"Sometimes providence can be defined as times when God trumps your perfectly good plan with one of His own...and then seems to disappear from it."
I (Kimberly) read this statement while working on my Bible Study for the week and it struck a chord with me. I began to think about it in terms of our situation. Our "perfectly good plan" was to stay in Oregon and grow our family. God decided to trump that plan and take us out of our comfort zone - way out. He asked us to move across the country and we obeyed, trusting that He must have something amazing and special for us here in North Carolina. And now, less than 2 years later, we find ourselves in limbo yet again. With no real job prospects on the horizon (except for one in Massachusetts) it is tempting to think He has disappeared. While we have made good friends here, seen more of the country and expanded our family, we aren't sure if we've fulfilled what He brought us here for. Which begs the question..."why did he move us here in the first place?"
As I pondered all these things and more, the Lord reminded me of a passage of scripture - it doesn't provide the answers for all the burning questions I have concerning our future and His will for us. But, it does give me everything I need to know for right now and for the days ahead.
"I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:5b, 7-9
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Snow in the South
Other than the obvious drawbacks to being laid off, people don't really get to see all the up-sides that exist. Today was a great example as we woke up to a winter wonderland of snow outside. So, both Lauren and I took a "snow day" and had fun playing out in the backyard and on the golf course.
We made snow angels, had a little snowball fight, rolled down the hills on the course, and she perfected the "Lauren Move", which consisted of her running full speed down a hill, leaping in the air, landing on her knees and sliding on the snow. The highlight for her was when we found a group of about 8 kids sledding down a steep hill near the 13th green. The oldest boy offered to let Lauren borrow a sled and take a run or two. She was ecstatic as we climbed the hill, mostly because she had never been sledding before. Without fear she jumped on the sled and with a push from Dad she was shooting down the hill screaming with glee. For her second run, a little girl on the hill asked if she wanted to race, so they flew down the hill together.
It was a great day, because for all the snow we got when visiting Oregon over the holidays, Lauren was too sick to get to go out and play in it. And for me, it was so much fun to go play in the snow with my daugher, and she helped me to feel like a little boy again. In that way, she helped take all of my cares away and let me just enjoy an unexpected and surreal day of snow in the South.
We made snow angels, had a little snowball fight, rolled down the hills on the course, and she perfected the "Lauren Move", which consisted of her running full speed down a hill, leaping in the air, landing on her knees and sliding on the snow. The highlight for her was when we found a group of about 8 kids sledding down a steep hill near the 13th green. The oldest boy offered to let Lauren borrow a sled and take a run or two. She was ecstatic as we climbed the hill, mostly because she had never been sledding before. Without fear she jumped on the sled and with a push from Dad she was shooting down the hill screaming with glee. For her second run, a little girl on the hill asked if she wanted to race, so they flew down the hill together.
It was a great day, because for all the snow we got when visiting Oregon over the holidays, Lauren was too sick to get to go out and play in it. And for me, it was so much fun to go play in the snow with my daugher, and she helped me to feel like a little boy again. In that way, she helped take all of my cares away and let me just enjoy an unexpected and surreal day of snow in the South.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Search Begins...
Well, it has been an interesting week as Ryan began the hunt for a new job. As you would expect, there isn't a whole lot out there right now. But, he has found a few positions that looked interesting and has applied for them. Our focus states right now are OR, WA, CA and NC. It would be easiest to stay here and not have to try and sell our house in this poor real estate market. But, we also have family in the other 3 states, so that would be nice. Thankfully, the decision isn't ours to make. It is the Lord's and we will just humbly follow.
It has been somewhat of a difficult adjustment. While it's nice having Ryan home, I have to pretend that he isn't really here most of the day. I'm getting used to it, but it is very hard for Lauren. Because she knows that he is just in the next room working, she wants to go show him her artwork or take him pretend cups of tea. Thankfully, most days of the week she is in school, so that helps a bit. But, the advantage is that he can work in the yard on his "lunch breaks"!
While he has begun the search for employment, I have also started to research schools where we would like Lauren to go for kindergarten in the fall. We attended our first open house today and were quite impressed. We have two more to go to before we have to decide - we are looking at three Christian schools in our area. Obviously, if Ryan isn't able to find a job by then, we may end up putting her at the local public school. But, the desire of our heart is that she receive a Christian education. It is hard to look at these schools seriously, when we really have no idea where we will be come September. Especially when most of them have a hefty application fee, that is usually non-refundable.
With so much of our family's future uncertain at this time, we continue to covet your prayers. More than anything, that the Lord would make His will known to us. It is so hard to go about each day seemingly directionless. But, we know that He is using this experience to teach us how to better rely on Him. And we would rather stand still than take one step He didn't plan for us. So...we are doing our best to "be still and know", trusting that those steps will be made clear when the time is right.
It has been somewhat of a difficult adjustment. While it's nice having Ryan home, I have to pretend that he isn't really here most of the day. I'm getting used to it, but it is very hard for Lauren. Because she knows that he is just in the next room working, she wants to go show him her artwork or take him pretend cups of tea. Thankfully, most days of the week she is in school, so that helps a bit. But, the advantage is that he can work in the yard on his "lunch breaks"!
While he has begun the search for employment, I have also started to research schools where we would like Lauren to go for kindergarten in the fall. We attended our first open house today and were quite impressed. We have two more to go to before we have to decide - we are looking at three Christian schools in our area. Obviously, if Ryan isn't able to find a job by then, we may end up putting her at the local public school. But, the desire of our heart is that she receive a Christian education. It is hard to look at these schools seriously, when we really have no idea where we will be come September. Especially when most of them have a hefty application fee, that is usually non-refundable.
With so much of our family's future uncertain at this time, we continue to covet your prayers. More than anything, that the Lord would make His will known to us. It is so hard to go about each day seemingly directionless. But, we know that He is using this experience to teach us how to better rely on Him. And we would rather stand still than take one step He didn't plan for us. So...we are doing our best to "be still and know", trusting that those steps will be made clear when the time is right.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A Time of Change
This last Wednesday brought about a big change for us as Rubbermaid laid off 38 employees...and Ryan was one of them. He didn't know about the layoff until he went into work that morning. And, I guess, you never know if you are going to be one of those let go. They had been doing alot of reorganization over the last couple of months, so it wasn't a huge shock.
Everyone keeps asking us how we are doing and are we scared because the job market isn't the best right now, etc. All we can say is that we have been here before - the Lord provided for us then, taught us so much about leaning on Him, and led us here to North Carolina. So, we are 100% certain that He will do it again. As we faithfully seek out His will in this situation, we know He will lead us in the way He wants us to go.
This has been a great opportunity to teach Lauren about trusting in the Lord, depite our tendency to fear and worry. And she has enjoyed that Daddy can now take her to school and be one of the "mystery readers" for circle time. I also took her on an outing to pick out a new tie for Daddy to wear on his interviews - when we gave it to him, she said, "This is your good luck tie to help you find a job, because we love you and we believe in you!"
In closing, let me just say that we do not regret choosing to follow the Lord when He moved us here. We may not understand His reasons or His timing, but we cannot see the big picture yet. He has called us to follow Him blindly wherever He leads and so we choose again to step out in faith, trusting that He will light our path.
"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand -
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand."
Everyone keeps asking us how we are doing and are we scared because the job market isn't the best right now, etc. All we can say is that we have been here before - the Lord provided for us then, taught us so much about leaning on Him, and led us here to North Carolina. So, we are 100% certain that He will do it again. As we faithfully seek out His will in this situation, we know He will lead us in the way He wants us to go.
This has been a great opportunity to teach Lauren about trusting in the Lord, depite our tendency to fear and worry. And she has enjoyed that Daddy can now take her to school and be one of the "mystery readers" for circle time. I also took her on an outing to pick out a new tie for Daddy to wear on his interviews - when we gave it to him, she said, "This is your good luck tie to help you find a job, because we love you and we believe in you!"
In closing, let me just say that we do not regret choosing to follow the Lord when He moved us here. We may not understand His reasons or His timing, but we cannot see the big picture yet. He has called us to follow Him blindly wherever He leads and so we choose again to step out in faith, trusting that He will light our path.
"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand -
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand."
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Christmas Vacation
I know I am late in posting a blog, but we've had a crazy week, trying to get back into our regular routine. We had a fabulous Christmas spent with family - lots of great food, late nights playing games & laughing hysterically and shopping with all my favorite people!! Lauren and Nolan did fairly well on the flights and we had no delays - praise the Lord! The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and getting spoiled by both sets of grandparents. And other than all of us getting sick while we were there, we had a great time! Here are some pictures from our 2-week visit:
Lauren & Nolan on the plane
My whole family
Nolan meets Ryan's brother, Rob
Nolan & Brennan (his closest cousin by age - my brother's youngest boy)
All 8 grandkids!!
My mom enjoying her grandson
Nolan & his Papa (my dad)
Lauren & Nolan on the plane
My whole family
Nolan meets Ryan's brother, Rob
Nolan & Brennan (his closest cousin by age - my brother's youngest boy)
All 8 grandkids!!
My mom enjoying her grandson
Nolan & his Papa (my dad)
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