Here's where I am . . .

(DISCLAIMER:  This post has lots of WORDS.)

Utah here we come . . . 

(well, not yet but in July).

Over a week ago we posted this on face book  . . . "

"It's official. We will be heading to Utah this July to plant a church in Utah county!! It has been a long journey but we know this is really just the beginning. To say we are excited and nervous doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of our emotions!!! For all our family and friends in Nebraska this is so bittersweet; it is so hard to think about leaving; we love you guys!! Like we told the kids, there is still many more memories to make here."

We received some amazing responses (and questions which I haven't answered yet) . . . this social media thing is just so crazy. In a minutes time you can share with people you see daily and with people you haven't seen since high school something huge that is going on in your life. It really is great and weird all at once isn't it? 

So, here's where I'm a week later . . .  (with pictures in between of pages in the book "Anything" by Jeannie Allen - Read this several months ago but resonates deeply with where I'm at.)

          I (we) are so excited, pumped, and ready. The kind of excitement where we want to jump up around and tell everyone. We love Utah. We are passionate about sharing Christ's love and creating a missional community of people in Utah County. This is really something we feel God has weaved into our journey and our life story.  We can't wait to see how God orchestrates things.  There is nothing more exciting than being on an adventure with Him - NOTHING.  

We are excited to be near the close friends we made while living there for three years. We will be in a slightly different area but we can't wait to do some camping with friends, bbq, and just reconnect!!!

I (we) are scared. We aren't dumb. We know how hard change is. We know that church planting isn't a cushy job with job security,  pay raises and great insurance benefits. We know we have a huge fundraising task ahead of us. We know that it's not the greatest intro when you meet someone to say, "We just moved here. We are going to plant a church." (end discussion). We get it. Church planting involves risk there is no doubt about that. Church planting takes patience. We are scared. Not the scared that makes you not do something. It's the scared  you hold with care and respect. 

I (we) could throw up thinking about our kids walking through change, being the new kid, being the one that doesn't know anyone in the cafeteria. (Though we have friends in Utah we will be living in a different area.) Believe me we are praying hard already for neighborhood friends and ONE friend for each kid. Yep, it only takes one to make life grand. One leads to many.  We pray that our kids stories don't sound like this when they are 25... , "My life was good and then my family moved when I was like in 5th grade &  blah blah blah "  . . . .and the story takes a turn that leads to all sorts of things. Yep I'm talking in extremes but that's what I do when I think big picture.  We feel confident that God has a plan in all this for Jason and I and because of that our kids are a packaged deal -- God has a plan for each of them too. I remind myself that their story can change and lead in all sorts of directions wherever we live!! It's called life. 

I (we) are sad. By the time we move we will have been here for 4 years. Four years by family. Four years making friends. Four years investing in relationships and community things. Four years is long - saying goodbye will not be easy. Saying goodbye to a place that has given us a home to rest in and regroup in and tackle big things in will be hard. Saying goodbye for our kids will be hard. They LOVE their friends. They have lots of friends. They have eaten up the social circuit here.  We have said many times to one another that this would all have been easier if we would have just kept to ourselves.  That's just no way to live. But we aren't saying goodbye yet -- there is time for many more memories and we plan to live that way! June 2013 will be spent at our

 favorite place -- the Henderson Pool!! 

So I'm all over the place these days ..... I've been running from thing to thing and this weekend is the first time since it became official that I could really slow down and breath to take it all in. It gave me a headache and a tight neck. Ha.

I looked back at some old posts and found them so interesting - I cried and laughed reading them.  If you are just joining my blog in the past year here's the recap blog style ... click on each link  and then come back here and click on the next link. It will give you a summary of our journey from Youth Ministry 10+ years  to Seminary Student to Church Planter and our passion for Utah.   (This starts 2.5 years into ministry in Utah. We had previously been in Oklahoma in Youth Ministry!! That's really where the story begins -- but I wasn't blogging then. :)) 

Curve Ball   January 2009

Processing  April 2009

For Sale Maybe  Mid April 2009

Waiting  May 2009

Things Don't Always Go As Planned  June 2009

THE QUIRINGS ARE MOVING TO THE FARM July 2009 - The line that says "for a year" cracks me up --- 3.5 years later and we are still here. :)) Who knew?

Last Post from Utah July 31, 2009

Last day of Summer August 2009 - LOOK how young those babies were when we moved here! Wow!

Home March 2010

Now fast forward  ... 3 1/2 years of seminary (one more semester to go)   . . . . and you come to today's post - November 2012!

It's been a journey. 
A NEW JOURNEY IS GOING TO START ! ! 

Here's a song to just wrap up this wordy post -- if you made it to the end you are a die hard supporter or else you are bored or avoiding folding laundry or dishes. Whichever thanks!!!