Finally, we have a plan!

We have been living for a year and a half in what I would call a transition stage. Although if you ask God, He would tell you we weren't in a waiting period transitioning into what God had planned for us in the next stage in life, but we were right were He wanted us, right where He planned us to be.

Before I tell you where we are headed, I want to tell you where we've been. A year and a half ago Paul resigned from the church where he was serving as an associate pastor. We knew that our time there had been served, but we didn't know where we were going next. We moved in with my dad and stepmom thinking that we would quickly find another church where Paul would serve in a ministerial position. Three months later, we were still clueless as to where were going, but we had to figure out something because I was 6 months pregnant and we wanted to be in a place of our own before Ellis made her apperance. Paul moved up to a manager position at Chick-fil-a, we sold our SUV in order to make rent payments, and a month later we moved into our current home here in Westville.

We knew our time here wouldn't be long term, but we settled in, welcomed our second child into the family, and Paul continued to send out his resumes. He interviewed at several churches, but so far none were where God wanted us to be. At one point in time, we were thinking that we would be here for several years, but I have to admit that the idea of Paul having an hour commute one way everyday for several years drove me crazy.

Recently, Paul's boss has been talking with the managers that work for him to figure out their long term plans as it pertains to them staying with Chick-fil-a.  Paul just didn't really have an answer for him. He could commit to being at Chick-fil-a for a couple more years with the possibility that he could get a position at the new Camden one when or even if that ever happened which would be a whoolllle lot closer. He had preached for a pulpit committee for a bi-vocational position, so that was another possibility. He also mentioned the idea of going to seminary. Even before we got married, Paul had talked about going to seminary. Paul had a conversation with a friend who is a pastor about seminary. He told him that it wouldn't get easier to go. The more children you have and the older they get doesn't make it easier.

We talked about going ahead and going to seminary. Sure, Paul could have gotten a ministerial position and gotten his seminary degree online and/or through extensions, but Paul learns best in a classroom setting. He was looking at Southeastern and New Orleans as a possibility, but New Orleans was where he was really interested in. I, on the other hand, was a little bit hesitant about being so far from family and everything that was familiar to me.

After some personal time in prayer, I knew that the only reason Southeastern was still on the table was because of me. I knew that a Seminary education has been something that Paul has wanted for a long, long time. I knew that we were at the perfect point in our life for us to become a "seminary family." I knew that God would provide whatever we needed for this to happen. He would be there with me when I would be in an unfamiliar place and missing my family and friends back in SC. So, I told Paul that we need to go to New Orleans for seminary.

What a peace it is to have an answer to what we have been asking God in prayer. We finally have a "plan." I put that in quotes because when you live for Jesus you don't really have plans, you just take one step at a time wherever He leads.

I'm excited about this journey we are about to take, but I know it will come with its own hardships but nothing that God can't handle. Please be in prayer for us as we prepare to head to New Orleans in January. Pray that Paul would be accepted and that scholarships would cover costs of tuition and things (going into debt over a seminary degree has been one of my fears for a long time whenever Paul and I would discuss going to seminary). Pray that God would provide a job for Paul in New Orleans that would cover our living expenses. Pray for us as we move and settle in a new location so far away from home. Pray that God would help us save somehow for another vehicle. I would love to have a new to us vehicle that has a lot less miles on it and a little more room for this family of four to travel from NO to SC when we visit family than our 2003 Ford Focus with 160,000 miles on it (again, I don't want to go into debt for a vehicle. I don't like debt of any kind as you may can tell). While you are praying for us, please pray for Paul as he prepares to go on a mission trip to Peru in September. This is not an easy trip. It involves living in very primitive conditions and there's a lot of tough travel to get there. It is also a very expensive trip because of the travel and the supplies needed in order to serve in the remote jungle. Also, it is a 10 day trip, which means 10 days of no pay for Paul who is the sole provider for our family, but I know God will provide or He would not have called Paul to go on this trip.

Thanks for all your prayers and support! Sorry for such a long post. I had a lot to share.