...and We are Following Him

The Lord has been doing awesome things in our lives.  I'm not even sure where to begin.  So, I guess I will rewind a little bit and then move forward.

We moved here to Fort Worth in August of 2014.  We knew the Lord was calling Jason to full-time ministry, and we knew Dallas/Fort Worth was the area we were called to, but that was all we knew.  We sold our house, quit our jobs, packed up our babies, and moved 500 miles away to a city where we knew no one. <<Insert a few tears here.>>  I, Nikki, went back to work full-time working nights as a nurse, and Jason went to school full-time and worked part-time at our church.   I could not wait until he finished school and got a full-time job in ministry because that meant I didn't have to work full-time anymore!  I felt like I was missing so much life and time with my babies working  nights EVERY weekend for 2 years.  My heart's desire has always been to be home with my children.  Always.   I know most of you who know me know that I have always only wanted to be two things ever in my life--a wife and a mama.  I think I have known I wanted to fill both of those roles since I was a teeny tiny girl.  And, honestly, I didn't understand why the Lord would bring us to a place away from every thing and everyone we loved to a place where I hardly saw my husband and babies and couldn't be the wife or mama they deserved.  I knew without a doubt that He placed that desire within my heart, so there had to be a way, but I just couldn't keep up with life.
Fast forward 2 years--Jason graduated!  However, the Lord still had not revealed His plan for us.  I was ready for Jason to get a full-time job.  I was ready to cut back on my hours at work.  I was ready to be home on weekends so I could do "fun things" with my babies again.  But, it just wasn't time yet.  I was still heartbroken.
In March of this year, Jason and I attended a "Love After Marriage" conference (which originally began at Bethel Church in Redding, CA) in the precious little town of Fredericksburg, TX.  Let me just tell y'all, the Lord totally rocked our world while we were there.  We went into this conference holding on to so much garbage--negative feelings about one another.  But God peeled these thoughts and feelings from us layer by layer.  While we were there, the Lord showed both Jason and I several visions for our family.  It was truly amazing.  We both wrote down what the Lord showed us and then discussed.  And...we both had the same images shown to us--our family, hand-in-hand, with the sun shining so brightly on us, similar to the one posted above.  It was peaceful, full of love, and there were even a couple of extra sets of tiny hands we were holding.  Also, the Lord showed me a globe, with a little airplane moving from city to city, state to state, country to country.  Of course, I was extremely excited about the extra babies in the first image the Lord brought to our minds, but I wasn't totally sure what the globe and airplane represented.  Jason and I talked about both and left feeling excited about whatever it is the Lord has in store for our family.  I don't think there's been a time in our relationship where we felt so connected and in agreement with one another.
We talked about our immediate plans as we left the L.A.M. conference.  Jason felt like we should still stay here in DFW for now, but we honestly didn't know why.  We decided Jason would get a part-time job while still working part-time at our church, and I would cut back a day a pay period.  He planned to help our pastor with an event called Revive Texas, so we decided he'd get a job after that event was over, and we'd stay here one more school year.  If at that time Jason wasn't in a full-time ministry role, like we knew he was called to, we would consider moving back home to Louisiana. 
The event was a 50 day revival in which our church was the host church for our region, put on by the organization, Time to Revive.  During the very first services, the speaker said he felt like missionaries would come from this area, and immediately the Lord started speaking to Jason's heart.  He knew this is why we were still here.  He knew at that moment, this was our calling.  The globe from before made so much sense now.  We have clearly heard the Lord.  He has opened the door, and we are following Him.
There is so much more to share, and even more details to share about the things I have already mentioned.  Just know that the Lord is on the move.  He's restoring relationships, saving souls, expanding horizons, changing hearts, teaching wives to follow their husbands, showing children what walking in faith looks like, arranging a big picture when all we can see are tiny pieces, teaching us to be thankful even when we don't understand our circumstances, teaching us to trust the process and enjoy the journey, teaching us to rely fully on Him, and blessing us along the way.   He is so good, so faithful, so loving.
More to come soon...

Love,

The Evanses

Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18