Monday, July 21, 2008

What's going on with us? Pt. 2

After our discussion the day of the church planting meeting, I did my best to not be so impatient. I waited on Jon, and he waited on God. We have all experienced God's timing, and know how different it is from our own. Usually, I'm okay with that, but having so much come to fruition in November and December (baby, graduation, job, move?) has shaken my faith a little.

So a few weeks ago, I requested a coffee date where Jon and I could sit down and discuss our options. Put everything on the table and see what we might find. The purpose wasn't to make any decisions, but to figure out what we were each thinking.

Armed with our Starbucks frappuccinos, we started talking about options. It quickly became apparent that our possibilities are wide open. We could still be here and going to school, or we could be in South Dakota planting a church (that's for you, Cliff!). However, as odd as it may sound, it had not occurred to me that we might still be here. I figured, whatever we did would require a move. In fact, I was preparing myself to move, and looking forward to going somewhere where summers never saw 100 degrees (or 90 degrees!). So to think that we could stay here was a revelation to me.

Jon has had a dream of teaching military history in a military academy or a university. To do that, he needs his doctorate of history. So, he might still be in school for awhile, though probably working full-time as well. He is going to be doing some research to see how feasible that is, and what steps he needs to take.

My dream is to be a stay-at-home mom. Jon and I would like to switch our incomes, basically, so he would bring home the full-time check, and I would bring home part-time pay, hopefully through photography.

However, these two dreams of ours are surpassed by God's dreams for us. We don't know what those are, yet, or if He has given us these desires for His purpose. We don't know if church planting will come back on the table, or some other sort of bivocational ministry, or perhaps Jon will be a light in the dark world of liberal academics.

Our coffee date ended when we both hit the realization that we could talk about our plans all night, but we can't actually make any plans until Jon's closer to graduation. Unless we have clearer direction from God, in September, Jon will start sending out applications and resumes to universities to continue his education, to public schools to teach, and to churches and BSMs looking for ministers. We'll just see where that leads us!

So, to end this tw0-part series of where we're headed in life, the answer is that we don't know. We're back to square one and waiting on God's timing. Please pray for patience, peace and openness as we wait!

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your heart. Many of us pray for you and are excited to see what God will do with two wonderful people who are willing to do anything for Him.

    As Jon sends out resumes, we'll be praying for answers and opportunities.

    "Delight yourself in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart."

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  2. We've been learning the hard way that God will always clearly reveal his plan, and it is always perfect...but he rarely gives us a sneak peek. Usually we find out where we're going exactly when we need to take the step.

    Meanwhile, don't forget to enjoy the blessings you get to have now: baby on the way, and family nice and close.

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  3. We're kind of at this juncture, too. Now seems as good a time as any to start the process for moving overseas, but the fact that there's not necessarily a clear SIGN has made it seem kinda weird.

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  4. Lydia-I don't know if you remember me at all; I knew you from Columbus Ave. in Waco. Your blog is one I frequent often...thank you for your powerful words today. I really needed it. My husband and I are both full-time students and graduating in December. I just assumed we would move and start somewhere fresh when that happened, but then again God may have something completely different planned. Sometimes I'm not very patient. I keep thinking about the future and I forget sometimes to live in the present. Thank you for your honest post; I know exactly how you feel.

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  5. It sure is hard to be somewhere and not know what the next step is. But the blessing comes down the road, when you are firmly settled in the next step of life and you can look back and see God's guidance in getting there.

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  6. Thanks to everyone for your encouragement! We've all known God's timing to be perfect, but it sure is hard to remember that in the middle of it, isn't it?

    @Callie: Glad you came out of blogger lurkage! Yes, I remember you, though of course by your maiden name! The "starting somewhere fresh" has such an appeal to me--we didn't come here to settle down, but to learn and move on. On the other hand, the idea of sticking around a little longer is nice, because we have made so many friends here, and any change is hard.

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  7. Hey, Lydia! Just wanted to let you know that I came across another web tool that calculates how much your blog is worth. Mine was worth $1,693.62. I wish they'd just go ahead and send me a check.

    Here's the address:
    http://www.business-opportunities.biz/projects/how-much-is-your-blog-worth/

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  8. Lydia I have been praying for you and all the decisions that you guys are facing in the coming months. We have been there and done that. It can be very frustrating. Keep the faith and God will always lead you the right way. Just know that He knows best.

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