UPDATE!

First of all I need to apologize for not updating our blog in FOREVER!! It had been neglected.

So we never thought that we would still be in Lempster in September, but God is good and he has a plan for everything. We are patiently waiting to see where we will live. We are hopeful that the Johnson's have found a house that is suitable for their family, (and for us) and that the contract will go through 'sans problems'. If that be so, we will hopefully be moving to Keene by the end of October. We are looking forward to spending much time with the Johnson family and learning from their wisdom and experience. I am thrilled to be able to help Tiffany with the kids and get to know them all better.

Crossway Church, the new church we are helping to plant in Keene, NH had it's first Sunday service this past Sunday. The Lord was faithful to provide us a place where we can meet without disturbing a family's home, where we are able to leave our equipment, and where they provide coffee :D The E.F. Lane Hotel is in a prime location right on Main Street, and right down the road from Keene State College. We are even able to have a separate room for the nursery! God is good!

I have found a place in Keene where I can practice massage, sharing space with another massage therapist out of Keene. I am also looking for a part time job to fill my time until my clientele is up enough. I am open to suggestions and referrals of jobs in the Keene or Newport areas :) Ben's business is going well. We now have a brother in Christ working for Ben as an employee, which is the next step in growing his business. We are continually praying for God to provide work for Ben, and that we will be faithful stewards of what he has provided us with. They are scheduled to start a large job within a month or so. If the job goes well, he has an opportunity to take a contract for an extremely large new home, which would provide consistent work for many months. Please pray!

We are in the process now of saving money and planning for the future. We are both excited for a family in the future and are trying our best to use the resources around us to do that. None of this would be possible without God, and we are so grateful that he has chosen us to be called his children. We don't deserve anything except Hell, and being spared that is the greatest gift of all.

"May the matchless name of Jesus,

Be the emblem of our lives,

May the power of his presence,

Mark our hearts with Holy fire,

May we imitate His holiness,

That all might see the light,

May your name be lifted High."

Tennessee

As some of you may already know, we may have an opportunity to move to Knoxville, TN to start a church. If you know much about us, you would probably think what we first though, "No way!" It was a really scary thought to think that we would be living a thousand miles away from our family, in a place we've never been and are completely unfamiliar with. We would miss our family first and foremost, but the little things like a New England winter, our lakes, the quiet and seclusive area we wanted to live in, all the things about living in New Hampshire.

This opportunity has come in a perfect time in our lives. We are not well-established in NH yet, we do not have young children, and both of our jobs are relatively move-able. The prospect of a fresh start sounds great to us, and with the opportunity of more work for Ben, and a better economy, we have to consider that maybe this is where we should be.

We decided to pray about it and see what kind of door God would open. The biggest thing for us, is work for Ben. Tennessee would provide another 3-4 months of outside work for Ben, and with the cost of living being significantly less than up here, we could own a house and start a family a lot sooner than we could up here. The job market in Knoxville is thriving and there a is a lot of development in the suburbs.

So far there is one other family that is committed to go to Tennessee, and there would have to be about 5 in order to have enough support to start a church. We are leaving this in God's hands, and we will follow His will, whatever that may be.

We would most likely not move to Tennessee permanently, we would always have the option of moving back to NH. However, if it is God's plan for us to live in TN, how can we argue?

Please pray for all of us involved that we are wise is decision-making, and that God opens doors and shuts them accordingly. Our big 'yes button' is a job for Ben. If we do end up officially having this opportunity, we will be looking for a job opportunity for Ben.

If we do leave for TN we will be going with church friends and family. While we will be without our families, we will have close friends that I'm sure we will grow even closer to. We would be working hard to do the Lord's work, and if that is where God wants us, I can't think of any place better to be. To God be the glory!

Left Behind

First things first, I am realizing that we do not have much to blog about yet, but I will do my best to find things to write about. With that said, I have just started reading the Left Behind Series. For a while now I have wanted to read them, having always been interested in the End Times and what will happen on the Earth once Christ raptures his flock. Not that it matters too much to us as Christians because we will not be here, but it still interests me greatly to know what God has in store for those that are left behind. So far the first book is great. I have seen the two movies that were made about the books, and they are not too far off. There is a lot of opinions where the Bible doesn't make things clear, like how everything will happen and so on and so forth, but I think it makes it more real to hear it in a storyline we as people can relate to.
It has made me think about things lately. If we as followers of Christ were raptured today, or tomorrow, how many people that I know that are close to me would be left behind? People that I care about and love so much would be here to endure the tribulation. While this might be their fault,that they did not repent when they should have, I can't help but feel sombered by the thought, "Can I do more?" "Should I say more?" Some of the people that matter most to me may not be saved. I know their salvation is not on my shoulders, and that God himself saves, and not us at all, but having said that, I am also called to be a whitness, to be sharing the gospel and to be making disciples of Christ. Am I using all I have to serve Him and to further His kingdom? Or could I be raptured tomorrow, leaving them behind, when they could have been serving Christ?

First Blog

So this is our first blog ever. Hopefully we will find the time to keep up with it and keep everyone updated about our lives and what we are doing.

To give everyone a general update:
Ben is working for himself, Lambert Painting.
Heather is currently working at Hannaford in New London as a cashier and customer service associate. Hopefully this will change in March when I am licensed in Massage Therapy.
We are living in Sunapee, NH in a very tiny apartment.
We have one cat, Mittens. Someday we will have dogs...someday.
We are planning on building a house sometime in the near future. Just how near is up to God.
We have big plans for our future, but we are still sucking in the knowledge and wisdom of people around us and the incredible teaching of our church. We have a lot to learn.
We attend a GREAT church in Plainfield, NH. Christ Community Church.

I think this is good for our first blog. More to come soon!