beginning again.

    I have to admit, when I was younger, I was a truly difficult kid. I was hard headed, and always had a mouth on me. And I wondered why I was always getting in trouble! I can always remember my mom and dad telling me "Kaitlyn, if you would just shut your mouth at times, you would be the perfect child!" But, cue the stubbornness, and well, you get the picture. 

   I still at times am stubborn and hard headed. Paul has to get in my face and make me realize that I am even doing it. What can I say, it's one of my many flaws. 

Since we have moved, (I'll fill you in on that in a minute.) I have been overcome with The Spirit. It's been something that has been quite overwhelming. Because the devil is ever so present at these times. When God is showing you the path to righteousness, and you are being tempted to walk the other way. It's hard. And what I have come to realize since moving, is that being a Christian is tough. It is HARD. Every day, there is a struggle to be the best follower of Christ that you can possibly be. And I am trying. 

  I didn't think that it would overcome me the way that it has. But well, you can't really help or plan the way God wants to work within you. And I truly believe that He led us to where we are now...

    Paul and I moved in with my parents several months ago. It was hard having two families living under one roof. Tension was rising and Paul and I knew that it was time for us to go ahead and search for a place closer to his job. One night I told Paul, "Tomorrow, lets just go and look around and see if we can at least find an area that interests us." So that next morning we woke up, and packed the boys into the car while it was POURING rain, and headed out towards Youngsville. I didn't have any homes/apartments in mind, I had nothing. We just started driving. Paul gave me the idea to search online for homes around that area. So I started searching. I found an ad for a sweet little farmhouse, out in the outskirts of a small town. They were looking for a renter, and that's exactly what we were looking for. I called the number and a sweet woman answered the phone. I explained our situation and they said they could meet us that afternoon to show us the house. 

   We pulled up to the little white house, and the rain was pouring down with no intention of stopping anytime soon. We pulled the boys out quickly and skipped over puddles to the front porch. The man and woman were standing there with smiles on their faces, and apologized for it being so muddy and rainy. They introduced themselves as Jon and Cindy, and started to show us the house. I was already in love as soon as they opened the front door. You see, I grew up basically spending every weekend with my Mimi and Poppy in their old vintage home. It's a gorgeous two story victorian home and I just had fallen in love with it. So that vintage/old feel stuck with me. 

  We walked in and I immediately fell in love. It had a big open living room, with all of the old original doors and doorknobs, and windows inside. But they had renovated the floors, and slapped on a fresh coat of paint along with it. I gave Paul 'the look' that I wanted it. I just felt an odd connection to the house. Tucker ran around the rooms and explored while we chatted with Cindy and Jon. They handed us the papers for the application and we thanked them and headed home. By the next afternoon, we had the house. And by the next weekday, we were moved in. 

  It all happened so fast and smoothly. It almost scared me how perfect it was going. While we were moving in, I asked Jon and Cindy if they knew of any good churches around the area. They said that they go to a great church that meets at the town's elementary school, and they really like it.  That Sunday, we joined them. We walked into the main school's lobby and everyone was so welcoming. There were maybe 20 people max there. People were interested in us, wanted to get to know us, and were so warm and friendly. I immediately felt comfortable. 

    Church soon started and everyone headed into the gym, where they had a little area set up for service. Paul and I took a seat in one of the rows near the front, and waited for it to start. Then, all of the sudden, Jon, our landlord, walks up to the front of the congregation, and starts preaching! 

He was/is the Pastor! Paul and I looked at each other in shock and smiled. How cool is that? 

At that moment, I automatically knew that God had put us here for a reason. He put us with these people, this church, our new home for a reason. 

  Since we have moved here, I look forward to church. I look forward to reading His Word, and learning what the bible is trying to share with the world. I feel a lot happier. And I am so excited to see where this journey takes us.