San Diego

So, back to our adventures in California. Harrison and I went with Patrick and Lindsey to San Diego on Labor Day weekend (I know...that was a long time ago). Of course, we chose it because it was a long weekend, but what we didn't know is that our office would close down on Friday too!!!! It was a great surprise. This happened to be the same time that the wildfires were running rampant in the mountains near our city. It was so smoky outside, but to make matters worse, it was extremely hot and we have no central air conditioning. So, our house smelled like smoke because we use a window unit to cool down our apartment. Even the office smelled like smoke...there was no escaping it. So, they decided to shut down the seminary on Friday. Harrison and I headed down that morning and stopped in La Jolla. This is a place right by San Diego and it is really beautiful. We saw tons of Sea Lions there and took tons of pictures. They are so fun to watch. A lot of people were in the water, but they had to be careful not to get too close to the Sea Lions. After spending some time there, we went in to Old town San Diego. This place is quite interesting. It is really set up like an old western town. They have tons of Mexican food there and Harrison could not pass up the opportunity to eat (they had home-made flour tortillas)! We went to Griffith Park and then headed to a sports bar to watch UGA play. Then we made a stop at Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island. It was BEAUTIFUL there. I loved it!! It was an amazing, old hotel and gorgeous beaches. We went to their ice cream shop, which was connected to the hotel. It was kind of like a Cold Stone, where they mix lots of goodness into your ice cream. Harrison and I decided to splurge and got a huge helping of white chocolate ice cream with brownies and strawberries. We were sure that we would not be able to eat it all when we saw how big it was. BUT, after our first bite...we were hooked!!!! It was the most amazing ice cream we have ever eaten!! We keep trying to recreate it, but can't find a place with white chocolate ice cream. Oh well! It is a good memory. Sunday, we decided to visit a church called "The Rock Church." We enjoyed that as well. Before we went home, we decided to visit Hotel Del (as the locals call it) one more time. Surprisingly, we didn't get anymore ice cream (I think we were kinda scared they would notice us from the day before - our ice cream was THAT big). We went out to the beach and enjoyed some time on the rocks. We ended our trip back at Old Town, eating Mexican (Harrison can't get enough). Then we made our way back to smoky Pasadena (I tried to take pictures of the fires, but nothing turned out well). San Diego is a really awesome place and we hope to visit again before we move.

The Future

Usually I use the blog to tell you of all our adventures and to show you pictures. Today, I would like to share a little of my heart. Harrison and I have been in Sunny California for a year and a half now. It's crazy to think that our time here is almost coming to an end. As much as we have loved the new adventure, it has been really difficult. We have struggled with so many things since we have been out here (mostly being away from family). But we have seen how the Lord has provided for us and comforted us through the whole process. We have met some great people here and I can't wait to see how God uses these relationships in our future (either in the memories from our time here or our lasting relationships with them). It's funny (and amazing) to see how God brings people into your life at the right time to help you through. The most amazing thing that God gave us in California is a little bit of the South. We moved out here a week before our friends Patrick and Lindsey (who had previously lived in Savannah, GA). Although we are thousands of miles away from home, when we are with P & L it feels like we are much closer.

As we wind down our time here (hopefully in the next 6 months), we are beginning to pray about our future. This is exciting because it's a blank slate right now, but also scary. Harrison has been yearning to be back in the church full-time. He has learned a lot, but wants to use this knowledge to help build the Kingdom of God now. His heart is so focused on ministry and serving people. We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us (we just hope He shows us sooner than later). That is our prayer right now - "God we want to go where you want us to go, and serve where you want us to serve. Help us to look to You for direction." With the economy the way it is, I find myself wondering if we should just take whatever is available, so that we have a job. Maybe He does want us at the first thing that is available, but maybe not - and I need to be okay with that. I need to follow His leading, not the urges of my own paranoia to just have a job.

Father, I know that you will guide us and I thank You in advance for the life that you have set out for us. We are excited to serve you, wherever that may be. We look forward to being an instrument for You to use to expand Your Kingdom. We love you!

This is where I am at today. I am thankful for all that God has blessed us with and prayerful for what the future holds.