News from STT

Hello people! Sorry I haven't written a post for over a month! Several people in the last few days have pointed out that I needed to post something, so I'm obeying orders. Hmmm, what new and exciting things do I need to tell you all?

Well, I'll start with work at Havana Blue... What can I say? Waiting tables is waiting tables. Although, I guess fine dining is a little different than what I'm used to. We have a lot less tables and make a lot more money! It's slow season right now, so we're not always that busy, but come October it'll be a different story, so I'm just trying to enjoy the slowness right now. I've managed to get my schedule down to only 3 or 4 nights right now which has been nice so that I can work on homework (I'll get to that later). Also, the people at work are a lot more fun than I had originally thought they were. I can honestly say that I enjoy the majority of the people I work with, so I'm thankful. If you think about, say a little prayer that I can be a good influence in their lives; that I'M the one doing the influence and not vice-versa.

School is going well, I suppose. I feel like I'm still barely keeping my head above water a lot of the times, though. Transitioning back into the student mentality has been a little tougher than I thought it would be; that or it's the whole time management thing. This past weekend I pulled my first all-nighter; haven't done that since my senior year of college. Not. Fun. I had a big paper due, 4 short papers, a test, and 5 lectures to watch. 25 hours later (and I'm not exaggerating) I'm happy to say that everything was turned in, and on time. As to the quality of work...who knows...we'll see. Needless to say, I crashed hard for about 14 hours afterwards. Now, I'm in the process of gearing up for the last week and half of classes. I have a 15 page research paper on D.L.Moody due, two finals, two short papers, and about 10 lectures to watch. Pray that I finish well. I'll have a week off before my next two classes start on the 24th of this month: Old Testament II and Apologetics (really looking forward to this class). In spite of the workload and stress that inevitably comes with deadlines, I'm learning so, so much and thankful to have this opportunity. I moved down here to focus on school, it's just sometimes I lose sight of that in the midst of just living life. I'm thankful for the people who continually remind me why I'm here and to keep pressing on!

I flew home to VA two weeks ago, and I was there for such a short visit that it kinda feels like a dream. Half of the trip, I sat in front of my computer doing homework. Sigh. But I loved, loved getting to see my family and friends, if only briefly. And I loved all the conveniences and options that I took for granted living there. It was nice to be able to shop somewhere other than KMart!

On a spiritual front, God continues to teach me new things all the time, but He's also been harping on some old truths. One lesson I think He's been trying to drill into me since I've been here...

So often people refer to changing homes, jobs, or even relationships as a "fresh start," a chance to "start over," but I'm learning that just because you have a "fresh start" doesn't mean that anything will necessarily change, except perhaps your physical location, or career, or a different face to look at. If the heart is the same, everything else remains the same. If there's a bad habit in life, location won't change that. When I decided to move here, I did not feel like I was running from anything, if anything, I felt as if I was running towards something; however, I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't a little hope in me that I would get here and some of the bad habits I had while living in VA would mysteriously vanish because I was "starting over." Nope. The things I struggled with in VA, were waiting for me here in St.Thomas. Why? Because it's a matter of the heart. And that's what God is reiterating in my life right now. The only way for your life to look different is to be changed from the inside out. I don't know that you can ever really "start over." Sure, your slate can be wiped clean, but if the heart isn't right, there will be no permanent change, and it'll just be a matter of time before you're looking for a "fresh start." I'm hoping that God works on my heart while I'm here. I don't want to always be looking for fresh starts; I want permanence.

On a lighter note, I'm starting to enjoy living here. I don't know if I can say I LOVE it yet, but there are great things about this island! Come visit me and find out what those things are!

P.S. Hanna - Can not WAIT for you to get here!

Love...
JD