Well hello there July 2013. What have you done with the last 2+ years?
I just took a journey down memory lane and realized what a blessing it is to look back and see how God has moved in my past and where He has brought me from! The last almost 2 years have been full of tremendous change, seemingly more than I have known how to process or put into words.
For starters, I was on the cuff of one of the most thrilling, inspiring summers of my life when my church world went haywire. I was on this mountain top that all youth ministers get on-- hoping to never come down. The next thing I knew many of the people I loved most were slipping away and my faith was being shaken unlike ever before. A congregation of genuine, passionate, on-fire, Jesus-loving people were in an instant misled. I was misled. By others. By Satan. By me.
Confused.
Hurt.
Defensive.
Combative.
Doubtful.
Broken.
Insecure.
Uncertain.
Oh, we of little faith... If I could have only seen what was to come! Without exposing churchscandal2011... I will just conclude with- God knew what He was up to and He fixed and is still fixing all the dents/bruises/gaps we as a church body left on one another. He ultimately laid a mighty fine foundation in many of us that we have in fact- OVERCOME. He has led us out into the world growing, teaching, sharing, loving, and being a mirror of Christ to people everywhere. My heart is overjoyed at where some of my favorite partners in ministry have gone and explored! Students that we were able to reach and now seeing how STRONG they have remained and are making others. Countries that have been brought the gospel.. children that have been adopted.. doctors that are healing in the name of Jesus.. families that have completely been rocked. God has not for a second forgotten His people.
We may have gone many directions, but we still serve ONE God and are still one body. Amen & Amen.
Over the past 2 years, personally we have been in a state of constant transition and are not settled in quite yet! I am 0.5 of a nurse so far and will finally be a real RN as of next May. The hardest working man I know, my husband, is transitioning into a new job position where he will serve as a Curriculum Specialist at his elementary school. He also just completed his master's in administration this past May! I am literally in awe of him everyday-- He is my inspiration.
I will start a position at the hospital as a nurse extern starting next month, too. So, life- be it ever changing- is pretty awesome. Though these last 2 years have not been at all what we mapped out for our first few years of marriage, they have been strengthening and character producing (I hope). We are eager to finally continue ministry in our new landing spot, expectant of great things!
Ephesians 2:19-22 "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
