already here

i just finished up playing keys for the weekend services in GraceMain, and have a little under 3 hours before i have to leave to go lead on acoustic at Access... and writing a new post sounds like more fun than packing.

tomorrow is the first day of project. it's been really odd, reading all the Twitter and FaceBook status updates from my fellow project students as they make their way to Westfield, Indiana. some of their travels have been pleasant... some less so. and i guess i'm the freak of the group that's already here. i'm really struggling to get into the mindset that something completely different is happening tomorrow... that i'm not leaving town, but i might as well be.

i always have loved road trips. especially now that i don't get (as) carsick as i did as a kid! and i've been on a LOT of them... i've really been touring with Summer Project bands since toddlership. but i think there is some kind of important mental transition that occurs over the course of a physical journey. something about picking up your suitcase, your body, your guitar, and moving it to another location, helps clear your mind in preparation for encountering new places and new people. and it helps you to let go of the place you're leaving. frankly, i'm a little jealous of my (future) friends who are coming long distances to get to Keynote. i want the interstates. the bathroom breaks at sketchy truck stops. the Mountain Dew and HoHos. the endless cornfields. the frustrating trip catastrophes. i want to give my brain space to BREATHE, to drop the mindset of my Westfield activities and friends, and open my hands to pick up something new.

maybe a few laps around 465 would do it... or maybe i'm being seriously ungrateful that my road trip is only 15 minutes. either way, i, like the rest of my team this summer, need god to move in my heart and mind, to let go of my comfort and rest and embrace new challenges and new friends, so that i can grow and change and become more of who He's meant me to be. and before that transition occurs, i've been given the incredible gift, the opportunity to meet with my dear friends tonight at Access and get to play music... only a couple of my favorite things ever. it's clear that God is gracious and will meet ALL my needs, physical and mental, wherever i am!

...whether i'm in Westfield, or Westfield.