His ways are higher

Our time here in South Carolina is coming to an end.  Micah and I are taking a weekend trip to Myrtle Beach which is where he proposed.  On Monday Micah graduates from AG BOLC.  I'll fly to visit my parents for a little over a week, and Micah will hang around Ft. Jackson before he reports to Ft. Benning, Georgia on Friday.  We will have about two weeks there before Micah graduates from airborne school, we have a weekend with friends in Charleston, and then it's off to Italy May 30. 
The next month is going to fly by, but it really is exciting that soon we will be at our first station.  I'm ready to start the transition and Micah is ready to start figuring out what his work will look like for the next eight years.  I'm sure that there will be many, many times in which I will have to remind myself that God is in control.
A couple weeks ago I realized how few times during my day that I think about the Almighty God that I serve, let alone praise him for who He is. I think about him during my quiet time and strive to be open to his direction throughout the day.  And yet, somehow the awesomeness of the God I serve gets kind of lost in the shuffle.  Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to figure out how to obey that I tend to lose the heart of praise. 
Isaiah 55:9 says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."  My God is in control.  Yes that should bring me comfort, but more importantly it should bring him praise.  The Almighty God is in control for his glory, not for my comfort.  So over the next couple months that are sure to be filled with the reminder that God is in control, I hope I will develop the habit to not only be thankful for what God does for me, but more importantly praise God for who He is regardless of me.

It's really happening!

I feel like so much has happened in the couple weeks since I wrote last.  The first big thing was our decision was not to ship our car to Europe.  Instead we're going to sell the car in Georgia and just buy a used car in Italy.  It sounds so silly but God really prompted the decision.  We had talked about that possibility long before we came out here to Georgia, but at the time we still owed on the car so it wasn't an option.  Then a couple days before we were planning to ship the car, a friend made a flippant comment about selling.  We definitely took the time to pray over decision as well as seek counsel, but I think I can safely say that was the quickest big decision we've ever made! 
The second huge thing was that I got my visa!  I'm really just in complete shock about this.  I was told that the process would take 6-8 weeks, but it was done in less than 2 weeks!  If that isn't a God thing, I don't know what is. Because of that, we were able to book our plane tickets to Italy!  We officially leave for Italy on May 30...oh my goodness, it's really happening! 
All in all, I have been constantly reminded that we are just flat out blessed.  Because of that, I have been constantly reminded that when God provides blessing, it is for his glory and to fulfill his purpose.  So I have been trying to be really intentional about discovering the ways in which God wants me to proclaim his glory through the blessing. 
I've really been enjoying starting my day by singing "Be Thou My Vision".  It's just been a great way to focus my thoughts on my priorities in the morning.  It's one of those hymns that I grew up listening to and always liked, but I now find the lyrics to be a beautiful prayer.