The Animals of Orlando

Ok, so Orlando is a big city right? I mean it's not as big as New York, LA, or Las Vegas....but it's a fairly big city. So I live in the Downtown area of Orlando. You'd expect large buildings, buses, stores, etc. Well, I have been very surprised by the amount of animals I have run into in Orlando!

Here's a turtle I found in the church parking lot! I named him Timmy. However, I did make Shan pick him up and put him in our church retention pond so he wouldn't get run over by a car.


So I'm at the Super Target near the mall of Mellnia and I'm loading some stuff in my car. As I look down, there is a giant white duck by my foot! It totally freaked me out! So I turned around and there was whole family of white ducks just walking around in the parking lot....is this normal? We're in the middle of the city people. You know you're big time when there is an IKEA down the street!


Also this surprized me the most! Peacocks! Yes they are everywhere here! I've almost hit two already with my car because they just walk out into the road. I thought you could only see peacocks at the zoo!



Last but not least, we have black swans! I thought they only came in white, it was a delightful discovery.

A Season of Change

Ok, I haven't actually written anything meaningful on here in a while! Life has been crazy over the last 8 months. I feel like I just moved to Orlando yesterday. This is just a really weird time in my life. I'm starting to feel more like a "grown-up" but yet I still act like I'm 12 :o) It's been hard leaving all the people in Jacksonville and adjusting to my new life in Orlando. But I'm loving it.

It's totally different then I thought it was going to be, I'm learning a lot about myself and a lot about ministry. I'm feeling like this is my first year of ministry ever and I'm making so many mistakes. It's weird going from a team of three elementary directors, a family ministry staff of ten, full cleaning crew, tons of volunteers, and a large staff to being the Children's Minister at a small church. Although I really feel like God has me right were He wants me.

I spoke at a retreat in October and the whole theme was "The Harvest is ready." The first night, I talked about how we gather the harvest in the fall which is the season of change and how we need change in our lives. If we never go through change then we're never growing. Change may hurt but it shapes and molds us into who we are and builds our character.

Right now, I'm in my season of change. I can feel God humbling me, molding me, and shaping me into the person He wants me to be. I feel like the last year has been trial and error. I've learned a ton of lessons over the past 12 months. I've learned not to do everything by myself. I need to depend on God more. I've learned that I love living by myself - I was so afraid. I love cities. I love meeting new people. I love watching God take my messes and use them for His glory. I've learned I need to work less and serve more. I've also learned not to live life playing defence but to now take the lead and go offensive!

I'm changing and God is shaping me and I can't wait to see what this next season holds!