Exploring Pensacola

Matthew and I have gotten into an accidental habit of trying a new restaurant every weekend. It's been quite fun as it's allowed us to get to know Pensacola better. I thought it would be fun to share with everyone the types of restaurants they have here in Pensacola. We only try the local ones, which they have a lot of and I think are some of the best kind! Here are a few that we've been too:


Scenic 90 Cafe was the first restaurant we went to. Matthew and I are big breakfast people, so we tried out this restaurant. I loved it! It definitely had a "home town" feel to it. For those of you who watched Saved by the Bell...it totally reminded me of The Max! ha!


Apparently, the Coffee Cup is a local favorite. For my Oklahoma friends, it reminded me a lot of Beverly's on NW Expressway. Everybody knows everybody. It was a really great place...good food too!


Dharma Blue is a cute restaurant downtown. It primarily serves sushi, but has some other food options too. It's a great location and had a great patio to sit and eat on.


Global Grill is kind of an upscale Tapas restaurant. It's a nicer restaurant, so this is where Matthew and I went out to eat to celebrate after we found out I got the job at UWF. We ended up making a meal out of the tapas (which are like appetizers) and it was a lot of fun!




Jasmine Fusion was great!! Matthew and I both really like Thai food, so this definitely satisfied our Thai fix. It was a little bit more upscale than we were expecting, but it was delicious!





We had tried one other Mexican restaurant before trying Cactus Flower and I think we've decided that Cactus Flower is definitely our choice for Mexican. It's a little bit different Mexican...I think they say it's California-Mexican, but either way the food was really fresh and great. We'll definitely be going back!

The post I've been dying to write...

I've been waiting some time now to write this post and it is with a thankful heart that I finally get to write this. In big news, I got a job!!! Matthew and I have been praying and waiting for this for several months. I just got the official word last week that I had been offered a job at the University of West Florida. My job will be helping oversee students' volunteer and service learning opportunities. I'm so excited about this particular job for a few reasons:

1. It focuses on student development outside of the classroom, which I was really looking for with this job change
2. I get to stay at a 4-year institution
3. I get to stay in Higher Education
4. This job aligns perfectly with what Christ teaches - serving others. Not only do I get to serve students, but I get to teach students how to serve. What could be better?!

There was about a 3-month waiting period before getting this job. I have to say that God taught me a lot in those 3 months (but doesn't He always). Before we had even gotten to Pensacola, I had been applying for jobs here in higher education, but nothing was working out. Then we got here and it was actually OK that I wasn't working because we had a lot to get set up and situated with the move. Then, once things calmed down and we got settled, I enjoyed not working for about a week. Then after that, it started to get a little boring. People were telling me to enjoy this time I had not working, but it was so hard. I started questioning my purpose...like what am I doing here in Pensacola? I don't know anybody, don't have any friends here (other than Matthew). It was just a very challenging time. But the Holy Spirit kept reminding me, "You DO have purpose. Your purpose is in ME!"

I continued to reflect on that and really started holding strong to the promise of Jeremiah 29:11. Now, if I'm being totally honest, I have to say that I always felt like this verse can be a little over-used. If something is going wrong in someone's life, just quote them Jeremiah 29:11 or if a challenge or difficulty came up, just quote Jeremiah 29:11. It was a good scripture, but I never truly understood it's truth until I had to cling to it. When I was being challenged with questions about my purpose, I started to recite Jeremiah 29:11 over and over in my mind. I truly started to BELIEVE it and it's relevance for my life. When I found out about the job, I felt as though God was saying, "See, I told you. I DO have a plan for you and it's GOOD!" God teaches us a lot during waiting periods. My lessons in this teaching moment are several: that God keeps His promises, His timing is perfect and that He brought both Matthew and me here to Pensacola for a specific purpose that only we can fulfill. It's so great to know a God who has great things in store if we simply wait on Him and trust Him completely!

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.'" -Jeremiah 29:11