Hello Blogging Family, thank you for your prayers and encouragement in response to our recent news! Between our upcoming move to Indianapolis, and Grace’s unexpectedly clear MRI, God has really been teaching us to trust in Him in recent weeks.

Have you ever felt like only about 17% of your plans come to fruition the way you anticipated? Maybe some of us can boast of a >50% success rate. But even the best planners among us can’t guarantee a 100% success rate, because, well, we aren’t God.

Isn’t it interesting how, despite knowing this in our heads, we often still get surprised or frustrated when our powers of prediction fail us? When, inevitably, an unlooked for circumstantial factor enters the equation, or people somehow don’t react the way we thought they would, or should?

Reflecting on my own life, I can name many examples of how God “redirected” my plans: when I was in college, I wanted to teach at a college/university. God has placed me in K-12 environments, in which I’ve grown so much as an educator, and for which I am very grateful. I had also anticipated staying in San Jose for the bulk of my teaching and administrative career, but God has opened the door for a new chapter in Indiana.

Even before I’d met Grace, I had wanted to one day get married and have a family; eleven months into our first year of marriage, Grace experienced her accident. This eventually led to us being told by medical professionals that the biological route to parenthood would be closed to us permanently, due to Grace’s seizures, and still partially-dissected carotid artery. In God’s wonderful sovereignty, at this point, He has removed both of those medical barriers.

Wow. Thank you Lord!

God gives, and God takes away. All things are from Him, through Him, and to Him. The apostle James gently but firmly reminds us:

As we walk with the Lord each day, may we more and more learn to surrender all aspects of our lives to Him, trusting that He knows infinitely more than we do, and He cares for us more than we can comprehend. When He “redirects” us, it will always be for His glory and our good.

Whatever you are facing today, whatever decisions need to be made, whatever unexpected news reaches you–know that the God of the universe is with you, and He will shepherd you with goodness and mercy. May we be encouraged by the lyrics to this song:

“Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.”

Hello Blogging Family, Grace and I have some bittersweet news to share…after nine and a half years in San Jose, Lord-willing we will be relocating to Indianapolis next month! I’m excited to share that I’ve accepted the position of Fine Arts Director at Heritage Christian School. The Lord has been so gracious to open this door of opportunity, and we are trusting Him to continue guiding us in this next chapter.

As the prophet Jeremiah said:

Truly, great is God’s faithfulness. It’s often easier to see this in hindsight, but it is nevertheless true at all times. When Grace and I moved from Riverside to San Jose in June 2017, we could never have imagined all that lay ahead for us here. We moved with the mindset of, “God will provide” — and He did, in a way only He could have.

As many of you know, my training is as a musician; my undergraduate and Master’s degrees are in Piano Performance. In tech-saturated Silicon Valley, this is a bit of a niche skill set. Many professional musicians make a living by combining incomes from performing, teaching, and maybe composing or arranging. However, given Grace’s acute medical needs at that time, I knew we needed more financial stability than a gigging lifestyle could provide. Teaching music at a school would allow me to use my music training while providing a stable income.

In God’s great mercy, He opened the door for me to work at Valley Christian Schools (VCS) immediately after we moved to San Jose. I initially applied to teach Junior High science (not having a professional background in science, but knocking on every door I could find). In God’s providence, very kind and helpful people helped me connect with the Director of the Conservatory of the Arts at VCS. I spoke with him and he graciously invited me to join the Conservatory team as a Junior High and High School teacher.

Over time, I shifted my emphasis from teaching to school administration. Four years ago I took on the role of Associate Director for the Conservatory; and last summer by God’s grace I completed my EdD in Organizational Leadership. I’ve really enjoyed working in school administration, as it’s given me the opportunity to think strategically while at the same time continue to work with teachers, students, and families.

This past summer, I became aware of Heritage’s search for someone to lead their arts department; we connected, and on August 31st, Grace and I flew out to Indianapolis so that the following day I could visit Heritage in person. In God’s timing, the Fine Arts Director position was offered, and I accepted. (Incidentally, this is also where the picture above comes in; we had reserved a “compact” rental car online, but received the pictured Jeep Wrangler instead! Neither Grace nor I had driven a Jeep before, so this was also a new adventure. 😉)

I used the word “bittersweet” at the beginning of this post because, while Grace and I are excited for this next stage in my career, we are at the same time very much not looking forward to saying goodbye to the many wonderful people we’ve met and formed relationships with here in the Bay Area. To our San Jose community: thank you for being channels of God’s blessing in our lives over these past nine years. May you seek the Lord more and more each day, and may He lead and bless you.

To our future friends and community in Indianapolis: We look forward to walking alongside you, and pray that God would use us to bless and encourage one another as we seek to honor Him in all we do. To all our blog family, thank you for faithfully walking with us over the past (almost) ten years! Here’s to new horizons.

Good morning, Blogging Family! Two weeks ago Grace and I were looking for a new redwoods park to explore, and we found Bear Creek Redwoods Open Preserve, which was only 30 minutes away. Most other forests are over an hour away, either by Oakland or across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. As you can see in Grace’s photo at the end of this post, we even spotted a heron successfully hunting a mouse!

While we were exploring, it was amazing to consider that the redwoods around us could live for hundreds of years, far longer than any human. It’s even more amazing to think about how “old” God is–that He is, in fact, older than time itself! He is beyond time; He transcends it. He is eternal.

This August also marks the beginning of my 10th year at VCS. I’m grateful for God’s grace and mercy in bringing me to this milestone! Yet ten years are like the blink of an eye, from an eternal perspective. As Moses said in Psalm 90:

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You return man to dust
    and say, ‘Return, O children of man!’
For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.” (Ps 90:1-4)

I don’t know what this year will hold, but I know that God is still God. He has been my dwelling place, and will continue to be. Whatever you may be facing in this season, I pray that God’s eternal nature will comfort you too as you depend on His sovereign care for you. As Moses prayed, may we also pray:

May God “establish the work of our hands” (Ps 90:17) as we humbly walk with Him each day, doing our best to steward what He has entrusted to us. One day soon, by the grace of Christ, we will see the Eternal One face to face and enjoy being with Him forever. Blessings to you!

Hello Blogging Family! It’s now been just about a month since Grace and I returned from our trip to Australia and Indonesia. I’m still so thankful that God allowed us to travel together, since in the early days of Grace’s accident I would’ve absolutely ruled out international travel. It’s good to be proven wrong by God.

The picture above is from Newport Beach in Sydney. June is winter in Australia, so the temperature was in the 60’s when we visited this beach, pleasantly cool and not too hot at all! We were among the only people there that afternoon. I was struck by the wide expanse of the sky meeting the curving horizon in the distance. The view was bounded by towering rock cliffs on either side of the beach, creating a picturesque cove.

Living in the middle of a busy, tech-saturated city, it’s easy for me to forget the grandeur of the natural world God created. As impressive as man’s creations have been, they pale in comparison to the works of the Creator Himself–including ourselves.

Psalm 100:2 reminds us: “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

And David, in Psalm 8, famously said:

How majestic is the name of the Lord, in Australia, Indonesia, California, and across the whole world! God, in His wisdom and grace, has made you and me “a little lower than the heavenly beings” (Ps 8:5). As human beings we bear the image of God Himself. What an incredible privilege!

Yet may we also never forget that we were never meant to be the center of the universe–either the actual physical universe, or the private ones each of us inhabit in our hearts and minds. Yesterday, our pastor was preaching on the topic of missions, and he pointed out that perhaps many of us have yet to experience the “Copernican revolution” of replacing a man-centered view of the reality with a God-centered view.

A God-centered view of reality was what prompted David to cry out, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” Is that how we view ourselves today?

Sometimes, even when I’m not fully aware of it, I act as if God owes me something. When I don’t get what I want, or get what I don’t want, the frustration or bitterness that ensues proves that, in that moment, I’m not viewing Him as my Lord but rather as my benefactor.

But Jesus’ rightful title has always been and will always be, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev 19:16). The ultimate joy and blessing of this life and the next is to personally know and be known by the God who created the world, and us–to worship and enjoy our Savior and King forever. Be encouraged today that, in His grace, He is mindful of us.