A job! And so many other blessings...

I got a job today!! YEAH!!!!  I'm going to be working at Century Bank in Texarkana.  It will be a full time teller position for now, with awesome opportunity for advancement.  In fact, the HR person told me today that if she had a supervisor position open, she would have offered it to me.  We have a bank conversion happening in a couple weeks, so after all that settles, who knows what might be available.  It's a great opportunity, and I'm super excited.  

God has also been moving in our youth group.  We had 5 in youth on Wed night and we are going to start our drama team this Wed.  We are doing a simple drama for Easter Sunday morning.  This Wed night I'll also be sharing in youth.  Tommy and I are going to be switching on an off every week, so I'm excited about that.  I may start teaching the youth Sunday school as well.  It's a great church and the people are so amazing.  The immediate connection I've had with all of them has been unbelievable.  It's totally a God thing. 

Speaking of that, I just want to say, that this whole process has been hard, but at the same time the most amazing experience of my life.  I've learned so much about the blessings of God, that I can't even tell you.  P Tommy preached a sermon on Sunday about taking risks and when you take a risk, it gives God the biggest chance to bless you.  So, if you are thinking about taking a risk because you feel the Lord is prompting you to do something, do it!  If you know it's God's will, take that step... or in some cases a leap of faith.  It will totally be worth it!  I miss you all at home and love you a lot, but I'm excited about what God is doing here in Queen City TX!!

It's been 11 days...

Well, it's officially been 11 days since I became a resident of Queen City, TX... And I love it!  It was an emotional couple of weeks before I made the move, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's where I'm supposed to be.  The first Sunday I was here, I walked into church and everyone was excited to me and I was SO excited to see everyone again.  Even though it had only been a few weeks since I'd seen them, it was still great to see everyone.  That first Monday I was here, I had a "group" interview with Century Bank.  It was very strange -- it was 2 people from Century Bank and 5 of us.  We had to go around the table and stand up and talk about ourselves and why we wanted to work for Century, along with a couple of other questions they asked us. Today I had a 3rd interview with them, a much more traditional style interview and it went great!!  The interview was actually for a teller position, but by the end of the conversation they were talking to me about possibly doing a personal banker position.  So, that was exciting!!  

Right now I'm staying with Tommy and Heather at their house.  All my stuff is in a 10x10 storage unit... which is slightly depressing! Lol!  But once I get a job secured (which I hope to hear back by the end of the week) I'll start the apartment hunt.  More and more things are starting to become available now too.  So, I'm excited about that too!  Things are definitely starting to move forward.  I'm just so glad to be here.  No place has ever felt like home, except Des Moines, and I get that "home" feeling being here.  It's awesome. 

Anyway, not much else to report.  Sorry I've not done better keeping up.  I'm not very good at these kinds of things!  But when I think about it and get a chance, I'll update again.  Talk to y'all (lol!) later!!

One month later...

Ok, so first of all, I need to apologize for it being over a month since I've updated this thing. I forgot my password to sign it and it was a big mess trying to get it reset. Note to self: write these things down!! Anyway, so I have a lot to put on here!!

Moving date is still set for March 13th... 13 days from today!! Holy cow! I'm still not sure what I think about all that. I'm super excited to go, but still scared at the same time. But I know God is in control!!

I was in Texas just last week for about 9 days. I left on Valentines Day (since I had no other plans...) and drove straight through. I spent the week looking for jobs and a place to live. Job wise, a lot of places wanted me to apply online, including a bank called Woodforest National Bank. It's located in our Walmart in Altanta (the town right next to Queen City). I had an interview with them last Saturday and it went really well. So, now I'm just waiting to hear back from them. I'm hoping to hear something by Monday. The housing was a little more difficult. Everything is either low income and a bit scary, or brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $700-750 a month, which I suppose is a great price, but still way more than what I need. So, as of right now I'm still on the hunt. I have a place I need to call back. There is a lady in town that has rental properties and she has a great little 2 bed, 1 bath available. But she was leery of renting it to someone who wasn't moved down there yet. So, I'm going to call back to her closer to the 13th and see if it's still available. In the mean time, if I dont find anything, looks like Tommy and Heather will have a roommate for a little bit. But thats ok.

Also, I wanted to let everyone who reads this and is in the DSM area, that next Saturday March 7th from 1-4pm, I'm having a Going Away Party at Berean Assembly of God. It's a come and go as you please type of thing, but I would love to see as many people as I can before I go. So please come if you can. Berean is located on E University across from White Water. When you come, just go to the back parking lot and come in the south doors. It will be just to your left when you get in the door. Anyway, I hope you can all come!

Well, there's not much more to report. I'll keep everyone posted on any new updates, now that I can post things on here again!! Love to you all!

Super Baby

And, along with all the pics of the house (see below!), Tommy also sent me a pic of one of my favorite super heros.... I love her!

Olivia "Super Baby!" Green

Pictures

The bedroom


The bathroom... the other wall to the left has a blue built-in cabinet.



Galley style kitchen... backdoor leads to shared laundry room with the guy next door.




Living Room... Wall to the right has built in cabinets





Outside... I'd be the one on the left

Here are some pics of the apartment/house/duplex that Tommy and Heather went to look at on Friday. There were some good points: new carpet, new linoleum, new mini-blinds. Down side, there are train tracks in pretty much the back yard of the property. Tommy also said there were some questionable houses down the street from it. So, a lot to consider. I definately think I'm going to keep looking, but at least keep this one on the list! I sound like I'm on House Hunters!! Anyway, leave your comments on the pics if you like! Especially about the bright GREEN kitchen! Yes!!!

So much to say!!

Oh my goodness! What a crazy couple of days! I really should have been blogging at the end of every day, but somehow I never got around to it. So, I think my last post was on Sat so I'll start with Sunday!

Sunday -- Big news at Berean... We voted in a new Sr Pastor. A man by the name of Paul Martin and his wife Ann. But also big things happening in Queen City! God did amazing things in the service on Sunday night in QC and Heather and I had a great talk about what God is doing and it just fired me up all the more! I think it really solidified my call to be a part of that church. They are wonderful people and I'm excited to be a part of what's going on there!

Monday -- Lets see... Worked and called about the apartment. Had to leave a message, but that was ok. I think I also got online and applied for a couple job. I dont remember... they all are running together at this point! OH! And I dropped my car off at the car place to see about getting it fixed! That was the big thing that happened that day! HA!

Tuesday -- Left my cell phone at home and that was really annoying. Adrian had some tests done (see www.chefstinsonfamily.blogspot.com for more info) and so I was waiting to hear from her. And I was supposed to hear about my car as well. So, had to go to my grandparents and finally figured out that there was more wrong with my car than they first thought. Apparently all of my tires are bad and so are my brakes. SO... was not thrilled about that! We still didnt know about the transmission yet, and I was worried about the cost. Even though God provided a blessing for me through someone amazing, it was still looking like it was going to cost a small fortune. Ended up the evening having 2 wonderful conversations, one with my friend Andrew and one with Heather. I love them both very much!

Today -- didn't work because of the car situation. But that was ok, because I got a TON of stuff done! Yesterday the apartment lady called and left a message (since my phone was at home) and so today I got to touch base with her. Its a large 1 bedroom apartment with new mini-blinds, carpet and vinyl. I only mention the mini-blinds because thats the amenity she lead with and I thought it was funny. It's got new mini-blinds...and by the way new carpet too. I found it humorous. Anyway, large fridge, washer and dryer on site and a single guy that lives around the corner. Hmmm..... I digress. I made arrangements for Heather to look at it on Friday afternoon, so I'm excited about that. The rent is $400 a month, which I didnt think was too bad. The deposit is also $400, but if this the apartment for me, I'm trusting God to provide. I also called on another property in Atlanta, TX area. It's a duplex with 2 bedrooms and I think 2 bathrooms. I had to leave a message and she called back tonight, but I was at church. I'm going to try and touch base with them tomorrow. Their deposit is $500 and I'm not sure what the rent is. I guess I'll be curious to see which ones has double doors...

I also applied for a job at a Credit Union and got an email back from their HR dept wanting to know more about me and my experience. It was kinda fun listing all the things I know about banking and what I did when I worked for FAB. I also checked into working for the Census Bureau, since that is coming up in 2010 (for those that did not know). I found out that they have a branch in Texarkana, so that would be awesome! I'm actually going to check and see if maybe I can get hired on here working part time until I move and then just transfer to the branch in Texarkana. We'll see.

Lastly, I got GREAT news about my car!! It's not the whole transmission, PRAISE THE LORD!! Apparently there is some computer thing in the transmission and they are 95% sure that's what is wrong. And that part is a much cheaper part to replace than rebuilding the whole transmission. And it will be done tomorrow. I'm excited to get my baby fixed and running great and ready for the big trip! Aside from the standard oil changes, I should be good to go for quite a while. My great friend Andrew is letting me borrow his car until tomorrow night, so I'm glad to be able to get to work tomorrow.

So, pretty eventful couple days. I also finalized my Feb trip. I'm leaving Friday Feb 13th after work and staying the night somewhere and then driving the rest of the way on Sat. Then I'll be there the whole next week and leave on Monday the 23rd. I really wanted to go to church 2 weeks in a row. And after that it'll just be a few more weeks and I'll be there permanently! I counted the other day and I believe that from today it's 51 days until I move. That's crazy! But VERY EXCITING!!!

Ok, I think this post is long enough! Thanks for sticking around to read the whole thing!

I always say I'm amazed....

But I dont know why. I dont know why I should be amazed at what God can do in my life, because He's God, right?

So, I have some exciting news. First of all, I think I might have found an apartment!! Heather called me Thursday night and said they found an ad in their local paper for a 1-bedroom apartment with new carpet for $375 a month!! YEAH!!! I was so excited. I'm going to call the guy today and get all the deposit info and all that from him and let him know my situation. Heather and Tommy said they would go and look at it for me and take pics or whatever. So, I'm way excited about that!!

Secondly, the issue with my car may not be an issue any more. Someone close to me has offered to help me out with it and I couldnt be more blessed. Again, I just feel like the Lord is working in ways I never thought could happen. I'm so blessed. And one thing I know about the Lord is that when you are obedient and bless others, those things do not got unnoticed by Him and your blessings come full circle. I've seen it too many times in my life over the years. Its amazing!

Anyway, nothing yet on the job end, but God's got something there for me too! I'll keep you posted!!