The testing of your faith produces perseverance.

*First...my good friend reminded me that the word marriage is in face spelled marrIage, and not marrAIge. So - my apologies on my wordle.*

"The land between may provide our greatest opportunity for transformational growth." -Jeff Manion from his book, "The Land Between."

I began to re-read Jeff Manion's book last night, and this quote struck me, among others. Honestly, I hesitate to compare myself with the Isrealites in the desert, because really, I have an abundance of blessings all around me. And yet, as I re-read The Land Between, I can relate to the issues of the Isrealites in more than one circumstance. Wandering? check. Complaint? check. Questioning? check. Frusrated? check.

I keep coming back to this idea of transformational growth, though. Every time my phone rings and the person on the other line tells me that they have gone with a different candidate for the position, it is an opportnity for me to fall into deep despair, or to turn my face to the One who leads me through the Land Between. To get you all up to speed - I had been offered a part time job at my old school, but I waited too long to respond, so it went to someone else. Remember the 90 mile drive to San Diego? That school is going with another candidate too. The interview I had on Monday afternoon? Someone else fit the job description better.

"With each discomfort we experience, our responses both reveal the person we are and set the trajectory for the person we are becoming." -Jeff Manion

"God's intent is to use the harsh conditions of the wilderness to prove his faithfulness." -Jeff Manion

"Choose joy in seasons of intense pain." -Jeff Manion

You may think I am depressed in the midst of the above disappointments, but in fact I feel a peace that cannot be explained. I know that God is preparing me for something big. I might move to Michigan. I might work with the youth at a church in northern California. I might teach part time and work at Starbucks part time. We will just have to wait and see!

In the meantime...I am working on two online classes for graduate school, and it is not an easy task - what with the sunshine and chirping birds calling my name! I find random tasks to distract me from school work...laundry, baking, unloading the diswasher, checking email, writing blog posts. :) I guess it's time to get back to it. 2-3 page paper? You bet.