So how did two born and raised (and proud of it) Texans end up in Chicago?
It all started about three years ago when Scott, my then boyfriend, revealed to me that he felt Jesus was leading us to church planting. I was not surprised in the least, knowing that the Lord had gifted him in many ways that align directly with that calling. I supported Scott with only one stipulation: That we stay close to our families.
Scott honored my request and began looking at potential places not too far from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. As we prayed through and dissected this calling more and more, I came to a realization.
"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brother and sister- yes, even their own life- such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."
Luke 14:25-27, 33
Jesus of course, was not commanding his followers to actually hate family as that goes against his character and teachings. He was challenging his disciples that there is an extreme cost to following him. He is worthy of all our love, worship, & dedication. We cannot replace Him with family, relationships, material possessions, happiness, and/or ourselves, which was exactly what I was doing. I was telling the Lord that I would follow Him with stipulations, not with wholehearted trust and abandonment. After confessing to the Lord & Scott, I was ready to look at our calling with new eyes. I was ready to follow wherever he led no matter if it was Dallas or Africa.
Soon after this discussion, Scott and I became engaged. We still knew that God had called us to church planting but didn't know when or how it would play out. We continued to pray and be open to God's leading. We visited potential places near Waco & Dallas. On Christmas Eve, Scott emailed a man at the Chicago Metro Baptist Association asking for more information on church planting in the Chi. Scott immediately received a response telling of their desperate need. We then scheduled a visit.
We spent three days checking out the city, hearing statistics, visiting other church planters, and praying. We were engaged so we stayed in separate houses and never had an opportunity to talk alone about what we had been feeling & hearing. This actually ended up being a positive thing, as we did not influence each other in one way or another. At the end of the trip we sat down to a pan of deep dish pizza to discuss what the Lord had been saying to us. Through lots of tears & vocalizations of fears, sacrifices, and uncertainties we both felt that God was calling us to Chicago.
We continued to pray and seek affirmation from the Lord. We continued to feel affirmed. A few months after we were married we took a second trip to Chicago to be assessed and to find where we would live. We were then approved to be lead planters and also discovered Wicker Park.
We then started to prepare for our move. Scott told the pastor of our church in Denton and we put our house on the market expecting to leave as soon as it sold.
Close to a year later our house was still on the market. God had put a lot of people into our lives to prepare, stretch, and train us for the the journey ahead. We felt blessed, but we also wondered why the Lord had called us to something yet still had not sold our house.
One morning Scott came to me explaining he felt the Lord was leading our family to take a step of faith and move to Chicago without our house selling. My first response was: Are you SURE? Moving to Chicago was already going to be hard financially because of the drastic change in cost of living, not to mention we didn't have jobs. So we journeyed to Chicago one last time for training and to find an apartment. After searching for three days we came home without an apartment secured. Again, we were discouraged. Why is God not providing for us if He has in fact called us to this city?
We began praying for confirmation and for provision. Scott then found an apartment listed online. It was in the exact location we had been praying to live, a decent price for the area we are living in, but there was only one problem. No pictures. This is a pretty big deal in Chicago, we visited some pretty shady places. So Scott called to get the low-down on this place. He talked to the person who designed and the previous attendee. In order to secure the apartment, we were going to have to send in our deposit within 24 hours. After prayer and consideration, we decided to go for it. The very next day a lady called and wanted to look at our house. It ended up she wanted to buy our house, renting it the first few months then to own. We were so relieved. Everything was really coming through in the end.
In September we packed up and moved to the Chi. It was an incredibly hard process leaving family and everything that had been familiar to us, but God was so faithful and such a constant presence. A few months after our move, the person who was renting to own backed out of the contract. At first this brought feelings of fear and frustration upon us, but then the Lord reminded us that He has all resources at his disposal and that He promised to take care of us. The Lord used the next five months to stretch us and teach us about finances. And of course He was completely faithful to provide. You can read what God was revealing to my husband through this process here. After many prayers and lessons we thankfully signed a contract to officially sell our house in March 2011.
Although there has been some challenges and difficulties leaving Texas, our family, and what was comfortable and familiar; the journey that the Lord has brought us on has been incredible. We feel so blessed to be living & ministering in Chicago. Our prayer is that the Lord will use our weak, unimpressive lives to show how marvelous He really is.
Close to a year later our house was still on the market. God had put a lot of people into our lives to prepare, stretch, and train us for the the journey ahead. We felt blessed, but we also wondered why the Lord had called us to something yet still had not sold our house.
One morning Scott came to me explaining he felt the Lord was leading our family to take a step of faith and move to Chicago without our house selling. My first response was: Are you SURE? Moving to Chicago was already going to be hard financially because of the drastic change in cost of living, not to mention we didn't have jobs. So we journeyed to Chicago one last time for training and to find an apartment. After searching for three days we came home without an apartment secured. Again, we were discouraged. Why is God not providing for us if He has in fact called us to this city?
We began praying for confirmation and for provision. Scott then found an apartment listed online. It was in the exact location we had been praying to live, a decent price for the area we are living in, but there was only one problem. No pictures. This is a pretty big deal in Chicago, we visited some pretty shady places. So Scott called to get the low-down on this place. He talked to the person who designed and the previous attendee. In order to secure the apartment, we were going to have to send in our deposit within 24 hours. After prayer and consideration, we decided to go for it. The very next day a lady called and wanted to look at our house. It ended up she wanted to buy our house, renting it the first few months then to own. We were so relieved. Everything was really coming through in the end.
In September we packed up and moved to the Chi. It was an incredibly hard process leaving family and everything that had been familiar to us, but God was so faithful and such a constant presence. A few months after our move, the person who was renting to own backed out of the contract. At first this brought feelings of fear and frustration upon us, but then the Lord reminded us that He has all resources at his disposal and that He promised to take care of us. The Lord used the next five months to stretch us and teach us about finances. And of course He was completely faithful to provide. You can read what God was revealing to my husband through this process here. After many prayers and lessons we thankfully signed a contract to officially sell our house in March 2011.
Although there has been some challenges and difficulties leaving Texas, our family, and what was comfortable and familiar; the journey that the Lord has brought us on has been incredible. We feel so blessed to be living & ministering in Chicago. Our prayer is that the Lord will use our weak, unimpressive lives to show how marvelous He really is.
