Looking forward...

I can't believe this year is just about over!  It has definitely been a year full of trials and blessings...trials that turned into blessings.  I recently came across a 'Note' that I wrote on my facebook after Ben was let go from his job last year.  It was dated 12/29/10 (which was 2 days after he was fired)...

"My faith has grown so much over the past couple of years.  I used to be a worrier.  I used to stress and get emotional over every little thing that went wrong.  And that's just it, it went wrong...if it wasn't what WE had planned, then it was wrong and scary.  I always knew that God is in control and deep down I knew that it would all be okay.  But still for some reason I always doubted and I always thought of the worst possible scenarios.  But as time has passed and I have grown in my walk with God, I have found myself knowing that things always work out for God's plan. That He has never failed me and promises never to. 

So now I can say without any hesitation that after Ben was unexpectedly "let go" from his job on Monday that we are going to be okay.  More than okay, we are counting this as a huge blessing! 

A few years ago if this would've happened, I know I would be a wreck right now.  Not knowing what the future holds, not knowing how our family is going to be provided for.  Just not knowing. 

Here's a little back story to how life has been for us since Ben started work at RAC...
    If you don't already know, Ben worked for RAC for over 8 years...he got hired a month before we got married.  They have always required their employees be scheduled a minimum of 50 hours a week.  He moved up to management level pretty quickly, which was just more demanding of his time.  Which was more time away from his family.  He has always worked from 8 or 9am until at least 8 or 9pm, five days a week (which included every Saturday).  We have always eaten dinner as a family when Ben got home from work at around 9 or 10 pm.  So of course our kids have always stayed up at night until around 11pm (even on school nights) so that they could have at least an hour with their Daddy every night before bed. 
When Brayden started t-ball last year for the first time, Ben had to sneak out from work early every game night so that he could catch the last 10-15 minutes of his games. 
Not to mention how stressful, mentally and physically demanding it was.  Poor Ben, that's all I can say.
I used to beg him to search for other jobs so that we had him home more and so that our kids could have more of a normal schedule.  But when he's been with this job for so long and it pays the bills so well, it is scary to leave and not know if anything different will work out or not. And of course, when would he ever have the time.

I have prayed almost every night for years now that God would do something with Ben's job.  That he would open doors and that something would change so that we could be happier as a family.  I believe that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, and Lord knows that we both have desired this change for some time now! 
That's why we are believing that this is a huge blessing for our family!  We know that God will provide for us and that he has something so much better in store for our family.  This has to be the answer to my prayers, finally!  We don't know what the future holds, but we know that it will all work out according to His perfect plan.

Psalm 37:3-5

Ben told me today that he hasn't felt this good in a very long time...how many people can say that after just being fired from their job.  ;)

Thank you everyone who have offered their prayers and kind words, it means a lot.  And if anyone knows of any great jobs out there...we are all ears!"

It's amazing to me how we had no clue what was next for us.  But we had faith and God provided so much more than we could have imagined!  

After much prayer and moving around, God opened a door and we came to Gainesville.  We have gotten so much confirmation that we are where God wants us!  We are so unbelievably happy and blessed.  I can honestly say that this has been the best thing that has happened to this family.  

We have grown so much already and are continuing to grow together as a family and together in God.  

This wife and mommy can't imagine being more happier than I am right now!

I just can't wait to see what 2012 holds for us!!  I have a feeling that it is going to be a GREAT year!!

 Happy New Year everyone and God bless!!!

A Work in Progess...

It has been a while since I've blogged.  I think I got a bit discouraged since my last blog post, only at myself though.  I think I got carried away and didn't really look at what I was doing.  


I'm a firm believer that pushing your own convictions on other people is very counter-productive and not an effective way to reach others.  But I think I recently, not intentionally, did that very thing in my last blog post about Halloween.  When I started out writing that post, my intentions were to inform. 
Obviously, I personally want nothing to do with Halloween.  I feel strongly about that, but I know tons of other Christians feel completely different.  I really just wanted to share and inform, but I know that my post was not written in the most effective way.  I used a lot of quotes that I found and really liked...I thought they were great, but I didn't think about how other people might take it.


I honestly really feel like we should all do our best to research and pray about every matter and then, with the Holy Spirit's help, decide for ourselves if it is something that we should or should not be doing or participating in (and how that might effect our personal walk with Christ).  Because everyone's relationship and walk is different.


I grew up in a church that was FULL of a lot of ridiculous rules.  Rules that really were not Biblical at all, just stuff that, in my opinion were personal convictions being taught from the pulpit.  
I was taught that if we didn't follow these rules and do what was considered 'right' in their eyes then we were living in sin, "backsliding", and needed to have some serious 'altar time'.  
Then of course there was always tons of judgements and talking amongst the congregation as to if 'so and so' was living by the guidelines.  There was a knew "heathen" to talk about each week.  
You can only imagine how difficult that was as a teenager trying to find her way in life.  It left me very hurt and confused.  
When I finally left that church I ran from those rules and from God.  It took me a few years to find my way back to Him.  When I finally did, I really didn't know right from wrong anymore.  Because of what I was taught I didn't know what to believe or even who I was.  When I started going to a different church (same denomination) I couldn't understand why things were so very different there.  
It was very difficult for me and took me a good while to find the truth for myself.  


My point here is that I never want to be someone who forces my personal feelings or convictions onto anyone.  I know how destructive that can be.  I know that some things might be considered a temptation to someone, but not to the next person.  Anything can be turned into an idol or an addiction, that's where our faith and help from God really comes into play.  
It really all depends on your personal strengths, weaknesses, and your walk with God.  So when we feel strongly that we shouldn't participate in certain things, that doesn't mean that everyone else who serves God shouldn't participate too.  I think that if we are seeking God and want His will, then He will let us know what is right and wrong for our lives.  The only thing we have to do is search His word, really pray about it, and be open to Him. 


I am still a work in progress, as we all are.  The reason why I started blogging was to somehow grow in my personal walk and maybe even help others along the way.  I think that this is a big lesson for myself.