Things I'm learning/realizing

We're making goals and I'm super excited about this. I've had the verse in Proverbs that says, "Without vision the people perish" in my head so we've been working on getting thoughts on paper and having a better idea of where we're going and some ideas about how we're getting there. It's fun to look at and think about the future again.

On that note, LA is becoming home. We used to talk about "going home" as our backup plan, like back to IN. It was a security blanket I think, plan B if we ever needed it. After talking through goals and finances, we realized moving back to IN and living with family wouldn't actually save us that much money. Certain things would be cheaper, don't get me wrong, but overall we'd have to have the same type of jobs that we need here in order to really pay down debt and make the move worthwhile. So why not just stay? That, and we realized we don't have a desire to move back anymore. Sorry family, we love you dearly and want to be close and see you, but... LA is becoming home. That's soooo exciting for me especially and I think Danny too. Florida was very much home before we left and we both definitely still miss it, but the family that God has blessed us with here is becoming more wonderful by the week and we're loving the relationships He has us in that are unfolding. I honestly didn't know if this day would come, calling LA home, but I feel good about it. And I even feel half-way decent about getting pregnant here. No we're not pregnant now but that conversation has come up more and it's something I'd like to do sooner than later. I'm being as vague as possible on that point:)

We're very excited about where God is taking us right now. He's been working through Danny's dreams in the past few weeks. The day his cousin passed away in IN he dreamt that Cooper died in a very similar way. Then he had dreams about the end of the world and we prayed a lot about what those meant. Then he had dreams I was pregnant. So we're thinking the end of the world dreams are about a season of our lives ending, not so much the actual world. And then a friend brought up the idea last night that the pregnant dreams could very well be us impregnated with something new. Which all makes sense because of the next paragraph.

Danny has an interview on Tuesday with the Apple store. He would be at the location about 5 blocks away from our apartment if he gets it. We're really hoping this will be his chance to get out of Massage Envy finally, or potentially work two jobs and pull in extra money to maybe pay down debt. We're soooo excited about this interview and the opportunity for something new. Working at Apple also means discounts and he definitely needs a more powerful computer in order to keep doing the After Effects work, and be able to do it faster. He also has a resume in at a company called Entertainment Partners. We have friends who work there who gave him the heads up. Apparently everyone, including HR, thinks likes his resume a lot so we're praying/hoping for a call from them. That job would mean a salary we've never had the whole time we've been married and benefits. It would be a complete God-thing. It would be 9-6 with an hour lunch so it also means a "normal" work week.

With those two opportunities, he's also created a flier for his photography that we'll be posting on Craigslist. He's excited about getting it out there and hoping for the ability to get work on the weekends or evenings doing pictures. It's another part of the industry that he loves and wants to be more involved in. After the flier was completed he's been working on doing tutorials and learning more about the program After Effects so that he can create more projects and put his reel together. Once his reel is ready, hopefully by October at the latest, he'll be sending that out with his resume to all his contacts and his Full Sail guy. It's exciting to see him motivated and working towards accomplishing his dreams.

I finally got called by the temp agency and I'm working with a grassroots group to sign petitions against the healthcare plan. We're also working on registering voters. I have had some very interesting conversations since starting this. And yes, this does mean that I am currently one of those people that stands outside the grocery store asking you to sign. The exciting part is that I've made some contacts for Danny randomly through these conversations. Also the guy I'm working with daily has me in the office this week to help him out with administrative stuff. If you know me at all, you know that I'm organized and clean and love to be on top of all that. This is so exciting for me and I'm hoping it'll be helpful on my resume for other odd jobs of being an administrative assistant during the summers/breaks if necessary. It's always good to diversify your resume, especially being a teacher in this economy.

I've also had some call-backs about babysitting and the kids I've worked with are absolutely great. I'm looking forward to more fun times with them when they need me. School starts September 13 and I'll be working all 5 days this year. I'm planning on tutoring for the same company I did last year as well.

God has been faithful and our faith has been stretched. These last two months have been so hard financially, and yet Sunday mornings have been exactly what we needed, when we needed them. Our pastor is working through Romans 12, verse by verse. Through Him we've made it. Through Him we'll continue to make it. Through Him we'll keep moving forward. Our hope is in Him and Him alone. We've cut up two credit cards in the last two months so we're down to one and working on paying them all off. We're excited about the way He orchestrated that and how it's taking us to another place of not relying on credit but on Him to pay all the bills. He's working it all out according to His timing and His will.