Nothing good rhymes with Alaska...

***DISCLAIMER*** Let me start by telling you that I'm lacking in brain power- and you have been forewarned :)

Well, today makes it one week I have been here! It is completely different from what I expected but not in a bad way. I was surprised to find everything green and beautiful- and the snow is only on the mountain tops. I guess in my head I envisioned us dog sledding or something??? Anyways, it is 1:01 am here and just getting dark. Now, this is odd. You see, my body is getting tired but my head doesn't register that it is time to sleep- because it's broad daylight outside. I knew this coming here-- but seriously its a WHOLE different story experiencing it.

My team is great. We laugh and laugh and laugh-- sometimes until we cry. I truly feel that God has brought us all here for a reason- and I have no doubt that this summer is going to be amazing serving with them.

So, lately I've been chewing on some ideas. This town I'm in is a very unique community. The people here are not your average resort community and for a while that intimidated me. We've been gettin' "oriented" this past week while the whole team assembled and already it's been challenging. I can only imagine what the summer will bring- but I am not worried at all :)

I've started reading 1 Samuel and I find the story of Hannah to be fascinating. You should check it out- but the recap version goes something like this. Hannah was married to a man who had two wives. The other wife had children but Hannah could not. She was upset about it and sad in a BIG way. When she took it before the Lord, she prayed in a very honest and humble way for God to grant a desire in her heart. Not too much later she found out she was pregnant- so God had answered her prayer. Now here is the kicker- instead of just going about her ways and holding onto the child so dearly-- she gave the one thing her heart desired back to the Lord-- and in turn this little boy turned out to be Samuel. She not only gave him back to the Lord- but her prayer is beautiful and full of praise and honor for the Lord.

Now, here is what I'm getting at-- how many times does God grant us our desires or answer our prayers and then we are selfish and hold onto it tightly?? Hannah could have been like "no, he's my miracle baby- I'm not giving him up" but she didn't say that. Lately, I'm seeing lots and lots of blessings and answered prayers that I have held onto- and I think it's time to see what good can come of them when I give them back to the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.

The main thought that comes to mind- is that "I'm not in Kansas anymore" and I believe that Alaska is HARDCORE. My prayer is that God will use us in a very special way to share His love-- with people that are unique and different.

Peace-