I'm back!!

I don't know if anyone even reads this, but I am starting it back up even if only for my own benefit!! See, journaling or "blogging" is very therapeutic for me. It allows me to process all that is going on around me. If you are reading this, I hope you are encouraged, challenged, and maybe even humored by the words I share!

So....We have moved to Atlanta, GA to be a part of a brand-new church, The Courageous Church. The ride has been FAST, but AMAZING! Jason is the Executive Pastor, so he has been BUSY since the first day we arrived.

It has been so amazing watching him adapt to this new role. I am so proud of him. See, we've been doing youth ministry for 7 years. It's all we've thought about and been involved in. It's been refreshing for both of us to have a change of pace, but for Jason especially. He is still learning his role, but he is doing all that is asked of him and beyond!

I am also refreshed by this move and change! Our Lead Pastor, Jason's brother, asked me to head up all of the social justice efforts for the church. I cannot express to you my excitement about this. I am a social worker professionally, so nothing makes me happier than empowering, helping, and affecting change in people's lives. To have the opportunity to inspire others to do the same is just AMAZING! So, I've been working on establishing partnerships with local organizations that are already making a huge impact on the city of Atlanta. We have also established some key organizations we desire to adopt on the international level...more on that another day! I also am singing on the worship team. I've lead worship with Jason at both of the churches we've worked at before, but at this last church we backed off to allow our students to lead. I love worship, and I love to sing. So, I just feel like we've been given the opportunity to return to our passions and gifts that we've strayed away from for awhile. PRAISE GOD!!

This change/move has also been difficult for me on many levels. I miss our teens from our last church. They were who we spent most of our time with. They were our kids...our family! I also am currently unemployed, which is a very weird feeling. I've held a professional social work position since before I even acquired my degree. I know God will provide the perfect job at the right time, but in the mean time I feel out of sorts. I am staying at home with our kiddos, which is such and AMAZING opportunity...I love my children.

However, I have so much I want to do to help with the new church and especially my area of ministry, but taking care of a 2 year old and 6 month old leaves little time to do any focused work. I also just keep moving further and further away from my side of the family. Don't get me wrong, I am SOOO thankful to be near Jason's brother's family. It has been a joy to watch our kids play together and to be able to be there for each other!! WE LOVE YOU KING TEAM!! BUT, I also love my brother and his family. Our kids are very close in age, and I would love for them to be good friends, too!!

Regardless of the difficulties a big, risky move like this brings, we are just blessed to be doing God's work. We truly believe we are where God wants us to be, and there is no better place!

So, we have our very FIRST service this Sunday, January 11th! CRAZY! I feel like we just decided to move and that we had over 100 days before we launched! We moved down here and time just flew!! If you are reading this and live in the Atlanta area, come check us out! We'll be at Center Stage near Atlantic Station at 10:00 am this Sunday. We'd love to see you...if you have given up on church, never set foot in a church, need a change in your life, want something real, please give this a try!!!

In His Grip,
Sophie

Change...

It is amazing to me how fast things can change in life. Our "baby" girl is now 2 years old and talking to me in complete sentences. Our little man is already 3 months old, smiling at me and cooing like crazy. We've been married for 4 wonderful years. It's almost fall when it seems like summer just started. However, the biggest change for the King family is yet to come. We have been in Tennessee for almost 4 years now, ministering to the teens at our church. We have loved every minute with them. They bring so much joy to our lives, and they have challenged us and taught us lessons that we will cherrish forever. Being with them has been what we've known for so long now. Well, last week (after much prayer, thought, and reflection) we decided to resign from the church. This is a HUGE leap of faith for our family. There are still a lot of "unknowns" for us. Neither of us will have jobs right away. We have to sell our house and find a new one. My mother will be moving in with us...yes, you read that right! We have to start all over! CHANGE...It's very hard! In this case, it takes courage and trust. We have to trust that God is going to take care of our teens...comfort them, provide a new leader for them, strengthen them, etc. We have to have courage to move to a brand new city (which is HUGE by the way) to be a part of a new church plant (which could fail or succeed). We have to trust that God is going to provide for us financially. We have to have courage to move my mom in with us because that will bring a whole host of challenges. However, we know that God is directing our path and leading us to something new and exciting. God never fails us, leaves us, or dissappoints. Change is hard, but I know that God will breathe new life into our family through this. The church that Jason's brother is starting, and that we plan to be a part of, aligns very well with both of our passions and gifts. There is a lot to look forward to, but we are experiencing some heartache as we leave our teens. Pray for us if you think of it.

Scared out of my mind...

Something happened this weekend that will forever be etched in my brain. We were at a staff pool party at our pastor's house yesterday. I would have enjoyed myself if it weren't for the fact that Elana needed a nap, Jason left early to set up for a youth group event, Josiah was needy, and I wasn't in the best of moods...but that wasn't even the worst part. I was standing by the steps of the pool while Elana sat below me. I honestly don't remember what I was doing or for how long....all I know is I had my head turned and all of a sudden I hear someone saying "Get her, get her, get her..." ELANA FELL IN!! She was laying flat on the surface of the water motionless. I immediately jumped in, grabbed her and pulled her out of the water. It seemed like it took forever to get her...almost like I was in slow motion. And it took her, what seemed like forever, to cough out the water and gasp for air. I was scared to out of my mind that she wouldn't be breathing when I pulled her out of that water. I immediately started crying and needed help getting her and I up the steps and out of the pool. I sat down by the deck holding onto Elana SO TIGHT!! I couldn't believe I let that happen. I felt like the WORST MOTHER IN THE WORLD!! Everyone there seemed so understanding, but I still felt horrible. After that, I was done!! We needed to go home! So, with some help from some GREAT people, we headed home. Elana was fine. This incident didn't even phase her. She actually wanted to get back in the water after I pulled her out, but that was NOT going to happen if I had anything to do with it! So, we got home and I put Elana down for a nap before we had to head to the church for youth group. I called Jason to tell him what happened. He answered, and I started sobbing!! I was a MESS! I couldn't shake it! I just kept thinking "how could you let this happen to your precious daugther...she could have drowned!!" Satan was on the prowl. He was so ready to defeat me, but with the help of my amazing husband, everyone at that party, and our sweet pastor's wife who called me to let me know that these things happen, I was able to see that I'm not the WORST mother in the world...I'm just a mother. A mother who makes mistakes. A mother who simply turned her head for a second while her daughter got a little too brave for her own good. A mother who is SO thankful for God's protective hand! PRAISE GOD Elana is okay and hasn't skipped a beat! Thank you to all who encouraged me and helped me through this!

Back to Work

I went back to work this week, and it has been very hard (as expected)! I miss my little man like crazy! I miss cuddling with him, playing with him, and just taking care of him. He is being well taken care of at the daycare at our church, but I still wish I could be at home with him (and Elana). Luckily, it has been busy at work, so that has helped to keep me distracted. I have pictures of both Elana and Josiah all over my office that I look at several times a day. That brings me so much joy when I start to feel sad! I can't wait to go home at the end of each day to hold and play with both of my babies. He is doing really well at daycare. The ladies there just rave about how sweet and good he is. He eats and sleeps good, so that puts my mind at ease.

Jason reminded me when he prayed for me my first day back, that our children are not really ours anyway. They are God's. I can't hold onto them too tightly!! It's hard, especially for mothers, to really grasp this concept. However, I do believe that we are simply stewards of God's creation. Part of being that steward is making sure their needs are met, and right now that means that I must work. Eventually, I would like to work just part-time, but right now that is just not possible. God is giving me the strength I need to handle being away from my children...it would happen eventually anyway once they start school.

Josiah doesn't go back to the doctor until the end of this month, so I don't know exactly what he weighs now. However, I guess he weighs about 9 lbs. by now. He is getting really long, too. He smiled at me for the first time August 1, 2008. It was so precious! He smiles a lot now.

Elana will be two August 29th! I can't believe it! She is growing and learning more and more each day. She is a smart and sassy little girl...I love it!!

Jason and I are more in love today than ever before. He is an amazing husband and father. I am so blessed. Well, that is about it for now. Blessings to all who read this!

Josiah Shaun

So, I am a little late getting this updated, but we've been a bit busy with our newly expanded family! Josiah Shaun arrived June 20th at 7:50 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 18 in. long. He is absolutely perfect! We think he looks a lot like Jason. We are adjusting fairly well to having two children instead of just one. We work well as a team taking care of our two babies.

I am learning all kinds of new things in this new phase in my life....so much that I can't begin to share it all here, but I will share some:

1) I am learning that no matter how insecure I am in my skills as a mother, God's confidence in me does not waiver. I am learning that he has equipped me to be a mother....a good mother. Am I perfect?? Absolutely not...I am actually humbled each day by how much I still have to learn. However, I am able to take care of our two children. I am able to teach them what they need to learn. I am able to love them more than I ever imagined I could. I am able to have the energy each day to keep up with all that Josiah and Elana need.
2) I am learning about some weaknesses I have as a wife and mother. I desire to be better than I was the day before. I do not want those weaknesses to be pushed to the side. I want to do more than recognize that I need to change....I want to change and improve! My children and husband are a great accountability system for me.
3) I am learning that I THOUGHT I was an organized person, but I really have so much to learn. I will be going back to work in just a week and a half. I will need to get myself ready, help get Josiah and Elana ready, and get out the door before 6:45 or 7:00 am each morning. I will have to plan and prepare ahead of time like I never did before. Preparing Josiah's meals, our family's dinners, outfits for the day, etc. is just the beginning. Jason and I will be depending on each other's help like never before, too....Go TEAM KING!!
4) I am leaning that Jason and I will need to be intentional in setting time aside for just us. We have got to put it on the calendar...at least once a month getting a babysitter so that we can go out would be ideal. I can see how easily we COULD grow apart. There is so much to do and take care of....and we just have two children so far. I don't want to neglect my husband...my best-friend!!
5) I am reminded of God's faithfulness and provision for his children. Just like our desire to provide for our own children, God desires to take care of us. In our finances, some MAJOR things have happened that proves that to me!! Who am I that he would bless me so! I am so thankful to you, God!!!

Well, that's it for now. I need to get off of here and do some laundry...surprise,surprise! I'll update you all more later. I will also hopefully get around to adding some pictures on here soon, too. Until then, blessings to you all!!

ONE WEEK LEFT!!!

It is so hard to believe that in one week we will be holding our son in our arms for the first time! I am so excited, scared, nervous, overwhelmed, and overjoyed all at the same time. YIKES! We can't wait to meet you, little buddy!

I am so humbled that God would place another one of His children in our hands to take care of for a season. It's hard to look at our children that way sometimes. I mean...we carry them in our bellies for 9 months and take care of their every need (and some of their wants) for 18 or so years after that. So, it would be easy to look at them as our children. However, I have learned that they are not mine. They are God's creations, and He has great plans for them that, for the most part, have nothing to do with me. So, my prayer is that God would continue to mold me into the mother that Elana and Josiah need in preparing them for what God has in store for their future.

On a completely different note, our Elana-boo has ANOTHER ear infection and has been moody and droopy the past few days. She even snuggled with me last night, which is so very rare these days!! I hate it when she is sick. I feel so bad for her that she has to endure the pain and discomfort of those darn ear infections. I pray that Josiah doesn't have as much trouble with his ears as Elana has with hers.

Well, I should get back to work. I only have 4 more days left at work, so I am excited about that. I am taking off the Thursday before we go in for the c-section so that I can rest. I am soooooooo looking forward to that!!! Blessings to all who read this! We'll keep you posted about our little guy!

NESTING

So, we only have 11 days until Josiah gets here, and I am nesting so bad!!! It's funny because I have all these things that I would like to get done and most of them have absolutely nothing to do with preparing for Josiah's arrival...they would just make me feel better and less stressed for some reason. Here are the projects we are hopefully going to tackle before next Friday: 1)Clean out the garage (DONE!!) 2) Work on cleaning up the landscapping (bought the stuff...now we just need to work on it) 3) clean off the roof and clean out the gutters (Jason is working on that today) 4) clean out closets (to be done in the evenings this week) 5) clean the blinds (to be done this weekend) 6) Bring baby stuff down from the attic that we will need (to be done this week or weekend) 7) clean the house (sometime next week) 8) Pack our stuff for the hospital (to be done this week or weekend). That's a lot of stuff, but Jason is doing a lot of it today on his day off...again, so thankful for all he does....and what doesn't get finish simply won't get finished. It won't be the end of the world (at least that is what I'm telling myself).

The idea of "nesting" is so funny, but it is so true. There is something in us "mama birds" that desires to do whatever it takes to make the "nest" perfect for the baby's arrival. Everything needs to have a place. Everything needs to be clean. Everything must be "perfect." Then, real life happens and the time, energy, and motivation to tackle big projects seems to disappear. It just doesn't seem important anymore to have a perfectly clean house or to stress out about blinds, gutters, etc. Everything stops and caring for that newborn baby (not to mention our sweet Elana) will be the priority. Don't get me wrong....it's not like after the baby is born I will never clean my house again or take care of those things that God has blessed us with...of course I will. It's just funny to me how God has created us and how things change from season to season.