So I totally slacked off on this whole blog thing, (like almost 2 years) and have felt like I needed to pick it back up, I truly want to start not only journaling about how God is moving in our lives, but the things he wants me to share with others, I need to get off my secret pages in my journal, and onto this--to encourage others, (keep my friends updated and feel connected) and ultimately to bring God the glory for all He is doing in our lives! We are continually working out our faith! My prayer is this--
May these posts be like the 12 stones the Israelites placed on the bank of the Jordan River, that it would cause the people to remember the Lord's goodness, when He led them into the Promised Land.
"That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever" (Joshua 4:6-7).
So I had started a post called personal revelation back in August 2012..here's what I had written so far.
Luke 6:46 (Phi) "And what is the point of calling me 'Lord, Lord', without doing what I tell you to do."
Luke 6:46-49 (NEB) "Why do you keep calling me, "Lord, Lord"--and never do what I tell you?.. But, he who hears and does not act is like a man who built his house on the soil without foundations. As soon as the rivers burst upon it, the house collapsed and fell with a great crash."
Luke 11:28 (NIV) "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."Following God's will to be a stay at home mother has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done. God has promised to give us all things that we need, but he never promised us to be comfortable. I have learned to live on MUCH less money than I have been used to for a long time, I have learned to rely on God to provide, I have learned that FAITH is more amazing than I even thought possible, and that true OBEDIENCE leads me closer to my God and Savior, and it is such an indescribable feeling. I have learned to not get caught up in the things of this world, they are just things, and NONE of it can go with me to HEAVEN. I have learned that when trying to do what my flesh thinks is right(even sounds good to my family, and friends), if it's not what God wants, then it is wrong, even if that means doing something totally different than everyone else.
There have been times when we thought, man we are doing good, things are good, life is good, we are blessed. And then it's like God hit us with a ton of bricks, "hello, this is not what I said to do, get back on the path. I have become accustomed to some things, and kept thinking I have worked so hard for these things, and I don't want to give them up, I shouldn't have to. My whole life I have been thinking that prosperity and career success meant I was in the will of God, and he saw favor on me.
John 14:21(NIV) "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
CAN YOU FEEL MY STRUGGLES WITH TITLES,OBEDIENCE, SUCCESS, CONTROL, FAITH, AND ENTITLEMENT!!!!!!!
**warning this is gonna be a long one....a lot has happened fast and it's so hard to call everyone and well here it goes!!!
So yes, we are moving! It's still quite strange saying this out loud! I mean I already did this, I spread my wings a flew away from my hometown/county for over 10 years, and God brought me back. It's the perfect story really, perfect job, surrounded by my family. Got married, had 2 kids, became a SAHM, and God has been working on us in so many different ways, but it was always HERE, with OUR PEOPLE, OUR FAMILY, OUR CHURCH FAMILY--I never saw this one coming--It was not in my 10-20 year plan at all!
God does that you know, catches you off guard sometimes. I seriously thought I had taken this course and passed it with flying colors the first time, and never thought I'd have to repeat it. This whole obedience and faith course- I already did that--I quit my dream job, to be a SAHM, I left my "idol" to be in His will, although it has not been easy, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I have grown closer to God, my husband, and been a better version of me through it all. God doesn't work like college classes do though, even though you pass the class, sometimes you repeat it, or you move onto the next level course, the harder one in the same content area. You never grow when you are comfortable, and let me tell you I have been super uncomfortable! --- for those of you that don't know me, this is a whole other story, for another time--- However God has this way of using things in your life to make you grow closer to Him, to learn to rely on solely HIM, so you'll be ready to jump once again the next time he says to....say like if he says "you are moving to Amarillo" before anyone else realizes it is happening!!!!
I STARTED PRAYING--
I STARTED PRAYING--
I have been praying for my husband so much, truly focusing on it daily for the past year. Instead of nagging or trying to fix him myself, I decided I would turn to God and just pray about it!!! Maybe one day I will share more of this, but today I want to say how I have been praying for him to find a job he is GREAT at, and LOVES!!! Even more specifically that he would take on the role of Christ, as provider, protector, comforter, that he would be the sole provider in our family, and anything I brought in would be "extra" for fun or projects (*side note, It's so hard for me not to work-- as in bring in the $$ work! I love my home based business and still do it very spare time, I love Nerium. However God very clearly told me about a year ago I needed to back off my time spent on my thriving business, and watch HIM provide--reluctantly I said ummm okay) Once again I had to hand my finances over to the Lord. It was January, and I was speaking at our churches women conference on spiritual gifts, specifically encouragement and faith--while I know God used me to speak to women in the room--he was also preparing my heart, soul, and mind for what he would be doing in my life in those same areas over the next year!
I clung on to these verses that my sweet Mentor Martha Dillard shared with me, prayed over me, and I truly feel these words set me free from the bondage of control and fear I had in my life at the time( and sometimes pick back up) I went boldly before the throne as my sweet mentor Carol Howard told me to do, and claimed victory in Jesus name!
WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS SOONER? (hard-headed much? I am a Roemisch sooooo that explains that!)
Seriously!!! I know hindsight is always 20/20 but why am I like the Israelites, surprised every time God says do this, and then he actually delivers!!!!
In the last year, my husband has found a job he is SOOOO GOOD AT! AND TOTALLY LOVES. Who knew the guy who could evangelize so well, was a good salesman?!!! He started out as a Direct Sales Rep for Suddenlink (door to door residential sales),**I almost died when he told me he wanted this job** and now has taken a promotion as an Account Executive (corporate sales). I am so proud of my hard working husband! I can tell you the first 3 months of this job when you are building your sales base, were more than tough financially! I prayed and cried, and thought about fixing it myself, and prayed and stayed the course, and GOD WORKED! Jeremiah earned sales awards multiple times, not bad for a "newbie"never done this type of job before, he totally amazed me, and it was beautiful to watch God work in His life---all the while working in my own! This job was tough on him, he was outside most of the day, walking in whatever weather there was, and was away from us A LOT. We had to rely on sales, and prayed people paid their bills so he wouldn't lose his commission. Living on commission is kinda scary at times, However it has been such a blessing! We have paid off so much debt, saved up our emergency fund, as well as our 3 months income(thank you Dave Ramsey) all in the last year!! This is just crazy to me! I feel like God is showing off sometimes, like here sweet girl, thank you for finally giving up doing it yourself, now watch me do this! And I don't say this just because we are more financially stable, but because we jumped, walked by faith, we were obedient and prayed and believed even when it was terrifying and He has provided way more than I ever dreamed a "door to door" salesman job could! I've seen my husbands confidence grow, his demeanor is different, maybe one day he can share more of this part of the story =)
I listened to Lauren Daigle's song "I will trust in You" over and over and over.
When you don't move the mountains,
I'm needing you to move.
When you don't part the waters,
I wish I could walk through.
When you don't give the answers,
As I cry out to you.
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
I clung on to these verses that my sweet Mentor Martha Dillard shared with me, prayed over me, and I truly feel these words set me free from the bondage of control and fear I had in my life at the time( and sometimes pick back up) I went boldly before the throne as my sweet mentor Carol Howard told me to do, and claimed victory in Jesus name!
23"Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:23-24
My "mountain" here was doubt, fear, control, amongst other things. I told my "mountain' to go throw itself in the sea, out loud( it was totally weird at first, then very empowering). I believed that God would provide, that HE would be my provider, I learned to rely on HIM, not myself, not my husband..and I received it! (still gives me chills)
Seriously!!! I know hindsight is always 20/20 but why am I like the Israelites, surprised every time God says do this, and then he actually delivers!!!!
In the last year, my husband has found a job he is SOOOO GOOD AT! AND TOTALLY LOVES. Who knew the guy who could evangelize so well, was a good salesman?!!! He started out as a Direct Sales Rep for Suddenlink (door to door residential sales),**I almost died when he told me he wanted this job** and now has taken a promotion as an Account Executive (corporate sales). I am so proud of my hard working husband! I can tell you the first 3 months of this job when you are building your sales base, were more than tough financially! I prayed and cried, and thought about fixing it myself, and prayed and stayed the course, and GOD WORKED! Jeremiah earned sales awards multiple times, not bad for a "newbie"never done this type of job before, he totally amazed me, and it was beautiful to watch God work in His life---all the while working in my own! This job was tough on him, he was outside most of the day, walking in whatever weather there was, and was away from us A LOT. We had to rely on sales, and prayed people paid their bills so he wouldn't lose his commission. Living on commission is kinda scary at times, However it has been such a blessing! We have paid off so much debt, saved up our emergency fund, as well as our 3 months income(thank you Dave Ramsey) all in the last year!! This is just crazy to me! I feel like God is showing off sometimes, like here sweet girl, thank you for finally giving up doing it yourself, now watch me do this! And I don't say this just because we are more financially stable, but because we jumped, walked by faith, we were obedient and prayed and believed even when it was terrifying and He has provided way more than I ever dreamed a "door to door" salesman job could! I've seen my husbands confidence grow, his demeanor is different, maybe one day he can share more of this part of the story =)
So about this promotion and why we are moving....
One of the drawbacks to the job as a DSR is you are out and about until dark, so most nights we had already eaten dinner, the kids were bathed and in bed by the time he got home. I was exhausted and we didn't do a very good job at making time for us as well as we do now. He worked most Saturdays and some Sundays. WORK WORK WORK ( this is so not his personality or his goal in life)
I remember him asking me about this job opening a supervisor told him he should apply for, account executive, I froze a little--We were just getting into the swing of things, and my type A personality had plans to finish paying off this debt, and remodel our house we loved here, as in we will live in Snyder forever, this will be our forever home!!!!!! However I didn't say that to him---instead of what I was thinking, I truly believe God spoke through me. Because I encouraged him to apply and go interview, and get that experience so when the job he really wanted came open he would be more prepared for it! *** way to go encouraging wife! Can I get an Amen, a high five? I rocked, that particular moment HA!
This is when God started telling me I would ACTUALLY BE moving to Amarillo, almost immediately after this came out of my mouth about getting interview experience. I totally wrote that in my journal and kept it to myself because NO WAY would this really happen right, I mean that is ludicrous!
So he happily filled out the application. There was the call he had an initial phone interview, he didn't say much except he thought it went well. Then the call back for the 2nd interview when he went into the "bosses" office in LBK- a face to face Which lasted what seemed like ALL DAY LONG-- He was there at 9am and didn't call me until 12:10. When he did call He said "babe, we really need to talk about this Amarillo thing" (God seriously, I heard you but I did not want to hear you)
Shock n Awe, Shock n Awe---but not really, just God confirming what he already had told me.
I wanted to fight this, I wanted to say all the reasons why we CAN'T move away---there are so many I can't even list them---I thought and later he told me he thought I was about to go off on the phone about it-----but I didn't say that. I listened to my husband, in all his excitement, and I could hear in his voice that he wanted this job!!! We waiting for the call for the final interview, and then what seemed like the longest week ever to hear back again YEAH OR NEIGH. We are moving or we aren't. Now we seriously have to tell our parents at least, maybe our siblings this is a possibility(YIKES)!
There is a super good part to it as well... When he told me more about the job description--The best part about this job to me is that it is allowing him to be home more, we get to have him back! it's M-F 8-5. *hallelujah* I'll never forget when we told Emmalyn about it, I mentioned that Daddy got a new job, and it means we would have to move to a new town, a new house, BUT Daddy would be home on Saturdays, and before she went to bed during the week. She was quiet for a minute, precessing like she does, then said so you mean Daddy will be home for dinner every night? I said yes ma'am, I wish I had videoed her jumping up and down in a circle fist pumping her hands in the air saying "yes yes yes, I get to eat dinner with my daddy, daddy gets to play with me" I totally cried, it was good for this Momma's heart. Because while I truly did not want to move from this house, our family, our friends, our church family, my sweet girls, Having my husband "back" at home more is just what is best for our family! God kept confirming this over and over. It was just a matter of waiting for the "you got the job" OFFICIAL call!!! And then we did!!!
AND THEN WE HAD TO TELL EVERYONE....
--to be continued because I have to sleep and finish packing!!!! And how God has moved and made all the pieces fall into place for this move is Him again saying---Hey baby girl, I've got this..just sit back and WATCH THIS!!!! I want to have time to write it all out!
