"How did you get sober?" "I closed my mind, and I willed it to be."

I'm coming to find out that working in fashion retail is brainwashing. I realized this when Jaime pulled out a bright teal sweatshirt that said "Emu Farmers" with a picture of emus on the front, and I fell in love with it. Who needs 200 dollar shirts when you can have a thrift store find like that?

This week has been a really interesting journey, because I finally got so tired of being in a rut in life that I decided to change a few things. I gave up coffee and alcohol, and started meeting with an amazing mentor that is the most encouraging person I've ever met. She lets me vent out all my crazy life conundrums and speaks volumes into my life from the Lord. I've been praying for contentment within my job, and for peace about where God wants me to live, and I feel like this prayer is being slowly answered. It started with walking in the back alley near my house and smelling the night blooming jasmine. I fell asleep smiling to that smell, because the outdoors are so near and dear to my heart. In the midst of crazy everyday life, finding joy in God's creation is always simple fulfillment. Maybe I do belong here. I have such an amazing community of friends here, I have a great job, and I love my church. As much as I gripe and complain about wanting to be somewhere else, I feel like that is beginning to fade. Two nights in a row, I fell asleep smiling, just because I was happy to be where I was.

Church was amazing this morning. We're doing a series on how to be a spiritual leader, and every Sunday blows my mind. I listen to the podcasts of the sermons several times over during the week because there is so much to soak in. I LOVE being a part of a church that is seeking desperately after God's will in everything. I know that God is so faithful in my life to lift me up when I'm down, I just have to let Him do it.

Now my roommate and I are reverting back to middle school days, which may or may not include Spice Girls and Christina Aguilera music videos... I can't wait for our other roommate to get home, she finally met her hero Brian Wilson this weekend. It's going to be a shriek fest, I can feel it.