The Next Step

I just finished doing our taxes for 2014. It wasn't very hard, really. When you make as little as we did, doing your taxes can be done in about 20 minutes because there aren't a lot of numbers to take into account. However, there were quite a few W-2's for me to input. Six, to be exact. Six W-2's means that in 2014 we worked six different jobs. Actually, we worked more than six jobs but only six gave us W-2's. As I was putting in all the information I couldn't help but laugh at all this income! Not the total amount of income mind you (although that is also comical) but at the different sources of that income.

I started the year working at Stewardship Mortgage. I was a Mortgage Loan Originator (or MLO) and was sure I would be at that job for a long time. I loved the company, my boss, and my coworkers. I loved the relational aspect of the business and the overall vision. However, there was one thing I didn't love. The actual job. It's not that the job was terrible or anything, I just wasn't good at it. For a few reasons, I wasn't good at being an MLO. I tried to be. I tried every day to get better and learn the business, but I just didn't. I remember telling my then boss of my decision to leave Stewardship Mortgage and he was very encouraging about it. He agreed that this job wasn't for me and I would never be happy doing something I wasn't good at. As a man, that's a very hard pill to swallow. You want to believe that if you try your hardest and put your heart into something, you will succeed. Not true. Sometimes, you just aren't good enough and it's time to move on.

Stephanie was working at Hobby Lobby AND Starbucks at the beginning of the year. After many conversations, we decided that her working 60 hours a week was stupid and that she should leave Hobby Lobby. She started working mornings at Starbucks and that was fine for a time. However, it's hard waking up at 4 AM 5 days a week. It takes it's toll on you after a while. We are super thankful for Starbucks and what it allowed us to do, but that isn't a job you stay at forever. At least it wasn't for her. To help make money she babysat, watched dogs, and did whatever job she could find. My wife is a trooper. I love her dearly for all the sacrifices she has made.

After I left Stewardship, I didn't work for a few months. That was also hard. I took a part-time internship at Scottsdale Bible and started working part-time at Starbucks. I love high school students and wanted to see if I had a future in youth ministry. Working these part-time jobs allowed me to coach basketball which was a huge deal for me. My wonderful wife deserves an incredible amount of praise for letting me do these things. I love coaching and in order for me to still coach, we had to sacrifice. Really, she had to sacrifice. She could have easily said, "I want you to make more money" but she didn't. She let me do something I love.

I applied to probably 15 different churches looking for a youth pastor gig. Not ONE called or emailed me back. Ouch. That sucked. We felt incredibly discouraged because we didn't know what the next step was. I mean, we couldn't work part-time forever. At some point, I had to get a big boy job. It wasn't about the money as much as it was about letting my wife, who sacrificed so much, quit a job she didn't want to be at anymore. Again, waking up at 4 AM is tough. We prayed and prayed. Silence. Like I said in a previous post, we knew God heard us but His response was not being heard by us.

Finally, a job opened up. That job is at Grand Canyon University. This past week my basketball season ended and we both had our last day at Starbucks. I can't tell you the joy and relief we both feel. Budgeting is hard when you barely make enough to pay the bills. You can't save or do anything "fun" with your money. Each month is a struggle. You look at your bank account and see a number that gives you a sick feeling wondering how you will make it to the next month. It's those moments that I prayed the most. I can't remember a time in my life where I prayed more. In fact, praying doesn't quite encapsulate it. I was pleading, begging for God to show up.

I tell you all of this so you can get a glimpse into what our lives have been like and so you can praise God with us. To some, a job at Grand Canyon University doesn't seem like THAT big of a deal. However, to us, it is something we will never forget. Not only that, but to see Him moving in our marriage over the past year has been incredible. He not only showed up in providing this job, but every time we didn't know where the rent would come from. I am excited to have this blog. Hopefully we can look back and read some of these posts and remind ourselves of the faithfulness of God the next time life gets hard.

Soon enough, we will be able to post about our progress in killing our debt! Until then, we will keep sharing how God has showed up in our marriage. Hopefully that's okay!

I'm Back!

This past year has not been easy for Stephanie and I. I quit a job I thought I would be at for a LONG time, which was very hard. I have been working part-time at Starbucks and Scottsdale Bible Church along with coaching basketball. Stephanie has been working close to full-time at Starbucks while working part-time at Mama's Cold Brew. We have done house-sitting, dog watching, and anything else we can think of to make a few more bucks. There was a couple months mixed in where we weren't 100% sure how the rent was going to get paid. That was hard. Being the husband, I felt very guilty and had a difficult time being okay with not making very much. In fact, from May 19th to August 1st of 2014, I didn't work. I did some coaching but that only paid about a dollar. Every month though, no matter what, God provided. We would get calls out of the blue from someone needing someone to watch their dog or sit their house. It was incredible to watch God's faithfulness time after time.

The whole point of this blog was to document our lives as we paid off my student loan debt. Unfortunately, when you make what we made last year, paying off debt is not much of an option. However, we were able to pay off about $2200 in credit card debt, which is nothing short of incredible. I don't know how we did it, but we did. This past year has shown us that you don't need to make a whole lot to get by. If you budget, follow that budget at least semi-carefully, you should be fine.

I can't tell you how many job applications we have filled out, how many tears have been shed, and how many times we thought God was not listening to our prayers. It gets very discouraging praying and praying with, seemingly, no response. However, we knew God was hearing us even when it felt like He wasn't. We pleaded for Him to provide certain jobs that, looking back, we are SO thankful He didn't. It's pretty amazing how often the thing we want the most, is not at all what God wants for us. Thankfully, God put friends and family around us to keep encouraging us as I looked for a real, full-time job.

Well, God finally gave us a resounding YES to our prayers. As of today, I have accepted a job offer to work at Grand Canyon University! Some of you may be thinking, "Wait, didn't he work there before?" Yes, I did work there before. I love talking with people face to face. I love building relationships with people. This time, I will have the chance to do just that. In addition to it being a great job, I will be able to go back to school and pursue a Master's degree in counseling which is something I have been wanting to do for years.

I can't even begin to tell you the joy I had when I told my wonderful wife that I got this job. I have been praying for about a year now that God would provide a job that would allow Stephanie to quit the job she had. We can begin to pay off debt, save up for a house, and do things we haven't been able too.

It's hard to express the joy we have about this job. For some people, it wouldn't seem like that big of a deal. I mean, I'm gonna make good money, but it's not like we will be millionaire's. This is more than a job and an income to us. This is an answer to a prayer we have prayed a thousand times. We know there will be struggles ahead and that this job doesn't make like perfect. However, to sense God's presence in the answering of this prayer and to see His hand moving through this whole thing brings an amount of joy I haven't felt in a long time.

There will be a LOT more updates coming as we being to kill this debt and hopefully this can be an encouragement to you that God does listen and He has everything figured out.