So, I haven't been really good at blogging but I figure our upcoming move is worth telling about! I have many asking via facebook about our plans so I am going to direct you here!
When we moved to Germany 2 years ago it was to be a 3 year tour. However God has opened doors and is moving us on a bit sooner then we had expected. So here I will tell you where we are going and why we are going there.
A little over three and half years ago God used a very painful experience to draw us closer to Himself and impress upon James His call for him to prepare to go into full time ministry. At first I was hesitant and thought maybe it was just a phase James was going through and he would outgrow it. Soon I realized that was not the case, I felt peace and confirmation from God that yes that was His calling for James but also for me as his wife to serve along side and support him.
So James changed his education course a bit and enrolled in Liberty University to complete his bachelors degree in Biblical studies. The future and the path God would have for us was unknown but we knew that full time ministry was what we were working toward. So we started by getting more involved and really caring about our church and the people in it. After moving to Germany and finding our church here, we jumped in and started getting involved and made some really great friends. I became the director of the Crisis Pregnancy Center and I know that God has given me a passion for woman and ministering to them. James has been very involved with the mens group at our church and was teaching for a time. God has used this time to really grow him and to give him a burden for men and encouraging them to be the Godly men that God requires according to the scriptures.
About a year ago when the completion of James bachelors degree was something that was getting closer and closer he decided to start looking into the possibility of entering the Military Chaplaincy. There wasn't a whole lot of information, well really none at all about how to go from being an active duty warrant officer to a Chaplain candidate. We didn't even know if it was a possible thing to do, we thought he might have to serve out the remainder of his time and then go from there.
He didn't give up and finally got in contact with a chaplain recruiter who informed him that it actually was possible and so the process began. There were so many times that we thought "well there's no way this will get approved but it wont hurt to try". Each time the door was opened, and the process went pretty smoothly for the most part. So...to get to the point of what happens now-
James will be released from active duty and his current obligation to the Warrant Officer Corps. He will be commissioned into the reserves and go to Seminary for 3 years to obtain his Master Divinity with a pastoral emphasis. Following Seminary he will continue to be a reserve Chaplain.
For a good long while we thought that we would be heading to California to attend Seminary. We were excited to go there but had some reservations about it as well. God has been so good and given us the desire of our hearts which is to be near family. So we are going to be moving to Illinois where James will be attending Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. My kids are sooooo excited to live by their grandparents and aunts and uncles!
We are currently in the process of buying a house and it seems as though we may even have a job lined up. There is a baptist church in Aurora that is considering James for their pastor. We met with them and James was able to preach twice at their church while we were home over the holidays. We should know more about that after this week.
Many have said "wow so fast", and I guess it does kind of seem that way. Now that you have the whole story you can see that really its not all that fast and is a journey that we started on years ago!
I hope you have enjoyed reading our update, but I make no promises of becoming a better blogger!
