Howdy Y'all (part 2)

“Blessed is she who believed the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!”
Luke 1:45

 

I eat lunch here everyday... for now. 

Hi Y’all!

This is LONG overdue and I apologize for failing at being a good blogger.

Trust me, you’ll be alright.

For the 4 people that still read this- thank you for your undying loyalty, or at the very least, your ignorance on how to unsubscribe.

I finally feel like I can confidently say, I’m starting to establish a life here.  I have a good job, a great little townhouse (which are UBER popular up here!), a sassy new car, my dogs are happy and content, and I’m slowly starting to make friends.

I also, do not cry every single day like I did before, although, I will say that this whole change in my life, has softened me.

I’m dating now!! J  I know the world was wondering if I became a monk- I did not, nor did I ever make the conscious decision to stop dating.  Men just stopped asking me out for whatever reason.  I’m not going to go into details, but he’s a super great guy and I’m excited to see where God takes this.

So, some funny things I’ve noticed up here…

·        I’m worried that if I hear the question, ‘So will this be your first winter?  Probably your first time to ever see snow or cooler temps… Man- that's going to be a shock to your system!  I can't wait to see how you handle it!’ I might be on the news.
Yes, this is my first winter, no, it’s not my first time to ever see snow, nor is it my first time to ever see a lot of snow.  The people are so highly amused by the fact that I’ve never experience subzero temperatures- I’m also pretty sure there’s a pool going on at work at what point I’ll just pack up and move back to Texas.
I’m also pretty sure, they think it’s a thousand degrees in Texas year-round.
Everyone is just hoping I’ll fail at winter here.

·        Oh Lordy, my accent!!! This brings hours of amusement to my coworkers and just about anybody that I have to talk to around here. 
There’s a little grocery store right next to my house that I go in all the time, as I was checking out the other day this cashier said, ‘OH! You’re that lady from Texas!! We were talking about you the other day.  We just love your accent and your hair.’
My coworkers now send me emails with the subject line: “Y’all” or “Fixin’ To”.
I get told on a really regular basis that I have a sweet accent and yes, people still keep me talking just so they can hear it.
I’m not kidding.
FYI- Yankees talk FAST and then get annoyed when you don’t understand them.  If you want to sound like a dumb hick, just spend a whole day trying to communicate with yankees.
So far, I’ve been asked if I was from Tennessee, Kentucky, and another country.  Bless her heart…

·        I’m also fairly confident I won’t lose my accent- I mean, have you heard me talk?

·        Catholics and Lutherans have taken over the Midwest- not hardly a Baptist to be found, let alone a Bapticostal. ;)

·        If you ain’t passive aggressive, you ain’t from Minnesota

·        Texans just ‘think’ we love our football

·        Everyone here drinks.  It’s practically a religion up here

·        I was with some folks last night where in about 20 minutes, we talked about how Bob’s Bar closed down in some little town I’d never heard of, THE Llama Races and Drunk Fest, and how the baby llama races are really just Alpacas, but no one’s supposed to notice.

·        Yes, I live in Wisconsin and work in Saint Paul- it’s like Gainesville and Ardmore, people- not opposites sides of the country.

·        I live nowhere near Green Bay.

·        I should’ve paid a lot more attention in Geography class.

·        Every town up here is not pronounced the way it’s spelled with the exception of River Falls and Saint Paul.  My boss finds great pleasure in having me pronounce last names and town names

·        Yankees are really socially awkward towards new-comers and by socially awkward, I mean, they pretend you’re not there.

·        I have never seen leaves turn they way they do up here for fall.  Absolutely breath-taking…

Things are actually pretty good here.  I’ve found a church and they’re going to love me whether they like it or not.
I’m starting to get more involved with the Tres Dias community up here and that’s opening doors for me to meet people and minister.

We’ve had a couple of days where we’ve had some snow flurries and I’ll be honest- I love it, even if I still have to work.

I don't know that my walk with God has ever been this deep- He's been a Father to me for a long time, but now, I see Him as friend.

I can see the good that God has promised me starting to come to fruition and I’m so grateful.
I miss home- and Texas will always be home for me.

That being said, I’d like to address something:
Me being here was not my decision.  I made the decision to obey God and do whatever He asks of me, and go wherever He says go- therefore, it is HIS will that I am up here.
Moving up here has been one of the biggest challenges of my life- the biggest step of faith I’ve ever taken and it’s been a struggle.  God never said that if I’d move, He’d make it easy- He just promised it would be for my good.

Lately, I’ve had people with good intentions, make comments that I need to move back home.
I know their heart is good but when I'm really struggling and when I’m discouraged, those comments are hurtful.  Christians need to support their brothers and sisters when they’re being obedient to what God has called them to- even when they don’t understand it.

This has been a struggle for some of my people back home.  In some cases, I’m being ‘punished’ emotionally because I’m not doing what they think I should be doing.  All I can say to that is, you’re just going to have to take that up with the Lord.

If you can’t support me, then please, just be silent.  It’s hard enough to walk this road of obedience and hear what God wants me to hear without all the negativity.
I miss Texas and I miss my friends and family but I know I’m right where God wants me to be.
I have no idea what the future holds, but I know Who holds it and He has yet to let me down.
I love y’all and I appreciate the prayers and all the encouragement and I promise to start writing more.
I’m coming out of this season of grieving and finding my voice again and it feels good.
Y’all get ready!
Now, who’s going to set up a GoFundMe page to send some BlueBell up here to the frozen tundra?!

Be blessed!!

~Pamela

I can be reached at Pamela@ACreativeWord.com

www.ACreativeWord.com

Blue Bell pic can be found here.