a struggle

i have self-esteem issues. i don't know any woman my age who doesn't. i think this stems from not knowing our identities in Christ. we look for happiness and worth in a million other places, whether we are aware of it or not.

my struggle is looking for my worth only in Christ. i tend to look elsewhere. i'm not sure i even know what it means to find my worth or identity in Christ, though i've grown up in church.

my dad makes the observation that i let guys run my life...or however he words it (meaning, i make certain people a priority when they only make me an option). others agree. and it is true. it's not out of love or infatuation, it's out of my need to be needed or wanted. not good. my dad says i of all people shouldn't have low self-esteem. i'm not sure what he means by that...

my question is, whether you are a guy or girl, have you had similar struggles? what did you do to overcome them? how did you find your identity and worth in Christ?

Pray for Stellan

No, I don't know this little boy, but he has a heart condition and is not doing well at all. Please pray! Click here to go to his mom's blog and read the story or here to go to her twitter feed.

updates updates

i suppose an alaska update is due. we left saturday the 4th and got home sunday the 12th. we were traveling a total of 24 hours on each of those days.

• the first day we slept late, visited some of my friend's family, and went to dinner. we didn't have energy for much more than that.
• the second day, kisha and i slept late, walked on the beach and took pictures, and napped. everyone else went fishing and all got sick, except for 1 or 2. we had freshly caught fried halibut for dinner.
• tuesday was spent visiting the shops in Homer, the town where we stayed. dinner was at a somewhat fancy restaurant.
• wednesday we traveled several hours to go take a 6 hr dinner cruise out to a glacier. we saw whales, sea lions, porpoises, and lots of other wildlife. we watched huge pieces break off the glacier. it sounded like thunder. we got home around 1 am.
• thursday we got up at 7 or 7:30 because we had a 4 hr trail ride to get to. we rode on the beach, through rivers and streams, through a trail, and up and down a very steep hill and/or mountain. it was super fun! we had dinner later that evening at another expensive/fancy restaurant.
• friday kisha and i spent recuperating from the horseback ride. we were pretty exhausted and sore. we read, relaxed, and enjoyed the view out the huge windows in the living room of the house where we stayed.
• saturday we attended the wedding of one of kisha's cousins. then we met some people for dinner. we used to go to church with them, and now they live in alaska. after that we headed to the airport.

the trip was great. alaska is beautiful!

this past weekend i went to ohio to visit a friend who is working at a camp there. he is leaving for seminary in seattle in just a few weeks and isn't able to make it back home before then. the drive was around 8 hours, and i traveled alone. i had a good time though. i stayed at the camp and had my own room/bathroom since most of the other counselors were gone for the weekend. i climbed their rock climbing tower thing, and it scared the crap out of me. it was good to just hang out and catch up on life. and get the crap scared out of me. ha.

i should be all moved this week...I HOPE! i am ready to be settled somewhere...right before i am uprooted again. i am still super excited about moving to kentucky! i am looking forward to seminary. i will write more about that later, but this post is already long. until next time...

also...yes i proofread this post but the only thing i tried to fix were spelling errors. i didn't take time to do anything with commas and such. i'm too tired.

Alaska!

I am back!

I got home around 11 or 12 yesterday. I took a shower, ate a quick lunch, and crashed. 24 hours of traveling plus jet lag made for one exhausting trip home.

I will write a post later about the trip, but for now I think I am going to take a nap.

Summer Break!!

Today starts MY summer break!! So far, so good.

My last day of work went well. I got a few gifts, some balloons, and they bought my lunch. I'm going to miss the people there. Then, Katie bought my dinner last night. Oh, and on top of all that, the Hamada's had their baby boy yesterday!! I knew he would arrive to help me celebrate my last day of work :).

Now, I have some coffee brewing, I'm watching tv, and I am about to make waffles. A nice way to start the day.

3 days until Alaska!