Dads

I know Father's Day was a couple days ago, but I didn't get a chance to write since my dad wanted to go on a 7 mile, 3 hour hike that my body was not prepared for, especially cause I have been sick as of late. And my thighs are still sore.

Thus, the delay.

I have considered myself so blessed to have my father in my life. He is my real father, or biological father, as some would say. He has been to every basketball game, church play, teacher conference.. you name it. He has worked all kinds of jobs to make sure we were provided for and so my mama could stay at home most of our growing up years. He has taught me all about what it means to not give up, to be somebody, and to do whatever God asks of us whole-heartedly and passionately. And he taught me all about having fun... enjoy life, play games, don't be worried. That is one of the most important things he has ever shown me.

I love my dad and wouldn't trade him for anyone.

But you know how even more blessed I am? I have adopted even more men as my dad's. Papa Gid and Captain Kirk as I affectionately call them. Gid and Kirk are 2 of my friend's bio daddies, but I really have adopted them as my dad too. And I would like to say they consider me family as well.

How amazing is that? I have been blessed to have 3 dads when some people don't even have 1.

I am a lucky lady.

Pastor, Servant

I apologize for the blog post absence. Life has been a bit hectic and I have been a bit uninspired as of late. But today, I am most definitely not.


Today, June 7th, 2012, I am officially a licensed pastor with the Assemblies of God.


I love this for a few reasons. #1) These last few years at school are paying off. I finally have something to show for them. #2) This has been a goal of mine since I was a little girl. #3) The A.G. is where its at


But with this title comes a lot more than just excitement and it means a lot more than just a goal reached. It means that if I introduce myself as Pastor, there may be an unjust stigma on me. It also means that I am responsible for a lot. James 3:1 says, "Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly." Being a pastor is not easy, as some might assume. Yes, I do work more than just Sundays and I get paid less than minimum wage. I don't get vacation time or health insurance. I have to know my stuff for when everyone asks. 


Yet, this is not even my biggest concern. My concern is that people are going to see me as a judgmental, stuffy, unloving, hypocritical person which is how many in America would describe a Pastor when asked. I want to emulate Jesus. I want to exude love. A title is nothing more than something that people put on other people. And I am not trying to downplay being a pastor, because obviously I am stoked. 


I think though that instead of "Pastor" Brittany it should be "Servant" Brittany. Thats what I am. Forget the pastor, forget the stigma. I am simply a lover, a follower, a servant of Christ.

Panic

My husband needs a new computer. I need a new job. I think we will have $13 after we pay rent. The car needs a tune-up. I have a few thousand dollars worth of debt I need to start paying on.

This is just life, right?

Money sucks. Sometimes being an adult sucks.

In my head, I know I don't have to be worried. We are always taken care of. Always. And I have gotten a lot better about not panicking. But today, I am in panic mode. It is so hard to transfer that knowledge from my head to my heart sometimes.

Breathe. Trust. Patience. Relax.... So much easier said than done.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Matthew 6:25-26

Like We Are Called

The Cost of Ministry

Saturday my best friend married my husband's best friend.
This week, she will return from her honeymoon and travel 3 hours away from me to make her new home with her new husband and join him as youth pastor at a church on the coast.

I am beyond excited for her. Marriage has been the biggest blessing in my life. Ministry has been another huge blessing for me.

Am I sad? Absolutely.

This move means that she will be 3 hours away. This move means we will no longer see each other at school. This move means that the girl in my life who has become my best friend and the man who has become my husband's closest friend is gone.

Why 3 hours away? Because they are youth pastors. And the coast is where God has called them. Don't get me wrong... I am excited for them. Jeff is a great youth pastor. And they have a great thing going on. But in my selfishness I hate that they are so far away. Jenny has never been this far away. She has always been just a small drive away.

This is not the first person in my life who has moved far away because of ministry. I am finding that this happens all the time in ministry. My first youth pastor is now a missionary in Germany. A friend of ours is now in Portland working as a children's pastor. Someday we will be called somewhere else too.

I guess this is just the cost of ministry.

Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I had a normal job. If my friends had a normal job. We could raise our babies together, go on double dates, go to church together... But that isn't what I was put on earth to do. Ministry is what I am meant to do. And so I will do it. I will sacrifice because Christ first sacrificed for me. I will put effort into keeping a close relationship with Jenny and Jeff with an understanding that they are where God wants them and Daimian and I are where God wants us.

Sometimes the cost of ministry is tough. But it is something I am willing to pay.

My Best Friends Wedding

A few pictures from one of the most bittersweet days I have ever had. More on that later.

I love this woman.

We're sexy and we know it...

Our besties

The boys. This pretty much sums up their bromance.

True Love

I am passionate about marriage.

I love it.

I am passionate about divorce. 

I hate it.

I think one of the most tragic things suffocating America today is divorce. 

But this video punches divorce in the face.

It says to those people who have "fallen out of love" and have "irreconcilable differences" to get over it.

This is true love. This is marriage and love the way that God designed it.