"Home is behind, the world ahead, and there are many paths to tread."

 - J.R.R. Tolkien

    Three months ago, I was planning on starting graduate school at the University of Texas in three days.  I knew I wanted to go to grad school, and as far as schools go, this sounded perfect: I already had friends there and loved Austin, it's an excellent graduate program, and I knew the professors.  It sounded perfect - but it didn't seem right.  I had been praying about it and it felt like there was something else out there, something hadn't looked into yet.

    So I started looking at other schools, especially Stanford.  The problem was I would have to take the spring semester off to apply anywhere else.  My parents didn't like the idea much, but you had to give it to them... what the hell would I do for a semester, be a barista?  I don't wear glasses, have a fixie, or own any scarves, so that wasn't an option.  I decided to call up my Uncle Ray, a professor at A&M with a big sense of adventure.  Turns out, he's a big advocate of taking a semester off and an even bigger advocate of traveling the world, more specifically, around it.  I walked away eager to figure out what to do in the spring with the seeds of travel in my mind.  Later that day, as nudge in the right direction, Uncle Ray offered to pay for part of my trip - a large part.  His bribe worked and I was sold.

    The thoughts "I have to do this" and "I'll regret it if I don't" cycled through my head.  I still had to pray about it though.  It was clearly a no-brainer, but if God was pushing me somewhere else, I would follow that. Things kept lining up perfectly; the things that would've have held me back, like wanting to stay to do YoungLife or to be with my friends during their last semester (FOMO), weren't even a problem.  God was giving me a peace about it, that He was steering me away from my direction and towards His own.

    Now, I leave in three weeks for a trip around the world (here's a map of my trip and the dates I'll be arriving).  I booked my flights through AirTreks and only have my trip through Germany mapped out.  Other than the flights and a few acquaintances abroad, I have no solid plans for any of the places I'm going, which is making me increasingly anxious and excited.  I hope to update this blog at least once a week with where I am, what I'm doing, and how God is moving, as well as a few more times before I leave.
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Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

    I really don't know what I'm doing... as if I usually do, but this time I really don't.  I think God is leading me, but sometimes I think I should have gone straight into work and that grad school is just an excuse for me to defer real responsibility.  But I trust God, I trust in these two verses above.  It's like a saying I heard once, "Jesus got me, I ain't trippin'."  I'm excited to see the world, but I'm even more excited to see what God is going to do to me and through me.  Going to places and doing things will just be random events if I don't see them as God's creation - meeting new people will just be a way to kill time if I don't see them as God's children.  

    But besides all that, I can't wait to clown around on some fools, hang out in their countries, and eat their food!  I'll post plenty of stories and pictures of that stuff too.