Ready for a New Year

Hard to believe that another year has gone by. I wanted to take a moment and jot down some of the things from is year. Mainly so when I look back I can see the good and bad and how we have survived it all. This year has bee a year of change, challenges and loss. We started our year in OK and are now ending are year in NC. God was leading us to a new place. In most moves it is not clear to us why, but the longer we are in a place the more I can see how God is working. We sold our house in OK, even in a bad market we were able to walk away we a decent offer. We purchased a home 3 miles from the beach. So pretty much every day I get to see one of Gods most beautiful creations. I have to say when I am on that beach I feel so close to Him. I have a deeper understanding of just How great He is. My oldest brother lost his fight with brian cancer. This was the most heart breaking time of the year but realize now that with our move to NC it allowed us to be closer to the rest of my family and this has been good as we all work through this loss. Katie and Bree both started a new school and have adjusted well. They are making friends and LOVE being close to the beach and Nana and Papaw. We have found a new church home. Making new friends and getting involved. Even though this year has been full of new adventures, loss and challenges everything we have gone through has been to build our character in some way. There is a saying I heard the other day that I like " God won't save you from what He can perfect you through" so just know that when trails come you way God is using this In a big way to help perfect you. As the new year starts tomorrow take this verse to heart: " for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and to not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 Happy New Year!

Blessing 21: Light at the End of the Tunnel

As some of you know, my work life has been more than crazy. The project that the team I am on has been working on is finally coming to an end. The past two months have been beyond stressful, along with everything else on the to do list each day. Also why my thankful list has been missed the past few days. I try to keep my mind focus on being thankful for a job that allows me the comfort of working from home and not on how crazy it has been. As in everything, with prayer and relying on Jesus to get me through each day...He carried me through. I have been able to take a few days off over the holidays which I am thankful for and I am thankful that things are wrapping up and will hopefully get back to normal. I know I am also thankful for a wonderful husband, mom and dad who helped me out tremdously over these past two months. Thank you so much for all that you did and continue to do. Love you!

Blessing 20: Mind that Won't Turn Off

You know that sometimes dreadful thing of your mind not being able to shut off at night when you are trying to go to sleep....well that can be a blessing, at least tonight it was. As my mind wondered over many things, I realized in my thoughts that God was speaking to me about something....reminding me of the importance of putting Him first no matter how crazy busy life can be. If you are anything like me, I can always find a reason or something that seems to interfer with my time with him. Tonight He wrestled with my mind....I am thankful for that Lord. You know my heart and where I struggle. Thank you for your never failing me and always being the faithful one.

Blessing 19: Birth of Jesus

Luke 2:1-14
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

I hope during all the December chaos that you found time to stop and think, to meditate, to see the blessing in how the world changed the day Jesus Christ was born. Think about it, God, the creator of heavens and earth of all things around us wanted a way to reconcile us with Him. To close the gap that sin had put between us and God. He sent Jesus to take on our sin so that we could chose to have an eternal life with Him.

My prayer is that if you really don't know and understand the reason Jesus was sent to this earth, why he was born, why he was crucified, why he was raised for the dead, that you will seek answers to those questions so that Jesus my speak to your heart. Because you can't really rejoice and be joyful of this season if you don't understand the reason!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Blessing 18: Ah Ha Moments

Have you ever had a moment when something hits you and your basically say "ah ha".  I had one of those moments today. A true understanding and blessing from God at church. We have been studying the life of Jesus, to better understand Him so we can improve our friendship with Him. Today we were finishing up a discussion on Peter, Jesus' "main" disciple. We were talking about what must have been going through Peter's mind when he was denying Christ and when he realized that Jesus' prophecy of Peter denying him three times before the rooster crows comes true.

We talked about how alone Peter must have felt at that time, Jesus was taken away from him about to be crucified and when he denied Christ I believe he was scared and unsure of what to do. He had never been on his own, he always had either other fishermen with him or Jesus. He was without his friend. Because Jesus was not there with him, Peter made the wrong choice. Just like we do when we don't keep ourself close to Jesus. He can't guide us in our daily lives if we are not letting Him. Also, this was a pivotal point in Peter's life, if he didn't deny Christ three times he wouldn't have been molded into the bold speaker he came to be in Acts chapter 2. Jesus told him he would be fisher of men.....in Acts over 3,000 people became saved because of what Peter stood up and said on the day of Pentecost.

To some, this may not sound like a "ah ha" moment, but for me it was. I never looked at Peter's journey in this way. I never realized how Christ was molding him to be this bold person, which is really what he is doing for all of us as Christians. We just have to allow it to happen and be willing to follow where it takes us.

Blessing 17: Staying Strong in Faith

This year I have noticed that a few football guys have gotten attention for standing firm in their faith as Christians. One is Tim Tebow who used to play for University of Florida but is now moved on to the pros and UGA head couch Mark Richt. Both of these guys I have admired for how they chose to live out their faith especially in a sport that is centered on anything but that, except for maybe a pray at the beginning of the game.

There have been articles that I have read on both guys and it is always encouraging to me to see stuff like this printed, even it they may get some negative backlash for stating what they believe. It is a good reminder of what we are called to do...to stay strong in are faith and not to waver from that because it may be uncomfortable or not seen as "normal". God's promise to us is that He will never leave or forsake us...and that is just one of the blessing we get for staying strong in faith.

There was an article that has been passed around and when I read it, I thought this is a great explanation as to why Tim Tebow is not ashamed of his faith or giving God the glory every chance he gets. The article was in response to someones comment about how he just needs to tone down the Jesus talk.

Click here to read the article.

You can google articles on Mark Richt and can find in just about any article they will reference his faith and how it the most important thing to him. He just doesn't coach football and try to win games, he his teaching his players how to be leaders, to be honorable and how to live a life that would be pleasing to God.

Blesssing 16: Laundry

I am sure if you are reading this, you might just be curious as to why I put laundry as a blessing. To be honest, I abolutely hate laundry. It is a chore that is never ending around here. I feel that as soon as I get it completed...or at least think I do....the baskets are full again and on and on it goes. I find myself complaining about laundry more than I should. So....I am trying to turn a new leaf and look at laundry in a new light.

So here it goes....and I will do my best to resite these thankful items when I find myself getting unthankful for the chore of laundry. I am thankful and very blessed that we as a family are able to have so many clothes, that make the laundry piles. Thankful for having a washer and dryer in our house so that I don't have to lug my laundry all they way to a laundry mat and then back home. I do get to do my laundry in the comfort of my home. So there are ways to view laundry as not a bad thing. I just pray that there is no laundry in heaven. :)

Do all things without grumbling or questioning. Philippians 2:14

Blessing 15: Church

I love Sundays....a day where we get to go to church to worship and spend time with our Heavenly Father and to learn and hopefully grow in our walk with Him. I won't lie that there on some Sundays that it would be nice to just stay in bed or just be lazy at home, but when I get there and get my heart ready to be with Him I am so thankful I did. Doesn't matter how bad my week may have been or what troubles are going on it all just seems to go away when I am at church, well really any time I stop and just spend time with God. He makes it all better. :)

I am also thankful for friends I have made through the churches we have attended. We are making new friends at our current church, getting involved and it such a blessing to have those connections with other believers.

Blessing 14: Feeling Better

Today is the first day in these week that I have woken up with less back pain then the previous mornings. I didn't' have get up last night and take pain medicine or did I have to put a icy hot patch on my back at all today. Today has been much better and so thankful that my back is getting better and I am able to move around. Lots to do before Christmas and having back pain was not in the plans.

Thank you Lord for answered prayers and for healing in my back. I just pray that my ortho appointment soon will help me understand what caused the pain so I can avoid it in the future.

Blessing 13: Helpful Husband

I am so thankful for a husband who is willing to pick up the slack when I am not 100%. The past couple of night I have taken my "drugs" and have been out by 7pm. He has taken care of the girls both nights and made sure the house was picked after they went to bed. All of this after his very long day of work. Thanks babe for all the extra help these past couple of days. Love you!

Blessing 12: Drugs

The past couple of days I am beyond thankful for good medication. I have somehow hurt my back and have been in some really bad pain. The good doctor gave me muscle relaxers and codeine to help with the pain until they can find out why I am all of the sudden in pain. I have had xrays done and waiting on the results. Hopefully by end of the week I will be able to know what is going on.

Bleassing 11: Wonderful Weather

Today was such a beautiful day. The weather was like a spring day. It was sunny and in the high 60's. After church we spent most of the afternoon outside and even grilled out for dinner. I love that even though it is December we can still wear short sleeves and go without coats on most day.

Blessing 10: The Weekend

So thankful for my weekends and the family time we get to spend together. :)

Blessing 9: My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. I am thankful for the dad he has been and continues to be. Even though at times, I am sure I thought he was ruining my life. :) He is one of the most patient men I know, he is hard working, and always made sure we knew that God come first in our lives. I am lucky to have him and thankful that God has given him so many years with us. Happy Birthday Dad and to many more birthdays!
Love you!

This verse make me think of my dad!
 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Proverbs 17:27

Blessing 8: Bus Stop Pick Ups

Thankful for one of my favorite parts of my day, picking Katie up from the bus stop. Seeing Katie b-bop off the bus and run to the car always makes me smile. She just looks so cute in with her backpack. When she hops in the car it is pretty much non-stop talking for the next 30 minutes as she tells me all about her day. Yesterday she got to pick a piece of candy before she left because she did so good on her work that day. When she got in the car she handed me the piece of candy and said she picked it just for me. It was one of my favorites, Reese's PB cups. Yum! I love my girl and her sweet heart. :)

Blessing 7: Healthy Kids

There is lots of fundraising going on right now for St. Judes and I have seen several post in the last few weeks from friends who either have a child at St. Judes or know of someone who does. As I tucked my healthy little girls into bed  tonight I had to stop and just be thankful that my children are healthy and alive. They don't have to go through what those sweet children go through and as a parent I don't have to go through the unthinkable. My heart truly goes out to all of the parents who are sitting with a child that is struggling with a possible terminal or terminal disease.

Dear Lord, please just bring a peace and comfort to each of these parents that only you can. Give them the reassurance that you are God and you are in control and that if they just lean on your son Jesus, He will carry them through this. I pray for their children who are sick and having to go through the day to day of their illness. Be with them and give them the strength to fight and just place your healing hand on them. In Jesus name. Amen!

So tonight and every night be thankful for you healthy kids....even on the days they drive you crazy.

Blessing 6: Decorating for Christmas

I love Christmas time, the decorations, lights and Christmas tree's. I love being about to decorate and having to very helpful and excited girls to help decorate. Each year the girls gets older it is more fun to have the participate in our family traditions. I am thankful for the time I had with them tonight and fun decoration we got to do.

Blessing 5: Gods Reassurance

I love how God confirms within me that what He has directed me to do is actually what I am suppose to be doing. When I had the idea to list out things I am thankful for, not just for 30 days but for a year, I was hesitant, but it was a thought in my mind that wasn't going away. So I decided to start it but still a little unsure if this is something that was for me or was it something God was wanting me to do to help me have a stronger appreciation for Him. As always, God is faithful to wipe away any doubt.

Today's devotion that I read was titled "Blessed Beyond Measure" It was about how, as women, are lives are so busy with day to day things that we sometimes just forget to stop an thank our Creator for all that He has given to us. When we take the time to stop and thank Him and praise Him we are actually enrich our lives more and those around us. How it is good for us to make list of what we are thankful for so that we realize all that He has blessed us with.

Thank you Lord for your direction in my life and for always being faithful to give me that extra assurance when I need it. Lord, your love for me is beyond any measurement I can express. I pray this list over the next year will open my eyes more to all that you do for me. Amen!

Blessing 4: Safe and Uneventful Travel

Today we traveled back home after the Thanksgiving holiday. Needless to say after the REALLY long trip over due to traffic upon traffic, we were praying for no traffic today. Thankfully the good Lord gave us just that along with two girls who happily played together, watched movies and even both took at nap at the same time. Man, can you ask for more than that!!!!

Thank you Lord for delivering us safely home and for giving us a day of no drama and no traffic. God is good!

Blessing 3: Potato Soup

Tonight I get to have my mom's potato soup. This is not a big thankful item, but sometimes it is the little things we forget to appreciate and this is one of them for me. It is one of my favorite things my mom cooks. I am sitting in her kitchen now as I type this and I smell it cooking on the stove. Yum!!!! Can't wait until it is done and I will have a big bowl. :)

Thank you Lord for a mom who loves to cook and can bless me with her yummy potato soup!

Blessing 2: Being Content

I am thankful that I can be content with where I am in life and what I have in life. Not always needing and wanting more things. Don't get me wrong there are things I want or would like to have but I am thankful that if even I never acquire them I am still happy and beyond blessed.

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me" Philippians 4:11-13.

Counting My Blessings - A Year of Thanks.

I have a had a thought in my head for the past couple of days. I have really been humbled by several things lately. Different situations that I have been exposed to that have really made me stop and think about just how blessed I am in life. I have also been praying and talking with God about somethings I feel He may be starting to work or reveal in my life or really in our life....but I am not ready to share these things yet. Still praying and waiting for God to confirm within both Chris and I that this is what he wants for us to do. So until then....we will wait and trust Him to lead us.

So back to my main thought of being humbled by what I have in my life. We sang an old hymn at church on Sunday where it says "count your many blessing, name them one by one....then you will see all that God has done".  I know I have so many things to be thankful for but sometimes I don't think that I really stop and realize what they are so what I want to do is a Year of Thanks on my blog. I want to list out all of the things I am thankful for between now and next Thanksgiving 2012. I am hoping in by doing so I will truly have a Thankful heart in any situation that may come, good or bad.

Today on Thanksgiving I am going to kick this off.

Blessing 1:

I am thankful for my family, not just Chris, Katie and Bree but for my parents, brother, sister in law and nephew. This is the first Thanksgiving that we have spent with my family in three years. We have been too far away in the past to make it, but this year I am thankful to be here. Spend time with them and just appreciate the time we have with each other. There is an empty space for us all now, where Brad is not with us, but we know that in spirit he was with us today. As we sit to eat and I have dressing on my plate, I smile and think of how much he loved mom's dressing and would always have two or three or four pieces of it. Thankful for memories like that one to help us keep him with us.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with your loved ones!.

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

When Things Fall Apart

So, it has been a few months since I posted here. Starting this year I had better intentions of blogging more on this blog. My last blog was about are upcoming move to NC....well shortly after our move here my world was rocked and so was my faith in God. Today is the first time I have felt like I can sit down and hopefully write this in a way it makes sense. So bare with me....I have lots of thoughts going on in this brain of mine.

It is easy to love God when life is great and I have to say for my 34 years on this earth my life has been great. I haven't really had any major upsets in my life. I have had ups and downs just like anyone, but compared to most my life has been smooth sailing. Up until just a few months ago. When a phone call I received kicked me in the gut and forever change my life and my families life. Granted, in my heart I knew this call was coming but none the less it was a call I wasn't prepared for. As most of you know this was the call from my sister-in-law to let me know that Brad had passed away. I will never forget the sadness in Kim's voice as she told me...honestly I don't really remember much else about that call or that day except I just felt like I was living in dream.

As of that day a journey started for me. One that I now know God has been preparing me to take over the past 34 years of my life. "Sometimes you have to get a different perspective" quote from the movie Soul Surfer. When things are up close and personal you sometimes can't see what is right in front of you.

Over the past 3 months, I have struggled hard with my faith. I felt lost and I couldn't feel God anymore, which really scared me. Here I am going through one of the hardest things ever and God isn't here. I would just sit and stare at my bible...knowing that if I would just read I would find comfort, but nothing came. I would just sit and have no words to pray. Seriously....what in the world is wrong with me. I should just be able to pour my heart out right now and let God be there for me. As I struggled through this back and forth of where is God....

• 
  
  I was able to email some of my friends in OK and tell them of my struggles and ask them to pray for me. I knew that these women I emailed would pray and not just a prayer of " Lord, please be with Jenn today and help her", but a prayer that would surround and comfort me and I knew they would pray not only once for me but continuously. They sent words of encouragement. There was God!


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  I started to read a book a friend wrote and something within that book encouraged me. I wrote her an email and shared some of my thoughts with her. She replied back with pray and encouragement. She said "take time to grieve, everything you are feeling and thinking is normal. God can handle the anger and questions". There was God!


• 
  
  A friend I have had for over 10 years, who I worked with, lost her brother years ago. She has been there to give me encouragement and pray for me through all of this. There was God!


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  The other night I was on the phone with my best friend. We were talking about a situation she has been going through and how it has come to a time to let this dream of hers go. She was sad and upset and questioning so many things. She was grieving the loss of a dream to have another child and I have been grieving the loss of my brother. Even though these are two different things we both have been grieving in our life's, but that night on the phone we were able to talk about so many things and how life just isn't fair and we don't understand the plan that God has for us sometimes. To me it was amazing that at this time in our lives we both were going through heartbreaking events and if it weren't for circumstances that happened almost 13 years ago, her and I probably would not have crossed paths. But we did and now because of that friendship we were able to comfort each other that night on the phone. There was God!

My point of sharing these little stories is that even though I thought I wasn't able to feel or see God during this time, He has been there. We just need a different perspective. Most of my adult life, I have moved a lot with Chris to various states. In every city God has blessed me with lifelong friends. Friends that are now at this point in my life helping to keep me standing, helping me get through the stage in my life. It was not an accident that I met each of these wonderful people, it was God's plan.

Job 2:11: When Job's three friends.....heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.

God has allowed me to build up these wonderful friendships because He knew at this time in my life I would struggle with my faith and I would need encouragement from those who loved me. I would need to see God through them and I am so thankful they help show Him to me. To remind me that even though God my feel absent from my life, He is not. He has always been there for me and will be, even when things fall apart. God is drawing me closer to Him during all of this, even though I struggle to handle all of this on my own. He is trying to show me that I need Him more than I think I do. Sometimes it takes the rug being pulled out from under you to really show you how much we need to lean on Him.

There is a song on the radio called Fall Apart by Josh Wilson. Click here to watch the you tube video of this song. I love to share songs that really help me as my hope is that maybe it will reach someone else. Anyway, the very first lines of this song are :

"Why in the world did I think I could, Only get to know you when live was good, When everything just falls in place, The easiest thing to do is give you praise"When I heard this song, I thought "hello, that has been my life".

I have never had to really depend on God to get me through any major life changing event. I haven't given God the chance to show me and help me understand just how AMAZING His love can be.My prayer through all of this is that I will know God more and I will grow closer to Him more than I have ever been. I don't think I will ever understand why this all happened the way it did. I can tell you I am not even close to the point of acceptance of this yet. But I can tell you that God is okay with that, He understands it better than any of us. I know that He is holding my hand through it all. I do praise Him for all that he has blessed me with and all of my amazing friends and family that been there for me during all of this. You are loved and cherished more than I can ever express.

"The Lord makes firm the steps of those who delight in him; though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord upholds them with his hand" Psalm 37:23-24.

Moving Foward......

Nothing like major life decisions to make you realize just how much we need to depend on God. This past month I have had some heart to heart conversations with God. When life is going along smoothly I seemed to "think" that I don't really need to have those day to day conversations with Him. No doubt the smoothness of live at times is a blessing, but I can say that when times come that our completely out of our control that is when God steps in, if we allow him to, and will use these moments to build us up to be stronger in faith, stronger in character, and a little bit closer to being more like Christ.

I can say over this past month I can see some of those changes. As Chris and I went through the past couple of week trying to decide whether to accept this job in NC or not, we battled so many things. The first and really the most major one was are we doing God's will. We questioned so many things, we couldn't understand why God would want us to leave a place where we were serving him so faithfully, we had great friends, love teaching the youth, love being apart of Upwards, Hug Away and so many other things. The girls have great friends, well I could go on with a long list of reasons why we didn't want to move. Honestly, I was a little anger at God. I just didn't understand why. I didn't and don't want to leave those we have grown to love here, but I know that God has much greater plans for us. He never promised that following His will would be easy, but His promise is that He would never leave us. At the end of last week, God had brought us full circle. We were at peace, we realized that what he was asking of is was an honor, a privilege. He knows that even though Chris and I don't want to leave and that it is breaking our hearts to leave, He knows that we are strong enough. We can handle it. He will be there with us every step of the way and we will pray and seek Him in ever step of this move so that we are walking in His path that He has laid out before us. Joyfully going forward and ready to continue to do His work. I can say that even though it is sad to leave I am so excited about is ahead of us....new church, new friends, new ministries to serve in...the possibilities are endless and I am so thankful for that. So on to a new adventure!!!!

What Are Your Fears?

I started reading a new book called The Forgotten God. We are getting ready to do a bible study that goes with this book with our 11th and 12th grade girls. The book is about how as Christians we seem to have forgotten about the role of the Holy Spirit. I am only a couple of chapters into the book, but I have to say it has brought forth lots of thoughts for me and made me take a good hard look at the role I allow the Holy Spirit to play in my life.

The author reminds us that in John 16:7 that Jesus tells the disciples it is to their advantage that He leaves them and go to be with his Father so that God can send 'the counselor". So if it is to our advantage to have the Holy Spirit within us why do we not push Him aside? Why do we not listen? Why do we not feel the Holy Spirit or allow the Holy Spirit to work in they way He needs to?

These were some of the questions the author asked. At the end of one chapters he challenges us to think of our fears we have about the Holy Spirit, what causes us to keep Him from working in our lives and to write them down. God already knows our fears but he encouraged the readers to write them down and then to pray to God about each of them. Asking God to help us understand and deal with those fears. Remember that when we go to God requesting we have to pray expecting He will answer. We can't go with doubt in our heart. I thought of it this way. Sometimes before Katie ask for something she starts it off with " I know you won't let me do this, but..." I tell her why do you always think I will say no just because I have had to say no in the past. She comes to me with doubt. That is the same thing I do with God. I will bring something before Him, but it is not with an expectation that He will deliver. I need for that to change within me. I have to go to Him with expectations and not doubt.

So with this in mind I go before Him requesting with expectations that He will resolve my fears and will help me to allow the Holy Spirit to have daily presences in my life. Trust me, it is only because I block the Holy Spirit as to why I don't experience the presence of Him more.

I challenge those who my read this that if you feel that the Holy Spirit is not present in your daily life that you make your own list as to what fears you have and take them before God.

Planting Seeds

I started this second blog middle of last year. I can honestly say that I should have posted more blogs than I did. There were so many times that I wanted to write about but fear stopped me. Fear of just putting those private thoughts or feelings out for others to read, fear that what I was trying to say may be interpreted wrong, it could offend or even worse I could misrepresent God to someone. I think the thing I fear the most about speaking up for God is that I am going to do it in the wrong way or at the wrong time. I just don't trust God enough to let him guide me, so that is my goal for this year. To blog more on this site and just let go and let God lead. Because you just never know how God will use your words or actions to plant a seed in someones life.



Perfect example of this was shown to me today. As most of you know Chris and I lived in Asheville NC for what seemed like a blink of an eye, I think it was only six or eight months at the most. For a long time I thought why in the world did God move us there only to turn around and move us to Oklahoma. To me it just seemed like one big mistake, on our part. Chris and I just wanted to get out of MN that I felt he just took a job to take it so I would be happy. Today, I realized God had a much bigger plan for us being there. Three years later Chris and I got a glimpse of what that was. We don't always get to see the results of what our work for God does, but I am so thankful that He allowed us to see this one.



Please click here(you need Quicktime to watch it will ask you to download if you don't have it) and watch this video of Chris' friend Edwin Robling. Chris worked with him in NC. This video made me cry, God spoke straight to my heart and gave me the ultimate reassurance that He is in control and that if we just trust Him, even if we think it seems crazy, He has the plan. Thank you God for continuing to believe in me even when I doubt following your lead.