goodbye dolores

All week we had been praying for my grandmother, Dolores Crane, and God answered our prayers for comfort and peace by taking her home on Friday, October 24. I am so thankful she is no longer uncomfortable and in pain. I am confident she was ready to leave this earthly body, and is now in Heaven. I am thankful for all the prayers, cards, e-mails, etc. We will be traveling to Wisconsin on the 7th for her funeral, and we are looking forward to not only saying goodbye, but celebrating her life.

The worship retreat was so amazing. I had the privilege of leading alongside Kelly Minter (an amazing speaker, singer/songwriter, author, and currently our worship leader.) She has definitely become an inspiration to me, as I've had the opportunity to get to know her better. I am finally reading her book, No Other Gods. I highly recommend it to everyone out there. It's available on Amazon for 11.19! It's something we all struggle with and a message I believe we all need to hear.

new friends

It's so crazy what a small world we really do live in. I used to have reservations about the whole six degrees of separation theory, but I'm beginning to believe it's not far from true. I have been so blessed to have been meeting new friends lately...in the oddest ways. I've never been much of a "friends with everyone" person-mostly as a result of my own insecurities growing up...but I think God has changed me for the better because I'm finding that the more I accept myself, or rather, who He created me to be, the more people I find coming into my life that have shared those same feelings. I found myself saying the other day, what a great season this has been. Not necessarily this "season" but you know, of life. It becomes more evident everyday that God has led us to this place for a purpose. Though we don't know the full scope of it yet, I have been so thankful to have had such peace over the past year. I always looked forward to leaving Nebraska, but never expected I would feel so fulfilled. At times, I find myself feeling guilty that it has been such an easy transition. This is not to say that I miss our family and friends any less, but that God has provided for us here. One lesson I feel i've learned lately is to trust in Him for guidance, taking it one step at a time, being prayerful of the future, but not rushing through the present. I feel as if the only way to do this is to continually be in service to God and reverence of all that has been so graciously bestowed upon us. This coming weekend, I have the privilege of leading worship at Rolling Hills annual women's retreat. I am so excited about it, and really praying that the Holy Spirit will move in and through the entire weekend's events. Please pray that this weekend goes smoothly, as well as for my paternal grandmother who is currently in intensive care at a hospital in Milwaukee...and for my dad who is trying to handle things from afar.

much love to all.