Once Upon a Time…6 Months Flew By

6 Months. I have now been living in Australia for 6 whole months. I can hardly believe it, time has gone from being the slowest thing in my life to moving at lightening speed. I’m writing this post on this my 6 month anniversary. I am still in awe at how far God has brought me in just 182 days. It really does not seem like so much time when I strip it down to the mere days that I have been living here. I have a WONDERFUL roommate who I love living with, in an adorable flat. I get to ride over the Harbour bridge (I walked across it the first time this weekend, see above pic) everyday on my way into work. I really do love this city, even in the rain that continues to ruin my fun (It was raining in the above picture). 🙂 The seasons are changing and instead of entering into Spring like I would be in the US, we are officially into Fall, or as they say here, Autumn. I have yet to get my vocab straight. I still say cell instead of mobile, roommate instead of flatmate, apartment instead of flat, and z instead of zed. I am learning, but I still frequently walk to the drivers side of the car here thinking it is the passenger seat. And am still not used to driving on the wrong right side of the road. I still miss my car and the sun of California, not to mention all my friends, but funny thing. I have lots of friends now here too! 🙂

My parents will be here in less than a week to visit and as I am thinking about all the things that I can show them and people to meet, I had to just step back and realize that I actually have a life here, and not just any life, but a very blessed life. I have a good job where I am learning new things every day, AMAZING friends, a wonderful church, and music is picking up!! I am actually teaching a few voice lessons again and LOVING IT! I am making music friends who can jam and write with me. I am playing every two weeks at a local open mic and am once again beginning to write. Life is not perfect and there are still days when I am incredibly homesick and would give just about anything to transport back to my beloved California, but those days are few in comparison to when I first arrived. These last 6 months  have been filled with so many lessons and SO much growth. I am different because I came. I had brunch with a friend on Sunday morning and had a moment when I realized how much I would have missed out on had I stayed. Leaving was the hardest thing I have ever done (emotionally speaking). But God is good and he sustains. The lessons that I am learning and continue to learn are worth every ounce of pain. God knows what he is doing with my life, far better than I do. Trusting is never easy, but it is ALWAYS worth it. It has taken a life move to finally get just an ounce of that truth through my thick head. He always provides and He never fails. The road is never smooth, but it is amazing how much more at ease I am when I am not the one driving, the bumps are much more manageable then.

I’m excited for the next month. I am playing worship for a week at a youth camp. My parents will be here!! I am traveling up to Cairns to go to The Great Barrier Reef. I start teaching my voice class, and I am finally launching the new product that I have been working on for the past 4 months. Month 7 is going to be crazy insane and I can’t wait! Once again, thank you to all my blog readers for being apart of this journey with me. I know I have been slacking on the blogging, but I promise all you are missing out on is my crazy work building up to the product launch. 🙂 Thank you for all your prayers and encouraging comments. I appreciate it all more than you will ever know. Month 7 is going to be the best one yet…here we go…

Once Upon a Time…Month 5

5 Months…I left California on September 17th 2011 and arrived here in Australia on September 19th 2011. This last weekend marked my 5 month mark. Keeping this blog has been one of the best things that I have done upon moving here. It helps me not to forget how far God has brought me in just 5 short months. For awhile time just stood still and I felt so lost and alone. It was just God and me on an adventure. And now…so much has changed. I am making some amazing friends here. It is fun to watch these friendships grow and I am so thankful for the amazing women that I am getting to know, I have real solid friendships and rarely have a night to myself. I love having my social life back! 🙂

I have a routine, it looks nothing like my routine in California, but it is a routine none the less. Its nice to have places to go and things to do. I am so busy that it is nice to just have a day at home once every few weeks, where before I couldnt handle all the down time with nothing to do and no where to go. I vowed to make this last month a growing music month. Well, it is still in process, but I now have a voice teacher who is amazing that I meet with every week, I got hired on to teach a local  community college voice class, and I have starting to lead worship for the high school youth at church. I still don’t have access to a piano. Oh how my fingers long to grace the keys again. Everyone once in a while I will be somewhere with a piano or keyboard and my hands are drawn to each beautifully laid key. I will never take having a piano for granted ever again. This has been much to long of a spell without one. Music is coming along, but I am not yet where I would like to be.

I LOVE having a church again. It is so nice to see the same people every week and to discuss theology and life. I am excited about all the new friends I am making there. I have a bible study now too! This month I feel the most me since I have moved here. For awhile I felt like a partial version of myself, just trying to figure out this new place, this new way, this new life, and now…I am still figuring out, but in a way where I am fully me. I love it! Work has been crazy (which is why I have missed the last few blog posts) as I have been learning a ton and handling a product launch from start to finish. It’s not music, but at least at times it is still creative. 🙂 The sun still has not been shining, but the last few days its has made an appearance, along with some pretty spectacular lightning storms. I have never seen storms like this in my whole life. They are epic and powerful and leave me in awe of how great God is. I have finally adjusted to the humidity and the fact that you can’t go outside at night without leaving with a million mosquito bites. Last night I sat on our deck with a friend watching the storm and started to feel itchy on my arms and hands. I came away with 6 mosquito bites…the bugs are winning. 😉

I am learning so much about trust and timing. That is the lesson of the moment. Everything happens at just the right time, and do I trust God enough to wait for that. Waiting…not so good at it, but I am getting there. Constantly a work in progress. God is showing my over and over again just how trustworthy and big He is even when I cannot for the life of me figure out what is going on. He knows, and that is all that matters. I still miss everyone one at home. I am so thankful for Skype, free txt apps, and email. It makes everyone seem so much closer. However there are times that I wish I had the super power of teleportation so that I could quickly get back to the US and go out to dinner with my friends there. One of my students who I was exceptionally close to (I lived with her family for awhile) turned 8, I missed her birthday party. I have been to all of her birthdays parties since she turned 5. I called to talk to her and she cried, asking why I couldn’t be there. Oh my heart…I cried to. It broke my heart that I couldn’t be there to celebrate her special day with her. Just like every month before, there are highs and there are lows, but the lows are becoming fewer, while the highs are growing. I have grown so used to the Australian accent that I barely notice it anymore and I am getting used to being one of the few Americans around.  Funny thing though…they still use words that I don’t know and I have to ask what they are talking about. 🙂

This next month holds travel, product launches, more involvement at church, building relationships,  and my parents coming out to visit me!! 🙂 I have learned how to wait with hopeful anticipation. I am excited about what lies ahead, even though I have no clue what that may be, because God has me and He is trustworthy all the time.

To all my friends, family, and blog “stalkers” 😉 Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. Your support, prayers, and words have meant the world to me and has helped pull me through the days where I want to call it quits and move home. Love you all!!

Once Upon a Time…There was Transition

TRANSITION – Movement, passage, or change from one  position, state, stage, subject or concept (as defined my dictionary.com)

I am in a time of transition and to be honest, I hate it! Everything is different, which is exciting, yet at the same time I long for consistency. I spent all day yesterday working on my resume and submitting my resume to companies for work. I need a job, I need a church, I need friends. All of these things take time, and I forgot that in the excitement of moving. I have not been here very long, and yet I am growing impatient with myself because I don’t have it “all figured out”. I have been having a lot of flash backs to when I left Oregon and moved to California. All of the same feeling and frustrations of starting over are all coming back. I know that God has called me here, and I know that He will provide for me, yet some days I find it hard to trust in that. Time is not my friend right now.

With any transition there are good days and there are bad days. I have feelings of great accomplishment as I tackle new things, I know I am growing simply because I have no choice. There are bad days too when I am lonely and long for my friends and family to be here with me, because life would be so much more fun if that were the case. I am keeping this blog not only to keep everyone up to date on what is going on, but mainly for myself so that I can look back and see just how far God has brought me. Some posts will be fun and exciting as I tackle new things, others like this one will be more retrospective as I face overwhelming change.

Today I miss everything from home. I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss my church, I miss my job, I miss my clients. I miss feeling like I belong. I know I won’t always feel this way and that is just how I feel today. Tomorrow will be different and as my life unfolds here I’m sure I will love it. And when it is time to go I will be sad that I am leaving, but today I miss home. If you read my blog I could really use your prayers for a church, for friends, for a job. I really can’t wait to look back on this post and see how far I have come. I hope it is someday soon. 🙂

Once Upon a Time…I had a Birthday

My 1st Birthday

Happy birthday to me! Today marks the beginning of my 29th year…29! If I’m honest this is not where I thought I would be at 29. I figured by now, I would have it figured out. That I would feel like a grown up. Had you asked me at 19 where I would be in ten years I would have said married, settled, and established. I never imaged having kids at 29, but I thought for sure that I would be married, settled location wise, and established in my career. Ha! God has certainly had other plans. It is amazing how much can change in a year. I may have not been close to being married last year at this time, but I was settled and my business was taking off. And now…I am picking up and moving my whole life to another country in 17 days! I have given up my business and career and am currently unemployed…Ha! I had my plans, but God had his, and boy are they different from mine. Where I am and where I thought I would be on my 29th birthday are SO different, and I am so glad that they are. This may not have been the life that I planned out for myself, but it

I think I'm just a little over two

is SO much better than anything that I could have come up with. Instead of married, I am single. Instead of being settled, I am uprooting my life in just over two weeks. And as for being established in my career, I was, and now who knows what comes next. I am so excited to see what this next years holds. The only thing I know for sure is that a lot of change is coming and that is exciting! Last year at this time I had no idea that my whole world would be changing and yet here I am sitting on the edge of a whole new chapter. So here’s to 29, may it be my best year yet! As for feeling 29, well…I feel more like 19. 🙂

Once Upon a Time…Music Lesson Came to an End

Its official, I’m all done with work! I no longer have a job and I won’t have one till October, end of September if I am lucky. I haven’t had this big of a gap between jobs since I graduated from college. It is a little intimidating to know that I have no income coming in for the next month, and once again have to job hunt. The reality that in fact my life is changing is finally hitting me. I leave in 3 weeks…3 WEEKS, and Portland is just a week away. God is teaching me about faith, because I certainly have no idea how this is all going to work out. This adventure is exciting, liberating, and terrifying all at the same time. I still have a million things to accomplish before I leave for Portland, as the goal is to have all of the big things done by then. I don’t want to feel rushed with my last week in the US, instead I would like to be able to enjoy the remaining time with my friends and family. So here I am unemployed and now just waiting for the next chapter to begin. It is amazing what a difference a year can make, for if someone would have told me last year at this time that I would be moving my life halfway across the world, I would have thought they were crazy. Now once again, I feel like a senior waiting in anticipation for the next adventure, yet relishing every last moment I have here.

Once Upon a Time…I Learned the Power of Prayer

I have moved a lot in my 28 years of life. Mostly in and around California, but I have moved a lot none the less. I consider myself a professional packer and re-locator. When you have moved as many time as I have, you know the drill, you can do it in your sleep. This whole move has been such a different experience than any other that I have taken on. One of the coolest things about this situation is the amount of prayer that has gone into it, not only my prayers, but the prayers of all my friends and family as well. Not a single one of my moves has been covered in this much prayer before.

I had the privilege of playing keys at church this last Sunday, and afterwards, a bunch of us went out to eat. Right before we left they prayed for me and this new adventure that I am about to partake in. It has been such a blessing to know that so many are praying with me in this next move. Everything has been so easy, getting my visa, buying my ticket, selling my furniture, none of it has been hard. There have been no hoops to jump through, just constant confirmation along the way. I have an unnatural peace. Am I sad, at times, but do I have fear, No. Moments of sadness come, normally with a few tears, but there is not one ounce of me that is afraid. And that is God. I do not have the power on my own to be this calm in the midst of my world turning upside down. So for all of you who are praying. Thank you! It means more to me than you will ever know.

Once Upon a Time… A Decision Was Made

I never thought in a million years that I would live anywhere other than the United States. I dreamed of traveling, of seeing the world, for all I have really seen is the US and a brief encounter with the Bahamas when I went on a cruise in January. Funny though, I never thought I would leave Oregon and yet I have spent the last 9 years in Southern California.

On New Years day on my flight to Florida to go on my cruise with my friends Lisa and Rosie I wrote this prayer:

Jesus, I come before you in anticipation of a new year. I want this next year to be all about you Lord Jesus. I want to spend this next year pursuing you and your plan for my life. I no longer want to be Jonah running away from your will and plan. I want to spend my life in excited anticipation of your blessings. I want to really know and experience you. I no longer want to be bound with fear and pressure from expectations of others. I want to live in the freedom of you and the Holy Spirit. Free to be all you have made me to be. Living the life that you designed for me, not the life that I have deigned for myself. Forgive me Jesus for living the past years pursuing my idea of what is right for me. Forgive me for not trusting you at all with my deepest heart and life. Jesus send your holy spirit upon me to guide and direct me in your plan for my life. If I am to leave CA and my friends then make that path clear. If I am to stay then make that path clear as well.…

God answers prayers

In January I was presented with the opportunity to move to Sydney Australia. At first I fought, it sounds like a new adventure, but it is SO far away from all that I know. I felt a tug on my heart and began to pray, seeking God’s guidance and will above all else. As I continued to pray God began to close doors here and open them in Sydney. I love my life here in California, but by my request God pretty much slapped me in the face.

I had a panic moment when I was home in Oregon. And the thought of its not to late to change my mind popped into my head. I could still try to find a new roommate and just keep living my life here. Nothing would have to change. During my moment of freaking out, I was praying for direction. I need to know that I am making the right decision. One of the things I told God was…How can I go someplace I have never been…that thought was all encompassing. After I was done praying, I read my daily devotional and the whole study was on this verse: By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

Kesley and Andrew (I stole this from her facebook) 🙂

So I’m moving to Sydney Australia! I leave September 17th, 2011. I have already moved out of my apartment and into temporary housing for the next few months. I sold all of my furniture and have only kept a few odds and ends that will be in a storage unit (pictures, books, Christmas ornaments, ect). Since I am self employed leaving my job is not such a big deal. However, I will miss all of my families terribly. The Visa that I applied for is a one year working holiday visa. This means that I am buying a one way ticket and plan on returning to the states a year later, but only God knows what comes next. My wonderful friend and former roommate, Kelsey, lives in Sydney with her husband and they are going to help me get situated. They have even offered for me to stay with them for awhile. I am selling my car as well since Sydney has a great mass transit system. The goal…is to get a job with Hillsong.

I am moving with nothing more than a suitcase full of clothes, shoes, my computer, and guitar. I have a place to live, one friend, and no job. Some may say I am crazy, but I am being called to go…so go I must. As of right now I am terrified, excited, hopeful, reluctant, and oh so many other emotions all at the same time. I have moments where I cant wait to get there and then others where I want to cry because I am leaving everything I have every  known. This is by far the scariest and the biggest leap of faith I have ever taken, and I have no idea what the outcome will be. I’ll be writing in this blog/posting videos frequently while on this adventure. So I invite you all to join me as I step… Through The Looking Glass.