IN THIS UPDATE:
Joy and Trouble
What a year! 2022 was filled with so much joy, but also its fair share of troubles and trials as well. In it all — God has remained faithful! To be honest, I should’ve sat down to write this update many days ago, but I will totally pull the “new dad” card here and say it’s just been so crazy I didn’t find the time. That being said, I want to make this update informative, but also short. Here it goes…
A lot can happen in a year’s time. It’s crazy to think just within the past 365 days, I have experienced some of the lowest moments in life, along with some of the most joyful. This year, Steph and I can say that we have had some of the hardest days in our marriage, as well as the best days. We thank God that it goes in that order :). God has been teaching us so much together and we are thankful for where He has brought us from, and we look forward to where we are heading.
This year, we have also said goodbye to many close friends and family. In January, one of my closest friends passed away from brain cancer. This fall, my grandmother (I call her “Mamaw”) passed away. A few weeks later, my dear friend Elijah (19 years old) went to Heaven. Just a few weeks ago, Steph’s grandma passed away as well.
The Lord has allowed me to step into a fierce fight with anxiety this year — something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. At times, we wondered how we were going to continue on in ministry due to financial struggles. There were days when everything was on the table. There were days when we didn’t know what else to do but just pray and cry — then pray again.
Fighting anxiety, mourning the loss of close people in our lives, figuring out how to make things work financially — all of this is honestly just part of living. It may look different for you, but we all have struggles, and guess what? Struggles and hard times come every single year. Yep, I am already bracing myself for the new ones that will undoubtedly come our way in 2023. But God has taught me something that I will hold on to so tightly in 2023. With every struggle, panic, scary moment, and uncertain decision — in all of life’s craziness — He remains faithful.
God is good and gracious. He is strong and steady. He cares so deeply for us. I am so thankful that I can always rely on God in moments of madness. He comforts us through the hard times, and He graciously gifts us with amazing blessings in between — even in the midst of them.
With every struggle, panic, scary moment, and uncertain decision — in all of life’s craziness — He remains faithful.
This picture of the three of us is a testament to God’s faithful love and grace in our lives. This year, God blessed us with little Emma, our rainbow baby. He gave her to us in the same year with all the craziness I just mentioned.
Remember my friend who passed away in January? His name was Bruce. His son is Brady. I’ve been able to watch God do amazing things in Brady’s life this year. He went to summer camp at Word of Life, then on a missions trip with Word of Life, then was asked to come back to camp as a counselor, and now he is a student at the Word of Life Bible Institute! God is using him in great ways to have a great impact for the Kingdom and I know he is going to follow in his dad’s footsteps in ministry.
I could go on and on and share many examples of how God has used this crazy year — full of events that I would not have chosen — to bring glory to Himself and draw His people (including me) closer to Him. This is something I am so thankful for.
I am thankful that my God is working a perfect plan together. It may not always be the way I want things to pan out, but it will always be exactly what He wants for us. He will always provide grace and comfort. He always cares. He is always teaching us — if we will just listen and learn.
Going into 2023, Steph and I are so excited for many new things. We are excited to continually learn what it means to be parents. We are excited about my new role with Word of Life Youth Ministries. We are excited to see many people come to Christ and students being disciples.
Support Update
This may be one of the biggest ways God showed His goodness to us this year. We started on a journey to raise 100% of our funding for the ministry in September. We are praising the Lord for 100% pledged support and in January, we should be 100% funded for the first time ever! Praise God!
It was so encouraging to have many new people join our team and get behind our ministry and vision for the new role and reaching more churches, students, and leaders who work with them. Many faithful supporters also increased their support, and we were constantly in awe of God’s moving in hearts! We are thankful for His provision through His people.
Special Giving Opportunity
If you feel led, we do have a $4,000 goal for our project fund to make equipment purchases for my new role in the ministry. We are currently halfway there — at $2,000.
Click here to give online towards our project fund.
While we do have 100% of our support budget pledged, not 100% has come in yet. If you feel led to join our support team, we would be grateful for your investment in our lives and ministry.
Click here to join our support team.
2022 Recap (in pictures)
Hundreds of kids heard the Gospel at February Funtastic
Fascar rallies are always a blast!
Campus trip to the BI
I have had the opportunity to use some of my “tech skills” to assist our ministry
Over 3,000 students heard the Gospel at camp
Annual Leadership Development Conference
60+ students hear the Gospel at a 5th quarter party
28 students saved at Reverb ATL 2022!
Thank You
Thank you so much for taking the time to keep up with our lives and ministry. We cannot do what we do without you! We don’t want to do what we do without you! We need the faithful prayer and support of God’s people. Please be praying for us as we step into this new role in January and work to broaden the reach of our ministry.
We want to hear from you. Please feel free to send me an email with any prayer requests you may have. Also, I know this is a new and different format for us to update you. If you like this, please let us know. If you have suggestions, we will take those too.
Thank you again for reading. Until next time — God bless!