#FamilyOfJesus

God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5.

Mondays and new revelations

The weekend rolled around and we found our Saturday morning to be the good kind of busy. Hubby went off to the church to cut grass (his favorite thing to do) and I was off to brunch with a friend to catch up. After a very lovely brunch I found myself having a much needed phone date with my best friend and I found myself crying as I unloaded weeks worth of pent up tears and realizations.  I am so blessed to have a friend who can and will hold me up when I am down and who allows me to do the same for her.

It seems that God knew exactly what both of us needed on this Saturday morning as her schedule had been rearranged and she found herself at home sitting on her porch listening to a weeping me. And God knew I needed my friend to listen and encourage me as I had a fall apart moment that had been sneaking up on me for weeks.

God is faithful friends, always faithful.

There are things that creep up on us that can only be shared with best friends who have proven trust worthy and loving in the worst of your life's moments. And Saturday was one of those moments. I didn't feel the desire to release what I was feeling all over my husband who at this point gets the brunt of my emotions and struggles, no, God knew that my friend was the one who was to get that moment with me. I am thankful that my Hubby go that break! He is such a wonderful man and he supports me completely but he definitely deserves a break from my femaleness! He doesn't have to get it all but I am thankful he doesn't mind being there for me when I need him.

So in the course of my weeping I realized that I have reached a few understandings and turning points. I realize that I am in the most difficult part of transition for me. The part where I am more tempted to retreat inside myself and never come out and also the part where I am missing being with people who know and love me, to which I can only have those kinds of relationships if I choose to come outside of myself and build them.  You see the dilemma.

You see I function so much better when I have relationships in my life that are safe and loving. However those relationships take time and effort. And I find myself struggling to pull outside myself to make the effort yet those relationships are what help me to be outside myself comfortably. Oh what a cycle right!

I know that I am capable of escaping myself and building those relationships as I am missing those very relationships from our last home.

So as my sweet friend who I am missing quite acutely sat on her front porch "getting some color" on her legs, I talked and cried out this struggle within me. And she so sweetly listened and encouraged me and loved me and let me dump out my emotions and pent up tears multiple times withing the span of the hour plus conversation.

Ahhhh...I love being loved like that. I am so thankful that during my last transition God helped me pull outside of myself and make the effort as scary as it was to build a relationship with this incredible woman. And I am thankful that God helped her see something in me that she liked as well and that she made the effort to build relationship with me and I am thankful that the miles that separate us have only drawn us closer to each other.

So in this most difficult part of the transition I have been able to identify what I must do and I have been able to overcome my desire to retreat into myself several times. Saturday morning brunch for example, inviting someone over, and pulling myself from the safety of my home on several occasions even when it felt like that might actually kill me.

So onward I go, I know that in this GOD WILL BE FAITHFUL AS I TRUST HIM, that I WILL BE VICTORIOUS AS I STEP OUT IN FAITH, and that THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

GOD IS FAITHFUL, ALWAYS.

I am thankful for the lifelong relationships that God has allowed me to have. I know that I am extremely blessed to have the few I do have in my life as I know it is extremely rare to have those types of safe, strong, loving, encouraging, life long friendships in life.

So today, on this Monday I feel a bit stronger. I feel a bit better. I still miss the loving support from the relationships I had in Springfield and I miss being loved by many and seeing those I love on a daily or weekly basis. But I have hope in my heart that those relationships are here and available for me and I know that I can cultivate and build them but I must pull outside of myself, trust God, and give it the time that it takes.

I do not desire to rush into superficial relationships and I do not desire perfect relationships, I just desire the relationships that God has planned in advance for me and I am more ready today to pull outside of myself than I was last week.

Transition is not easy for with it come new everything but that is also what is exciting about it too.

I cannot wait to see what God has in store as I know He called us here and this is where He wants us to be. He has a purpose and a plan and I trust Him completely.

Here's to what is ahead. Though I cannot see it and do not know who, what, or when exactly I know it will be good and hard and imperfect and amazing.

Lord I give it all to you and I TRUST YOU. In Jesus name. Amen.

#FamilyOfJesus

Like the family of Jesus, you are not forgotten. He has plans and purpose for your life. He looks your way.

You have a family. You have a story. Jesus did too. #FamilyOfJesus

You have a family. You have a story. Jesus did too. #FamilyOfJesus

Kicked in the Gut

As a teacher and pastor there are moments that you pray will never happen for your students. There are situations that you believe completely they will overcome and you pray fervently they will overcome. There are hours upon hours of mentoring and praying and teaching and challenging and checking on, etc that go into loving someone.

I count myself completely honored that God would allow me to do such things for students and young ladies. It is my heart, it is why I was born, it is why I breath and why my heart beats. It is my calling. I will do it as long as God allows me to.

In all that hope and prayer and belief and mentoring there is still free will and choice.

That's the hard part.

Allowing that freedom and choice. Oh boy how hard it must be for God himself to give all of his children that choice everyday when all He wants to do is love us and give us the very best.

On with my kick in the gut...

One of my students, one of my loves, part of my heart made an announcement that just knocked the wind out of me. I don't exactly know how to respond yet all I know is that I am a bit disappointed and heart broken but mostly I just want her to know that she is LOVED and ACCEPTED no matter what. I don't exactly know how to do that just yet or if she will even receive it. But with all my heart I want her to know that there is NOTHING that can separate us from God's love and because He loves me I love her unconditionally.

I do feel like I have been kicked in the gut as I feel that she is running from the Lord and His truth and His plan. I feel like she is just trying to escape her circumstances but in all the wrong ways. I see it because it is exactly what I did when I was her age. I ran, I tried anything to escape. The difference is that she knows truth, she has been given tools and sadly she is choosing the enemy's way out and it breaks my heart.

However I know with all of my heart that God can turn any circumstance into good and that He is a God of Redemption. I just did not want her journey to be even harder than it already has been.

Oh my heart hurts and loves so much all at the same time.

Love never fails. Love never fails. Love never fails. I believe that with all of my heart.

Lord show me how to love like you love. Show me what to do and how to move forward. Give me your wisdom. Lord I need you. In Jesus name. Amen.

When Life Slows You Down

Today I am missing the fullness and busyness of life as it was.

I am missing once again being surrounded by people I love and who love me in return.

I know that these things take time and it is definitely one of the hardest parts of transition for me.

There are so many things that I love about the place that we are in though and for a moment I want to focus on those:
1. We get time with our families on a consistent basis. We are a part of the everyday moments and special moments and that definitely makes my heart happy.
2. We are getting to build new relationships and build a church from the bottom up and that is very exciting to us. We love that we know that we will get to be here for the long haul and watch our kiddos grow up and become workers and then graduate and go off to college and get married and have children, etc.
3. We are growing and evolving so much and drawing even closer to God than ever before.
4. Our ministry and leadership is evolving and it is absolutely amazing to see.
5. My husband is absolutely blossoming and it is so very amazing to see.
6. We are experiencing God's faithfulness in ways that we would not have otherwise.

I know that we are just exactly where we are supposed to be and that we absolutely followed God here and that He is most certainly in this transition. It has been an easy transition in so many ways.

But today I am missing the fullness and busyness of life as it was. Today I am missing the MO peeps that I came to love with a love that I did not even know I had. Today I miss my kids - ALL of their sweet faces and sweet hearts. Today I miss the family units. Today I miss the parents. Today I miss the halls, the skyroom, the fungeon, my office, the grounds that made up Praise Assembly. Today I miss my friends and those who loved me and accepted me and knew me. Today I miss my little yellow house. Today I miss my neighbors. Today I miss Old Navy and the sweet friends that we made there. Today I miss CBC days and the friends and memories made there. Today I miss the streets of Springfield and the familiar places. Today I miss Culvers custard, Old Chicago Pizza, Nearly Famous Deli, the park where I had great time with my girls and great walks, the softball park, our two apartments, Battlefield Mall, Qudoba, the creek, Branson, our small couples group and all it's craziness, Silver Dollar City, 65 and I44, Glenstone, ABC Books, Kearney, Kansas, I miss so much. I miss the faces in the hall and the hugs.

I feel so behind here, I feel so out of touch with love, hugs, ministry, mentoring, people. I know it takes time and it's not something to be rushed. I don't really want to live my life waiting for what's to come instead of enjoying the moment but it is hard.

So today I am excited for kids camp tomorrow and praying with all of my heart that relationships will be cultivated and deepen. I am praying for a refreshing time for our kids as well as for me. I am praying for the beginning of something truly truly great. I am praying for a time to regroup and come back stronger than ever, ready to go go go.

Today I am excited for the future because I know that God has an amazing one planned for us. Today I am excited for the opportunities that I know nothing about yet. Today I am excited for the busyness and fullness that is to come. Today I will revel in the calm and quite and I will fill my heart and soul with the Savior that never lets me down and I will build my faith and expectation. Today I will love the place that I am in and appreciate it for exactly what it is.

Today is:
1. A calm Saturday morning. Hubby is still in bed snoring, Tater is sitting next to me in his favorite spot in front of the window napping.
2. We are in a rental house that meets our needs in a small community that we have fallen in love with that is near the church and hubby's job.
3. The laundry is done and there are a few dinner dishes left over to wash.
4. I am mostly organize and ready to pack for kids camp. My first Alabama kids camp in 4 years
5. We are meeting friends from MO today and I get to see two of the girls I mentored and fell head over heels in love with. It makes me sad because I'll only get to see them for a few hours and I know I'll have to say goodbye again, but I am so ready to see them and hug them.
6. Our needs are met and then some.
7. We have visited ALL of our families recently.
8. We have friends coming over next weekend for hubby's birthday.
9. We are in the process of praying for and planning a family.
10. God is so incredibly faithful. Faithful beyond what we could imagine.

So there are times that life slows you down and you find yourself looking around at seemingly less that what you had before, but truthfully our lives are just as full and becoming fuller as we build new relationships and as we dream for future things to come. And these slower moments are meant for rest and rebuilding and for drawing closer to the God who is beyond what one could ask or dream.

I am okay. I am content. I have joy. And I am blessed beyond anything that I could imagine.

Lord, have Your way in my heart and life. I know that one day soon the busyness will return and I will long for these quieter times. So help me to be content and full of joy in the present and to not live for the future only. Bless our time at kids camp and let them be all that you desire for them to be. Bless these slower days and help me to make the best of each one. In Jesus name. Amen.

Letting Go

Letting go is one of the hardest things to do. Letting go hurts. Letting go is part of life.

There are moments when I'm scared that I have let go. There are moments that I can't even imagine letting go. There are moments when I am strong enough to let go. There are moments when I am too weak to give the freedom for others to let go.

Yep, letting go is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

Yet I am reminded that God is Faithful. He will take care of those I have to let go....HE IS TAKING CARE OF those that I have to let go. He is taking care of me in the letting go.

I am forever grateful for the time I had to love them and be with them, I am forever grateful for the relationships that I gained and will always have.

I am forever grateful that God loves them.

Thank You God for being faithful. Thank you for loving them. Thank you for loving me.

Bible/Book Study - Pocket Book Punches - Courage

From the book - "The Jesus-Hearted Woman" by Jodi Detrick

Definition of Courage = the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc. without fear; bravery - Idiom (expression): to act in accordance with one's beliefs, especially in spite of criticism

On page 163 the author uses Gideon as an example of a "scaredy-cat" of the bible. She points out that Gideon was initially addressed by the angel as a "mighty man of valor"

My thoughts:
*God sees us and calls us by what we can be --- He knows the "Real" us even if we cannot see or believe it ourselves.

Read the story of Gideon in Judges chapter 6
*Gideon is hiding from the Midianites in a wine press threshing wheat (wheat threshing is usually done out in the open where the wind can be of assistance)
*The angel calls him mighty
*The Lord tells him to go in the strength he has - the Lord tells him he is strong
*The Lord sends him
.......
*Gideon responds with - "But Lord"
*Gideon calls himself weak and the least

What if we had the courage to see ourselves as God sees us?
*not with our own earthly eyes (weakest/least)

What if instead of saying "But Lord" we had the courage to jump/leap in faith WITHOUT QUESTION?
*I don't know about you but I do not do much without questions - as an over analyzer I typically ask MANY questions

**Faith and Fear have the same definition - they both mean "Believing that what you cannot see will come to fruition"

On page 163-164 the author writes in a quote that was said by Christopher Robin to Pooh - " you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think". It just so happens that my best friend (my very own Christopher Robin!) sent me this quote a few days prior to my reading this chapter.

It made me think:
What if we had the courage to surround ourselves with others who see great things in us and let go of the ones who tear us down.
*In our bible study group a few ladies pointed out that sometimes we are surrounded by people and we have no choice (co-workers/family). So I no longer think that it is realistic to only be surrounded by only people who see great in us but what if we found our very own Christopher Robin? What if we prayed and asked God to send us our very own Christopher Robin, someone who sees the great in us and pushes us toward that greatness.

On page 170 the author says, "Sometimes the wars we're called to win (perhaps over things like gossip, dishonesty, anger, overspending, or pride) are as much about someone else as they are about us. If we don't deal with these "snakes" in our paths, those behind us will feel the fangs and experience the pangs of their soul-corrupting poison."
*Wow - think about that - I think about this is relation to our children (my futuristic children)
*Courage/War can be as much about someone else as it is about us
          *Our children, those whom we minister to, those who are watching us, etc.

Courage = the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc. without fear; bravery - Idiom (expression): to act in accordance with one's beliefs, especially in spite of criticism

What do you need courage to face today?

"You must always remember - you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." ~Christopher Robin to Pooh


To my very own Christopher Robin (you know who you are) - I love you so much. Thank you for pushing me forward, supporting me, encouraging me, crying with me, sharpening me, standing by me, and for seeing the great in me even when I cannot! I am thankful EVERYDAY that God shares you with me. I love you friend!

Lord Thank You for your Word and the example of Gideon. Thank you for  speaking this learning to Jodi and to me and for allowing me to share it. I pray for courage that is birthed from Your Spirit and Your Word in my life! I love you. In Jesus name. Amen.

Regulars

My sweet hubby and I are such a little old couple inside. We have decided that we would like to be regulars at this wonderful little restaurant just down the road from our house called the Mason Jar. So we have created "Mason Jar Mondays".

This little restaurant is one of the cutest, friendliest and yummiest little places ever. They serve their drinks out of blue tinted mason jars and they have homemade root beer and different flavors of lemonade.

I also have to say that the food is...Wonderful!!

Hubby and I have not tried anything that we haven't liked and have tried only one thing that we would likely not order again but we are glad that  we tried it anyway.  They serve good home cookin. Great appetizers and great entrees!

We sit in the same booth if possible and if not possible we sit on the same side of the room! How fun is that!

We have been slowly introducing ourselves to the waitresses who are all sweet country high school students.  We are enjoying meeting them!!

We love our new little town and are really excited to see what our future holds here as we plant roots and become 'regulars'!

I love that we are such a little old couple already! It makes my heart happy!

Hubs and I had our Mason Jar Monday tonight and laughed almost all the way through dinner and then we headed off to Sams to get our headlights cleaned and we laughed our way through the store and the whole time we were waiting for our car to be finished!  I LOVE THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP IS BUILT ON LAUGHTER! It just makes life better!!

Well that is all for tonight! Night Night world, I am going to laugh some more with my love!

Lord, thank you for this sweet husband of mine, thank you for bringing the one that would add so much laughter and love to my life! You knew exactly what I needed to balance me! Thank you for loving me so much that you plan such amazing gifts! Thank you for sharing this man with me! Thank you for this sweet little town that you have placed us in, help us to be a blessing to this community and help us to know exactly where you want us to put down our roots here! We love you and trust you and we will continue to follow you! In Jesus name, Amen.

Precious Mundane

Oh the precious mundane...

We had the opportunity this weekend to go to my in-laws for to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. 

It was a very nice weekend just doing the mundane. We just hung out and ate dinner and played with kids on Friday night and then on Saturday we did yard work and helped dig a pond. It was quite refreshing as these are the simple and mundane moments that we have been missing and what we are anxious to get back to with all of our families.

We had a really laid back and fun time just laughing about whatever and digging and cleaning the yard and pool. 

We then decide to go out to eat before we headed back home, so went out to the bay to have seafood where I had crawfish for the first time and enjoyed it but the rest of our food was not that great but it was really nice to be on the bay and get to look at the window and see the water. 

I just LOVE the water, the bay, lake, ocean!! Love it!

It was just the laid back nice weekend that we needed and we look so forward to more of those moments with all of our families and getting to reconnect on that level. 

So today I am thankful for the precious mundane moments that I so crave with our families.

Here's to a better week this week than last week!

Lord I thank You for your faithfulness and love. I give you this week ahead and ask that it be a good week full of fun and lots of energy. In Jesus name. Amen

Bible/Book Study - The Cringe Factor - Predetermined Choices

At the request of my BEST FRIEND I am going to post the bible/book study teaching that I share with the women of my church. This was my first time leading a bible/book study and I am thankful that God led me!!  I hope you enjoy!


This is my learning from the book "The Jesus-Hearted Woman" by Jodi Detrick - Chapter Five "The Cringe Factor"

Predetermined Choices:

God led me to thinking specifically in terms of Hurts which I believe to be the biggest struggle in life and especially in church.

*My Bad Hurts (pg.123) are hurts that come from our own making.
*Their Bad Hurts (pg. 123) things that others have done to us.
*Too Bad Hurts (pg. 123) things that just do not go our way.

What do we do with our about these hurts?
*We get to decide how we allow hurts/disappointments to affect us.
Predetermined Choices"
*We get to choose - Let's choose now to:
       *Not to give up 
       *Not to wall up (if we wall up we wall ourselves in and not even God can reach us)
              *we cage ourselves in and not even God can reach us
              *We cannot be fully effective in ministry and loving people if we put up walls to "protect"                ourselves
       *Not to shut down
*We must never let bitterness Begin - once it starts the journey back in long and difficult

It is our choice

Joseph's Example (Genesis 37 and 39-45)
*Joseph's My Bad - His youthful pride in sharing his dream of his brothers bowing down to him caused friction with his brothers which led to him being sold as a slave
*Joseph's Their Bad - Potiphar's Wife wanted to sleep with him and he fled from her and it still landed him in jail
*Joseph's Too Bad - He was forgotten by the cupbearer which lead to a longer imprisonment (2 full years)

If anyone had reason to give up, wall up or shut down it was Joseph. 

However, Joseph's positive response to the situations in his life transformed each set back into a step forward.

Joseph did NOT give up, wall up or shut down, he glorified God and did not allow bitterness.

I think we can learn so much from Joseph and how he made the best of each situation in his life and chose to not give up, wall up, shut down or even allow bitterness to begin in his life. Can you imagine if he had allowed bitterness how incredibly hard it would have been to stop it from situation to situation. Yikes!

I just love Joseph! He is so inspiring!!

I am choosing to not give up, wall up, shut down or even let bitterness begin - with God's help of course. 

Hurts WILL come because we are loving people and people are imperfect.

I do not want to allow hurts to affect the way that I love God's people or the way I allow people to love me. Giving up, shutting down, walls and bitterness all affect those things.

The Hard Things

In every transition there are hard things...
Quite honestly in this transition I expected more hard things than we have received and I know that is all due to our Faithful God who goes before us to prepare the way.

There are so many hardships that we have not had to experience this time around and for that I am so very thankful...because there have been other hard things to face.

Connection...
This has been my hardest battle both of the times that I have moved to new places. I miss the connections that I had. The strong trusting connections with our kids, youth, parents and friends.
Why do I struggle with this so much? Because I am SO NOT A PATIENT PERSON! I know that true deep connections take time to build but it is so hard to wait for that to happen. I miss the trusting hugs and talks with the kids and the easy and comfortable moments of teaching with the youth and the wordless conversations with friends.

Even my connections with family are different because we have been away from them for almost 4 years. It is so hard to loose those connections and to have to be patient while they are being rebuilt! So hard and very heart breaking for me.

However, how else would I get to work on my patience...Right!

New Jobs/New Routine/New Balance...
This has been my second hardest battle. Learning how to have an almost full-time job and balance ministry. It is so hard to not have the amount of time that I want to pour into our ministry and the people we want to minister to. Time disappears so fast!! Even though I do not work until 5:00pm everyday the short amount of time between getting off work and picking up my hubby from work is usually filled with a shower (which is a necessity after cleaning houses all day) or breathing or eating. It really is so crazy how quickly time disappears!

Oh Oh Oh...but even in the hard boy is my God ever faithful. He has just been so incredible faithful each day and each week and each situation to provide exactly what we need!

I cannot believe that we get to live out our calling in a wonderful community with a wonderful church and near our families!! We get to keep in touch with so many of the ones we love and miss and we get to build new relationships and we are believing that we will not have to leave these!! We get to put down roots and see where God takes us here! We get to serve a loving and faithful and caring God who goes before us and stand beside us and even covers our backs! Love love love my God! Love love love serving Him and loving His people!

Life these days...He is Faithful

Life these days is filled with peace and contentment.

Both hubby and I are enjoying our jobs and we are thankful that God has been so faithful to provide us with jobs that we really enjoy. 

We have also been having such a Wonderful time getting to know everyone at church and we love that we do not feel new. We feel like we have always been here. We love our kids and youth and the adults here. We love our bible study groups and the time that we get to pour out and be pour into.

It is quite an amazing feeling to be exactly where God wants us and to know that He has come before us to prepare the way, there is simply no other reason that this transition has been so smooth.  

There is so much that we have to look forward to and I cannot wait to see what else God has prepared for us.

God has already been so faithful. God has always been so faithful. God will forever be faithful!

Last Day....Blown Away

There are moments in life that you know will always stay with you...today was one of those.

Today was our last day at Praise Assembly. This was our first church home away from home, our first Children's Pastor job, our first family away from family.

This journey here at Praise has been amazing. We felt like it was home from the first time we came. We were loved on and pulled in from the beginning. 

Since coming on as staff we have truly been so blessed and supported and loved. It's truly unbelievable what God has given us and done in us and allowed us to give in the two years we have pastored here. 

Words are so limiting in this moment.

We have truly made life long friends and have opened our hearts up completely to be used and poured out and I believe that God really was able to use us to minister, touch and love the kids, youth, and families here.

What an unbelievable confirmation that God is faithful and truly has a plan for our lives to impact His kingdom!!

I am so blessed beyond words! I am so blown away!

Blown away by the loved we received today. Blow away by the support we received today/ Blown away by the hugs, gifts, words, and true blessings from today! (Just so that I never forget: Locket from Stacy & my Girls Only class, Card from all my kids, Pictures from the Harper girls, necklace from Kiana, and many hugs and prayers and sweet words of love and encouragement from so many)

Just deeply blown away!

Jesus, my heart is so thankful and so very full. Thank you for allowing us to love your children, young and old, and for allowing us to minister. Thank you for providing for us and loving us and for giving us Your Wisdom and love to give out! Thank You Jesus mostly for changing our hearts so that we can indeed make a difference in the lives of others because we are changed from the inside out by your incredible love! I have no words that can do justice to the gratefulness of your love, forgiveness and salvation. 

You, Jesus are the reason that we can love and teach and impact and minister to your people. 

Lord, I ask that in this new chapter that you would be glorified in all that we do. I ask you to give us Your Wisdom and Spirit to guide us to love your children and people and to make an impact in your kingdom! We need YOU Jesus! We thank YOU Jesus! We trust YOU Jesus!

In Jesus name, Amen. 

Christmas Eve 2014

Well it is Christmas and to be honest it doesn't really feel like Christmas this year.

I miss our family and I miss traditions and getting to be together. Christmas is so different without family.

I am so very thankful that this will be the last year that we have to be so far away from our families for the holidays.

I look forward to the stress of balancing families in comparison to not have any family here to balance and spend time with.

Lord give us Your wisdom in the future as to how to best balance our families and this Christmas would you be close to us as we miss our families and spend this one last Christmas without them.

Today is Christmas Eve...

Marshall will work from 8:45am to 12:15pm today at the bank and I will be home packing.
Later when it gets dark we will go get hot chocolate and coffee and go look at the Christmas lights.
We will miss our families.

Christmas Day, we will sleep in, open a couple gifts and then go eat at Waffle House (it was what we did for Christmas our first year here) and go watch a movie together.
We will miss our families.

But there is so much hope and joy in our hearts. We are so encouraged that we get to go back home, I know that with God we can do all things but we miss our families so much and I don't know if we could have gone another year without being close to them.

It makes my heart so sad to think about all that we've already missed but my heart is so happy that we don't have to miss anymore and that our families have been so supportive of us following God here so far away.

God has been so very faithful. So very very faithful!! Even in the moments that we were so lonely and sad and missed our families so much it was hard to breathe, God was right there with us and was our strength!

He didn't let us ever skip a beat and for that I am thankful. I don't feel like our lives were debilitated by it like they could have been. And that alone is because of God and his great love and care for us.

What a wonderful God we serve, and Oh How He Loves Us!

So on this last Christmas that we are so far away from our family and home I focus on Jesus like I won't have the luxury when we get home and we have the additional stress of balancing families.

I focus on what our Savior did in coming as a humble baby instead of a ruling king. He related to us and he came for us...for me. And there truly is no greater gift that I will ever receive than that. In all my years of living nothing will ever top that!

Thank you Jesus. Thank you for coming as Immanuel - God WITH us!

I love you Jesus! Happy Birthday!

Happenings during transition

It seems that life just keeps moving full steam ahead and I find my self waffling back and forth between being ready to go and fighting for more time with those we love.

There are moments that I just cannot wait to get back home to Alabama and begin getting to know our new community and church family as well as get to spend time with our families.

And then there are moments that I am with those here that I love and I want time to move slower.

Oh change you are a funny thing!

Our days are so busy with work, visiting, planning and packing and of course the unexpected things such as our car sliding off the road due to ice and snow, Tater getting sick and needing to go to the vet, and now Marshall being sick.

I feel as though I am caught in the middle of a wind storm and things are just flying to and fro.

Yet underneath it all there is still this Incredible and Indescribable peace that truly does surpass all understanding.

And God has been so very Faithful. He has provided friend to help in moments of need and low fees for the tow truck and vet bill and time that comes out of nowhere to get necessary things done and time together with loved ones that we will miss. He has provided strength and calmness and a house to live in and possible jobs in our new home. He has provided encouragement at just the right time and in just the right way. Thank you Lord for your GREAT Faithfulness and love for us!

Next week is Christmas and honestly it doesn't really feel like Christmas and I have forgotten that it is Christmas several times. But this year more than ever it is not all about decorations and gifts, but just about how incredible our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is and how much we love Him because He first loved us.

I don't even mind that it doesn't "feel" like Christmas. I am content to be in the moment we are in and to be learning and experiencing this new transitioning time in our lives.

Thank You Lord for this time, help us to learn all that we can from it. We love you and trust you and we thank you for taking such incredible care of us and for letting us love your people. Thank you for leading and guiding us always and for loving us so that we can love you and others.

In Jesus name.
Amen.

Christmas in Transition

Christmas this year isn't all decorations and lights and presents under the tree...no, this year we are in the middle of a very difficult but exciting transition and therefore will not have our decorations out and will not be spending a ton of money on gifts.

We are in the process of moving back home to Alabama which means that this will be our last Christmas far away from our families. This will be the last Christmas that we will be alone on the holidays missing out on all the togetherness of the Christmas season.

My heart aches in so many ways...I ache to miss yet another Christmas with our family, I ache that we are saying goodbye to people that we have fallen so in love with so that we get to be back with our family, and I ache because change is just hard.

However, there is JOY. Joy that my Lord sees exactly where we are and what we are facing and none of it surprises Him, He has been preparing us for this transition and He has been with us in the lonely moments all these years away from our families. There is Joy in this last simple Christmas when we are not juggling schedules to get to everyone's house for Christmas, Joy in the sweet moments that are closing in too fast with those that we will be leaving shortly. Joy in the sharing of memories that have been shared and made together. Joy in the faith that is being built up within our hearts - which I feel like is that best gift that I can receive this season. Joy in seeing God move and work and put pieces into place that we never could have expected. Joy in the new things ahead and the future that God is writing for us. Joy in the familiar that we are still in. Joy in the sweet faces of the kids that we love, Joy in the beautiful faces of the teenagers that we love, Joy in the friendships that have been built and will last for a lifetime. Joy in the hard work to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Yes there is Joy.

I am sad to let go and excited for what is ahead. 

I am excited to stand in faith that my God is putting all the pieces of His promises in place and to see the beautiful story that He is writing for us. 

God is faithful and always has been. I love to see the way He works, it is truly incredible.

So this Christmas of 2013 is a Christmas of Transition and it is hard, sad, joyful and exciting. 

Thank YOU Jesus for who you are and for the ways that YOU work in our lives. Thank you Father for your promises and faithfulness and for Your will which is multi-faceted and covers us, those we are leaving and those we are moving to. I can't wait to see the beautiful story unfold.

I am thankful for the baby Jesus during this Christmas in Transition.

Being blown away by the winds of change

Once again the winds are shifting in our lives.

We have spent a year praying for God to reveal His will for our lives so that we can begin to put down roots and begin thinking about the possibility of starting a family (terrifying thought for me).

Since aproximately one year after we moved to Springfield, Missouri to attend Central Bible Collage we have wondered what God's plan for our lives would be.

We were certain that we would move back to Alabama after graduating, that is until we were offered a job as Children's Pastors at our church in Springfield in December of 2011, a little over a year after we moved here. 

We prayed and felt the Lord leading us to take the job and that He would lead us.

At that point we had no idea what our future would hold. Would we stay in Springfield or would we move back to Alabama after we graduated with our degrees?

That is why we begain to fervently pray for God's will in January 2013. We want nothing more that to be in God's will always and we just needed to know what that was before we began making big life decisions (buying a house, starting a family).

The first half of 2013 I think was very hard for my husband as he was missing home and family so much. It hurt to see him hurt so much and want to be with family so much. Then after camp the tides shifted and I began to struggle and miss home and family so much. It was at that time that I began to pray that if our strong desire to be closer to family was not God's will that He would take it away from us. However the desires only grew stronger and I began to struggle even more.

I could not understand what God was doing or see how things were going to work out.

Then a few weeks ago we got a call from a pastor in Alabama and all of a sudden our world shifted. As this pastor began to talk and share his heart for children's ministry, pieces of the puzzle of our lives began immediately to shift into place. He would speak words that had come directly from our hearts. It blew us away.

After much prayer and a peace that literally surpasses any understanding...We knew that this was it...God's will...we knew that they would offer us a position (even though they were interviewing another candidate) and we knew that we would accept. It was as easy as breathing. Things just lined up so much and in such a way that it could ONLY be God writing this new chapter.

Since then we still have such a great sense of complete peace but we have begun the hardest transition of our lives.

We have completely fallen in love with our kids here at Praise, with the youth, with the families, and certainly with our friends and this process of saying goodbye and letting them go and trusting them to the Lord completely is most certainly one of the hardest things that we have ever done.

I certainly know exactly why God placed longevity in our hearts...I never want to say goodbye like this again. We have made life long friendships here I have no doubt, but we must let the kids move on to what God has for them.

We understand that even in the hurt that this is God's will and that there is much to learn during this time of transition. 

One thing I have already learned is that God's will is not one dimensional. He has made it very clear to me that this is not only His will for our lives but also for Praise and those we love here. I know without a doubt that we can trust Him with those that we love and that He has a purpose and a plan for all involved.

We are praying for His words and wisdom during this time of transition for us as well as for Praise and for the new church that we will be moving to.

Lord have YOUR way and help us to glorify you in all that we do! In Jesus name. Amen.

Flipped

We have flipped again...

It has been so neat to see the way our marriage has ebbed and flowed as far as household duties.

My husband is so amazing, he has always jumped right in and done whatever needed to be done and taken up slack in areas that I am very weak.  It is no secret that I am not an excellent housekeeper or cook, but I am growing in those skills every year.

Recently while my hubby was out of a job for a short while he took over all of the household duties. He did the laundry, reorganized the house, cooked, and cleaned, the whole nine yards. I have to admit he did it all so much better than me! I loved having him home to take care of things it was truly wonderful.

However, he got bored and was more than ready to go back out into the work force. So we have flipped roles again.

I was truly so inspired by how awesome he did that I feel like I have done a better job at keeping things up this time around.  I strive each week to get all of the household chores caught up before Friday so that I can relax on my off day.

Last night I had dinner on the table when he got home from work and he cleaned up the dishes after dinner.

I just have to say that I know that God blessed me so much with this man of mine. I am so thankful that God shares him with me and that I get to be his wife and he gets to be my husband.  I am constantly blown away by him and he inspires me to work harder and be better than I have ever been.

I am so thankful for our life together and I have to say that I am thankful for the time that we both had before we met to really shape and mold us to be the spouse that the other needs. God is faithful, He is so faithful.

Father I am thankful for you and I am thankful for how you work and how you placed us together to serve in Your Kingdom. I love you Lord. Thank you for Your Great goodness to me! In Jesus name, Amen.

Thankful

One of my favorite things about November is that everyone begins to focus on what they are thankful for. It is such a great practice, thinking of what you are thankful for, and it does something special to your heart and thoughts as you begin to focus on good things instead of the many other things that the world and the prince of this world would like for us to focus on.

Thankful Month has begun.

I find myself overwhelmingly thankful for my Heavenly Father a fresh these days. For when I wander away or become stagnant He never flinches, He simply stands waiting for my return or for me to regain my senses and mostly His love NEVER changes.

As far as people go, humans, it is very difficult to find that our love never changes, I see this about myself clearly. We change with the wind of emotion so easily, we change with our circumstances so easily, we cange with the crowd, we change with the media, we change. It is quite difficult to holdfast, but I do not belive that this is an impossible task. For God asks us to love like He loves. God asks us to follow His example and His lead and I do not believe that He would ask us to do something that is impossible. Hard yes, Impossible no.

God gives us the example and the tools and we have to choose to follow and work. I would like to say that I have made it and have become perfect and loving like God but I would be lying if I said that. It is a lifelong journey to love as He loves.

I want to get better and better everyday and I am terrified at moments of how imperfect I am at it. It is no easy task.

However, God is so FAITHFUL, PATIENT, UNDERSTANDING, AND FORGIVING. He stands READY to help us along, to guide us, and lead us.

I must admit that this is what I am so very thankful for right now. I do not want to give up, I want to continue striving to love as God loves. Unconditionally and selflessly.

So as we move further into the Thankful month and into the Christmas season I want to focus on loving more and loving more like God, more like Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit guiding me.

Here's to thankfulness.
Here's to God's love.
Here's to the journey with God, my Savior, and my Helper at my side.

Thank you Father for your example and for challenging us to continue to strive to be more like You. Thank you for your forgiveness and patience. Thank you for never giving up on me no matter how far I may have wandered or how deep I have dug my heels in to stop. Thank you for Your perfect love for me and for all of your children. Thank you for Your work in my life and in the lives of you children young and old. I love you Father and I am thankful for Your Great Love! In Jesus name. Amen