New!!

Well it's been a little bit since I posted. I want to be more intentional about that this year! I would love to post at least once a week! My original intention was to journal and post about it regularly but my journaling has been so sporadic. While I do still want to post when I journal I also want to just post updates on life and things on my heart! It's been a crazy last 6 months and SO much has changed! So, what have we been up to?

Well in July Terry and I began a new semester of re|engage at More Church as the directors. That was a pretty big undertaking and it kept us very busy right up until the end of the semester in December. We had our celebration night on Dec. 10th and it was incredible to hear from all the couples that went through it!

In October Terry and I started a marriage podcast! We have known we wanted to minister in some way to marriages for a very long time so when the idea for this podcast came into my mind I knew it was something we had to do! We are by no means marriage experts but our podcast is a way for us to share our story and what we've learned over the years together. If you are interested in checking it out you can go to our link tree here and then click on whichever platform you like to listen on.

Our biggest change, however, was our move to Arkansas! That is what I want to mostly talk about here!

If you didn't already know I grew up in Arkansas and this is where Terry and I met and lived for the first 7 years of our marriage. In June of 2014 we made the move to Texas. Our marriage was crumbling as were our finances. We needed a fresh start for our family, our marriage, and our finances and Texas offered that. So for the last 9 1/2 years it has been home. We experienced a lot in Texas and if I tried to write it all down this post might go on for days. The first year was literally just survival mode as we tried to get caught up on bills and fight just to stay together. The next many years after that were a roller coaster. We had some good times and a whole lot of bad times. When I look back over these years I know the only thing that kept our family from falling apart was God. I experienced some of my lowest lows during this time. Battled anxiety and depression heavily during many of these years and at my lowest times I wondered if anyone would even miss me if I was gone. There were a lot of dark dark moments over these years. On the flip side though there were a lot of great moments scattered throughout these years as well. Over the last 2 years there has been such immense growth and healing both personally and in my marriage and I now know that was God preparing us for this next chapter of our lives.

Over the last year or so every time we would come to Arkansas to visit family it was getting harder and harder to leave here. I would daydream about what it would look like to move back. But everytime we would get back home to Texas and we fell back into our routine and knew that that was home. Well this past July we made a trip up and then couldn't shake that feeling even after getting back into our routine. So Terry and I had some discussions about why and what does that mean. We knew the first thing we needed to do was to begin praying. We both felt a shift coming, like something was changing, but was that a move back to Arkansas or was it something else? We had no clue. So we just began praying and asking God to speak to us and tell us what our next right step was, whatever that looked like. During this time we kept coming across the story of Peter and how God called him out of the boat. But he only called Peter out of the boat because Peter asked him to:

25 About three o’clock in the morning[a] Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here![b]”

28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

This was significant to us because we both felt like God was telling us to move which for us looked like stepping out of our comfort boat, but we were unsure if it was God we heard or just our own thoughts telling us this so we asked him, "Lord if it's you, call us out", and he did just that! Time and time again with confirmation after confirmation! And anytime we doubted, he would speak it again.

One of the major confirmations I received was very early on. On August 30th, I wrote in my journal that I needed God to speak clearly to me, I was having so much doubt, feeling like maybe we were supposed to move but not really knowing for sure. At 3 AM I woke up out of a dead sleep and so clearly heard the word "relocate" and immediately after I had the lyrics to the song "More than Able" in my head. The next day I realized the significance of the time I woke up. 3AM was the time that Jesus came walking towards Peter. It may not seem significant to anyone else, but for me, having asked God to speak clearly before I went to sleep that night it was very significant!

To some who aren't close to us the move probably came as a shock and looked like a hasty decision but this move was 100% a God move and something we prayed about for months! This story is still being written though and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little scary. You see, we had very low rent in Texas because we had an amazing landlord. So our expenses here are higher, Terry's income is lower for the first 90 days of his job and I have not yet found a job. As scary as it looks from the outside, I somehow have peace. I'm not quite sure how it plays out and how all our bills get paid but there is a peace knowing that we are where God has placed us and I know he will handle it all! I look forward to sharing updates along the way of how God is working it all out.

Terry started his new job this week and I couldn't be more excited for him but I am also so proud of him for stepping into a whole new industry. I know that is overwhelming and a little scary but he has jumped head first into it. He's never been one to shy away from a challenge and new things and he learns them quickly. I know he is going to flourish immensely there and I can't wait to watch it!!!

We are still looking for a church home. We are trying one out now but haven't felt a definitive yes or no on whether or not that is going to be our home, but we know God will provide there as well!

The kids start school here next week and I am excited to see how they flourish this year!! Our podcast has been on hiatus due to the move and Christmas and New Years but our first episode of the new year is coming this weekend!!

We enjoyed some snow here today which was a rare occurrence in Texas! We are supposed to get more next week as well so we are excited about that!

So that is what is happening in our family!! I can't wait for this season to see all that God is going to do! Follow along for updates!