of labor and love

I'm writing this post from one of my favorite haunts on a snow-swept winter's day, killing time between a work meeting and a shift. Some time ago I wrote that I was on the hunt for another job, and after announcing this to my employer, things have taken some marvelous turns. I didn't want to leave my field of social work; I love what I do, and working for a Christian nonprofit is a ministry all its own. This is something I'd considered doing since high school, and over the years, I've only grown fonder of what I do. A couple years ago I was promoted to House Manager, basically running a group home; that extended to overseeing our remote clients; and now I'm being promoted yet again to 'Flight Coordinator,' overseeing the day-to-day operations of our day program. In addition to that, I'll be joining a colleague at Go Bloom, which is an employment agency specializing in vocational teaching and helping individuals with developmental disabilities find, secure, and flourish in places of employment. It's A LOT of work, and I'm working a shitload of hours (last week I put in eighty), but the hours should dwindle as I complete the transitions from one position to another. The biggest problem we're facing right now is finding someone to take over all my responsibilities as House Manager; when we have them lined up, and they see all that goes into it, they back out like they're running from a California wildfire. Though this has been exhausting, it's definitely an answer to prayer. If all goes to plan, I'll be firmly entrenched in my new roles by March.

This post is entitled "of labor and love."

The paragraph above covers labor.

And the paragraph below covers love.

Ashley and I have been looking for a new church home for a while now. We were going to Southwest Church up in Springboro, but when we moved to our new home, the commute was forty-five minutes. The commute, though tiring, wasn't the problem; the issue was that we want the girls to make friendships at church that they can invest into in a local sense. When I was in high school, most of my friends were from the youth group, and those friendships were paramount in my development as a Christian. We want the same for our girls, so we decided to look for something closer to us. Our search brought us to Northeast Church of Christ, just five minutes down the road, and after participating in Sunday School, bible classes, and worship services for several months, we met with the pastor (a man my size with pale-reddish skin who also went to C.C.U.; go figure!) and told him we'd like to put in our membership.

I'm excited that we've found a church home, and I believe that God really led us to Northeast. Our old church was 'seeker-sensitive' (to use a phrase from a bygone era), and as such the sermons were surface-level, geared towards those raised outside the faith. The pastor admitted that he rarely touches on 'uneasy' biblical doctrines in the fear of scaring anyone away. The girls weren't learning anything in their classes; they just sang songs and played games. It's different at Northeast: all of the testimony of scripture is laid bare, and the pastor and elders don't skirt around difficult subjects. Though it's more 'conservative' than we're used to (they're non-instrumental, so we just pretend we're in colonial Williamsburg), the worship seems more God-focused than what you find at other churches in the area, that make worship into a 'rock and roll' show. The people are extremely friendly, we've already made great connections, and the girls have made friends who are passionate about Jesus and the kingdom. And, in an odd twist, we found out we bought the youth minister's old home. Talk about providential eeriness!