I am really enjoying California! I have been here for four days and already feel as though some of the staff here are family. What a beautiful gift we have in fellowship through Christ.

The other night we went to a Vineyard church, and it was my first time there. I've processed a lot in my "real journal" (arrgh! so hard to find one that fits me just right, but 50 minutes of perusal at Barnes & Noble paid off), but overall I enjoyed it. I think that there are some things from my past in the charismatic church and my present in a more conservative church that mingle and clash. I wonder at the root of all of it if people are really trying to please God, or if they are just trying to please some kind of ideal status that they have created in their  minds or perhaps just imagined as being there. It saddens me to hear how many people are turned off by today's church. But how far do you go? Is it really necessary to serve java and treats at a service to keep people coming? I don't know. How much is done in the name of evangelism, for the Kingdom's sake, and how much is to keep numbers high, offerring baskets full, and people content?

Anyway, it's late and I need to stop rambling. Above all else, I live for Christ. I give all of this over to Him, in the sanctuary of my heart. I'm praying for His Spirit to give all of us discernment... and to stir souls.

Two weeks from now I will be flying on an airplane over some part of the central western US on my way to Los Angeles. Wow!

The other night I went kayaking with adventure girls and it was beautiful! I sat in my bright red kayak, humming a worship song and pouring my soul out to the Incredible Creator who made such a thing possible. I loved the peacefulness of that place, of that moment. I can't imagine what it felt like for Adam and Eve to have been in the very presence of God among His creation, so in tune with it all.

I am reading "Out of Ashes," a requirement before I go to California. "Requirement" makes it sound horrible! It's really a terrific book, very thought-provoking and burdening. The author is Dr. Keith Phillips, founder of World Impact (the organization I will be interning through this summer). The foundation of it is Isaiah 61:3-4 in light of the 1992 riots in LA (and inner-city life in general). "To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes... they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations."

It is so exciting -unbelievably and gloriously exciting - to know with certainty that God has called me to this place. I can't begin to explain how I am feeling, what I am thinking. I suppose I will leave it at that. He knows what is in my heart.

Summer is in the air tonight and I love breathing it in deep. God has painted a beautiful sky tonight, beckoning my soul to take flight to Him.

I'm listening to my new CD (Salvador, they do bilingual and Spanish Christian music that's amazing) and dreaming of a summer in California. But more, I am filled with shining dreams that God is sharing with me. When I was growing up I loved going out our screened-in porch at night in the warm months to share secrets with my Best Friend. Although I don't have a porch here at school, I still have my Best Friend and an abundance of confidances to share with Him. How incredible that the Lord never changes - and that He allows me to grow and change!

I had my Milwaukee Rescue Mission phone interview this afternoon!

It was really neat to have an interview with Christians. I loved it.

I'm feeling at peace with whatever happens this summer. Whether I end up in California or Milwaukee or even back home, I know that God has a purpose in it.

But I admit that I eagerly anticipate the outcome of all of this....