A Porch With A View

August 28, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres3 Comments

If you’ve ever asked God to lead you and to work in your life miraculously, you know the warmth that overwhelms your entire being when you recognize His will, follow Him and watch Him work. It is absolutely incomparable to anything else you’ve ever experienced.

Almost a year ago to the day, Craig and I knew we were ready to move on from our house in Dallas. Where were we to go? We had no idea. But we knew it was time for something different. At the time, we figured just another house in Georgia would do, and so we set about looking at the worldly ‘figures’ of how we would make that transition. With the market the way it was, we knew our house needed something to make it stand out from the crowd and with our new addition, Lucy, we decided that something was a fence.

So, we started building. And while it was a great addition for Lucy, and not much later, Caroline, when we finally got around to putting our home on the market, the fence wasn’t enough. We needed something more.

We prayed. We asked for God’s Will to be done. We gave up OUR desires and OUR dreams and OUR “ME ME ME!” attitude, and we asked God to soften our hearts to hear His voice in the matter. It wasn’t long before we ended up at FullTurn Church, where we began to insurmountably grow in our faith, and it wasn’t long thereafter that Craig came to me with the ‘suggestion’ from God that we simply “PACK”.

As you know from previous blogs, we ignored that suggestion – until we absolutely couldn’t let His voice fall on deaf ears any longer, and we packed.

Never in our wildest dreams did we consider God would move us to Maine. But He did.

As I sit on our patio this afternoon, with a cool breeze blowing in my hair, I look out at the steeple and the cross I can see in front of me, and I feel the warmth of His Presence.

As I sat in my office at St. Bartholomew’s in Cape Elizabeth yesterday, I pondered how will I get everything ready for my youth group in time?!?! And God whispered, “Don’t worry. Follow me. I will show you. I will lead you. I will guide you. Don’t forget, I lead you here for my purpose.”

It is a wonderfully freeing understanding to realize that following Jesus doesn’t mean you are ‘dropped off in an unknown place’ and left to your own devices. It means that as long as you are in His Will, He’s holding your hand.

Isaiah 41:10

¹⁰Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
    I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Sometimes I don’t think we realize just WHO God is. The King of the Universe is your guide – not your horrible boss, or your overbearing ruler. He is both your Creator and your constant companion. Take heart.

Love You All.

TTC Tuesday

So Much To Be Thankful For!

August 26, 2014August 28, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Today’s Blog:

Food For Thought Friday

If You Could See Our House…

August 15, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

…you would have no trouble understanding the lack of a blog this week.

As if moving all the way up the Eastern Seaboard isn’t enough of a job, we are also having a Garage/Moving Sale and had the “fun task” of moving the antique piano back to my parents’ house this week…all while I’m still working out this last week in Atlanta!

Tired, exhausted…those words don’t begin to describe it! I think the last time I got more than 4 hours of sleep in a row was several weeks ago – maybe God is just preparing us for our future as parents. 😉

Oh I cannot tell you how much we are going to miss Georgia…but He really has some great things in store for us! It’s exciting to know we are on the brink of tackling a challenge solely for the Kingdom of God!

So, while I apologize for this short blog post…and especially the lack of updates this week, I THANK YOU for your patience and your prayers as we make our way to Maine and embark on our latest journey!

Stay Tuned!

Food For Thought Friday

A Great “To-Go” Recipe FOr Kids (& Some Adults)

August 8, 2014August 6, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Good Morning Folks!

We have a fun recipe for y’all today – Vlog Style! It was fun getting to pretend I had my own Food Network or Cooking Channel show for a little bit! 😉 Of course, you’ll need to view this video in a browser. So, if you received this post in an e-mail, simply click on the title (in blue) at the top of the e-mail, and you will be redirected to the website, which will enable the video to be played.

Wasn’t that such a quick and easy “semi-homemade” fix? I made these for Craig to take on his trip for simple, portable meals and they worked out great! He loved them and they are simple to make and easy to pack for lunch! All of you pilots’ wives out there, keep this one in mind! 🙂

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend everyone! We are off to Portland tomorrow for the day, and we’ll be sure to snap a few pictures to share next week!

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Conversations With God

August 7, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

So often people send me an e-mail or stop me in a conversation and tell me how ‘lucky’ I am that God speaks to me in the way He does. I have simply replied with a smile or a knowing nod, and left the topic at that. Thinking I should elaborate, but never delving into that discussion.

Until now.

This entire week, I have been nudged by the Lord to speak about this – about the way He speaks. To all of us. Yes, every single one. All we have to do (and we aren’t) is listen.

Job 33:14-18

¹⁴For God speaks in one way,
    and in two, though man does not perceive it.
¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night,
    when deep sleep falls on men,
    while they slumber on their beds,
¹⁶then he opens the ears of men
    and terrifies them with warnings,
¹⁷that he may turn man aside from his deed
    and conceal pride from a man;
¹⁸he keeps back his soul from the pit,
    his life from perishing by the sword.

Why do we think that the God of the Bible isn’t the same One who reigns today? He is the same miraculous, omniscient, wonderful Guide and Counselor who spoke to Moses, Abraham, Job & Paul. He wants nothing more than to have a real, true relationship with His children – and we are His children.

Let’s take into account what prayer is. Prayer is a conversation with God -conversation means both parties speak! When you pray you come to God was thanksgiving; you come to God with requests; you come to God with concerns. But do you realize that if you only sit and listen, He answers?

You may not hear from Him in verbalized words. He may speak to you as you are reading His Word. He may speak to you through a friend or loved one. He may speak to you in the written words of another. He may speak to you within a sign in the environment. Remember that this world is His creation, and He can speak to you however He chooses.

He chooses how you will listen best.

Personally, I have asked God to be blunt with me. I need that. I will be the first to admit I am hard-headed as a brick wall! And literally, He answered that prayer for me! He is blunt
with me… As long as I listen!

Think about the nature of God. The Bible tells us that God literally is love. So what kinds of things do you think of when you think of love? What are traits that go along with love? Generosity, kindness, happiness, goodness, caring, diligence, compassion … If God is love and these traits and many others are representative of love, then wouldn’t these things be spoken to you by God?

We humans, by nature, are not filled with love and generosity and peace and goodness. We are filled with the greed, with selfishness, with anger. These things are human traits. These things are of the world – not of God.

So when you feel something deep in your bones that is good, honest and pure. That is God. That is not you; that is not the world; that is not Satan.

When the desire to do something out of the kindness of your heart comes about, that is the Lord speaking to you.
You can even test what you heard to make sure that it is of God and not yourself. You can read the Bible to see if what you feel is coming from God is biblical. You can pray about what you feel God is telling you. You can see the work of God in the lives and environment around you, and qualify that it is verifiably from God.

If you are one of a married couple, you can speak to your husband or wife and let them know what you feel God is telling you. I tell Craig when I feel God is speaking to me. We both pray about what I feel the Lord is saying or what Craig feels God is telling him.

If it is truly from God, and not of ourselves, we will both begin to feel the same way and feel without a shadow of a doubt that the message is from God. If not, we know that it is a personal desire and not of the Lord.

For example, when we first put our house on the market, we looked at another home. We both, after much prayer, felt that the Lord was leading us to humble ourselves. We felt that He was leading us to do more for His Kingdom and less for ourselves. The home we felt He was leading us to would be small and well under our budget.

We found one that fit the bill and I, for one, fell in love with it! It was way under budget, and it was the kind of house I could see us in, complete with a front porch swing! Craig did not feel the same way. Not at all. But still I really felt like this could be our house!

We both prayed about it for months! But Craig never felt God speaking to him in that way at all! In the end, I realized it was my own personal desire. I felt the house would be a quick fix for us, and I personally wanted the house. God was not leading us to that place. He was, in fact, leading us to be more humble, but not to that house.

He really does speak to all of us! We need only be still and listen to him!

TTC Tuesday

Pack!

August 5, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres3 Comments

When we listed our home for sale on the morning of March 28th, it was with excitement and a sense of the unknown. We knew we wanted to move into a new home, but we weren’t sure where…or when…or what it would be like; we just knew that we were not living in “our” home. But besides the feeling we were living somewhere that wasn’t ‘the place for us’, there were no onlookers to our home, not many bites, no phone calls of interest….and frustration set in.

Not too much later – some time in April, Craig came to me and said, “God is asking us to pack.”

But, sadly, we didn’t listen. Each weekend there was a different excuse:

“I’m tired.”

“We’re too busy.”

“Where will the boxes go?”

“What will we eat off of if we pack up all the plates?”

…so we never really packed…

Until, one day, we truly decided to delve into making Maine our new home. We had chosen that I would take my Post-Baccalaureate pre-requisite courses through the University of New England – in Maine, and Craig would be flying out of Portland…On a whim, I sent out applications for several positions in the Portland area…and like a rocket got some responses…Then an interview…and then, I felt a still, small voice whisper that I needed to be looking in the local church bulletins, not on Craigslist.

And so I did… and lo’ and behold the first bulletin I found was for “Cluster 22” which included 3 parishes and a parochial school just outside of Portland…and they were looking for a Youth Minister…and contemporary musical talent.

Thank you, Lord, for your bluntness.

I need that.

I e-mailed the contact person…and she e-mailed back…and we scheduled an interview…

And before I knew it, I was standing in the narthex of St. Bartholomew’s in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, after just having seen what would be my office, and discussing Athens, Georgia – the common birthplace of both me and my interviewer!

The flight I non-revved home that evening was supposed to be full – as in no way, no how was I going to make that flight. And before I knew it, OVERSOLD turned into 7 available seats…and my name was miraculously at the top of the list.

I returned home excited. We talked things over. We prayed. I got a job offer from St. Bartholomew’s to become their Youth Minister. And then a phone call for a ‘shadow’ with the other position I had interviewed for.

I turned in my notice at work, and we began making plans to move. Packing.

And later that week, I received a phone call from a real estate agent. For some reason, she had chosen my number from the three listed – our realtor (my Dad), Craig and me – but I was at work and able to talk which is very unusual – and also in an extremely ‘tell it like it is’ mood.

She asked if she and her clients could view our home that morning. Craig just ‘happened’ to be home, and was able to spot-shine the house and take the dogs to the park – so that worked out perfectly. But before I let the agent get off the phone, I told her, “Please tell your clients, if they like our home, to make an offer. We are very motivated. We are moving to Maine, and we are ready to sell and move forward. Make an offer, ANY OFFER! Oh, and by the way, we have upped our commission to 4% for the buyers’ agent – just wanted to make sure you had seen that in the listing.”

And that evening, we received a phone call. Not only had we received an offer on our house. We received a full-price offer with (only) a 3% commission – not even taking the 4% we had offered!!!!

And today, when Craig was waiting for the inspector to show up the couple who have our home under contract made it a point to let him know, and to share with me, that our home was the answer to their prayers. They feel led by the Lord to our home!!

Whoa….

When we submit to His Will…the things that can occur are nothing short of miraculous!

The moral of the story is: “When He tells you to pack, don’t wait one single second. PACK NOW!”