uncommon answers to prayer

Well, this is a blog that I've been anxious to write for two weeks. Lauren and I will be back in Miami tomorrow. It was not an easy decision and certain criteria had to be met in order for us to come home.

How we decided God was calling us to Miami:

1. God would give us peace about it.- Lauren and I have been reading through the New Testament together at night and praying before bed. Every night, we would ask God for direction as to where we should go and what we would do there. Since then, we have opened our hearts to each other and shared the dreams that we think God is calling us to live out. I have a strong desire to work with discipleship in a church. Lauren has a passion for working with the disabled. I'm thankful for a wife who wants to serve others. She is truly special.

2. Lauren would not be offered a job in Louisville.- Lauren had applied for work in Louisville since October of last year. She obtained her teaching license and was cleared by the school board before February of last year. We set aside a time and date that she would need to receive a job offer. The date came and went without an offer. It was a tough blow, but true confirmation.

3. I would have to be able to complete my degree from Miami.- Seminary has been an awesome experience, and I've enjoyed my education. The professors at Southern are fantastic. I have had the tremendous opportunity to sit under the teaching of men who love God, care about His Word, and live out what they preach. As such, I stayed motivated to take 15 credits a semester. If all goes as planned, my 94 credit Master's degree will be completed next May. After speaking with my advisor, I learned that I would be able to take the rest of my classes via our Internet campus. Praise God!

4. Lauren would have a job in Miami.- Sure enough, Lauren still has her job at Curry Middle School. We have been extremely blessed by the staff at her school. They have worked with us and waited patiently for us to make our decision.

5. I would find work in Miami.- Working for a great company has a lot of perks. One of those perks is the ability to transfer at the same pay. The crazy thing is that I was offered more hours than I can handle. I actually have to downscale in order to have time for work and family.


Anyway, fire did not fall from Heaven. A booming voice did not come through the mist. Lauren and I have seen answers to prayer in ways that we didn't expect. We were actually praying to stay in Louisville. But we have peace despite the outcome. We are currently making our way down to South Florida and will continue to ask all of you out there for prayer and support.

But in the meantime, I need to give a big thank you to everyone in Louisville. Most of all, Rene, Julie, Josiah, Lily, Charlotte and Ninth & O Baptist Church have been huge answers to prayer. They were my family and friends when I was lonely. I learned from them, and hope that I was able to impart some things as well. And of course, thank you Jesus. You are faithful even when I question the next steps.

miracle(s)

A bunch of friends and I were discussing miracles the other night. We had to recall personal miracles that we had witnessed. The first one that came to mind was Samuel. My cousin Samuel is indeed a miracle. He didn't appear out of nowhere, but according to popular scientific knowledge he should not be alive. Samuel was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder when his mother was about 6-7 months pregnant. The doctors said that even if he survived the birth, chances are that he would not be able to survive his first five minutes of life.

My family crashed on their knees in prayer. We all anxiously prayed, hoping that God would have mercy on this baby. For weeks and months we anticipated what God's decision would be. We finally received an answer, Samuel survived the birth. During his first few days of life, Lauren and I visited him at the hospital. We held him. He had metal devices pierced through his cheeks in order to help with his cleft palette. Things looked good, but not awesome. Samuel was given a sentence of mental slowness.

Well, that's not the case now.

Here's Samuel. He'll be two in August. He can talk. He'll be having surgery soon to close his cleft palette, but he's progressing nicely. God has given us a real miracle that we can point to and say that he did it. Tomorrow, I'll be speaking to the kids in our group about Jesus walking on water. A miracle. Do these things happen every day? Of course not. If they did, they wouldn't be miracles. God often tests our faith and baffles our intellect with miracles. If you're in a tough situation, have faith. A miracle could be right around the corner.

the wedding

WOW! It's great to be back and cranking! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came in person or via the web to our wedding! We are blessed to have such great family and friends. The memories that Lauren and I carry will be treasured forever. Oh, and just so you know...

1. Marriage is great!
2. The Ritz Carlton-Key Biscayne is the best!
3. London the second time around was still AWESOME!
4. Paris is dirty.
5. Sex is awesome. (in marriage of course)


Hey...had to be said!

stop... collaborate and listen

Ah yeah! We are officially one day away from the wedding. Lauren and I have braved the planning and parties that lead to the wedding. We have signed the certificate. We are excited and ready to take the next step forward: exchange vows in the presence in front of God, family, and friends. To those who will not physically be present at the ceremony tomorrow, we invite you to join us live on the web. We will be webcasting tomorrow at 3:40PM.


Click here to watch!

thankful for people

I'm thankful that the semester is over. There has been a lot of stress on my shoulders over the past couple of weeks, but faith has kept me sane. Even getting to Miami was stressful! My flight was delayed four hours, and I wasn't even guaranteed a seat on my connecting flight. Rather than bother others with my complaints, I decided to share life with fellow passengers going through the same circumstances. I was even able to share Christ with the gentleman setting next to me using things I learned this past semester.

Our conversation began with business and travel. Then, we got into a topic that heavily interests me, communication. He and I spoke about the value of face-to-face communication in a world where everything is moving to being impersonal and electronic. I'm grateful for all these forms of communication. They allow me to keep in touch with people and stay on top of trends. But nothing beats a good slurpee and face-to-face conversation.

Lauren and I will be going on a date tonight. I'm thrilled that we'll no longer be confined to iChat, Facebook, texting, and phone calls for communication. Lauren is now tangible.

But it's not just with my future wife. Friendships are better when we're hanging and watching movies as opposed to tweeting or chatting.

Maybe it depends on our levels of relationship with people, but I know what I prefer. I have some time to kill next week. If you want a good talk over a slurpee, let me know!

I need words

It is tough to write this blog tonight because it requires me to be open about what I have been anxious about for awhile. Lauren and I are praying about our next step in life. We plan to be married in less than three weeks, but after that, we have no idea where we will be living. At first, the plan was for her to move to Louisville and get a job teaching in the public school system here. So she acted responsibly by applying for her state teacher's license and sent her resumé to the county. We have been waiting for an answer for about five months now, all the while praying that God would provide a job up here. We are beginning to wonder if God is trying to push us in a different direction.

Due to the fact that Lauren has not received any offers yet, we are considering living in Miami where she currently holds a secure position. That would require me to pack up our apartment and move everything down to South Florida after the wedding and continue education via the Internet and J-Terms. However, it is still difficult to leave because I could finish my degree next May were we to stay in Louisville. In case leaving is the proper course of action, I have started to apply for work at different churches in the Miami area, as well as at Family Children and Faith Coalition. I am also speaking with my manager's about transferring to a Miami store.

This is a difficult point of transition for Lauren and I. We know that we love each other and that marriage is definitely where God is directing us, but we are also learning to trust in HIS sovereignty.

Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

Proverbs 16:9 "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps."

We are trusting that God will continue to provide for us right now, knowing that others before us have gone through similar and worse scenarios. We have seen God's hand move in our lives, and trust that it will happen again. In the meantime, we are praying that God will add to our faith and that we will glorify HIM no matter what the outcome.

Bloggers, we're in need of prayer.

the stress of a wedding vs. the relief of wise council

Lauren and I have been pulling our hair out finishing the wedding planning; more so Lauren than I. She has been fantastic in organizing everything and we cannot wait until the big day. But seriously, this is the first and LAST wedding for us. We do not want this mess ever again and look forward to our honeymoon with great anticipation.

Yesterday, I had a great lunch with friends and family, and they shared their wisdom regarding the wedding, marriage, and children. One thing that they said that gave me such relief was that their first year of marriage was far easier than their engagement. Talk about a sigh of relief! I love Lauren with all my heart, and she is awesome for planning the wedding. But it has stressed us both out beyond belief. Proverbs 13:10 says, "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." Such awesome truth! Keep Lauren and I in prayer. We are almost a month away!

*Checkout our wedding site*