What a difference 6 weeks makes

So we have gone from planning to pick up and move to being virtually stable. Since our last entry, Kara has found a job @ Lifeway, a private school in Centerton. This is such a blessing; she is in a great Christian environment, the kids can attend with her including Shelby, and her job provides a way for us to build up some savings. With the way the economy is we decided it might be a great time to look for a house to buy. So we did and found a great 4 bedroom home close to where Kara will be teaching. We hope to move in before the end of August. I continue to enjoy working @ Fellowship which is such an incredible place to work.
With all this going on we are asking ourselves why are we being blessed with so much. We truly felt like we had found a church to belong to in Columbia, and a place we could see ourselves living. But we were also not seeing any open doors. Someone told me that sometimes the blessings come as a result of being willing to do whatever God asks us to do. It sure feels like that is the case with us.
So for now we are here, open and ready for how God will use us here. There is nothing wrong with staying here, it is an incredible place to live. Thank you for all of your encouragement, we were blessed by all of it. It's also interesting to hear how many were praying that we wouldn't leave.
Sorry for not updating the blog recently, staying put has been busier than I could have imagined.

Jeff

We're stil here...

What if this journey over the past year was just to see if we were willing to obey God? Only time will tell. The latest is.....that we will not be moving to Columbia this summer. We kept hoping for windows of opportunity to open and while they might have been there we didn't see them.
If we has unplugged ourselves completely with the limited resources we had we would be in need very quickly. Not to say that God wouldn't have provided or that He won't in the future. We just felt a lot of peace about staying here for awhile longer.
I know a lot of people have been praying over us, some even praying that we won't decide to go.
We have felt your prayers and deeply appreciate them. Although we won't be going to Columbia, we will most likely be moving to a new house. Without saying too much, we don't think the current owner will continue to be its owner for very much longer. The house needs some pretty extensive work and we don't know if that will happen. Probably a good time to move on.
Kara still has a desire to go back to teaching and has a great opportunity that would work out great for all the kids.
I have updated our prayer list to reflect the new ones we have. Please continue to lift us up.
We desire to share what God is teaching us through all of this and what staying here provides. We love this area, our church, and our friends so staying here is a blessing.
Thanks again for joining us on our journey, for now the journey doesn't involve a cross country move.
Jeff

WOW

We are back in Arkansas after our extremely busy trip to Columbia. We had a great time getting to meet new friends and visiting with potential churches to get plugged in to. Before our visit, I felt like Columbia was somewhere we could move, now I feel like it was somewhere we should move. I totally saw us living there. It is a beautiful area, with lots of place to hang out. All the neighborhoods where we looked at houses had tree lined streets. Very few places in Rogers, or NWA have much of this. Not that the growth of trees in an area determines where we might move, it just added to the beauty of the place.
Kara had the chance to drop off several resumes with principals and I had the chance to meet with a few cabinet shops. We didn't come back with jobs in place but felt like we had some possibilities. We also checked out apartments and some houses to rent. We didn't rent anything yet, I guess not having jobs might play into this.
We've been real enough to have the conversation of what if we don't find jobs just yet. So as of today we still sit in limbo. We felt deeply called to be a part of a new church that is planting right in the heart of Columbia. I could see myself jumping in and helping get the building ready, if God provides a way to get there I will.
It was a great visit to an area we felt like we could call home without any hesitation. We ask you to pray along with us that God will make it abundantly clear as to the direction we need to go. Do we wait another year and save up more money, or do we go out there totally dependant on God to provide? Our prayer is that we will know something in the next few days to weeks.
Thanks for following along with us!
Jeff

Mixed emotions

"Get ready". That was what I heard after our trip to South Carolina last year. I wish it had been a loud booming voice that gave me all the details of why and what we might be headed there for. Like I said, it was a peaceful "get ready". Kara will is much better at being in tune with the Spirit that I am (this might be gender related). So her intuition has been a great blessing for me.

It is amazing how fast this year has gone by. We leave Friday for Columbia to spend some time exploring the area. It is very exciting to say the least. We have made some contacts and will be looking for how God is providing for us. I am so excited to make this trip.

I have one huge thing to pray for if you could take the chance to do so today. My boss who was to shoulder some of my responsibilities is not in a place where he can really do it. He has just discovered that he has a weak heart. The stress, heavy work loads, and the pressure of managing our crew, is probably too much to handle. It makes this decision to move on so much crazier for me. Please pray that God would reveal His plan in all of this very soon. He is incredible at providing and I have no doubt that He will.

Thanks for taking this journey with us. In all of it, our hope is that God will receive all of the glory.

Blessing of Prayer

At our church we have a team of people that pray over needs of our staff. This month our team was asked to give them specific requests that they could be praying for us. I submitted requests for someone to replace my position when I leave, and also for clear direction for where and what God is planning for us.

I must say that was an incredible experience. They definitely are in tune with how to pray, and I felt a huge sense of the Holy Spirit in that time of prayer. This past week my boss has had some health issues that have created a lot of questions as to if this is the right time to leave. I remember having similar feelings when discussing when should we start trying to have kids. Sometimes it will never be the right time, but it happens and you find out that God will provide.
My assurance in moving comes from knowing that God is bigger than I can ever make Him out to be. Who am I to doubt that He knows completely what is going on and knows what the future holds? I have an overwhelming trust that God knows what He is doing, He will provide.

Lord, thank you for the people you put into my path today! Their love for you and desire to serve you has blessed me immensely. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Jeff

We visit in 2 weeks

Two weeks from today we will be in Columbia, SC to accomplish a whole lot of tasks. Kara has a teacher's expo on June 1st. We are praying she can get a job on the spot! If we can determine where Kara might teach then we can make a decision on where to look for a place to live. Our plan is to find a place to rent until we are more grounded in the area. Please pray that we can find an incredible home for minimal rent. We will be staying a few nights with one of our contacts in Columbia. Our prayer is that we can gain a lot of knowledge of the culture through them, what a blessing they are to open their home up to virtual strangers. I will try to make some contacts with cabinet shops to try and find employment as well. Please pray that an opportunity is available for me (regardless of the economy). We are so excited about jumping out of our comfort zone and trying to be obedient to God. This will be the biggest test of our faith to date, but we wouldn't want to put our faith in anyone other than our incredible Savior. We don't have enough money to move and not have work right away, but God will provide. We don't know a lot of people in the area (3 or 4), God will provide. We never imagined this will be easy, when is it easy to get out of your comfort zone? Still, we both have been bathed with an overwhelming sense of peace. Praise God!

Jeff

Okay so can I be honest and say that today I was on polar opposites of this leap of faith we have started to take? It started out this morning with the overwhelming thoughts that said "what the heck are you thinking?" In my head I was listing the tons of reasons that we should just stay here and not pursue this burden we feel to move to Columbia. I won't recount all of them because I don't want to start that over again right now. Needless to say I was feeling overwhelmed and full of fear. Not that anyone would have been able to tell, I wasn't pacing around wearing a hole in the floor or sweating profusely in the grips of panic. It was just a mental marathon, something like I was stuck in the middle of a dodge ball fight, and everyone hit me.
Fortunately, God in incredible ways brought about another wave of peace to my restlessness. I love how He can use anything at anytime in anyway to bring about His plan. Today it was in Him reminding me of His promises that He will take care of me. That He has a plan for all the things I am worrying about, so I need to just let go. I am so used to trying to be the answer to all my problems or the problems around me. I can hear it right now, that still small voice saying, "let go, it's not for you to worry about". So I did.
To finish out the opposite polar, shortly after my time of surrender, I was blessed with the excitement of maybe what lies ahead for us. I called someone from Columbia that I have been e-mailing, (trying to establish another contact in the area). Wow did God deliver! I was thrilled to the point of tears at what God is doing in this guy's life. To get a glimpse of what we might soon be a part of. So now I can't wait to get there at the end of this month on our "scouting" journey.
Today I started out unsure of why I am making this crazy move and I end the day pretty excited despite the fact we are making this crazy move. It's in being obedient that I find peace.

Jeff