And Now You Know the Rest of the Story..... (Part Two)

Tuesday, we left off with our story in the month of March. (If you missed it, you might want to catch up so you’re not lost. You can click here to go to the post.)

March was the hardest month for me. I’ve said it before only a few times, but infertility wrecked my faith. I really didn’t know how to trust God anymore. I knew that I should trust Him. I knew deep down that He was faithful, but the constant disappointment from infertility I was so familiar with the last eighteen months had all but destroyed me. When I got a job offer before Roman did, I was afraid to make a move. In an instance, all of the confidence and peace I had felt about our move had vanished and I was left with all of the tiny questions that had suddenly become mountains in my mind.

What about Roman’s job? Where would we move? Can we afford to move? What about my friends? What about Roman’s job? What about our church? What about Roman’s job?

I hesitantly called the human resource specialist back the next afternoon with my answer: I would take the job, but I couldn’t start until the end of April. I told her that my husband and I would have to move and we would need the time to find a place to live and get to Columbus. Truthfully, I was just trying to push my start date out as far as possible to give Roman’s job offer more time. For the next five weeks, we would wait in intense anticipation.

We went house hunting one last time at the beginning of April. We tried to be as transparent as we could with the landlords we met. We carefully explained that I had a job offer and that he was in the final stages of a job offer. Once he had a job offer we would need to move right away. We selected a house and the landlord told us he would hold it for one week. We fully expected God to “wrap things up” and for Roman to get a job offer that week. We were not comfortable with signing a lease for a house without his job offer.

That week, Roman’s dad had a God-orchestrated encounter with someone who knew the status of Roman’s job. According to this individual, Roman had been selected and they were just waiting on a few things to clear up before he got a job offer. We were greatly encouraged, and I finally decided to officially announce to my boss that we were leaving. Our week went by with no job offer. Not wanting to lose the house, we told the landlord that we would meet with him the next weekend and sign the lease and deliver the security deposit. Surely God would work everything out by then! And oh yea, I had two weeks before I was supposed to start my new job. We started packing our house up out of pure faith.

At first, we were adamant about not signing a lease without a job offer. How in the world could we hand over the entire contents of our savings account and hold ourselves legally liable on a rental contract with no job offer for Roman? There was no way we could afford the higher rent without him having a job! But eventually, we decided that this was just going to have to be a leap of faith. It took all of my energy to stand on what I felt God had been saying all along: move to Columbus. I was so used to disappointments and being angry and doubtful towards God. It was almost as though I could feel those flames of refinement in my heart.  

So that next weekend, we took a deep breath and jumped off the cliff. We signed the lease and handed over a cashier’s check that had emptied our savings account. My job threw me a going away party. Roman put in his notice at his job. We rented a U-Haul, and we moved that week.

The almost month since then has been an emotional and spiritual roller coaster. We took our leap of faith and moved to Columbus. I started my new job, and it has been great. We’ve gone through the month of May with only my paycheck, the going-away gift from our church, and the reimbursed security deposit from our last rental. I’ve spent the last month looking at our budget and looking at our accounts and then looking at God. “We can’t go on like this for another month.” Roman started looking at part-time job announcements in the area, but said none of them felt right. We had been telling every new person we met that he was in the “final stages of a job offer” and would be starting soon, but the truth was that we really weren’t sure. Maybe God wanted us in Columbus, but didn’t want Roman in that job? We tried our best to just trust Him and not doubt…..but it was hard. Really, really hard.

But finally, oh happy day, Roman got his job offer this past Thursday! It took everything in me to not scream when he called me at work to tell me the news. I don’t think I could ever describe to you the feeling of relief I had as soon as he called. To finally have our faith made sight in this part of our journey is an incredible experience.

Truth is, the past six months has been a crazy adventure, but now that this part of the story has ended I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Because the last six months has restored a part of me that I thought infertility had stolen forever: my faith in God. I can recall the times I heard God’s voice, and I can look back over the puzzle and see how He was faithful and true to His word. I can see how shallow my doubts were in light of His promises. And I can now look to the future and say with confidence that I will trust the Lord to guide my steps in the way they should go.

This part of our adventure has ended, but the next part is just beginning. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” ~Psalm 40:2

And Now You Know the Rest of the Story..... (Part One)

Almost a month ago, we announced our move to Columbus. I promised you in this post the full story, but I had to wait until we actually knew the full story before I could tell it. As of last Thursday, the final piece of the puzzle finally fell into place, so I can finally tell you guys how this move of ours came about. Yippee!

Right before Thanksgiving 2013, Roman found a job announcement online for a forensic scientist job. (I won’t go into any further details on what the job is, just because I’m slightly leery about posting it for the world to see. So we’ll just say it’s a forensic scientist job, cool? Cool.) For those of you who don’t know, Roman majored in forensic science in college but had so far been unable to find a job in his field. So about three months after graduating college, he took a full-time job selling phones through a Verizon wireless retailer.

Trying to get a job in the forensic science community proved a lot more difficult than what we had expected. Going into marriage, we had a plan: graduate from college, Roman gets a job in his career field, I quit my job and be a stay-at-home mom, we live in Camilla and stay on the ministry team at our church, and everyone lives happily ever after. We graduated college in May of 2012, but nothing else from our plan was falling into place. We just weren’t getting anywhere with the few forensic science jobs that became available in the Camilla area.

So when Roman found the forensic scientist job this past November, we asked ourselves a scary question: What if God doesn’t want us to stay in Camilla? What if He wants us to move somewhere else? We decided that was a possibility but would never know unless he applied, so Roman submitted his application and we started praying really hard.

It was very strange, because the longer we prayed about it, the more at peace we felt about it. By the time Christmas rolled around, we were almost positive that God wanted us to move…which was really odd because Roman hadn’t even heard anything back yet! We even drove up there one Saturday and checked out the area where he would be working and some of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Sure enough, Roman got a phone call in January to set up an interview. We were ridiculously excited! This was the closest we had ever come in his career pursuit! I took the day off and we drove up to Columbus the night before. His interview went very well and as soon as I picked him up I blurted out, “We’re moving to Columbus!!” We spent the afternoon looking at houses and I immediately started applying for federal government jobs in the area. Within a few days, a job came up and I felt God telling me to apply.

February came with lots of great news: Roman had made it into the next stage of the hiring process. It was him and two other individuals, and he was now required to do the extensive background investigation and a polygraph. In addition, I was selected for an interview for the job that I had applied for the month before. I was nervous, but I felt God telling me that the job was already mine, so there was a lot of peace at the same time.

Up until February we were feeling nothing but excitement and confidence. As we explained to some of our family and friends: if this couple who always said they were never leaving Camilla are at peace with moving to Columbus, then that peace is only coming from God. We were really excited about the future and what God was doing. In the back of our minds, all the questions about the tiny details were still there…but they were small in comparison. Our feelings were mixed with nervousness, peace and excitement, but mostly peace and excitement. March changed all of that……

In early March, I got a tentative job offer. At first I was beyond excited, but reality quickly set in. Roman had not heard anything yet about his job. What do we do? I strongly felt like this was God saying that we were meant to move to Columbus even though Roman hadn’t heard anything yet, but I really did not want to be wrong and accept a job offer that I wasn’t supposed to take. I stalled as long as possible on my paperwork that I had to fill out before a firm job offer could be made. Then I stalled as long as possible on getting my background investigation and fingerprinting complete. But even after all that stalling, I got a phone call immediately after my fingerprints were taken with a firm job offer. I told the human resource specialist that I would need to talk to my husband and I’d call her back in the morning. Roman immediately called the human resource specialist and asked for a status on his job….they had none to offer him.

Our time of intense anxiety had begun.

 

Come back Thursday to hear the rest of the story!

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” ~Jeremiah 29:11

Throwback Thursday Stories: Mean, Green, Soccer-Playing Machine

Today we are participating in The Mom Creative's Throwback Thursday Stories! Every Thursday she posts a throwback picture and tells the story behind it, and then has a link-up at the bottom of the post for others to share their stories too! If you enjoy today's post and would like to see more, feel free to click over to her post and check out more stories by clicking here. If you are a new reader from The Mom Creative, welcome! Feel free to click around, we are glad you're here.   :)


My older brother was an awesome soccer player. He wound up getting a scholarship because of his athletic ability, so naturally, when I was a little girl my parents enrolled me in the local recreation department's soccer program. My nephew and little brother were both enrolled in the same team as me, so we had tons of fun doing soccer-things together.....like daring each other to eat grass and throwing dirt at each other (the grass tasted weird, if you were wondering.)

I am relatively certain that for the first two seasons I did nothing but dance in circles, pick flowers and sing throughout every practice and game. I seem to remember my Dad lovingly shouting across the field: "Sarah, put down the flower and kick the ball." I am almost positive that I did not listen to him. Because flowers.

Due to my amazing soccer/dancing abilities, my parents also enrolled me in ballet.....where I pretended to crawl on the floor like a lion anytime they played a Lion King song. *ahem*

Eventually I did get serious about playing soccer though. Maybe a little too serious.

 

I want you all to know that my mom has both of these pictures on her fridge. It never fails, anytime we have a large gathering at her house someone has to bring up my face in this picture.

 

Listen guys, the photographer told me to look like a mean, green, soccer-playing machine. So I was a good little girl and did exactly what he told me. I'm good at following orders!  ;)  That phrase also caught on really well too, so I repeated probably a million times that I was a mean, green, soccer-playing machine over the rest of the season.

 

But in all seriousness, my childhood soccer teams hold some of my best memories. It was so awesome to play on a team with both my nephew and my little brother. My Dad and older brother even volunteered as coaches one year, which was awesome. As I grew up and continued playing I discovered my love of running, which led me to my extensive running career throughout middle school and high school. So Dad, I suppose all the money you paid so I could dance and pick flowers on the soccer field was worth it!  ;)

 

And for the record, I still consider myself a mean, green, soccer-playing machine. I just don't wear the pigtails anymore.  :)  

 

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” ~1 Peter 2:2-3

 

 

*affiliate link

DaySpring Specials

I wasn't planning on writing a post today, but I have a quick update that I would like to share with all of you. (Check over at Faith, Marriage & Family tomorrow for a new Wifey Wednesday post!)

As of today, I was approved to be an affiliate for DaySpring! I have always loved this company and the products they sell. I seriously can't look at their store with my wallet close by because they have so. much. cute. stuff. So I am really excited that I was approved to partner with them.

Periodically, I will do a short blog post letting you know what specials DaySpring is currently running. I will also have my affiliate links on the left side bar (if you are reading this on a mobile device, you may have to scroll down to the bottom and click "view full site" in order to see the side bar.) Feel free to click on any of the links or images in this post or the images in the left side bar to browse DaySpring's products. Just to make it clear, I will receive a small commission on any product that you might purchase when you click on one of the links on this blog.

So without further ado, here is your first DaySpring Specials post!

Right now, the Redeemed Collection of DaySpring has this really cute decorative lantern on sale. It's on sale for $12, regularly priced at $29.99.

Also, all Wedding & Anniversary Cards are currently 30% off--no coupon needed!

 

The Lyrics for Life Collection is one of my absolute favorite collections that DaySpring has to offer. They take popular lyrics from hymns and worship songs and place them on all sorts of stuff....mugs, gift bags, cards, and wall art. Right now, for every two items purchased you get one item free! I mean, just look at how cute this stuff is:

This is just a quick highlight of what they have to offer. If you would like to browse other collections, just click here or click on the image below to go to DaySpring's main page.

 

 

 

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

 

"Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us." ~Luke 1:78

Weekend Adventures

We had a really great time over the weekend. This weekend was our first weekend that we stayed at home since moving to Columbus, so we took the opportunity to get out and explore some. But not before we went back to Albany on Friday night to see my little brother graduate:

Graduation ceremony for Albany Technical Institute

Me and my little brother

The proud graduate!

I can't tell you guys how proud I am of him for completing the Advanced EMT program! He is so good at what he does, and I know God is going to use him to save countless lives throughout his career! Congratulations Stephen!!!!!

 

Going to Albany and back in one day was a little tiring, so we slept in on Saturday. But we finally pulled ourselves out of bed and decided to do some exploring this weekend! First, we went down to the Chattahoochee River and walked a portion of the riverwalk. For those of you who don't know, there is a fairly new whitewater rafting company in Columbus that has the longest urban whitewater rafting course in the nation! It was pretty cool to see some of the rafters come down the river. And there was a really cool spot along the riverwalk where you could go out on the rocks in the river or walk along the sandy "beach." Get ready for picture overload......

 

 

  

 

We didn't spend a whole lot of time at the river, but we had a ton of fun! I can't wait to go back and do a picnic on the beach. And even though I always said I was too scared to ever try it, I'm kind of wanting to do the whitewater rafting course now!

After we ate dinner, we went to a concert in Columbus. The band Moore opened, and then we saw Tim Timmons, Group 1 Crew, and Big Daddy Weave. It was an AMAZING show and I could feel God's presence in the room. We actually wound up buying Tim Timmons' new CD. I didn't realize how great of a musician/performer he was. So far I've been listening to his CD on repeat....love it!

 

Yesterday we decided to visit Evangel Temple for Sunday morning service. TIt was really good, but they had a guest speaker so we did not really get to hear the Pastor preach. We did attend their young adults ministry service last night and got to meet some cool people, so that was great.

 

So yea, a very fun-filled weekend for us! It was a nice start to our new life here in Columbus and it re-energized us for what God has planned for us here.

 

I hope you guys had a great weekend as well! Try not to be too sad about it being Monday, we've made it through half the work day already!!    ;)   

 

“Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of His might, and because He is strong in power not one is missing.” ~Isaiah 40:26

Rhinestone Jesus: Saying Yes to God When Sparkly, Safe Faith Is No Longer Enough

I’m pretty excited to share this post with all of my readers this morning!

Today is May 1^st. Today is also the day that Rhinestone Jesus releases to retailers worldwide.

Kristen Welch is the author behind one of my favorite blogs: We are THAT Family. In 2010, Kristen and her family founded The Mercy House, a maternity home in Kenya that provides aid to pregnant girls living in extreme poverty. The Mercy House operates off of the charity of “simple” people like us, yet God has continued to grow this home exponentially. They are getting ready to move into a second home that will allow them to bring in even more helpless Kenyan girls.  As of last year, The Mercy House is home to 11 mothers and 11 babies. Rhinestone Jesus is Kristen’s story of how she said “yes” to God, which led to the founding of this life-changing ministry…..

“In high school, Kristen Welch wore a big, sparkly rhinestone ‘Jesus’ pin to school every day and carried her Bible wherever she went. (Yes, she was that girl.) But she didn’t realize her faith, though sincere, was shallow; much like her artificial accessory, it would one day tarnish, no longer a true fit for who she was. As real life catapulted Kristen into places and situations she’d never imagined, there came a day when she stood shocked in the slums of Africa and realized in one desperate moment that Jesus wasn’t enough for her. At least . . . she wasn’t living like He was. On the brink of a risk bigger than any she’d ever taken, Kristen knew she didn’t stand a chance—unless she was willing to put aside the rhinestones and get branded by the real thing. Rhinestone Jesus is the story of one woman’s journey from comfortably living a safe, ‘good-girl’ faith that didn’t cost much, to realizing that God was daring her to say yes to a bolder, more authentic, more dangerous way. This story of spiritual adventure throws the doors wide open for any woman who’s ever thought of herself as ‘just a mom.’ Kristen will inspire and empower you to say yes to God right where you are—and stand amazed at how your life will shine.”

I pre-ordered Rhinestone Jesus a few weeks ago and received my copy in the mail last weekend. So far I am LOVING this book, which is why I wanted to tell all of you about it. It is so easy for us to fall into the mindset that what we do doesn’t really matter to God, but Kristen gently reminds us through the telling of her story that all of our “yesses” to God truly do matter! Each of us can make a huge impact in this world for Jesus Christ if we are simply willing to say “yes” when He calls us! If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: this is not an affiliate link….I just really love this book and wanted to tell all of you about it!

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” ~Micah 6:8

Symballo

Last week we finally officially announced our move to a new city on Life with the Casterlines. So far the moving process has been relatively easy. Am I going to miss some folks at work? Yup. Am I going to miss my nice, big country house? Yup. Am I going to miss seeing my family whenever I want? Yup. But even though there are things I’m going to miss, all of the good that I know God is going to bring about from this move has helped me outweigh the sadness. I’ve been pretty proud of myself because I’ve been able to hold all of the emotions together and not have a crying-fit.  ;)

Until yesterday.

Yesterday was our last Sunday as worship leaders at our church. Ever since Roman and I felt like God was calling us away, we’ve tried to prep ourselves emotionally for leaving our home church. I think we failed miserably at that. I didn’t even make it through the worship set before I started crying. Looking over at the worship team that we have led for around three years…..all of them friends so close that I consider them my family (plus my father-in-law who actually is my family)....gosh, I just couldn’t take it. Our praise team has such a special connection. We operate so well within the moving of the Holy Spirit. We can follow each other and feel where the music needs to go. It’s hard to put it into words, but I can say that this connection and togetherness is not very common among praise teams. I am going to miss being a part of such a wonderful group of vocalists and musicians SO much. And so I cried….through like, the entire third song.

I started looking over our sweet congregation…and then I really lost it.

Y’all. If you don’t know my church family, you should get to know them. You won’t find a sweeter, more caring group of people who want to know Jesus more than anything. Their worship is pure, genuine and fearless. Their love is strong and unwavering. I have had the privilege of *attempting* to lead them in worship for around three years, but to tell you the truth, they don’t need my help. To be able to see them worshipping Jesus every week is a true blessing, one that I am dearly going to miss.

Roman and I truly had no idea that our church family was going to bless us like they did yesterday. So basically, once the worship was over and I started crying again because I realized our last set list together was officially over, I pretty much didn’t stop crying until we started eating lunch. The slideshow was beautiful and represented so many special memories of our journey at First Assembly. The words spoken by some of our dearest friends and family truly touched our hearts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Roman cry in our entire relationship, so for him to break down like he did during the service yesterday truly shows how much it meant for him. The financial blessing was God’s way of providing for a great need in our lives right now, and we can’t be more thankful. It was an all-around beautiful service and we were emotional wrecks for like, the entire rest of the day.

My devotion last night was perfect for yesterday. The passage was out of Luke 2, and the focus was on verse 19: “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” The original translation for the word “pondered” in this passage of Scripture is “symballo” and it means “to bring together.” Mary took the events leading up to Jesus’ birth and the immediate events with the shepherds afterwards and “brought them together” in her mind. She pieced together all of the wondrous works of God and treasured them, because she knew she was holding the Messiah in her arms. The devotion ended with a challenge: spend some time reviewing over the last several years in your life. What major events has God brought you through that have shaped you into who you are today? “Ponder” them for a moment. And so last night, as I read my devotion and got ready for bed, I did just that.

When I review the last six years of my life, I can see the hand of God all over. I see a broken girl graduating from high school with more questions than she can count and a hardened heart towards God. I see this girl going back to First Assembly with all of her questions, insecurities, and doubts. I see a loving church family who took her in and dedicated the time and energy to shape her into who she is today. I see the best pastor and pastor’s wife in the world patiently mold her into a leader. I see friends that will last a lifetime entering into her life. I see her getting married and a church body that has supported and counselled this new marriage into what God wants it to be. I see her getting baptized in the Holy Spirit. I see the boldness and courage of the Holy Spirit rise up in her as she steps into leadership. I see a group of people who stood beside her, encouraged her, and prayed for her every step of the way.   

Symballo.

Stepping down as worship leaders and making that final “break” yesterday was truly the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do. I cried on and off for the rest of the day….and this morning….and I’ll probably cry tomorrow too….and probably the day after that. So much of my life and who I am today rests on the beautiful congregation we left behind yesterday and their willingness to follow Christ. There truly are not enough words that I can write on this blog that could ever convey my gratitude for this body of believers.

So to the dear people of First Assembly: We love you more than we can express. Thank you so much for being who you are…for being who God called you to be. Continue worshipping our Lord and Savior and seeking after His heart. Don’t stop running this race! Keep your eyes focused on Christ and the work He has called you to. We can’t wait to hear about all that God does through you, and we can’t wait to share everything He does through us as well. Know that this certainly is not goodbye; after all, we are only two hours away! ;)  Thank you SO much for such a sweet service yesterday, it meant a lot to both of us (even though I cried too much.)

And to anyone else reading this who is not a member of First Assembly: seriously, you should get to know those folks. If this post hasn’t convinced you, then I don’t know what will!

I’ll close with Romans 12 because it accurately represents everything that my First Assembly family is, and everything we are called to be as a body of believers in Christ:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”