November News

So it is Sunday afternoon---one of my MOST favorite times of the whole week. And this Sunday afternoon is thankfully no exception. We enjoyed lunch at Fatboys with friends after church, and now Matt and Noah are taking their weekly afternoon daddy-son nap on the couch ... which means I have 2+ hours to myself! So of course I have been catching up on some blogs I like to follow...and making a few phone calls/texts...and just B.R.E.A.T.H.I.N.G. I have been looking forward to THIS particular Sunday afternoon for several weeks now!

So I guess it is finally time that I can add my family news to the blogworld. Only a few of you out there are waiting to hear it, but for those of you who are, this is the official press release:

No, we're not pregnant. (Is that what you thought?)

No, but actually, it is a biggie: in the coming days, Matthew and Noah and I will be moving from our home of 6.5 yrs in Florida to none other than Houston, Texas . Matt has accepted the call to be Youth Pastor at Houston First Church of the Nazarene beginning the first week of January.

Yep, you heard (read) me right. TEXAS. Who would have EVER thought that! So the very short story of it is this: we were asked to come interview about 6 weeks ago, and then even after we interviewed, we have been waiting for several weeks to receive the invitation and accept the call. It has only become finalized this last week. God has been working in the whole situation and ON US the whole time, and we are only doing this because we feel like this is clearly God's leading. We LOVE our current ministry and church folk here in FL and we are broken up about having to say goodbye to people and on this chapter of our lives. This church has been wonderful to us, as well as being the only church Noah has ever known and the only church we'be been at together since we got married. So it is and may always be our HOME church. We are internally excited about the opportunity that is before us and the challenges and blessings it will bring, but more immediately, we are overwhelmed and exhausted from this past week and responsibilities here.

It has been a long, drawn-out week as we've been sharing the news 1st with family, then family-friends, and then friends at church today. Some people who are away for the weekend or had to miss church today still don't know, and news will trickle down to the rest during the next few weeks. We ourselves actually leave tomorrow for Thanksgiving with my family so the timing works out nicely as we feel the need of a brief vacation from the reality of the next month of our lives! When we return, we will be here for 3 full weeks, then spend a week of Christmas with Matt's family, and then the better part of the next week (last week of Dec) will be spent moving. I'm sure it will be a WHIRLWIND soon enough!

We have never questioned whether or not we would "follow God's will" for our lives when we sensed he was revealing a piece of the picture to us, but that doesn't make the realities of a life-relocation much easier to maneuver. For us or for those who will be affected by it. We covet your prayers for our family and for Matt's ministry--current and future--during this time of transition. Pray for us to make wise decisions concerning our future and wisdom and words for conversations that are still taking place on this end. Please pray for friends and church folk here who are taking the news hard.

And in the middle of all this, we are still waiting word on Noah's test results. It has now been 6 weeks. It was supposed to be 4-6 weeks. So my anxiety is trying to creep back in. Good thing I don't have much time for that these days!

Hope every one of you have a wondeful, blessed, GRATITUDE-filled Thanksgiving with family and friends. We are so greatful to our God during this time for His presence and peace in our lives.