A New Journey

First of all, YES I'm still WAY behind in my catching up on our blog! I'll get right on that and for obvious reasons will need to be much more up to date in the future!

This post will be somehwat of a journal entry so that I can look back in a few months and be able to see All that God is doing in our lives! Alex and I have been praying consistently for over a year now on how God would lead us in regards to Youth Ministry...we knew something was about to change in our lives and come down the pipes but we had no idea what that might be. We kept doing what we could while Alex was working at Lowes, completing his A.S. through Liberty, working with the youth at Crestview Baptist and praying. Along the way and through circumstances God brought Shawn & Amy Skaggs into our lives this past August. They have become huge mentors in our lives and have graciously allowed us to serve under them at Crestview in the middle school ministry.

Both Shawn and Amy approached us with this school called Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, in Pineville, Kentucky back in the fall of last year. We of course blew it off and thought nothing of it (a quick word of advice - don't EVER tell God where you won't go!), but God continued to work on our hearts. We kept on praying and in December 2011 Alex requested some information from the school. Even throughout the months of December & January we felt that there were other opportunities that would play out. However, God quickly closed those doors and we were back at square one....again Shawn and Amy brought up Clear Creek and we began to pray over this once again. We reqeusted even more information from the school in February and put in an application "just to see" what would happen. We then began to plan a family vacation to the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina and felt like we should incorporate a trip to the campus in that trip. Funny how God works through circumstances....because the Skagg famly just happened to be going on vacation the exact same week and decided to take a detuour and go with us to the campus on Monday, March 19th. So, we made the plans, set the dates, made apts with Brother Billy Howell (Dean of admissions) and Mr. Sam Riesner (Financial Aid).

We had so much on our hearts and in our heads before we left. I personally had given God a "to do" list (which obviously was NOT showing that much faith!) of what I felt might need to happen IF we were to attend this school. HA! I guess God was laughing at me because He absolutely BLEW me and Alex out of the water while we were on campus. I know it sounds cliche' but I have never in my entire life felt more the prescence of God in a place, nor have I ever felt the calling of God on our lives more than we did over the two days we were on campus as CCBBC. God is showing us that He will more than provide fo us and this is exactly where he wants our family to be. Alex will be finishing up his BA in Pastoral Ministries with a calling in Youth Ministry.

We are still not for sure exactly how many credits will transfer from Liberty to CCBBC but at this time it looks like we will be at CCBBC for about 2 years. While we were on campus we were invited to a Bonfire on Holly Hill (more than likely the housing area we will be living at) and we met some really great families who have kids Emma and Ethan's age and also home school as we do. It was so encouraging to see our kids make friends right away and to know that they will have kids their age to play with and do school with while we are there. Sitting around that bonfire that night God just wrapped His arms around me as I heard story after story of His provisons in those families lives because they answered the call He placed on them. Encouragment just doesn't even encompass what we felt through those couples and famlies that we met, and we look forward to getting to know them even more once we move there in the summer. We are officially and finally surrending to the call of full time ministry and whatever that may mean for our future! We are all extremely excited and extremely nervous about what the future holds, but at the same time I have a peace like I have never experienced before and I know that God will provide and take care of us.

One of the verses that I have been holding on to the past few days is Dueteronomy 31:8 "The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged." Another verse is a much more popular one found in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I honestly believe that God works through circumstances and we never would have found Clear Creek Baptist Bible School if it weren't through friends who have prayed over us and for us during this last year. We know that for this time this is where God is calling us to...we don't know what will come after this stage other than prayerfully a full time youth ministry position somewhere.

For all of our family and friends who may be reading this we do ask that you join us in prayer as we begin this new adventure that God is calling us to. Pray that we continue to seek God in every decision that we make and that we always try to please Him and do His will above our own.