On my previous blog, I made a habit of sharing a list of things I was thankful for every month. It's such a good habit to start and it helps you to focus on the good things in your life, rather than the bad.

So I wanted to bring it back! Here's my gratitude list for July.

1. My church family. For years I was a serial church visitor. Just about every church in my county, I've been to at least once, and living in the Bible belt, that's a LOT of churches. I was raised in a church that was very clique-ish, and since I was homeschooled, I never fit in. All the other kids would have pool parties and plan it right in front of me, but not invite me. I'm talking up until I was like 19 years old. I had kinda given up on finding "the church" for me until I walked into the Grants Mill campus of Highlands 4 years ago. When they announced the Oxford campus, I was ecstatic. It was the answer to so many of my prayers...and I've met so many awesome people through it! I finally feel like I'm a part of something bigger than pool parties. I feel like I belong to the body of Christ.

2. Rain. Alabama summers are H-O-T. And humid. And I get that rain doesn't really help the humidity thing, but I love rain and I'm thankful for it. 

3. Hope. I'm thankful that though I've experienced a lot of dark times this year, I still have something to hope for. Something (Pretttttty sure it's God...)keeps getting me up every morning, to face another day. I have had a broken heart, but it hasn't broken me. I will press on and I'm thankful for the hope I have that gets me through each day.

4. Air conditioning. Our power went out for 26 hours a few weeks ago and we were miserable after like hour 4. It really opened my eyes and made me appreciate the fact that I can come into the cool when I'm hot, or into the heat when I'm cold. SO many people across the globe don't have that luxury and I'm definitely guilty of taking it for granted.

5. New friendships. Through different places: work, serving at church, small groups, etc, I have formed many new friendships over the past few months. I'm excited to see what adventures are to come in the future with these new influences in my life!

Starting Over | Thoughts Behind the Name

Most people don't enjoy writing about themselves. It's hard. I've done the online dating thing, 

I've written up plenty of profiles but it still never depicts who I truly am. 
Why is it such a struggle to convey ourselves through words on a page (or website)?
Well, I'm gonna try to do that and this blog is my safe place.

My name is Jessica. Thanks for the originality, parents. 

I bet anyone reading this can think of at least 5 Jessica's you know. 

I'm 26, turning 27 in 5 days. I'm an ISFJ. I am deeply involved in my church, 

a campus of Church of the Highlands. I love coffee, hot tea, rain, books, my dog, 

clean sheets, fields of wildflowers, exploring new cities (and of course the food and coffee in each one), 

classic movies, and photography.

As far as my “career”, I'm an x-ray technologist with 6 years of clinical, outpatient facility experience. (if you're trying to hire me)

The name Learning to Breathe comes from an old Switchfoot song and the reason I'm using it to title my blog, i
s because it's exactly where I am in my life. I'm about to turn 27, 
I just moved back in with my parents, my (first and only) dating relationship just ended and I feel like I'm starting over. 
Sure, there's been tears. Lots of them. Lots of doubts. Lots of anger, honestly, geared towards God.  
God, you know the desires of my heart. Why would you give these desires to me, 
only to allow me to experience yet another rejection, another birthday alone, 
go to another wedding alone?

But then it hit me. The last 26 years, I've been sitting and waiting. Not living and waiting. 
Okay, sure, I've lived. I've breathed air. I'm not a potato that never moves. 
I have a full time job, I've been to Disney World a few times, I've eaten sushi and even tried cow tongue. 
But other than that, what have I done with this blessing, which I've always viewed as a curse: time alone?

Trust me, it's a journey and a work in progress. I don't wake up every morning, singing with the birds “Oh another day of loneliness! 
Wonder who will reject my advances today!” but I have decided to consciously make the choice to use this time
 that I've been given to focus on the things that matter: serving God through my church, reaching others,
 leading small groups, growing in my photography, and seeing the world.

I'm not learning to wait, I know how to do that. I'm learning to breathe again. But this time, with intention.