Beginning The Journey

So, I've decided to try my hand at blogging. I'm not sure exactly why I'm doing this, other than I felt a push from God to give it a try. I've been reading friend's blogs and really enjoying them, so why not, right? I'm thinking that God wants me to try this as a way of sorting out my thoughts and feelings and I trust he will use it as a tool for my spiritual growth. Truthfully, I don't really think anyone will even read it, but that doesn't really matter. I intend for this to be for myself and my own growth. If other's want to come along, that's okay, but I'm most certainly not counting on it.

As far as who I am and where I'm coming from, I'll address the personal side first. At first glance, I'm a small town girl with a hubby and 3 kiddos. From the outside world, it may look like I've had life pretty easy. However, there are things that I have been through I have simply chosen not to share with the world. I married at a very young age and while my husband was in the military, we spent more days and nights apart then together. We battled things I still choose to keep private and after his discharge, returned to the area where we grew up to raise our family near both sets of parents. We will have been married for 10 years this year and though it hasn't been easy, I wouldn't trade any of it. God has used each occurence in our lives to generate growth in us and we are stronger now then we ever could have been had we not faced each trial. Our children are the joy of our lives. We have 2 boys (ages 7 and 5) and a baby girl not yet 3 months old. They are so much fun and we are so blessed to have been entrusted as their parents. Our oldest officially started elementary school this year and we have begun a new chapter as far as parenting is concerned.

Professionally, I have been a registered nurse for nearing 2 years now. I chose to return to college and nursing school after moving back to the area we grew up in. It wasn't easy completing it with everything else that was going on in our lives, but with the help of our parents to watch the boys, I was able to do so. Truthfully, I didn't just get through it, I excelled in school. I never could have done as well as I did without the support of all those around me. I felt such a great sense of pride when I recieved my diploma, and then when I passed my boards and recieved my license. I worked full time for over a year in 2 different hospitals and really enjoyed it. Halfway through my last pregnancy, I decided that I didn't want to work full time and became only a PRN worker (meaning I just work when they need someone to fill in and can pick and choose most of my own hours). This works great with the boys being in school and having a new baby at home. I'm able to work as much or as little as I want and though it has been a strain financially, being able to take care of my own kids is such a blessing, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am currently taking classes to continue my education and am fully planning on earning a bachelor's and master's degree in order to expand my oppurtunities. I'm not sure exactly what the end goal is and I continue to debate between earning my Nurse Practitioner's degree, a Nurse Midwife degree, and a teaching degree, so I'm not sure exactly where I'm going to end up. I'm just trusting God for one step at a time.

As far as the Spiritual aspect goes, I have been a church goer all my life. My family attended church at least 1-2 times per week, every week growing up. We attended 2 different penecostal churches and I had a very charismatic upbringing. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I really took my personal relationship with God very seriously and starting pursuing him myself. It was then that I realized the faith of my parent's wasn't enough to save me and I had to have my own relationship with Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Once I did so, allowing God to be in charge has been my biggest struggle. It's so easy to try and direct your life the way you see fit, but God's plan can be so much greater and more rewarding then we could ever imagine. I had no idea where life was going to lead me when I began my journey with God, and I still don't know where he's going to lead, but I'm trusting that he is in charge. I try to listen for his direction and take his lead, being extra careful to not trust my own instincts over his guidance. It's definitely not easy, but I'm working on it.

I hope that this blog will help me to grow spiritually in ways that I wouldn't see otherwise. My plan is to use it as a tool to organize my thoughts on different subjects and that it will help me to learn more about my own thought processes. If anyone choses to read this, I hope that you are able to get something out of it and that somehow, God challenges you to grow spiritually in your own life.