Sunday Morning Adventure

HAAA! I just have to say this morning was great! Probably isn't very interesting reading about it (I'm not a story teller) but living it was fun. So we have been looking for a church home here in pdx. A daunting task, especially since we both have different things we are looking for in a community of Believers. But, we did find a great group called The Well Church. Last week we both liked it. This week we planned to go again.
Jump back to this Wednesday. We had the day off and spent it downtown in a coffee shop reading and doing homework. At one point I looked up and saw a college friend walking by. Turns out she was coming to the same coffee shop. Becca and I got to catch up a bit. I invited her to come to the church with us today.
Skip to this morning. We left our house with just enough time to pick her up and get to the church. As we got close the LONGEST TRAIN EVER was slowly rolling across the road. 15 minutes later we picked her up. Church started at 10 and it was already after 10. Since we were downtown already and the church she has been going to is downtown (and started at 10 as well) we decided to just go to that one.
We got there and it had already started. The only seats were right up front so the four of us had to tromp up to the open seats during a song. It was a liturgical type service so everything was scripted. As the song ended the person up front had us stand for a reading...a benediction. I couldn't find the reading anywhere in the bulletin and neither could Becca or Joe or my sister. At the end of the short prayer the pastor said, "Have a great week!". At this point we had been there just long enough (30-60 seconds) to notice the service times on the front of the bulletin: 9am, 10:45am. We had managed to make it for the end tip of the first service! We started laughing really hard. A friend from college (also leading the music) came over and laughed with us. He had seen us frantically looking through the bulletin looking for where everyone was. Turns out the service times change after Thanksgiving and Becca had missed that part. OOPS!
The great part, besides the humor of the whole thing, was that we were noticed. People came up to introduce themselves and chat about the church. One lady came up to us because she recognized Joe from the summer math institute. Turned out she was connected to both of us in many random ways.
Since the next service didn't start for 45 minutes we walked to a coffee shop and delighted ourselves with Stumptown goodness. The service was great. At the end of it, right at the benediction, we all started giggling, trying to hold it in as best as possible. We have been laughing about it ever since.

First Day on the Job

Well, this was the big day. Finally started doing something, which felt great. 24 Hour Fitness will be interesting and give me opportunities to serve others. The lady I will be working for is great and I think recognizes that I can do more than smile at people when they come through the door. Joe and I are both thankful for work and hope it will pay the bills. Since it's only part time it should free me up for volunteering or seasonal jobs.
It is amazing the difference simple purpose makes in a day. I don't feel lonely like yesterday, even though not much has changed. Four hours of adult conversation did the trick.

Log In

I have no idea what our password is to post blogs...which is why I haven't been posting. Turns out if I find the right computer it has my password saved and automatically puts me through. Good to know!
Currently I am sitting at PSU waiting for Joe to get out of Set Theory. I've been really bored at home so this at least gets me out of the house. Usually I can keep myself busy doing things but lately I've been feeling isolated, lonely, and antsy. This was to be expected, moving to PDX after being used to living within 5 minutes of lots of friends, but nonetheless it's not fun to be in the middle of it. I found a job that is suppose to start this week and the waiting for the background check to go through and for them to call me is driving me crazy. But, it's also been making me think a lot about "waiting" and "purpose". Yesterday the term "lonely as hell" came to mind as I was sitting rereading a book, bored. Although bored and yes, lonely, I don't identify with the term. Hell would have to be absolute loneliness with no hope of that changing. Although in need of something to do and people to invest in, I don't have a deep underlying depression from lack of connection. I am never deserted by God and that is always an encouragement. I've been imagining what life would look like without that foundation. Horrible!
On a different note, we are trying to find a place to live in PDX. While we'd love to live downtown within walking distance of PSU and my job, it's very expensive for anything not a dump. (I've realized how grateful I am for our 950 sq ft home with a beautiful kitchen.) We need to decide by December what kind of place we are looking for. I have only rented one apartment in my life so this is pretty much new to me. Craigslist is rather discouraging. If you live in the area and know of more resources for listings/housesitting/etc. I'd love to hear from you.