Tuesday, May 15, 2012

New News in the Little Household!

Well...many people are already aware of what this blog is going to be about...but several are not!  Brent and I moved to New Bern last June to take a position at Pleasant Acres Church.   I have been teaching at the school and Brent has served as the music minister.  Throughout the course of this year there have been so many things on our mind.  What does God have in store?  What are we learning from this experience?  What is our future going to be like here?  As we started our ministry we still had butterflies and a little bit of "homesickness".  As we started our journey we prayed that God would make us comfortable and help us to love our new home and ministry.  After a few months we were still praying to feel at home.   Over time we adjusted and continued to pray that we would know exactly God's plan for our lives.  As we began to pray and search our hearts the Lord revealed so much more than we could have ever imagined.  We had really been praying for God to guide and direct our path and we had believed we would be in New Bern for several years.  The more we prayed a lack of peace began to overwhelm our hearts.  Brent and I would discuss things EVERY night...and I mean EVERY night...how we were feeling, why were we feeling this way, and what in the world was God doing.  We started to think about small things that had been on our hearts and began to realize that some of these things were God's still, small voice.  Over time we had been thinking about these desires of our heart, but not really giving any significant thought to them.  We knew God was trying to get our attention, but what exactly are we to do?  Well after much prayer and discussion we beleive that God was ready for us to really begin fully relying and trusting in Him.  I am thinking....HELLO we are in the ministry, we do rely on God.  But we began to express how we have never had a time of just stepping out on faith and trusting the Lord to work and direct our paths.  We truly believe that after looking for direction and what path to take that God is leading us to move back to our home in Gastonia.  Once we return, Brent will begin pursuing his masters degree. 
Here is where the leap of faith comes in.  We are super excited about what God is going to do, but are still praying for God to open the right door of employment in HIS timing.  We are very grateful that God did not allow our home in Gastonia to sell, and not only did He allow it to not sell; He provided us with the most amazing tenants to rent it who happened to need out of their lease 2 weeks before our move date!  Can you say God's timing is AMAZING!  We have been so pleased with the way our house was taken care of , as well as, how amazing this couple was in making their payments.  I have heard so many horror stories of renting out your home, but I can truly say after looking at my property...Me (MISS PICKY, CLEAN NUT)  cannot find ONE problem!  Not only did this couple take great care of our home, they had the carpets cleaned and hired a professional cleaner without us asking!  As of now, our plans are to move back home and continue to pursue our career options.  Once the right doors open we are excited for Brent to begin studying his masters.  We know this is the beginning to a long journey, but we are SO grateful about what the Lord is going to do. 
Although New Bern did not end up like we thought it would, God always knows what He is doing.  We have learned so much over the span of time we have lived here.  From "how to move" to the important issues in life such as truly living a life of faith.  We came here following God, and we leave here stronger and continuing to follow His leading.  We covet your prayers over the next few weeks as we will be moving and continue to search for the right doors to continue walking through!