Sing Over Me

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17

In the years I have been leading worship, I have been given many kind words; words of encouragement, words of gratitude, words that complement...and I have been humbled by all of them. I believe I have been given a voice for a specific purpose and I pray every day that I am obedient to that purpose. I don't want to be led by selfish desires, I want His direction to lead me. I desire to go where He calls me and to use my voice for who He tells me. The above verse is a large reason as to why.

As I read this verse, even the thought of God's voice singing over me was overwhelming. I have never audibly heard God's own voice, but I believe with all of my heart it will be the most beautiful thing we have ever heard. I have been exposed to some incredible musicians over the years, but none can come close to Him. How incredible is the thought of Yahweh singing over you? That He would take so much delight in you, He cannot help but sing. This verse has become an encouraging challenge for me to live by. Is my life bringing Him delight? Are my actions intended to please people, or to please the Living God? Am I willing to be completely uncomfortable in order to bring Him gladness? When the day comes that I can finally stand before my God, I want to hear Him sing.

Playing Catch Up

I cannot believe we have been in Colorado for almost two months! It is amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time. In fact, we have had so much going on it is going to be hard to get it all in one blog. Here is my attempt to fill you all in...

SCHOOL: I began my first semester at Denver Seminary the last week in January. While it is a ton of work (I think I am always either reading or writing), I am so blessed to be a student here. The faculty is incredible, my peers are awesome, and much of my required reading teaches me more about Jesus! Loving every minute of it.

WORK: Well, we went from being discouraged about work to David having 4 part time jobs and me having one. God is good! David is not only working for Legacy Chapel and helping out with StoneBridge, he is also now a barista at Starbucks and helping out with administrative stuff for a new company in the area. I am now working part time at my favorite store in the world, Anthropologie!! I love it! And the discount ain't so bad either ;)

CHURCH: We have been so blessed to be a part of Legacy Chapel. It is so encouraging to watch it grow, knowing that God has something big in store! David's childrens ministry is going great and I have loved being able to lead worship with such an awesome group of guys.

WHAT WE MISS ABOUT TEXAS:

1. Our family (Stonebridge family included)

2. Madison Lyn (our precious niece who is growing so fast! Thankful for Skype!)

3. Our sweet Phoenix and my horse William (can't wait for Phoenix to join us up here!)

4. Tex-Mex (duh!)

5. All of our friends

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT COLORADO:

1. Our Legacy family

2. The view! (Seriously, it never gets old)

3. All the new places to explore (from Downtown to all the towns in the foothills, we have so much to do and see!)

4. Having my Saturdays back (with our crazy retail schedules, Saturdays are precious to us)

5. Knowing we are exactly where we are supposed to be

THE BIGGEST LESSON OF ALL:

Go where God calls you. It's not always going to be easy, but there is nowhere better to be than in line with His will. Stepping out of my comfort zone has allowed me to see Him work in ways I never would have imagined. Wouldn't change one second of this transition.

There it is in a nutshell! More to come! Much love!!

Lesson Learned

This past week has been filled with emotion, both good and bad. We started out the week on a high--David's mom came into town Tuesday so we were so excited about seeing her and showing her around our new home. Then Wednesday I get a call from my mom telling me that my family dog was on her last leg and they felt it was time to take her in. We were all so sad as she has been such a good dog to us all. I spent all day yesterday knowing that it would be her last day and I wouldn't be able to say goodbye. When I got the call from my mom, I literally felt emotionally exhausted. Then to top it all off, I spent a couple hours last night dealing with issue after issue trying to get my books ordered for my classes beginning next week. I was missing home. I was missing the simplicity of home. I was missing the comfort of knowing the source of our income and knowing our families were right there if we needed anything. I was missing the fact that at home, I always had a friend I could call if I needed some girl time. Needless to say, I went to bed last night feeling overwhelmed and defeated, crying myself to sleep.

But while I was crying myself to sleep I was also praying, and this is what God reminded me of: Stepping out of my will and into His is not always easy, but it's always good. We are not promised a stress free life when we choose Him. In fact, we are promised that there will be trials. However, I have been finding peace in the promise that when I am feeling overwhelmed, He's right beside me. In the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young I came across this reminder from God: "When you decide on a course of action that is in line with My will, nothing in heaven or on earth can stop you." So I pick up my head and keep going, because I am in line with His will. In my weakness I allow Him to intervene, and when I feel like I can't, He can. I left the simplicity and comfort of home...but I don't want simplicity anymore. I want Him.

The Kid In Us All

Yesterday, David began leading Kid's Chapel at our new church home, Legacy Chapel; it was incredible. We have been so excited for him to begin this position! Legacy is a new church here in Littleton with 15 weeks under their belt and already God is doing great things! Right now, we meet in a school gym and the kids meet in the cafeteria (sound familiar StoneBridge-ers??). Coming from a "mature" church like StoneBridge, it is interesting to be on the startup side of things. Last Friday David and I drove around with Abi, the pastor's wife, to get a projector for the children's ministry that was a reasonable price. Although we don't have much equipment wise, we are so thankful for what we do have and are really enjoying watching how God provides!

So Sunday, David began his new ministry with 7 kids! They were so enthusiastic about their new service-- at one point David had them cheering, which everyone in the main service heard! Apparently this "interruption" was during their time of offering and you know what everyone did? They began clapping. :) As a wife, I am so excited for David to be back working with kids. His talent in this area is uncomparable and I KNOW he will be used in huge ways.

Legacy plans on officially launching on Easter, so right now all attention is being spent on making sure everything is running smoothly. We are so excited to see how it will continue to grow from now until Easter, and then in the weeks after! Here are some pictures from the service:

Turning our house into a home...

As requested, here are a FEW pics of our new condo! I did not include either of the bedrooms because they still need a fresh coat of paint :). As soon as I get them looking just like I want, I will post them!

And this gives you an idea of the amazing view we are blessed with every day...

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19:40

More to come! God bless!!

A Mile High transition

A New Year, a new place, a fresh start. With our recent move to the Denver area, I thought now was as good a time as any to start the blog thing again (and keep at it this time!).

We have officially spent our first week in Colorado and it is still very surreal that we are here. I don't think it has fully hit me that this is our new home. My family and David's dad were wonderful and helped us move in. Those first few days were fabulous, feeling more like a family vacation that anything. Sunday morning, my family left and I would be lying if I said it wasn't hard. That first day on our own was tough, but that evening as I was going through my new devotional book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, I received complete affirmation that we are where we are supposed to be. We are confident that God has us here for a reason and we are so excited to see His plans unfold! Hopefully this blog will be a way to keep in touch with all of our family and friends back in Houston. So join us in our journey! We are without internet until the 12th so posts will be done whenever I make it to a coffee shop or something, but pictures are coming soon!

We love you all so much!