T- E- Double N- E- Double S- Double E

We're moving to Tennessee!


Here's why:
Justin is the new Student Pastor at Persia Baptist Church in Rogersville, TN! His primary emphasis will be on youth, grades 7-12. He will oversee the children's and college ministries, too. This is an awesome church, and we are so blessed to be a part of that body of believers.

Here's when:
Our official moving date just got bumped up---we'll be in our new home on May 16! This is a week earlier than we had planned, but God had a different plan. And His is always better! We are finishing out this week at our current jobs, and then we will slowly start moving next week. It's going to be crazy!


Here's where:
The church is providing us with a parsonage! Rogersville is in NE Tennessee, which is a 3 hour drive from Richmond. It's about 45 minutes from Pigeon Forge, and 45 minutes to an hour from Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol.


Other stuff:
The youth group averages around 25 students on a weekly basis. The students seem to be very spiritually mature. We will be joining them on their trip to M-Fuge in Birmingham the last week of June... we're pumped! There is also a fantastic group of adults that work with the youth group. The youth team will continue to offer support and assistance as we also step into leadership roles. The church is discipleship-based, which we love! We really couldn't ask for a better situation!

I will hopefully get my foot in the door in the education system in Rogersville, as well. There are a few strong connections that we will have, but nothing is certain. Join with us as we pray about my employment, and remember that the LORD always provides!

Also, Cherokee Lake is about 5 minutes from our house! Justin loves this part! It is absolutely beautiful.

The hard part:
In order to be obedient in this matter, we must leave our family, friends, church, youth group, and home. While we are excited about the new chapter in our lives, we are certainly upset about all that we will leave behind. I am having an especially hard time with this. I have never really lived anywhere other than Richmond, and there are some dear friends and family members that I will really miss seeing on a regular basis. I know that 3 hours isn't so far away, but it just won't be the same. So, the only option is for our family and friends to visit us often! We will have plenty of room, so please stop by!

The next few weeks will be crazy, I'm sure. Hopefully soon I'll have more pictures of our new home, as well as some new contact information. Until then, please keep us in your prayers as we seek to follow God's will for our lives.

P.S.- Last night, Justin got to baptize his brother, Austin! It was such a beautiful blessing. Congratulations, Austin! We're so proud of you!

Yay!

I finally got to sub today!

And, I'm officially available to sub on any Tuesday or Friday anywhere in the county---elementary, middle, or high school.

Tell all your teacher friends to hit me up!

I just found out there's no such thing as the real world...

I wish the "real world" included spring break.

That's all.

Distraught

Why are "Christians" making a mockery of the name of Christ?

I heard a girl with tats and piercings say to her family last weekend, "If I was not part of your family and you saw me walking on the street, you wouldn't even talk to me." Seriously? Are we so hypocritical?

Christ called us to be set apart. So, it's all or nothing. Amen, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.

I had to cheat a little bit

These are the rules...
1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on the computer

2. Select the 4th picture in the folder

3. Explain the picture

4. Tag 4 people to do the same
5. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc)

Haha! It's a picture from my personal bridal shower with my Bible study girls---I was so embarrassed. What fun!

And-FYI-this picture is from album #3. Album #4 is filled with pictures from elementary schools that I can't put online. So, my cheating is legally acceptable.

Okay, now I'm tagging:

1. Jennifer

2. Amanda

3. Marie

4. Krystal

The weather outside is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you, Lord!

:)

"There is power, power, wonder working power"... in our apartment again! Praise the Lord! We were able to stay with family for the 5 days we had no power, and we are so thankful!

Also, may my old car rest in peace, I got a new car!!! My poor little Neon (graciously traded for $200 instead of the $138 he was worth... seriously) has been replaced by a 2007 Nissan Sentra with FOUR DOORS!! If you ever had to ride in the back of the Neon, I apologize. Now, you can ride with me and have your very own door! We are so blessed. As soon as we get all the salt and grossness washed off of the car, I'll post some pictures.

Oh, and this is totally random, but I know that most people name their cars with girls' names, but I feel like I drive cars that are boys. So, the Neon's name was Leon, and the Sentra's name is Samuel. Who cares, right? Except that after naming my new car, I was preparing for discipleship by reading 1 Samuel 1. Hannah prays and prays for a son, and when he is born, she names him Samuel, saying "because I asked him of the Lord." A bit ironic, huh?!

God is so good.