Where we are ...

So it's been a busy summer already. And it's about to get busier. I now have an official defense date (drum roll) -- August 22nd at 11 a.m. What that means practically is that I have a scant four weeks to finish writing up my results before I need to turn the final product in to my committee. My best estimate at this point is that it will be 6 chapters long, and just under 200 pages. Please email me if anyone is suffering from insomnia and needs a sleep-aid. I'll send you a .pdf of the manuscript directly.

But in the middle of that, Jamie and I will move out of our apartment by July 31st, move our belongings into storage, move into temporary housing for August (dear friends of ours are putting us up in their extra basement apartment), and also finalize details in California. We still need to find housing out in San Francisco (not worth looking before August since apartments aren't advertised until 3 weeks or less before move-in), and Jamie is in the midst of job-hunting.

All that doesn't leave much time for leave-taking, and I have spent five significant years here in State College. I crave time to mourn the memories, the friendships, the passing of a season. This is where I truly became myself, where I grew leaps and bounds in my understanding of my inner workings, and most of all my relationship with God. I moved from the comfortable black and white into the shadowlands of grays (apologies to C.S. Lewis here). This is where community was lived out for me in ways I had never experienced before. This is where I caught the vision of interconnection with others, as countless individuals gave generously of their love and time and enriched my life with their friendship ...

Jamie and I definitely need your prayers as we navigate the next month and a half!