Family Update

We are heading back to the other side of the pond! Our time here has been full of joys, new relationships challenges, and surprising joys. One of those joys is that we are bringing a souvenir(of a somewhat Scottish nature) along with us. We are expecting our second baby! He/she is due December 8, 2014, and we are thrilled! We know we have our work cut out for us, but we welcome it, and we are ready!

In other news, Kirk has been offered a ministry job in New England, which he has accepted! We feel that New England is where we are supposed to be, and so this job (the Associate/Family Pastor at Trinity Evangelical Church in North Reading) fits our hearts' desire and sense of calling. We will move back to New England around the beginning of August, and we will settle into our new church shortly after. We are looking forward to settling in and meeting the community!

Our summer will be full of family, adventures, and a whole lot of writing for Kirk. He is in the process of finishing his degree, and so he plans on taking most of June and part of July to complete his dissertation (we would call it a thesis in the US). 

Time and all of our current busyness prevents me from being able to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for my dear friends here in Edinburgh. What a beautiful picture of honest, real community! I wish I could write a specific 'shout out' to each of you, but hopefully you know my heart by now :). 

We are grateful for the time God has given us in the UK. Though it's not 'home', we truly believe this time was important to grow us closer to each other and to Jesus. We have so much we can learn when we allow ourselves to be stretched beyond what we know and are comfortable with, though it's never easy! 

Thank You, Father for looking out for us and for constantly drawing us back to You! Thanks for these amazing people we have met and grown to love! I pray that we will be able to stay in touch and that you will bless them beyond what they can ever imagine!

What a fun ride it has been! 

It has been a while.

I love this verse:

"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24

Growing up, I probably would have taken this out of context and applied it to whatever desire or craving I had at the time, but as I read through John 16 this morning, I was comforted and challenged  by Jesus' own words to his disciples. He is talking to them about his return to the Father and the entry of the Holy Spirit into their lives. Jesus' closest friends are getting worried by his seemingly cryptic message, but he assures them that they will not be left alone. I love that. 

His words still apply today. He didn't leave us alone, and we are not powerless. I think I forget to ask The Comforter to enter into my day-to-day situations, because I'm fearful that the "comfort" I receive will not come in the form that I had hoped. And that is when I come to grips with a harsh reality that is hidden in the depths of who I am: I don't believe Jesus has good things for me, because I don't live 'loved'. I don't always see myself as He does- complete, entire, and lacking in no good thing (in Him).  I don't trust that He is always there, and because of that, my fear drives me to live in discontentment, shame, and the feeling that I owe Him.

So, as I read Jesus' words today, I will ask something in His name- fill me, equip me, and strenthen me by the power of your Holy Spirit, that my joy may be full. I want to know that comfort in a real way. I want to embrace each day with trust and openness to whatever lies ahead, because The Comforter is here! He is real, and he is the One who equips us for whatever we may face.

May you know how loved you are today. May you experience the power and strength He offers. May you live 'loved'. And when you ask something in His name, may you believe that He hears you and longs to bring you joy.