My Next Chapter

I've been waiting for some time to pass to write this post but it's been coming for some time. The last couple of months have been the most hectic since I became a husband, dad, and first time homeowner with a new job all in about 4 months (I could be wrong but I can't see those 4 months ever being topped). It honestly kind of difficult to even figure out where to begin. Maybe just being straightforward will be a good start.

At the end of July, I accepted an offer from the Northwest Church of Christ in San Antonio, Texas to become their new associate minister. My family and I are  officially out of Huntsville and out of youth ministry. This move comes with an array of emotions. Some of those feelings I will be diving into and others I will not. My role will have me primarily working with young adults in this church. I'll be overseeing all those 18-35. There will be more challenges and responsibilities, something that I have desired for some time now. I am now a couple of weeks in on the job and it has been really great so far. This church has never hired for a position like this so we are both learning about each other and ourselves as we go along. A very popular term in church and ministry right now is "organic" which is a reference to the desire that churches have to make ministry and mission happen naturally as opposed to programs. I'm a fan of this.

For some time now, I have felt God calling me to something different from what I have been doing. There have been some very high and low moments throughout this process for me. I am forever grateful to my students and parents who were and are a part of the youth ministry in Huntsville. They will always have a special place in my heart and I could write a completely separate blog about so many individuals having such a huge impact on my life and my family's lives (and I just may at some point!). With this being said, God opened a number of different doors at a number of different times and places that have ultimately led me to where I am now in San Antonio.

We are very excited about this new chapter for our family (also don't worry about the picture at the top if you don't watch the NBA or know who Kevin Durant is). We have always loved getaways to San Antonio and all that it has to offer. The church is about a ten minute drive from both SeaWorld and Six Flags as well as 15-20 minutes from downtown and the riverwalk. We are in the TexMex capitol of the world which happens to be Ashley's favorite kind of food. We are a reasonable drive from virtually every kind of restaurant and shopping store in existence and about 20 minutes from the San Antonio airport. The church has been wonderful to us as well. They have solid youth ministry and children's ministry programs and a terrific lead pastor who has been working alongside this church for 25 years. This church even had several people spend their Saturday morning a few weeks ago helping us move most of our things into a storage unit! They have all been very good to us early on and we're excited to continue this work for years to come.

One very difficult part of this transition has been the selling of our house. We simply struck out in finding a buyer for a very long time and while there is a contract on our house now, the in-between part has been rough on our family both financially and mentally. We are staying at an Airbnb townhome about 10 miles from our new church and the girls' schools. This has been fine for the time being but we are basically paying double rent on only my salary. Ashley is still in the hunt for a job out here and there are a couple of very nice possibilities but she is mainly staying focused on caring for the two littles while getting our housing stuff situated. We have a contract on a house that is a mile from the church and 3 miles from the girls' schools. One thing I am now pretty sure of. Buying and selling houses is absolutely miserable on so many levels. Our buying and selling realtors have both been fantastic but the process is still awful and don't get me started about moving..... ok now that I've mentioned moving I'll just say that it blows and that's all.

I think that perhaps the most difficult portion of this has been watching Ashley go through everything. Ashley voluntarily walked away from her job as the executive director of the Care Center, a job she openly referred to as her dream job, a job where she daily felt fulfilled, a job that she dearly loved, a job that she was crazy good at. This ministry more than doubled in size and clients in her four years there. She walked away from that job for no other jobs in sight. She walked away because she wanted to follow me with our children to San Antonio. I have held her as she has cried on multiple occasions. She has been supportive despite her giving up what she loved for my calling. She has strong during this time of crazy transition in between houses and moving schools for our girls. She has transformed herself into a temporary stay at home mother in order to care for and love on our kids. She has potty trained our son, which has been quite the task to say the least (he wants to facetime people every time he goes so that they can see his "finished work"). She has also tried to control this little one as she has learned to walk. 

Millie

This has been good because we're discovering that there's nothing that she is afraid of.If there is anything that this move has reminded me, it is that, by God's grace and the Spirit's guidance, I am still married to the most incredible woman I have ever met. 

Despite these transition pains, things our wonderful with our family and we have not stopped discussing and imagining all the things that God is doing in our family and in our new church and city. We are always experiencing something new and exciting. Audrey is 16, we all know what that means. Addy is the oldest at her new school (who's to say she doesn't shove all her classmates and the occasional teacher in a cubby?!), my main man is learning to use the potty, and the little sweet girl has a sinister side to her (check out my last fb video. girl is a savage!).

While we will miss so many faces back in Huntsville, we are looking forward to so many things here with Northwest. We look forward to what God has laid out for us working in His Kingdom and He has plans we didn't even know were a possibility.