You may be wondering what has happened in my life since my husband and I have stepped out on faith to follow his calling to preach? We spent two months of our summer traveling, we waited two months for our fifth daughter to be born, and have now made a move to a new state.

Moving Toward Ministry

As we traveled those two months across four states and back home we were able to listen to preaching CD’s while we traveled. It was interesting to see God work and speak a specific theme to our hearts, “Move toward ministry.” You see, when you are out of  ministry for a while and you begin thinking of life and its’ choices there can be a big temptation not to go back into ministry. We had been very tired from busy schedules and some hurts that had come along through the years that I know that I battled those thoughts more than my husband has. God keeps confirming in our hearts that although He has not given us a specific place to serve yet that He wants us moving toward ministry.

At the end of July we traveled to my husband’s home state and hometown to attend his cousin’s wedding. While we were there my husband was able to get some good counsel from the pastor he grew up under who gave us some great things to think about and pray about as far as making specific decisions about… what do you think? “Moving toward ministry!”

Taking Care of Family First

We have taken the things his pastor directed us to pray about and felt the Lord was prompting us to follow Him to his home state. We interviewed with a church near my husband’s home church* and after months of waiting for a refinance to go through on their church building they still did not have the finances to bring us on. This was a disappointment we learned only one week before we moved, sometime in August we knew we would move even if we did not work at that church. We made a decision to wait until our daughter was born and stay with the midwife that had cared for my pregnancy. I dealt with some painful kidney problems daily the last months of my pregnancy that kept me from being able to stand or sit very long in an upright position. Looking back we know that was the right decision because our daughter Cinco’s birth was a special experience, better than what we could have asked for. We are now moved and relocated but because of our finances have moved in with my in-laws temporarily.

My husband has acquired a job that has him working with beginning to learn electrical work. While we are waiting on God’s direction our focus has been to provide the means to get into our own home and get settled and through the holidays. We joined my husband’s home church the first Sunday we arrived. Our children have already become involved in the children’s choir, Sunday School classes, and the Wednesday night Bible memorization program. We knew that we needed to plug them in quickly after many months of not being actively involved in church. They are loving it! My husband is taking advantage of opportunities to preach and teach as they are offered to him. Right now my main ministry focus is taking care of nurturing our new baby.

The Unknown Future

Transition is never easy for me and this entire year has been one full of transition. In so many ways I wish that 2016 would be a clean and fresh slate to be able to begin a new year in a new way and not look back at the difficulties 2015 has held for us. Thankfully God’s faithfulness has helped us be able to get through situations of great faith and truly leaning upon Him during the times when we could not understand. We’re still looking at an unknown future! The unknown is both exciting and daunting.

I have not had the title of “music director’s wife” for six months now, but it still seems strange. Titles do not keep us from ministering or equal anything special, it did help me to know my place and role in what I believed God wanted me to do at the time. Walking into a church and just being another church member with no expectations or requirements does not carry the liberating feeling I dreamed of on the busiest of ministry weeks. The church members in our new church are very friendly and welcoming and I know in time God will direct me to a specific place to serve and be a part, it is just going to take time.

I never imagined we would ever get to a place where we would be dependent upon so many other people. Living with my in-laws has been humbling to the independent part of me who wants to stand on her own and be just fine. God has prepared their hearts to help us be obedient to whatever God wants us to do and honestly I could not ask for anything more! They are making this part of the transition easier.

There are so many special stories that are the icing on the cake for our relocation process but I just cannot tell them all in this update. Thank you to those who have prayed for us and taken the time to ask me how things are going. I truly appreciate you! We know God has a plan for us and I can’t wait to tell you our future updates.

*What is a home church? We refer to a home church as being the church you grew up in and went to Bible college from. Our Bible college was in another state and each student would commonly refer to the church they came from as their “home church.”