Time and Again

Well, here we go! Another year is going in the books. 2013 (pronounced twenty thirteen) is quickly coming to a close to make room for 2014 (pronounced of course twenty fourteen). To be honest this post will be quiet similar to my post in July. BUT it is meant to be a starter post...much like the dough needed for home made bread. You use a little of the old dough in order to make new dough, and the process repeats itself. Hopefully this will be the first of many and the process will repeat itself

2012 and 2013 proved to be two of the most transitional times in my family up to this point.

In 2012 we transitioned out of serving for 10 years in a church that we had grown up in. We spent 2 years as children pastors and 8 as youth pastors. During those years we saw God do some awesome things in changing the lives and preparing students for their future. We had the honor of pastoring the same kids from the 2nd and 3rd grades through graduation. We were in a sense their second parents.  Many of those kids are now grown with kids of their own. We still try to walk through life with them, not abandoning them after graduation. We had two children of our own who were loved on and cared for by the whole church family. We went on some adventures, had our hearts filled, and had our hearts broken. But through it all, we knew somehow, God was not just working through us but in us.

We are now serving as Associate Pastors at a church that is roughly 4 times the size of our previous church. I am  honored to be serving with, who I consider, our spiritual father. In the last year we have been blessed, stretched, and challenged in new and exciting ways. Honestly, most days I feel as if I have jumped straight from Little League to the Pros. We are in a place of forming new relationships, going on new adventures, and seeing God do amazing things in the lives of those that we now lead. But even still I know God is working something new in us.

In August of this year, I lost the man I call dad. Most people don't know that if you looked on my birth certificate you would not see his name, but another man's. I never really had or will ever have the opportunity to know the other man. I'm grateful for him, for I would not be here if not for him. But, it takes a lot of humility and courage to love and care for another man's child. That is exactly what my dad did starting when I was 5. Christmas has has reopened the wounds that were slowly starting heal. I  know that life will never get back to "normal" but one day I will come to a place of a "new normal."

Needless to say, in a way, over the course of the last year and a half...I feel as though I've kind of lost who I was, who I am, and not sure of who I'm supposed to be. (Maybe a little TMI for you.)  We all go through seasons of this I'm sure. One thing that has remained constant and even grown, is the relationship between my wife, my daughters, and I. So much in fact that we're having another baby girl in May (I'm SO outnumbered!) I am so blessed to be entrusted with these treasures. (Even now my girls are supposed to be sleeping but are awake giggling in bed.) The other is the strengthening of my knowing that my God is still unchanging, and His plans and purpose for me are still greater than I can fathom....even when it seems contradictory in the moment.

So, in your uncertainty...know that your not alone, because other's go through the same thing. Also in your uncertainty...know that your not alone because...Your God is with you and His plans for you are still greater than you can fathom.

Now get ready because 2014 is going to be a defining year for many of you! Make the most of it!