Ahhh change . . .

Well, it's officially official. I have accepted the position as Downtown church's Children's Minister. I am SOOO excited for this new opportunity. With Ali's start to school on the horizon, I have been praying for many months that God would open professional doors for me. As a previous blog post discussed, I just wasn't sure whether to return to work when my baby started to school. If I was to return, what would the job be? How many hours? Should I try to work from home? Etc. It was a internal discussion that became more and more frequent as August approached. (Yes, I just admitted that I hear voices! :) When the opening at Downtown was announced, I began to wonder if this opening wasn't JUST the thing I needed. The timing seemed perfect. The work was perfect. The hours were perfect. The work environment promised to be ideal. I had no idea about the pay, but just getting paid for my efforts was perfect. So, with the encouragement of my husband and parents, I applied. After three weeks and a couple of interviews, I got the call offering me the job. The only tough part of accepting was telling the kiddos (and eventually friends) about the need for a church change. My kids know no other church and are hesitant and sad to leave their friends. Of course, we explained (and explained, and explained) that we were simply moving to a different church in the same town and that they would see their friends often. But, it still hurts a little. Yesterday, we made the change public to our church home, Cloverdale. We've been a part of Cloverdale for almost ten years (this go-around). We love our church family and will miss seeing them each time we go to church. We will miss serving and doing kingdom business with them. But, we are so thankful for the close proximity, the lasting relationships and the bond that time has forged with so many. SOOOO, I am starting to work on August 7th. I will work around 20 hours each week doing the things I enjoy most: coordinating, planning, managing, and educating some of my favorite people--babies and preschoolers. I feel so blessed, challenged, and honored to have this opportunity. This job comes at a time FILLED with change. My baby will start school and leave me with an empty nest each day. I will begin working for the first time in almost nine years. Our family will be attending a different congregation. And, Nathan is teaching a completely new set of classes this fall which brings a whole set of challenges. We know God will bless us during this time and are prayerful for a smooth transition. So, that's my change . . .