A mere 365 days out of the previous thousands

Aurelia and I experienced the most surreal realization on Sunday, June 24th. It marked exactly one year since we invited the other couples in our Sunday evening Life Group to attend the Banner Hill Vision Meeting being hosted that evening by Bryan & Jodi Shippey. It was our understanding that the Shippey's would share more details on how God was leading them to Framingham and the MetroWest area of Boston. We assumed the meeting would also provide more specific information on how we could support their ministry (ie, prayer partners, financial support, Blue Bell shipments, etc). Our attendance was a show of moral support for our friends (and my barber... Bryan is a man of many talents, lol)! As mentioned in our earliest posts ["Vacation Turned Vision Trip" and "How This Began"], God had much bigger plans for our "show of support" than what we had envisioned.

Aurelia and I walked out of the meeting having told the Shippey's that we each had separately felt an inexplicable and seemingly insane "feeling" that we were supposed to move with them to Framingham... move to Massachusetts! Born & bred Texans! Not ministers or missionaries... just ordinary folks (we're both registered nurses). We wandered in a daze for a few days... was this a mid-life crisis? Was this some bad Tex-Mex food creating delusions of grandeur? Could God really be asking us to uproot our family and walk in blind (arguably reckless) faith? How could we afford the cross-country move? Where would we live? Where would we work? Are we jeopardizing our family's well-being? Who are we to think we have something special to give or important to speak into the lives of those New Englanders?

On the morning of June 27th, we received the latest installment of daily scripture sent via group text by the legendary Mike "Coach" Meyers. This is what the text said: "Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives! See Jer 1:8. Safest place = center of God's will!" Mike was not aware of the decision we were debating... almost no one was aware of it yet. Of course, God was aware!

“Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. 
I, the Lord, have spoken!”  -- Jeremiah 1:7-8

I think we already knew the decision was clear, but that timely verse of encouragement was just the booster shot we needed to pull the proverbial trigger! We told God "Yes" to whatever was His plan as long as He provided the way... after all He said, "I Am the Way!" Just peruse through this blog to see the unimaginable means & method that God provided "the Way". Today, July 2nd, is now the jumping off point... we stand at the door of the plane, the light has turned green, it's time to jump. But we do not jump into the great unknown or into a deep & dark void! No, dear friends, we leap into the outstretched arms of our Father who will never fail us (Heb 13:5b)... He beckons us to spring from our supposed place of safety & security into our true place of strength and refuge. A mighty fortress is our God. Our protector and our guarantor.

Our house is empty. The moving truck is gone. Tommy has resigned from MD Anderson effective today. Our minivan is loaded (read the incredible story of that blessing HERE). We hit the road this afternoon. We are Faithfully for Framingham. Framingham Here We Come!! #AllIn #BannerHillChurch #LeapOfFaith #NoFearInMyFathersArms