What's Going On?

I know many of my posts lately have been quite cryptic. The following is the message we sent to our prayer partners concerning our ministry here in Vancouver. Things are not always what they seem, so I hope this sheds some light for those curious souls. (David wrote this in case the tense or references seem odd.)
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You all have been such an important part of the process my family has gone through over the last year and with that I wanted to let you all know of some changes that are happening in regards to our ministry here at The Common Place. As of January 31, Jamie and I will be resigning our position and moving back to the United States.

We have had such a great experience here in loving on the community of Coquitlam and we will take with us the many joys that this season of life has brought to our family. It was a tough decision to step down and we spent much time praying through it and discerning what God was leading us to as a family.

We sincerely appreciate all the prayers that the members of this group have provided us over the last year or so and will always be thankful to you for the prayers that got us through our time here. We have much to be thankful for as we look back over the last 8 months here on the ground.

We lived in the most beautiful place on the planet, we made some great friends, we impacted individuals with the love of Christ, we encouraged fellow believers, and we sought every day, in every encounter to beam the light of Jesus in this place.

We have no regrets, we leave here with hearts still very much on fire for The Lower Mainland of British Columbia, we leave here longing for God to finish a work he has begun here in Coquitlam.

We covet your prayers over the next few weeks as we travel back to Mississippi, as we readjust to life back in The South, as we just seek out where God wants us next. We have far more questions than answers at this point but we cling to the thing we as a family have clung to since day one. God has a plan for us, and we will run as fast as we can to follow that plan.

We appreciate everything. We hope to continue sharing our journey along the way. 

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I hope that explains some. There are details that honestly some of you will never know. We are not upset (well, a little because we sold everything thinking we'd stay years-forever), but for the sake of our family, we must go. It's been exciting to have mothers come to me and ask about our faith. We've made connections that I will continue to to work on and through no matter where we settle. We have ideas about our future landing spot but you'll have to stay tuned for that! We leave Thursday and Hayden is very ready. This has been hard for him. We look forward to the changes God is bringing into our lives and know we never would have considered them had it not been for our time in Canada. 

Vanity

I wouldn't consider myself a vain person; insecure, yes. But not vain. But when I get overwhelmed with life, I have found that I look to make quick changes on things I can control. For instance, my hair. I love short(er) hair; my husband hates it. I'm sure you're thinking, "Seriously? She's writing a blog post about her hair length?"

Well, there are much deeper issues taking place that I can't divulge at the time, and losing weight is an on-going, lengthy process, but hair, especially the cutting of the hair, is a quick fix. I'm not saying I want to cut my hair at this very moment, but I am strongly considering one of the following looks:

I've done the stacked inverted bob (think Victoria Beckham) before and I'm sure you see a pattern here. I'd sort of like to go choppy, but I am not really sure how to style that. I do like the shorter bob with layers. Who knows. I'll just stew on the idea for awhile. Oh, I'm also open to suggestions!

Home

It's amazing how the simple word "home" has so many different meanings. Canada has never truly felt like home---nothing about it. Journeying across the border into WA (a state so different from MS) feels amazingly more normal than our everyday lives here in British Columbia. Maybe it's seeing MPH on the speed limit signs instead of KM/H; maybe it's knowing McD's and Wendy's have true dollar menus instead of $1.39 or $1.89 options; maybe it's seeing clearance prices at discount stores that are under $10-15 instead of seemingly stopping at $25 (how is that clearance?!). I know those are silly examples, but today my heart is just overwhelmed.

Hayden hates living here. That affects how I feel about it, even though I've tried to be very positive and find as many outlets as possible for us to meet families. The rain really does mess with your mind. I'm not depressed, but with it being dark so much of the day, it is hard to get motivated. Finding a job here is nearly impossible (unless we immigrate, and we're not). Honestly, I miss my house. My home. I miss my big kitchen and Hayden being able to run and jump and us not having to say, "Don't do that! The neighbors are going to complain!"

When we visited MS in November, we went "home." I don't so much miss the actual state as I do family, friends, and knowing where everything is. I have no idea who actually reads this thing, and I haven't updated much over the past few months because there are certain things we really didn't need to share with the entire world.

This year is going to be crazy; no doubt about it. We're not exactly sure how some things are going to play out right now. We have MANY decisions to make. 2012 was a year of growth and change and 2013 looks to be the same. There are things I can't share right now and there are things that will never make it to Facebook. I just needed to write. Ever feel that way? Right now, I'd love nothing more than to disappear for a weekend with David, but it's okay. I wish we knew everything God was going to do, but He surely has a sense of humor!