Goodbye Orlando, Hello Boston

4:00 AM Saturday morning came early (especially since I failed to sleep except for a brief 30 minute nap I took before meeting the taxi) and I found myself on the way to the Orlando airport. I was exhausted and sad as I left. I've included some pictures of the friends I've made. Undoubtably, there will be more at some point. Forgive me for not putting captions, but I figure you might like the "Where's Waldo-esq" search for me and others you may know... What an incredible month away! It was hard to leave it behind. Goodbye Orlando!

Flying back into Boston, my dear friends, Alex & Ging picked me up at Logan, brought me flowers, a Starbucks gift card and whisked me away to a fabulous lunch... Does it get any better than that? I have such AMAZING friends. And, I said "Hello" to Boston once again.

I feel like I'm still in a fog of adjustment and realizing, "No, Jess, it is not a dream." (Don't worry, I typically speak of myself in the third person.) It's probably funny to say this, but even in this haze, I can see that I'm changed somehow. God met me in such tremendous ways during my time away. I'm still processing through it, trying to make sense of it, yet enjoying the mystery for the moment.

I'm looking forward to what I'll uncover and as I said in my last post, anxious to share some of that with you. For now, it's good to be home, I am missing my Florida life and friends, and I'm excited to see what God has in store as I, once again, focus on where He has me.

Back to School

My life has been a little crazier than normal these past two weeks (if you know me and can even imagine :) )... When you think Winter Park, potentially, you think Colorado because it actually snows there, you can ski and it simply makes logical sense to call it that; but alas, I'm in Winter Park, Florida at present taking several seminary courses. Its been a balmy 80 - 90 degrees on average with high humidty and its rained almost daily - I'm getting used to it. The weather aside, I'm really enjoying my time here.

Last week, I completed my first two courses - Biblical Interpretation and Old Testament Survey. I have been tremendously challenged and encouraged through both. It feels like the Lord just handed me a gift of a month to be refreshed in unexpected ways, to delve deeply into His Word and to learn more about who He is and His love and plan for humankind. I've really appreciated the way God has shown me, through these classes, things that I have never known about Him before. To be honest, I have been surprised at times. Growing up in the church and embracing a personal relationship with Christ at a young age has afforded me a lot of "knowledge" about my faith and what the Bible tells me about who God is, yet this summer I've seen so many connections throughout the whole of Scripture that I didn't know existed. I hope to unpack that sometime soon on here. Its been really fun.

I'm finding some "down" time with friends that are here, as well. It has been such a blessing to process all I'm learning with these fellow staff members and to be away from life per normal for a while. I do miss Boston which continues to be a great realization. I'm thankful that I'm continuing to feel more and more at home there and will be excited to return in a few weeks.

Hopefully, I will move into more detail about some of what I'm processing soon, but for now I'll leave it at this: I'm experiencing a greater understanding of how Jesus Christ really is the prize. He's not a way to achieve what I think I need or want, but He is what I need and what I want. More on that later...