New job, New church, New city....
We moved to Panama City, FL. How did that happen? I figured you would ask, so here we go...
We lived in Blytheville for like 2 years (almost exactly 2 yrs). We built relationships, we invested into teenage lives, we pointed people to Jesus....because that's what we were called to. What I should mention, though, is that the church we were working with was harshly traditional...unyieldingly traditional. Ryan did tell me, however, that it would be this way in a First Baptist Church...so I was fairly warned. Without getting into a lot of detail about the "happs".....letters were written, comments were made, and feelings were hurt. The pastor left and we were left. The Education guy retired and, again, we were left...alone with the music guy and his wife. The four of us. Just us. It was ok...till it wasn't, then a friend said to Ryan, "Hey, call this friend of mine. He is a pastor in Panama City, FL." Ryan was like, "Ok...what do we talk about?" The guy said, "Just call him. You guys can talk about the stuff you go through in ministry." Admittedly, Ryan said it was an awkward phone call. He was a perfect stranger calling up another perfect stranger and asking, "How's it going?" LOL....
I visited my mom and dad in Texas for like 2 weeks in the month of July and toward the end of my stay there I got a call from Ryan (he couldn't go with me, but the boys and I flew...that's a whole other story.....lol). So he called me and said, "Go online and look at this church that this guy pastors. They are building a new sanctuary and they call their building program 'For Those Yet to Come'. It's truly incredible. Can you imagine being on staff at this church? It's literally my dream job." So I went online immediately to see what all the fuss was about and was sitting there in awe of what God was doing at this church. Well, a couple more days went by and Ryan got another call from Steven saying that he wanted to fly us out so they could meet Ryan in person. UHHHHHHH.....What???!!!??? I mean, are you kidding me? Did this just happen? God, what are You up to? Seriously....we were both in utter shock.
You see, the whole time that our friend back in Blytheville was telling us to call his friend, Steven, Hiland Park Baptist Church was undergoing a change in staff as well. They needed a youth guy. Obviously, God was preparing the way for us. But, at the time we weren't aware of this fact (or the details that caused them to need another youth minister). We flew to Panama City soon after I returned from TX and as we sat in the hotel room after Ryan went for his "grilling" with the pastor and executive pastor we thought, "Well, they probably don't want us. We aren't gonna get this job. They think we are dumb. We blew it." Deep in my heart I wanted Ryan to get this new position so much and I want so much for him to just follow Jesus without having all the details....FAITH. And, if I'm being completely honest, I wanted out of Blytheville. Not for me (well a little for me) but for my kids. There are no possibilities for them in such a small town. It was going bankrupt and was running down daily. There was literally no one to invest in my children at FBC except me...and they need that. All children need someone to invest in them, besides their parents, of course. Anyway, we got to the airport in Panama City and began to talk about what just happened to us over the course of a few days and weeks. Our plane was delayed so we had a little time. We talked and we were silent. We ate and we read books. Our plane ended up being delayed like 10 hours. We spent that time discussing what this meant and why we were stuck. Steven called Ryan to check on him before we even left Panama City airport and was surprised to find out we were still in PC...lol...but, wanted to tell Ryan that they were definitely interested in him and could we come back soon with the kids so they could meet us all. All Ryan or I could think was, "Whaaaaaaa?"
So, we returned to Blytheville.....and it was different for us. Obviously, Ryan got the job and he was called as the Head Youth Pastor for Hiland Park Baptist Church. There were a lot of elements of letting go of stuff at FBC because we had to leave our friends, which was the hardest part. I do not miss the church itself. I do not miss the politics of the church. I don't miss the environment or the fellowship of the CHURCH. I miss my friends. I miss my relationships. I miss the students. I miss the closeness that I felt with them. But, as I begin my life here in Panama City I realize what a short time was meant for me at FBC Blytheville. I guess in my heart I always knew we wouldn't be there for a long while. We weren't meant to be there for a long while. I DID have to give up my little house with the red shutters and red front door, but God will give me something else. I know "THINGS" aren't what you crave when you are in ministry, but God knows my heart. I sometimes need those tangible reminders that He is near me and He sees me and He knows me...but, that's reverting to my last post...so I move on.
Now, I'm the "new kid". I have to begin making new friends and learning a new town. I like it here. It's new, but it exciting. The weather is A LOT like being in SETX. The city is big and I love that. There is a lot going on in the church and in the city....lots of shopping and lots going on at the school to get involved in. I know that we are right where God wants us.
So, why did we go to Blytheville in the first place? Well, I guess that's a story for another time.....
We lived in Blytheville for like 2 years (almost exactly 2 yrs). We built relationships, we invested into teenage lives, we pointed people to Jesus....because that's what we were called to. What I should mention, though, is that the church we were working with was harshly traditional...unyieldingly traditional. Ryan did tell me, however, that it would be this way in a First Baptist Church...so I was fairly warned. Without getting into a lot of detail about the "happs".....letters were written, comments were made, and feelings were hurt. The pastor left and we were left. The Education guy retired and, again, we were left...alone with the music guy and his wife. The four of us. Just us. It was ok...till it wasn't, then a friend said to Ryan, "Hey, call this friend of mine. He is a pastor in Panama City, FL." Ryan was like, "Ok...what do we talk about?" The guy said, "Just call him. You guys can talk about the stuff you go through in ministry." Admittedly, Ryan said it was an awkward phone call. He was a perfect stranger calling up another perfect stranger and asking, "How's it going?" LOL....
I visited my mom and dad in Texas for like 2 weeks in the month of July and toward the end of my stay there I got a call from Ryan (he couldn't go with me, but the boys and I flew...that's a whole other story.....lol). So he called me and said, "Go online and look at this church that this guy pastors. They are building a new sanctuary and they call their building program 'For Those Yet to Come'. It's truly incredible. Can you imagine being on staff at this church? It's literally my dream job." So I went online immediately to see what all the fuss was about and was sitting there in awe of what God was doing at this church. Well, a couple more days went by and Ryan got another call from Steven saying that he wanted to fly us out so they could meet Ryan in person. UHHHHHHH.....What???!!!??? I mean, are you kidding me? Did this just happen? God, what are You up to? Seriously....we were both in utter shock.
You see, the whole time that our friend back in Blytheville was telling us to call his friend, Steven, Hiland Park Baptist Church was undergoing a change in staff as well. They needed a youth guy. Obviously, God was preparing the way for us. But, at the time we weren't aware of this fact (or the details that caused them to need another youth minister). We flew to Panama City soon after I returned from TX and as we sat in the hotel room after Ryan went for his "grilling" with the pastor and executive pastor we thought, "Well, they probably don't want us. We aren't gonna get this job. They think we are dumb. We blew it." Deep in my heart I wanted Ryan to get this new position so much and I want so much for him to just follow Jesus without having all the details....FAITH. And, if I'm being completely honest, I wanted out of Blytheville. Not for me (well a little for me) but for my kids. There are no possibilities for them in such a small town. It was going bankrupt and was running down daily. There was literally no one to invest in my children at FBC except me...and they need that. All children need someone to invest in them, besides their parents, of course. Anyway, we got to the airport in Panama City and began to talk about what just happened to us over the course of a few days and weeks. Our plane was delayed so we had a little time. We talked and we were silent. We ate and we read books. Our plane ended up being delayed like 10 hours. We spent that time discussing what this meant and why we were stuck. Steven called Ryan to check on him before we even left Panama City airport and was surprised to find out we were still in PC...lol...but, wanted to tell Ryan that they were definitely interested in him and could we come back soon with the kids so they could meet us all. All Ryan or I could think was, "Whaaaaaaa?"
So, we returned to Blytheville.....and it was different for us. Obviously, Ryan got the job and he was called as the Head Youth Pastor for Hiland Park Baptist Church. There were a lot of elements of letting go of stuff at FBC because we had to leave our friends, which was the hardest part. I do not miss the church itself. I do not miss the politics of the church. I don't miss the environment or the fellowship of the CHURCH. I miss my friends. I miss my relationships. I miss the students. I miss the closeness that I felt with them. But, as I begin my life here in Panama City I realize what a short time was meant for me at FBC Blytheville. I guess in my heart I always knew we wouldn't be there for a long while. We weren't meant to be there for a long while. I DID have to give up my little house with the red shutters and red front door, but God will give me something else. I know "THINGS" aren't what you crave when you are in ministry, but God knows my heart. I sometimes need those tangible reminders that He is near me and He sees me and He knows me...but, that's reverting to my last post...so I move on.
Now, I'm the "new kid". I have to begin making new friends and learning a new town. I like it here. It's new, but it exciting. The weather is A LOT like being in SETX. The city is big and I love that. There is a lot going on in the church and in the city....lots of shopping and lots going on at the school to get involved in. I know that we are right where God wants us.
So, why did we go to Blytheville in the first place? Well, I guess that's a story for another time.....
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