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As I think back, I am overwhelmed with the amount of change we experienced last year. This time last year Coltin and I were getting ready to celebrate our first year of marriage together. He was a part time Associate Worship Pastor and a full time teller at the local bank. I was assisting the Youth and Education Pastor and baking some on the side. We had made a home out of a small loft apartment, and we were completely unaware of how God was already beginning to move us in a new direction.
In February we celebrated a whole year of marriage together! We took a weekend trip to Austin where we relaxed, did indoor skydiving, ate out of food trucks, and strolled the streets with the locals.
In March I got to travel with our youth group back to Belize over Spring Break on mission. We teamed up with a group from North Carolina and spent the week hosting a VBS for local school children. We ended the week with a day on the island snorkeling, feasting, and debriefing with our teammates.
It was while I was out of the country that Coltin received a phone call that changed everything. Through nothing short of a miracle of God, we began talking to a church in Oklahoma about a Worship Pastor position they were hiring for. If I were to try to explain the path of events that had fallen into place to make this happen, you would never believe me! Long story short, in April we went in view of a call to Trinity Baptist Church in Ada, Oklahoma, and our hearts found their new home.
The beginning of one thing is inevitably the end of another, and we left our church in Justin with heavy hearts. It was the church where we met, where we first served together in ministry, where we had made many friends, and a place where we were loved more than we could ever deserve. We were taught about ministry and relationships, we were discipled, and we began our marriage with the advice and example of many spiritual parents. FBC Justin will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
On May 19 we drove to Ada with two mattresses strapped to our cars and my mom in tow. In God's faithfulness to provide, he also provided us a home through a church member. We snatched it up with a gleam in our eyes and hopes that were vested in one too many episodes of HGTV renovations.
When we hit the ground, we hit it running and never looked back! We spent 2 solid weeks of 12-16 hour days transforming the surface of the house. One day I'll dedicate a blog to the renovation in detail, but for now here are a few pictures of the transformation.
The summer was full of activities at the church and we spent every moment we could meeting and getting to know our new church family. We even had the opportunity to spend two weeks at Falls Creek youth camp.
We decided the move to Oklahoma was a perfect chance to chase after a dream of mine, so I opened Scribbles Bakery out of our home. It was the answer to all my creative desires and it didn't hurt my sweet tooth either.
After 5 or 6 months, the bakery was going strong, but I wasn't. I was up before dawn many days and crawling in bed around midnight and it wasn't working. It also wasn't providing the income we were hoping for, and I reluctantly shut the doors in November.
Since then, I've begun working at East Central and it's a new experience altogether. Some days it's exciting and some days it's not. Some days it's very stressful and some days it's very rewarding. I don't know much, but I know God is using it to shape me and to make me more like him. I pray and try to remember that that's enough.
October and November were full of big family events. Coltin's sister got engaged, my brother and sister-in-law announced they are pregnant, and Coltin was ordained into the ministry!
You may relate to this, but for me 2014 ended in a holiday blur. It's my favorite time of year, and yet it always seems to fly by the fastest. It was full of warmth, laughter, and delicious smells. We spent much needed time with family and friends and it fills my heart up just to remember.
It is good to remember. I will never forget the day when I was sipping coffee with one of my dearest friends who was discipling me at the time. She brought up how often God commanded the people of Israel to remember, celebrate, write down. Remembering does us good because it helps us to see how beautifully God is working in our lives. It gives fresh perspective to things. It invites us to praise Him.
Overall, 2014 was a year of great change. It brought ups and downs as any year does, but it was full of good things. We have had community in our lives that we've never experienced before. I'm jumping ahead, but I already know one of my goals for 2015 is to invest in deep relationships.
Friend, I hope you will take a moment to look back on 2014. It's often easy to pick out and remember the bad things that happened, the dreams that went unfulfilled, or the prayers that went unanswered. Just this once, remember only the good. Reflect on how much there was; I bet you'll be surprised!
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