Ya'll are not gonna believe this..... As always, there is something happening in the Smith household.
Last week, Jay received a call from a company in Flagstaff. They offered him a job to manage the 4FRI timber thinning projects in Flagstaff and Payson.
After taking everything into consideration and a lot of praying, we decided to accept the job.
So, after a whole 3 weeks in Colorado, we are gearing up to move back to Flagstaff.
We contacted our previous realty company and were fortunate to have an agent to advocate for us & quickly locate a rental home.
We will be moving back in just a couple of weeks. We are excited to go back home and be close to family once again.
I was scheduled to go to CTCA the week of the 19th, however, we will be right in the middle of moving. I opted to cancel those appointments. I have been contemplating the idea of checking out Mayo Clinic or Banner MD Anderson in Phoenix.
The travel to and from Chicago is very hard on both Jay and I. I know that excellent care is available closer to home and may be easier on us all around.
Please pray for this decision!
Keep us in your prayers as we make a new transition!
Blessings,
Mandy
Friday, July 3, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Love Matters Most
Last night, Jay and I discussed all of the negativity existing the past few days. This is has very much been on my heart lately and I am going to share it. I am in no way political and do not care to be. This is simply me sharing my heart with you all.
Social media, the news and general conversations this week have been more heated than I've seen in a very long time. There are many opinions being thrown out into the public eye with little regard for anything or anyone.
Hatred is being expelled everywhere you look. Sadly, most of the hate is being dispensed by those claiming to do so under the banner of Christ. They are hiding under the Christian blanket and attack those who dare to disagree with them.
Is this really how Christians are called to behave? Is this the example given to us by Christ?
Love your neighbor as yourself - Matthew 19:19
Love your enemies. Do good to others who hate you. Bless those who curse you. - Luke 6:27
These are the instructions given by Jesus. Jesus did not tell us to use His word to berate others, nor did He tell us that spewing venom is an appropriate response when things don't go our way.
Jesus told us to do ONE thing....L-O-V-E
How can we send hostility and animosity into the world and expect God to be pleased with us?
How can we approach those with whom we disagree with contempt and expect them to see Jesus and come to Him?
People will not follow Christ if they see those who claim to be His disciples treating others with disgust and hate.
Do we truly want people to see Jesus or do we just want to get our way?
Do we truly want others to follow the light that is Christ?
Then we need to actually try to be LIKE Christ.
Actions truly speak louder than words.
Love doe no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's laws.
Love is what matters!!
"It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love" - Billy Graham
Blessings,
Mandy
Social media, the news and general conversations this week have been more heated than I've seen in a very long time. There are many opinions being thrown out into the public eye with little regard for anything or anyone.
Hatred is being expelled everywhere you look. Sadly, most of the hate is being dispensed by those claiming to do so under the banner of Christ. They are hiding under the Christian blanket and attack those who dare to disagree with them.
Is this really how Christians are called to behave? Is this the example given to us by Christ?
Love your neighbor as yourself - Matthew 19:19
Love your enemies. Do good to others who hate you. Bless those who curse you. - Luke 6:27
These are the instructions given by Jesus. Jesus did not tell us to use His word to berate others, nor did He tell us that spewing venom is an appropriate response when things don't go our way.
Jesus told us to do ONE thing....L-O-V-E
How can we send hostility and animosity into the world and expect God to be pleased with us?
How can we approach those with whom we disagree with contempt and expect them to see Jesus and come to Him?
People will not follow Christ if they see those who claim to be His disciples treating others with disgust and hate.
Do we truly want people to see Jesus or do we just want to get our way?
Do we truly want others to follow the light that is Christ?
Then we need to actually try to be LIKE Christ.
Actions truly speak louder than words.
Love doe no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's laws.
Love is what matters!!
"It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love" - Billy Graham
Blessings,
Mandy
Monday, June 22, 2015
Transitions
This week we continued our search for a new church home. We worshipped with the Dayspring Christian Church. We very much enjoyed our time there. The people were very friendly and welcoming.
Dayspring is a Christian church. They are not affiliated with any denomination, but much like the church of Christ, each church is autonomous.
We both felt very much at home there and really look forward to visiting there again.
Today, I read one of my daily devotionals, Our Daily Bread. The devotional today was about transition. God certainly knows exactly what I need to hear every day!
Transition is very rarely an easy thing. Often transition involves loss, fear, doubt and discouragement. Each transition Jay and I have faced has required one thing - FAITH.
Jay and I have faced many transitions in our lives together. Loss of family members, Moves, New Homes, New Jobs, Cancer... our one and only constant in transition is God.
In Joshua 1, God requires Joshua to lead the Israelites into the promised land. After 40 years of wandering the wilderness, the time for God's people to inherit the land He prepared for them had come and Joshua was the chosen one to lead them.
God tells Joshua in verse 3..."Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you..."
In the 20 years Jay and I have been married, we have moved to several different states. Each time, each place, was land that God had given to us. Places prepared by God for us.
In verse 9, God tells Joshua "This is my command - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
This is such a joyful reminder! God is with us wherever we go, whatever we face - He is there!
Only God knows how many more transitions we will face in the future, but I know that the final transition will be the very best one.
"My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John: 14:2-3
Our final move will be our best move. One day, God will again, lead His people to the promised land. Just as he asked Joshua to lead the Israelites into Canaan, He will ask Jesus to lead His people to the heavenly place prepared for us. Our wanderings will, at long last, be over and we will finally be in the very place that Jesus is.
No matter what type of transition is in your path, Be Strong and Courageous! Do Not Be Afraid or Discouraged for the Lord Your GOD is With You Wherever You Go!!!
Blessings,
Mandy
Dayspring is a Christian church. They are not affiliated with any denomination, but much like the church of Christ, each church is autonomous.
We both felt very much at home there and really look forward to visiting there again.
Today, I read one of my daily devotionals, Our Daily Bread. The devotional today was about transition. God certainly knows exactly what I need to hear every day!
Transition is very rarely an easy thing. Often transition involves loss, fear, doubt and discouragement. Each transition Jay and I have faced has required one thing - FAITH.
Jay and I have faced many transitions in our lives together. Loss of family members, Moves, New Homes, New Jobs, Cancer... our one and only constant in transition is God.
In Joshua 1, God requires Joshua to lead the Israelites into the promised land. After 40 years of wandering the wilderness, the time for God's people to inherit the land He prepared for them had come and Joshua was the chosen one to lead them.
God tells Joshua in verse 3..."Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you..."
In the 20 years Jay and I have been married, we have moved to several different states. Each time, each place, was land that God had given to us. Places prepared by God for us.
In verse 9, God tells Joshua "This is my command - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
This is such a joyful reminder! God is with us wherever we go, whatever we face - He is there!
Only God knows how many more transitions we will face in the future, but I know that the final transition will be the very best one.
"My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John: 14:2-3
Our final move will be our best move. One day, God will again, lead His people to the promised land. Just as he asked Joshua to lead the Israelites into Canaan, He will ask Jesus to lead His people to the heavenly place prepared for us. Our wanderings will, at long last, be over and we will finally be in the very place that Jesus is.
No matter what type of transition is in your path, Be Strong and Courageous! Do Not Be Afraid or Discouraged for the Lord Your GOD is With You Wherever You Go!!!
Blessings,
Mandy
Monday, June 15, 2015
Soul Food
Yesterday we worshipped with LifePointe Church. LifePointe is a Baptist church with a Community Church vibe. It's a medium size congregation of about 250-300 members (in a college & transient town like Fort Collins, it's often hard to tell). The Student Ministries Director led the sermon. I would like to share the main theme of the lesson.
True Worship - What Sustains a Life of True Worship?
In John 4:27-42, Jesus teaches his disciples the true meaning of worship & nourishment.
After a long journey, Jesus and his disciples land in an uncomfortable place-Samaria. To the Jews, Samaria represented all things un-holy and un-clean. When traveling, Jews would rather cross the Jordan River than travel the shorter distance through Samaria and risk being "contaminated" by anything Samaritan.
When the disciples realized that Jesus was leading them straight into Samaria, no doubt they felt more than a little ill at ease. To add to their discomfort, Jesus ministers to a sinful Samaritan woman. This woman quickly recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and runs home to tell everyone who she just met. Once she leaves, the disciples encourage Jesus to eat something. Perhaps they thought exhaustion & lack of food caused him to have some form of delerium & that was why he was talking to the Samaritan woman. Jesus told them "I have a kind of food you know nothing about. My nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me and from finishing His work." (John 4:33-34)
Jesus had all the nourishment he needed in doing the will of the Father.
To sustain a life of true worship, our nourishment needs to be the same as Jesus. He was so filled by serving God, he didn't need physical food to feel complete.
Where does our nourishment come from? TV; Music; Facebook; Netflix; Gaming; Food & Drink; Shopping...
Each of us has an empty place in our lives that, at some point, we attempt to fill with something other than God. We cannot sustain a meaningful life of worship & service if we feed on the food of the world. The world will ALWAYS leave us feeling more and more empty. Its a downward spiral stopped only when we recognize that what our soul truly craves is spiritual nourishment. God instills this need in each of us. Many don't understand why they have a constant empty place in their hearts. We all need Jesus to fill that void. Only then will we truly be satisfied. What nourishment does your soul need today?
Jesus not only died on the cross, He lived a perfect life. Jesus knew that we could never-ever-ever come close to living the perfect life God required through His covenant with Abraham. Jesus knew that perfection was mandatory. He knew that sacrifice was mandatory. Jesus' love for the Father and for us was so all-consuming, He willingly left the splendor of heaven to walk this world in perfection. His love was so all-consuming, He literally laid himself out on a cross built for sinners to become sin, shame and sacrifice for us.
Jesus was filled, nourished, satisfied by doing what God required. Through that love and sacrifice, we can be covered in His grace and can claim His sacrifice as our very own. We have done nothing to deserve this. We have not and will not live perfectly. We are sinful and unworthy,however, we can now claim all the glory of heaven because of Jesus.
Let's not miss out on the true nourishment and filling that Jesus offers. Instead of attempting to feel complete through the world, allow Jesus to fill and heal all the empty & broken places.
Blessings,
Mandy
True Worship - What Sustains a Life of True Worship?
In John 4:27-42, Jesus teaches his disciples the true meaning of worship & nourishment.
After a long journey, Jesus and his disciples land in an uncomfortable place-Samaria. To the Jews, Samaria represented all things un-holy and un-clean. When traveling, Jews would rather cross the Jordan River than travel the shorter distance through Samaria and risk being "contaminated" by anything Samaritan.
When the disciples realized that Jesus was leading them straight into Samaria, no doubt they felt more than a little ill at ease. To add to their discomfort, Jesus ministers to a sinful Samaritan woman. This woman quickly recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and runs home to tell everyone who she just met. Once she leaves, the disciples encourage Jesus to eat something. Perhaps they thought exhaustion & lack of food caused him to have some form of delerium & that was why he was talking to the Samaritan woman. Jesus told them "I have a kind of food you know nothing about. My nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me and from finishing His work." (John 4:33-34)
Jesus had all the nourishment he needed in doing the will of the Father.
To sustain a life of true worship, our nourishment needs to be the same as Jesus. He was so filled by serving God, he didn't need physical food to feel complete.
Where does our nourishment come from? TV; Music; Facebook; Netflix; Gaming; Food & Drink; Shopping...
Each of us has an empty place in our lives that, at some point, we attempt to fill with something other than God. We cannot sustain a meaningful life of worship & service if we feed on the food of the world. The world will ALWAYS leave us feeling more and more empty. Its a downward spiral stopped only when we recognize that what our soul truly craves is spiritual nourishment. God instills this need in each of us. Many don't understand why they have a constant empty place in their hearts. We all need Jesus to fill that void. Only then will we truly be satisfied. What nourishment does your soul need today?
Jesus not only died on the cross, He lived a perfect life. Jesus knew that we could never-ever-ever come close to living the perfect life God required through His covenant with Abraham. Jesus knew that perfection was mandatory. He knew that sacrifice was mandatory. Jesus' love for the Father and for us was so all-consuming, He willingly left the splendor of heaven to walk this world in perfection. His love was so all-consuming, He literally laid himself out on a cross built for sinners to become sin, shame and sacrifice for us.
Jesus was filled, nourished, satisfied by doing what God required. Through that love and sacrifice, we can be covered in His grace and can claim His sacrifice as our very own. We have done nothing to deserve this. We have not and will not live perfectly. We are sinful and unworthy,however, we can now claim all the glory of heaven because of Jesus.
Let's not miss out on the true nourishment and filling that Jesus offers. Instead of attempting to feel complete through the world, allow Jesus to fill and heal all the empty & broken places.
Blessings,
Mandy
Heart & Soul Situation
I love that you all were excited about joining us on our travel adventures! For now, our travel plans are on hold & a new journey is about to begin...searching for a new church to call home.
When we moved to Flagstaff, we visited so many churches that we lost track of the specific nuances of each one. As weeks turned into months, sadly, all the churches blurred together. No only was this frustrating for us, it was highly unfair to the churches. This time, I am determined to do things differently.
I am a compulsive list maker. I love lists. Jay laughs at me because at any given time, I have half a dozen lists going. My first inclination, when beginning our search, was to make a list. I did an internet search & compiled a list of area churches to visit. Next I thought about creating a template to fill out for each church - maybe even add a graph or chart...music team, sermons, bookstore, coffee shop....OY VEY!! My compulsion was in over drive. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit smacked me & made me stop. This is not a list & graph situation. This is a heart & soul situation.
I do want a way to remember each individual church while attempting to capture the heart & soul of each one. I'm doubtful that we will walk through the doors of a church one day & the Holy Spirit will roll out a banner that reads THIS IS THE ONE! It would be amazing, but unlikely. So, if you will all indulge me, I am going to chronicle the churches we visit here. Feel free to jump in at any time & share your thoughts & hearts.
Please know that while I was raised Church of Christ & Jay was raised Baptist, and while we have spent our married life predominantly worshipping in Churches of Christ, we will not be placing limitations on our search. I truly believe that limiting ourselves and placing God in a small denominational box is unfair to ourselves and to Him. There are many Christians out there whose hearts are so sincere in following Jesus & caring for their communities. We will not be focusing on the name on the building. We will be focusing on the hearts & intentions of the church community themselves. Jesus commands us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31) Jesus said that no other commandment is greater than these.
This is where our focus will reside. Loving God & Loving Others. This is the church community we long to find.
Blessings,
Mandy
When we moved to Flagstaff, we visited so many churches that we lost track of the specific nuances of each one. As weeks turned into months, sadly, all the churches blurred together. No only was this frustrating for us, it was highly unfair to the churches. This time, I am determined to do things differently.
I am a compulsive list maker. I love lists. Jay laughs at me because at any given time, I have half a dozen lists going. My first inclination, when beginning our search, was to make a list. I did an internet search & compiled a list of area churches to visit. Next I thought about creating a template to fill out for each church - maybe even add a graph or chart...music team, sermons, bookstore, coffee shop....OY VEY!! My compulsion was in over drive. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit smacked me & made me stop. This is not a list & graph situation. This is a heart & soul situation.
I do want a way to remember each individual church while attempting to capture the heart & soul of each one. I'm doubtful that we will walk through the doors of a church one day & the Holy Spirit will roll out a banner that reads THIS IS THE ONE! It would be amazing, but unlikely. So, if you will all indulge me, I am going to chronicle the churches we visit here. Feel free to jump in at any time & share your thoughts & hearts.
Please know that while I was raised Church of Christ & Jay was raised Baptist, and while we have spent our married life predominantly worshipping in Churches of Christ, we will not be placing limitations on our search. I truly believe that limiting ourselves and placing God in a small denominational box is unfair to ourselves and to Him. There are many Christians out there whose hearts are so sincere in following Jesus & caring for their communities. We will not be focusing on the name on the building. We will be focusing on the hearts & intentions of the church community themselves. Jesus commands us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31) Jesus said that no other commandment is greater than these.
This is where our focus will reside. Loving God & Loving Others. This is the church community we long to find.
Blessings,
Mandy
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Learning to Wait
It's official, we are Coloradoans...Coloradoians...Coloradoites...anyway- we are now in Fort Collins. Once we accepted the job, we made our way back to Flagstaff, loaded our moving van, and headed to Colorado.
As we were leaving Arizona I had a very sad moment. I thought, "we just got back home after so many years & now we have to say goodbye again". Then I heard it- the still small voice. I am always in awe when I hear God speaking to me & I know for certain...way down deep in my guts that it IS HIM... He simply said "I have a plan for you two. It's a good plan & if you wait, you will see it too."
(I'm very impatient & He knows this. He has to tell me to wait ALOT!) But just knowing this gave me a great sense of peace as we set out on a new journey.
Our move was delightfully uneventful. When we arrived on Monday, our apartment was ready and 3 young guys with giant muscles lugged our stuff up to the 2nd floor while Jay supervised & I pointed to the rooms the boxes needed to go. It truly was the easiest move we have ever made.
Jay began his new job on Friday. His day was spent filling out new hire paperwork & meeting his new co-workers. He really likes the group of people he will be working with & is excited about the programs being assigned to him. I'm so thankful that he is in a professional environment and will not be facing the exhausting schedule that supervising a logging operation required.
We are looking forward to exploring the area & finding new camping places in the Rockies.
Tomorrow we will begin visiting area churches in the search for a new church home/community. For me, this is so daunting. How do we know which church is the right one? We visited so many churches when we moved to Flagstaff, but none held a candle to our Skyline Church. The process is made more frustrating due to cancer. Because we travel to Chicago every few months & my treatment schedule often doesn't allow me to jump into joining new groups or commit to long term projects, I find myself hanging back & not putting myself out there. I so often long for normalcy. I want to be one of those people who can make 2 year, 3 year, even 5 year plans & not give a moments thought to whether or not they will be around to fulfill those plans. I have to remind myself that my path is simply different.
My path was chosen for me by a God who was, who is and who is to come. My idea of "normal" is not what he designed for me. I must learn to embrace this path & know that He will supply whatever grace, mercy, & courage I will need to walk it. I pray for Him to lead us to a church where we can serve, worship & glorify Him. I pray that I will patiently wait on Him to reveal the plans He has for us.
Blessings
Mandy
As we were leaving Arizona I had a very sad moment. I thought, "we just got back home after so many years & now we have to say goodbye again". Then I heard it- the still small voice. I am always in awe when I hear God speaking to me & I know for certain...way down deep in my guts that it IS HIM... He simply said "I have a plan for you two. It's a good plan & if you wait, you will see it too."
(I'm very impatient & He knows this. He has to tell me to wait ALOT!) But just knowing this gave me a great sense of peace as we set out on a new journey.
Our move was delightfully uneventful. When we arrived on Monday, our apartment was ready and 3 young guys with giant muscles lugged our stuff up to the 2nd floor while Jay supervised & I pointed to the rooms the boxes needed to go. It truly was the easiest move we have ever made.
Jay began his new job on Friday. His day was spent filling out new hire paperwork & meeting his new co-workers. He really likes the group of people he will be working with & is excited about the programs being assigned to him. I'm so thankful that he is in a professional environment and will not be facing the exhausting schedule that supervising a logging operation required.
We are looking forward to exploring the area & finding new camping places in the Rockies.
Tomorrow we will begin visiting area churches in the search for a new church home/community. For me, this is so daunting. How do we know which church is the right one? We visited so many churches when we moved to Flagstaff, but none held a candle to our Skyline Church. The process is made more frustrating due to cancer. Because we travel to Chicago every few months & my treatment schedule often doesn't allow me to jump into joining new groups or commit to long term projects, I find myself hanging back & not putting myself out there. I so often long for normalcy. I want to be one of those people who can make 2 year, 3 year, even 5 year plans & not give a moments thought to whether or not they will be around to fulfill those plans. I have to remind myself that my path is simply different.
My path was chosen for me by a God who was, who is and who is to come. My idea of "normal" is not what he designed for me. I must learn to embrace this path & know that He will supply whatever grace, mercy, & courage I will need to walk it. I pray for Him to lead us to a church where we can serve, worship & glorify Him. I pray that I will patiently wait on Him to reveal the plans He has for us.
Blessings
Mandy
Saturday, May 2, 2015
All Good Things Must Come to an End
We knew this was a possibility....our trip ending sooner than expected.
On April 9, Jay had an interview with Colorado State Forest Service/Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. The interview went very well, and they called last week to offer him a Program Manager position. The job is something he really thinks he will enjoy. He will be on staff at CSU and the job benefits are really good. After taking a couple of days to consider the offer, we decided to accept.
We took a detour to spend a week in Fort Collins to look for housing. Fort Collins is a college town and the housing market has experienced a recent boom. We decided to rent for the first year until we can familiarize ourselves with the area and make more informed choices when we do decide to purchase a home. We spent hours searching the internet and narrowed our search to a few apartments. I haven't lived in an apartment since early college years and Jay has never lived in one, so we were very leery of the whole process. We have been told by several people that the rental market is extremely competitive and if we like a house/apartment, grab it quick, because it won't be around the next day.
We toured one complex and thought the amount of college students that lived there may be a bit much for us old fogies who like to be in bed by 10pm (and for college kids, 10pm is when the party is just getting started).
We toured the second choice on our list and loved it. Gorgeous apartment and a resort style complex with more amenities than I can even list. They had one apartment available for move in early June (this apartment had become available that day and only because the folks who had a hold on it backed out). All the other apartments had a waiting list 35 people deep. We signed the lease that day and will be moving in a few weeks.
We will make a short trip to Estes Park, CO as it is only an hour away. We will spend some time in the Rocky Mountain National Park before slowly making our way back to Flagstaff to load our storage unit into a moving van and make the move to Fort Collins.
We are a bit sad that we won't be able to finish our travels, however, we are very thankful and excited for this new season in our life to begin.
Blessings,
Mandy
On April 9, Jay had an interview with Colorado State Forest Service/Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. The interview went very well, and they called last week to offer him a Program Manager position. The job is something he really thinks he will enjoy. He will be on staff at CSU and the job benefits are really good. After taking a couple of days to consider the offer, we decided to accept.
We took a detour to spend a week in Fort Collins to look for housing. Fort Collins is a college town and the housing market has experienced a recent boom. We decided to rent for the first year until we can familiarize ourselves with the area and make more informed choices when we do decide to purchase a home. We spent hours searching the internet and narrowed our search to a few apartments. I haven't lived in an apartment since early college years and Jay has never lived in one, so we were very leery of the whole process. We have been told by several people that the rental market is extremely competitive and if we like a house/apartment, grab it quick, because it won't be around the next day.
We toured one complex and thought the amount of college students that lived there may be a bit much for us old fogies who like to be in bed by 10pm (and for college kids, 10pm is when the party is just getting started).
We toured the second choice on our list and loved it. Gorgeous apartment and a resort style complex with more amenities than I can even list. They had one apartment available for move in early June (this apartment had become available that day and only because the folks who had a hold on it backed out). All the other apartments had a waiting list 35 people deep. We signed the lease that day and will be moving in a few weeks.
We will make a short trip to Estes Park, CO as it is only an hour away. We will spend some time in the Rocky Mountain National Park before slowly making our way back to Flagstaff to load our storage unit into a moving van and make the move to Fort Collins.
We are a bit sad that we won't be able to finish our travels, however, we are very thankful and excited for this new season in our life to begin.
Blessings,
Mandy
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