After an amazing roadtrip through 6 states visiting countless friends, having extraordinary conversations, stopping at every coffee shop along the way, finding great encouragement through glorious God talks, sleeping on random floors and beds, running on little sleep and repeating stories a myriad of times (thanks for your patience Sydney!), I'm now settled back in Gainesville, GA, trying to figure out what life looks like for me here.

Settle � 1)to come to a decision about something, usually so that further arrangements can be made.

If you've talked with me recently at all, you know I'm currently in the middle of a major transition at AIM, getting to know my new leadership, their vision, their hearts, their stories, and trying to figure out where I fit into that whole scope. Further arrangements are very much unknown, so for the most part I'm here until further notice. God is teaching me trust, teaching me to seek Him, and making me fall flat on my face every time I seek approval other than His. God knows I need a skinned knee every once in a while. Funny, though, �cause lately I seem to be running out of band-aids.

Settle � 2)to make or become a resident of a place.

No, no, no, no and no. And of all places, no!, not Gainesville. God, please.  

Those were my initial thoughts, at least. I can't even tell you where I'm at emotionally now. They seem to be quite the unreliable source these days.  What I can tell you is that I'm learning it's not so much about the place you're in as it is the people you're with. (Thank you Michael Hindes for teaching me that the moment you intimidated, I mean, introduced yourself to me.) The older I've become, the more I've begun to crave a more stable longstanding community to be a part of. To love. To be loved. To know and be known. And to do all those things well. Is this the place (read "community") that God is calling me to be a part of? It's becoming more and more a question I'm excited to explore.

Settle � 3)to stop floating and sink to the bottom.

Ha! This one got me. "Come, stay awhile and descend to the bottom of life as you know it." Who wants to settle with a pessimistic definition like that?! (I often tend to hold my own connotations in extremely high regard).

Here's the message that God elucidated for me(He tends to see things more clearly...more "settled" if you will): I need to get some misconceptions of who I am and what I'm called to out of the way. There are certain things that I need to get to the bottom of. He wants to go to those deep places with me, He's offering, in fact. And He's asking if I'll take His hand and trust Him on this one. I could probably float along and survive, but why, when He's offered life abundant?

Settle � 4)to stop moving and come to rest somewhere.

3...2...1...Impact! It was this definition that God knocked me off my soap box and reminded me that He had His own point to prove. I need rest, not physically, but I need to learn to live in an attitude of spiritual rest. Deep, Savior-dependent soul rest. Rest doesn't always mean being still. It means being quiet before the Father, letting Him compose the symphony. What I'm discovering is that life can actually be quite hectic, but in the midst of that inner rest is not only possible but crucial for God's children.

Settle � 5)to make or become calm, quiet, or stable.

PS - The final version of "settle" is this:

Settle - 6)a long wooden seat with a high back, often with storage space inside the box-shaped seat.

Ha! I guess not everything can have a super deep meaning. But if you get any insightful revelations from reading it, be sure to let me know. ;)

Until then, grace, peace, and life abundant.