beginnings...

beginnings are exciting, scary & traumatic... for dan and i, the beginning of this new journey started with the sale of our house on berkeley avenue in pasadena in late 2006. that sale was the first tangible sign from God that we were finally on the move...! we told only 3 individuals about our plan to sell and right away received positive responses. one couple needed to sell another home first before they could buy ours, but the other friend made us an offer that was very fair. plus, we knew that he would take care of the property and make the house even better because he had been wanting to return to pasadena for awhile now. so, our home was sold BEFORE the housing market went south. and what we thought would be a scary process turned out to be quite the opposite after all...

but, it was still sad to leave because 124 s berkeley had been our home base since my parents moved there in 1977. the kids grew up there and we had many wonderful memories associated with that house. but, it WAS time for us to move on and we couldn't move on without letting go of our biggest possession.

dan tells me that the next sign for him that this move to cebu was from the Lord was his deepening dissatisfaction with his job @ JPL. even though i wasn't experiencing the same dissatisfaction with my job @ kaiser -- i had the best manager and wonderful co-workers! -- the signal for me from the Lord that it was time to move on to something else was the fact that i was getting TOO comfortable and things were TOO good for me. a related sign from the Lord that this was the right time for us to move on to full-time Christian ministry was when dan stopped getting chest pains in the middle of the night. even though they turned out to be panic attacks/stress related, once he retired from JPL, the pains totally stopped!! how awesome a sign is that?!!!

the traumatic aspect of this new beginning for dan and me was, of course, leaving behind the kids and grandkids... we've now settled into a routine of emails, chats and phone calls and this keeps us connected which is important for all of us.

our move here to cebu is also a new beginning for my parents. now that we're here, they will be able to transition more of their daily/administrative duties to dan and me which would free them up to concentrate on teaching, preaching, writing, and mentoring. as a matter of fact, we received our "marching orders" yesterday, so we are officially on our way...!!

now that we're here, we really are beginning all over again... we've been unpacking and putting our things away, shopping for items that will help make our lives here run smoothly and more efficiently, organizing, getting used to a new routine, and, especially, getting used to it being "just the 2 of us...!" i think the scary and traumatic are behind us... this is now the exciting part -- waiting to see what the Lord has in store for us in this new phase of our lives!

what's amazing to me is that throughout this whole process, i can honestly say that i did not experience any anxiety. i just knew this was where the Lord wants me to be. i also knew that if He leads me somewhere, He will provide for ALL my needs -- emotional, physical, financial, and especially spiritual. i used to be a very emotional person -- always anxious about something!! but, the Lord has been teaching me these past 5-6 years that NOTHING that happens to us is unexpected to Him, so i should just trust Him!! it's been wonderful to just leave everything in His caring hands knowing that He has everything under control. and now that we're in full-time Christian ministry, "leaning on the everlasting arms" will HAVE to be our mindset. after all, "what have i to dread, what have i to fear," i'm leaning on the everlasting arms...!

yes, beginnings can be exciting, scary & traumatic. but with the Lord as part of that equation, beginnings are the door to a new adventure with surprises at every turn from the God who loves me, who has brought me here by His grace and His love. that same God is the One who will sustain me so i can do the job that He has in store for me.