Update

It has been a while since I wrote. I have lots to write about. God is peeling back more layers of my heart exposing some hard things. I have never been a person who has a hard time being transparent. If my sin struggles can in any way encourage another in their walk with the Lord then Praise God!!! I want to share more of this as I wrap my head around it all but for now just a little update on life.
We are the busiest that we have been in years and it is the good kind of busy. Investing in people. More and more we feel that God has strengthened our calling to this area. However, the first of the month, John's contract work slowed drastically. As a result he has been sending out resumes and interviewing for more work. There is a chance that we may have to leave this area for a while. This has really bummed us out. We both have had the conversation with God asking WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? Seeing that John was getting more discouraged by the weeks I called in backup. As a wife, there is only so much I can do to not exasperate the situation. He is a man who is struggling with so many things - and one of them is providing for us. He needed another man to step in and encourage. (Ladies I learned this from Love and Respect - great book). So I called JK and he came for the weekend. Most of you know JK - he lead both me and John to the Lord and discipled John for several years. Having him here was wonderful. He helped both of us with perspective which was huge. One of the biggest concepts we got this weekend regarding ministry here is that often in the Bible God calls someone or reveals his will to someone and it does not come to pass for some time. There is Abraham having Issac, Jospeh's dream about his brothers bowing to him, David becoming King. So this potential short term move (basically until the recession picks up) is not so much us hearing God wrong as it is timing. This was huge for us!!!! Please join us in prayer that God would provide John with more work quickly. Pray specifically that it would be a remote job that he could travel to rather than us having to move.
Back to the good stuff. This weekend while JK was here we had a cookout at our house with a few of the couples that we are investing in. It was great. It never ceases to amaze me how my worlds collide. One of the girls went to high school with one of my best friends Nikki Parmer in Athens Alabama. She and her husband went to Calhoun Community College with Brian Steadman and the husband played baseball with him. It was so fun and created even more common ground. I must say that for me specifically finding common ground is really really hard.
We are HEAVY into baseball these days. I must admit I have struggled with a good attitude toward this. Baseball is what people live for in this town. But John coaching has opened tons of doors for relationships here. Last night The Storm (Jake's team) won their first game. It was so fun. It was also the first night at the park that I felt a small sense of belonging. People stuck around and we hung out. I met several other women and was just able to chat. This has been hard for me because John knows everyone. Small town people are tight knit and once you get in it is good but until then it is hard breaking though the weave that is their community.
My cousin's wife ask me about a month ago if I would be willing to lead a Bible Study with her and a few girls. So we met for the first time last week and it was great. These girls are sooo hungry to know God. This is really fun for me and it gives me a chance to opereate in my giftings. I love to teach and discuss the things of God but I would rather you shoot a nail in my foot than chit chat and build relationships starting at the surface level.
The boys are thriving here. I send them out to play for about 1 hour at a time. They love being able to run free, to climb and explore. I am not sure if we will ever be able to "citify" Brady again. We have been potty training and at home he just drops his pants outside to pee whereever he is. Well he seems to think that is ok to do everywhere else. So several times we have had to run and cover him - in a restuarant parking lot, home plate on the baseball field, church parking lot and so on.
So that is a bit of an update. We have never felt that we were doing God's will for our lives so strongly as we do right now. It is not comfortable but it is wonderful. Back in the fall as God begin to show me what he was doing he gave me Ps 16:11. At any time I struggle with being here or wanting to be somewhere else he reminds me that He makes known to me the path of life and that in his presences is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. It does not matter where I am. My joy will come from whose I am - this is where my identity and belonging must rest for me to ever find true contentment.
Again please pray for John to find a job. More soon!!!