To ..... a Story, a Risk, a River & the Promised Land -

So there's a new song out by Big Daddy Weave .... listen here.
No really actually listen, then come back & read :)

We have a story.
We're going to tell of Him.

While we write a lot about sitting poolside or grilled veggies for dinner or things the kids say or too much laundry or camp trips - there's actually more to life than that. 

I know right, surprise :)

Last summer we did a lot of those same things.
Yet in many millions of years I would never have guessed a year ago we'd be where we are now.

We still live in the same house.
Drive the same cars.
Celebrate the same birthdays.
Wash the same dishes.

And still our life has completely changed.
It's His story.
It's crazy.
It's wild.
It's out side any box.
It's full of wow & really & what.
It's sweet peace.
We're getting to live it & it's blowing our minds.

Time to tell a story.

Once upon a time ..... right, that's where all good stories start :)

Rex is an electrician, he has been for the last dozen years or so.
Before that he built custom stairs & did wood work.
Before that auto mechanic work.
Before that .... he was a boy in school :)

He's really quite good at what he does.
He runs work.
He leads men.
He makes decisions.
He knows his trade well.

He drives a lot - commutes.
Industrial work is usually found in big cities, not rural country.
He listens to a lot of podcasts.
Men like Jeff Bogue & Matt Chandler.

Guys who preach the gospel.
Not just that you need Jesus to save you from your sins but you also need Jesus to save you from your righteousness.
You don't need Jesus plus good works, or mans approval, or pride, or rules, or standards.

You just need Jesus.
You don't just need Jesus for your justification & yourself for your sanctification.
Your ///my!// anything means nothing.
He loves me.
Period.
No matter what I do .... or don't do.
Hearing with ears that have heard Jesus all their life, at first it was a yeah right, of course sort of response.

But you just need Jesus.
And that truth started working it's way past where it had been in the head forever & started to reach the heart.

And it started shaking us up.
Our church was going through a whole lot of change & hard & unknown.
And we started asking questions.

What was our passion?
Vision.
Purpose.
Direction.

As a church .... but especially as us.
We said stupid things like .... let's shake things up.
Let's be done with safe & fine & ok.

Let's be real.
Let's just need Jesus.

If we were honest - we were wanting that for our church.
We still kinda held us personally apart from that.

But God :)
Right.

We got pregnant.
Rex was asked to join the board.
I was offered a children's ministry position.
We listened to a life changing talk on taking a risk.

It all got very personal.

And we began to see our life as pretty comfortable in the 'desert'.
Like the wandering Israelites we weren't in Egypts slavery, we had our manna, our clothes weren't wearing out.

But
it
was
the
desert

We always view that story from 30,000 feet up or thousands of years later perspective.
Dumb Israel.
Why not the Promised Land.

Cross the river for crying out loud & get out of the desert.
Enter the Promised Land.

It's just that whole river crossing.
It's a risk.

Insane as it sounds - the desert is comfortable & safe.

At the first of the year Rex went to breakfast with the intern pastor at church.
Rex had a whole slew of questions .... vision, passion, purpose, direction, blah, blah, blah.

Instead he got asked a question at the end of the meeting that went something like this ....
 ..... have you considered being a pastor .....

/silence/
/more silence/

um ... not really since being a fireman or a cowboy was on my list of things I wanted to be when I grew up.

My response was much more wordy - it went something like this ...

what. what. what!!!!!! wHat!!! whAt. what. what! whaT! What. whhhhhaaaaaat.
:)

- - -

Being where God wants you to be is such a sweet place.
Watching Him work.
Being a part of His story ... not just hearing others tell their stories.

We're going to look back on twenty15 and point to alters & memorials.
We're going to point to the river.
We're going to tell our kids & grandkids it was the year we stepped into the river.

These last 6 months have had all sorts of hard.
His work schedule was crazy.
Church was crazy.
Life was crazy.
Relationships were crazy.

In the middle of all this ....
California is in a drought ... our well actually ran dry.
I've scrubbed poop out of Chad's potty training underwear a stupid number of times.
Extended family relationships are just messy, at times ugly & .....
Our baby would have been a few weeks old right now .... that has had me just a little bit emotional.
Rex has lost over 65 pounds - wow & yay.
Board meetings were every week. When he'd leave the house at 4am & not get home till 10 or 11pm.
Days when the kids wouldn't see him at all & kids need their dad.
Our schedules were so unpredictable, it made many expectations disappointments instead of realities.
Just to list a few ....

The question that was asked at that breakfast in January ended in a 6-0 vote from the board on May 26th.
June 17th was another big night.
All the months & months that we laid awake talking about the what if's & maybes, the dreaming - it all came out the 17th.
June 21st was the day we put our feet in the river.
July 5th he preached his first sermon.
July 12th the church said yes.
July 17th was his last official day of full time electrical work.
July 20th he started full time at church.

On paper it doesn't make perfect sense.
Practical, logical, money?

Nothing about the last six months has been forced.
God had opened doors, one after another after another.
And we've stood in awe & said this God's doing & it is marvelous in our eyes. psalms 118:24

He has answered prayers we didn't even know we should be praying.
We don't have all the answers.
We don't have a 17 year plan.
We're not completely sure how it's all going to work.

But God.
And it's so wildly exciting.

And since this posts on July 28th .... we'll go ahead and add that what has taken place in the last months has brought our relationship to the best it's ever been.
Not blind.
Not head in the sand.
Real.
True.
Sweet.
and so.much.fun.

- - -

some funky, random pictures that go along with documenting the story & risk & river ....

this amazing man started a bible study in the 1967 & His church still stands ...

this was the day he 'preached' to an audience of one ... plus chad & i

this was the selfie we took undercover right before he actually preached

this was printed in the bulletin ....

this is his new work key ....

this was the night after the church vote ...

- - - 

But to tell you my story .... is to tell of Him.
This is my story, this is my song praising my Savior all the day.
Hello Promised Land.