Montgomery Bell State Park, TN

Hi all,
Terry and I spent the week at Montgomery Bell State Park just west of Nashville this week. He was there for the Region 3 National Association for Interpretation and had a great time. The park is beautiful and has several accessible features.

While we were there we also visited Radnor Lake Natural Area right in Nashville. This is a beautiful man made like surrounded by woods and steeped in history (both positive and quite negative). While there we saw about 50 lesser scaup, several bufflehead and gadwalls, and other birds. The lake trail is a closed road so it is very accessible. Check it out.

http://tn.gov/environment/parks/RadnorLake/

We also went to the Edwin Warner Park in Nashville which is a city park and also very accessible. They have several miles of paved trail that would be excellent to bike. The nature center was impressive and perhaps the coolest thing was the mud pit that kids played in!!! http://www.nashville.gov/parks/locations/warner.asp

Stop by next time you're in Nashville!

Unsettled to Settled

In the most recent weeks I have found myself in a kind of limbo; neither here nor somewhere else but struggling to decide which location is right for me. It seems that this unsettled state is simply a reflection of the gargantuan decisions that are coming. I am projecting- except really I'm looking into the future, predicting what is to come, and then pulling those feelings back into the present where they haunt me. Why must I make life so complex?
 
I am unsettled. Is there a storm coming or is the sky clearing? I just cannot tell.








I am waiting on acceptance letters (that is positive thinking)  from three universities I have applied to for a PhD in social work. In the mean time I am loving my job and learning so much everyday from the wonderful team I work with and from the students I have the pleasure of knowing. Yet at the same time I am unsettled. How can I be settled when I know that change is coming, that I will be either moving or commuting, renting out my house or something else, saying good-bye to my wonderful job and hello to a challenging few years of school, and even more unsettling, delaying life further for the next 3 to 4 years.

In the last day or so it has come to my attention that the lens through which I have been looking at my life is completely out of focus. My plan was to .... and then..... and then...... fill in the blank. As I interpret what I see transpiring I have a sense of loss, like grief over what has not happened or may not ever happen. My plans....

And then God shows up.... He does that... particularly when when shut Him out. Unintentionally sure, but all the same He must show up that way when our plans are not quite what He has in mind.

So I now know how to feel settled-

"Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3


I was out of focus asking, "what do I want to do or what do others expect of me?" Of course I would feel unsettled if I had not really asked "God what are YOUR plans for me and what actions should I take?" Now that I am starting to get in focus I still feel a little unsettled but my worry is diminishing. I am beginning to get a sense that God has better things in store than I ever could have imagined. I keep coming back to the idea that this is His story and not mine.

Because I can trust in God, I choose to make the most out of where He has me right now and trust that He will put me where He needs me in the future.