God is doing a New Thing...

New Life and a New Path are definitely where Jason and I find ourselves these days. Other than the most obvious, which is awaiting the arrival of our first born baby Cole any day now; God has been growing more than just our son this past year. He has been growing and changing us!
I feel like we could summarize this past year and a half with one word...UNPLANNED. This has been the best unplanned year of my life. In hindsight God was working all these things together so that He could begin something new. 

- We didnt plan to leave a community we thought we moved to be apart of

- Jason didnt plan on only teaching for a year

- We didn't plan on starting a house church 

- I didn't plan on getting into my dream grad school program only to stop 3 months in because.... we received the greatest blessing ever: 

- We found out we were pregnant, with a baby boy!!! 

- We didn't plan that Jason's seeking with God for a new career path would lead him to law enforcement and after almost a year of recruitment Jason got offered the sponsorship to be a Sheriff deputy for Orange County!

Our faith this year was definitely stretched, challenged, and grown. We are so thankful for the amazing people God brought into our lives to challenge us and encourage us during this time and show us what Christ like community and living looks like. Jason for me, was probably the most influential person along with the Holy Spirit of course to do this for me-Personally, these lessons shook all of what I had been accustomed to, to the core and I feel so blessed to feel like I know Jesus better, I know His grace and love deeper, and I understand the freedom that He gives to live in a way that reflects that grace and love daily to yourself and others. Knowing Jasons heart and probably my three months at RTS in the Counseling program  made me take a microscope to my beliefs, the way I view myself, God, and others. I am so so grateful for how God has broken and humbled me to see clearer. I'll have to share a paper I wrote during that time, about an addiction to religiosity! =) Anyways, 

It is amazing to me, the path that the Lord prepares. It can look nothing like you thought it would, and yet it is perfect. I am so grateful that the path we thought we were on, fell apart. 

God has changed me in so many ways because of it and I feel like it has been a gift.  I am so grateful for the hard things, being uncomfortable, not knowing, questioning, being humbled, because it forced me to seek God intensely and listen. To examine my thoughts, my heart, to examine how everything I was experiencing needed to change me to be more like Christ. I have learned more in this year and a half about myself and my faith then any other time in my life. And because of this I feel better equipped to love those around me better. And I have God and my husband to thank for that. =) 

A New Thing: 

A New Life- baby Cole

A New Path- A Deputy and a Stay at Home Mom (ahhh)

A New Understanding- breaking free from religiosity and learning to love like Christ did. Being genuinely vulnerable in your faith and weaknesses so that others can see Christ through it

more on that to come! 

thanks for journeying with us.