Learning.

So, life has been a bit hectic and crazy right now and I haven't really stopped to update everyone on the situation. I figured everyone that cares enough to know what is going on in our lives reads or blog, so I am using this forum to fill you all in. In the event that you only come to my blog to look at pictures of my kids, I apologize. I may include a few in the bottom of this post just to keep you coming back :).

As you probably know, after four years of employment at Roche, Kirk got laid off at the end of December. We have known this was coming for quite some time, so we were not shocked or even really disappointed. Kirk was never planning on being in that job forever, so it seemed like this would be a natural transition time for our family. As part of that transition, we put our house for sale in November to see if we could generate any interest. We had very little movement on it until last week. We now have a lease purchase agreement set up, which means they will rent our home until they are in a position to buy (when their home in Pittsburgh sells), at which time they will purchase at our list price! This is a huge answer to prayer! However, we move out March 1st and we are still unsure of where we are headed.

So, here we are a month and a half after the lay off and Kirk still does not have a job. I am his wife and I can attest to the fact that this is not for lack of trying. He has been working hard, sending out resumes, doing research, and even dropping off resumes and cover letters at businesses with his full suit on and looking sharp! For a long time, we were frustrated and felt confused about what God was doing. But now, we are beginning to see the bigger picture.

Kirk and I have both admittedly struggled with issues of control. We both like to feel like "we got this", if you know what I mean. We are dependent on no one but ourselves. As you can imagine, God is using this time to show us that this could not be further from the truth. We don't have this. We are not enough to sustain ourselves. We need something bigger. Something greater.

As we have reflected over the last couple weeks, we have seen God at work in our lives in a big way. Our small group is reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. If you haven't read it, you should. This was my second time reading it and it was better than the first. We are also taking a class called "Spiritual DNA", which basically helps us determine the gifts and abilities and passions that God has uniquely suited us with to bring glory to Him and His Kingdom. Through these different experiences and some other exciting movements happening at our church, Kirk and I have both felt a huge call to action, both individually and together. I am learning what it means to literally take life step by step. To trust God to give us just enough light for a few feet of our path. To know that His plans are better than ours.

So as frustrating and painful as it can be to not know what the next pay check will look like or where it might come from, it is also incredibly exciting that we are walking purely by faith. We are not making our decisions based on where a job is, but rather, where God's job for us is. We want to be a part of HIS work, not our own. We would never pretend to know where God is sending us next, but we have felt him leading us to stay here in Indiana, at least for now.

You may be thinking, I just read this whole thing and she hasn't told me anything about what's next for them! Well, my friends, that is just the way it is right now!

If you are still reading this, would you please pray for us? Pray that God's perfect will would be done regardless of how we feel about it. Pray that God would create opportunities for Kirk. Pray that we would, above all else, be sensitive to His leading.

I will keep you posted!

Here is a picture of me and the kiddos in Elijah's new big boy bed reading Elijah's new favorite book, The Napping House (or Poppy House, as he calls it). Sorry it's a little blurry since it was taken from Kirk's ipod.