A Word for the Wavering

Posted on by calliebostrom

When Matt and I were newly married, he gave me The Daily Light on the Daily Path devotional. It’s this sweet devotional that combines various themes in scripture into one passage. It is helpful in seeing how one verse relates to another – how themes, like grace, prayer, guidance, dependence, faithfulness, go throughout all of the Bible.

This morning as I read the day’s passage, God in his perfect providence spoke to my nervous, wavering heart. You see, this morning is my last day at Accrinet, a job I’ve worked at since we’ve been in Charlotte. A job that feels less like work and more like home. A job that is full of coworkers who are really more like brothers and sisters. It’s comfortable; it’s known; it’s safe.

photo (1)This is the day that I leave what “make sense” for something unknown. Leaving a good job to support raise and move across the country doesn’t make sense to most – in fact it often doesn’t make sense to me. But, God has called us to trust – to trust him in the unknown, in the scary, in the uncomfortable as he leads.

So, we go forth. Today is a bittersweet day. I’m sad to leave my family of coworkers, but I’m so excited for our next adventure, and I’m incredibly grateful to my Lord who speaks sweetly to my soul with these words from this morning’s Daily Light:

“The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.

My times are in your hand.—He chose our heritage for us.—Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness;… make your way straight before me.—Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.—In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.—Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.—As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.—“The Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”—Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

We’re moving to Washington? What?!

Posted on by Matt

It’s true! Matt has been called to be the assistant pastor of a year-old church plant in Spokane, Washington called Coram Deo. He will be primarily working with college students at the four universities in the city, and we are so thankful (and humbled) for how the Lord is working to bring us there!

A little back story…

As you may know, Matt and I (Callie) met while we were both interns for Reformed University Fellowship. I was at Texas A&M (whoop!) in College Station, and Matt was at the University of Florida in Gainesville. During that time we spent our time meeting with college students, leading bible studies, and drinking way too much coffee. We loved our time in college ministry and felt the Lord leading Matt to pursue becoming a pastor.

So in January of 2012, we moved from Colorado to Charlotte, North Carolina for Matt to attend Reformed Theological Seminary. While Matt studied, I worked for a small web design company, learning about search engine optimization and marketing, but longing to be back in college ministry.

Graduation1Fast forward three and a half years…

Our prayer through seminary was that if the Lord would have us back in college ministry, he would make it very clear to us. Through various closed doors and seeming coincidences, the path to Spokane was placed before us. And while this decision doesn’t seem easy, in fact, it seems really hard and daunting, we are trusting in our Guide.

Why Washington…

I admit, Washington seems pretty random, but let me tell you a little about how good God is and where He’s taking us and why we’re excited:

  • The Pacific Northwest is the most unchurched region in the country, which means there is a huge need for bible-believing churches and families to teach Truth.
  • Matt and I really wanted to work with college students again, and the church is 40% college students.
  • Matt’s first RUF campus minister, Kyle Parker, is the pastor of Coram Deo. Kyle reached out to Matt and has been pursuing him for assistant pastor. One of Kyle’s passions is developing and training men for the ministry. What a grace that Matt can learn under Kyle.
  • My brother and sister-in-law moved to Wenatchee, Washington in December! We will only be 3 hours from them!
  • Matt’s aunt, uncle and grandma live in Spokane.

Y’all, God’s grace to us is undeniable. I feel like all year as doors closed slammed in our face, God was saying, “Just wait. Just wait. I have so much more for you; more than you could have ever dreamed.” And it’s true! Yes, Spokane will be hard. Yes, support raising is never fun. Yes, I know nothing about Washington. Yes, the church is really transient. BUT, as someone once told me, “Hard isn’t bad. It’s just hard.” And what a blessing to be in the hard with the Sustainer of Life!

So, yes! We’re moving to Washington. We have to raise our own support (because the church isn’t established enough yet to pay their pastors), and then we are hoping we will move West in September.

We would really love yours prayers and financial support. (If you’ve read this far, please don’t stop now.)

Prayer Requests:
  • Pray that the Lord would encourage us and provide as we raise support.
  • Pray that we would not believe the lies of the devil.
  • Pray for travel safety – We leave next week for a support-raising trip to Colorado and Texas.
Support:
  • We really do need support. Would you consider giving $50 a month, $100 a month and partner with us as we bring the gospel to the West? You can give online and set up a one-time or monthly-recurring gift.

Thanks for reading! We serve a big God who is kind to give us good gifts. Washington is a good, hard gift. Follow along as we adventure West.

We love y’all!

Callie and Matt