally accepted ways to deal with heartbreak and stress; the problem is that neither of them actually solves anything.  They are easy, temporary bandages that take us farther down the rabbit hole.  Only problem is that we don’t recognize our being in the hole until we find ourselves stuck at the bottom. 

We as a society love self-induced mirages.  We are all about distraction instead of answers.  Don’t get me wrong, it is good to take a break from life and get into a good movie or go out and dance the night away. The question at large is the intent behind these and other distraction actions.  Are you desperate for a distraction from feelings and thoughts you don’t want to feel or think or are you just allowing yourself a needed break?  There is a giant difference and unfortunately, you often need a clear heart and a clear mind to tell the difference between the two.

The real answers to our unwanted thoughts and feelings involve facing them head on, sitting with them, getting comfortable with them and learning how to accept them as a part of life.  Once we are no longer afraid of these feelings, their power lessens and we are able to navigate around them in a healthier way.   Many of the greats say that if you feel lonely – you should do something for someone else; if you feel alone – you should become a part of something of significance; if you feel not worthy – you should lift someone else up; if you feel heartbroken – you should find a way to help mend someone else’s heart.  The only distraction God has ordained is our focus on Him, his Goodness and His fierce love for each of us.  For it is by focusing on Him and the giving of ourselves to causes that provoke positive change in our world that we receive healing.  It all starts with a relationship with Jesus and a few good friends who are speaking truth into your life.  If you don’t have either of these, then I suggest starting that relationship and getting involved in a good church or faith-based community.  After this, I encourage finding a few more ways to connect.  If you like hiking – join a hiking group.  If you like painting – go to some painting classes to find others who enjoy your craft.  If you love animals – volunteer for a local shelter or rescue group.  In other words, get a grounding group of people around you, belong to a community and make sure you are involved in something that makes you come alive.  And lastly, when those unwanted thoughts and feelings rear their ugly heads, share them with your grounding group of friends and be willing to let them carry you through when needed.   

Happy Labor Day from a quiet cove in Malibu: