To Know and Follow Hard After You
Once upon a time, we were called. I'll never forget moving here, to the beautiful state of Texas. I now understand why people here don't seem to care to leave. As my husband has always said, "Texas is the best country!" Now now, we all know Texas isn't a country; but it almost feels that way based on its size. We've lived here one whopping year and it already feels like home. We are comfortable here. We have been blessed with a wonderful church, filled with loving souls that would do just about anything for you! In this past year, we've become more like family with these people than one can imagine even possible. I can't rave enough about this chapter of our life; but I won't say it was easy.
In fall of last year, my sweet hubby started encountering job difficulties. It eventually lead to him quitting the job we moved here for and taking on a new job where he now works from home. His spirit was a little crushed. We wondered why God even moved us here in the first place if the job we came here for didn't work out. Low and behold, God had much bigger plans. The only thing we could cling to here was Him. We firmly believe we encountered this trial for us to understand even more how much the Lord cares for us and how He provides. He truly is always working for our good. The frustrating part of this life here was and still is the job. We truly expected that my hubby would enjoy working from home. He would no longer have to worry about long commutes and we could focus on the four of us. Y'all, I'm here to tell you though, that a man is suppose to go to work. I have watched him sit in front of a computer now for 6 months in the corner of our room and it's mentally and emotionally exhausting. God created us to be with others. So this new venture drove us to get more involved in church. Now that has been wonderful! Since the spring we have been teaching 3rd and 4th grade and we could not be more happy about it! After a draining week of work, Sundays became the only day we were excited for! We got into routine of stopping off for coffee and once a month donuts for the kids and dove in head first to see just what God needed these kids to know and what God needed to show us through these kids. They have taught us to be more BOLD in our faith and sharing the good news. They have taught us patience. They have showed us kindness. In all seriousness, these kids have been an answer to prayer. My sweet hubby and I sure love our own babies; but to have these bigger kids each Sunday gives us tiny glimpses into what we can only pray our own littles turn out to be like. So if you are reading this and you have a child in our Sunday school class, thank you! Thank you for being an amazing parent! Thank you for teaching your children about Christ and bringing them to church every Sunday. Sometimes I wish our kids' parents could be a fly on the wall just to hear the amazing things that their children say during our class. I could write a book. But now I want to get down to the reason I am writing this post today.
In April of this year, our family started feeling a slight nudge that our chapter was coming to an end here. We weren't sure how or when; but it felt like soon. Have you ever been called to do something and you get yourself as mentally prepared as possible, but when it's time to make the leap you feel stuck? We are in the mud right now. Since April my honey has sent out resumes and in the past few weeks we've been hearing from companies all over. As we have continually prayed through all of this we feel the Lord is calling us to yet another move. If you have kept up with my blogs, you probably assume that I have trouble staying put in one place for too long by now. Well I want to tell you friends, this is truly not me or my hubby making these choices on our own. See, I've prayed for quite some time that our first and foremost passion will always be to know and follow hard after God. I'm here to say that every time I have followed, though not always easy, it turned out wonderfully. Though I'm sure as you read this, one might assume that Houston was not so wonderful if you focused in on the job aspect. That's just it though, things will never turn out perfectly; but it's all in how you look at your situation. The job here went horribly, but every other aspect of our life flourished! The Lord used this chapter to show us a life we did not know existed! We have prioritized better and now it seems as we are all on the same page! We've made memories here, relationships, and grown closer to God! It's been the four of us here without any family close by; but God has shown us family through a body of believers that have come together and taken us in as their own so graciously! I want to use that in itself to encourage you reader, if you feel alone, you are not! As Christians it is our mission to love and include everyone as Christ did when He walked the earth. I pray that anyone reading this who has yet to surrender his/her life to our Heavenly Father be so encouraged through this little story of mine. I want you to know that the Lord welcomes all with open arms no matter where you come from or what your past looks like. All He asks is that you believe He sent His one and only son to die on the cross to save us from our sin that we maybe covered in grace as we accept His son as our Savior. Friends, this is our mission. My heart is to share the love of Christ. I am deeply saddened that our time in this lovely town is coming to an end. I have enjoyed living here with these people growing in such meaningful friendships that I pray will last this lifetime through heavens gates. I know we aren't called to get comfortable so here I am saying, "Lord, I trust You. Make me uncomfortable. I choose You first. Where you go I'll go. Help us to step out of the mud and follow hard after You."
I hope this encourages you, friend. I hope that no matter what chapter of life you are in, that you are feeling His presence in your life. I pray that when He calls you to move, however that may be, that you step out of the mud and take that leap of faith! We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we take our next leap! I'll be sure to hop back on and give ya'll another "Once upon a time..." but for now I'll leave you with this:
You are loved, you are cherished, and you belong to Him who created you. Surrender. Know Him, and follow hard after Him. Hear His calling and be blessed.
Scripture:
"When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who followed Him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith." Matthew 8:10
"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8
"And calling the crowd with Him to His disciples, he said to the," If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."" Mark 8:34
Song
Pure and Holy Passion
Where Feet May Fail
In fall of last year, my sweet hubby started encountering job difficulties. It eventually lead to him quitting the job we moved here for and taking on a new job where he now works from home. His spirit was a little crushed. We wondered why God even moved us here in the first place if the job we came here for didn't work out. Low and behold, God had much bigger plans. The only thing we could cling to here was Him. We firmly believe we encountered this trial for us to understand even more how much the Lord cares for us and how He provides. He truly is always working for our good. The frustrating part of this life here was and still is the job. We truly expected that my hubby would enjoy working from home. He would no longer have to worry about long commutes and we could focus on the four of us. Y'all, I'm here to tell you though, that a man is suppose to go to work. I have watched him sit in front of a computer now for 6 months in the corner of our room and it's mentally and emotionally exhausting. God created us to be with others. So this new venture drove us to get more involved in church. Now that has been wonderful! Since the spring we have been teaching 3rd and 4th grade and we could not be more happy about it! After a draining week of work, Sundays became the only day we were excited for! We got into routine of stopping off for coffee and once a month donuts for the kids and dove in head first to see just what God needed these kids to know and what God needed to show us through these kids. They have taught us to be more BOLD in our faith and sharing the good news. They have taught us patience. They have showed us kindness. In all seriousness, these kids have been an answer to prayer. My sweet hubby and I sure love our own babies; but to have these bigger kids each Sunday gives us tiny glimpses into what we can only pray our own littles turn out to be like. So if you are reading this and you have a child in our Sunday school class, thank you! Thank you for being an amazing parent! Thank you for teaching your children about Christ and bringing them to church every Sunday. Sometimes I wish our kids' parents could be a fly on the wall just to hear the amazing things that their children say during our class. I could write a book. But now I want to get down to the reason I am writing this post today.
In April of this year, our family started feeling a slight nudge that our chapter was coming to an end here. We weren't sure how or when; but it felt like soon. Have you ever been called to do something and you get yourself as mentally prepared as possible, but when it's time to make the leap you feel stuck? We are in the mud right now. Since April my honey has sent out resumes and in the past few weeks we've been hearing from companies all over. As we have continually prayed through all of this we feel the Lord is calling us to yet another move. If you have kept up with my blogs, you probably assume that I have trouble staying put in one place for too long by now. Well I want to tell you friends, this is truly not me or my hubby making these choices on our own. See, I've prayed for quite some time that our first and foremost passion will always be to know and follow hard after God. I'm here to say that every time I have followed, though not always easy, it turned out wonderfully. Though I'm sure as you read this, one might assume that Houston was not so wonderful if you focused in on the job aspect. That's just it though, things will never turn out perfectly; but it's all in how you look at your situation. The job here went horribly, but every other aspect of our life flourished! The Lord used this chapter to show us a life we did not know existed! We have prioritized better and now it seems as we are all on the same page! We've made memories here, relationships, and grown closer to God! It's been the four of us here without any family close by; but God has shown us family through a body of believers that have come together and taken us in as their own so graciously! I want to use that in itself to encourage you reader, if you feel alone, you are not! As Christians it is our mission to love and include everyone as Christ did when He walked the earth. I pray that anyone reading this who has yet to surrender his/her life to our Heavenly Father be so encouraged through this little story of mine. I want you to know that the Lord welcomes all with open arms no matter where you come from or what your past looks like. All He asks is that you believe He sent His one and only son to die on the cross to save us from our sin that we maybe covered in grace as we accept His son as our Savior. Friends, this is our mission. My heart is to share the love of Christ. I am deeply saddened that our time in this lovely town is coming to an end. I have enjoyed living here with these people growing in such meaningful friendships that I pray will last this lifetime through heavens gates. I know we aren't called to get comfortable so here I am saying, "Lord, I trust You. Make me uncomfortable. I choose You first. Where you go I'll go. Help us to step out of the mud and follow hard after You."
I hope this encourages you, friend. I hope that no matter what chapter of life you are in, that you are feeling His presence in your life. I pray that when He calls you to move, however that may be, that you step out of the mud and take that leap of faith! We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we take our next leap! I'll be sure to hop back on and give ya'll another "Once upon a time..." but for now I'll leave you with this:
You are loved, you are cherished, and you belong to Him who created you. Surrender. Know Him, and follow hard after Him. Hear His calling and be blessed.
Scripture:
"When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who followed Him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith." Matthew 8:10
"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8
"And calling the crowd with Him to His disciples, he said to the," If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."" Mark 8:34
Song
Pure and Holy Passion
Where Feet May Fail
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