I'm still alive, made it through the Holidays, and I can breathe now!

Well, once a week all the sudden turned into 2 months ago, and I can honestly say that I can remember sitting down and writing the last blog like it was yesterday. Life has pretty much been a nonstop whirlwind the last two months and that is all thanks to the Holidays. Not that I don't love the holidays, but working in an extremely fast paced retail setting during the holidays will knock anyone out of contact with the real world. Since then, Sara and the baby have grown considerably and we have now heard the heart beat(talk about reality setting in)...we have made the extremely tough decision to find a better home for our little puppy Siqa, which we have done and is absolutely amazing for her(yard with room to run, extremely active owner, and great relationship between us and her new owner so if we really wanted to see her, we could)...and we're looking at buying our own house and new possibilities for churches.

I'm not going to get into other churches right now because my last rant pretty much summed my feelings up, but the one thing that I feel like I am extremely passionate about at this moment is the heart of the church, and MY HEART for that matter. My heart burns for change, for community, and for growth. We visited another church a couple weeks ago, and after I get done moving my schedule around and getting things a bit more back to normal at work, we are going to start attending and seeing what it is that God is calling us to get involved in. Sometimes we get so caught up in the normal routine of life, that we miss the opportunities right in front of us, and in my case, we get caught up in the chaos of life and don't even realize that it's been two months since I took the time to sit down and actually think!

My heart burns for the people around me, but even with a passion burning as strongly as mine, I still get too busy sometimes, and what is my excuse? I've been in this situation before and looking back on it, it was even in the church. I got caught up in doing so much, that I let the moment pass me by without actually seeing what it was that God was wanting me to do! This actually reminds me of a book I read back in High School called "Paradise Lost." One of the main things I remember about this story of how true paradise was lost was that Satan brought about Chaos. How/Why I remember that I have no clue, but it has stuck with me since then and I find it as true as anything I can think of. Satan truly is trying to create Chaos so that we lose focus, and he's flippin GOOD at it. Not that we aren't following God, but that we lose sight of urgency, we lose sight of passion, but I will tell you that through this season, I've never lost sight of God. It's easy to get discouraged, but God has called me to so much more, and I'll say it till you're sick of hearing it. Do I fill like I'm doing exactly what God has called me to do, not really, but do I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be, YES! It's hard, because I don't know or see what the next step is. I pray that if you are in the same situation, that you would sit down and take the time to refocus. I wish I could time a week or so to get my thoughts together, but that ain't happening any time soon, so amidst the chaos, I've got to consciously keep my focus on Christ!

Sara and I have been discussing the way people see community around here, and it's been hard because we don't have the same type of community as we did back in Wilmington or NMB, and we're starting to think it's cultural, and I mean in the church. It's the culture around here to not live in community as members of the church. It's hard to create community, and that's what our next mission is...but I'll stop myself before I get into that topic too much, plus I want to look into community around here a bit more before I start throwing out conclusions I've made. My heart burns for community, and for those of you who did life with us back in Wilmington and NMB, we love you and miss you all! Its encouraging to know you are still there behind us in heart, because I know your hearts personally! God's not done with you, with your church, or with your current situation, he'll see you through it and he has called you to greater things because of who you are and who you live for!

Urgency is something I'm learning!

Well, my thought of a daily blog has now pretty much become a once a week or so deal..but hey, LIFE HAPPENS!!!

This evening we got plugged in with a great group of people that are seeking after God and trying to figure this thing out that we all call LIFE! The lifegroup was awesome to say the least and as we were driving there, it dawned on me that this was something that we hadn't done before. Since the summer of 2006, I've been a part of the inner workings of every church that we have been a part of either through being on staff or being a "high capacity volunteer," and Sara has been with me the entire time! I realized that this was the first time we had ever went into a small group/lifegroup without being the ones leading it or without knowing someone already...we were finally the ones looking in from the outside. It was definitely a different experience, but was a great time.

Another thing that I realized is how blessed we've been to have been exposed to the life that God is desiring for us to live. I see that we were shown so much over that past two years that I walk away from conversations desiring so much more for people and their relationship with God. There was a moment tonight where I saw a glimpse of the comfort in Christianity that Sara and moved because of back 2 years ago, and it fired me up because I don't want to see complacent Christianity!!! Now you've got to understand that I'm not judging these people because they are trying to do everything they know how to live a more Christian life, but I left feeling like there is so much more and my prayer is that they won't fall into the same comfort that we were in back in 2008. I don't know if you will even understand what I'm trying to say or if you even know what I'm talking about, but there is SO MUCH MORE!!!

Two years ago, we could have walked into any church and just slid right in and done the "Christian" life, but we had a feeling there was something more and when we moved our prayer was "God...put us into the middle of something HUGE!", and that is exactly what He did! Now that we've returned, you've seen some of our recent prayers and this is what we felt like God was telling us to do, follow your heart, and our hearts are here in NWA. So with all that said our major prayer has been and always will be the same, something HUGE, and complacency has no room when it comes to HUGE! I've never seen a move of God that wasn't something HUGE, trust me, when the first thing you see at a church is a Helicopter dropping what they thought was a ton of plastic eggs onto a football field(10,000 eggs to be exact) and actually 10,000 people show up when it was thought that maybe 3-4,000 would come, that's HUGE! God doesn't do little, when God moves its HUGE....even if it seems insignificant or small or just plain backwards like losing a job and having no idea what is next...God is in the business of HUGE so get ready and go with it and see what God is teaching you. Get it yet or do I need to keep saying it? What does this mean? I have no idea, but I do know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that the people around me are given the opportunity to understand what we've been a part of and what it means to be a life-giving church. God has called us all to SOMETHING MORE, and that is HUGE!!! Please don't put our AMAZING GOD in a box and ask Him for only the small things or the quick fixes, ask God to do something HUGE, then get ready and don't just stand there because you might miss it. Get out of the Lazyboy, be on your toes ready to get into the game, and be a part of what God is doing around you! I'm so ready for whatever that may be for us here in NWA, and after an amazing night like tonight, I can hardly sit still I'm so jacked up!...do you sense some urgency?

Ok...Done with my rant or randomness or whatever that was, goodnight all, I'm exhausted!

Life Just Got Interesting!

Our prayers as of late have been:
-Give me a job
-Let Sara start moving towards not having to work so much so that she can focus on her writing and other passions
-Let us find a Life-Giving Church
-Show us why we are here, why we moved back
-Grow us closer together
-Put us in a position to lead others/inspire others

Now, while we are waiting on some of our prayers to still be answered, we have been given a partial glimpse to some of the answers.
-Got a job as an Assistant Manager In Training at the Buckle.(Full-time, benefits, I'd say answered prayer)
-Me getting a job opens it up for Sara to start pulling out of some of the temporary work she has picked up when we moved.
-After next week Sara will no longer be working 65 hrs a week!!! PRAISE GOD
-Started attending Keypoint Church
-Pastor Casey has an amazing heart for the people of this area
-Looking forward to getting plugged into their ministry to NWA and see what God has in store for us through Keypoint
-Sara went to their recent women's SPA NIGHT with Kimberly and had a great time, not to mention a free Back Massage
-Oh yeah, and the morning of the day I got my job at the Buckle, we found out that Sara is Pregnant
-WAIT.......What? God, really? OK, we are stoked!

SO...within one week, I got a job, Sara gets to quit a job, we got to hang out with the pastor of an amazing church, and we found out that we are going to have a little one running around here come May or June 2011...WOW...I've been a bit busy so its been a week or so for the blog, but I asked for God to do some big things and guess what, HE DID! Don't ask for it unless you want him to show up! God is still in the process of doing something cool...and I don't think He's done!

I'm absolutely JACKED UP about what's going on right now, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us as we get more invested into Keypoint Church, more invested into NWA, and prep for a little one!

Love you all, read the first couple chapters of Hebrews and see what God shows you. Comment below with what He shows you and maybe it could help someone else or even me! It rocked me pretty good and I'll share more on that hopefully tomorrow!

Wake UP!

This morning wasn't unlike any other morning, I wake up to light creeping into the window and a small high pitch whimper coming from one of the back bedrooms(which by the way, I get to finish painting as soon as I get done with this)! Every morning our little Sib pup Siqa wakes us up to tell us that she is ready to go outside and do her business! I put her back in her kennel and crawl back into bed hoping that the alarm is a couple hours from going off and just as I'm finally getting settle back in and half asleep...the alarm goes off and so does Siqa! Now she knows its time for breakfast...and sadly enough if one beggar isn't bad enough, I've got our bipolar cat Nehlah screaming in the other ear by the time I get into the kitchen!

Now, why am I talking about this...well, because I started out typing this with a quite boring teaching type blog that I thought I wouldn't even want to read no matter how Godly it is! So for your enjoyment, there you go...but I do have a tie in here...just hold with me. The dog and cat wake up every morning knowing who to look to for what they need and exactly how to get it(in our case whimpering and meowing(LOUDLY I might add)...Now this isn't some amazing revelation, but I realized that if I'm not willing to live my life with that type of faith in God, then I'm relying on myself and myself alone! God may be a part of it somewhere, but that's not what he wants. God wants me to wake up and be crying out to Him daily, asking him for what I need, from the time I open my eyes, its all His!

I decided to study the sermon from this past weekend that Pastor Casey gave over at Keypoint Church and the series is called Confidence. Now, as always, I took my own little spin on this one after studying further but if you want to get messed up by scripture, go read Hebrews 10:19-39 and pay special attention when it gets good in verse 26, not to say it isn't all good! With all that has been going on in my crazy head lately, that scripture just blasted me with a bit of reality that what I'm doing is right! I need to refocus every bit of me and not forget what it was like when my life was forever changed on Dec. 20th, 2000 on a ski trip in Colorado. So, take some time, read it and see what it is that God may be wanting to tell you through that scripture!

Something's Up!!!

So...I think today may be the day that will go down as one of the most vital days of my life. God has been absolutely tearing my head and my heart up for the past several weeks and the only thing that I've got to show for it is confusion. Sara and I just moved back to NWA about 5 weeks ago and I can honestly say that this has been HARD! Not that we weren't supposed to move back, because I'm sure of that, but every other question you can think of has been racing through my head...one because I feel like we were called back to this area for a HUGE reason, and two, I haven't found a job yet which means I'm just sitting around filling out applications, sending off resumes and pretty much doing nothing else other than house work while my wife is working her tail off until I can find something. As I sit here and type I'm reminded of someone I'm supposed to send my resume to...so, now that that's done, I can continue!

Well, to keep from boring you with the details, here is the short of it...I've been challenged here recently to really seek after God, not just be a Christian, but pursue God with all I've got. I've toyed with the thought and I think God is disappointed with my effort so far, but honestly, it scares me...I think that may be healthy. I've been reading and watching videos of great leaders here recently that has done nothing but challenge me to stop being scared of what God may be able to do in me, and start seeking after God and do whatever he lays on my heart. This freaks me out because its what you call becoming completely vulnerable and open. Now to some, you may ask me what I'm really talking about because you know me, but this is real, raw, faith...not just something you accomplish by going to church on Sunday. I recently heard someone challenge Christians by saying that if you are not going to the bible to seek after God, but you have other intentions...such as only going to the bible for answers or for something to teach on, then you don't get it. This is a key in my life that has been tearing me up since I heard it. I've always had a reason to pick up the bible, but rather than having something I'm needing to get out of it, I realized that I don't spend time in God's word enough just to be with God and let HIM SPEAK to me. This week, I'm going to dive into the love of God through His word, and rather than looking for something to teach, needing an answer, or asking for something, I just want to learn and listen to His guidance. God's word is vital, but how can I stand behind some of the things I tell people, if I'm not willing to let God leading me through His word. So...here we go, if you want to join, call me or shoot me a message. This may even make no sense to you and if not, that's cool...but God has something in store for me and I'm jacked up about it, but also freaked out at what He may ask me to do...but you know, if I don't listen, then all of this is pointless and I'm living in and of myself.

I'm going to be posting as close to daily as I can during this process and who knows what will come of it. I don't have a 30 day plan, or a reading plan, I don't have a date I'm shooting for or anything like that. Only expectation I have is to have my world rocked and become what God is calling me to be RIGHT NOW! So no more procrastination of Faith, it's on. Pray for me and as I said, join me if you want...I'll be praying for you all! God's about to rock my world and I would love to have you along with me for this journey but only if God is calling you to it!

I'll let you know tonight or tomorrow what God has revealed to me as my first steps in this process for me. All I can say is SEEK GOD, then do whatever it takes to do what he says!

Thank You

So...as you may have heard, or for those of you that haven't, we're moving...again! But this time is probably one of our most interesting moves. We're moving back home, or what we would consider home, Northwest Arkansas. God has been pushing us to follow our hearts, and that is where our hearts are leading us, and with some of the confirmations we've had in the past couple of weeks, we know we are going where He is wanting us to go.

The reason I'm asking everyone to read this is because we can't possibly sit down and try to contact everyone that has meant something to us over the past year and a half. From those of you that were there that first couple of weeks we were in Wilmington, to the ones that we have went to church with, to the ones who we have learned to do life with, we have the highest gratitude, respect and thankfulness. It would take us a couple of weeks to contact everyone that has made a difference in our lives the past couple of years and we will forever be changed by the friendships we have made with you all. From the bottom of our hearts, we say THANK YOU and we love and will miss you all, but we will be back to visit frequently! If you are ever in Arkansas, give us a call and we'll treat you to the best burger, fries and shake you'll ever have, and our door is always open for visitors!!!

Control

So...God has an interesting plan for us all, and he often does things in very strange and interesting ways, BUT it is ALWAYS done to teach us something whether we are in the mood to learn or not! God has released us from a ministry, that, while a great opportunity, we just didn't fit. We had the opportunity to see several of the students come to a relationship with Christ and get Baptized, and I believe that is why I was there, not to save them, but to give God the stage to draw them back to Him! There is nothing that we did or nothing that the church did that caused us to be leaving Barefoot Church, it was based on philosophy and direction, and we just didn't fit. Now does that mean that there is something wrong with Barefoot Church...NO...and shame on you who think that I would say yes. God is using Barefoot Church in amazing ways, but those ways are different than how He wants to use Sara and I, and that's perfect. Now the question is, What's Next?

I can't really say at this moment what we are going to do next, but whatever/wherever that is, we are following our hearts. God has shown us things in the past year and a half that will forever change our view of Him and ministry. I could take you on the journey we've been on, but not at this time, COMING SOON!!! One of the several things that I've learned is how to completely trust His direction. It's amazing how God is just waiting on us to give up control and let Him lead us so that we can be used for what we were made for!

Control is something that I've always enjoyed. Take sports for example. If you've been around me very long, you know that I'm extremely competitive and love sports. When I played baseball, I didn't really love baseball as a whole, but I loved PITCHING! I CONTROLLED the entire game with every pitch. And if I didn't have control, I wasn't successful. I wish I had some sweet analogy or something to make my point (I tried and would have completely confused everyone who reads this except for other reminiscing pitchers) but I don't, it is the point. I love being in control, knowing what is going to happen, how I'm supposed to get there, what I need to do next. I HAVE NO CLUE RIGHT NOW! And at first it freaked me out, but then I took some time to think about it, spent some time with some great friends back in Wilmington, and then realized everything that we had been a part of and how God was teaching and using us even through this.

God is pushing us right now to follow our hearts, and you'd think it'd be easy, but when you take a leap like we did half way across the country, little bits of our hearts are left everywhere we've been. So where are our hearts? Great question, but right now its just a waiting game to get out of our lease on our current house. God is in full control of us, and I think I'm starting to be cool with Him being the pitcher so to speak...wow, lame, I know...but I'm serious. I've been in some form of control for the last couple years, or so I thought. It's funny how you think that you've mastered patience and then God decides to show you that it's not really patience that He's trying to teach you, He's trying to break you of control. Read about Jesus leading his disciples, He's constantly teaching them to release control of their own lives so that they can be used by God for greatness!

True Creativity

So, I added an album of pictures just to the right of the screen that has these pictures of the flowers that Sara planted this past spring that are in full bloom now! It brings me no greater joy than to see my wife take joy in her hobbies, check out her blog to truly see what I mean because she decided this past year that she was going to start a garden...little to my knowledge she was actually dreaming up a small farm in our backyard! But hey, last night was by far the best pepper I've ever had, not to mention the fresh green beans, broccoli, squash, and soon to be much more!

Most of the time when Sara says she has something in her mind that she wants to do, I have to realize that she already has her heart set on it and her mind working on how to do it, like with her sewing, her photography, etc...so, I think my wife is just CREATIVE and needs outlets for that...and so this is why we have an amazing camera, to take the amazing pictures of her flowers that were just kind of a side thought to her garden! Then you've got her bags that she's made that are being sold at the SURF HOUSE in Carolina Beach, NC that just blows my mind. She also decided that she was going to teach herself photoshop...which she uses over at Ribbet Salon & Shop for Kids over in Wilmington, NC...you should check out the graphics, some of which are her handiwork! It blows my mind to realize how amazing my wife is, and it took me encouraging her to take pictures this morning of her flowers to remind myself of that!

God has an amazing way of revealing things to us through his creation, and I think this is a big reason why my wife is so Creative, because she can see God work in and through a lot of her creativity that most don't recognize! For most of us we see flowers, but God created them, check some of these pics out and just look at the creativity that went into making each one different. I have to slow down sometimes and take notes from my wife when it comes to creativity, because she draws from the master of creativity...GOD, and maybe I should look into being a bit more creative!

I can't wait to spend this evening on the beach with my wife, friends, and students from Barefoot Students. I'm truly blessed and I get to enjoy God's creativity daily...we just have to open our eyes and look for it! Plus I get to SURF!

Effective or just busy?

WOW...it's been over 3 months since I've written something on here, and it feels kinda weird! Life has been nuts, and that is partially responsible for fueling this post. Here lately God has been pushing on my heart to evaluate what I'm doing and see if it is effective or if I'm just doing things that make me look busy! Since my last post, the Barefoot Student ministry is finally moving in the right direction. After figuring out where and how I fit, I started getting a vision for the student ministry from God and I've been plugging at that ever since. I mean, we've got 5 students getting Baptized this weekend, can I get an AMEN (for all my Southern Baptist Family back home). There are alot of things that I do throughout the day, and some I've already stopped that just make me seem like I'm busy, but actually when I evaluated their effectiveness, seem like a huge waste of time.

When I was at the UofA, I remember spending(wasting) HOURS on Facebook seeing what everyone and now literally their Dog is up to! Pet facebook...come on people, your dog and cat don't need you living their lives for them through a fantasy social network, Sorry, just weird to me!!! Anyways, I've truly seen it all. I've been a member of facebook since the beginning of my freshman year..oh yeah, by the way, it launched in february of that same year! That is back when only MAJOR Universities had it, you had to go through an application process that the Chancellor of your school had to approve! A year or so later they opened it up to anyone with a University/College email...and I remember when I thought the world was coming to an end when they allowed High School Students to sign up!!! Now, as I said...EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG!!! So, is it a social network, marketing scheme, conspiracy? Who knows, but all I know is that I evaluated its effectiveness at reaching our students...and I had more adults and staff members on our Student Ministry Fan Page than we had students...I'm not kidding, like 6-10% of the "Fans" were actual students. And that was the trend for Twitter as well!

Now on to why I started this post. With Facebook and now Twitter, your week could get lost TWEETING, RE-TWEETING, Checking facebook status' and looking at pictures that your "friends" posted that you really didn't even talk to back when you were IN high school. I just feel like someone needs to say this, I'm a realist and to me this just doesn't seem RIGHT!

I'm a math mind, so bear with me for a sec and I'll explain! Say you spend 30sec tweeting every time you tweet, you tweet 15 times a day...that's nearly and hour a week tweeting...I'm being generous here! Then you add in all of the time you spend reading others tweets, re-tweeting, and direct messaging others when you could just call or text them, and you've probably got at least another hour if not more there!

2 Hours a week on TWITTER...now I don't even want to go into the math that is involved with Facebook, but for a social network to bring people together, it sure has made interactions with others even more secluded and shallow than ever, not to mention a huge chunk of time wasted!

Now don't get me wrong, I do have both twitter and facebook and no plans of getting rid of them anytime soon because they can be great tools to connect people...So...God has really pushed me to re-evaluate the way I spend my time, the way I use things like Facebook and Twitter in my ministry, and is pushing me to think even more strategically when it comes to my ministry. God is really pushing me right now to clean up areas of my life that, although may not be bad, are not the best for my ministry. What is God telling you to do next? How much time do you spend being antisocial on Social Networks where you could be spending that time with God? What's the first thing you do in the morning, recognize your SAVIOR, or update your status? These are all questions I've asked myself in the last several months and they can be painful to own up to, but God wants your best, not just good!

God is Pushing Patience

I tell you what, when God wants to teach you something, He typically goes all out! So, with the process of moving comes all sorts of things you end up having to deal with, and in our case that included breaking our lease at our apartment in Wilmington and signing a new lease in SC. Our lease in Wilmington was a 13 month lease that we had started back in September, but to break our lease we had to give a 2 month notice, two months rent on top of that, and any concessions we had been given, so the cost was quite pricey...but the only way out of it was to find someone to sublet our place. SO...in short, we had about 60 days to find someone, and lets leave it up to God to wait till the 59th day to find someone to sign the contract, take it off our hands, and save us some money! It was truly the only thing that was holding us to Wilmington, and it caused alot of stress over the past couple of weeks trying to figure out how we could show it living over an hr away, finding people who were interested, getting them to take an application, and actually hoping and praying they would sign it. God's humor is amazing because I was with a friend of mine here in North Myrtle Beach when Sara calls me and says "They took the apartment!!!" You've got to understand how nearly hysterically she was on the phone because it was finally something we could let go of and be done with, and save money! I had so many discussions with God trying to figure out what he was doing, because I couldn't understand why he would allow for money to be basically thrown away, when it could be used in a better way! I guess it was the point where Sara gave the apartment complex the check to buy out the lease and were personally able to let go of that money, that God was good with our mindset enough to bless us with that money. Now we've got to figure out what God wants us to do with it. I pray that God lays it on our hearts what we need to do with that little bit extra, because I'm pumped to use that to bless someone else! God is growing us constantly and you're probably getting sick of me saying how much we've grown, but as we grow, I am constantly reminded of how much I still DON'T KNOW!!! I've got a long ways to go, and I pray that as you seek God, he will reveal His awesome power and make you realize like I have that I can't do this without HIM!!!

I'm back, and hitting the ground running!

So...once again...it's been a while. Since my last post we have successfully moved down to a town just outside of North Myrtle Beach called Longs, SC, started work as the Student Pastor at Barefoot Church, and pretty much dug up the entire back yard so we can have a garden for this Summer. Basically, the past couple weeks have been an absolute whirlwind, but I think it's safe to say that it's pretty much been nonstop since we decided to move just over a year ago. You won't believe how jacked up I am about what is going down and coming up at Barefoot Church in the coming days, weeks, months...you get the idea. God has really started to give me a clear vision over the past several days on where the Student Ministry is going, and it has been crazy how He's been doing that. God has revealed things to me over lunch with potential leaders, in talking with current leaders over pizza before LIFEGroups, and even while I'm sitting in bed reading. It blows my mind that it hasn't come during the times I've set aside for ministry, like office hours, study times, etc...God likes to work in my life in really random ways...it cool, but extremely confusing sometimes! But the best part is that it's never planned, and I think that is what God is trying to show me, I can't plan a ministry, I can only guide it in the direction He gives me. It brings me back to the ideas that you can't plan a move of God, you can't plan a revival, you can't plan a salvation, but you can prepare yourself to minister to someone where they are in a situation that you have been given a vision for.

Pastor Clay has laid out a very clear Vision for our church "We are Changing Lives that Change the World!" My job as a Student Pastor is not to create a new ministry, but to take the vision that our Pastor has been given and focus it in a specific area of ministry, Students. We are not trying to create another church for students. We are going to build relationships with student meeting them where they are i.e. School, Weekend Services, Sporting Events...and guide them to Jesus! That is what God has called me to do, and if you are reading this and would like to jump on board and help me in this, just shoot me an email at nross@barefootchurch.com I will get back to you ASAP and we'll get you plugged in with our ministry. God truly gave me a clear vision tonight hanging out with our students at our LIFEGroup night over pizza and I can't wait to see what God is going to do through this core group of students that we have at this time! I'm praying that our students don't end up just attending a weekly bible study and church service, but that they get involved, serve God, learn to trust in God and live life through faith, and build relationships with others that will forever change their lives!

So, now that I've rambled a bit, I plan on blogging a bit more, not to mention starting some new stuff for the student ministry here in the near future. Love you guys and let us know if we can help with anything at all!!!

ABSOLUTELY JACKED UP!!!!!!

So, from the title you can guess that I'm pretty excited. I've felt like a caged squirrel waiting to be let out so that I can get to the nut that is just out of reach! So...Just to finally get this out, we are moving...again! This time it isn't quite as big a distance as previously, but although it is unreal awesome, it is sad to know that we will be moving away from the amazing people that we have met and grown to love in the Wilmington/Carolina Beach area. On the lighter side, we are only moving an hour down the coast, so we'll just be down in North Myrtle Beach. I will be taking over the responsibilities as the student minister at an amazing church in North Myrtle called Barefoot Church. I can't explain to you how huge of an opportunity this is for me, and I cant wait to see what kind of impact God can have on the students in NMB and at Barefoot Church through Sara and I. My final day working in Wilmington will be Feb. 19th but we will be moving on Saturday the 13th so that we will have a week or so to get things settled. God definitely had plans for us, and we just went where we thought we were called and through our faith, God has blessed us even more than we could have imagined! The friendships we have made here in Wilmington, the opportunities to minister to and serve with the people of Lifepoint Church, and the growth we have experienced personally are irreplaceable! We can only give God the glory for this opportunity and greatly anticipate this new season in our lives. Thank you all for your friendships, leadership, and continued prayers as we jump into ministry and join the amazing ministry team of Barefoot Church. Please pray for the leadership there as we seek after God and what his desires are for the church and the people of North Myrtle Beach!!!

Debt Beat Down UPDATE

So, we're pretty pumped to say that we have payed two of the seven bills off as of this month!!! Two of the smaller medical bills are now in the past and we were also able to save nearly $80 by paying one off early. I would like to add that no matter what anyone says, always ask, because you never know what someone will say when you tell them you have cash and can pay X amount up front! So, now we have decided to simultaneously start saving back an emergency fund that will give us two months of living expenses just in case of...obviously....an emergency and also paying on some of the other bills. Once we have our emergency fund we will be able to focus all of our attention on saving and paying off the rest of our bills. The next bill payoff may be some time away, but we are in an interesting season right now and look forward to bringing everyone up to speed on that soon! We have been stretched and growing in ways that I can't even explain lately, and really are excited to see what God has in store just around the corner!

Passion, Purpose

I think that it is safe to say that there are some huge things going on in everyone's lives right now whether they realize it or not. God is definitely at work in some crazy way right now because everyone we talk to seems to have the same desire...a NEW CHURCH...and when I say church, I don't mean we need to move into some new building...we need to change the way we see what the church is. I'm sorry to say this..no wait...I'M NOT, but people need to get out of the idea that the church is the building on the corner and actually get out of the church building and see what God really wants to do with them. God has definitely called me to be more than just some church attender and yes, while going to church is a great thing, becoming the church, living it out in community with others, and serving those around you without any expectations is what I feel like the church should be.
Through the last year our lives have been "flip turned upside down" to quote the Fresh Prince! We had some thoughts of what might happen, but God threw any preconceived notions we had out the window and blew our minds like you wouldn't believe. Within weeks of moving to an area that we didn't know anyone period, we were plugged into Lifepoint Church and getting to know people that would forever change the way we lived our lives for Christ. Now, on to the reason for me getting off on this rant. I was looking through an old pile of papers when I found a card that had come from an event that we went to for the leaders at Lifepoint. On this card was written the one thing that I think has prepared Sara and I for the position we are in right now. This is what Sara had written: "If the need is there, we should fill it when called. I've felt that way since they spoke to us last, regardless of our circumstances or if we'll get paid or anything."

Now, not to say that Sara and I had figured it all out, but I think in a weird, unknowing way, we had. If we are seeking God, then our desires will get pushed aside, and His desires will take hold. We shouldn't be looking for that one thing, but in all that we do, look for God and He will give us the opportunity to do that one thing we love. It may not be now, and it may not be in the way we expected, but when the only thing that you expect is for God to show up, then God will use you and there will be much greater joy in that than seeking out a passion. My father-in-law has said find your purpose and pursue it with a passion. Wise words for anyone to listen to, and I will tell you that my purpose is to do whatever God calls me to do, and following Him with a passion no matter where that may lead us! I pray that God wrecks your hearts in a way that gives you the desire to get out of your seat and pursue HIM. I'd like to know where HE takes you!!!