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!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, December 30, 2012
It's A New Car!
So, QUITE unexpectedly this past weekend, Daniel and I BOUGHT A CAR. Yes, that's right. We passed a new marriage milestone! Scary and exciting all at the same time...
Background Story:
I've had a white 2003 Saturn L300 (basically like their Camry or Accord) since my senior year in high school. Basically about 6 1/2 years. It's been a fantastic car. Our goal was for it to make it through our time at seminary--mostly because it was paid for, which = NO car payment! Woo hoo! We have been blessed to make it 2 1/2 years of marriage without one. Well, wouldn't ya know, the Saturn just had to start acting up. And when I mean acting up, I mean transmission issues. YIKES! Just the word alone sounds expensive! We made it into town for the Holidays and decided once all the festivities were over we would take it in to a transmission specialist. Daniel and my dad took it to Trans Tech in Conway (cannot say enough good things about these guys! ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! If you ever have transmission problems, take your car to them!). Not even 2 hours later, he called Daniel and said we needed to completely replace the transmission. $1500-$2000!! Well, the Saturn is only worth $3000 in top condition, so we were faced with a huge decision. Do we spend that much money to fix it and then something else go wrong soon after? Do we just try to trade it--even $1000 is better than nothing? Can we afford a car payment on a seminary budget? The list goes on and on. What made it more stressful is we HAD to make a decision that day because it would take 3 full days to fix the transmission and we are leaving for Louisville soon! Oy!
My parents have some connections at Smith Ford in Conway, so we decided just to go over and talk to them, explain our situation, and see if they had anything pre-owned that could work for us. Mr. Kenny Ketcheside told us he just had a 2011 Ford Fusion traded in last week and he thought he could give us a good deal for it. We test drove it, and LOVED it! We were fearful that it was out of our price range though--just because it was newer and only had 43,000 miles on it. Needless to say, we were VERY pleasantly surprised! Not only did he give us a great price for the Fusion, he looked at the Saturn and gave us $2000 trade-in!! We could not believe it! With the trade-in credit, we were able to finance it and negotiate affordable monthly payments. WE COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! Saturday morning, we cleaned out the Saturn, drove it down to Ford, signed the papers, and drove away in our new car! It still seems kind of surreal but I'm sure that will all change once we start having to make payments on it. Lol.
Here it is!
Smith Ford took SUCH great care of us, we will do what we can to always do business with them! I absolutely adore this car---it drives so well and is SO roomy! It's weird to think about, but we had to consider if it could fit car seats in the back and baby stuff in the trunk! (NOT that we are pregnant! Or close to it! lol). Thankful the Lord worked out all the details and we now have a dependable car to drive back and forth to Louisville.
Background Story:
I've had a white 2003 Saturn L300 (basically like their Camry or Accord) since my senior year in high school. Basically about 6 1/2 years. It's been a fantastic car. Our goal was for it to make it through our time at seminary--mostly because it was paid for, which = NO car payment! Woo hoo! We have been blessed to make it 2 1/2 years of marriage without one. Well, wouldn't ya know, the Saturn just had to start acting up. And when I mean acting up, I mean transmission issues. YIKES! Just the word alone sounds expensive! We made it into town for the Holidays and decided once all the festivities were over we would take it in to a transmission specialist. Daniel and my dad took it to Trans Tech in Conway (cannot say enough good things about these guys! ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! If you ever have transmission problems, take your car to them!). Not even 2 hours later, he called Daniel and said we needed to completely replace the transmission. $1500-$2000!! Well, the Saturn is only worth $3000 in top condition, so we were faced with a huge decision. Do we spend that much money to fix it and then something else go wrong soon after? Do we just try to trade it--even $1000 is better than nothing? Can we afford a car payment on a seminary budget? The list goes on and on. What made it more stressful is we HAD to make a decision that day because it would take 3 full days to fix the transmission and we are leaving for Louisville soon! Oy!
My parents have some connections at Smith Ford in Conway, so we decided just to go over and talk to them, explain our situation, and see if they had anything pre-owned that could work for us. Mr. Kenny Ketcheside told us he just had a 2011 Ford Fusion traded in last week and he thought he could give us a good deal for it. We test drove it, and LOVED it! We were fearful that it was out of our price range though--just because it was newer and only had 43,000 miles on it. Needless to say, we were VERY pleasantly surprised! Not only did he give us a great price for the Fusion, he looked at the Saturn and gave us $2000 trade-in!! We could not believe it! With the trade-in credit, we were able to finance it and negotiate affordable monthly payments. WE COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! Saturday morning, we cleaned out the Saturn, drove it down to Ford, signed the papers, and drove away in our new car! It still seems kind of surreal but I'm sure that will all change once we start having to make payments on it. Lol.
Here it is!
Smith Ford took SUCH great care of us, we will do what we can to always do business with them! I absolutely adore this car---it drives so well and is SO roomy! It's weird to think about, but we had to consider if it could fit car seats in the back and baby stuff in the trunk! (NOT that we are pregnant! Or close to it! lol). Thankful the Lord worked out all the details and we now have a dependable car to drive back and forth to Louisville.
Friday, November 2, 2012
30 Days of Thankfulness
I love Thanksgiving. It's a shame that I start to realize around this time every year how much I truly have to be thankful and grateful for--I really should remember that all year long.
Now that November is here (CRAZY), I have jumped on the whole Facebook bandwagon of "30 Days of Thankfulness." The Lord has really put on my heart this last week that even though I get frustrated or depressed with life circumstances and situations, I really do have a lot to be thankful for! I have a nice apartment that has air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter, I have nice clothes, I have enough food to eat so I don't go hungry, I have good health, I have an amazing church and church family, my husband is able to learn more about Jesus every day of the week, I have a great job that is full-time and in my field, I have a car to get me places around town and traveling home...I mean the list could just go on and on!!
Aside from all these material things, most importantly, I am thankful that Jesus chose to save my sinful, selfish self and make me a child of God. How humbling is that?? What a blessing to say that Jesus loved me so much, despite my sin, that He died on a cross so that I might be saved and live with Him eternally one day in the Presence of God. Whoa! Y'all, the Gospel is so powerful!
Not only did He save me, but He blessed me with an amazing family here on Earth whom I love SO dearly! I totally took them all for granted when I lived 30 minutes away, but now that we are states apart, I cherish each moment I spend with them (and thank you FaceTime for allowing me to actually see their face 500 miles away!!!). They are all so precious and I miss them OH SO MUCH!
Last, but not least, the Lord blessed me with my soul mate. Like it says in Song of Solomon, "I have found the one that my soul loves." This man is so perfect for me---funny how my weaknesses are his strengths and vice versa. We balance each other so well and I will love him til the day I die. Four years ago this month, he asked me out on our first date--thank goodness I said yes!
What do you have to be thankful for?
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