Just before graduating from NC State, my roommates and Vanessa Steven's roommates starting hanging out together because we were all graduating in December. After some time, Vanessa and I found ourselves to be the ones lingering to continue deep conversations about the Lord, His Word, and our vision for the church and missions. At this point, Vanessa wanted to be a missionary in Africa, buzz her hair, and live in a hut! I knew I was called to be a pastor in the States, lose my hair, and live in a small house! As we realized God was uniting us relationally, we were confused because of the large amount of salt water that separated our destinations. After time, God bridged this gap of intention, but not before He did some work on us, of course. He used our separate calls and passions to create a unified passion for the Church worldwide through the local congregation sending missionaries and teams overseas. Discipleship has always been our M.O. since it is Jesus' and this became our unified vision: to pastor a church in the States that would be influential worldwide through God's continuing mission to redeem mankind through only His Son.
We went on a lot of walks when we were dating. We still do! Almost every night. The majority of our major decisions have been made through discussions on walks subsequent to much prayer and absorbing God's Word. We started dating. I moved to Dallas for seminary. I moved back to Raleigh after we were engaged. We got married. We moved to Dallas. We started a college ministry. We worked lots of jobs. We discerned how to be rightly busy for the Lord. We accompanied and led teams on several powerful mission trips to Jordan and Kenya. God had readied us for baby time. We discerned whether to accept an existing senior pastor position or train with Harvest to be church planters. Humbly, Harvest. Moved from Dallas to Chicago. Maddie is born in December '08. Buy a house in March. Graduate from The Harvest Training Center for Church Planting. Move to RALEIGH! Now pastoring the core group to plant the church in September! Maddie turned 7 months old yesterday. Vanessa and I turn 5 years old today.
Vanessa is a WONDERFUL woman. I uncover something else I newly love about her often. She's a strong believer and is always increasing in strength! She's hilarious! She's beautiful! She's an encourager. She's wise. She spends herself purposefully. She loves discipling women. She knows I need time with my boys. And she is one incredible mommy! I love this woman!
Happy 5 year anniversary, babe! I love you so much!
mikey