More on Jeremiah 29:11...

God's plans are not always the same plans we would chose for ourselves. However, His plans are always best for us. He has plans to give us hope and a future...plans to prosper us and not harm us. I believe God gave me Jeremiah 29:11 as my favorite verse because He knew I would have many occasions in my life where I needed to remind myself of that!

God's plans for Brian and I currently include making a pretty major move. After several months of praying, seeking God's will and trusting Him, Brian has accepted a call to a church in northern Minnesota. So in July sometime we will be moving from Iowa to Minnesota.

We have mixed emotions about this move. We are very excited for the new ministry ahead of us and the chance to get to share life with the amazing people at First Baptist Church in Roseau. Right now we are on the tough side of the move, the part where it hurts. It is hard to tell our church family and our close friends that we will be leaving them soon. Our family has put down some pretty strong roots in this community, this is home.

As we looked at homes last weekend, I found this to be a much more emotional experience than I ever thought it would be. Tears were shed and I found myself overwhelmed. This was new to me, I am one of those odd people who loves to move. I love packing, I love setting up a new home, I love the whole experience. But this move is different. As we were looking at houses, a few things dawned on me. First of all, I don't need a homeschool room anymore; second, my children will visit us at this new home, but this will not live here with us. We have only lived in one place since we were married that it was just Brian and I...I have always had our children in mind as we picked out a new house. This time, they are still in mind, but it will be different.

Are we crazy to have so many life changes all at once? In the span of just a few short months we will have married a daughter, graduated our youngest, given our blessing to our middle daughter to begin a dating relationship, and moved to a community that is closer to Canada than Walmart! This is why I have to cling to my verse. I need to see all of this as God's plan. None of what is happening is bad, but it is a lot to process. I am so thankful I have God to lean on and am so thankful He has given me a husband with shoulders that allow a few tears to fall, a man with arms that will embrace me when I need it, a man who I get to share this new exciting chapter of life with!