Settling In

Tuesday, July 19, 2016 Unknown 1 Comments

Hi friends!

Just me again. I'm currently writing this at our recently found kitchen table. With stains and chipped paint, it was the perfect thrift find for our little apartment.

 It is a beautiful day in Spokane. The sun has been shining, the windows are open, and the temperature is a delightful 74 degrees with zero humidity (had to rub that one in a little bit for all my SC people). I wanted to give you all an update on how things are going in the Evergreen State. This Friday marks three weeks that we have been here. The apartment is pretty much finished now, with the exception of a few more decorating things I want to do,  which is a huge relief. We were able to get probably upwards of 90% of all of our furniture and household things from thrift shops which is awesome. I love the character it adds, finding things that do not to match exactly. Our favorite place to go thirfting so far is a place called Tossed and Found. It is an awesome little shop that has staff members go out to find inventory every week, so you know there are constantly new things coming in to go look at.

We have been welcomed into an amazing church family here with Redemption Spokane. Jonathan has been in contact with their pastor, Miles, since before we moved and we have felt nothing but love and acceptance from the moment (and even before) we arrived to Spokane. Jonathan has become friends with the worship leader and actually played the drums this past Sunday! We are so excited and thankful to have found a church home and cannot wait to begin building new relationships with people.  We have attended Redemption only three times now and it already feels like home. Last Thursday evening we enjoyed going to a training session at Redemption on Humility in Leadership, given by Dave Harvey with Sojourn Network (a network for church planting churches). It has been so great being able to jump right in!

On the job front- I am extremely excited to say that as of last Friday I got a new job! I will be working as a full time receptionist at a family medical clinic here called Rockwood. Orientation starts on July 25! This was completely the Lord's doing. To make a long story short- the first week we were here, we met one of the owners at Tossed and Found while looking for things for the apartment. Through our conversation, we learned that her husband is a pastor in town. We told her why we moved and that we were looking for jobs. She told me that she knew of someone who had an office admin position open, and I told her that was exactly what I was looking for. She gave me the number of the lady who is the manager at the clinic, so I called, and two days later I had a interview. A week later, I was offered the job and said manager is now my boss...who is super nice and awesome! I am a little nervous for sure, but I am fully confident that the Lord will equip me to do this job, just like He has done with so many other things in the past. Jonathan has gone to several recommended coffee shops in the area. Please continue to pray that he will find something soon. We are confident that He will provide!  He has blown us away with His favor, provision, and faithfulness.

During these past few weeks, our marriage has grown tremendously. Leading up to our move, we were not as connected as I'd hoped we would be. Things were hard, and it seemed much easier to internalize what we were preparing for instead of opening ourselves up to each other, adding yet another layer of vulnerability to what we were already feeling. I have to say that Jonathan was much better at this then I was. I can be extremely prideful sometimes in an effort to hide my vulnerability and what is really happening in the depths of my heart. ANYWAY.

With the extra time we have had recently, we have spent so much quality time together. Not the quality time that normally would entail eating dinner in the living room while watching The Office (which is still so great by the way). I mean the quality time where we sit in the quiet of the morning in our little apartment, praying with and for each other, crying with each other, and really being vulnerable and honest with each other. We really have had to rely on each other more. This move has stripped us from everything familiar and comfortable, and there is such a rawness that we feel daily. It kind of reminds me of a hard reset you have to do with your phone occasionally when it starts acting dysfunctional. Sometimes it needs a good reset to get things back on track and working properly.  Back home we had some dysfunction in our marriage, and this move has been the reset button. That push was painful, but has been so incredibly worth it.

There has been some slight lifestyle adjustments we've had to learn since being here, too. We have realized that the area that we live in has a very high theft rate. We have had a few things stolen, and have learned that we just need to be more cognoscente with our belongings.  I will admit, my first reaction to having our things taken was anger and frustration. I didn't feel compassion for the people who took our things, I felt resentment and an urge to shut everyone around me out. I didn't want to show those around me Jesus, and my heart quickly went to judgement instead of compassion. However, the Lord never fails to continue showing me where I need to grow and is slowly changing my heart. Jonathan and I have started praying for wisdom in how we can be a light for Jesus in our community. We aren't exactly sure what that will look like yet, but are confident that the Lord will make it clear in time.  We can definitely feel a brokenness over this city in many ways, and want to be used in anyways we can to offer the amazing hope in Christ that we have.

Buddy is eating up the fact that he is the main source of our attention. Anytime we go out with him, he loves to work those pathetic puppy eyes to get extra attention. He has completely mastered it and it is absolutely ridiculous.

As much as we miss home sometimes, we know this is where the Lord wants us and we are so excited to see what all He has in store for us here!

Well friends, I think that is all for now. Sorry it has taken me a bit to post an update.

Until next time!

<3