We've waited long enough to tell you...

We are moving to the MidWest.

Omaha, Nebraska to be exact.

I (Misty) have lived in Birmingham my whole life. I love it here, and I've never seen myself living anywhere else. I just knew that I would grow up, meet the man of my dreams, have beautiful children, and we would live our lives happily ever after in Birmingham Alabama. We would spend lots of time with my parents, who we absolutely adore, and my sister, who is one of my best friends, and her awesome husband, who i'm still very much enjoying getting to know. I also have a huge extended family, most of whom live in the Birmingham area. We are close and see each other often, for birthdays, holidays, and random get-togethers. And we also have some of the greatest friends in the world that we enjoy doing life with. My vision included lots of regular time with all of these very special people in my life. So, my heart is hurting knowing that for a period of time, or possibly the rest of my life, i will live pretty far away from them. This was, at one time, a VERY HARD decision to wrestle with.
John and I have been praying about, thinking about, and wrestling with this possibility for a long time. Probably a year and a half. We have actually made the decision to go before, and I couldn't bare it, so we put it to rest for the time being. But on Christmas Eve something happened. The Lord did something in me. He gave me exactly what i needed to make the decision to GO. He gave me an absolute peace. And once I knew with 100% certainty that the Lord wanted my little family in Omaha, Nebraska, the decision to go was easy. My heart hurts to move away from my dear dear family and my awesome friends, but now that i know that the Lord is calling us elsewhere, I can go. Because above all, I want to follow Him.

Now from John...

As Misty said, this has been a decision that we've been wrestling with for over a year. Why are we moving, and why to Omaha? The short answer is that we feel like God continually has put this on our hearts. It just keeps coming back up. I had actually put the decision to rest this fall, only to have my wife give me the greatest Christmas present ever by saying out of the blue, "I think we should move to Omaha."

The reason we are moving to Omaha is mainly due to a job opportunity. There is a young, thriving church up there called Relevant Community Church, pastored by our good friend Ronnie Rothe. We helped Ronnie plant a short-lived church here in Pelham, AL a few years ago. The job title is Program Director. In short, I'll be responsible for directing all the elements of the Sunday Service. This includes leading a team of talented, creative people to create an environment that is conducive to worship and helps drive home the main point of the sermon. I'll be doing tons of design, video, and creative thinking with, as I said, some really talented people. This is my passion, using my creative gifts to communicate God's Truth. This job fits my gifts and passions like a glove. I couldn't be more excited. And what's more, it's a 30 hour/week job, meaning I'll still have a fair amount of time to put towards my recently launched business, Kingdom Project Creative, which helps Christ-centered ministries understand and implement creative media.

There's another reason for this big move. I feel like we need a change as a family. Our life is actually really blessed. But there's been something eating at me. There's this feeling that we're too comfortable. That sounds kind of ridiculous because that's what a lot of us are chasing: security, stability, comfort. The thing is, I want my life, and my family members' lives to be lived by faith. I guess I don't see a whole lot of opportunities to trust God in our current state. So this opportunity of moving to Omaha...starting over, making a change, doing something risky...has always represented an adventure for our family. It's something that I hope and pray will bring our family closer and something that I firmly believe will draw our hearts closer to Christ in a genuine way. Because that's how people learn to trust God, through our experiences. Back in October, when I was intently praying about this decision one morning, my mind was flooding with questions of how and why and what if. Suddenly it seems like all those worries were cleared and I felt God say, "John, just step out on the waves and see what I can do." That's the only time in my life I can confidently say that I felt God speaking to me. Anyway, this move is about a job opportunity, and I'm excited about that. But even more, I'm excited to see what God does in and through our family. Because I/we have NO IDEA what's going to happen. We're being obedient and trusting that God knows what's best. So fun.

Misty again. So, here we go! Our adventure begins. Our home goes on the market Monday. (So if you know of anyone looking for a 3 bdrm/2 bath home in great condition in the Pelham area, point them in our direction!) As of right now, our plan is to get to Omaha by the end of April so that we can get settled and John start his job @ Relevant by the 1st of May.

We would appreciate your prayers as we prepare to leave our home. I think this may be the most difficult thing i ever do, but I'm still excited to see what the Lord is going to do!

Our plan is to keep you updated through out this journey, and we definitely want to keep our family and friends informed once we get to Omaha. This means lots of pictures of the boys! (I promise now that John is joining my blogging venture there will be lots of pictures!)