Transitions
Hey, it's me again... Welp, I did it. Day 2 of being obedient. I don't know what I'm going to write about so good luck following this thought process. I guess the blog thing is a form of accountability? Maybe that's why I'm doing this. (So if I skip a few days, will one of you yell at me? K thx!)
I set my alarm for 4:57 today so I'd be up by 5. Well, Maddie was already awake so by the time I actually got out of bed it was 5:45. She got changed, fed, tried to go back to sleep, woke up again, wouldn't sleep, so she's up with me this morning. She's an awful cute little distraction. :)
I read 2 more days of the Lent reading plan on Bible Gateway this morning. The second day stuck out to me more than the first. Here it is:
God basically says "Don't tell me what you can't do. I am telling you, you can because I am."
Yes, Lord. I'm listening.
What are you telling me to do?
This point in my life is a big shift in seasons. I'm currently waiting for direction from the Lord about where and what is next. Eric's last Sunday as senior pastor at his church was Dec 31. We have until March 31 to leave our parsonage. Our "POD" is being delivered this morning, actually, to start to pack so we can move. It's bittersweet. The past season wasn't a great one. It wasn't bad, and I'm not ungrateful for it... but it wasn't easy or fun.
The church my hubby was assigned to in October 2016 was ROUGH. It was difficult from the first week. It was his first appointment at a church, like, ever. We hadn't heard the "don't do anything for a year" rule of new ministry assignments until it was too late. So we rearranged some furniture in the foyer. That was the start of it. Something as small as moving a book shelf can set tone for your ministry. BE WARNED! He toughed it out for 14 months. There were a few good weeks. Maybe a few good months. We made some good relationships with a few people but mostly it was just rough. And don't get me wrong, he is far from perfect and this was his first assignment, but my goodness... I don't even know how to describe it diplomatically... it was just not what you'd expect ministry to be like. We knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park but we expected something different than what happened. That's all I'm going to say about that.
We found out I was expecting our 2nd child in December 2016. We had been trying for so long and we were so excited. (TMI coming, sorry y'all. Skip to the next paragraph if you don't wanna know this much about me.) We had not prevented pregnancy since having Avery in 2011. I finally had decent insurance in the beginning of 2016 so I started seeing an OBGYN about what the heck was going on. Short version, I have PCOS (which I knew) but it was causing me to be pre-diabetic (that was news) and also around this time I had somehow developed an intolerance to gluten that was making me sick (and we'll leave it at that!) So the Dr. helped me get all of that under control, and after doing more testing we found out that I didn't ovulate. (Avery was a miracle. We knew that already. Maybe I'll tell you that story soon.) She prescribed me clomid to help me get pregnant, but wasn't optimistic. She said we had to try it for 3 months before she could refer me to a fertility specialist, so just be prepared for that. I was upset, because to take clomid you have to be ending a period. And seeing how I don't ovulate, I wasn't having many periods. I was mad and sad and just frustrated. I was almost crying because I was mad and pouting because the Dr. wouldn't give me whatever prescription it was that makes you have a period so I could start the clomid. She scheduled me for a 3 month follow up appointment and said she would do that then if I hadn't had a period yet. Guys. I started my period on the way home from that appointment. God was telling me He was in control. And boy is He. 2 weeks later I was pregnant.
All that to say, I was pregnant! Yay! BUT as many of you know it wasn't a smooth pregnancy. I went into preterm labor in May and was on bedrest for 3 months. That means I had to go on disability and not work my 40 hour a week great paying job. Our income was nearly cut in half. (See, it was a hard season) But we have a great support system and we have learned to live on less. After Maddie was born, she had some trouble with her oxygen levels, and I never went back to work full time. We are still dealing with that transition.
But anyway, I feel like I'm getting off track. Transitions. Seasons. Direction. We don't know what's next. Usually I feel a pretty clear leading from the Lord on what decisions to make for our family (yes even though I never read my bible. God's cool like that.) and Eric trusts my judgement in that. But I'm not getting anything. And he's not getting anything... So we are just taking it one step at a time, one day at a time, trying not to make any decisions on our own with out the Spirit leading, but we have to be out of our house in a month and we don't have a plan.
But. Apparently He is speaking. Just this morning He is saying "Don't tell me what you can't do. I am telling you, you can because I am."
Mic Drop. Jen - out.
(Holy crap who's writing this?)
I set my alarm for 4:57 today so I'd be up by 5. Well, Maddie was already awake so by the time I actually got out of bed it was 5:45. She got changed, fed, tried to go back to sleep, woke up again, wouldn't sleep, so she's up with me this morning. She's an awful cute little distraction. :)
I read 2 more days of the Lent reading plan on Bible Gateway this morning. The second day stuck out to me more than the first. Here it is:
Jeremiah 1:4-10
I know you've all heard v. 5 before. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." I've read it many times. Pastor Tim even mentioned that verse in his sermon this past Sunday. Have you read past that to the rest of this? I cant say that I have... and if I have it didn't stick with me. But holy cow is it empowering?!The Prophet Is Called4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;Before you were born I sanctified you;I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”6 Then said I:“Ah, Lord God!Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”7 But the Lord said to me:“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’For you shall go to all to whom I send you,And whatever I command you, you shall speak.8 Do not be afraid of their faces,For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,To root out and to pull down,To destroy and to throw down,To build and to plant.”
God basically says "Don't tell me what you can't do. I am telling you, you can because I am."
Yes, Lord. I'm listening.
What are you telling me to do?
This point in my life is a big shift in seasons. I'm currently waiting for direction from the Lord about where and what is next. Eric's last Sunday as senior pastor at his church was Dec 31. We have until March 31 to leave our parsonage. Our "POD" is being delivered this morning, actually, to start to pack so we can move. It's bittersweet. The past season wasn't a great one. It wasn't bad, and I'm not ungrateful for it... but it wasn't easy or fun.
The church my hubby was assigned to in October 2016 was ROUGH. It was difficult from the first week. It was his first appointment at a church, like, ever. We hadn't heard the "don't do anything for a year" rule of new ministry assignments until it was too late. So we rearranged some furniture in the foyer. That was the start of it. Something as small as moving a book shelf can set tone for your ministry. BE WARNED! He toughed it out for 14 months. There were a few good weeks. Maybe a few good months. We made some good relationships with a few people but mostly it was just rough. And don't get me wrong, he is far from perfect and this was his first assignment, but my goodness... I don't even know how to describe it diplomatically... it was just not what you'd expect ministry to be like. We knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park but we expected something different than what happened. That's all I'm going to say about that.
We found out I was expecting our 2nd child in December 2016. We had been trying for so long and we were so excited. (TMI coming, sorry y'all. Skip to the next paragraph if you don't wanna know this much about me.) We had not prevented pregnancy since having Avery in 2011. I finally had decent insurance in the beginning of 2016 so I started seeing an OBGYN about what the heck was going on. Short version, I have PCOS (which I knew) but it was causing me to be pre-diabetic (that was news) and also around this time I had somehow developed an intolerance to gluten that was making me sick (and we'll leave it at that!) So the Dr. helped me get all of that under control, and after doing more testing we found out that I didn't ovulate. (Avery was a miracle. We knew that already. Maybe I'll tell you that story soon.) She prescribed me clomid to help me get pregnant, but wasn't optimistic. She said we had to try it for 3 months before she could refer me to a fertility specialist, so just be prepared for that. I was upset, because to take clomid you have to be ending a period. And seeing how I don't ovulate, I wasn't having many periods. I was mad and sad and just frustrated. I was almost crying because I was mad and pouting because the Dr. wouldn't give me whatever prescription it was that makes you have a period so I could start the clomid. She scheduled me for a 3 month follow up appointment and said she would do that then if I hadn't had a period yet. Guys. I started my period on the way home from that appointment. God was telling me He was in control. And boy is He. 2 weeks later I was pregnant.
All that to say, I was pregnant! Yay! BUT as many of you know it wasn't a smooth pregnancy. I went into preterm labor in May and was on bedrest for 3 months. That means I had to go on disability and not work my 40 hour a week great paying job. Our income was nearly cut in half. (See, it was a hard season) But we have a great support system and we have learned to live on less. After Maddie was born, she had some trouble with her oxygen levels, and I never went back to work full time. We are still dealing with that transition.
But anyway, I feel like I'm getting off track. Transitions. Seasons. Direction. We don't know what's next. Usually I feel a pretty clear leading from the Lord on what decisions to make for our family (yes even though I never read my bible. God's cool like that.) and Eric trusts my judgement in that. But I'm not getting anything. And he's not getting anything... So we are just taking it one step at a time, one day at a time, trying not to make any decisions on our own with out the Spirit leading, but we have to be out of our house in a month and we don't have a plan.
But. Apparently He is speaking. Just this morning He is saying "Don't tell me what you can't do. I am telling you, you can because I am."
Mic Drop. Jen - out.
(Holy crap who's writing this?)
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