Running out of ideas for the move to Nashville!

Well, as all of you who would ever look at this page are aware, the Allen's are moving to Nashville. The short of the story us that I have accepted a call to serve Rolling Hills Community Church as their Student Pastor beginning August 26, 2007. The long of it is a journey of God's greatness over the last eight months that both sustained our ministry in Daytona through a few rough patches all the while preparing us for what he had in store through Nashville. We are certainly excited and anxious about this new part of His plan for our life.

When we began sensing God's call on our life to move, we became increasingly aggressive about the sale of our Florida condo. You see, by not being independently wealthy we find ourselves in somewhat of a pickle. One does not on a minister's salary maintain multiple households. Moving to Nashville is a great deal risky for us because we have no place to live to call our own. As long as we bear the full responsibility of a mortgage in Daytona, even renting in TN is not an option. Insert a very kind lady who is allowing us to come and live with her...at least temporarily. Her grace in this circumstance is the kind not easy to repay.

Sum total I must have given God about 30 different ideas about how He should work this scenario out. Everything from ebay to "we buy houses" ads in the yellow pages. So far, no luck! I shake the proverbial fist in the air saying, "you don't like that idea, that's okay God, I got more!", somehow believing that He's invited me into His writing team thinktank. I just keep picthing new stories and painting new pictures, these pie in the sky ways for Him to work it out, make it possible, spare us the pain, and get us out of these rocks we're between. Zilch! Nada! Not one single bite! And so, I do it. I tell God that I am fresh out of ideas and that He's just going to have to sort this one out on His own. Now for the waiting. And that's what we're doing, waiting...and paying for it along the way. Sometimes God allows us to learn expensive lessons. Sometimes He get's glory from our laurels and other times our failures. For now, we'll be heading to Nashville and I'll be earning a living as a Student Pastor while Susan answers God's call on her life to be a mom to Lillie Cate and this new baby (scheduled to arrive in February 2007) that He has blessed us with. I'll be getting paychecks for being a pastor and doing what most Christ-followers do: tithing, attempting to save, paying my mortgage and any other necessary bills, and using the rest to sustain a family. The only difference now is that the mortgage we'll be paying for is one we won't be living in...meaning that God has to come up with an alternative plan. Me being fresh out of ideas really feels okay. Somehow I think whatever option He comes up with will be better anyway! And my how I feel blessed already as a result!

Thanks for reading. Be sure to keep in touch. Somehow, I'll try to be a more successful blogger!

Nic Allen