The times has come...

Well this is the week Matt officially ends his career at Gallagher Benefits and begins his career as a full time seminary student while gaining experience in ministry! It is definitely a bitter sweet time for us. Matt's bosses have been more than just a couple of guys he works for, they have been great friends and a huge support for him. They have challenged him, believed in him, and supported him in every area of his work, and now his call to ministry! They have been a huge blessing to us and we could not be more thankful that the Lord led Matt to this job 6 years ago. This was a place Matt could see himself starting and ending his career. He loved his job, and he loved the people he worked with. God had other plans and we are just as thankful and just as excited about this new career path the Lord has led us on.

This week marks a new beginning. Probably the start of a lot of new beginnings for our family. We are fully aware that ministry doesn't always keep you where you want to be. It can mean moving from the comforts that we know so well to the unknown. We know God will bring new people in our lives and in our path, but the friendships we have will last longer than distance could ever take us.

We are seeking the Lord daily for direction for our family, and for our ministry. Matt was called to ministry as his career, but as a family we feel the call as a whole. We know God has created our children and prepared our children their whole lives, just like He has done for Matt and I. His sovereignty overwhelms me at times. Nothing is a coincidence. Everything happens and has happened according to His perfect will for our lives. For that we are thankful. For that we are blessed. For that we are overwhelmed.

At times I feel extremely inadequate. I find myself thinking God got me confused with someone else!!:) But then I am reminded that God does not called the equipped. He equips the called. I love that. It's just like the disciples. They were not highly known or highly educated men. They were just teachable. They had a desire. A desire to learn everything they could about Jesus and to spend their lives telling others about this Savior. In that, I find strength and comfort. As long as I am available, God can and will use me. That's all I want. To be used. For HIS kingdom. For HIS glory.

Deuteronomy 13:4

It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.

What a difference a year makes

I got to looking back at our pictures over the past year and couldn't believe the change in the girls. I am sooo very thankful for pictures that can capture the growth throughout the years. Just when I think I remember everything about them, I see pictures and can't believe the change that has taken place in just a year. A year that literally has FLOWN by. It really seems like we were just sitting by our Christmas tree reading the Christmas story to the girls and getting them in their Christmas jammies. I seriously think this was the quickest year ever!

2010 Christmas on the Square

2011 Christmas on the Square

Sure do love our sweet girls! What a fun tradition we have! It is one of my most favorite things to do with the girls. It doesn't hurt a bit that they now sell cotton candy, funnel cakes, AND kettle corn! Oh I can hardly wait for next year!!

They have stolen my heart...

Miss all these kids.

Sweet, sweet kids!

Breakfast time.

The kids before school

During school. I snuck over and got some picture!!:)

The sweet children of Haiti have forever stolen a piece of my heart. I love these kids. I think about ALL of them daily. I pray for them. I hurt for them. I can't get enough of them. I can't see them enough. They have changed me. They will never know the impact they have had in my life. I pray I have and will continue to have as much of an impact on them as they have had on me.

Trip #2 was amazing. It was fast and furious. Too fast, in fact. We took the all 120 of those precious kids Christmas gifts. They LOVED it. They sat patiently and quietly on the edge of their seat waiting to hear their name called for them to come and receive their gift. They were thankful. They were thrilled. They had a new light about them. This light did not come from the gift itself, but from the love that was shared through that gift. The kids know they are LOVED. To most of them, we (the people of first lavaca) are the only love they have ever known. We have truly shown them what love is. This breaks my heart and it makes me smile all at the same time.

I am thankful for the change the Lord has worked in these children. I am thankful that He has and is using us to teach these kids the love that comes from the Father. Though they may be fatherless on earth, they have a Heavenly Father that loves and adores them. A Father that loves them so much, that He sends His servants to love on them. To hug them. To play with them. To laugh with them. To talk to them. To take their picture (this is their favorite thing) and to tell them how beautiful they are. To feed them. To provide for them. To show them they are loved and they are important, and God has a future for them!

I can't wait to go back. I'm already praying for the opportunity for Matt and I to return to Haiti and to see these precious kiddos!

And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. Luke 14:23