Towards a Joyful Soul

Bittersweet: (adj) being at once bitter and sweet especially : pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret One evening when we were sitting in our common area, David said, "Hey guys, I have something to tell you." "I got a job." "But they want me to start right away, so I'm gonna be leaving in a week and a half." Bittersweet. I am so incredibly excited for David. He basically got his dream job, working at an ocean education and conservation organization. What an incredible opportunity. I have seen first hand how working with and even just talking about this organization gasses him up. But, we're losing a community member. I'm losing someone who understood mental health. I'm losing a calm force in the house. Nate is losing his roommate and coworker. (the other) David is losing the other extrovert. We're losing the person who did the dishes every night because he wanted to. It feels like we're going...

Over the last few months, I have been trying to find a church to attend regularly. I was reminded of  this video , trying to find the PERFECT church. It was clear to me after attending national orientation and going to a few Presbyterian churches in New Orleans, that I did not want my home church to be Presbyterian. Too liturgical and too white for my comfort. The whole "call and response" thing freaks me out every time.  To be clear, I'm not saying that these worship methods are  wrong  by any means, just that they are not my personal preference. So I created a list of what I wanted in a church: multi-ethnic, contemporary worship songs, and lots of Spirit. I went to one church that was okay, but I didn't immediately love it. Also, their air-conditioning was a little too high for my comfort level. I would continue searching. The next church I went to was falsely advertised and the moment I stepped in, I knew that it would fill none of my requireme...