The latest.

Have you ever felt like you had to do something even though you're not sure you want to? That seems to be my first response when people ask me why we are moving to Columbia. Above all else it is a feeling that if we don't go we will be in direct disobedience to God. I don't want to be in that place. As it is I spend too much time trying to control anything and everything.

I am resigned to the fact that we won't know what God has in store for us until we move. God's timing is also at play. If we had tried to move last year at this time we would be carrying a bunch of debt along with us. Today we no longer have credit card debt, we own our cars, and what's left is manageable. How freeing is that.

We are planning to visit Columbia at the end of May. We will try to find a place to live, visit a few churches, and scope out the city. We are planning on having Kara's parents keep the kids so we don't have to entertain them while we are there. My hope is that during this visit before we move out there we will get a glimpse of what lays ahead of us. Please keep us in your prayers. We hope to establish some contacts and get a little more grounded about where we are moving to.

Jeff

Sweet time!

Today I had the sweet opportunity to pray with Kara away from all the distractions that surround us. Kensley was in school, Samuel at his pre-school, and Shelby was at mother's day out. So we snuck away to just sit and pray. We try to pray together at night before bed, unfortunately its probably no more than 2 or 3 times a week. With all the decisions and planning and hoping for jobs, I just wanted to get a break with Kara.
We went out by Beaver lake and sat at a picnic table and just opened our hearts to God. We didn't have an agenda other than to spend time with our Creator. Some tears were shed as we laid our concerns at His feet but overall it was very peaceful. We have so much to be thankful for and I am sure we could have spent days just praising God for everything that we have been blessed with.
My intention was to surrender my will to what He is orchestrating for us. Too often I want to drive where He is leading me, to rush ahead of Him. I wonder how many times I have messed up what He has in store for me in my lack of patience.
We walked away from this knowing we need to take more time to do this together. It was great to connect with Kara in prayer like this. We feel like we are on the same page with what God is teaching us and how He is moving in us. This was just another step in growing closer to Him together.
As we drove away we got to see 3 young deer crossing the road in front of us. I felt like it was a blessing from our awesome God!
Jeff

Here's the latest

Kara had a phone interview with a school district around Columbia on Saturday. This is another step forward in getting a job there. She is still waiting for second set of fingerprints to be run and approved. Apparently the first set was "smudged" so she had to get another set done and sent off. No one said getting to Columbia was going to be easy. I am so proud of how she is pursuing this, she is really excited at the prospect of teaching again. Our big prayer is that she will be able to secure a job before we go and find a place to live at the end of May.
I still have no definite prospects but I am confident the God already has something in store for me. It is weird having a profound sense of peace and being scared to death at the same time. My prayers are clear direction as to which career path to follow. Thanks for following us in our journey. We are so thankful to have friends that are behind us in our adventure!
Jeff

Assurance

I am going thru a mentoring study with a friend of mine at work and the lesson for this week really hit home for me. The topic was about assurance of our salvation. That as believers in who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us we have peace about our future. I don't have to waste time worrying about where I will end up. How great is that?
The lesson brought to memory when I first accepted Christ. Dramatic is mild way to describe my experience. I was at a Methodist church camp at the age of 15. Long story short, I was growing throughout the week in my understanding of who this Jesus guy is, and what He did for me. On the final night of teaching and worship we were all led to this small island on the lake at this camp. We circled up on this island, each with our own candle. The night was fairly mild but for some reason there was fog on the surface of the water, maybe 2 or 3 feet high. As we sang worship songs on the island you felt a hush come in a wave over everyone as we noticed something coming to us in the water.
As it got closer, or actually as he got closer, it was obvious who he was. Then he started talking to us. I stood with tears streaming down my face. The person was dressed in a long white robe and looked like what I would imagine Jesus to look like. He had to be in a boat, but with the fog is looked as if he had walked up to us on the water. I can't tell you a word of what he said, but I had a profound understanding of what God did for us in His Son that night. There was no doubt that I needed to surrender myself to Him. I am so glad I did!
Jeff

Moving bid

So how money does it cost to pick your family up, move them across country and re-establish some sort of order. My first rough guess is somewhere between $18,459.23 to $210,365.05. If anyone has that laying around and isn't using it or for that matter want it back we would gladly take it off your hands. Okay so maybe that might be exaggerating a little.
Regardless we are in the stockpiling phase of moving. We had a garage sale last weekend and have a great start on our relocation fund. It is interesting to find what things you are willing to get rid of them so you don't have to move them. For instance, we have a beautiful entertainment center that I built a few years ago. If I can sell it, then I don't have to move it. It weighs a bunch, and who knows who will be on the other end of the trip to unload it. Anyone need a really nice entertainment center? When we went thru the kitchen for garage sale items we found 3 or 4 dip bowls. I can't remember ever using them so why keep them. I saw a trick where you turn you hangers around on clothes in your closet and only hand them the right way when you wear it. Thus indicating if it deserves to be in your closet. So far I have turned 6 things around. Needless to say we have so much that we just don't need.
After the garage sale I have been thinking of what we can do to use this stuff to bless others. I welcome any suggestions. I know there are so many in need and that even the smallest stuff could bless someone else. Who will I run across that just needs a few clothes for their kids, or who will I meet that doesn't have kitchen stuff because of a fire? Besides making the money from the sale and knowing it will go a long way in getting us to South Carolina, it was just nice to get some of the extra stuff out. It begs the question what stuff do I really need.
Jeff

Could you give me a tissue please?

I have known for quite some time that it doesn't take much for a sense of who God is to move me to tears. It can be listening to a christian song on the radio, deep thought during a quiet time or more often during a worship service. Today was no exception.
Our church service was very powerful and had me in tears about the whole time. We were asked to come in quietly and the lights were very dim setting the stage for a very reflective service of Jesus Christ and all He did for us. It is hard to describe what exactly goes on in my heart when the tears start rolling but I want to try and explain. Now I wished I had asked the guy sitting next to me for a Kleenex, he seemed to be in the same place that I am. Then I could ask him what is going on in his heart too. Anyway back to my description.
It starts with a profound realization that what I am hearing or seeing is the work of God. Not like something good that one can do for another, beyond that. Like looking at someone and just knowing that Jesus is at the core of who they are. That regardless of their circumstances they are going to turn it into praise to their creator. After I sense that God is at work my heart starts to expand, today to the point that it hurt. I was so in awe of what Jesus was willing to do for me that my heart felt like it would explode if I didn't just start crying.
This tearing up thing has been going on in me for quite a while. So I am my own expert as to what is going on inside me. Once I can get past the embarrassment that I am crying again, I get to a point of peace. Peace that says you were worth what God was willing to sacrifice kind of peace. Unfortunately, sometimes I squash the moment because of my selfish pride. Missing out on what God was showing me seems to be punishment enough for my lack of obedience.
Beyond the peace of the experience is understanding. What it is, I am not sure of all the time, it's just knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that God is all around me. Other times when I am in tune its getting more of a knowledge of who God is. Or who Jesus is, or what the Holy Spirit is doing. And if I can get past myself and just sit in Their presence...oh my what a place to be.
I am not an outwardly emotional person, and not very charismatic in my response to worship. Today, even though I remained seated, I was standing in my chair arms wide open praising Jesus at the top of my lungs. But I sense that day is coming!
Jeff

Random thoughts

What is it that we will be doing in Columbia, SC? I wish I knew. Kara has had the burden put on her heart to go back into teaching. That is definitely the work of the Holy Spirit, she had no desire of ever going back to teaching. If she gets a job that will relieve a lot of stress for me finding a great paying job. Not that I don't want one, but it helps to not be the only bread winner. She has applied with several districts around Columbia and is jumping thru all the hurdles to get her license in SC. Its neat to see her pursue this, she really is being very obedient in doing what she feels led to do. I have made some great contacts, not any that will provide a job but who knows. Its hard to know what type of employment to go for. I have had such a variety of jobs over the years. My resume is interesting to say the least. I have complete confidence that God has something great already in place for me. I wish I knew what I will be doing right now but I don't so I will continue to look and apply for jobs that I could possibly do. Besides employment we both wonder what kind of ministry we will be involved with. We feel like God is moving us to Columbia for a ministry of some sort. Again we don't know what that is, but we are open to whatever He wants us to do.
Jeff