How did we get here?

(I'm not going to lie. I sang that out loud to the tune of the Paramore song from Twilight. Definitely going to go find that on Apple Music once I'm done here.)

Let's start at the very beginning.

In March 2013, Clint Came down to West Palm Beach (forever and ever known as WPB after this) on a mission trip with the church we both worked at. I was mad that he even went because Reuben was only six weeks old and i was NOT keen on the idea of being home alone with a newborn while Clint got to go to the beach and sleep through the night (even though it was on an air mattress on a gym floor). He called me on Sunday afternoon and said, "Steph, this church is amazing. God is doing something here. I need to be a part of it one day." I said something snarky and full sleep-deprived postpartum hormones along the lines of, "In your dreams. I'm never moving to south Florida. Now get home." Aren't you sad you didn't get to be around me the first few weeks of Reuben's life? I was a gem...

Fast forward a while (well out of newborn stage and into normal life where I can think rationally) and he's applied for a job and not gotten it. He was majorly bummed, but we took it as a God thing and moved on, eventually moving to Knoxville. Clint kept up with some of the guys and kept up to date with what the church was doing and how God was working there. When I was about 37 weeks pregnant with Ellie, a guy Clint had talked to about the first job over two years before called Clint out of the blue and said he was looking for someone to fill a position and Clint's name was the only one God kept bringing up. Filled with hormones again, I brushed it off and said, "Let me get this baby out of me and then we can talk about it."

Nine weeks later, we were on a plane to Florida with a newborn to interview! We knew it was meant to be when we made our 7 week old a duct tape hula girl at our first staff meeting. The rest was history.

I could go on and on about teeny tiny things God has done to confirm this is His will for our lives. The way He's orchestrated everything over the last 2.5 years is unbelievable. Looking back, if I hadn't gotten sick and Reuben had come closer to his due date, Clint would've never been on the trip down here in the first place. Who knows what would've happened?! There are countless little things like that which make my jaw drop. He is so good and His plans are WAY bigger than my own!

While we miss our family and friends dearly, we feel so at home here. The staff has welcomed us with open arms and made the transition down here easier than I ever imagined it could be. We're in it for the long haul. I can't wait to see what God does in and through us down here.

I'm looking forward to sharing our adventures!