So It Begins

The last month has sped by like a NASCAR race.

November 14th marked our one year anniversary. Woohoo! I'm so thankful for the grace the Lord has given us in our first year. It was a great year for us, full of learning experiences, growth and lots of joy. I'm thankful for the husband God has given me and I am looking forward to many more years with him.

I also spent most of the month packing our apartment. Our lease was up on the 27th, so we packed a moving truck and drove all of our stuff down to Eddie's parents house in New Mexico. It's currently being stored in their work shop and will stay there until we find a place to live in Phoenix. We spent Thanksgiving there with his parents, grandparents and sister, which was a blast. The time was full of good food, Settlers of Catan, and some shopping. I love his family and am thankful to be apart of it.

But not having an apartment means we are living out of our suitcases and "couch hopping" for the month of December. We're currently staying at Ryan and Christy Klumph's apartment. Next week we'll be at the Majeski's and the following week at the Alvarado's. Then we'll do Christmas with my family, head to Faithwalkers, come back for Nick Power's and Steph Jordan's wedding, and then we'll head down to Phoenix.

So it seems like we are in a crazy whirl wind right now, just holding on to our anchor, Jesus Christ. And as I have realized that we are in our last month here in Fort Collins, I have begun to feel the bittersweetness of what's ahead; excitement for the adventure, and a broken heart for what's being left behind. Fort Collins has been my home now for 8 years. But I am even more attached to Summitview Community Church and the home I have found there. I will miss my heavenly family very much, but will be glad to catch up with all of you in our eternal dwelling.

So here begins our last month before Pheonix. I'm going to soak in as much of Fort Collins as I can and hang out with as many people as I can before Christmas. So, if you want to hang with me and/or my husband in the next couple of weeks feel free to call us!

Phoenix, Arizona

As some of you already know, Eddie and I are moving to Phoenix, Arizona. Our new pastor, Brandon Pullen, and his wife, Jen, are moving down to Phoenix to be the full time pastor for our sister church down there and he has asked Eddie and I to join him. At this time our plan is to move down to Phoenix in early January, immediately following a couple of weddings we would like to attend.

Things I am looking forward to:

1. Being apart of a small tight knit body of believers.

There are 6-7 families that live down there right now. And with the handful of people that will go down from Fort Collins that means there will only be about 30 people laboring together for the advancement of the kingdom in one of the largest cities in the U.S.

2. How God is going to grow my faith.

There are a lot of things that we need to trust the Lord for. And I am praying that the Lord would stretch and strengthen our faith through this adventure.

3. Doing something new.

It's hard to not be excited about a whole life change, doing something completely new.

Things I am NOT looking forward to:

1.  The heat.

Even today, Nov 4, the high in Phoenix is 89 degrees. In the summer, it gets up to 115 degrees. Yeah... not excited about that.

2. Scorpions

Yep, there are scorpions in Phoenix. My plan is to find every trap and scorpion repellent thing I can get and utilize them all, cause I am pretty freaked out about the idea of having them in my house/shoes/bed/anywhere near me.

3. Not being able to start a fire in the fireplace, cuddle up with a blanket and some coffee and watch a movie while it's snowing outside. Because it doesn't snow in Phoenix! Lame!

Things we need prayer for:

1. Jobs.

Eddie and I are both going down jobless and will need to find jobs when we get there. I've been praying that the Lord would provide Eddie with a solid, permanent job quickly. It's not quite as big of a deal for me, since I can basically get any kind of temporary job until we start having kids.

2. A place to live.

We also don't know where we will be living as of right now, but I am praying that we would be able to live close to the Pullen's and other people in the church.

3. For the Lord to use us.

Us going down there will do nothing unless the Lord works through us. Pray that we will be available and ready for what he might call us into and that he would save people through our efforts down there.

I will try and keep my blog updated with our adventures and with all of the cool things that the Lord is going to do. Thanks for caring about our lives and praying for us!

The Lord's Delight

As I shared in my last blog post, I have been trying to reconnect with the lover of my soul. And one of the verses that has really been burrowing into my heart is Psalm 18:19b.

"he rescued me, because he delighted in me." (ESV)

I have been camping on this verse for the last couple of weeks. I've been trying to picture what it looks like to have the Lord of the universe delight in me. A basic definition of "delight" would be "a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment". And it's just really crazy for me to think that the Lord has a high degree of pleasure/enjoyment because of me. And every time I let that verse sink into my heart, I am filled with so much joy and thankfulness for what God has given me in Christ, namely himself. And what's even crazier, is that he delighted in me before he rescued me! Even when I was dead in my transgressions and sins, he delighted in me and therefore he saved me.

I don't think I can or will ever comprehend the goodness of this God who takes great pleasure in me and gave his life for me in order that he might continue to do so.

Why should I gain from his reward?

I cannot give an answer.

But this I know with all my heart,

His wounds have payed my ransom.