A new chapter

  • This is the last paragraph of the resignation letter I sent this morning.
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    Back when Rafael and I had a brand new baby almost seven years ago, we were working full time at Target. As much as I loved my job, my heart turned toward my home during my all-to-short maternity leave. I did not want to go back, but we didn’t know how that would be possible. We had just bought a house, we had six figure student loan debt (yes SIX figure), and a car payment. We were pretty firmly dependent on a double-income household.

    We were surrounded by faithful people at our church who had made decisions to allow themselves more financial freedom, be it seemed it was too late for us. God’s saving grace could indeed set us on a wonderful path, but we could not travel back in time and go to a less expensive college, for example. We almost believed the lie we told ourselves – that we somehow missed the window to make radical life choices for Christ.

    I was searching Craigslist for some shelves for baby Giana’s bedroom when I clicked over to the help wanted section out of curiosity. Among the scams, I saw a headline that asked for someone with journalism and project management experience – exactly my resume. I applied, met the owner of Aurora WDC, and accepted a work-from-home position that paid exactly what I was making at Target, minus the daycare expense. Between my flexible work schedule and having my mother-in-law in our home to help with the baby, I was able to be home in a way I never imagined. LOOK AT WHAT GOD DID!

    Which brings us to today. I’ll have a 2nd grader and kindergartner in our homeschool this years, as well as a 3 year old preschooler to keep the mix lively. Our foster care license is complete and we will begin bringing additional kids into our home. Thanks to so much growth in Rafa’s career, we are completely debt free after making our final loan payments last month. And Gilda is looking forward to an exciting year while she is on the verge of completing her citizenship and receiving a kidney transplant.

    We had seven years of waiting for an answer to this prayer. Seven years of faithfully taking small steps in obedience with our jobs and finances. Seven years of trusting that God has good plans for our lives and the lives of our children. That He is the one who turned my heart toward my home and that He would bless that. I know this new season will have it’s own challenges, but we are excited to face them with the help of our faithful, faithful Father.

    “You cleared the ground under me so my footing was firm. You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great.” Psalm 18:35

Philippians 1:6

I am way behind on posting. It has been a busy summer! Here’s the most recent verse we taught the kids at church over the month of July.

Proverbs 19:21

Giana’s last verse of her school year happens to be my favorite life verse. God is so good like that, isn’t he?! I was able to tell her about the time in my life when this verse meant the most to me. I didn’t want to move to Minnesota from Illinois, but God had other plans! The avenues He opened led my steps to the city where I would encounter God in a new, life-giving way – and also where I would meet the love of my life!

https://youtu.be/8GLVfMeaodI

Proverbs 10:9

We taught our Sunday School class this verse and practiced it throughout the month of May!

Proverbs 20:22

I am so exciting about posting this week’s verse turned into a song. Giana made up this one on her own. Usually, when we sing our verses, I hum a little melody and modify it to fit the words we are trying to memorize. This time, we were reviewing it and I stepped out of the room for a minute. I heard her working through some notes on her own. This is what she came up with!