Our Story Begins

Hello and welcome to my blog! This blog was created for friends and family to join us on our journey as God has taken us out of our comfort zone and into the unknown. I am no author - just your average person trying to live in God's will. I hope that you enjoy our story - as we watch it unfold. We don't know what the future has in store for us, but we know that He is in control and so we chose to follow Him.

Here is a little background information for those of you who don't know us well.......

Brad and I met, dated, and were married while I finished my senior year in college. The path that led us to Bethel was very different. Brad knew that he wanted to go to college. He worked hard in high school, graduated with good grades and received scholarships for Bethel. Me on the other hand, different story. I decided my senior year that I wanted to go to Bethel. Why Bethel? Because my friends were going there. At the time I was barely going to graduate high school, but I knew that I wanted to go to Bethel College. As time progressed, I knew that God was sending me to Bethel. I did not have the grades to be accepted, but after a couple of classes at a community college, I was accepted to Bethel.

It did not take long for me to realize how important high school really was. I had spent so much time playing around, walking the halls, and hanging out in random gym classes, that I had no idea how to study. I remember typing papers early in my freshmen year of college, sending them to print, and turning them in without even reading them. I received a syllabus for each class, but did not read the material because the teacher never said we had to in class. When I entered Bethel I had no idea what was in store for me.......let alone studying for 4 years?!?!

The rest of my college career was spent reading, studying, praying, proofing, spell checking, reading, praying, writing, researching, praying, studying, and sleeping little. In the spring of 2005 I graduated with a Bachelors and Associates degree. Oh....and did I mention that I spent a semester on the Dean's List? :)

Brad and I were married in 2004 and after I graduated we moved to Flint....yeah, back to Flint.
After a long job hunt, we ended up in careers that we studied for and love. Brad works in the IT department at an insurance company and I am an assistant director and teacher at a preschool. We both worked very hard and thanked God for blessing us with such wonderful careers.

The more I enjoyed my job, the more I worked. I had a christian boss and and a great work family. My goal in life was to work, earn as much money as possible, and buy as many things possible. I wanted a big fat house, brand new cars, lots of vacations, and the opportunity to eat out whenever I pleased. I did not think much about those in need because after all they were choosing not to work as hard as I was. If they wanted nice things, they should work hard.

Calm Down....I'm not finished......

We decided in the winter of 2008 that it was time for kids. I was still going to work...because I needed all of those things, remember? In January of 2009 we had Grant. I will talk about him more in another post......

Since having Grant God has changed my heart. I don't think that it was just having Grant that changed me, God did a complete overhaul on my heart. He has taught me that there is more to life than stuff, money, and pride. I knew that I could not take my treasures to Heaven with me, but why not enjoy life as long as I was on this earth?

WRONG........

What exactly is happening on this earth? People who are hurting, suffering, dying because their needs are not being met. There are children going to school without having dinner the night before.....children uneducated.....children left alone.....children suffering. There are parents trying to make ends meet....doing what they can to survive. Are they not working hard enough? I believe that many are working harder that I ever have. God has given me a heavy, heavy heart for those in need.

In the summer of 2009, I felt God telling me that my time at the preschool was coming to an end. Of course, I did not accept His suggestion. By the fall, I realized that it was not a suggestion and my time at the school was coming to an end....whether I was ready or not. After a lot of prayer, I knew that God was telling me to give my notice at work. Hello? Who gives a notice in November that they are done in June? Me....... I argued with Him at first, but He was not changing His mind.

In June I will end my journey at the preschool and begin another journey. A journey that is a little scary. I enjoy my job and cannot picture me not working.....it seems crazy. What will I do in my spare time? See, while God was overhauling my heart, He was asking me to commit my spare time to those in need. I wondered....can't I serve those in need while I work. His answer...no.

There is always a BUT.......

What is the problem then? Serving God sounds good right? Yes, BUT....remember those scholarships for Bethel that Brad received that I did not? Yeah, my non-scholarships ended up to be big fat student loans. We cannot afford for me to quit working.

He always has a plan.

While at Bethel, Brad and I discussed my student loan debt, along with his debt. His was pocket change compared to mine. We were never worried and were well aware that we had a lot to repay. We both wanted to work...especially myself. Remember, I needed all that stuff.

Another reason why I was not worried was because God told me while in school that He would pay off my student loans. I did not think about it often and told Brad that my loans were taken care of. We actually joked about it....because it seemed crazy.

God is not crazy.

He had all of this planned. Sending me to Bethel, meeting Brad, graduating, allowing me to be consumed by the world, and ending with a complete heart overhaul. Oh...and did I mention the Dean's List? :)

What else did He have planned? The student loans. When I came home my senior year from high school and made my college announcement my mom asked me how I was going to pay for it and I said "my friends just called Fannie May and they got money." To that she replied "Stephanie, that is chocolate, you need money......don't you mean Sallie Mae."

God told us this fall that He would provide for us. He is going to meet our needs. He has made a promise and we stand firm that it will happen. God is going to provide for us financially, so I can serve others.

Why Us?

No idea. Many have asked. We have asked. We don't know why. God knows our heart and He knows mine. Is my heart better than yours? NO. Would I be a better servant? NO. My answer is I don't know why. I just know that my heart is heavy, He has made a promise, and we chose to live in His will.

What Now?

Not sure. I am done working in the middle of June and I did not borrow chocolate, I borrowed money. Money that I am responsible for, money that I owe.

We have given our situation, fears, anxieties to God. Does that make starting this journey cake? No, but it does make things a little easier. In the meantime we stand firm, continue to work, and try our best to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with.

I don't know what the month of July will look like. Am I worried about my loans? No. It is weird, and I cannot explain it, but I am not. We have such a sense of peace.....

Closing....finally!

Again, this blog was created to invite friends and family to join us as God works a miracle in our lives. We invite you to ask questions, email, and more importantly....pray for us!!!

All Things Are Possible!
-Stephanie Miller

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I have wanted to get in touch with many people to share with them what is happening. I promise that my posts will not be this long......I just had a lot to say!! :)