Waiting: My Story: Part 1

     If you had told me last year that I'd be engaged by December of this year, I wouldn't have believed you! I've had my moments, when I doubted Gods plans for me, and doubted that I'd ever be in a relationship, much less, married!
     In July of this year,(2014) I wrote a blog post for my birthday: http://daughterofdestiny generation78.blogspot.com/2014/07/greater-expectations.html ... in this blog post, I have another perspective on the little things of life that God blessed me with throughout this last year, instead of looking at it as, an un-married woman.

     After I wrote that blog post, about 2 weeks later, I saw Mark Robinette and his family at a church Family Camp. I met Mark earlier that year, when he came to Russia with us, so I was excited that he was going to be one of the speakers at the Family Camp. Him and my dad were talking at one of the tables one morning, and when Mark waved for me to come over, he began telling me all about this young man, "Joshua Narwold". He kept saying how Josh would be a perfect match for me to marry! I was very doubtful, because, I didn't think there was any

chance that I could meet this young man, because after all, when was I going to be going to Ohio?!
     I gave Mark my blog name, and apparently, he called Josh almost immediately, and told him to look at my blog, and get to know my family. Josh called my dad about a week later, letting my dad know that his intentions were serious, and that he wanted to get to know me, with the intention of marriage.
     Josh came out on September 5th, to meet me and my family. He stayed in Colorado through the weekend, and we clicked immediately, and were pretty comfortable talking with each other. After he left, we started to chat via-Facebook, and talk on the phone. My mom and I went out to Ohio on October 5th, to see him, his brother and sister-in-law, and his church friends/community. As my mom puts it, "When we left Ohio, Caitlin's heart stayed with it." :) Coming back to Colorado was very sad for me, because I really felt at home there in Ohio. I was welcomed as part of the family. Josh and I continued to chat and talk on the phone daily, and got to know each other pretty well. He came out to Colorado again in November, and as usual, our time was wonderful! In December, my parents and I would fly out to Wisconsin to meet the rest of his family, and little did I know, it was going to be on that trip, that he'd propose. I've had my share of times that I felt like I'd never be married for several reasons, which I'll go over next blog post. I'd like to leave you with this Bible Verse from Lamentations 3:25-26, "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

Change: A time for everything

In the times when friends leave, or you leave your friends, what do you do?
Is change good? Is it bad? What happens when our faith is put to the test?
Yesterday, was the last time we attended our Church... we are going with some families and doing a church plant. While this is such an exciting time, it's also sad! While I'll make new friends, and continue to be friends with those coming with us, I'll be leaving the old ones. It didn't hit me until Saturday... I'll no longer see my friends weekly now... which brings to my point: Is Change good?

Some people enjoy change, some people don't.
Back several years ago, when I found out that my best friends were going to move out of the state, I couldn't believe that the change was for the better! I didn't think that I'd ever have friends who understood me again! It turns out, during this time, God took me, and filled in all the empty spots... with Himself!

So, what happens when we're put on trial? What happens when family and friends are taken away? What happens when you take your friends for granted? What happens when you're faith is challenged? Is our faith put to the test? Do we trust God in these moments of change?

I can't answer every question, but I do know that God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace."

There are many times that change is for the better, but God will always see us through, and He will always be with us! What are some of the ways that God has shown you that change was for the better? I'd love to hear! :) Blessings!

Change-My story

I would like to tell you my story that changed my life, but please don’t mind the sentence structure…I know it’s bad! I just wrote what I was thinking without correcting it. (that would take too much time)

This week is marks the 3^rd Anniversary that my life completely changed.
Let me back up a few years. I think I was about 15, and it was December 31^st. My dad was off that day, and our family was just kicking back before heading to our church that night for a game/party night. My parents looked at each other and said, “Should we tell them?” I knew that it had to have been really good news, or really bad news. The news hit me…hard! My parents told me that our friends the “Bryant’s”, and “Tjaden’s” whom were elders at the church with my dad, were moving to Missouri. They felt God leading them to start a church there, they had asked if we wanted to come, but my parents decided that God wanted us here in Colorado. I cried, and cried, and cried some more all that day. My friends, whom had been through everything with me, were leaving. So, Kaylee Bryant, Emily and Allison Tjaden left that summer. I hated my life, and who I was. I wasn’t mad at anyone, but I was upset that they left. We had been through everything together, and had the same vision and everything. Why? Why did it have to be them that left? I didn’t get it. After they left, my life forever changed from what I thought was the worst. But God had other plans for me.
On one warm spring day, my dad took us older three kids to the store, while in the car, he told us a few things, and one of them was that my dad and mom were thinking about leaving our church. I held the tears in until we got into the store, and I excused myself to go to the restroom. I cried in the bathroom stall for 10 minutes before I came out. My life was again falling apart. I asked why to my parents; basically, my parents had a different vision than what a few of my friends had, and they thought it was best to leave, for now. So, once again on April 26^th, my family tried a church called,”The Reformation Church O.P.C”. My parents knew a lot of people there, and so decided to try it. That first day was…another one of the worst days of my life. I hated it…it wasn’t because of the people; it was just because my life wasn’t going the way I had planned. The week after that, we went to the church again, and as usual I hated it. The next day (May 4^th 2009) my little brother, “Elijah James” came into our lives. At 9 ½ months, he was gigantic…but cute as ever. He had Blonde hair, blue eyes, and chubby cheeks. (Even now) For those that don’t know, we adopted him officially on October 8^th 2010!!! The love of our life! ...Any ways, back to my life. So, the next week we went to our old church for the last time and said our goodbyes…it was a good goodbye. A few days after that we went to Missouri to visit the Bryant’s and Tjaden’s.

After we got back from our trip, we started attending Reformation Church regularly. One year in particular though, something amazing happened! One of our many friends, the Gibas family asked me if I wanted to help with serving/making food for the Volunteers at our annual “CHEC Conference”. (Christian Home Educators of Colorado) With excitement, I accepted! That week, I absolutely loved it! After that week, I got to know my friends more, and I went home and cried out on our porch. I thanked God for giving me this life. At the time when I was going through a terrible life, I didn’t see God’s plans. What Satan meant for evil, God meant for Good.

So, that is my story. No, I haven’t finished the race set before me, but I know that God is there for me through it all. You see, during the toughest part of my life, when I needed God most, I declined it. I thought I could do it my way…and look what happened. I surrendered my life to him, after we started going to the church. So I’m asking you, if you haven’t already, please surrender to him. God doesn’t want half of your heart; he wants every single part of it. I learned that the hard way. Don’t make the same mistake I did. If you would have told me years ago, what I was about to go through, no I would not have believed you. God turned my heart, and he softened it. I am grateful to God for forgiving my hardness of heart, and I am thankful that I now have 4 times the amount of friends as I used to. (Breanna, Kendra…this includes you too!)
Thanks for reading!
~ Caitlin