I'm so new to this State that I'm not even sure that's what I would call myself, or how it would be spelled. If it's incorrect I ask you to ignore it! No messages about my ignorance, please!
I have blogged so infrequently lately that I feel I should update you as to where we are and why we are here. Well, why we THINK we are here. In the midst of the crazy last year of our life, John and I have been seeking what God would have us do. A few months ago we felt God leading us to return to Canada to plant a church. We thought and prayed through this and determined that we first need to take time to
A. pay off debt, and
B. Prepare to church-plant.
So, we've moved to John's hometown to get a job and pay off debt while we prepare for the next phase of ministry in our lives. That was the plan.....
We've moved in with John's mother for several reasons. One was to make our cost of living as low as possible so that we could put everything extra to our goal, and also because John's mother is lonely. We've been here for three weeks now and living with Mrs. Sheila is going very well. The only issue we've had so far is that our cat, George, is terrified of her dogs and doesn't seem to want to get off of the table in her garage. For three weeks. This resulted in the unfortunate use of Mrs. Sheila's Christmas decorations boxes as George's bathroom. George is getting a few more chances and then I may have to put him in the Shopper's Guide.
Now, I used the phrase "that was the plan" because we have been here three weeks and John has still not found a job. This is NOT good. John doesn't take "downtime" well, he is slowly going stir-crazy. We have applied in lots of different places and it's all not working out. We are definately questioning our decision making process, but trusting that God will lead the way. Thankfully, the car that we tried so hard to sell for the last 6 months finally sold two weeks ago, so the bills for this month got paid (THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!). This was definately a lesson for us that God's timing is better than ours. We tried to sell that car for months with the intention of paying off a bill with it and if we had sold it when WE wanted to, we would have had no cash to get us through this month.
We need prayer for several things. I have no problem not only asking for it, but begging for it! Pray that God provides a job for John. Pray that God provides a job for John's mother (she lost her job the week we got here, a whole other story. sigh.) Another thing that has happened in the last week is that we found out Sadie is going to need oral surgery. We have insurance, but a VERY high deductible so we will be paying for most of it and this couldn't come at a WORSE time. Her teeth WILL be fixed, there is no way we will be putting this off, just pray for provision. And pray for me, as I am having a really hard time with the idea of putting her under anesthesia. Pray for John as he struggles in many areas, and for myself as well. Pray that our marriage will strengthen in this time instead of getting more strained. Just PRAY!!!
So, we're trusting. I'm leaning hard on Elisabeth Elliot's catch phrase "Do the next thing" to help me not go crazy. One day at a time, don't get overwhelmed with what will happen tomorrow, will we get a job, how will we pay the bills next month, yada yada, just trust God and do the next thing. So, today the next thing is a trip to Walmart for medications. Off I go.
