Last Fall, we knew that the time had come for Mark to move beyond our family business that we’ve had for 13 years. After some intense work in shutting down the storefront and moving all inventory to a different warehouse (where it’s now running online-only with the help of our wonderful employee, Elizabeth), Mark planned to take a brief rest, and then hit the ground running in January 2016 to find a new job.
Right before that, in December 2015, Mark drove our van, filled with young adults and a youth pastor, to the One Thing conference in Kansas City. It was a fabulous time of worship, teachings and fellowship – Mark’s first time to attend One Thing, and definitely something he hopes to do again! While he was there, he felt that the Lord impressed upon him a redirection concerning looking for a job (we didn’t grow up knowing that Jesus is not only alive and well, but He speaks to people!... now we know better - Jesus wasn’t messing around when He said that His sheep hear His voice).
Instead of Mark’s previous plan, he felt that he was to simply focus on Jesus – keeping Him first – and not strive to find a job. Practically speaking, this may seem nuts, but nevertheless, Mark spent his time at the Lord’s feet instead of getting aggressive with a job hunt. We’ve seen the Lord at work in wild and crazy ways in the past, and recognize that His ways are unusual to say the least!
Within days of returning from One Thing, Mark got a call from a great guy that we know in the neighborhood, out of the blue. The man had an opening to fill in several months that he thought would be a fit for Mark’s background. Not only would the position be exciting to Mark - using his high tech background as well as his experience from our family business - but he would office from home. The several month delay was also a good thing, allowing Mark time to work on our family business in specific ways so that it could be maintained in a healthy way.
We’re really thankful that God is intimately involved in our lives, and excited about this new season He’s given us!
