I don't remember where or when I first heard the song "Jesus I am Resting, Resting" but it's been within the past three years. Last Sunday, it was sung during communion at church by two women, who simply overwhelmed my spirit with their voices. The lyrics are beautiful; the song took me to a deep place of quietness and rest. I found it on iTunes the next day and have been listening to it a few times a day since then. I'll go through phases like this when a song will speak directly to my heart, circumstances, etc., and sometimes listen to it so much that it will take a few months to hear it again; regardless, it's been a great blessing to me to hear Alisa Dishong (it's her version I downloaded from iTunes) sing through the following lyrics this week:

Jesus I am resting, resting
In the Joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power
Thou hast made me whole.

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

O how great Thy loving kindness.
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvellous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings;
Thine is love indeed!

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

Ever lift Thy face upon me,
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting;
Fill me with Thy grace.

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

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I'm making plans to move back to Alabama. I'll be returning with most of my things this Thursday, so I've got a few days of organizing and packing ahead of me. In another sign of confirmation that God's opened this door and path for me, I found out Friday about my housing situation. I'll be at an on-campus, furnished apartment (which I applied for) -- and it's less than a block from where I'll be taking classes. When I looked at the map after applying, my first choice was going to put me on the opposite side of campus and I didn't even look where my second choice was. Turns out my second choice was available and a much better fit.

So I'll take off for Florence at the end of this week, celebrate Christmas with my family (along with Anna's birthday since it's the same day as Christmas), and then enjoy the wedding week. We're going to have a lot of family in town (and both my Dad's sisters and their families staying with us), which is going to be so much fun. We're looking forward to a great celebration of Anna and Craig.

After their wedding, I'm going with a few friends to Nashville for New Year's, driving back to San Antonio, having a going-away party on the 3rd, going back to Florence so I can move to Tuscaloosa on Jan. 7. I begin classes on the 10th. With all this going on, I'm so glad to be resting, resting in the joy and greatness of Christ.

First of all, yesterday was my sister Bethany’s 21st birthday. It’s difficult to believe that she can be that old, but I’m so glad for each year she gets because we’ve continue to get closer the older we get. She’s an outstanding person; probably one of the busiest people on Lipscomb’s campus. I was quite involved as an undergrad, but I don’t think it was to the extent that Bethany is. And in all she does, she brings glory to Christ and shines the good news of his kingdom. So, happy birthday, sis! I love you!

Yesterday was also a special day for me for another reason. After months of waiting, listening, being patient, and checking the mail, I received last week an offer from the University of Alabama to not only pursue a Master’s degree in TESOL, but was offered a graduate assistantship as well, which means I don’t have to pay tuition and receive a stipend too. What an open door! So I called and officially accepted, making me a student once again.

I’m really excited about this opportunity. As difficult as it is to consider leaving my friends and community here in San Antonio, this is not something I can pass up. After praying for God to make a way for me to get back to an academic setting, becoming equipped for a specific task (teaching English to speakers of other languages), I think I’d be a bit unfaithful to not charge full-speed ahead. This not only gets me back to the classroom, it puts me closer to my family than I’ve been in four and a half years. That proximity is very exciting.

It was so comforting to be back with my family over Thanksgiving, to stay up playing cards, and spend time taking crazy pictures with my siblings. I look forward to weekend trips to Nashville and Memphis, a possible spring break trip to visit Luke for spring training, and the comfort of knowing I’m no more than three hours away from Mom and Dad. I’ve missed that the past year and a half especially, missed being close. I know I won’t always have that luxury and I’m thankful that I can step into it at this juncture in my life.

The disappointment I feel in making this move is in leaving my friends in San Antonio. God’s surrounded me with such a tight community of people who I’ve grown to love like family. They’ve been my support and encouragement; the ones to hold me accountable; the ones to tell me to “shut up” when I’ve needed it as well as “go on” when the situation called for it; they’ve been prayer warriors for me; they’ve given me confidence, joy, peace, laughter, and countless memories. Such close friends will not fade away due to a change in location, but it will be different not being in the same city, which is what makes me sad. The ease with which we lived in each others’ lives will be taken away; yet I’m confident that these friendships will remain for years to come.