How God has Provided the past 2 years

I struggle at times feeling that God is with me and that he takes care of me. I know that it is a lie, but I am human, I am a sinful creature, and that is just part of my nature. Something that Jon and I started doing probably about a year ago was to make a God Wall, a How God Provides wall. It has been amazing as I fill it in to see just how God as at work in our lives, even in the small details.

Two weeks after we got married and Moved to Omaha.

When Jon and I moved to Omaha, we had nothing but our clothes, bedding from College, and our Computers. We didn't know how God was going to Provide, but we knew he would, and here is parts of how:

• An apartment to live in
• free couch from kelley
• free love seat from Brittney
• free chair from the Milligan's, my nanny family
• TV stand from Todd and Christy
• Wii from my parents
• TV from Kris & Steve
• DVD player from my parents
• 2 lamps, one a wedding present, one from Kris & Steve
• Clearanced bookshelf
• clearanced ottoman
• $800 table for $167
• My job
• Jon's Job
• My car and that it is still running
• Jon's car; all the money Kris & steve have put in it to help keep it running, and all the work my dad has done to help save us money on small repairs. THANK YOU!!
• Our bikes, from my parents
• 2 nice camera's, One from Kris & steve, one from my parents
• Our dog, Max, from my parents.
• Toaster from Kris & Steve
• That our apartment came with a washer/dryer & dishwasher
• Our bed from Kris & steve
• Free Omaha Royals Tickets (summer '10)
• 2 macbooks
• $ for bills
• $for groceries
• $for loans
• Supportive, loving families
• Chipotle Coupons
• Free Red Mango (Frozen Yogurt)
• $201.65 check from Jon's Gap retirement plan that came when we really needed the money.
• 10/29-11/1 trip to FL to check out a church, but able to see Jon's family while there.
• Free smart phones
• Free hotel stays during christmas time thanks to Kris & Steve
• Gas money after Thanksgiving '10 thanks to my parents
• All of the people who have financially and through prayers supported us through this internship
• Cash gift from 8:08, the college ministry.
• New dress, shirt for me, zippy for Jon from my parents
• Care packages from Kris & steve
• Sewing machine at Christmas '10
• Free/loaned/discounted books :)
• Target REDcard debit, for the 5% saved each time we use it
• Costco membership, for the savings on Gas and daily items such as TP, Cereal, Pasta, Milk, etc.
• Hair Stylest sister for free hair cuts
• All our friends that are now spread out across the world! you all have been a huge impact  and blessing in our lives.
• $ from my grandparents after we got married that we used to be able to have our first small Christmas in '09.
• Our nice canvas wedding photo from Kris & steve
• Flannel sheets from my parents
• cuisenart chopper from my parents
• Snow boots for Jon from Kris & Steve.

That is only part of it. I am sure there is more, but all I know is that I should never doubt if God provides, because from that list, even when it is the small things, I know that God loves me and cares about me and will provide for me.

At our final 8:08; Redneck Night.

The people God gives you in this life

Because of the fact that I am a pastor's kid, and now a pastor's wife, I have moved around a lot. I have friends all over the world and that is very cool, but at times I feel a since of loss at not being able to say I am still best friends with so and so and we were in diapers together. I move to a new place and I feel very lonely for the first couple months, and then I slowly, very slowly, start to let people near me and know me.

Yesterday God reminded me of how blessed I am with the friends that I have in my life. I have a friend from my senior year of high school that with out her coming up to me on the second day of school and asking me to sit with her at lunch, would have had a very lonely senior year in a new school. Then she went to Crown with me and was the first person I told that I knew Jon (my husband) was the one I was going to marry... after two weeks of hanging out! :)

Then I have another friend that I got to talk to yesterday after a long period of business and not being able to catch up. We shared what God has been doing in our lives and how he has been molding us, and then encouraged each other. A friendship that bloomed late at college, but one that will continue to grow as we are in about the same place in ministry, just starting out! It is going to be awesome to see how God uses both of our little families in the future!! :)

But I have so many friends! I could go on and on and on and say the most amazing things about them all. But that would be a book and not a blog... But if you are one of my dear friends, know how much you have blessed my life and Jon's and we are so grateful to call you our friends!

Liberty's Photo Shoot

Grand Junction Dinner/Interview

So the dinner went really well. We are excited to see what happens next. Rob is awesome. We think we could work with him and do ministry along side him, his wife, and his team very well. Got a lot of questions answered which is good. 

One thing that I think is cool is that a while back when I was talking to Jon and saying how i don't know what i want to do with my life or what i want to go back to school for, and saying how i really love kids and want to work with kids, but i don't think i want to teach, Jon said half jokingly, "Why don't we start an orphanage?"
Well I didn't really take him seriously, but it got my curiosity going. Well come to find out, this church has an orphanage in Cambodia and land to build one in Thailand. Now I have been praying that God would make it very clear where he is calling us to go, and i don't know if that is him making it very clear or not, but it could be :).
It was just very exciting. So the next steps will be that the search committee will meet after the 1st of May (soonest because of Easter) and go over the resume's. They have 3 right now, but Rob would like 5-6 to give to his team. He was hoping Roger, the District Superintendent for the Mid-America district (our district) for the Alliance, would hand him about 6, but Roger only gave him Jon's :). But they will go over the Resume's, then do phone interviews and then call out for canidation's. This will all happen pretty fast because their Youth guy is leaving the end of May.

So that is about all we really know right now. It was a really good dinner. Great conversation, and if anything, just a great connection made with a fellow pastor and follower of Christ. But we are excited to see where this leads. Just keep praying for us though, and that we would get it only if it is God's will.

Waking up

Today is a beautiful day to wake up! I woke up at 8:00, shut the air off, and opened my windows! It's a little crazy that it is April 10, and I already had to turn the air on, but I did, and I am not complaining, because yesterday was beautiful, and today is beautiful!

Today is a morning that I feel like I woke up in Florida, mostly because of the humidity, but I love it. I feel like it smells a little bit like FL in my house, because the window's are open :). What a beautiful day God has given us on His day!

This is what I woke up to:
The sky looking a little hazy with all the humidity. The sun just peaking over the building across from me creating this beautiful hazy glow! 72 degrees! My apartment to my self, for Jon had to get up early to go play in the worship band at church, and the smell of clean Laundry coming in my window! It is just a great start to a beautiful sunday. I wish I could take a picture of the way I feel and the way I see the morning, but that would be really hard to get :).

So instead, here is a photo I found that portrays what i feel and where I feel I should be this morning! :)

That is the hazy I feel/see outside, but that is also the place I should be to enjoy such beautiful hazy. :)

Well off to get ready for church... I am so excited to break out the summer twirly skirts! :)

The Start to some Answers

Yesterday Jon and I went in to the district office for our licensing interview. I feel I need to explain this because I found out last night that a lot of the people at 8:08 thought that meant we had a job and we were moving. 

In order to be a pastor in the C&MA, you have to go through this accreditation process. Jon had to fill out this extensive application that took like 6 months to finish. Then once you are done with that you have to read a book and right a paper on it. After that it is the interview with a board of other pastor's in the district. The Omaha district consists of 4 states: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. The district office is located here in Omaha, so that made it easy. During the interview they asked Jon, and at times, me, questions about our lifestyle, our past and what has called us to ministry, and question's about doctrine. After the interview they usually send you out of the room for about 10 minutes discussing the applicant and whether they feel He is fit to be a pastor in the Alliance. Then they will bring them back in and tell them their decision. If you passed and are accepted as a Pastor, they tell you and then you just wait for the official documentation to come in the mail.

Well we did all that, I felt a little embarrassed of my self because when they asked me about my past/what made me who I am, I shared the journey of my senior year and what happened at a church that year and I started crying. I did not think that I would cry during this interview. It was really weird, but I realized that even though I have forgiven the people and have handed it over to God, it doesn't change the fact that I went through that situation with my parents and still carry a big scare with me. But I got over crying and the interview went on and JON PASSED!! So now he is an official Pastor in the Christian and Missionary Alliance. He can now marry you if you would like or perform the ceremony for a funeral.

Officially staff of the Alliance. Logo = Fourfold Gospel: Savior:Cross, Sanctifier:Cup, Healer:Pitcher, & Coming King: Crown

We both walked away feeling very encouraged. That we are taking the correct order of steps to get to where God is taking us next. We meet with Rob on Tuesday about the possibility of becoming the youth pastor for his church in Grand Junction, CO. I feel very positive about it and think that we may finally get some answer's as to where God is leading us next. 

We appreciate your prayers in this crazy phase of life and are grateful to all of you who are a part of our lives!

Forever Reign

This is my favorite song of the moment. It is so powerful and speaks of so many truth's of God. It is my prayer.
Here is a link to the music video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ3KIXadMoY&feature=related
Here are the lyrics:
You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see
You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost it's sting

Oh, I'm running to your arms,
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here
In your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I'm running to your arms
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I'm running to your arms
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

The beauties I spend my day with

Sunshine

So I just downloaded the blogger app and so I thought I would try it out. I am sitting at work enjoying this beautiful day outside with jonathan.
I love being able to sit outside and feel heat in the as fun and not have to wear a coat, it is glorious!

That is all for now. Jon goes in for his licensing interview tomorrow. I will let you know how that goes.

Ready for some Answers!

So I am ready for some answers. I feel like I have been playing this waiting game long enough. I want to know the next adventure Jon and I are going on!

God is really trying my patience I think. More, he is trying to teach me patience, but I am not very patient. I want to start planning the next steps. Looking for a place to live, a job, just getting settled into a new life. I am ready! Yes I will be very sad to leave Omaha. I will cry my eyes out at our last 8:08 and last huddle. I hate change. But I know that our time in Omaha was a 2 year time frame, and that 2 years only has 3 months left. 3 months left and we have no idea where we are going next. GOD I AM READY TO KNOW!

One of our options is Grand Junction, CO. The position would be a Youth Pastor position, which is exciting, but Jon is a little nervous about that as well. He is used to the College age group where you don't have to deal with the parents, and that makes him nervous, but excited to try a different ministry field. But this church is also looking to hire a Children's Director part time. HIRE ME!!! I love children's ministry! I almost changed my major to Children and Family Ministries when I was at Crown, but didn't. How awesome would that be though!? We move to a new place for Jon's job, but I have a job in the church as well right away too! No stress of finding/looking for a job. It would be awesome.

We meet with their Lead Pastor Tuesday, April 12. It will be fun to hopefully get some answers and maybe see if I have a chance of getting hired as the children's director if we pursue this option.

Please keep us in your prayers. I am very ready to finally get some answers and to know the next steps in this adventure that God is taking us on. :)