Wow! It's been over two months since I have posted an update, what a testament that is to the crazy, hectic, super-speed pace our lives have been taking since the beginning of May. So May is where we will begin...
I am happy to say that my student's and I finished the school year with a BANG! I was blessed beyond belief to have a group of students who constantly were a blessing to me this year! We worked hard, worked ever harder, and just when we thought we had worked hard enough we pushed a little harder and worked harder still. All that to say this...along with the blessings that accompanied my students this year, I have never seen a group of kids who worked SO hard and boy, did their hard work pay off! I was amazed at the FCAT results my class earned both in writing and in reading and math as well. They really are a remarkable group of kids and they so deserved the honor of receiving such excellent scores!
With all this excitement in the air we spent the last 3 "early" days of school celebrating and just spending time together before we had to say our goodbyes. Here's where the next blessing of the school year comes in...somewhere during that last crazy busy month of school my principal asked me to move up and teach 5th grade next year! Now I won't have my class again, but with our PAWS reading groups and other rotations I know I will get to spend more time with these kiddos next year and that made the "goodbyes" A LOT easier! I am also looking forward to teaching with a wonderful group of ladies and revisiting that 5th grade curriculum that I love to teach! I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!
I will finish my school rant with this: I know I have used the word "blessings" a lot in this explanation but there really isn't any other way to describe how I feel about my job, my school and my students. I feel incredibly blessed to work for a wonderful principal and administrative staff who care just as much about my students and their well-being as I do. I feel blessed to work with a supportive and fun staff, many of which I am now able to call "friend" :) and, finally, I am blessed to get to teach a group of fun-loving, eager-to-learn students each year.
When I first started teaching (with the vision and heart of a missionary, NOT a teacher) I wondered how God could ever use me in a classroom, how my students and my school could be my ministry. Well, this is what I have learned over the last 5 years about teaching and ministry. I may not be able to openly teach my students about God or read Bible stories to them; however, I can love them. Invest in their lives. Teach them that are valuable. That in itself is a ministry because God is love, He wants them to know that they are valuable and if I can help each of my students to believe in themselves and realize how much they are loved then I have accomplished a little of His work and my heavenly Father has been able to use me right here at home, in my classroom.
When I graduated from college I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be living in America, teaching. Over the last 5 years I have realized that THIS life is what God has been preparing me for all those years and I couldn't be more thankful or feel any more blessed!
End school rant. :)
After school let out, I took off my teacher "hat" and excitingly embraced the hats of "wife-hood" (if that's even a word), "bridesmaid" and "youth pastor wife!" I couldn't be more excited to have that extra time on my hands to invest in my husband, my family and our teenagers! Here's how those "hats" are working out...
I am absolutely loving getting to be home more so I can keep up with laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. It is so much nicer to do all these chores with hours to spare instead of cramming them into a matter of minutes after I get home from work and before I have to leave again. Having the time and patience to actually cook "real" meals when I'm not completely exhausted from a long day or fold laundry while I watch re-runs of my favorite show...man, I could get used to this!
Being home more is nice in more ways than one...it is also a HUGE help in the wedding festivities that our family are putting on for David and Amber! (I still can't believe my baby brother is getting MARRIED in what...39 days or so??!?!) We had a successful night at the "His and Her's" Shower last week and David and Amber were extremely blessed by their friends and family! Next on the agenda is the "big" shower, AKA the Bridal Shower coming up THIS Sunday! (I really should be off making butter mints and counting my table cloths right now....eek!) Then, after a week in TN, I'm coming home to a series of bachelor/bachelorette parties (Shaun is the best man so we know who will actually be planning the bachelor party *cough* Kristy *cough* lol) and a lingerie shower and then the BIG day...it will be here before we know it!! In all seriousness though, I am extremely blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family. Taking part in planning showers and parties is tons of fun and I am loving every minute of it, but the best part of all is knowing that our family is growing a little bigger and we are adding in people that we have known and loved for years and officially calling them "family." Stay tuned on here for THE speech that the best man traditionally gives at the wedding...and the uh, sister of the groom may have put her two sense in as well...'tis my next project this week (after the butter mints, of course!)
ANYHOW, I can tell that I haven't been on here in a while because I am rambling...again. One more "hat-of-summer" to discuss, plus some super good news and then I'm off, I promise!
The last, awesome part of summer is the time I am able to use to spend with our youth! I love these kids and enjoy spending time with them and in the summer I actually get to do that! We kicked off our summer with an up-all-night lockin and had 27 or so youth! God is really showing up! Since then we have continued to have Wednesday night Bible study and traditional Sunday morning services throwing in a fun event when Shaun is able to have time off from work. This past Sunday we went putt putt-ing also known as miniature golf or mini putt golf?! Don't ask. The youth had a blast and we all lost about 10 lbs of sweat since the temperature was well over 100. I'm not sure who's idea it was to go putt putting in the Florida induced heat-stroke we call summer...yikes! All in all, we had a blast and we are looking forward to a much cooler outing next time--ice skating! That's right! Nothing but ICE and COLD!
Well, that's a brief update on all the best parts of not working during the summer. :) Now for the exciting news...
I think I may have mentioned this in a previous blog, but incase you haven't heard Shaun made the big decision to start seminary. He has applied to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and his acceptance is pending a reference letter that got sent in a little late, so hopefully we will be hearing that he has OFFICIALLY been accepted very soon! He will be taking courses in Orlando, mostly on the weekends, as well as doing some online work. The difficult part is that he may have to make a few trips to the main campus in New Orleans, but we aren't sure when or for how long. We are just trusting that God has it ALL under control! We have a few prayer requests that go along with this journey that we would like to share with you all, as well as a few praise's! Here they are..
Praise's
1. The application process has been smooth and relatively painless.
2. Shaun, because of his undergraduate degree from BCF has been given permission to test-out of quite a few seminary hours meaning it would take him less time to finish his degree. This will also save us quite a bit of money as they tests are only about $300 instead of $1,000 plus.
3. Initially they told Shaun he would have to drive to New Orleans to take these tests. They have since given him permission to take all tests at the Orlando campus! Praise God!
Prayer Requests
1. First and foremost, for that official acceptance letter to come in!
2. We are praying hard that whoever Shaun gets as an academic advisor would be willing and able to help us keep his schedule organized and get as much done in Orlando as possible.
3. Apparently, getting financial aid for seminary graduate degrees is not an easy task. Shaun has applied for everything his school suggests as well as all other options we could find through FAFSA, online searches, etc. and we have yet to hear back from anyone. So, as it stands, we will have to pay for his degree as well as books, gas, hotel rooms in New Orleans, etc. Please pray that God would open up doors for us for some financial aid. We don't want to take out any student loans and are anxiously awaiting any options from the school as we try to save every penny! We know that God is faithful and that He would not have called Shaun here if He wasn't going to provide us a way through this!
That's about all the seminary information I have at the moment. I'm sure there will be more later! On to our second piece of good news!
This past Sunday, July 1st Shaun was ordained by our home church! We are blessed and excited and are still sorting through all the emotion that comes with this honor. First let me say that we seriously have the greatest church family anyone could ask for! The people in our church (our families included) have blessed us, supported us, and have prayed for us and I know that is the only reason we have made it this far. God has used them in our lives in more ways than they will ever know! If you are part of the LCC family and are reading this...thank you for taking the time to invest in our lives! We appreciate you!
Next, the process of ordination for Shaun as well as myself was one of the most humbling, yet uplifting experiences we have endured in the ministry. Knowing that God has called us to fulfill His mission here on earth, that the church is supporting and affirming that call and just taking in the fact that God, Himself is going to equip us for the journey...wow. It's been a few days and I still don't have words to describe this feeling. I will try my best, from my point of view, to describe the emotion of my heart at this experience.
First of all, I am a sinner. I'm not perfect, never have been, never will be. I don't always make God proud. I screw up, all the time. I speak before I think. There have been many, many, many experiences of my life that I know did NOT make my Jesus proud. In my opinion I am the last person that God should chose to use. Yet, here He is, calling me as a wife, to be Shaun's partner in ministry. He is choosing my heart to mend, my broken places to fix and He is calling me. He is going to equip me. He is reminding me that I am His and that He loves me. This is absolutely the most humbled I have ever felt. Humbled, yet treasured. I still find myself thinking about this and am still in awe that He would chose someone as unworthy as me.
Nevertheless, He has called me. Now it's time for me to embrace that calling. To continue to seek His will and to support my husband wherever He is led. Such. A. Big. Responsibility. Wow. Yet, never in my life have I managed to feel so valuable in the midst of such a humbling experience. My God is alive and active, He is working in my life. He cares about me. As I think these things over and over in my head I finally came to a realization. This is what God wants me to share with the world. He is real. He is alive. He is changing hearts. He cares about you. It is my job, as the wife of a pastor, to live out these words. To make them real to people who don't know Christ. To make sure, when other's see me, they only see Jesus. I know I have a long way to come, but I know that if He has called me to it, He will see me through it! Thus my life prayer will remain...Jesus, please make me more like you.
That is my prayer, my plea. I know other's have seen me fail. I know other's are waiting for a chance to watch me stumble so they can ridicule me and point fingers at me, but nevertheless, at YOUR word Jesus, I will continue to strive to live for you. That is my promise to God, as well as my promise to my husband and our future family. Our driving force in life is to be more like Jesus. To let other's see Jesus in our lives and when we fail, because we will, we will stand tall and once again look to Jesus for direction knowing that anything negative someone might have to say to or about us doesn't change the fact that we are sold out to Jesus Christ. Forever.
Whew. That was my very feeble attempt at expressing the feelings of my heart. God is good. He is alive. He is waiting for all of us to answer the call He has placed on our lives. I could keep going on about this, but hopefully by now you've understood what I'm getting at. In attempt to keep this *ahem* short *ahem* and sweet...I will end by saying this:
It doesn't matter where you are in life. It doesn't matter what you've done. God is still waiting to hear from you. He wants your heart. He wants to show you all the love He has for you and the perfect plan He has for your life. God is perfect, so we don't have to be. He uses all kinds of people. Let Him have you heart, let Him start using you today!
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!"
1 Corinthians 10:31 (emphasis mine)
-Kristy
