the move

so, a move has been in the works for some time now. in college russell and i were in ministry with some of our most wonderful friends, ashley and jeremiah. ashley and i lived together with a bunch of girlfriends for a while, and russell lived with jere and four other guys. we were all great friends and had an amazing community and fellowship of living and learning about jesus together. the two of them got married a few months before we did, and moved downtown houston as we moved here about thirty minutes from them. the first year or two of marriage we met with them weekly, eating dessert, playing dominos (if you don't play 84, you should learn cause it's a good one), and praying together. the Lord called them to boston a few years ago, where jeremiah went to seminary. the last time we prayed together before they left, we didn't know if God would bring us close in geography again, but knew that He knew the desires of our hearts. (ashley with emma a couple years ago)

through much prayer, they decided to come back! as they were deciding, we were talking and praying with them about what it would look like for them, and us, when they came back. they asked us if we would consider moving close to them, with a vision to raise our children together living missionally for the gospel. we long to live where we can have spontaneous community with the body of christ, serving and supporting each other as the church in acts did.

russell had a strong desire from the beginning to be a part of that vision, and while i shared some of his excitement, i was really just in a place of trusting him that he was listening and trusting the Lord and would lead our family with discernment. i was pretty caught up in my day to day, particularly when sam was under four months and i was "losing it" a little. russ, very wisely, asked if i would be in prayer about hearing a word from the Lord for me. for me to know whether i was called there as well, knowing full well how a move like that could be difficult. i had asked for prayer and one of the ladies in our church had prayed for me to get a specific word from the Lord, that i would know that i know that i know that it was from Him. a few months passed, and i was singing a couple of weeks ago during service, and i very clearly heard Him say,
"go. i have a place for you there. do not fear. do not be afraid. go. i have a place for your children there. go. go. go..."

i don't know that i have ever heard Him so clearly and known so deeply that He was speaking to me. He addressed perfectly everything i needed. He knows one of my battles of fear is that i will be left behind in ministry. now i know that being a mom is such an amazing calling and the best ministry i can ever have. but i still want to be a part of what my husband is doing. the Lord told me He has a place for me there. a place for me with russ, with the body, with my family, with the lost. do not fear. He also knows i battle fear with the kids. where will they go to school? is it safe? will they be able to stand up under pressures from the world? (of course i can have those fears wherever we are). but He said He has a place for them THERE. a place to be a light to a dark world. a place to run and play and be kids. a place to grow in faith and have friends to grow up with. do not be afraid.

and so we move. we have been clearing out and cleaning up to put our house on the market. boxes and piles, and boxes, and piles. i actually really enjoy packing. i get to clean out things and give stuff to people who will use and appreciate it more. we will definitely be downsizing so i am really trying to hold things loosely. which is one of the many things He is already showing us through this. another thing we have been enjoying is seeing how the girls just trust us. they are excited. they want to go look through a bunch of homes and every time we say we will be taking this or that with us (like ringo our fish, and their beds), they get a bit giddy. and isn't this how we should trust our Father? who loves us so unconditionally and wants only good things for us?

i've been going on and on. all to say, there are a lot of unknowns, but we are grateful and excited to be in a place where we just really don't know what God is going to do, but we know it is going to be amazing.  we have been so thankful for our church here and the people we have relationships with. even though it's only thirty minutes away, it will be difficult. i'm going to be doing a series of posts about this home and memories we've made in it until we see what God provides in a buyer and where exactly He will have us land downtown.