1 Year Later

So...if it wasn't for me having to work the past couple days, I would have written this two days ago. Sept. 1st was exactly one year from the time that we had an amazing group of friends help us load up and send us off on the next leg in the adventure that we call life. From North Myrtle Beach to Arkansas we went, passing through every states Capital on the way and a year later I get to reflect. At this point last year, I was probably sitting at our friend Brent's place trying to figure out what was next. Sara spent nearly a month working nearly 60 hrs a week until I got the job over at the Buckle. Since that time I've moved on from an great job there, to an equally great, but completely different job over at Arvest Bank in Siloam Springs, which is now where we are living. We have a nearly 3 month old little boy that's pretty much the coolest little guy I've ever met...NO...SERIOUSLY!!! I'm in my third week of classes at John Brown University pursuing a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and Community Counseling, I'm loving every minute of it, and I'd take more than two classes a semester if I could balance it all at the moment without driving Sara Crazy! Going back to school has been a shock but also a joy. It's been 3 years since I sat in a classroom, and working the After School Program at Coddington Elementary in Wilmington doesn't count! I realized that I'm going into these classes with a much different attitude than I did when I was finishing up my Undergrad at the UofA. Then, I was just ready to get it done and over-with, now I can't wait for my next class. I look forward to the reading, and the only drawback is that I'm having to balance so many things that I can't truly focus on what I'm passionate about with everything I am. Oh by the way, I'm also assisting in leading worship at our church...another time block that I HAVE to focus on somewhere! Did I mention I have a wife and a son...whew...sometimes I feel like I'm on a tight rope, and I'm only allowed to stand on my little toe, now THATS balance. But honestly, its not that bad. I love where we are, its just been hard trying to figure out how to live here again with the experiences we've had over the past 3 yrs now. Life is completely different in NWA than it was in the ILM! We miss Wilmington, NMB, and the amazing people that we were blessed to share that short time of our lives with, and I don't think our investment into the east coast is done, just have no idea how, when or what God has planned for us. But I can tell you this, we are in NWA for a guaranteed 3 more years, WHY, because that's how long its going to take me to finish school. Now a lot can change in 3 years, just look at our past 3...and I'll leave that up to you to go back and read past posts...it'd take me another year just to put all the pieces together so that you could get a clear understanding of what God has allowed us to experience since we got married! So, as we look forward to what God is doing here, and how different, frustrating, rewarding, challenging and confusing it is, I wanted to look back and tell everyone that we've met in the past 3 years that we love you all! Our hearts are with you in Wilmington, our hearts are with you in NMB, and now are hearts are invested into NWA, but don't think that we have forgotten what you all did for us! With a FULL heart, we pray for you all. God bless those that have blessed us in the past 3 years. Let your power be seen by others as we have seen it, and never stop using these friends we consider family to do the things that you have called them to! God, I pray for strength to be stretched, wisdom to lead, and understanding so that they can guide the people that you have put them in leadership over so that they can guide them to you and your love. We love you all and look forward to the next opportunity we have to visit...which looks like sometime THIS SPRING!!! Can't wait to see what God is up to and to share the same!

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!!!

So, Here's the down low!

-We decided that we wanted a way to let everyone know what is going on in our life without having to sit down and have or type up a 20 minute conversation with everyone we know...so here is the way that we will keep everyone updated!

-Back in November, as some know already, we were serving at The Church at Arkansas in Fayetteville. We love the church and I(Nick) was working as the Youth Pastor intern when the church decided that they would no longer be able to keep me/bring me on as the youth pastor beyond December. So when we found this out, the search for a full time position for me as a youth pastor began! We've been searching non-stop since and other than a few churches showing interest with some feedback, we have had nothing set in stone. We currently are in contact with two churches, one in Roann, IN(good luck finding that one) and another in Simpsonville, SC just southeast of Greenville. These churches are current possibilities but the one in Indiana wouldn't start until May...and the church in South Carolina is in the process of narrowing down candidates(that's always fun to hear)!

-Now, on to what we are currently doing! We have moved out of Fayetteville, and are now transitioning in Van Buren with my parents/working as Substitutes in the VB School District/and are now looking at moving to Wilmington, NC! WHY, you ask...great question!

-Since we've felt God calling us out of Arkansas, we have constantly felt a call to the east cost and in particular, the Carolina's! After being contacted by churches in that area, and seeing what God is doing in those areas, we decided that maybe God was wanting us to just go! We sat down, looked for about 45 minutes each online, and came up with a couple places. After going through each, we realized that the area that Sara had chosen would be the opportunity that God was calling us to! I told her that once we picked a place, I would go online and contact every church in the area that looked to be moving forward and active in the community! After doing this, I was contacted by a church the following day called Horizon Church. The pastor, Gary Keyes, has treated us the way that you would expect to be treated by a fully devoted man of God! He is trying to help us in ways we didn't expect, and has truely given us a vision of Christ at work in Wilmington through our conversations with him.

-We decided this last week that we would visit Wilmington, so we are flying out Saturday, Feb. 21st to set up jobs, apartment, etc...and we are pumped about what God is doing in our lives! We will be setting up a 3 month lease so that if God does call me to be the youth pastor at a church, we will be able to leave quickly, and if we are being called to stay and minister in Wilmington, we will know exactly what God wants by then! Please keep us in your prays and we will definitely keep you up to date on what is going on through this Blog! We will miss everyone and wish we could see and hang out with everyone before we go, but as we all know, thats pretty much impossible! We love you all, and just remember, if you want to visit, feel free! If there is anything or anyone that we can be praying for, please let us know that as well! Well, I guess that all for now! I'm out!