So what's new?...I am going to tell you what is new. About two weeks ago our Sr. Pastor resigned as the Sr. Pastor. Crazy right?!
This was taken straight from his FB status:
To all of our family and friends we wanted to let you know that we are in for a big change in our lives. We have been considering serving in some way in missions. We thought we might volunteer and teach but that has transformed into something only God could have orchestrated. We have been appointed to serve as special assignment missionaries on the South Asia Field. We will be assisting the countries of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and eventually Bangladesh. We are so blessed to have served as the pastor of five great churches over the years and especially our most recent pastorate here at the Murrieta Gateway Church of the Nazarene. What a loving and supportive congregation they are. We know God has amazing plans for them and great blessings are in their future. Please pray for us as we transition into global missions
WOW! Big news right?! Let me first state that I am excited for them and this opportunity. I know that God is leading them, guiding them and is going to use them. So what does this mean for Nick and me? In the Nazarene church (where I pastor) the staff is required to resign and it is up to the church board to decide to accept the resignation or not. Well the board is super supportive of all the staff and the resignations are not going to be approved. Once we get a new pastor he will then have 90 days to decide to keep the staff as is, to bring his own staff or to higher different people for the current positions. Nick and I aren't concerned and we know that ultimately God is guiding our lives and will provide just as he is now.
The church that I pastor at has only had two pastors...the founding pastor and Bill.. When the last pastor resigned it took this church a year to hire Pastor Bill. It could take that long or longer. In the meantime we will continue to do what we do. God has great things in store for Gateway. Nick and I remain excited to serve and minister to this amazing church family.
We ask that you pray for this transition. Please pray for our board, for unity and for the decisions that are being made.
Thank you for Keeping Up with the Joneses
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Fusion of Marriage
When Nick and I take a look back on our life we don't know how we got here. One thing that is for sure our life separately and together hasn't been dull or boring. Life hands you surprises and God has continually kept us on our toes.
We are thankful. We are blessed. We are grateful for his promises. We are thankful for provision.
It has been 7 months since we made the trip across the country to become Cali people. We are finally starting to feel a little more settled. When the Lord placed us at Gateway we weren't sure what kind of relationships we were going to establish with His people. It's insane to me that in just 7 months we already feel like a part of the family. That's God though. We knows how to fuse lives together when needed and in the perfect timing. I must warn you before you read any further this post will probably come off as a sappy wife post. I am okay with this but more importantly I want the true message of this post to be received.
The Lord has this way of working that makes people look back on their life and question how. This is me and my life. After college I set out to take on the world...the ministry world. I was lost, alone and not sure what the Lord was doing with me. I learned a lot, I faced heartache, trials and challenges. I also faced happiness and exciting times of growing. For those of you who truly know me it may have seemed like I couldn't make up my mind, maybe you thought I was like a leaf in the wind being blown one direction only to change directions again. In those moments I did not know what God was doing...all I knew was to be faithful. Because of his leading I have been able to do so many things such as be a single women in ministry, minister to girls who needed guidance in their life and be an advocate to so many beautiful children. I have also been able to live on the East Coast and now the West. The Lord has given me so many opportunities for me to fuse my life with others. I am the youngest in my family, I am a free spirit and I have had to force myself to settle down.
There was a time in my life when I wanted to so desperately get married... once my dad passed away I then had a secret fear of marriage. NO WAY was I going to be vulnerable like people are in marriage just for my husband to pass away. It took a while for my head to catch up to my heart when Nick came in to my life in the capacity that he did. I truly had to trust that God knew what he was doing. I pushed through my fears and my insecurities. I wasn't sure how God was going to bring two ministry minded people together the way that he promised he would...and the only answer I have is God. I love my husband more now than I ever have.
Sometimes I feel that people get marriage twisted. Marriage isn't for us...marriage is for God. Marriage is for our spouse. We are not here for someone to make us happy. Ladies...our husbands are the head of our house and we are to be submissive. People misinterpret this so much...it doesn't mean to bark when our husbands say bark...or sit when they say sit. Ultimately though...they are responsible for decisions. Of course if you both are walking the footsteps of Christ those decisions will not be made without the consultation of the wife. I am ready for men to be men and women to women. Knowing our roles in life leads to freedom.
I am thankful for the choice that I made to marry Nick. I am grateful that I didn't stay in the bondage of my fears. My heart is so full because Nick is my husband and each and every day I get to go home to the man who loves me most. We don't fully know how God is going to fuse our calls to ministry but what I do know is that we will both be obedient to the call. We are being used where we are. No our marriage isn't perfect, there are days where we fight, we cry and we hurt each other. At the same time we allow each other to talk, to listen and to share frustrations. I wouldn't want life any other way and I couldn't imagine doing life without him. It's amazing to me that there was a time where we were both broken people. Broken from the past but God was to faithful to pick up the pieces and fuse them together. I wouldn't have it any other way.
We are thankful. We are blessed. We are grateful for his promises. We are thankful for provision.
It has been 7 months since we made the trip across the country to become Cali people. We are finally starting to feel a little more settled. When the Lord placed us at Gateway we weren't sure what kind of relationships we were going to establish with His people. It's insane to me that in just 7 months we already feel like a part of the family. That's God though. We knows how to fuse lives together when needed and in the perfect timing. I must warn you before you read any further this post will probably come off as a sappy wife post. I am okay with this but more importantly I want the true message of this post to be received.
The Lord has this way of working that makes people look back on their life and question how. This is me and my life. After college I set out to take on the world...the ministry world. I was lost, alone and not sure what the Lord was doing with me. I learned a lot, I faced heartache, trials and challenges. I also faced happiness and exciting times of growing. For those of you who truly know me it may have seemed like I couldn't make up my mind, maybe you thought I was like a leaf in the wind being blown one direction only to change directions again. In those moments I did not know what God was doing...all I knew was to be faithful. Because of his leading I have been able to do so many things such as be a single women in ministry, minister to girls who needed guidance in their life and be an advocate to so many beautiful children. I have also been able to live on the East Coast and now the West. The Lord has given me so many opportunities for me to fuse my life with others. I am the youngest in my family, I am a free spirit and I have had to force myself to settle down.
There was a time in my life when I wanted to so desperately get married... once my dad passed away I then had a secret fear of marriage. NO WAY was I going to be vulnerable like people are in marriage just for my husband to pass away. It took a while for my head to catch up to my heart when Nick came in to my life in the capacity that he did. I truly had to trust that God knew what he was doing. I pushed through my fears and my insecurities. I wasn't sure how God was going to bring two ministry minded people together the way that he promised he would...and the only answer I have is God. I love my husband more now than I ever have.
Sometimes I feel that people get marriage twisted. Marriage isn't for us...marriage is for God. Marriage is for our spouse. We are not here for someone to make us happy. Ladies...our husbands are the head of our house and we are to be submissive. People misinterpret this so much...it doesn't mean to bark when our husbands say bark...or sit when they say sit. Ultimately though...they are responsible for decisions. Of course if you both are walking the footsteps of Christ those decisions will not be made without the consultation of the wife. I am ready for men to be men and women to women. Knowing our roles in life leads to freedom.
I am thankful for the choice that I made to marry Nick. I am grateful that I didn't stay in the bondage of my fears. My heart is so full because Nick is my husband and each and every day I get to go home to the man who loves me most. We don't fully know how God is going to fuse our calls to ministry but what I do know is that we will both be obedient to the call. We are being used where we are. No our marriage isn't perfect, there are days where we fight, we cry and we hurt each other. At the same time we allow each other to talk, to listen and to share frustrations. I wouldn't want life any other way and I couldn't imagine doing life without him. It's amazing to me that there was a time where we were both broken people. Broken from the past but God was to faithful to pick up the pieces and fuse them together. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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