Seattle

The Lord is calling me into an exciting new chapter in my life, and last week I decided to move to the Seattle area. I will be joining my friends Chris and Christine Antonelli to plant a church. I will be leaving soon, going up there on August 1st. It is exciting, and is the culmination of a desire God put on my heart seven months ago. The story is I visited the Antonellis in January and instantly became part of their family. I also talked with them a lot about the call the Lord put on their life, the call to lead a church of people.

Over the course of 6 months, God made it clear to them that they will be planting a church. He was healing my heart at the same time, making me ready to join them. I knew I wanted to join them at some point, but I didn't know when I would be ready. God showed me I was by the way of Isaiah 58. I shared verses 7 and 8 in my last post, and to recap they say basically that if you help the poor and the needy, your own recovery will come quickly, and your light will shine forth like the dawn. Those were just nice verses until I followed what they said, and saw them come true! I then knew deep down the path I needed to take. The one of caring for the poor and needy. Not only those who are physically poor, but also those who are poor in spirit. Those who are searching for something more.

I knew I could care for the needy wherever I'm at, but I felt the Lord saying "follow your heart. I gave you the desire to be with the Antonellis and the desire to be part of a church plant. It's time." So I told Chris and Christine I would join them. It's been about a week and a half since I decided. I'm excited, but I will of course miss all my friends and family here. I don't know what this adventure has in store, but that's part of the excitement of following God. I am thrilled to start a new chapter in my life. I know there will still be times of sadness and grief along the way, but I also know that I'm ready for this new step and that God (and the Antonellis) will be with me when I need a shoulder to cry on. In it all, I know God has good things in store for me in the future. He says in Isaiah 29:11, "For I know the plans that I have for you, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."