welcome to the new normal.

To say this last week was an odd one would be an understatement.

The last week has been crazy.

Good and bad.

Moments of hope and hopelessness….

The most important and awesomest thing, of course, is that two of my most favorite people got married on Friday.

Having met at the Calvary Chapel Bible College down in Murrieta, CA; and the bride from the valley of Cali, many folks from out of state came in to help them celebrate the next step of their lives.

It takes more than one hand to count the number of awesome people I met this last week. One of them, a girl just 17 days older than me (it’s nice to have someone my age when everyone is younger!), has decided to move up here and will actually be one of three girls I will be living with 🙂 Both of us have such similar testimonies, it’s slightly creepy…but awesome. And encouraging. The Lord is good.

You probably also heard on the news about the deep freeze Washington got last week. It started on Saturday and it was snow, snow, snow until Friday. It was unusual in that it lasted and snowed for almost a good week (but did little to compare to the good month long freeze we had in 08!) I personally love driving in the snow. You heard me right, i love it. I love slipping and sliding.

But not when other drivers are on the road. It causes accidents. And when you’re heading down a hill not knowing if your 4wd is on (because you had a blonde moment) and you pass the top of the hill heading down only to realize there are at least 5 other cars creating a maze of a passageway, you are bound to hit someone. Especially when you freak out and hit your brakes as a last resort.

Thankfully NO one was hurt, my car has a small dent on my door (which i am thankful for, if i didn’t hit that guy, I would have gone down a ravine) and my front bumper is pushed in, but it’s all plastic. With that dent, lucky me, had a dead phone and no camera to take pictures of the damage done to his car. And our stories don’t match up. That should be fun to deal with…

But the Lord knows.

I got the chance to check out another house to move into, and may i say just how perfect it is? Great location, the walls actually have color, it’s cute, and there are multiple bathrooms. And unlike most rentals, the deposit is only 1/3 of the rent. That’s nearly unheard of! Only bummer is that we won’t have quite the “set up” I was hoping for by having a girl’s house five houses down from the guy’s house. But we’re still less than five minutes away. Oh, and no dogs allowed.

And with my busy schedule…I have come to terms that I can no longer be a dog owner 😦 Sad day because Posi Traction is pretty much the best dog ever (despite what my sis and bro-in-law think). It’s been a trial finding her a home I trust…but something has to happen by the 1st. I’m praying for a wonderful home for her (and if you want a trained German Shepherd mix or know someone who wants a sweet, beautiful dog – let me know!!!)

I have to say though, with all the hopelessness, my joy was drained to an all-time low. And the older I get, the harder it is to put on my “happy” face. Which I don’t think is necessary, I need to come to terms with how I really feel. Why mask it? I was a jealous, hopeless, drained, exhausted, and FRUSTRATED mess. Still trying to figure out how to battle through all the sin.

And here’s a question for y’all.

When you are in a position of jealousy by being around certain people, do you avoid such times with those people or do you battle through it?

I feel that if I avoid such moments, then I am running from my sin and not battling it.

Anyway, I would love some wisdom on that.

Also, I have a sense that a new chapter is starting. One that I won’t like very much, one that will bring me to more solitude, one that will be tedious, but one that will be fruitful. Hopefully it won’t last all year and be a worse repeat of 2011.

I hate dissing on 2011, but it was such a hard year. It was good in ways…many good things came about. But hard and draining, nonetheless.

Oh, Lord…please let this year be more hopeful.