God Answers Prayers!
I heard something recently and I wish I could remember who said it because it was so good. These aren't their exact words, but they basically said that if we knew everything God knows we would know that He always answers our prayers the way we want Him to. It may seem like our prayers don't get answered, but what a relief it is to know that God always has our best interest in mind and He is orchestrating everything for good. It may take a while. It may or may not happen how we envisioned. The process may not feel good in the moment, but He is faithful. There are things that happen in our lives and choices we make as human beings that cause consequences that must be lived with. God is never to blame for those things, but when we pray He can work through those consequences to make something beautiful if we trust Him.
Last year was Nick's first year to teach and coach. It was a goal that he started by himself, and ten years, a wife, and three kids later he finally reached his goal. I am so proud of his perseverance. He applied at every school within a twenty mile radius and only one called him back. He was more than excited to accept the job at Cameron Yoe High School coaching Football, Basketball, and Tennis, as well as, teaching three different levels of English to a total of about 150 students. When the Athletic Director found out he was a Youth Pastor he was also asked to lead Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the school, which he was honored to accept. We were living in Gause where we had lived since June of 2004 when we moved home to work with the youth at his Dad's church.
There were many days during the last school year when me and the kids would wake up after Daddy went to work and go to bed before he got home. Moving to Cameron, though, was not financially an option, and the work load alone had Nick contemplating applying at other schools anyway. We were not happy. I wasn't happy because staying home and homeschooling an 8, 4, and 1 year old is hard work. Nick wasn't happy because he was overwhelmed and stressed out almost to the point of breaking. We were both unhappy because family time was non-existent. The twenty miles to Cameron felt more like a thousand.
On top of the struggles was the pressure of deciding what to do for the next school year. There were several options but above all we wanted to stay in God's will. We began to pray and fast for direction. We just wanted God to make the way obvious. I'm tearing up as I think back to that time of desperation. I would talk to friends about our situation and I would list the reasons something had to change and then all the possibilities we were considering, but I felt so helpless in my own ability to figure it all out. I just didn't know what to do. I am leaving out so many details. Without going into depth, there was also the financial aspect of everything, which looked pretty grim. Thank God we purchased health insurance because in the middle of everything else Seth was in the hospital twice with what they think was Asthma. There was the youth group that was suffering from our inability to connect with them. There was the fact that Nick wasn't even officially certified to teach yet and he didn't have any time to study for his tests. And those tests cost money every time he had to retake one. Then there was the deadline that came up. He had one final chance to take and pass this test or he would have to basically re-enroll in the certification program and pay over $2000 to try to get certified for something that at that point he didn't know if he even wanted to do anymore! On top of all of that there were two different appealing job offers from other churches. One would have brought extra money, but it also would have probably stretched Nick beyond his limits. (Even good things can be bad things sometimes.) The other offered a free house to live in among other things, but in the end we had to stay true to our convictions. Both seemed tempting at the moment, but had we not prayed and followed God's leading we would have missed out on God's best. Can you say pressure? It was coming from all directions. Through it all, our hope was stayed on God. My praise did not decrease as you would think it would in hard times, instead it made me more passionate than ever before. We held on to the promises of God. I had been prophesied to back in December that I was going to see results from my prayers and Nick had been told he would know by the end of the year what he was supposed to do.
Fast forward a few months. The last day of school was days away and we were still as clueless as ever. By this time Nick had been offered the Head Basketball Coach position at Cameron, which is his dream. He felt he had to turn it down though because he simply could not do it with his current work load and Cameron couldn't promise any changes. He exhausted other career options and decided to apply at Mumford. He had even gone in for an interview, and we were just doing what we knew to do and letting God do the rest. I sent out a text to a few close friends and family asking them to come into agreement with me that God would show us the way, and FAST. The next morning I woke up thinking/praying about our situation, as usual, when I got our answer. I instantly knew that Nick was supposed to stay at Cameron and God gave me three things to pray for. 1) Cameron needed to lower his student count. 2) We needed to sell our house. 3) Nick needed to pass his certification test.
I sent out another text with these specific requests and peace flooded my soul. On the last day of school as Nick was walking out of the school a coach who had accepted another job met him at the door. Nick told me later that he was actually looking forward to walking out that door and never having to look at that classroom again. This coach was looking for someone to rent his house and he asked Nick to come look at it. Now, I have to tell you that for several months I had a hunch that Nick was going to end up staying at Cameron, and I had been "secretly" believing for a house with a room I could make into a school room within walking distance of the school since we only have one car, you know just in case. Oh, and I wanted to live close enough to a track that I could start running again. Well, this house was two blocks from the school and had a huge converted garage that would be perfect for a school room...and a track about 3 minutes away. It also happened to be two blocks from the park. Nick told me today that he almost didn't even tell me about it because he knew I would want it and he didn't see how it was possible. He told this coach that he would let him know in a week if we could rent it or not. That night I posted an ad on Facebook to sell our house and we had a buyer the next day. This was not the first time I had tried to sell our house, y'all! No one had ever shown any interest before. I even found out after we sold it that someone heard we were selling and called my in-laws twice very interested in buying it! God's timing is always right on time!
Let me back up a little bit. After the people came and looked at the house and said they definitely wanted it I called Nick who was at the school working on his classroom or something. He was excited but still very apprehensive because he hadn't received the confirmation that I had about him staying at Cameron. So, I hung up and tried not to cry because of his lack of enthusiasm. Not even an hour later he calls me and the Principal had told him they were working out a way to lower his student count! The next day he finds out that Governor Rick Perry signed a new bill to lower the amount of required standardized tests and he would no longer have the pressure for his students to perform on those tests because they didn't have to take them! Which, by the way, his students excelled on last year. He had only 2 students fail, and the Principal and Superintendent personally came to his classroom to congratulate him in the middle of one of his classes one day. I guess while we're on his achievements I might as well say that during his first year he was also privileged to be a part of a State Championship Football team and coached the first Regional qualifiers in several years in Tennis. He is amazing, well, God is amazing. We give Him all the glory.
So, we found THE house, and we sold our house in a matter of days. Then, Nick took the certification test. We packed and signed papers trusting that he would pass that test. We waited the whole month of June and finally found out that HE PASSED! We've been in our new house for almost two months now and every day I wake up amazed at the goodness of God. Nick comes home several times throughout the day and we have already surprised him at school twice. We went to our first Yoe home game last Friday, which they won in dramatic fashion. I had fun sitting up in the stands with the other coach's wives and the kids had so much fun running out on the field after the game. I'm putting that track to good use and am on week 7 of Couch to 5K and feeling great. I know we are right where God wants us to be, and I am excited about our future in Him. Life is good.
"In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:6
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Proverbs 37:4
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat it's fruits." Proverbs 18:21
Last year was Nick's first year to teach and coach. It was a goal that he started by himself, and ten years, a wife, and three kids later he finally reached his goal. I am so proud of his perseverance. He applied at every school within a twenty mile radius and only one called him back. He was more than excited to accept the job at Cameron Yoe High School coaching Football, Basketball, and Tennis, as well as, teaching three different levels of English to a total of about 150 students. When the Athletic Director found out he was a Youth Pastor he was also asked to lead Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the school, which he was honored to accept. We were living in Gause where we had lived since June of 2004 when we moved home to work with the youth at his Dad's church.
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| Our house in Gause. Lorelai was 13 months old when we moved in. |
On top of the struggles was the pressure of deciding what to do for the next school year. There were several options but above all we wanted to stay in God's will. We began to pray and fast for direction. We just wanted God to make the way obvious. I'm tearing up as I think back to that time of desperation. I would talk to friends about our situation and I would list the reasons something had to change and then all the possibilities we were considering, but I felt so helpless in my own ability to figure it all out. I just didn't know what to do. I am leaving out so many details. Without going into depth, there was also the financial aspect of everything, which looked pretty grim. Thank God we purchased health insurance because in the middle of everything else Seth was in the hospital twice with what they think was Asthma. There was the youth group that was suffering from our inability to connect with them. There was the fact that Nick wasn't even officially certified to teach yet and he didn't have any time to study for his tests. And those tests cost money every time he had to retake one. Then there was the deadline that came up. He had one final chance to take and pass this test or he would have to basically re-enroll in the certification program and pay over $2000 to try to get certified for something that at that point he didn't know if he even wanted to do anymore! On top of all of that there were two different appealing job offers from other churches. One would have brought extra money, but it also would have probably stretched Nick beyond his limits. (Even good things can be bad things sometimes.) The other offered a free house to live in among other things, but in the end we had to stay true to our convictions. Both seemed tempting at the moment, but had we not prayed and followed God's leading we would have missed out on God's best. Can you say pressure? It was coming from all directions. Through it all, our hope was stayed on God. My praise did not decrease as you would think it would in hard times, instead it made me more passionate than ever before. We held on to the promises of God. I had been prophesied to back in December that I was going to see results from my prayers and Nick had been told he would know by the end of the year what he was supposed to do.
Fast forward a few months. The last day of school was days away and we were still as clueless as ever. By this time Nick had been offered the Head Basketball Coach position at Cameron, which is his dream. He felt he had to turn it down though because he simply could not do it with his current work load and Cameron couldn't promise any changes. He exhausted other career options and decided to apply at Mumford. He had even gone in for an interview, and we were just doing what we knew to do and letting God do the rest. I sent out a text to a few close friends and family asking them to come into agreement with me that God would show us the way, and FAST. The next morning I woke up thinking/praying about our situation, as usual, when I got our answer. I instantly knew that Nick was supposed to stay at Cameron and God gave me three things to pray for. 1) Cameron needed to lower his student count. 2) We needed to sell our house. 3) Nick needed to pass his certification test.
I sent out another text with these specific requests and peace flooded my soul. On the last day of school as Nick was walking out of the school a coach who had accepted another job met him at the door. Nick told me later that he was actually looking forward to walking out that door and never having to look at that classroom again. This coach was looking for someone to rent his house and he asked Nick to come look at it. Now, I have to tell you that for several months I had a hunch that Nick was going to end up staying at Cameron, and I had been "secretly" believing for a house with a room I could make into a school room within walking distance of the school since we only have one car, you know just in case. Oh, and I wanted to live close enough to a track that I could start running again. Well, this house was two blocks from the school and had a huge converted garage that would be perfect for a school room...and a track about 3 minutes away. It also happened to be two blocks from the park. Nick told me today that he almost didn't even tell me about it because he knew I would want it and he didn't see how it was possible. He told this coach that he would let him know in a week if we could rent it or not. That night I posted an ad on Facebook to sell our house and we had a buyer the next day. This was not the first time I had tried to sell our house, y'all! No one had ever shown any interest before. I even found out after we sold it that someone heard we were selling and called my in-laws twice very interested in buying it! God's timing is always right on time!
Let me back up a little bit. After the people came and looked at the house and said they definitely wanted it I called Nick who was at the school working on his classroom or something. He was excited but still very apprehensive because he hadn't received the confirmation that I had about him staying at Cameron. So, I hung up and tried not to cry because of his lack of enthusiasm. Not even an hour later he calls me and the Principal had told him they were working out a way to lower his student count! The next day he finds out that Governor Rick Perry signed a new bill to lower the amount of required standardized tests and he would no longer have the pressure for his students to perform on those tests because they didn't have to take them! Which, by the way, his students excelled on last year. He had only 2 students fail, and the Principal and Superintendent personally came to his classroom to congratulate him in the middle of one of his classes one day. I guess while we're on his achievements I might as well say that during his first year he was also privileged to be a part of a State Championship Football team and coached the first Regional qualifiers in several years in Tennis. He is amazing, well, God is amazing. We give Him all the glory.
 |
| Where we made almost 9 years of memories is now an empty lot. |
So, we found THE house, and we sold our house in a matter of days. Then, Nick took the certification test. We packed and signed papers trusting that he would pass that test. We waited the whole month of June and finally found out that HE PASSED! We've been in our new house for almost two months now and every day I wake up amazed at the goodness of God. Nick comes home several times throughout the day and we have already surprised him at school twice. We went to our first Yoe home game last Friday, which they won in dramatic fashion. I had fun sitting up in the stands with the other coach's wives and the kids had so much fun running out on the field after the game. I'm putting that track to good use and am on week 7 of Couch to 5K and feeling great. I know we are right where God wants us to be, and I am excited about our future in Him. Life is good.
 |
| Home Sweet Rent Home :) |
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Proverbs 37:4
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat it's fruits." Proverbs 18:21
When I finished reading this I did three things. I sighed. I smiled. I thanked God for his Blessings. :o)
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing story! I agree 100%!!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I'm so happy for y'all!! XOXO