I want to begin this post with an apology to those who actually might read our blog. I'm sorry it has been six months since I have posted something on here. I can blame it on a combination of extreme business, laziness, and forgetfulness! I promise I will try my best to post more often from here on out. So now that that's out of the way, I will attempt to begin to explain all that has happened since September. Ok, here's it goes...
As you all know I quit my job at Pinnacle Airlines back in September and have been attending Tenn. Technology Aviation School to certify for my A&P (Airframe and Powerplant) license. It has been quite the whirlwind since I flew my last trip at the end of September. Jennifer and I both went into this new phase of life with enthusiasm, excitement, and some apprehension. I can honestly say we have experienced each of those and more. I am now just finishing my second trimester of school, there are six total. So I am already 1/3 of the way through! It really has gone by fast, even though my days are filled with busyness and exhaustion. After starting school Jenn and I knew that we couldn't continue paying our COBRA, since it was over $1,000/month! After receiving some Godly council from our teaching pastor and others, I was encouraged to get a job and work part time for insurance. I was very much against this idea because I knew that I would be gone all day, everyday, and some on the weekends. I wanted to be able to concentrate on school and be involved with different ministries as my school schedule would allow. Well, God ended up providing in an amazing way! But, not quite the way I envisioned. I applied for several part time jobs that had benefits to no avail. Then one day I called up a former student of mine from when I was a flight instructor. He is an extremely wealthy business owner and I knew he might could hook me up with a job. Keep in mind, I haven't talked to him in almost 4 years, and wasn't quite sure how he would react with me calling him up and asking for a job. Well, he ended up offering me a job on the spot and asked me to start the next day! He told me they don't offer benefits for part time employees but told me he would make an exception since he knew me. After hearing all of this on one phone conversation, I knew that God has swung this door wide open!
Now that I was a full-time student and a part-time worker, my schedule was maxed out immediately. I'll just give you a rundown of a typical day in the life of Andrew (you should feel special!). I wake up at 5am each day, spend time in the Word, eat breakfast, make my lunch, and leave for school around 6:20. I attend school from 7am-2pm, and then I head straight to work from 2:30-7pm. Whew! I never knew what people meant by there not being enough hours in the day, until now!
I have had such a range of emotions with this schedule. I have felt overwhelmed, exhausted, irritable, frustrated, and even anger over my situation. I also must insert an important note here. Jenn and I found out she was pregnant back in late September! So, this has definitely added a new dynamic to our daily lives. Oh yeah, we also found out we are having our first SON!! We are so excited, and the girls are thrilled about having a baby brother! I added this pregnancy story here to say that Jenn has also had a lot of extra things to deal with. With me being gone from 6am-7:30pm almost everyday, she has really had to pick up the load at home. So I definitely want to make clear that it's not just me that has added pressure. Also, please pray for her because she is so nauseated! It's been this way with all three of her pregnancies, and it makes it very difficult for her to take care of two kids, clean the house, grocery shop, etc., while feeling like poop. So, needless this season of life is much more difficult than we ever though it would be. But, we both understand that God is teaching us things through our circumstances that we would not have learned if our lives were easy.
We find ourselves wishing for our previous lifestyle, when I was working 3-4 days, and then having 5-6 days off in a row! It just seemed so easy then! We had a good steady paycheck, time off to do things around the house, take the kids to the park, etc. Now, we can barely keep our heads above water and are just trying to survive each day! But, while things are crazy, hectic, and time are hard, we are still confident that this is the road God has us on. It seems like we would feel the opposite, but we have received so much encouragement from family and friends and God continues to give us grace. There are days when we both feel we can't go on. But, we are reminded that God's mercies are new every morning and we ask Him to give us our daily bread. For tomorrow holds worries of its own. Again, we are confident that God is teaching us things now we would not have learned if we weren't going through these trials. Scripture teaches us to find joy in all situations. My has this been a challenge!! But, we are joyful to be taking part in expanding God's kingdom and that He is teaching us new things daily. The Lord has given me great opportunities to disciple the guys in my class. God has already opened several doors with a couple of guys and I am daily praying for fruit! Please pray for my classmate, that God would reveal himself to them and give me grace to empty myself and serve these guys.
Lastly, I wanted to bring up something that many people don't like to talk about. Money. As many of you know, we have been raising financial support since I left my job in September. God has surely provided in so many ways and we are blessed to have people supporting us financially. We are still looking for monthly supporters, however. If you would like to give and partner with us as we prepare to go overseas, we would be grateful and humbled by your participation. If you look at my previous posts, I explain how you can go about giving.
Again, I do apologize for being so tardy with this post, but here it is. I promise I will do a better job in the future! But, as it stands now, it's 10:15pm and I need to get up in less than 7 hours to do it all over again tomorrow. Pray for us to have endurance and perseverance! We are so thankful for all of you and hope to post soon! (soon meaning less than 6 months from now!)
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