Surprises Unveiled

If ever I felt overwhelmed by God's control over the circumstances in my life, it is now. I just got back from orientation at DTS, where I was stunned once again by the realization of the enormous privilege I have to study at the "Harvard of biblical seminaries"! Exciting and intimidating! My eyes welled up with tears during one of the hymns we sung as I thought about how long I've waited to make this dream a reality and it's finally here!!

God has a way of showing up in the most unexpected ways. Today, I figured I would meet tons of awesome people, but I had no idea how some of those connections would be arranged! Listen to these awesome and sweetly divine appointments!!

We ran into a DTS student that Becca met last year as he was passing through Nanchang, China. She met him once in China and found out he was going to DTS this fall so they kept in touch through email. He was one of the first people we saw on campus this morning! He is also fluent in mandarin and is planning to attend the local Chinese church!

Then, Becca and I were stopped on our way into orientation by a guy that used to be a team leader in Nanchang the year after I left. (For those that know, he was Jon Golike's team leader!) He and his brother are studying at DTS along with their wives! He lived in Nanchang during Becca's two-years of service and his brother lived there while I was there over two years ago! They have already scoped out the good Chinese restaurants in Dallas, so we plan on having them take us there before things get too crazy!

Then, at the end of the day I am sitting down waiting for one of the meetings to start and this guy sits next to me and says, "You're Heather Scruggs?" (I had a name tag on). Come to find out, he is one of the guys who was suppose to help us move into our apartment. Never met the guy before! He is a connection I made indirectly before moving here. I emailed a local church requesting help with moving our furniture up to our second floor apartment and he was one of the guys they recruited to help us! We didn't end up needing his help because we arrived a day early. Anyways, it gets better! He is also a biblical counseling major AND he lives in our apartment complex one street over!

More highlights of my day include the formal acknowledgement of all the international students from around the globe, including at least two from China! And, meeting a very sweet older student who is also studying biblical counseling AND has an adopted daughter from China! I love it!

As you can imagine, I am so drained from all the input today! I thought that it might help me process if I wrote some of it out. Tonight, a friend is making lasagna for a few of us. She is the friend that graduated from DTS as a biblical counseling major! That should be fun!

And, tomorrow is a little lighter. Activities start with a women's lunch and then have to take the MMPI personality test tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait to see what other fun surprises God has in store! Thanks for keeping up with it all! It feels like a whirlwind!

Part-time Job #1

Well, I just accepted a job offer perfectly suited for my schedule and needs!

As of next week, I will be driving a five year old boy to school 5 days a week. The plan is to arrive at his house (<2 mi. away) by 7:00 am, make sure he is dressed and ready for school, then I will drive him one mile down the road to his school by 8:00 am. His parents both work at the J.C. Penney's headquarters in North Dallas so they must leave the house by 7:10. It is his very first time going to school. I'm excited that I get to be the one to take him! He seems like a neat kid. And, I'm looking forward to getting to know his parents as well. They have traveled all over the world with their jobs. The dad is a "buyer" for J.C. Penney's and travels to China frequently! How cool! I just received the phone call about this job about an hour ago and I'm waiting to hear about a couple more. Dallas is crawling with opportunities to nanny for affluent families, not to mention the pay is great! My class schedule is a little awkward though. I've had trouble matching up afternoon jobs because of classes. I signed up with a company called SitterCentralDallas that matches nannies with families who need help. I had an interview with them last week and will be getting certified in CPR training as well as a type of play therapy. This company is well marketed in the Dallas area and is even used by the Dallas Cowboys when they play home games! Thanks for keeping up! More to come...

Let the good times roll a little longer!

Becca had a friend (Christy) visit her from Oklahoma this weekend. It was fun being the hosts in a city that we have barely gotten to know ourselves. It's a great excuse for more adventures around town!

We ate Ethiopian food one night at a fabulously authentic restaurant close to our house because Becca's friend loves Ethiopian food! In Ethiopia, they use the crepe-like bread to pick up the food. No spoons. No forks. Just the bread!


Today we spent the morning at the Arboretum taking pictures. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. It is the kind of place you could spend all day walking around. The only thing wrong was the 100 degree weather! No wonder admission for the month of August is only a dollar! We will definitely go back when it cools off a bit!


Texas spirit, yeah yeah!

Great roommate shot!

We have the same sense of humor!



Adios for now! Orientation begins in two days. The past two and a half weeks have been so extremely beneficial for us as we have learned so much about our new surroundings. It has also given us time to settle into our apartment and get to know each other better. We are still in the job hunt phase of things, however it's looking promising. Becca and I both have had several calls and interviews about nanny and childcare positions.

I am excited about orientation. Hopefully it will give us an idea of what to expect for the upcoming semester. It will also be fun to meet our classmates and some of our professors. We've already made so many connections with people and we're excited for more!

Destination Dallas, Texas!

Well we've made it to Texas, our home for at least the next three years. The drive down wasn't as brutal as I expected it to be. Considering I covered a total of 1300 miles in 2 1/2 days, it was a pretty fun and smooth trip. Becca's dad and brother were with us, driving the moving truck, which added an element of safety and fun. Becca's brother, Robert had some stops planned out for us to eat at Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham, AL, then authentic Cajun food in Shreveport, LA and finally true "Tex-Mex" cuisine once we arrived in Dallas. We drove all day looking forward to the festive feast the awaited our arrival at each destination! I was really thankful as well that my car made the drive without any problems whatsoever! 

Amazingly, we arrived a day earlier than expected so we actually moved in on Friday afternoon. Saturday afternoon we went downtown to take a close look at our new 

school. Walking around the campus of DTS was very surreal for us! We could not believe that we finally made it after years of praying for this dream to actualize! After that, Becca's brother and dad took us to the JFK museum and then to The Butcher Shop for dinner. Can you guess what they specialize in? Beef is it! I surprisingly opted for baked potato and salad. Delicious!

It was a strange feeling to drop her dad

and brother off at the hotel and go back to our apartment alone for the first time. We talked about how we both felt a little sad to see them go. Since we moved down here in faith that God would provide everything we need, including a job, we felt a little overwhelmed by the thought of when and how that might happen. Even though we believe strongly that He has called us here and He indeed will provide, we still have moments that we sink in a panic of fear. I think that is a pretty normal reaction though. The decisions we've made to move down here in faith goes against all human logic. We are thankful each day for the reminders that He is here with us. We have some pretty amazing stories to share of His faithfulness. You'll hear about them eventually I'm sure! 

Now that we've had some time to settle into our new home and explore the city a little, we Both feel a little more at peace. It is a huge transition for us both, coming from China and small town southeastern USA! We love it though! Dallas is crawling with people from all over the world. Our next door neighbors are even Chinese! We already have some connections here from mutual friends back east. It has been a blast getting to know other seasoned seminary students! They have a ton of wisdom to share with us. I can't wait to see who we'll come across next!

Closing thoughts

There are few words to describe just how I feel. There is so much anticipation looking toward the unknown, yet my heart is like a sponge soaking every last bit of goodness out of these last few drops of time. I was thinking today how odd it is that until you get ready to lose something, you don't fully experience what it means in your life. What a perplexity! Well, at least it gives us a reason to be thankful for these times of change. If things never did change, we wouldn't know just how good we had it. Hmph.

The last moments with someone you love always seem to be the sweetest. Somehow loving that person becomes sweet and bitter at the same time. You long to hang on, but you know deep down if you did then you'd end up souring the sweetness that God hath made by His grace. The proper posture in any relationship is to lay it down before the throne of God and say, "Not my will God, but your will alone be done". That is when a relationship can be truly blessed and cherished!

'Tis God's amazing grace that allows any at all to be at peace with Himself or anyone else. If you put your faith and trust in Him alone, then and only then are you enabled to have true peace. This inner peace will transform your entire life and begin to affect everyone around you too. I know this with unshakable confidence and experience it in my own life!

Rummaging Thoughts

Life never turns out like you expect, but it is always better when you can appreciate what God is doing through life's circumstances! I am learning to glory in the mystery of the unknown and appreciate what is here and now. Most of the time, I live life focused on the "next thing". I'm realizing that I miss the gift of "now" by doing that.

Don't underestimate what God can do through your dreams and desires. Love God and pursue your dreams! There are seasons in life when doubt creeps in for whatever reason, but there is always a good friend or some other source to remind me of God's hand working things together. Just move forward and trust His leading! Guaranteed He will close the doors that He wills to close! He makes no mistakes and He'll never leave nor forsake His children. A good reminder.

Another transition awaits me. I am excited to see what lies ahead in the next chapter and yet I am beginning to grieve the loss of those I will leave behind. The timing is right and preparations have been made. God has confirmed. There will be no turning back now unless His hand unravels the pieces. In a strange way, I can relate to the baby birds that have been preparing for the day they will be pushed out of the nest for their first solo flight. (though not my first) I imagine that they tremble as they sit ready, peering down over the nest where the great wide-world awaits their exploration! At first flight, I'm sure they fall a few feet before they learn to open their wings and let the wind carry them wherever. How exciting it must be for that little bird to realize that all he needs to do is open his wings and effortlessly glide on its current. He knows not the destination of his journey. He's just along for the ride. What a view that must be!

Many days I stand on the edge of the unknown flapping my wings in a panic because I am not resting in the strength that is there to carry me. I am prone to forget how I was created to glide effortlessly on His strength that carries me where He wills. My flapping and carrying on doesn't change the course of the wind. It is futility at best. May tomorrow be the day I take off and glide effortlessly on the grace and strength that God gives to carry me through the day! No flapping and no complaining!

New York, New York