You know those moments of clarity when you know, just know, that God has spoken to you? I'm not talking an audible voice, but a feeling deep in your soul that confirms what you've been feeling all along?
Yeah, me too. And this was exactly what happened to me this this past weekend as we were in Texas. And I'm still in awe of how God works... that He is Lord over all and yet, He comes down to our level to engage us, to speak to us, to love us... crazy.
I have alot going through my head as I look back on the weekend. And I have alot to share! But until tonight when I can share some deep thoughts, here's what our weekend looked like...
We arrived in Fort Worth late Thursday night, and checked into the hotel-style accommodations on Southwestern Baptists Theological Seminary's campus. It was really nice, and really clean and they had some special extras or us; robes, slippers, complimentary juices, muffins, and snacks waiting in our room. Sweet!
The next morning, we trekked over to the main building and started our tour:
The seminary is beautiful, and nature-y and everything I could want our family to be a part of (more on the details next post). But the picture below is one of the main reasons both Justin and I feel passionate about attending SWTBS:
They are incredibly missional and LIVE it. In fact, the President of this huge, well known respected campus participates in evangelism, handing out tracts and witnessing to others at some of the nearby hotspots (malls, restaurants, etc), where people are lost and have no knowledge of Christ. They do mission trips quarterly (and in fact, you are required to go on at least one before you graduate at the Masters level). They also have Evangelism nights, really cool programs designed to spread the gospel, and offer a degree specializing in missions alone.
So we spent about 5-6 hours checking out the campus (prayer garden, rec center, library, baptism center, medical office, chapel, classrooms, etc) before sitting down with some of the faculty. They had us separate into 3 very small groups; the MDiv students (Justin and two other guys) sat down with a professor in the field of study Justin is interested in. And to my surprise, they had a professor of Women's Studies there for us three wives as well.
So while Justin chatted with his professor, whom he loved and felt an instant 'connection' to in regards to theological positions, I spoke to the coordinator of the Women's programs. Turns out they offer biblical classes just for the wives, at just $25 per a semester class, complete with childcare. They offer these to prepare us for the lives that God may be planning; leadership, being a pastors wife, womens missions, etc..
Alicia and I spoke for about an hour regarding their extensive homeschooling program, women's classes, campus life, etc. I left feeling super excited, encouraged and ready to be a part of the tight knit seminary family :)
(I'm trying to keep this short so forgive me to skimming over things). Suffice it to say, both Justin and I felt at home there :)
After spending all day researching and investigating the seminary, that night we headed to downtown Fort Worth. Again, it was really nice; a different feel since it's a big city but there was LOTS to do.
And since we were in downtown, my husband splurged and took me to Ruth's Chris. WOW! The food was amazing, but eeek! Expensive! It was definitely a once in a verrrry long time treat!
The next day, Saturday, was neighborhood searching. We spent ALL day looking at the neighborhoods surrounding the seminary to see where we could afford to buy a house outright with cash. We checked out restaurants, Walmarts, parks and other areas where we'd be frequenting. We found a few areas where we wouldn't want to live, and we found a bunch of areas where we would want to live. We fell in love with a nearby little town, and the affordable houses in it.
This is where I began to get ahead of myself and plan out my life :) Thankfully, my other half sweetly reminded me that we are here for God, not for us. God has it planned out and His will is good. Even if He calls us to one of the areas where I don't want to go to, He knows what's best and I trust Him. And ultimately, I want to do His will and if that means moving to an area that needs to hear the gospel, I'm in. Even if that means people nearby don't mow their lawns :)
After that bit of redirection (thanks again babe!), we simply enjoyed ourselves and looked around our hopefully soon-to-be home. I promised Lauren I'd take lots of pictures of parks for her because that's what she's most concerned about, the parks :) But not to worry, there were tons!
We also got a kick out of the Texas roads out there. We got lost MANY times because the Texas freeways are crazy(!!!), filled with 'loops' and other system's designed to get you lost.
We also found alot of funny things in Texas. One of the signs said 'Don't barrel through work zones!'. Barrel= speed. But nothing compares to this:
We call them 'road bumps', they call them 'humps'. Hahaha ;)
The next morning we met up with Justins mom an brother who live about half an hour away. We all attended church (more on that next post!) and then went for breakfast. It was great seeing them and sitting down and planning out what Texas will will like for us :)
And after 3 days of all things seminary and Texas, it was time to head home. And that's where the cool things began to happen. More on that to come :)
