So, I've been keeping a secret...

and let's just start right off the bat and say, NO! I'm NOT pregnant. Nor do I plan to be ANY time soon.

Anyway... Ian and I have been keeping a secret. Our families know and that is just about it. I have told VERY few, select friends. If I didn't tell you, please don't be offended. It was completely out of self preservation. I didn't want too many people to know in case I didn't succeed and then I would be mortally embarrassed!

Ready to know the news yet? Are you sure?

Well, first I'd like to give you a little back story. :)

During my senior year of high school, like many other students, I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do and where I'd go to school. Luckily, on a whim I applied to Baylor and three years later, I was a graduate!

Sic 'Em Bears!

In the back of my mind over the past several years, I wondered if maybe I had missed the mark back in college; that maybe I should have also majored in education. I kept telling Ian, "But I want what I do to mean something. To make a difference." I can't tell you how many times I contemplated going back to school or finding an alternative certification program to join. Finally, a while back, I bit the bullet and enrolled in an online certification program. I figured... "Hey.. I have the time. This might come in handy some day."

Can you see where I'm going with this yet?? :)

Then a few months ago I got wind of a position open at a nearby high school; an Arts/AV teacher... right up my alley. At first doubt set in and I didn't think I should waste my time, or theirs. I mean, that was dream job quality... completely out of reach, right? But, hadn't I just learned to let go of worry, to let go of my fears and trust in God?

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
"May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed." Psalm 20:4

And that's what I did. I gave it all to God and left it there. (That's not to say I didn't struggle with some fear here and there... because I sure did) I had such a peace about knowing it would be ok if this job wasn't God's will for my life and also a peace about if it was. And honestly... it was so exciting! Having felt that peace, I feel almost hungry for it to continue. I felt a dramatic difference between when I was letting fear creep back in versus when I put my trust in the Lord. Even through the struggles, when I wasn't consistent, God was! Again and again, He is faithful.

So... all this to say... I'm going to be the Arts/AV teacher for Athens High School this coming year! I am so very excited and nervous and nauseous and thrilled and everything else. I hate to leave the family I've grown to love at Green Acres and the thought of being further away from Adie during the day makes me sad.

I know I have a lot of learning to do and it won't always be easy, but God has led me this far and I know He will be faithful through the rest of the journey.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13