Fear or Trust

We are moving on June 30th!

I know! It's craziness. I have to share this story with you. God has been so faithfully working out all the details of this move for us. Even though we still can't see how everything is going to happen yet (like finding someone to rent our house), we are trusting Him because He keeps opening doors for us to walk through. Brian and I have been very encouraged lately by reading the story about Joshua and Caleb and the spies from Numbers 13 & 14. This is such a story of trust. The Israelites had reached the Promised Land. They were just outside of it looking in. Moses sent the 12 spies to go check out the land. After they returned this was the report of 10 of them:

“We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large."

Then Caleb silenced the people and said: “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Unfortunately the people don't listen or trust that God had already provided this land for them. Instantly fear starts to creep through the camp.

The other spies say:

“We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. " And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.

This is a sad story because the people of God refused to trust that He would provide for them and that He had a greater plan than they did. They missed their opportunity and it wasn't for 40 more years that the Israelites made it into the Promised Land.

We don't ever want to shortchange God's plans or assume that we know best. God used Moses to lead the people to this place. He opened all the doors and set it up perfectly for them. We can see God doing the same thing with our family and our move. Despite our fears, other people's opinions, and the unknowns, we want to trust Him and we never want to miss out on wha t He has in store. And really, what we are learning and gaining is more of Him. More of His sufficiency. More of His grace. More of His love.

Here is how Caleb and Joshua responded:

"The land we walked through and scouted out is a very good land—very good indeed. If God is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land that flows, as they say, with milk and honey. And he'll give it to us. Just don't rebel against God! And don't be afraid of those people. Why, we'll have them for lunch! They have no protection and God is on our side. Don't be afraid of them!" -Numbers 14:7-9 (The Message)

We want to move ahead without fear knowing that God is on our side!

Venturing Forth

I don't think I have any specific updates about our move. We are still planning to move in July. Our biggest prayer request is that the right person would want to either rent or buy or house. Today's devotion from John Eldredge spoke to our hearts. It is easy to get discouraged when you don't see immediate answers after you decide to follow what the Lord has called you to do or if you get little encouragement or criticisms from others. We have often felt like "things will never change." Sometimes it seems hard to hope. It's too vulnerable and just too risky. What if nothing changes? What if God doesn't come through? Those are doubts straight from the enemy. We want to to keep on trusting what He has called us to because He has always been faithful. To keep believing HIS Word and HIS promises. He is good and He'll always be.

Venturing Forth
"It's better to stay in the safety of the camp than venture forth on a wing and a prayer. Who knows what dangers lie ahead? This was the counsel of the ten faithless spies sent in to have a look at the Promised Land when the Jews came out of Egypt. Only two of the twelve, Joshua and Caleb, saw things differently. Their hearts were captured by a vision of what might be and they urged the people to press on. But their voices were drowned by the fears of the other ten spies and Israel wandered for another forty years. Without the anticipation of better things ahead, we will have no heart for the journey.

One of the most poisonous of all Satan's whispers is simply, "Things will never change." That lie kills expectation, trapping our heart forever in the present. To keep desire alive and flourishing, we must renew our vision for what lies ahead. Things will not always be like this. Jesus has promised to "make all things new." Eye has not seen, ear has not heard all that God has in store for his lovers, which does not mean "we have no clue so don't even try to imagine," but rather, you cannot outdream God. Desire is kept alive by imagination, the antidote to resignation. We will need imagination, which is to say, we will need hope." -"The Sacred Romance"

Moving Update

I guess I should post an update here! Sorry I've been slack.

We are still working on preparing for our big move. And yes, we are still moving. :)

About two weeks ago, I received confirmation that my NC teaching licenses had been reviewed by the Texas Education Agency. They approved me for a 1 year license and said that if I take some tests then I would be able to receive a Standard 5 year license. Since I have already taken most of the tests that are comparable to the Texas states, last week I had the testing people (ETS) send my test scores on to Texas. I'm pretty sure they arrived yesterday or today. They will review my scores and decide if my tests were comparable to their's and what tests I would still need to take, if any. So, that's great news! I'm hoping not to take more because they are very costly.

We have found several apartments that we really like in Fort Worth. We have found an area that is close to the school but also near a park too. There are several to choose from so it has been hard. Southwestern recommended a company that works with people looking to rent. We contacted them and they have been helping us a LOT. We tell them what we are interested in and they come back with all of the info on prices, sq.ft., neighborhoods, specials, etc.

We still need to find someone to rent out home. We originally were planning to sell our home but in order to maintain our "assets" for our adoption, we thought it would be best to rent. Later, we can sell it when we need to. Also, this is apparently a renter's market because many people are not being approved for home loans like they were in years past. We have been advertising through friends, flyers, and facebook. Hah, the 3 F's. Some people have been interested but it hasn't been exactly what they needed. So, just a couple days ago we listed our home on Craigslist. We already received 2 responses. Pray that the right family would just come to us and we would know who that is. We want this to be a smooth process and that's what we are praying for.

Many people have asked when we are hoping to move. We HAVE to be in Ft. Worth by August so we would like to move in in July. That is our goal. Would you pray with us that we can make it there by then??