Wild Ride

I knew my life was going to change moving to Houston.

I was expecting our third baby. Shortly after moving here we found out that it was a third boy.

That was life changing. But there was something more happening.

We started going to Houston's First Baptist Church. Not life changing. I mean, we've always gone to church and had gone to a really great church during college. A church that founded our faith and deepened our relationship. So the church wasn't life changing. And attending wasn't life changing.

I was reading blogs. Blogs like MckMama, Rocks in my Dryer, Boomama, and Bring the Rain. Reading these womens blogs was stirring my heart for something more. The faith that MckMama had while baby Stellan was still in her womb and told he wouldn't live outside of while I felt my own healthy baby kick, kick, kick me made me want more. Reading Bring the Rain while she carried her sweet Audrey the last couple of weeks and then was born to live for two hours and the faith that carried her through, that made me want more. The Compassion trip to Africa that Rocks in my Dryer and Boomama took made me want more. I wanted to sponser a Compassion child, three to match my own. But I didn't.

And slowly, God has been working on my heart. I've been going to Bible Study all year, church Sunday morning and Wednesday night and it seems like what my heart has been struggling with, the message is hit right to me.

Drew and I weren't tithing when we moved here. We were getting on our feet after grad school, getting our house settled. It was our first full time job since starting grad school, three years prior. And the money kept running out. Guess what we kept hearing? You just have to start, you just have to start giving. It took us a little bit but we finally started tithing. And guess what? The money has not run out, we've always had plenty.

Lately, I've been working through doing enough for my faith. Producing enough fruit. I don't serve/love enough. I was tired of just helping other Christians, I wanted to do more. Guess what Curtis Jones talked about on Wednesday? That while we serve our fellow Christians, we are still living our faith. (I didn't even get to listen but Drew told me the jist.) It made me realize that I need to step up in our Sunday School class and take that spot of leadership and be the missions coordinator. God is laying it on my heart.

I've been reading the posts from the Compassion Bloggers India trip. And my heart has broken for India. I told Drew, let's just sponser one. One. $32 a month. We can give up our Blockbuster membership, I'll find ways to make it work. He said go for it. Sage and I searched for a child his age with his birthday. There weren't any. We searched for one in his birthday month. There was one little boy from India.

Meet Dhavood:



Isn't he cute?! We have 4 boys!

But the coolest thing? Drew went through the mail that night and unknowingly to us, our house taxes were reassessed. The savings per month? $35!

I'm making small steps. Small steps that I pray will lead to a giant leap.

I want to live my life the way I have always said I would live "when". The when is here. The when is now.

I pray it's a wild ride!