Give Thanks with a Grateful (Ace of) Hearts

Ahh, Thanksgiving. The holiday season is cherished at our house like none other during the year. From mid-November to New Year’s Day, we search for ways to capture love and joy in our sweet home. Over the last few years especially we have attempted to move the focus from food (and presents!) to true thankfulness and reflection.  After all, we believe this season calls all of us to reflect on the past year, the great, the not-so-great and the truly difficult times.  For many, this can be a time when our thoughts are drawn to those tough times. How do we handle these thoughts?  And, how can we find a way to remain thankful through these true struggles of life? Sometimes it is hard to be grateful. We all can struggle day to day with life and find it hard to be grateful and then all of a sudden a week in November comes up and we find all these things that are wonderful. We choose to be thankful. For much of the world, it is easy to give up or lose heart when things don’t go as planned. BUT, as Christians, our one motivation is God. That’s it. He is always there. He never fails. His love remains as constant and as powerful as ever. He wants to be such a part of us that even if we lose everything, our attitude will still be that of thanksgiving and praise. The Lord is ALIVE inside us through His Spirit! We have the ability to feel this gratefulness all year long and to “give thanks in every circumstance” as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5.

This week God has been prompting and leading us to share the biggest event in our lives during 2014 and we have been resistant. Well, no more. It’s time to draw closer and closer to God, step out in faith, and share our story. Warning! It’s about to get real here. We have to be transparent with you and ourselves as we share this. On this Thanksgiving morning, God asks us to reflect, praise and share. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline!” (2 Tim. 1:7) God urges us to tell our stories, to share hope, and invite others into His story!

Okay, enough procrastinating… but one last thing. We welcome your prayers for us but we reject your pity. If anything, we boast about our shortcomings, right? We boast about and rejoice through our sufferings because it is All for the glory of God. Our motivation to share this with you is simple. As Nathan tells his athletes all the time, “It’s not easy, but it’s simple.” So quite simply, by sharing this story we offer hope and life through a relationship with God. 

We feel so blessed in our almost 13 years now of marriage. During the fifth year of our marriage we were gifted with a beautiful daughter (Fenley). She is now 8 and fully involved in this family story with us. Being involved in coaching, teaching, and ministering make us feel at times like we have hundreds of kids so we were never in a hurry to have more children of our own. That is… until a little over a year ago. We knew after prayer and family discussions that we had more than enough love to welcome new members to the team.

January 24, 2014. This date is important to us. Why? That day our second born-to-be became a glory baby, going quickly and safely into the arms of Jesus. These days, we find him running down the streets of gold. And yes, he is running! You see in December of 2013 we found out we were expecting. We were thrilled! We had told Fenley and she was pumped to be a big sister. We knew that it was early to tell her and tell our close family and friends but we were going to wait till later until we really announced it...a.k.a. "social media blast!" We wanted to tell our family while we were home for Christmas because when we found out we were expecting in 2005 with Fenley we weren't able to tell in person. So we did! And we celebrated! We got excited. We dreamed. We planned. You know the drill....most of us do this. It is fun and it is hopeful.

The next few weeks went on as usual. And of course you have those scary statistics in your head floating around about how many miscarry before a certain week. Those doubts were there but they were not a burden since we had already had a very successful pregnancy and delivery with Fenley. Then on January 24, we went in for a routine checkup. We had already heard and seen the baby's heartbeat. We had pictures already and this was just a regular checkup at nearly 10 weeks. Just a couple more weeks and we are good to do a widespread announcement! And then this....the awkward silence from ultrasound tech. For those of you that have been here before, you know that sound or lack of sound. That sound when your tech is frantic as she realizes she is about to have to deliver this news to you. Naturally, we were in shock. So for the next 5 hours the hell-like afternoon started. The doctor came in and went over our options. Becca was admitted into the hospital right away and within a few hours our baby was gone. For those of you who know us well then you know our faith in a BIG God. Throughout the beginning of the procedure, Becca kept telling the doctor that she believes in a BIG God and if HE wanted to restart the babies heart, He could do it so she better check for that heart beat a few more times. Gotta love faith in a BIG God! 

That winter afternoon will forever be carried in our minds. It was horrible. BUT it was...life changing. BUT… not in a bad way. We can joyfully and honestly say we are grateful for the past 10 months. We haven't always been able to say this but we can today. Why? Let us tell you.   

Please hear us: Whether you are struggling currently to have children, have lost children in the past through a miscarriage, dreaming of having children in the future or a "fertile Myrtle" that struggles with guilt of getting pregnant so easily...this message is not meant to put stress or burden on anyone. It is meant to provide hope and thanksgiving from our Abba Father. We don't know each of your struggles and some of you might not even be able to relate but we will tell you that God is alive in all things and in all people and this year we have seen that. As we have had a year with some tough points, we have been reminded of those who have been down this road for far longer than we. And every few weeks we are reminded at their strength and ability to press forward. You know who you are and we can't wait to celebrate all the little ones ahead in all of our futures!

After we lost our baby we spent a few weeks REALLY struggling and asking God many questions. We invested in each other and attempted to show strength for Fenley so she knew how happy we were to have her. We went on with life for a couple of months. But then someone challenged us. A dear friend said that we should name our baby. (Thank you sweet friend, your encouragement and mentorship during this time was precious) She encouraged us to name him or her so in Heaven they have a name. We thought about this but were unsure if it was a boy or a girl. Then we got double confirmation of this suggestion when we went and saw the movie "Heaven is for Real". Don’t you love when God speaks so evidently to you that He gets your attention? Well, He got ours! In the movie there is a scene where the mom expresses that she had a miscarriage and her son who went to Heaven said he knew because he saw her there! With our friend and mentor suggesting this and getting the same word from the movie, we felt like this was something God was asking us to do. But then the question… is our glory baby a boy or a girl? We didn't know which it was. We asked what to do then and our friend said to ask God to reveal whether he or she was a he or a she. So we did. Step out in faith. Wait. Trust me. Just wait.  And wait. Were we ever going to know? Was He going to speak to us? "God, please. You have our baby with you and now we need you to tell us, speak to us. We want to know! Please help.” You can probably guess that some of these prayer discussions weren’t so easy. But guess what?!  HE did reveal. We had a son. A BOY! And he is precious. The way in which God revealed this is a beautiful testimony of the Lord and we can share that another time. But for now, you just need to know that our son is wonderful. (And he has adorable brownish/blonde shaggy hair and he runs FAST!)  He is running with Jesus and he is happy. He doesn't want us to be sad. He wants us to LIVE. 

After God revealed this to us, we knew we had to name him. This would all be a part of the healing. We talked about names and we had a list building for when we had more children and so we went to that list. We didn't want to use a name that we might use for our Earthly baby one day so we decided to use a name that we liked and was on list but we had decided we weren't going to use here so it could be for our "Glory Baby" (as our dear friend calls these sweet babies) and so we named him Ace. Ace seemed like a perfect fit for this active little runner boy full of Joy. 

After we named him and spoke about him with a few close friends and family, it was amazing the healing that came. It was supernatural. You see when you lose a child early in pregnancy, no one talks about it. The women keep it on lock down and so do the men. The enemy has lied to us and done a great job convincing us to keep big struggles like this bottled up. Then, of course, inevitably, people attempt to say things they think will help (by the way, all you have to do is just hug and say you love them and are sorry).  When you don’t speak and share, you just live in your own grief and sadness. You tell yourself that this happens for a reason and that you will just get over it and keep on going.  The enemy wants us to feel alone. The enemy doesn't want us talking about our grief and healing with others. The enemy wants us to question the Lord. But the enemy has no reign! We live in freedom from the creator of these sweet Glory Babies!! We worship alongside others who are worshipping the same God! And for that we receive HEALING. And Freedom!

God started showing us signs of Ace everywhere. It was as if we got little reminders every once in while that Ace was here. Becca likes to call these moments in life “God-winks.” Nathan had a powerful God-wink moment one summer morning while walking a prayer circle around the football stadium before practice. As he finished his trip around the bleachers he began to walk on the field and he noticed a poker chip a few feet away. The object was the only thing on the field besides a few cones that were put out from the day before. As Nathan walked up and bent down to pick it up, it was as if Jesus was right there with him with his arm around Nathan. The poker chip was an Ace! Nathan realized that Ace was with God, and more importantly, God was with Nathan and Team Daniel. Another beautiful moment in this story begins with a trip to the mailbox as we opened a curious looking box. We opened it and it was a framed picture of an Ace of Hearts from a deck of cards. One of our very dear friends (who has been a ROCK in dark times and amazes us tremendously) sent us this sweet gift. It was a picture of our boy. So this sits out in our living room now. This picture isn't a sad pic. It is not one of depression or “what if?” This is a picture of HOPE! It is a picture of REDEMPTION. It is a picture of LOVE. It is a picture of FAITH. 

We are hopeful. We know the promises God has given us and we claim them. We don't know what the future looks like but we are hopeful. We wouldn't trade this last year for anything.  We have grown this year more than any other time in our life. We can honestly say that. God has worked in our lives and in our hearts in more ways than we thought possible. HE has drawn us to dream BIGGER dreams. He has challenged us to dig deeper with Him and to question Him while trusting Him. He has taken our mustard seed faith and watered it more and more. So in the truly tough and truly terrific, God is there. God is constant. He is constantly saving us, changing us, and loving us the same! We have come to know His power in great ways this year. There is no limit to what God can do. And because of these tough times that we have embraced, God has made us so much more aware of the supernatural! You wouldn’t believe the dreams we have for our future… but we do! And just as the advent season draws near as we await the coming of our Lord this Christmas, we are filled with JOYFUL EXPECTANCY at what amazing love is on the way!

Etched in Becca’s memory is watching a mom sit at her computer as she read a verse over and over again with tears streaming down her face. She was crying because she had recently lost her 19 year old son. She was broken and sad, yet full of hope and joy! We have learned so many lessons in this way, watching the bold FAITH of others.  As we looked at the screen and saw the verse that had become her anthem, we read these words "Let us hold firmly to the HOPE we profess, because He who promised is faithful" - Hebrews 10:23. This verse will never be the same again. We have HOPE. Why? Because HE who promised is faithful!

Today we pray you find HOPE on your plate with a big overflowing side of gratefulness. As you are thanking Him for blessings this week, remember to hope in Him for things you are patiently yet eagerly waiting for. Maybe you are waiting to meet your future spouse to spend your life with or maybe you are waiting for financial freedom. There may be those of you who are waiting to get test results from school that determine big things or maybe you are even awaiting test results from health concerns. Or maybe you, like us and many others, are waiting on children. Whatever your wait or HOPE is...be thankful, YES, but also be hopeful. Because He who promised is faithful! ​

Red and Khaki...God uses it all!

Lifeguard   *   Swim Instructor   *   Babysitter  *   Personal Trainer   *   House cleaner   *             Dental Assistant   *   Nanny   *   Personal Assistant   *   NannyPoppinz in Miami – headhunter   *    Hurricane Recovery DayCare for Gulf Power employees   *   Nashville sports council intern    *             Baptist Hospital orthopedic floor- Nurse assistant   * Vanderbilt Trauma Center care partner               *   Vanderbilt Sports Marketing Intern   *Houston Astros Spring Training Media relations intern   *     Florida Marlins Media Relations   *   Hutchison Tree Service- TN and FL   *   Franklin American Mortgage- loan officer   *   Target Night Shift stocker   *   Track and Field Coach     *   Girls Basketball coach   *   Football Coach   *   Strength coach   *   Health and PE teacher   *   PA announcer for football games   *   Teachers at Ezell Harding and Friendship Christian Schools   *   Science teacher   *   Girls weightlifting   *   Painted pallet art   *   Non-profit business and ministry   *   Director of Church connections

A random list like this begs the question: What is this!? You are looking at our jobs over the last 13 years of marriage. Yep. This is true. Maybe you are laughing or perhaps you are in shock. Perhaps you can relate or you may even be impressed! We are hoping it’s one of those latter reactions but chances are it’s one of the first two.

Well, here we go…how can we tie these things in with the amazing Lord and all He has for us? We feel called today to invite you in to a little more of our TEAM D story -- One of frustrating days… Great days... Days of insecurities... Days of ADVENTURE.

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you are working for the Lord

rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23

 This verse is challenging, isn’t it? If we are honest with ourselves, it is hard to always work your hardest and do your best but God calls us to do this. A famous runner once said: “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” The above list of random and maybe-not-so random jobs make for some easy days to keep this mindset….but some (ok, most) days were tough! Our attitudes were not always great. We had low points – Cleaning other people’s toilets, trapped in a bunker with screaming kids and no windows during a hurricane, scary nights stocking shelves at target (Baby Alive dolls seem to come alive at night & red and khaki outfits to this day are tough to wear), etc. Although we’ve had many weak moments and weak days we wouldn’t trade these times for anything.

 

“The only source of knowledge is experience” was a common quote by Albert Einstein. Well Albert…it seems we should have quite the knowledge then. J The truth is we all come from a variety of backgrounds including education and experience. One of us has quite a few certificates and degrees and the other one of us does not. But no matter which of us has what…the same feeling remains. A feeling of insecurity in the path we have taken. As we look back upon the last 13 years, the past WONDERFUL 13 years, we sometimes see a crazy messed up path. But that is it! It is a path. A path is something you walk down to get to something else. And that is what our jobs have done. One job led to another and then to another and so on. Each position fulfilled just what it was meant to accomplish for that time. Learning and trying new things, making connections, and taking risks TOGETHER all these years have played a critical role in developing us into who we are today as individuals, as a couple and as Team Daniel. Not one thing can you remove and our puzzle still look the same. We need it all in there. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Take it from us… no matter your level of experience or education, God can use it all! Remember, He doesn’t call those that are qualified, he qualifies the called. And if you were wondering, we are ALL called!

The enemy wants to create doubt and insecurity. "Why can't you just focus? Why can't you be sure of what you want to do in life?" The world makes you think step by step, school after school, job, married, promotion, and so on. You better follow it like a recipe or it won't end up tasting very good. So for many years we've battled being embarrassed because we've lived in many places and done many things that haven’t seemed quite normal! But as years pass and the Lord speaks, we are now able to embrace this life! Our life and recipe might look different but that's okay! He created us all different. The differences are what make us beautiful. Just a few days ago, even, we were laughing, reminiscing, and cherishing many of these memorable experiences.

What have far outweighed the bad days are the countless blessings that have come from these experiences. We have met so many amazing people, enjoyed sweet relationships with families, and have been blessed to be able to see life through so many lenses. These relationships, in many cases, have led to many memorable times. Among these times include fun trips to Hawaii, Disneyworld, Fenway Park and more! What rich gifts all of these various ventures have brought us. We have experienced things we never thought possible. One of the blessings we cherish most about all of these times are the mentoring relationships we’ve formed. Team Daniel has learned life, family, marriage, and parenting from some incredible men and women of God. Thank you to all those we’ve served and worked with… you know who you are! Your wisdom, support, love, encouragement and example have meant the world and have been a HUGE part of our story. 
 
Today we want to ban the enemy away. He will not speak lies of insecurities any more. We will walk in the freedom and gifts the creator has given us. For it is by this amazing list you just read that we have experienced moments of joy like no other! Seeing a kid swim across the pool that was screaming and gripping your neck just days before. Watching a teenager gain confidence as they cross the finish line at their first track meet. Hearing words of wisdom from a mom who trusted us to keep their children for days. Embracing true work ethic as you work alongside people with very different backgrounds/ethnicities and realizing gratefulness at a new level. Holding the hand of a patient who is horrified to go to the dentist and comforting them. Seeing a childhood friend fly in on trauma helicopter after being shot and being a comfort to the family. Laughing with students about silly things as they eat lunch in your classroom and not caring that they took away your class prep time. Those are moments of JOY that will forever be in our hearts.

God gives you talents and gifts for the kingdom. He is also full of adventure and wants to make fun things work alongside your gifts! And in those moments where you don’t feel like you are in a season where your true gifts and passions are being utilized, you still are supposed to work hard! When we are doing something in our element, it is easy to enjoy what you love! But sometimes life isn’t all about the slogan on Life Is Good tees….”Do what you love, love what you do.” Sometimes we are required to just smile and work hard. This quote from Circle Maker really resonates on those days: “Work like it depends on us, PRAY like it depends on God.“

We are still young. We aren't done learning. Many more jobs to have.

 Many more people to love.

 

LET'S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING...

 

 … A very good place to start! I bet you can hear it now -- the voice of Maria from Sound of Music singing this phrase at the beginning of Do-Re-Mi! We love that movie so we thought it was appropriate to claim that lyric for the title of our post this week. We want to take you back to the very beginning and tell you where this whole “TEAM D” thing came from and how our love story began. Before we dig into that, we want to warn you. Each post will involve a challenge. Last week, we asked you to dream big and pray bold. We told you our love of the verse Eph. 3:20. We want this blog to be more than just a place for us to tell our life stories. We want you to experience God’s love in these stories. We desire for you to be challenged! So go on, get your “swords” out, look up life-giving scriptures, accept a challenge and hopefully we can experience God together. With transparency, we want to tell stories of God’s goodness and also share the names of those who have helped mold us into who and where we are today. With that being said….let’s start at the very beginning.

In November of 1999, Becca wrecked her car on the way to the oral surgeon. She recently had her wisdom teeth removed (which later in life she found a 5^th wisdom tooth…one in a million!) and had a wonderful case of dry socket. On her rush to the doctor, she wasn’t paying attention and rear ended the man in front of her. It tore up her Blazer (interesting fact: Nathan and Becca both had chevy blazers as first cars) and her parents were going to make her pay the deductible. As a result, Becca would have to get a job over Christmas break. The only job that was available for quick work was working at Proffitt’s department store. There she met a girl named Christa Clancy (thank you Christa for changing both of our lives so much! We are so thankful for you!) . Christa and Becca immediately became friends. Christa immediately wanted Becca to meet her friend Nathan. Nathan came in to “visit” the store and it was love at first sight…well kind of.

We kept thinking of each other often. God provided us with divine appointments. Recently we read in the book Praying Circles Around Your Children, this quote which so directly speaks to us: “Only God can make the divine appointments, but only YOU can keep the divine appointments.”   At that time, we thought it was weird coincidences but looking back we know those “meet-cutes” were divine appointments. Don’t you just love those! I mean who runs 15 minutes late to church? We both did and ran into each other on a random Sunday morning in Jan. of 2000. We still occasionally run late to church. J Seeing each other that Sunday was just another moment where we thought, this could be something. Later in the spring we were both at a party where we seemed to be the only sober ones. As many of you know, when you are the only sober ones you tend to bond immediately if nothing else over making fun of the others. That night we sat in a corner and talked…talked about our faith, our dreams (BIG ONES) and our families. We connected that night on a level spiritually. And when that happens, God starts moving.

 In May of 2000, Nathan went with Christa to Becca’s graduation party. At that time, we were both dating others so it was just a “friend” thing.  We are sure God was laughing at how we were living out our own plans but He knew so much more was up ahead. That summer we stayed in touch and even hung out a few times. Nathan took Becca to see the play Annie  (a favorite for Becca as well as Nathan). To this day, we still discuss whether this was a date or not (It was). By the way, a new Annie comes out this December! Team D will be there opening night!  Well, it wasn’t long before Becca was headed to Harding University and Nathan was staying in Nashville at Lipscomb. The next 6 months were spent getting to know each other long distance. Nathan pursued Becca via emails (old school version of texting) and care packages. In December of 2000 we made it “official”. In June of 2001, after receiving a blessing from Becca’s parents in April, Nathan surprised Becca with a proposal on the beach while her family was on vacation in Ft. Walton Beach (crazy, that is where we live now!). In December of 2001, we were married! The month of December has great significance as that is the month we first met, became serious and married… all in just two years.  But with God there is not time. A day in His courts is like a thousand elsewhere. He can accelerate time in any way He wants. Let that soak in for a minute. That is why relationships built on Him grow quickly. When He is at the center, time is not a factor.

 We were young. We were in love. We are still in love! When God has a plan to bring people together, whether for marriage or friendship, it is amazing how He uses their talents and gifts to complement each other. We are two very different people. One of us is quiet, strong, disciplined and kind. The other is outgoing, bold, compassionate, and full of life. We will let you guess which is which.  Oh, we can’t leave out our other teammate. Fenley is shy (at first), Spirit-filled, sweet and sometimes sassy. We each have very different gifts and personalities. We love differently and feel love differently. But we both seek the Lord. We are not perfect, but we complement each other. We have become a TEAM.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

The word TEAM has had great meaning in both our lives but continues to even have a stronger value. We call ourselves TEAM D because that is what we are. We are a team. We are 3 people made up of different talents but with the same ultimate goal. We also have others that join us. We have great families that have a strong love for the Lord. We have our friends that mean the world to us. We have been blessed with so many that are a part of our story…a part of our TEAM. When we sit back and think about all of our teammates over the last few years, we are blown away at the goodness of God and who He places on our team. All of our teammates are so different yet all have the same goal of joining the Almighty in Heaven one day!

 

We love “stacking it up” with our team. Whether it is with the track team at Ezell, the Viking football team, in the pool after swim lessons, or tucking Fenley in at bedtime, we have grown to love the act of stacking it up. Putting your hands in a pile and saying the same thing at once and then throwing your hands up has great meaning. It is not just stacking it up, you are claiming victory together! Earth is better with those we enjoy it with and Heaven will be too! And it is together that we live and love this life and it is together that we claim victory! We are so grateful for all those we stack it up in life with. Who do you stack it up with? We want to challenge you this week to think about this. Maybe write those people a letter, send them a text, or call them. Let them know you are grateful that they are there for you in life to claim victory. Let them know that you are thankful that if you fall down, they are there to pick you up like Ecclesiastes says. In every relationship, remember to keep HIM at the center for that strand is not easily broken.

 

A few extras this week…

Since we began talking about the Sound of Music, here are “a few of our favorite things” right now. When you have time, check these things out and maybe they will speak to you:

Song: “Do Something” by Matthew West Song here!

Movie: A Perfect Game (found on Netflix)

Books: Circle Maker by Mark Batterson and Season of Life by Jeffrey Mar x  (Thanks to Janna Beth Hunt for this book that she gave Nathan to read about coaching)

 

 

More Than You Can Imagine

One year ago today, Nathan got in the car (another blessing in itself btw) and made the 400+ mile drive southbound to start our adventure. With 7/7/14 being the anniversary we feel it is time to share this testimony of the Lord’s goodness. We have wanted to share our testimony of our move to Florida for some time now but sometimes we just get distracted and too busy. Well, that ends today. God’s generosity and faithfulness must be shared NOW! We fully realize how incredible this story is and we want to pass it on. We only share this story to ultimately give God the glory for the way He answers prayer and keeps us dreaming big. Recently, we read the following passage in Mark Batterson’s book, Circle Maker:  “Dreaming is a form of praying. BOLD prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers. God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less.” WOW. Let that soak in.  And while the salty beach air blows through the palm branches just outside our condo balcony, so begins our ongoing story…

In January 2013 we talked about choosing a family bible verse to guide us through the year. We wanted to claim a message we would cling to in times of trouble and one we would grasp the true meaning of throughout the year. We believe that learning scripture is huge but daily verses sometimes don’t have the power to really set in. After some thought we chose Ephesians 3:20 “now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His purpose that is at work within us, to Him be glory.” Okay, God…we know you want to do MORE than we can possibly imagine. What does that look like? What do you want from Team Daniel? We started having conversations and asking God to help us see what “more than all we could ask or imagine” looked like for us.

One night while sitting on our couch after a tough day for both of us, we talked about what it would look like to move away. On a typical “pros and cons” list, our families, church body, and friends dominated the list with what we loved about Nashville, TN. We knew moving away from those we loved would be tough but wondered if God could be calling us somewhere else. We spent many nights dreaming about where we could go. We talked about what we could do, how we could broaden our horizons, and how/where God could use us.  We began to picture ourselves in Florida, immersing ourselves in this clear vision of life on the Emerald Coast. We put pictures on our refrigerator and clear images in our minds, all very simple reminders to pray BIG. Along with this vision we started praying BIG, BOLD prayers as a couple and as a family. “God, take us where you want us. Take us where you can use us. Take us where we can focus on you and each other and do your work while still maintaining relationships with our families and friends here in TN.” Looking back now, we know that God must have been smiling so big knowing what He had in store for us.

 

We decided in late January to pursue job options in the panhandle of Florida. Becca’s family had close ties to people in Fort Walton Beach and this location seemed like a logical place to start. Becca also knew a family that had recently moved to Pensacola for a ministry position, Jeremy and Jessica Swindle (We met Jessica through RAVE events over the years). Emails and phone calls went out to these family ties and connections as we continued to pray and dream. Dream. &. Pray.  

In February 2013, Nathan sent some cold emails to schools all along the panhandle, mainly in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties.  We knew we would love to be at Fort Walton Beach HS but knew that we needed to keep our options open in the search. Nathan was excited about the possibility of coaching high school football in Florida, and we were confident that Becca could still do RAVE anywhere and find something else to supplement our income. We knew Fenley would adjust well and love the water! The late winter brought new lows. Days became long and monotonous as we longed for a change. God seemed to be preparing our hearts. Though we were down, we did not lose hope and kept dreaming, kept praying. One day in the midst of a terrible day Nathan was having in March, Becca felt compelled to remind Nathan to not give up hope.  Becca sent the pic stitch collage of 4 pictures that is seen here with clear images of what it might look like to live in Florida one day. Along with the picture were the words “Dream Big, Keep praying, God will provide.” We have kept this picture all this time to remind us how great God is and how He loves to give his children good gifts. Who knew a pic could really be laying out the way for these blessings!

In late April we decided to take a leap of faith and go to Florida. We planned to stay with the Swindles and have Nathan just go school to school and show up and let them meet him. We knew face to face was way better than only emails. We invited Chaslynn, our dear friend, to get away for a bit and join us. Nathan visited 5 or 6 schools in Pensacola. The Swindles were amazing as we talked through big moves and God’s plans. They introduced us to an elder at their church named Scott Watson. Scott had been a coach for years and knew many coaches along the emerald coast. He helped Nathan set up times to meet coaches that weekend. He had connections with many places. There is no doubt he was another God send. Nathan went to schools in Pensacola, Navarre and Gulf Breeze. Scott said that the coach at FWB was busy that day but that he would do Scott a favor and meet with this guy (Nathan) for a few minutes. We decided to stop by FWB on our way back to TN. It was the last stop of the day. Nathan dropped the girls off at the beach while he went to meet Coach Owens a few miles away. After 2 hours of his “stop by”, he came back to get the girls. Nathan said it went very well. He and Coach Owens had a great conversation but there was not a position available. He didn’t think there would be one for the next school year. Pulling out of the parking lot at the beach, Chaslynn asked us what our desire was. We talked it through and realized that FWB was our number 1 pick but it was looking like that was the one that wouldn’t have a spot available.

In that time with Coach Owens, Nathan brought up what Becca did with RAVE. Now this might not seem like a big deal, but it’s a HUGE part of this story. Nathan said he felt compelled to share with Coach Owens about RAVE and what the ministry does for teen girls. After telling him that, Coach Owens gave him a card with his daughter’s name on it and told him to have Becca call his daughter when she had a chance because she has a cool testimony. Get ready! God shows off again… No, no, this story deserves a post all to its own. Just know that Becca and Nathan became very close to Coach Owens’ daughter Jessica who just so happened to be living in Nashville at the time. Yes, I know, crazy!  

We kept in touch with the coaches Nathan met all throughout May. We loved getting to know Jessica more too. We finished out the school year strong in TN and were excited to see what God had planned. We were however getting a little anxious as it was the end of May and nothing seemed to be really happening. Nathan got an email late May that said FWB still didn’t look like it would have something available. Knowing this, he pursued the Pensacola jobs and even a couple in Nashville even though our hearts’ desire was FWB. We had to start getting ready for a big event with RAVE and we had to order shirts. As we were deciding with the team about what verse to put on the shirts, the Lord let us know that Ephesians 3:20 would be perfect. Putting that verse on the RAVE shirts was a truth claimer for us. We knew HE had MORE – we just didn’t know where or when.

Becca received a call from Jessica (Coach Owens’ daughter) in mid-June. She said while boating with her dad she had learned that a coach recently left FWBHS and he didn’t know who he would get to replace him. Right then Jessica said, “I do.” Jessica talked to Coach Owens about that guy you met a few weeks named Nathan Daniel. Soon after, Nathan got an email from him. We took a trip down here late June and that was that. The school that didn’t seem to have anything coming available all of a sudden had a spot in football and teaching science. Two short weeks later Nathan found himself driving down I-65!  Nathan found a home with some great help from his aunt and cousin who were on vacation at the time, yet another God send. We moved in and settled into our home in late July, just before football practice cranked up several notches!

 

 

So friends, here we are exactly one year later. ONE YEAR.

Number one school Nathan wanted… Ft. Walton Beach?  CHECK.

Solid, lifelong friendships that were established along the way with the Owens and Swindles? CHECK.

Still maintaining relationships with friends and family? CHECK. (the Quality time we get here with others is amazing!)

Does God answer prayer? YES. Does HE like bold prayers? He absolutely does.

We sometimes forget how awesome God is. On days where we miss family and friends from TN, we remind ourselves how God completely and totally orchestrated this move for us. At times we get caught up in praying mediocre prayers but after thinking back we are challenged to pray MORE.

Ephesians 3:20 was our 2013 verse of the year. In thinking what we wanted 2014 to be we chose Matthew 21:22: “Ask anything in my name and if you have faith, you shall receive it.”

May we all strive to have the faith to ask ANYTHING. On days where you wonder if God cares about the little specific things you want or the big desires you dream, remember to pray BOLDLY in His name. “Bold prayers honor GOD. And GOD honors bold prayers. GOD isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less.”

We can’t wait to share more of our dreams and our prayers with you. Get ready! After what we have been praying in 2014 for Matthew 21:22 to be answered, we are pumped to see what He has.

 

Keep dreamin!