Moved!!

We've moved our blog to a more daily one of sorts. You can now find us at: nickandsamjones.com

Happy New Years!!!

Summer Lovin'

Oh man...it's June & I have yet to post anything since March. Please forgive me. We are doing well just staying very busy with Griffin with us most of the summer. What a blessing the LORD has given us to pour into him & show Christ to him.

As of Late...

I have decided I'm going to try to be more diligent about writing here. It does so much good for my soul to have this outlet of writing. So much more good than I ever dare let on. ;) The past few months have brought with it some much needed clarity into our lives that we've been praying for & longing for. The LORD has been so precious to us in the times that we felt so very alone & discouraged. I cannot comprehend why the LORD has been this good to us, but His presence has been thick & sweet as we've felt Him leading us into new places & seasons.

First off, I have really been struggling through this semester of school. I often love school but I loathe mundane assignments & teachers that are unprepared. How am I supposed to understand a subject & enjoy learning if a teacher is unwilling to actually teach but rather read powerpoints & then we are liable for all information on the subject. This could be an entirely different blog post & rant in & of itself, but needless to say...I have had a HARD time learning & enjoying learning this semester. Which leads me to something deeper. When I came to SWBTS, I had a desire to pursue college ministry...not counseling but found myself in a dual-degree program in which to be a licensed counselor. It wasn't something I even really sat down & thought about but just pursued this program because that's what I was "told I needed to do". Do I believe I am called to counsel? Yes. Do I believe I am called to be a licensed counselor? Not necessarily. Have I fallen into this weird system of someone else telling me what I need to do? Yes. Do I love college students & desire to mentor & impact lives for the Gospel? YES. Do I love where I am right now? No.

Saying all of this, I have found myself in a program that is falling apart (literally ending over the next year) & being pushed to make decisions that my heart just doesn't want to do. I know some of you reading this are probably thinking, "well stop doing what you're doing & start doing what you want to do". It's probably really obvious to you that that's what I "should" be doing...but then it'd just be someone else telling me what I should be doing rather than me making up my mind on my own. Part of me writing this out is an effort for me to make up my mind. :) So here I am...in school pursuing a license in counseling (LPC) & having no desire to even use that LPC...doing mediocre at best in my classes because of my lack of motivation & teachers that just want to finish the program. So what do I do? This is the questions I've been asking myself daily. What. Do. I. Do? Finish the semester? Drop out this semester & start "over" in the fall? What program do I want to pursue? Am I even supposed to have a Master's degree? So. Many. Questions.

Overall, I know my heart is for ministry & I know that I do not desire to have my own counseling practice. Although very practical & very financially smart...it is not who I am nor what I am called to do. I believe that I will be able to use skills I have learned thus far in my education as well as Biblical knowledge, discernment & the spirit of a counselor that the LORD has placed in me to give advice & wisdom to others in whatever venue the LORD takes me. He does it daily. What makes me think it will be any different in the future? I know some of the steps I need to take, but waiting on the LORD to reveal the "next step" so to speak.

Secondly, Nick & I are in this really weird season where we enjoy our jobs but know it's definitely not something we want to be doing long-term. He works as a landscaper & I work as a Mental Health Professional...My job = stressful, lots of paperwork, all of my extra time & constant state of thinking & evaluating. Nick's job = mundane, takes him away from people & tiresome which takes him away from schoolwork when he gets home & doesn't want to do anything but relax & talk. We know & understand that our jobs are from the LORD & we are exactly where the LORD has placed us for this season. However, our hearts are both longing for something more. Nick is looking for various other opportunities for work & I am content where I am until the LORD allows me to be a stay-at-home wife/mother/college minister (what I truly want to do) so that I can focus on our home, our marriage, gifts the LORD has gifted me in (music, art, encouragement, etc).

The LORD has been so good to us. Financially, we are at a place I never thought we'd be (able to pay back student loans, get out of that debt, etc.). In our family, we feel a strong desire & even urge to grow our family (more on that in a later blog)...& maybe not necessarily in the "conventional" way of doing so (i.e. adoption). The LORD has given us ideas for starting a business, ideas for raising support & also ideas for pouring into people & relationships around us. I'm so thankful for the burst of creativity & peace He has been giving us. I feel like we're on the brink of something huge but not quite sure what it is. Pray with us & for us will you?

I think that's all for now.

Blessings,
Sam

6 months...almost 7.

I realized today that I (Sam) haven't given you guys an update in quite some time. I'll try to give some highlights of the past few months for you. Our last post was September but our last "update" was August. Well....lots has happened since then.


September marked many things in our lives. September marked 2 months marriage, the end of my job for me at World Relief & the beginning of a new job for me at Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County. I had been working helping refugees obtain jobs. Such a rewarding, yet exhausting job. There are many days I miss working with the community that I did...there's just something about working with fellow believers. However, now I work doing intensive rehab with schizophrenic & bipolar adults. Such an intense job but so fun & interesting & is giving me SO MUCH experience. September marked the 2nd month of the 2nd year of Seminary for Nick, while I took the semester off to begin my new job & settle into working full time!
October marked 3 months! I don't really remember much that happened in October other than we were both really stressed out from working, life, etc.

November marked 4 months of marriage! We were able to go home for a couple of days around Thanksgiving to spend with our families. I began Advocare & lost 12lbs! I am also now selling it so let me know if you are interested in great vitamins & nutrition for your body. :)


December marked 5 months of marriage! December also marked Christmas! We were able to spend a whole week at home in Mississippi with our families!!! Nick bought me an easle for my art & a $50 gift certificate for a massage! I bought us tickets to Passion 2011 in Fort Worth! He was VERY excited. :)

January marked 6 months of marriage! It also marked my 26th birthday! Nick got me a huge trunk to put all my blankets in. I love it! Nick also took me to "Nick & Sam's Steakhouse" in Dallas for dinner. Reeeaaallllllyyyyyy expensive but pretty tasty food.

February marks Valentine's day! On the 17th we'll celebrate 7 months of marriage! This past week Nick has been out of town in Jacksonville, FL for the huge pastor's conference. He's been gone since last Thursday & will be coming home tomorrow so I'm VERY excited!!! :) I've missed my sweet husband & am so ready to hear all that the LORD has taught him. He is also getting to preach tonight in Pensacola at friend's of ours church.




I know this has been a pretty lame update & hasn't been all that informative but just gives you a brief synopsis of our lives as of late. :)

-sam

Tyler Durden: “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy stuff we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact.”

Trust.

Recently Nick & I have really been seeking the LORD & convicted about our trust (or lack of) in the LORD. Of all the people we should be relying on, it should be the LORD, but so often we are trusting in ourselves. It seems that each morning as I'm opening the Bible & seeking to know more about the LORD, He is constantly revealing to me how much I am not trusting Him. My question is, what am I holding onto that is still saying that I trust myself more than the LORD? What am I so quick to yield to Him? These are the questions plaguing my heart today.

"The LORD is my strength & my shield; in Him my heart trusts, & I am helped; my heart exults & with my song I give thanks to Him." - Ps. 28:7

one more for the day...