A HUGE opportunity!!

A little over 2 years ago, I found my DREAM JOB. It was absolutely LIFE CHANGING for me and my family!! I want to share this with you because I never thought this would do anything for my family... but 2 years ago I decided that I wanted something MORE for my family... and I haven't looked back. 

When I had my first child, we had decided I was going to be a stay at home mom, but that decision didn't come easy as there was a LOT of sacrifice financially. 

I knew NOTHING about this business when I started. I was 30 lbs overweight from having my second son, and I was in DESPERATE need for accountability in my own life. I was not a nutritionist and I was a college drop out... Who would have thought that THAT person could have made it?? 

BUT, I had the desire to learn, and I was very DRIVEN by my husband and kids. 

And what happened shortly after that was absolutely amazing. I jumped in with both feet. I had NOTHING to lose! 

So, now it's time for me to look for people who are LIKE ME to train up to be entrepreneurs themselves. People who don't think they have a clue where to start.. I want to SHOW you how to make a 6-figure income. 

If you are wondering what traits I am looking for, they are:

- You must like to help people

- You must like working with people

- You must be open to learning

- You must want to be surrounded by positive, supportive people

- You must want to earn 6 figures

- You must think you were put on this earth to do more and make a difference in people's lives! 

I was asked, just like I am asking you, to join a fitness accountability group online, because I needed to lose 30 more lbs. I found a program that took me only 30 minutes a day, and I lost 30 lbs in 2 months of hard work and dedication to my end result. 

At age 27, I had found my passion. To help mama's feel confident and STRONG (not skinny) so that they can be and provide what they need to for their family. 

Fast forward to today: I have a growing & thriving business where I lead people who want to lose weight & get healthier through their own transformations, AND I mentor less-experienced coaches to do what I do. I am proud to be one of the top 2% of Beachbody Coaches! 

If this is something that you are even slightly interested in then please fill out this very short application so that we can chat more! http://bit.ly/JessOnlineCoaching

You have NOTHING to lose except your BIG DREAMS! 

xoxo, Jessica 

#faithjourney: answered prayer

I have been ITCHING to write a follow up to our faith journey for well….. 8 months now.

I sit here thinking back over how finite I am. How I’m so human and God is so God.

I remember VIVIDLY telling God how He should do things.

Here was my prayer,

“God, I will go WHEREVER you want me to go. I’ve made it really easy for you. I want to go back to Florida, and here are your options for you to choose from as far as jobs. Amen.”

I want the beach. I want sun. I want my friends. I want to be comfortable.

Everyone has faith… until they actually have to walk in it.

Ouch.

So, you can read up on our journey thus far here, but here is the Cliff Notes version.

--> 1 year ago, God told us to sell our dream home in Indian Trail, NC. Kicking and screaming, we put it on the market. It sold in 6 days.

--> 8 months ago, God woke Matt and I up the same night and told us he needed Matt to quit his job. That was 9 days before Khase was born.  

Make sense to you? Me either.

At this point I felt God needed my help. So, we PERSUED many options.

He would close a door and I would be standing there with my shoulder pushed up against it trying to keep it from shutting.

Meanwhile, Matt was working side jobs from sun up to sun down.  So between him painting, coaching cheerleading, and my business, we never missed a bill. Ever.

During that time, I remember him having many interviews, sending out applications to jobs that, in my opinion, he was over qualified for, and trying to FORCE many things to happen.

A misconception of stepping out in faith, is that it’s this beautiful road paved with roses, and God will show you in like a day or two what you are supposed to do.

Not the case.

In fact, it can be kinda ugly while you go through it.

I once heard, “If you live your life by what makes sense, you aren’t living a life of faith.”

Having just had a baby, I was already emotional, but going through this gave post partum a WHOLE new meaning for me.

You know what helped get me through it?

I remember reading a chapter in Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson where he would say Build a Testimony.

Build a testimony.

To me, that meant live a life that no matter what way you look at it, God has to get the glory for the outcome, because it has NOTHING to do with you.

And if I ever want my boys to grow up being God-fearing men of faith, then I want them to know their parents showed them how.

Matt and I had an agreement that we would walk through EVERY door that opened until GOD shut it. That was our deal. No backing out.

So fast-forward to January.

Matt was scheduled to head up to Alaska to do a DNOW weekend with my cousins youth group up there. I was ecstatic for him, as he has a passion for evangelism, and he always wanted to go to AK.

2 weeks before Matt was about to leave, my cousin, who is the youth pastor there, called and asked if Matt would be interested in sending his resume, as they were looking for a worship leader.

Immediately I said No.

Remember.. beach? Sun? I don’t do winter. Especially not 364 days of the year where there is only 1 “warm” day & it’s in the 40’s. (just kidding. They have warm summers, but this was my initial thought.)

I fought this one hard. And honestly, I THOUGHT God would really do this to me, because I also said I would never marry a preacher and you can see where that landed me.

;)

Matt reminded me of our deal. Let GOD close the door. Not Jessica.

So, reluctantly, I agreed for him to send his resume, not realizing that a day later, they were going to call to have ALL of us fly up there.

Really, Lord?

2 weeks later, we packed the whole family up, all our snow gear, and headed up to Anchorage, AK.

Everything was great about this church. The people, the staff, the “family” atmosphere. They loved on us as if we were their own and treated us like royalty.  We loved it there!

At the end of the week, I thought to myself....this might be it!!

God has lined EVERYTHING up. We hadn’t done A THING.  

My biggest FEAR was missing the BEST God had for me because I was too STUPID & worried about being comfortable.

If God had the BEST for me in Alaska. Then that’s where I was going. 

No if’s and’s or but’s about it.

In my mind we were moving.

We came back from AK on a high from just having gone to camp with them. It was perfect. 

The kids were awesome, the camp went awesome….

They sent us home and told us they wanted to pray about it for 2 weeks and wanted us to as well.

2 weeks came and went and we got a call that they wanted Matt to fly back out, lead worship again, and go on their staff retreat because they had not made a decision yet.

We said we were going to keep walking through the door. So they bought the ticket.

That night we were RESTLESS.

And when I say restless, I mean, up at 2am and couldn’t sleep a lick after that. 

We had some hesitations about some things and it was like God was saying LOUD & CLEAR, “This is not it.”

So the next day, we called the church and explained the check in our heart.  We didn’t feel like God wanted us to keep walking through this door.

I was confused, because I told God, “God, I’m ok with this! YOU HAVE ME! I have accepted this and want what you want!”

Then I felt God say to me almost as CLEAR.AS.DAY…

“Jessica, I wanted to know that I had your heart. “

Right then, I had an Abraham moment.

Remember when God told Abraham to take his son Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer him up as a sacrifice? 

Without a hint of hesitation, Abraham rose early that morning, saddled up his donkey, and headed with his son to where God had told him. 

His plan was to sacrifice his son that day.  He even built the alter and tied his son Isaac to it! Just as he was raising his arm to put the knife in Isaac’s heart and angel  called to him and told him to stop.

(Genesis 22:9-12)

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’

‘Here I am,’ he replied.

12 ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’

Wow.

So, let’s go back to the 2 weeks we were praying about Alaska.

During those 2 weeks, Matt got a phone call from a church in Alabama looking for a student and college pastor.

They asked for his resume and references.

At the end of the day, they had contacted all his references and called for a first interview.

Without going into too much detail, let’s just say God was ALL OVER IT.

For the next few weeks we had interview after interview, skype after skype. God would open up another door and we would just keep walking.

Their vision aligned EXACTLY with what we believed and we were falling in love with the students, leaders, and staff and we hadn’t even been offered the job yet!

This is where I thought if God were going to close the door… it will be here.

We started looking at housing, and if you have ever rented before, you know that you MUST show proof that you make at least 3 times the amount of the rent payment.

Well, that's going to be a problem.

You see, we have been living on “faith” for the past 8 months and GOD has provided our money.

I don’t think they would buy into that story even if we would have written it on paper and gave it to them.

But, trusting God, we filled out the application and left that part out.

The Administrative pastor called us THAT DAY and told us the application went through, and we have house.

Excuse me, what?  

The house is yours.

And not only that, they were showing it to someone else that EXACT day and SOMEHOW they went with our application and not theirs.

Jessica can’t do that.

God did that.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit this church in Alabama I’ve been talking about.

It’s called Vaughn Forest in Montgomery, Al.

We met with the leadership, the staff, the students, the volunteers, the adult leaders the elders, and it just CONFIRMED to us that THIS is the road that God has so EASILY paved for us.

We were at home. And we could FEEL it.

After 8 loooong months, God showed up.

He went before us, and like Matt always says, God just rocked our faces off.

Cause this was HIM. Not us. We would have ruined it. We would have tried to take credit. But we can’t.

I thought it was Alaska. 

And I was ok with that, but God gave me something even better. He just wanted to see if he REALLY had my heart.

If I would do something UNCOMFORTABLE.

So, ladies and gentleman, starting May 1^st, we have accepted the student/college pastor position at Vaughn Forest!!!

We are actually packing up THIS WEEK and heading that way!

We are about to embark on a journey that we have prayed about for a very, VERY long time.

Thank you for all your prayers & your encouragement. I love that so many of you have followed our journey and have asked about it.

There is so much more to this story that I will continue to share with you guys, but for now, we are going to MY home state, and where the BEST football team in the world resides… ALABAMA!!!

#ilivebyfaith

I have sat down a few times to write this blog and I haven't been able to start. 

Not because I'm scared about what people will think, cause honestly... I've moved passed the opinions, but because I wanted to be able to tell y'all this AMAZING ending where God paved this beautiful way that was so obvious and we now understand why he had Matt quit his job. 

As most of you know, Matt and I felt like the Lord was telling us to quit his job 2 weeks before we were to have our 2nd baby. Crazy? Well, for most, but we so earnestly wanted the absolutely BEST God had for us and I knew it wouldn't come without sacrifice. So, we stepped in the water. 

With no CLUE where we would get insurance or even another "job" for that matter... we stepped out on faith and Matt quit. You can scroll down and read it. 

So, like any person would probably do, we started to plan out what was next. 

My dream has always been to live by the beach. I grew up most of my life by the beach and have a deep desire to one day return. I have told Matt over and over again, "the beach is where I fill closest to God." I want to fill that close to Him again. I know what you are thinking, "God is everywhere! Draw near to Him where you are at!" But everyone just has that place where you just can feel him so close to you. It might be the mountains...might be hiking through the woods... mine is the ocean. And my soul longs to be back. 

As we made our plan to go back to FL, God began to shut doors left and right. I truly believe looking back on it, the timing of everything was just not right. It was so crazy how doors shut because we truly felt God wanted us to continue our ministry there. Non-the-less, we are still in NC waiting on God to show us what's next. Here is what we mean by God was shutting doors:

1. 3 days before we are to move, our housing in Florida fell through. 

2. At that time, the people who were supposed to take over our rent in NC, their application got denied.

3. The rental truck went up $500 more than what we had budgeted.

4. We fully packed the truck, just to find out not everything fit in it.

5. As we are unpacking the truck, a storm rolls in, and we found out there was a hole in the roof of the truck, and water started poring in on all of our stuff.

6. When we went to take the truck back, the check engine light came on and the oil pressure gage about went through the dashboard!

It was definitely clear, that the timing of all of this was NOT NOW!!

As we moved passed this, there was another possible opportunity for Matt, as a church in GA was looking at him to come on staff.  He had went through 4 interviews and they started checking references. We felt like this was it!! Matt couldn't have answered their questions any better! Then we got the news that God slammed that door as well. We were devastated! 

I'm not gonna act all spiritual and say I didn't have a few crying it out sessions with God. And a WHOLE lot of doubt as to if we made a mistake. Nothing now was clear.

So, here we are. We knew what God told us, and said "Quit your job, and until you do, I will not fill in the rest."So, Now what?? Well, we don't know! And if I may be so honest, I am not very patient, haha :)

We know what we would LIKE to do, but we want it all to fit into the beautiful plan that God has for us. And until he reveals that to us, we will continue on this journey of faith. 

Today, I happened to flip to Hebrews 11 in my Bible. That was NOT a coincidence. It was the faith chapter. I am reminded all the time of Noah's faith, and Joseph's faith, and Abraham's faith... it was NOT a pretty road for any of them. And it goes to show me that until this year, I "thought" I had true faith. But this time we have COMPLETELY stepped out of the boat and began to walk. And this is SCARY.

In a book called Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson talks about "get a testimony". That's what I have to keep remembering when I feel like throwing in the towel on this whole faith walk. He says it's God reputation on the line. And we are just waiting for him to show off in our life! 

Faith Journey with Abraham

If you know anything about Matt and I, it would probably be that we don't necessarily do anything "normal," for God did not call us to be normal, but extraordinarily faithful! Bold & faithful!

In the last 8 years, we have moved 8 times! 8 TIMES PEOPLE! 

And most people would be quick to make the statements....."are you crazy?.... why?...... and what are you running from?" In fact, I said the same thing to myself.

Well, the answers to those questions are: YES... we are crazy, but crazy for Jesus...

 Because we never want to be disobedient to the things that Christ is telling us to do; and lastly, we aren't running FROM anything, but I think of it as running TOWARDS Him. 

The past 8 years that Matt and I have been married, God has done a HUGE work in our lives.

See, you never realize what baggage someone brings into the marriage until they are in it .  We all have junk from our past, whether negative or positive, & if allowed, can drive a wedge between the one's you love.  

With that said, God has taken us on a journey that has shaped us and developed us like never before, and that journey is called "Faith."

I thought I had "faith,"... but this is a totally different kind that I wasn't ready for.

God speaks to people differently.  

It may be through a vision, a dream, audibly, etc...but when God speaks to us, it's in a specific way and at a specific time of night.  

In the summer of 2011, I had yet another melt down. I was so tired of not being able to get pregnant and keep the baby. All my friends around me were pregnant and here I was pretending I was ok, when really I did not understand what was wrong with me. 

Then our first experience with "faith" happened. 

This experience was after having gone through 3 miscarriages. God gave Matt a word, through scripture, that we would have a child, not just a child, but that we would have a son.  

That was on October 27, 2011. 

The Scripture God used was Jesus spoke to Matt through was 2 Kings 4:17, "about this time next year you will embrace a son."  Matt told me he believed that with his entire heart...   But I was not convinced.

 It wasn't until January 6, 2012, God woke me up at around 3:40 am with an unction to take a pregnancy test... 

As I sat there waiting for the results, with my eyes closed as tight as I could get them, I begged God not to let me go through another year not being able to have a baby. And if he did allow me to be pregnant, that he would PLEASE allow me to keep it. 

When I opened my eye (and yes, I peeked with one eye, lol) I couldn't believe it, so I ran in and woke Matt up to tell him that WE WERE PREGNANT!!  We laughed really hard & then cried, and then praised Jesus! 

We were finally going to have a baby.  It seemed like time stood still waiting for the day that we would finally get to see what we were having.  

I just knew that we were having a girl!  Matt said, "No Jess, God told us that we were having a son!" But I just KNEW it was a girl!!

As they were doing the ultrasound, in my head I thought... God, if this is really a boy, then I'm in awe of the faith Matt had in believing You would do this... and I want that kind of faith. 

Matt acted in faith and believed in what God had told him... and you know what we saw??? Something between that baby's legs!!! It was A BOY. 

Kyson Gabriel Laughter was born 9/16/12..."about this time next year."

The second experience came just a couple of months ago when we felt it was time for us to sell our house. 

I DID NOT want to sell our house.  It was a dream home to me....It wasn't just our house, but Kyson's house. It was everything I had wanted & I was completely content there. 

Then again, God woke Matt up at 3:40 am and told him, "Go and don't look back." He asked God, "where are we going?"  God said, "don't worry about it, just go." 

God spoke to Matt through Genesis 19 that morning, and while Matt was away praying, God spoke to me too.  He told me that I needed to "live by faith and not by sight."... which is SO MUCH easier said than done and NOT something that I wanted to try.

We both knew that God was speaking though, so we put our house on the market.  Five hours of it being on the market, 3 people wanted to see the house.  Within 6 days... IT SOLD!! 

Faith.... & then obeying.

Now for the ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE!  The stepping out of the boat experience.  

3 weeks ago, God woke Matt up again.  He woke up and said, that if it was 3:40, he knew God had something to tell him. 

Matt had been awake for a few minutes before he looked at his phone, but when he looked at his phone, it showed 3:44 am.  

He immediately started crying and told me to pray.  God pointed him to a book by Mark Batterson called "Circle maker." He told Matt to read chapter 20.  The verse of the Chapter was Hebrews 11:8, 

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

The chapter talked about stepping out in faith and doing something that you may not be ready to do, stating you will NEVER be ready, but God doesn't call the qualified, but qualifies the called.  

Faith without action is not faith at all. "You may need to quit your job, make a move, etc..." In that moment, God said, "Matt quit your job." 

When Matt came in and told me what God told him, we both knew it was time.  

Yes, we were scared, but we were more scared of being disobedient.  

Matt's words to me, "I will not and cannot be disobedient to God! How will I ever expect my boys to be faithful to God if I am not willing to leave that legacy for them and step out in faith?...I don't know what we are doing, where we are going, and yes, we have a baby on the way, but God has spoken."  

3 weeks ago, Matt quit his job, and was obedient to what he knew God was telling him and us to do.  We have NO IDEA what is next, but we pray God shows us soon.  It's a crazy ride, but I wouldn't trade this crazy, uncomfortable ride for any other COMFORTABLE kind of life :)