Saying goodbye and saying hello...

So this is our last week at Journey. It has finally come and with a ton of emotions...

For those of you who don't know, Mark and I will be leaving Journey Church this week and heading up to the north side of town (comstock park) to help launch another church called The Story. There are tons of reasons for this decision that are not worth explaining but bottom line--God said "Go" so we what do we do? Well duh...we GO!

So as we approach this last week I think we are thankful to have transitions done but are sad to leave something that was nothing when we got here. We have watched God build a church from just a few people to a family of 170 or so. We have seen lives changed and people saved through the mighty power of Jesus Christ. We have invested so much and made many amazing friends and most of all we have grown individually and together. We have seen God move in so many ways. Leaving has been hard but at the same time we are so excited to start a new adventure. We can't wait to be a part of watching God build yet another new church. We can't wait to see what God change lives in Comstock Park and we are so excited to be following an amazing Pastor, Aaron, whom God has given an incredible vision.

The decision to leave Journey has been quite an adventure. When we originally felt God calling us to leave we had no idea where he was calling us to go. But we humbly submitted to the great provider and told Journey that we would have to follow God and take this step of faith. Shortly following, after much prayer, God brought The Story into our life and we eventually found our hearts and passions tied up in the vision of The Story. So we were excited and ready to make it happen even when we found out that The Story was not going to be able to pay Mark. But we knew AGAIN that God was calling us to take another step of faith and stay with the Story and wait for God to provide financially for us.

And again as always God shows up. Today Mark got a job with UPS! It is only seasonal but it allows him more time in a horrible job market to find a job. We are so thankful that the timing couldnt have been more perfect and that God takes care of those who love him.

This has been such a beautiful journey of obeying God and watching him move in our lives. It has been so hard and challenging but as always here we are again in awe of a God who never lets us down. As challenging as it can be to not have any idea what God is doing with your life it is so freeing to be completely in his hands. Sometimes I think it is where Mark and I feel the most comfortable. There were many moments where I (Jen) would think are we out of our minds? With the economy being so bad why in the world are we doing this? But then I remember that the one and only thing we are living for is God and the rest is only temporary. We are in the business of serving him and not ourselves. There is so much life in following him no matter how bumpy the road or how steep the mountain, God will always meet you right where you are at. He will carry us through and he will always win!

So as we did a year and half ago when we said goodbye to Faith and hello to Journey, we will now say goodbye to Journey and hello to The Story...