Our Big Transition

We have had some major life change going on in the Lowery house! Let me start from the beginning:

We have felt for several months now that the Lord was preparing us to leave First Baptist Fort Smith. We had no idea what that looked like, but we were very prayerful that the Lord would prepare our hearts and to open the doors He wanted open. Back in May, before Evie was born, Daniel got a call from our regional Baptist Association guy (Sorry Jeff I don't know you're real title, LOL) saying he had given Daniel's name to a local pastor (Russ Tyler) who was looking for an Associate Pastor. He met with him over lunch and then didn't hear anything for a while, so we figured that was that. We continued on with our lives, adjusting to being a family of four and continued to pray. 

Fast forward to Labor Day weekend. Daniel got another call from Russ. He wanted to meet for lunch again on the Tuesday after Labor Day. We continued to pray, continued to ask the Lord to open doors He wanted open and to close the ones He didn't want for us. After meeting with him, Daniel called and with awe in his voice, told me that Russ had basically offered him the job--right there on the spot! We were in complete shock to say the least. 

Things progressed pretty quickly from there. Daniel went and had an official interview with the Personnel Team and the Finance Team. After that passed, Daniel had a meeting with the head pastor at FSFBC and informed him of his new job. They were genuinely excited for us in our next step and told Daniel how much they had appreciated having him on staff the last three and a half years. They even asked him to read an official resignation letter to the church to let them know. It was our sincere hope to leave on good terms and I truly believe we did that. Daniel's last day at work was October 20th and on October 23rd, we were officially voted in at First Southern Baptist Church in Central City.

The Lord, in His loving kindness, has allowed us to stay here in Fort Smith! It wasn't His plan to move us far away and for that I am SO grateful. We get to stay here and continue the relationships we started and form new ones at our new church. We can hardly believe it! 

But of course, we can't just do one major life change...we have to do at least two. We are trying to sell our house and move closer to FSBC. Right now it is a 30 minute drive (one way) from our house in Van Buren. We would really like to move into East Fort Smith so we can drastically reduce our drive time. It has been a pain in the rear to get our house ready over these last 2 months, but we finally got it listed last Friday! If you know of anyone looking for a GREAT house in a wonderful neighborhood, send them our way! The sooner we can move the better! 

CHECK OUT OUR HOME HERE

Dreams Do Come True

Now that things have settled down a bit, I finally have time to dish some details on our move back to Arkansas. First of all, let me say, GOD IS GOOD.

This process started about 4 months ago. Around Thanksgiving, we started having contact with FBC in Fort Smith. We actually met face-to-face with Daniel's boss that weekend since we were in town. It was an informal meeting and we knew they had other people they were interviewing and considering for the position, but I think we both walked away from that meeting feeling hopeful and trying not to get too excited. Thinking our timeline to move was after graduation in May, we didn't really anticipate a fast interview process. Suddenly, in mid-January, the Doctor I worked for in Louisville got deathly ill and had to be hospitalized. They honestly didn't think he was going to live through that week. He had a bowel perforation, underwent surgery, went into cardiac arrest as well as sustaining liver and kidney failure. (Thankfully he is on the mend now) Absolutely crazy and scary! Well, being an assistant to him, if he is not working in the office, then they don't have a need for me and therefore I wasn't working either. Daniel and I started freaking out a little bit because we knew that we would not be able to survive and pay bills if I lost my job. We prayed and consulted our families and decided to turn in our 30-day move out notice to our apartment complex. Biggest leap of faith ever! Either God was going to lead us to where He wanted us to serve in ministry within those 30 days, or we were going to move in with family until we figured it out.   

Once we made that decision, Daniel contacted the church and explained our situation to them. They had already told us they wanted us to come down for a weekend to interview and meet some of the staff. They were so kind in working with us and asked if we could come down and stay for the very next week (keep in mind this was like 9:30 on a Thursday night and we would have to leave the next day). Since I wasn't working anyway, I called my office manager to make sure that was ok and she said yes. So we packed up and headed to Arkansas bright and early the next morning! We got to Fort Smith and had a week of meeting staff and people at the church, lunches, dinners, interviews, etc. We even got a chance to drive around and look for a house to rent. It was wonderful! After meeting and interviewing with the Personnel Committee on Wednesday night they called us Thursday morning and informed us it was a unanimous decision and "unofficially" offered him the job of Associate Pastor of Connections. I say unofficially because once it passes with the personnel committee, it's about 99% sure to pass with the deacons and the rest of the church, but it would not be "for sure" official until that happened on February 10th. Knowing our situation with having to be out of our apartment by February 16th, they went ahead and told us so I could turn in my two weeks notice at my job and we put a deposit down on the house we found to rent.

We came back down the weekend of February 10th to interview with the deacons and be voted on by the church and it was a passing vote with 97% yes! We drove back to Louisville, had the pleasure of having a moving company come and pack up our stuff and move us (if you EVER get that opportunity do not pass it up!) and came back to Arkansas for good on February 17th!!

To say it has been a whirlwind would be an understatement. But let me tell you, God's timing is everything! We never could have dreamed up these circumstances but it has been such a blessing! Daniel is settling into his new role and absolutely loving it (I feel like this job was created just for him--it is so perfect!) and he is also finishing school full-time so he can graduate in May! Please be in prayer for us on a few things:

1. For Daniel to keep up with his schoolwork and finish strong. I cannot tell you how wonderful the church has been-- letting him do some of his work while at the office! I am SO proud of him and I know he will continue to do great!
2. For me to find the perfect job in the perfect timing. Another blessing is I am able to draw unemployment due to us moving states for Daniel's job and the fact that I basically lost my previous job because my doctor got sick. This is helping out and taking some of the intense pressure off of me, but I still need to find a job and work so we can save money for the future.
3.For us to settle in to our new ministry and that the Lord would be glorified.

Words cannot express how excited we are to be back in Arkansas! Being closer to our friends and families is so fun and we absolutely are already in love with the community of Fort Smith!

the New J.O.B.

My new J.O.B.

Let's just say God knew what He was doing...as always. I absolutely LOVE it. Aside from all the overwhelming-ness and learning new things, which just comes with new-job territory, it's fabulous.

I work at a clinic called Advanced Foot and Ankle. It consists of two doctors, male and female, who happen to be married...but she goes by a different last name. Weird, I know. I also work under an Office Manager, April, who I instantly clicked with, and we also have a receptionist at our main office named Lindsey.  I am one of the medical assistants for the female (Dr. Dorsett), which is also a great example of divine providence. Not that Dr. Sanders (the male) isn't just as nice or welcoming, but he is more of a workaholic. This is what my typical day looks like working for her:

* I come in at 8:45 AM.
*We see our first patient at 9:15 AM
*We see ONE patient every 15 minutes until we break for lunch around noon
*We have lunch until we see our next patient at 1:30 PM (this allows for travel to other locations)
*Again, we see a patient every 15 minutes--our last one is seen at 4:30 PM
*We close everything up and I leave at the latest by 5:00 PM
*BONUS: on Fridays I leave by 3:00 PM

Is this not the greatest work schedule ever?! Time absolutely flies by! As I mentioned above, we also have different office locations--four to be exact. So I travel to different ones throughout the week--which is paid travel time. I love this aspect too because it gives me variety throughout my day and my week. Dr. Dorsett is very nice and has a fun sense of humor, except for when she gets into "doctor mode." She has two young girls so that is why she wants to see her last patient at 4:30, no exceptions. Again, AWESOME.

The reason I say this is because Dr. Sanders definitely has a busier schedule. Where we see ONE patient every 15 minutes, he might see 2 or 3 in that span of time. And he doesn't always see his last patient at 4:30. Sometimes his medical assistants don't finish until 6:00 PM or after. Again, the Lord definitely knows what He is doing.

I'm able to do what I love, and still be off work in time to come home and cook dinner for my hunk of a man...maybe even squeeze in a workout class. PLUS, the best part....are you ready?

***I DON'T HAVE TO WORK WEEKENDS OR NIGHTS OR HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!****

Can I get a Hallelujah! Yep, God definitely knows what He is doing. It is absolutely perfect. I get to wear scrubs again (another Hallelujah), I have an awesome laid-back work place, I get along great with my co-workers and the doctor I work for, and I am bringing in more income and benefits will come later. WOW. I'm just completely humbled and utterly grateful for this wonderful turn of events.

Now, Daniel's job that I posted on FB about....it fell through. (shocked faces can commence). We got the call on a Thursday that they wanted to hire him, he went and met with them on Friday---had a few issues to work out concerning what they would pay him, and the next Wednesday they called and basically said they changed their minds. To say I was mad was probably an understatement. Now that it has been a week, and I've been on vacation, we feel a little better. Ultimately, if they didn't want him, we would rather know NOW than get 2 weeks into it and then they change their minds. But, now we are back to square one with him looking for other employment. (The tutoring company doesn't think he will get to tutor this fall because of new laws or something or other...). Please be in prayer that he can find the perfect thing that would work with his school schedule and also provide adequate income for our family.

Also, another prayer request is for direction and wisdom concerning our future---we are in prayer about where God would have us go once he finishes up and graduates with his Master's degree in May. This time in our lives is all about newness and change and we are doing our best to embrace it.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings

I am so embarassed....i literally have not written a blogpost in 5 months! There IS an explanation for that, BUT there is fun news to share! :)  So, if you're in a hurry, here is the jist of this post: I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB IN MY FIELD! Praise the Lord, He is so faithful!

Ok, now if you have time to continue, read on.

 I haven't written a blogpost since February---life was pretty rough and honestly I was too depressed to write anything. I was working two jobs, both of which were high-stress and caused me to be on my feet for hours on end, and a lot of days I was working double shifts with Apple in the morning and then waitressing at Macaroni Grill at night. Needless to say, life was not at it's most enjoyable. But I did what I had to do to provide for my family. Since February, I have had probably 7ish interviews all around Louisville and I kept getting the whole, "Thanks for taking the time and interest in us, but there was someone else who was more qualified. We hope you'll continue to apply for other positions." SO FRUSTRATING! It kept getting my hopes up that this was finally going to be it and I would be delivered from my current situation...and everytime my hopes got dashed and I would be this emotional roller-coaster.

Finally, one Sunday in late May/early June, God got my attention. Our pastor, Dr. Hamilton, was preaching from Jeremiah--talking about the Israelites and their idols. And he said something that grabbed my attention. To paraphrase, he said, "Idols are not necessarily tangible things and they are not necessarily always bad things. The way to know if you have an idol in your life is to examine your heart and tell yourself, ok....is there something I'm hoping for that I don't think I could be TRULY happy without obtaining it for myself?" And it was like a brick hit me on top of the head! I had been idolizing finding a full-time job---I wasn't going to be happy without it. And at that point, my attitude changed. I wasn't seeing that God had ALREADY blessed me with TWO jobs! Maybe not jobs in my field or jobs that I enjoyed, but at least I was bringing in income. And I know deep down that God has a plan for me that's even more perfect that I can ever imagine.

Literally, THAT WEEK I got 3 interviews for 3 different places. I interviewed at the Seminary for a secretarial position, I interviewed at a local dental office for a receptionist position, and I interviewed at Advanced Foot and Ankle Clinic for a Medical Assistant position. Secretly, I was hoping for the medical assistant (duh). I mean, it let me use my degree I went to four years of school for, it was Monday-Friday with no weekends (hallelujah!) or holidays, and not to mention the office manager who interviewed me was awesome! She and I instantly clicked and I knew I would love to work with her. What was even better is she told me they were hoping to fill the position by the end of that week! Well, obviously that didn't happen---she called me the next week saying the 2 doctors decided to take a two week vacation and then she would be on vacation the week after...so everything was put on hold for a whole month! Well, in that month, the Seminary informed me they had found someone else to fill the position I interviewed for, the dental office was also on hold due to family vacations and the like, and I got to go on vacation with some of my family as well.

I got the call yesterday morning (Monday, July 16th) from the office manager at Advanced Foot and Ankle, saying that while she had been away on vacation, two members of their staff had suddenly had to quit. So, this expedited the process of hiring me (yay!). She actually OFFERED me the positon at 10:15 AM yesterday morning, asking if I could start immediately in 2 weeks! This completely floored me! I was under the impression she would call me yesterday, probably say the doctors wanted to interview me and the other candidates before making any final decisions, and then probably have an answer by the end of this week. But man was I wrong!! I was absolutely THRILLED! I had to turn in my 2 weeks notice at both places yesterday (which I have never done before and is not fun at all, but they were so great about it) and I start to work on Monday, July 30th! I'm still kind of in shock and can't believe it's really happening!

I will truly miss the people I work with at Apple and Macaroni Grill---they made work fun! And I know that what I have learned about business and about myself by working at these places will carry with me wherever I go for the rest of my life.

God is good. God keep His promises. God is faithful. He never left me or forsake me--even when I was depressed and had doubts. His plan is better than my own and for that I am grateful. Thank you to everyone who has been in prayer for me and Daniel over this past year (already!) we have lived in Louisville. You will never know how much we appreciate it! And it obviously works because the Lord has heard our prayers and answered them with the perfect job for me! :)

Tutoring

Daniel got a new job! He is going to be tutoring middle school and high school students in reading and math through an organization called A-Plus Tutoring. Such a HUGE blessing for a few reasons: One, it is only going to require the same amount of time he is currently working at the dry cleaners. Two, he will be getting paid double what he makes now. Three, he is so passionate about teaching and I think this will be a great niche for him--not to mention what a great ministry opportunity to be around those kids and their families! Needless to say, we are uber excited about this! It is going to be a bit of a transition since he is trying to juggle this new job as well as finish up his job at the cleaners....not to mention his last couple of weeks in school for the semester. So if you could just be in prayer for him--that he doesn't get too overwhelmed and that God would just multiply his time so he would be able to get everything done. So that is what's new with my hubby! As far as I go, I'm just working mostly--still trying to find a full-time job in my field. Recently, I was looking into a pharmaceutical sales rep position with a company here in Louisville. Unfortunately, they had already filled it by the time I got all my stuff in, but the manager told me that he would keep my resume on file for when another position opened. Still just praying for God to lead me in the right direction, but thankful for the jobs i DO have--i get this feeling that they are teaching me things and preparing me for what's ahead. Another new thing is we have talked to the pastor at Kenwood about joining and they are going to set up a time for us to be interviewed here in the next couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to becoming a member of this church. We have been visiting for about 6 or 7 weeks now and just continue to love it more each week--the teaching is solid, the fellowship is wonderful, and we get lunch every Sunday (who doesn't love that?). 

On a lighter note, we get to see family in ONE WEEK!! Daniel's parents are coming in next Monday and are staying until Wednesday morning (we have not seen them since the day we moved up here) and then my family is coming up Wednesday afternoon/evening and staying until Sunday morning. To say we are excited is an understatement! CANNOT WAIT.

Well, that is all for now. Allow me to leave you with this:

"Let us hold tightly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."--Hebrews 10:23

Promises

Yet again, it has taken me over a MONTH to blog. *sigh* Where in the world does the time go? To start with, let's catch up to all the happenings of the past month.

1) God blessed me with not one, but TWO part time jobs (Hallelujah!). So, I am now a hostess at Romano's Macaroni Grill and a Specialist at the Apple Retail Store in the mall down the street from our house. Yes, I am enjoying both jobs, especially the people I work with, but it has definitely been an adjustment! There are days where I don't think I can do anymore (especially Fridays and Saturdays), but somehow the grace of God gets me through. Not to mention, Daniel has been so supportive and helpful!

2) Speaking of...this has been the craziest month at school for him. He has had countless hours reading, a 3-hour mid.term, and 3 (yes THREE) different 10-page papers due! He is such a rockstar! I am so extremely proud of how well Daniel has adjusted to working part time and keeping up with his school work. Taking 12 hours in master's courses is about the equivalent to 18 or more hours in undergrad courses. So stinkin' proud of that boy.

3) We have officially been "Louisville-ians" for 3 months now (as of October 21st)...CRAZY i know!


So, those are the major events that have been happening-- which also, coincidentally, they happen to take up the majority of our time. Now, don't get me wrong. The absolute LAST thing I want to do is sound ungrateful or lazy or not happy. But let's face it, when life throws curve balls at you (fast), it is hard not to be overwhelmed or overly-emotional. Saturday was definitely like that for me. I felt completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and just did not have a good attitude. I was crying and  praying "angry prayers" saying things like, "God, thank you for blessing me with two jobs, but it is so not fair! How come I don't have a normal 8-5 job, with my weekends and nights free...not to mention a little more income? I feel like I am busting my butt working to help support my family and I'm not getting much in return." Ever had one of those? Yes, I think we all have at one time or another.

But then I got to church Sunday, and it was like God just halted time to grab my attention and said "I have you exactly where I want you. I will never leave you or forsake you, and when it gets too hard, lean on me and I will carry you through it." In Sunday School we are going through Hebrews, and this week we were in Chapter 6...talking about God's promises. HOW ENCOURAGING. I loved every minute of it and just felt like a burden had lifted off my shoulders. God never promised life would be easy, but He did promise to never leave us or forsake us. Let me tell you, Daniel and I have both learned some lessons since we have been here about relying on God. Things have not gone as we expected....you know, find a great apartment and then the perfect job and life will be just peachy. Wrong! BUT even though it's been one of the most difficult things I have ever gone through, it has also been one of the most rewarding times in my life thus far. I have grown so much in my relationship with God and my husband--double blessing!

Catching Up

I apologize for how long it's been since my last post. LOTS of things have happened! Since we returned from our fabulous vacation to Florida:
1) Daniel has started seminary classes and landed a part time job at a dry cleaners (SUCH an answer to prayer)
2) I have tirelessly searched for any inkling of an available x-ray tech job in all 5 hospitals in Louisville, only to be met with closed doors
3) We have continued searching for a church home
4) I've become addicted to Pinterest

Let's start with number 1...Daniel started his classes on august 16th. He is taking 12 hours of master's courses (full-time is considered to be 9 hours) so he is CONSTANTLY reading! He is getting a Master of Arts in Leadership, which if all goes well will be complete in May 2013! Woohoo! Then comes the question of doctorate or no doctorate? If so, which one? BUT we are trusting the Lord to guide us in these big life decisions. He also scored a part time job his second week of school at Plainview Cleaners. It is about a 15 min drive from where we live and he's working an average of 15 hours a week. PTL!

Number 2...I have searched for what seems like 30,000 years for any crumb that could lead to a job in my field. You would think since I have a degree in something medical it would be easy-schmeezy to find a job! For some reason, God has closed those doors. I'm not sure why, but I know He has a good reason. I'll be honest, I got pretty depressed there for a little while. Having to stay at home ALL day, not really have a purpose, my family not being here, Daniel was (and still is) super busy, all added up to me not having a good attitude. Good news is I had people praying for me, I kept studying God's word, and I leaned on Daniel to be my rock. God has proven faithful--especially within the last week and a half or so. I have since applied for two part-time jobs, and while it's not 100% that I have them yet, I'm about 98% of the way there. I will more than likely be working WAY more than anticipated and probably not at the most convenient hours, but hey it pays bills! PTL!

Number 3...we have searched and visited a different church every Sunday since we have been here. Let's be honest--living in a town that houses a Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where most professors are pastors at local churches, you simply cannot find a bad church home. They all teach TRUTH (which is most important) and have fantastic members of their congregations. You just have to pray and week wisdom in where God would have you serve Him in the best way. The church we are very highly considering to be our church home is Kenwood Baptist Church. The pastor is Dr. Jim Hamilton (a fellow Arkansan!) and the church consists of about 150 members, most of which are young seminary families. If you had asked me 2 months ago when we moved here if that is the church we would've ended up at, I probably would have said I don't think so. But, our ways and ideas are not God's, and we are still praying and seeking discernment on whether or not this is the church home He would like us to be apart of.

Number 4...I'm sure some of you have heard of the "newest addiction on the internet" called Pinterest. My wonderful sister-in-law, Rebekah, introduced me to it about a month ago and I cannot stop! It is so fun! For those of you who don't know what it is, it is basically a virtual pinboard. You know when you surf the web and find a cool idea and you're like "I need to write that down!" Well, now you can "pin" it to one of your virtual pinboards. Once you pin a website, it is always on your board so you can always go back to it. I've had so much fun pinning new recipes, crafts, holiday decorations and activities, and TONS of other things! What's neat about Pinterest is you can also "follow" people (kind of like being a friend on facebook) and you can see what they pin too. If you're a girl, I highly encourage you to discover this (just know that you WILL spend all your free time here).

Well, I guess that is all for now. I will leave you with this:

"All glory to Him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen"
Jude 1:25