As Promised - An Announcement.

I'm not going to bother asking how you've slept since my last blog, seeing as there are only two options:

 The first would be that you did, indeed toss and turn every night since reading that we have news and have been wondering what it could be. 

The second is that you read it and shrugged as you thought to yourself, "huh, I wonder what it could be", then put it out of your mind until you saw that I had a new blog up.

While I hope it was the latter, for those of you toss and turn-ers, the day has finally arrived for the mystery to be revealed.

As promised, our family has all been told the news, as well as our employers. Now, it's your turn, as our friends (no matter how virtual you may be) to hear the news for yourself:

A couple months ago, a dear friend of James' visited Greeley with his wife. James hadn't seen him for a little over two years because they had been serving in South Asia. As the time drew near for us to say good-bye (they were going back to S. Asia for another year), a small yearning grew in James' heart to join our friends in their work. This all happened a month before our wedding. 

Wow. You must have been shocked when James told you.

Not even a little. Even before inklings of love for James crept into my heart, I had so admired his zeal for the Kingdom. When talking about marriage, we both decided that our life together would be much different from the "American Dream". Things like buying a house to settle down in, finding a good school for our kids, and retiring at a good age were NOT (and, honestly, may never be) on our list of life goals. Our list is much less concerned with what will happen in this life and focuses on how the Kingdom will be built in the scope of eternity.

Now, though I did say I wasn't shocked when James brought the idea of joining our friends in S. Asia, I also wasn't quite on the, "let's jump on a plane today" track either. Selfishly, my first reaction was to side with some of our friends and quote Deuteronomy 24:5. I mean, doesn't fighting for the King constitute as war? August 24th, 2014... let's go then.

Now, some of you might be nodding your heads vigorously at this point thinking, "Oh, poor girl! She's right! They should have time to get to know each other before they go and do something drastic!" Well, let me tell you... this is WRONG. Honestly, I debated whether I should even tell you about my initial doubts in fear that you might feel bad for me. YUCK. Please, please, PLEASE understand me. I will never do anything worthwhile if following my husband (and, in the process, following our King) and submitting to his spiritual leadership isn't my top priority. This is the realization that I came to within a few minutes of my initial reactions. See? It didn't take days or even hours for me to cope with the idea. I was almost instantly ashamed of myself. After all, how could I say that I was living my life for my King and so quickly feel the need to make excuses? Sadly, this will be a lesson I will be learning my entire life (I would much prefer to learn it and be proficient at it forever). Help me, Father.

Since the day James brought the idea home (or should I say, "to my parents'"- we weren't married yet!), we've been making plans, talking to our friends via Skype, and asking our King for guidance and help (this, of course, is the most important). Let me tell you, it's been less than three months, and He has already proved Himself as provider and conqueror in so many ways. 

So, that's the announcement. We will (if it's HIS will) join our friends in South Asia in January, finish their year with them (possibly living with them, but definitely serving with them), then return* in June. 

See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Definitely not worth losing sleep over (again, I'm so sorry...). If I may, I'd like to ask you a favor. If you're willing, please take time to ask the King for His continuing provision and guidance. We're not quite sure of all the specifics... only that this is what we're supposed to do. In return, I'll try to keep you all updated as best I can over those 6 months so that you, too, can join us in your thoughts and "askings" as we serve. 

I look forward to telling you about all the ways the King is going to glorify Himself through our humble obedience.

*Please note that the word, "return" is tentative. We don't know where our Father will lead us to after He's used us in South Asia.