Life Unexpected

When I was 14 years old, I said yes to a life of following Jesus.  I had no idea what my life would look like and I really don't think I understand the "cost" of following.   I had asked Jesus into my life at a really young age, but at 14, I felt like he was asking something more of me.  That "something" would entail my future, my family, my plans, my life.  At 14 he was calling me to ministry and I had no idea what the "cost" would be.  Fast forward 18 years... Tomorrow, I will be moving my family to Quincy, MA to follow Jesus to yet another adventure that he has called us to.  I have no idea what that adventure will entail, what obstacles we will face, what friends we will make, what incredible God moments we will experience, or what the journey will look like.  What I do know is...it will cost me. For the past 11.5 years, I have served as a Youth Pastor in the same church, under the same Senior Pastor, in a land that has not only become i...

I've been told a few times that I have a unique family.  It's not just the fact that we make random noises while walking in public places...all at the same time, or that we love to roll down the windows of my Mom's mini van and sing David Crowder songs in prestigious vacation towns, or even that we sometimes go searching for Santa in our Christmas PJ's on Christmas Eve.  I think we are unique because we have a deep friendship with one another. This past weekend, my Mom came to stay with us for one last time before we move to Boston.  She was here for less than 24 hours, but we packed in visits to all of our favorite places and then she did what she has done many times over the years here...she frosted her homemade cupcakes...400 mini ones.  Earlier that week, my Mom had called me to say that she wanted to do something for the church because they had meant so much to her and figured cupcakes were the best way to go.  She also decided to write a letter with t...

My  Last Church Board Meeting...Who Doesn't Love a Selfie! When I took my first job as a Youth Pastor, I had no idea what the next chapter of my life would look like.  I figured that I would probably stay at the church that had called me for 4-5 years and then move somewhere new.  11.5 years later, I just reported to the church board for the very last time as I will be beginning a new assignment in March.  While going to meetings has not ranked on my top 10 list of things I love to do, tonight I felt grateful for the meeting I found myself in because of the people who sat around the table.  They were co-journeyers.  Jesus followers.  Encouragement givers. Mentors.  Believers in youth ministry.  Believers in me. I am not sure that words can really express my gratitude to the people that sat around that table tonight, or the greater church they represent.  I thought long and hard about how to report in way that would paint a picture ...

It's often when we get to a place of contentment that God changes things.  I found that out this past January.  I had spent the entire Advent Season praying that I would feel contentment in the depths of my heart.  Contentment with who I am, contentment in my job, and contentment at home.  Throughout the Fall, I struggled with all sorts of feelings of inadequacies.  I questioned my ministry assignment, questioned my ability to be a good mom and a good wife, and even questioned my capability to connect with teenagers...which was my job.  I just felt like I couldn't get to a place where I felt content with my life. So I decided to spend the Advent Season praying that God would show up and help my heart to be content.  I didn't want to spend my days longing for something different, complaining about circumstances, or missing out on the moments given each day that are beyond beautiful.  I wanted to get to a place where I believed in the depths of ...

This past Monday, while setting up Advent Prayer Space for the church, one of my teens said to me, "I think you like to work."  This statement came after she had arrived early to the church to help set up, only to find that I had already set everything up.  I laughed and proceeded to tell her that I kind of went into panic mode earlier that day, afraid we might not get everything set up in time, and decided to do most of it myself.  She graciously put out the pens and cookies, and the other small jobs I had left for her, and we waited for people to arrive.  I keep thinking about that statement.  "I think you like to work."  The truth is, while I love my job, there are a lot of days that I struggle with whether or not I have done a good enough job.  And so I work.  There are days that I buy the lie that the more work I do, the more valuable I am.  The longer hours I put in, the more effective I will be.  The more activity in my life...

Yesterday I tweeted these words, "God rarely calls us to comfort and convenience, but rather a life of faith and trust (Debbie Eaton-She Reads Truth)."  Those words could not have been more spot on for where Nate and I are in our life right now, because, get ready for it...WE HAVE STARTED THE ADOPTION PROCESS AGAIN!!!! Even as I type those words, it still feels a little surreal to me.  What's not surreal is the fact that we sent our first big check today with our application fee, and we have officially started the process to adopt a child from INDIA.  We don't have any details, we haven't been matched, and we are just in the beginning stages of what will most likely be a 12-18 month process.  We will be assigned a family service coordinator in the next few weeks and will then begin the daunting process of preparing another Dossier (which will include another home study). Over the past year, we have been praying that God would open the door for us to adopt ag...

It's been well over a month since we ran the Chicago Marathon and I still can't believe we did it!  If you would have asked me a couple of years ago if I would be willing to train and run 26.2 miles, I know I would have said a big huge NO.  It's amazing what a trip to Africa and a little peer pressure can do to a girl!  Last year, when my friend Victoria and I began to share our love for Africa, but knew that traveling back wasn't in the cards for the year, we started dreaming what we could do to make a difference from home.  We had heard that you could run marathons on behalf of World Vision, a nonprofit that we had a huge respect for, but honestly, neither of us were really big runners.  The more we talked about it and prayed about it, the more we felt like God was asking us to just be courageous and run.  After talking Nate (my husband), and our friend Chumpy into doing it with us (also not runners), we set a goal of raising $5000 for clean water and b...