hoosiers are special people.

indiana was very, very good to me.

i was overwhelmingly blessed by time spent with really great people... people who know me, people who gave me needed advice, people who give hugs so strong they literally take your breath away.

and i learned new things about the Home State that i've never known...that northeast indiana is really quite beautiful; that fireworks are now legal; that AAA will come, eventually, when you are stranded on I-69 for 2 hours; and that you really can't ever get enough dairy queen. :)

oh Home State, i do love you. and maybe i will return to live someday. but right now, i need to be here, and i'm equally scared and excited for that.

i've been reading the book of Galatians over and over for the past week or so, really meditating on it, and processing it differently than before. i have a LOT of decisions to make in the next few months - about my job(s), potential grad school, and pretty much everything in my life - but you know, it's ok. my responsibility is to live the creative best i can (Gal 6), and i will. and i'll probably mess up a few times and make some not-so-great choices, but i'm human, and God knows that. even as stupid as i can be sometimes, it's really not within me to mess up the plans God has for me. and that's an incredibly good thing.

so anyway, i'm back here, working at Hems and the MAC for the summer. it's pretty great being the boss. :) AND, i have another job coming up soon...starting July 17th, i'll be tutoring at the Summer Academy for the MATCH School!! i can't wait, although i'm a little intimidated because i have to actually make lesson plans and do real teacher type stuff. but it should be great, and the director even scraped together a stipend for me. outside of jobs and volunteering at Starlight, i'm training for another half-marathon in October, researching grad schools, and doing random Sojourn things to prepare for the fall. so, as wonderful as traveling around europe and the midwest was, it is quite good to be back.

p.s. pictures soon, i promise.