Open space available in my brain

Yesterday I drove down to Long Beach just to turn in my thesis! It was worth it! I am done with it, unless they come back with a million changes or something! But I don't think there will be many.

When I got home, I sat down on the couch and breathed a sigh of relief out loud. I thought about how I don't have to open the computer everyday to write or edit, and I actually felt the empty/available space in my mind (it was kind of weird!). No more stress or thoughts about the thesis. It had been a large part of my daily routine since January, and now all the sudden, it doesn't have to be! It was a relief, but at the same time left me with a bizarre feeling. The thesis had been part of my purpose, my everyday existence. I realized in that moment that I didn't want my to-do list or daily activities to be my purpose in this life.

So now that I have this "free space" I don't just want to fill it with something else to do, or expand the stress in another area of my life to fill the gap. I desire to fill that space, and have the other space taken over by a peace for the everyday and love for people. These two things might sound odd together, but God is trying to show me that I need to continue to let go of the selfish motives I have for a lot of activities, and focus my time and energy on the people He loves and cares for. I don't desire to go through life with my agenda, tasks, to-do's only to reach the end of life and realize I have missed the entire point. This is not to say that God won't give me amazing opportunities, fun things to see and do, etc. (he already has!), but I was not put on this earth to do whatever the heck I want, even though that is the message of popular culture today. (Thanks Rod Brace for writing Simplify, which I just finished reading). If you want to borrow this book, I will be happy to lend it to you! I recommend it for a fresh perspective on how you think about, process, and act in the world.
Thanks for reading!
:)

Done with Thesis!!!

Hello all,

I wanted to post that I just put my thesis in its' box and am going to turn it in on Monday bc traffic is too bad right now to go down to LB. I am soooo happy! There has been something to work on everyday for the past 2 months, and I want it out of here! It is hard to transition away from it and away from the computer and get back to practicing more, but hopefully it won't take me too long. I have a lot to practice for the Jim Walker class that starts a week from Monday! That is if the workers who are repairing the shower downstairs well hurry up and get the heck out of my apartment bc ours is leaking downstairs apparently! :)

Also, I am currently reading and almost finished with a book that was given to us a long time ago that I never read. It is called Simplify by Rod Brace. It is really interesting and I highly reccommend it! He poses a lot of good questions to individuals as well as communities of faith as to what we consider important and what we get too immersed in sometimes. I have been getting into reading more now that I have some time to enjoy a book without feeling like I should be practicing instead of reading. More thoughts on the book in another post!

Robin :)

2 years in Cali

So in a few days, Jared and I will have lived in Cali and this apartment for two years! Time flies!
It is hard for me to want to stay in the same apartment because in college I moved almost every year. I have the itch to move! I know it is a hassle and I don't really want to pack up boxes, but I would love to see what another area of LA has to offer. I am tired of our restaurants and wish we had more unique shopping and eating within walking distance. I also need to realize, though, that it is not up to me and that we should probably stay put until we have a better reason that wanting to move!

On another note, I am almost done formatting my thesis! Can you believe it! Thank you Jesus! I am definitely going to celebrate with alcoholic beverage when I turn that sucker in to the Library!

:)