So the process has started. Even as I write this I am thinking of friends and family who I can send out support letters to as I start the process of fundraising and yet remembering that I have to get up and go to work tomorrow brings me right back down to earth. I am so thankful and excited for the World Race and even though I'm personally ready to leave next week or even tomorrow, there is still a lot of planning and getting ready to do. I find myself in this interesting middle ground of still working 7:30 to 4:30 every Monday thru Friday so I can get some remaining debt paid off and save up for the trip but then taking time to blog about my preparing for the World Race trip, or writing down questions for my mobilizer, or writing out a packing list. (I know, I know, a bit early 
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In Sunday School we're going through the book of Proverbs and today was chapter 4:20-27, looking mainly at verse 23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Generally when I hear that verse I think of the shows or movies that I watch, the music that I listen to, and even the people that I surround myself with. It's all that but in verse 25 is also says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." Guarding our hearts is also trusting and not worrying about the future. It's not focusing on what's behind us, or letting our heads hang low or having our faces downcast out of guilt and shame. Like Luke 9:62, "Jesus replied, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service with my father.' " If we look behind or even too far ahead we miss what God is doing today. We're only promised today. That really stuck with me today and I've spent the afternoon reflecting as I go through the process of cleaning my apartment, packing up my winter clothes and bringing out my summer clothes. It's great to be excited about the World Race and meeting my team mates in October but God isn't only overseas. He isn't only working in poor areas; He's working right here in Murfreesboro and I have a chance to be a part of His work, here, right where I am now, in the coming months.
I have all these questions swirling around in my head. When do I let my work know? What about vacation time for the training camp in October? When is the training camp going to be? When am I going to find out? When do I move back home? Do I move back out in time for my brother's wedding and stay out there? Do I stay here and just go out for the wedding and then fly back? How and when am I going to sell the few furniture items I have acquired? How am I going to leave my dog for a whole year? (I know that question sounds silly to some people but if that's you, you haven't met Mia yet. ) How the heck am I going to pack for 11 months? I tend to worry in a circle, instead of a straight line that gets me somewhere. These are just a few of all the questions swirling around in my head but no matter how many times I think about them, they aren't going to get solved any quicker. So my challenge for myself is, surprise of all surprise, to make a list (I love lists) so I know what needs to be dealt with sooner and what can wait until later and then take my own advice and "chill out." I want to enjoy the here and now, really live each day. I want to look back on these next 8 months and have wonderful memories with the friends that I've made here and know that I was apart of God's work and that I didn't just sit on my hands and anxiously wait for January…but of course it's easier said than done.
