This is the first post.
Ruby Slippers is off and running. I’m typing this post before I have even found a blog/web host. I’m thinking of many different avenues. I’m not totally sure of what I’m doing and what I’m really looking for, but with most things, I’ll know it when I see it. I’m weird like that.
Today (March 8, 2011) is Ruby’s three month alive birth date. Most of her life up until now is basically filed under “blur” and “glorified babysitting” in my brain. I remember being pregnant, but it seems like a dream or another life time when all that happened.
I remember the day of the picture. Yes, I did ride the motorcycle at 27 weeks. I also rode the motorcycle at 39 weeks. Matt thought it was cool. I thought it was “cool”. That’s the other thing that I remember. I was HOT all the time. I don’t mean as in physical appearance, but in temperature. I was burning up all the time. Prior to Ruby, I would think many things when a pregnant woman would say they were hot. “Nah. They can’t really be that hot.” They are people, they are. The day before having Ruby, the house was at 45 degrees with a fan blowing on me. Matt was freezing.
Moments after the “Decision 2011”. I’m excited and trepidation all are mixed together! Matt’s talking to Mr. Kenny as I am typing. Where do we go from here??? Well, we are going to Byers, Kansas. We are taking the step. Here’s the letter that I sent out to everyone at school. It is similar to the one that is on facebook but has school related information in it:
We are going to Kansas….I said the same thing when I realized what God was wanting us to do. We have told the key people that we were wanting to tell first, and now we are just relying on word of mouth for the news to travel.
How it began:
Before Matt and I got married we talked about how we thought our lives should be when we had children (either biological or adopted). We both knew that it would be better suited for Marci to stay at home. After all, Matt is not much of a multitasker. Shortly after being married Matt was being led to pursue budgeting counseling with Crown Financial. He became a budget counselor. That work led into seeking a Financial Planner design nation. To have the CFP designation behind one’s name, you have to have 3 years experience full time in a finance sector. So, God moved us from Rayle, Georgia to Arnoldsville Georgia. Matt began in insurance and budget counseling full time. We also were being called to work with the youth of Winterville Baptist Church. Fast forward to March of 2010. We found out we were having Ruby. We had to make some decisions about our life. Obama care was being passed and insurance business was not going so well. With Matt’s income level, it would not sustain our current living standards, if Marci stayed home with Ruby full time. Matt was feeling more and more pull to return to the agriculture field. He reached is CFP designation in September of 2010. With those money skills, youth management skills and his agriculture skills, he began looking for a ranch management position. From the summer of 2010 to February 2011, Matt sent more than 80 resumes to different jobs from Georgia to Idaho. He avoided Kansas like the plague. At one point we thought we were going to Florida, and then in December 2010 we thought we were going to Wyoming (the pretty part of Wyoming).
Then in February 2011, things got more interesting. Matt applied to two different places in Kansas, and got a call back within three days. The adventure started then. We got serious interviews in Virginia, Kansas and Wyoming. We visited 15 states within three weeks. While moving through each state, “doors” that God had opened were slamming shut, all but the Kansas door. The decision came down to a different cattle ranch in Wyoming (the not so pretty part) and a crop/cattle ranch in Kansas. After meeting with both owners, interviewing, job offers, praying and fasting we decided that Kansas was the direction that God was sending us in.
My feelings? I want to do what is most beneficial for God. But He’s God you say, He has all the benefits already. Well, most people never give a thought of what God wants them to do or what is going to benefit or glorify God the most. Most of us want to sit and be comfortable in the state or circumstances that we are in. We usually don’t seek God and ask Him to make us uncomfortable. We like to sit back and watch at church (if we even go) and think “that’s nice for them, but I could NEVER do that!” We want to serve Him were we want to serve Him. Just like Jonah. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He even got into a boat to go in the opposite direction that God wanted him to go. And we all know what happened to Jonah–fish bait. God can send a big fish anywhere He wants it to go, and I don’t want him sending one to me. I want to be the most obedient in what He’s asking us to do. I want to encounter God. Encountering God requires faith (Heb. 11:6 and 2 Cor. 2: 4-5). I know that encounters with God are God sized (i.e Noah, Moses and the sea, etc). I also believe that what you DO tells what you believe about God. And finally, true faith requires action (James 2:26, Heb. 11:32ff and Heb. 12:1-2) We could easily stay in Georgia, go into massive debt (which we do not have right now). But is God calling us to do that? No, I don’t think so. He wants us free to worship him and serve him, and going into debt would not be beneficial to God. Is God calling us to save the whole little town of Byers, Kansas like He was calling Jonah to do with Nineveh? No, probably not, but there is something that God is wanting us to do there. It might not be significant in the world’s or people’s eyes, but in God’s eyes it will be something. When I meet him face to face one day, I want him to say “Well done good and faithful servant”. I don’t want him to show me all the blessings I missed because I was not obedient and free to follow him where He is leading. It is amazing to step back and watch God work through this whole process. He is working things out and filling in places that we couldn’t even imagine or come up with ourselves. After all, His ways are not our ways. To God be the glory!
In Kansas: We are living in small town, population 49 (soon to be 52), seventy miles west of Wichita. Matt will be working on a crop/cattle operation. The farm runs about 1000 cattle for commercial purposes. They have about 80 crop circles. They grow alfalfa, wheat and corn. The farm is family ran, but have many employees. I will be staying home with Ruby. The house is provided with employment and some utilities are included. Yes, the house that we will be living in has a storm cellar…I checked. Hopefully we will be returning to Georgia in August and December. Those two months are the more “down” months for the farm.
What you can do: Please pray for our transition process and the transition process at school. Time is picking up speed and our departure date is arriving very fast. We will be in Kansas and setting up by April 4, 2011.
LeAndra will finish out the year in my spot. I will be coming back on Monday, March 14th through the 17th to help LeAndra with paper work, scheduling and a quick crash course in all things relative. She will be handling all the IEP meetings and Prek IEP meetings. She is an excellent teacher and person. We are very similar in teaching and behavior styles. Side note: We even have the SAME, rare, uniquely spelled middle name! I encourage you to stop by and give her support and encouragement. I am perfectly at peace with handing over “my babies” to her and if you know me, that has not been an easy task in the past.
Thank you for all the years of support for me and my students. Thank you for loving the ones that are unlovable by some and seeing potential in little people that some do not see.
If there are any questions, please inbox me or message me privately. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
This is the same letter that Matt will be reading after the morning church service on Sunday, March 13, 2011. Ruby will be dedicated at church on March 27, 2011 in the AM service. Hannah M. will stand up with the family. 🙂
