The Sliter Migration: Part 3 (getting settled & a job!)

Every time I start to write one of these blog posts, I try to keep it short. But there is so much to say, so many exciting things happening, or just plain craziness, so I have a hard time keeping it short.

I've shared our decision to move to Texas as we continue our search for our next ministry position. And a few weeks ago, we were a scattered family as we moved our physical possessions 1,346 miles from one state to another.

Monday, April 15th, we were rejoined and got to enjoy the insanity of merging two households. Another God-moment in all of this is the blessing of moving in with my parents while we get our feet on the ground in a new state. They are "empty-nesters" as of this year, so got to enjoy that for about nine months before once again having a daughter living upstairs. And it's been about 18 years since they've had toddlers living at home. But they're loving it. Before coming, my mom and some local ladies helped prepare the bedrooms for us. While Nathan was making the drive to Texas, my dad and I worked on cleaning out and rearranging the barn and some storage space upstairs to hopefully fit all of our things so we didn't have to rent a storage unit. Once again God made things possible, and all of our things fit in the house/barn!

The inside of the house is a little crazy this last week though... new flooring is being laid in the main living areas, and it's taking longer than anticipated, so we halted unpacking and have spent a lot of time outside on my parents' five acres, or visiting my grandparents and sisters...

The exciting news in the life of Nathan: He has a job, starting tomorrow! Nathan had his first job interview down here on Wednesday, April 17th. Yes, you did the math right, it was less than 48 hours after getting to Texas. A few weeks before that, while looking on snagajob.com for a transitional job down here, he saw a posting for an assistant manager position at a local Chick-Fil-A (my parents live in the country, and this is only 15 miles away, pretty much as close as you can get for a job) and applied. Got an immediate call for an interview, but obviously was too far away. Called back the week of the move, and they set up the interview for the 17th. Nathan worked for Chick-Fil-A in highschool/college, so he thought maybe this would be a good fit.

That interview took two hours. Two hours of me anxiously awaiting word of how it was going. When we loaded up the moving van, he had to set out his suit on top of boxes in the van just so we knew he had it ready to go. He called me once the interview was over and we had our first Texas God-moment: both managers at the store really liked him and shared their need for a manager-type person to oversee team-building and employee care at the store. They wanted him on the team if they could work out a position for this. Thursday he was called back in for a meeting with the owner on Friday.

The meeting with the owner went really good as well, and it should have, because it lasted almost three hours. So more praying and fingernail biting (well, I don't really bite my nails, but I would have!). A three hour meeting is a good sign, right? The owner really liked Nathan's resume, especially his heart for encouraging and investing in others to see them reach their potential and would like to see him in management as well, but needed to figure out details. He is a believer and shared that a big part of why he owns the store is to invest in the workers and people who come through the doors, and he wants his managers to do the same.

So this last week Nathan got a call to go back in to discuss the details. For right now, he is hired for an 8-week trial period and will be learning the ropes of every aspect of working there, from the cash register to cooking the chicken. The route they would like to take is putting him on the fast track to learning the store inside and out, while not telling everyone he is a potential manager, so they can see how Nathan performs, as well as see if he meshes well with other employees. At the end of 8 weeks they will promote him in leadership. We're not sure at the moment what that next step will look like, or what the time frame might be, but are blown away that in the two weeks we have been here Nathan already has a job. It is full-time and will pay more than a normal retail/food chain position and will cover our monthly expenses right now.

I am just still amazed. We have been job searching like so many others for months now. And to have this happen so quickly as we took this blind step of faith is incredible. God provided a job at a local place (no long commutes), somewhere that is closed on Sundays so we can get plugged into a local church & also are available to candidate somewhere when those doors open, will financially cover our monthly expenses, and on top of all that, the owner and managers want him to encourage and invest in others, even share his faith with others. Yeah. Wow moments.

God is at work!

The Sliter Migration: Part 2 (Scattered Family)

For those of you who want to hear the details of our 1,346 migration from Warren, OH to Magnolia, TX here you go... 

Our official move date was Saturday, April 13th, which meant we loaded up the moving van on Friday, April 12th. As I mentioned before, having two active toddlers and packing was CRAZY, so God provided in a cool way: My dad used some frequent flyer miles to fly my mom and her best friend up to Ohio the weekend  before a whirlwind "girls trip" to Amish country, then to take our kids back to Texas with them to allow us some time finish packing.

So I enjoyed a 24hr. "break" from the insane house packing in Amish Country (Holmes County, OH) with my mom and her friend Friday-Saturday. The kids got to spend one last weekend with "Uncle Tim & Aunt Tina", a wonderful couple from our church who "adopted" our kids this last year and became like family, taking the kids for one night a month so Nathan and I could have some alone time. Can't even begin to express what a blessing that was without any "real" family locally... Just lots of "adopted" family & friends!

Sunday, April 7th, we attended our church one last time. It was bittersweet, seeing faces of fellow believers we may not see again this side of the Throne. But so encouraged by so many of them as one person after another shared their excitement for us as we take this step of faith (which is another motivation to continue to blog our "migration" so we can share what God is doing with our Ohio church family). It was definitely one of those days when I'm not sure why I even bothered to put on mascara, waterproof or not! :-)

Sunday afternoon was spent packing up my kids for their adventure to Texas. I talked to Levi about what the next few days would look like for him. Riding in a car with "Tink" (my mom), flying high in the sky in an airplane, playing & sleeping at Tink and PaPa's house... He was so excited to go, he wanted to help me pack. I should have taken a picture of the suitcase he packed... It was filled with cars, planes, and trains. Not a single piece of clothing. We know what is a priority to him!

But that night as I prepared the medical release stuff to send with my mom for the kids, checked the details for the hotels & flights the following weekend, etc... I saw how far away my two precious children were about to be: 1, 346 miles. And I could barely keep it together. I attached the map above so you could see. We were truly migrating from the north to the south, and I was not going to be in the same state as Levi & Ellie for 5 days.

The Lord has just continued to be present. Calmed my fears, gave me peace, and in this story, has also given those same things to my handsome boy and beautiful girl. Thank-you so much for your continued prayers for us. My mom and dad (PaPa and Tink) sent me pictures throughout the week, as well as daily set aside time for us to Skype/FaceTime, so I got to see for myself that my kids were loving their new home, as well as verbally tell them we were coming soon!

 

(playing at my parents' neighbors)

(enjoying a Texas rainstorm & their new umbrellas from Grandma Tink)

So thankful that my dad had enough frequent flyer miles to bless us this way (one-way tickets were RIDICULOUS, and he said he didn't need the miles now that we moved to Texas) and for modern technology that allowed me to see my kids and know they were doing well.

The remainder of the week flew by as we did the bulk of the packing without the kids underfoot, had some wonderful dinners with friends at the end of long days, and then the miraculous happened... we had condensed enough of our possessions that we fit into a 26ft. moving truck with the help of several men & teenage guys. It only took three hours to pack the entire truck. They were loading so fast that at one point I had to finally just say, "Take a break. There's only one of me and eight of y'all..." They were carrying off things quicker than I could finish packing, or asking for more tasks. I had a lingering fear throughout the move that we wouldn't fit, and I would have to choose what to leave behind. The months of selling things on a local facebook garage sale and giving things away paid off.

Saturday morning I flew out of Cleveland to join my kids in Texas, while Nathan and another friend (Scott) started the three day drive to Texas... Once again, another huge blessing. It enabled me to fly to join the kids sooner without having to give up those valuable packing days. To make another God story short, after many frustrating hours of trying to plan the details of flying the kids to Texas, God opened the doors for the frequent flyer miles route to cover the kids flights, and because of that, I realized I could use my own miles to cover my flight to Texas, as well as fly our friend back to Ohio. Cost? $2.50 one way. And look at what met me at the end?


Monday, April 15th, our entire family was once again joined together after a safe journey... And Nathan & Scott had a good (tiring drive). They stoppped at a Cabellas along the way, as well as touring the National Corvette Museum. Scott had never been this far South and was treated to Texas barbecue (brisket, ribs, sausage, and chicken) at the end of the long journey.

These are the details. But God has been doing so much more. The things that have happened, the experiences we have had, they have been part of a bigger story. We don't know all the details of our future, but this has definitely been a time in our life where we will look back and say, "See how God met those needs? He is faithful and will do it again."

Right now if you're in a season of not knowing what is next, take heart. "Keep your eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2) and talk to God about what you need (Phil. 4:5-6). And keep on praising Him. This journey has been exciting but also scary. I have cried, laughed, worried, hoped, gotten really excited, and plummeted... And sometimes that is all in one day!

If you made it all the way to the end of this, I know you're a friend who wants to check on us, hear what's going on, and also probably praying for us. Thank-you. Thank-you so much. We feel your prayers and are so blessed knowing that the body of Christ knows no physical boundaries. Whatever part of the US or beyond you are, thank-you. Our story goes on... We will keep our eyes on Jesus and keeping walking where He leads!

The Sliter Migration: Part 1 (the decision & God-sightings)

(Written on April 13th while flying to Texas)

It has been a while since I've sat down to write a new blog post about the adventures in our little household. At the end of February, we made the decision to move to Texas as we continue to pursue where God wants us to serve in ministry next. The last six weeks have been a whirlwind of preparing for this next step in our life adventure.

For the last year or so, Nathan and I have been reading from the New Living translation of the Bible, and Philippians 4:6-7 reads "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." 

For those of you who know me well, I love to plan and organize the details for events and trips. "Just winging it" is definitely not my style. Right now our little family of four is walking by faith in a new way that daily requires me to choose not to worry, trust that God is working out the details of our life, take my "needs" to Him, and praise Him for the ways He is working. On days when I don't know how I will get done, Hebrews 12:2 keeps coming to mind... "And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."

The simple story of where we're at in life is that we've been actively job searching for our next ministry position for over five months now. We've felt the Lord calling us to the Texas region to be nearer my family, so we're moving down there to do more searching in person, and will be living with my parents while we get our feet on the ground.

The God-story going on in our lives is so much deeper... From the very beginning of this decision (about six weeks ago), we have seen God in such incredible ways big and small. We wrote down our list of "needs" to physically make the move and started praying for them throughout our days. Within a week, our financial cost for the move was reduced by more than 50% in a variety of ways through a variety of sources. It became almost comical when we made phone calls to a company to take care of certain details or checked our mail and found unexpected letters from friends & family. These "needs" were being met by our incredibly faithful God, and greatly encouraged our hearts. 

And because I'm such a detail-oriented person, the second half of that verse is what surprised me the most... A peace literally filled me in ways I can't even describe or understand. When I shared our decision with friends and family, I remember thinking almost every time "I sound a little crazy... This decision doesn't make rational sense, yet here I am excited and walking forward in it!" 

But let me say that while I have been filled with a peace that has motivated me towards our unknown future, there have still been many (many!) days of craziness in the Sliter household. Packing up an entire household with a beautiful 16m old daughter who loves to climb EVERYTHING and a 3 year old son who thrives on routine/consistency has had many challenges. And I have surprised myself with how emotional I have been some days. This was our first place to live as a couple, this is the house we brought two newborns home to and watched them grow... We love our neighbors and were involved in a small group with other couples in similar life stages. I have walked alongside many teenage girls in our youth group through their junior high and high school years. 

But seeing all the ways that God has been working, all the doors He is making FLY open, we are filled its anticipation for what is next. We have continually felt God leading us to new ministries: Nathan to lead corporate worship and preach more, and myself to get involved in teaching/discipling women and hopefully planning community ladies events. We know that's what we're being called to, and leaving the details of where, when, and how for the Lord to reveal to us in his time. That's where Hebrews 12:1-2 reminds me daily of how I can keep walking forward in the midst of unknown things and the craziness of transition with toddlers. The only way we can do this is by "keeping our eyes on Jesus".

This was a little long, but this is my heart right now. Continue to pray for us. Find us on Facebook or write us an email. Here are a few prayer requests for the next couple of weeks:

- for all of us as a family to settle into my parents' house and experience our new home for this season. Especially for the kids who probably don't understand that there is no going back to Ohio...

- for Nathan as he is applying for transitional "secular" work in the area

- for both of us as we continue to seek where God wants us involved for future ministry... Whether its neighbors, coworkers at "secular" jobs, and eventually a church or ministry organization, we want to follow where God leads us and not pursue something out of our own desires