The Man I Married

Those of you who remember the last 2 years of our lives will know the reason for our somewhat frequent moves was for Simon's quest for the perfect job.  But we all know that finding such a job is a feat few people seem to achieve.
We moved to Indianapolis when Simon joined Truth @ Work, where he had been hired to be the director of a new program for young Christian business-people.  But over the first 3 months working there, it was realized that they had wanted more of a salesman for the new program rather than a director.  Needless to say, they parted ways on good terms, and this event happened the same week that Adriah was born (mid June).  The timing was both good and bad.  Bad because, well, no job.  Good because what mom of 4 wouldn't want another helper around for a few weeks!?
A few odd jobs later, Simon ended up working at Carmax (a nationwide used car dealership) starting in August.  It was good for a time, made ends meet, and was close to home.  But Simon was still searching for more of a long-term job.  He prayed desperately for a new job for the new year, and had been looking at some business opportunities here in Indy.  The same day he realized one job possibility wasn't going to work out, he got a call from his previous boss at Indiana Wesleyan University asking if he was interested in coming back to the admissions office starting January 2?  Oh yes, we've heard it before, God does have a sense of humor!
Simon is enjoying the familiarity of working back in the same office he was in for 4 years.  IWU is a wonderful place to work.  It is a one hour drive, but thankfully there are a few other people in our area with whom he carpools.  He also has a flex-day on Tuesday when he works from home and is also able to watch the kids while I go to IWU to teach my class.  Based on our past, we've learned not to guess at our future, so don't bother asking how long he'll be there or what we want to do next!
Simon is a wonderful father.  He and Christian do a lot together and Christian wants to do everything just like his Daddy.  You can find out what kind of Father he's aspiring to be on the blog he just started writing, Intentional Fatherhood.  I'm glad he's taking the time to write about something that is so important.  He has been very helpful with the children, I don't think I could handle being a single mom--- you're not meant to do it alone!

We love spending our evenings together after the kids are asleep, usually on the sofa catching up on one or two of our favorite shows.  (I'm actually writing this while we are watching The Bible series... what do you think of it? It's like reading the Bible in super fast forward and skipping a whole bunch of stories.  I'm still enjoying it's documentary-type storytelling).
I guess that's the summary of Simon for now.  He's a very supportive and loving husband--- we need each other!

Re-arranging Life

God is arranging and re-arranging our lives in accordance with His will. Step-by-step, day-by-day, and with each circumstance we face. He is constructing a dwelling place for His Presence within us.       

---Tracie Miles (Proverbs 31 Ministries) 

It's hard to believe it's been over 3 months since Simon's last post about his evolving life-calling.  Like he said, he was hired at Panera Bread and spent many hours working there to provide for our family while waiting on where God wanted us next.  
For a month or so, we were highly considering moving our family to Georgia for Simon to do a 2 year ministry internship with 12Stone Church.  We visited the church and felt very good about the possibility (even with the prospect of raising most of our income and living on practically nothing).  But after 2 weeks of continued pondering, we felt less and less certain that it was right for our family.  
Simon started spreading word to friends and current pastors to see what sort of thing was available, as well as looking online through the normal job-search sites.  The city of Indianapolis started to pop up on a few of the job options, which we were open to.  At the same time, Simon got a call out-of-the-blue from the pastor of a church plant in Noblesville (north side of Indy) asking him about life and ministry calling, etc.  We are very interested in pursuing ministry at this church, and even though this hasn't developed into an actual job position, it was like a confirmation that looking in Indianapolis was a step in the right direction.  
A few nights later, Simon applied for a job with a non-profit organization called Truth@Work that focuses solely on mentoring and building relationships among Christian businessmen in the workplace. You can read a lot more on their site.  They have started launching a new program in which older businessmen/women mentor new/young businessmen/women in a program called Edge Mentoring, and the position being hired was for the Director of Edge Mentoring.  


Long story short, Simon went through 3 interview stages, summating with a dinner with the cofounder and his wife and myself in which they offered Simon the job.  


Thrilled.are.we!


It has been a humbling experience for us all.  Simon enjoyed the change of pace he was able to have at Panera, but was starting to go crazy with lack of drive and motivation.  We know that this job has been laid before him by God, there is no other way we can imagine a job that suits his previous experiences better than this.  He will be overseeing the recruitment of potential mentors/mentees, building relationships with any and every one (and we all know he'll love that!), and directing the program as it continues to grow.  Not only is it a job, it is also a ministry--- the type of people that he will be surrounded with are committed Christians seeking to integrate their faith into their workplace, willing to encourage each other and remain kingdom focused.  I am thanking the Lord.


I am briefly reminded of conversations with Simon over the past several years, as well as his previous experiences.  Saying he had a desire to work for some sort of non-profit organization.  Enjoying the pace and challenge of the business world.  Having a heart to see Christ change people's lives...caring more about their personal life than what to do with their investments.  Wanting to be in ministry but not sure what kind of church he would fit into.  Succeeding at Indiana Wesleyan University as an admissions counselor, then assistant director... always receiving positive feedback about how well he recruited.  
And now, it all comes together.  And we all say "Oooohhh!  God you ARE good!"


So he starts: TODAY!  Way to go, sweety!  He will be working in Indianapolis during the week, working on his final thesis for his MBA, and looking for housing for us.  He'll then gladly come back to visit his little tribe on the weekends, and we will be so happy to see him!  When he finds a house for us to hopefully rent-to-own, the rest of us will make the move (to the north side of Indy, Fishers/Noblesville/Carmel)!


If you are wondering what our parents think?--- they are happy for us!  Simon's parents have been supportive all along.  I guess my parents were a little more hesitant...at first... as in, moving to Georgia.  So now Indy doesn't seem all that far away!  They are also in full support of Simon's new job and our move, even though they are dreading being further from their grandchildren again.


Thank you to those of you that have prayed for us over the last few months, we have grown as individuals and as a couple.  Like the quote says at the top, it is our desire that God's presence in us has increased due to His re-arranging process.  Please continue to pray for the right house and a safe move, for Simon's transition into this new job, and that I don't lose my mind with 3 crazy children having power-struggles over who gets to sit in the highchair.  Also, being pregnant has been harder this time, so pray that I can keep up and that the baby is born on June 1.  (Ha!...just because all our kids are born on the first of the month and I just want to keep things simple).  


Blessings!

Running Man

Simon has a story to share.  Sorry for my own lack of blogging since we've moved in September, things have been... well, changing.  Keep reading to get a better understanding.  --Rachel

Let me tell you a story. A story of running and being found. I was the one running, and I have now been found.

My story starts over 10 years ago, when I was merely a high school student enjoying life. I had the honor and privilege of growing up in a fine, Christian home. My parents sent me to a Christian school and provided the needed encouragement to get involved in church and other ministries. It was around 16 years old when I first felt my call to ministry. I never experienced a "Damascus Road" type of call, but through consistent prayer and petition of God I felt this was the direction He was leading me. I then began to experience what some would call the “firstfruits” of ministry. During my late high school and early college years I was greatly involved in ministry at my church and worked the entire summer at a Christian youth camp. It was these experiences that pushed me to study Christian ministry and youth ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University.

The summer after my freshman year of college was when I had my first significant leadership role in ministry. I was the Activities Director at the camp I had been working at for years, and was one of five on the leadership team that led the rest of the staff. This opportunity at ministerial leadership was a great experience that only reaffirmed my passion and calling into ministry.

The following summer I did an internship at a church in South-central Pennsylvania. This internship was good to show me more of the inner-workings of the every day life of a church. It was a great learning experience, and I learned and saw what it meant to actually lead a church. I was again reaffirmed that my calling was to become a full-time pastor.

Fast forward. In the following year my girlfriend and I, who went to high school together and were now at Indiana Wesleyan University together, prayed and talked about our future and decided that it was time to get married even though we were still in college. As any married person knows, with marriage comes a barrage of responsibility. I only had 1 semester left of classes, but my young wife had at least 3 semesters left if not more. God greatly blessed us and provided a full-time job for me at the university in the admissions office.

Over the next four years many things transpired in our lives. I loved my work, spreading the name of Indiana Wesleyan University. I saw this as my area of ministry because of the great impact attending IWU had on my personal spiritual journey. I saw it as my current calling to help prospective students understand how God could work in their lives through attending IWU. During these years even more amazing things happened on the family side of life. The Lord blessed my wife and I first with a son, and then just under 2 years later with the gift of twin girls. At four years of marriage my life was drastically different than the day we said “I do,” and I began to feel a yearning I didn't know what do about.

I took this yearning as a sign that I was supposed to do something different, something bigger than working at the university. Over the previous four years I had slowly started to think less and less about my calling, and thought more and more about “providing” for my family. I never really had a desire to be super-rich, but I wanted to be in a place where my family was (very) comfortable financially. Several other factors contributed to my thoughts, but in the end I decided that I was going to look “corporately.” Not corporate as in a large group of people, but corporate as in “I need to work for a big company so I can make better money.” Don't get me wrong, I realized that I could be a light for Christ wherever I ended up working. I believe this is completely possible, but in retrospect, I think I used it more as a rationalization. I don't think God was necessarily calling me towards the corporate missionary lifestyle.

In October of 2010 this prompted me to move my family 500+ miles back to Maryland (where my parents live) to start as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments. I worked very hard over the next 10 months to make this job work. I studied and got the needed licenses, I prospected clients, I made calls, and I was doing well. But something seemed missing and out of place. In July of 2011 I got to the point where I was sure that I was not supposed to be an Advisor with Edward Jones. But my wife and I had no clue where God was leading us. I continued to work hard, but began to look at other areas for possible jobs.

In almost an instant I received a lead from my in-laws who were now living in Mishawaka, Indiana that led to a job. I took a position at Korhorn Financial Group as a Client Services Specialist and was put on the track to become a Certified Financial Planner. The acceptance of this position called for the need to move my family another 500+ miles back to Indiana less than one year after we had moved away.

It started happening a few weeks after I started working for Korhorn Financial. I started hearing a whisper. It wasn't a literal whisper in my ear, but more of a yearning or pulling on my heart. I began to have feelings that I had not felt for many years. This yearning grew and grew until late one night it hit me, I had forsaken my calling. I had turned my back on what God had called me to do with my life. I came to the startling realization that I would much rather provide for my wife and kids an abundance of love, joy, and peace than an abundance of possessions or wants. It took me over 5 years, but I finally realized that God had never stopped calling me into full-time ministry. I had simply turned and started walking and sometimes running in the other direction.

A week after coming to this realization and talking it through thoroughly with my wife, I decided to tell the folks at Korhorn Fianancial that, although I was willing to continue working for now, I would not be there long-term and that God had called me into ministry. While they were very supportive about my call, they decided that they wanted to get somebody into my position who would be there long-term. This decision brought about the reality that I would only be working there another week. My last day at Korhorn was November 3^rd.

While Rachel and I were both surprised at this sudden change in thinking, we both felt confident that telling the company the change in our perspective was the right and ethical thing to do. In the following days I came to the realization that I was a young father of 3 without a job! God certainly works in strange and mysterious ways. Because of our sudden move to Indiana, we had moved in with Rachel's parents until we could find a place of our own. In short, there has been no other time in our adult lives where it was more feasible for me to lose my full-time job. God has richly blessed us with an amazing family, and we are very thankful to Mom and Dad Potteiger for their blessings of love and a roof over our heads!

In 1 week (answer to prayer!) I was able to find a part-time job working at Panera Bread while we do our best to discern God's direction for our lives. I have been working there for several weeks now, and I truly enjoy it. This is my first job where I leave work and I don't really have to think about it until I go back. This aspect is actually quite relaxing.

I don't know what the future holds for my family. I don't know when, if, or how long it will take me to find a full-time position as a pastor. But I do know that God has called me into full-time ministry. I do know that I will not turn my back this time, and I will open my heart to wherever He leads. I'm more excited and scared about the future than I have ever been in my adult life. It is this excitement that encourages me to write this today. Thank you for your time and for listening. We simply ask that you walk beside us and help us pray through this time of transition and discovery. May the Lord bless you and hold you close.

---Simon C. Henry

Tears of a Father

Ron Swanson once said, “I have cried twice in my life. Once when I was seven and I was hit by a school bus. And then again when I heard that Li'l Sebastian had passed.”

In film as in life, no matter how many times we tell our sons that crying is ok, the message still finds it's way to their psyche that crying is a sign of weakness. And showing weakness is entrenched deeper within that psyche as an occurrence that is irreversible. When did it become a symbol of manhood to deny the release of tears?

Courageous:

Recently Rachel and I had the chance to go and see the new Sherwood Pictures film Courageous. In going to see this movie I did not expect their to be Oscar worthy acting or Hollywood explosions, but I did expect a very positive and Christian based message. I will say that I definitely got what I expected, but that is not the only nugget I took away from the theater that night. I came to a moving realization as I sat next to my wife and an older man whom I had never met, in that dark theater. If you have seen the movie you will remember the scenes I am going to reference. If you have not seen it, sorry if I spoil parts of it for you.

My moving realization occurred about halfway through the movie and it was prompted by the stranger sitting to my right. During a very emotional scene when the family is dealing with the aftermath of losing a 9 year old girl in a car accident this realization occurred. During this highly emotional scene I could not hold back my tears. I was crying, but it was a controlled, tears slowly rolling down my face type of cry. This was not a part of my realization. The realization came to me as this stranger to my right, who was probably in his early 60's, sat next to me and was practically sobbing. It seemed as if he was doing everything possible to refrain himself from bellowing out an all out wail. This semi-wail began to subside and over a few minutes began to slowly fade into a gentle whimper. As I sat next to this stranger it came to me what type of cry I was hearing and what tears I was seeing. These were the cries and tears of a father. A father of many years with many hours and days invested into the lives of his children and probably grandchildren. My moving realization is that there is no mistaking the cry of a father.

I have vividly seen this cry in several firsthand situations. The most moving experience in which I have encountered the cry of a father came a few weeks ago from my own father. In this occurrence I saw not only the cry of a father, but the cry of a grandfather. As those reading this probably already know, my family and had been living close to my family for the past year. In the middle of August I took a job that would move my family over 500 miles away. My parents knew that we were following the direction we thought God was leading, but that doesn't take away the hurt that still encompasses your grandchildren moving away.

Very few times in my life have I seen my dad cry. I have never viewed him as unemotional or distant, there have simply not been many instances in our lives together where he has felt the need. He has been a great example to me through the years, and I highly respect and admire the way he has conducted himself as a father and grandfather.

On the morning we were leaving to move back to Indiana was the time in my life where I have truly seen the cry of a father in the eyes of my father. As we were gathering up everything to make the drive, I could see that he was getting emotional. I expected this from my mom, but was somewhat taken back when I saw the tears rolling down my dad's cheeks. He kept it pretty controlled until he picked up my son to say goodbye. Christian gave him a hug and kiss, and at that point I wasn't sure if my dad was going to let go. The tears broke out in strong streams and my dad did his best to control the shaking that his body wanted to release. In reaction to this display of emotion, I started to tear up myself. But I made sure to quickly distract myself as I saw that Christian was getting a little scared and confused by the situation. On the drive to Indiana that day Christian asked me on several different occasions, “Why was Pappy crying.” This gave me the opportunity, honor, and privilege to tell him that Pappy was crying because he loved him so much and was going to miss him.

I want to take this time to say 2 things to my dad: 1. I'm sorry that I had to make you go through that. I'm sorry that you had a glimpse of living close to all of your grandchildren and then we took that away. 2. Thank you for showing me your care and love. Thank you for loving my children as much as I do. Thank you for desiring to be a lasting influence on their lives. I know they love you deeply, and I am so thankful they get to call YOU Pappy!**

Learning to be a father:

Over the past 3+ years of my personal journey into fatherhood I have slowly realized that as I watch movies, read books, and hear stories my own propensity to dispense tears has become much more relaxed. It no longer takes a story of an extreme, emotional journey of a boy achieving his dream of becoming a professional baseball player to bring tears to my eyes. It simply takes one short scene, paragraph, or moment of a father losing a child for the tears to roll. Here are some clips or scenes that would not allow me to hold back the tears:


(In Field of Dreams Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a man who never had closure with his father. He builds a baseball field in his corn field that magically allows past players to appear and play baseball again. Through these events, Ray finally gets to play catch with his dad. This one gets me every time!)

(In The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith is playing Chris Gardner. He's a father that is doing everything he can to provide for his son and give him a better life than he ever had as a child. In this particular scene, they have no place to sleep and must spend the night in a subway bathroom.)

Our Father in Heaven:

As I have slowly started to understand these emotions that come from being a father and this cry that can only come from a father, it has helped me understand so much better the love that our heavenly Father has for His children. But it doesn't only help me understand His love, it also helps me understand His pain. How many young parents think to themselves, “I am so sorry for what I put my parents through. If I had known that they felt for me what I now feel for my children, I would have never taken their advice for granted. I would have better understood that they were looking out for me because they loved me so much.” How many times has God looked down at the children He loves and let out the cry of a father? How many times has He yearned for us to crawl back to Him, yet had to let us go and make our own mistakes as every parent must one day endure? How many times has He seen young fathers failing to provide the love and leadership that their children need? How many times has He wanted to hold us close and tell us it will be alright, but we turn and run the other direction towards our own indiscretions? 

At this point in life, there is nothing that makes me more emotional than seeing the ineptitude of so many fathers today. With that said to borrow some of the words of the movie Courageous: 


"Where are you men of courage?"  Where are you when you should be playing with your sons and drawing pictures with your daughters? Why are you failing in the most important role you will every play? Why are you not leading your families and showing them the example God has created you to show?

May we as fathers have soft hearts. May we be strong and courageous when needed, and may we be calm and tender when called upon. May we be an example of love and discipline to our children and lead our families as God has designed. As we go through the trials and tribulations of raising children, may we never forget the love that our heavenly Father feels for us. May we never to be too worn or calloused to allow our children to see one of the most touching displays of emotion that God has created, the cry of a father.

**It should be noted that my mom is an outstanding grandmother! I'm not referencing her emotions at this time because this article is titled “Tears of a father.” If it was “Tears of a parent” it would be a different story. Mom, thanks for being a great mom/mammaw! I'm sure sometime in the near future I will write something about mothers. 

"Guest" Post: Irrational Fear

My sweet husband wanted to write a post to share some of his recent spiritual thoughts.  

(lest we forget he did get a degree in Christian Ministries)

The other day, Rachel and I took her parents and our kids out for dinner to Red Robin. To most of you, Red Robin is famous for great sandwiches and “bottomless” fries. It used to be famous for that to me as well, but not anymore. Today Red Robin is famous to me because it withdrew a manifestation of irrational fear out of my 3 year old son, Christian.

To be fair, the little guy has gone through a lot in the past year and a half. A year and a half ago he was an only child, now he’s 1 of 3. A year ago he was living in Marion, Indiana. Since then he moved 500 miles to Maryland to live for about 11 months, and then moved another 500 miles back to Indiana just a few short weeks ago. In the midst of all this change, he has met new people, made new friends, and now has to start over and make even more new friends.  To say the least, he has been going through many changes that can greatly affect the psyche of a young, impressionable boy such as himself.

“The Incident”

While sitting in our oversized booth, some Red Robin associates were preparing the area adjacent to us for a birthday party abounding with cupcakes and helium-filled balloons. While these associates were organizing the area, a balloon became loose and proceeded to “pop” as it hit a warm light in the ceiling. As with any balloon popping, it was initially a little startling. Christian was somewhat concerned that the balloon had popped and asked me, "But why did it pop?”

Mistake #1, I told Christian what happened. Now this wouldn’t seem like a mistake to most, and it didn’t seem like one to me….at the time. Cue the irrational fear: as the meal progressed balloons continued to randomly get loose and float to the ceiling. The moment a balloon hit the ceiling, Christian would let out a shriek. I'm not talking about a little "I'm scared mommy please hold me" type of cry. This was an uncontrollable "there's no way you can comfort me right now" type of cry. It was a scream.  There’s no other way to put it, he had rapidly become extremely fearful of balloons popping on the ceiling. No matter how much I tried to reason with this 3 year old and take him outside for moments of calm away from the deathly balloons, the fear was not subsiding. His brilliant mother finally decided to make him switch sides of the booth where any balloons were barely visible. I probably should have just let her handle it from the start.

In the ensuing days, I began to notice that Christian, and all children I presume, tend to have many irrational fears that can come and go as quickly as beautiful weather in Northwest Indiana. Some days he might be afraid of the lamp at the top of the stairs. Some days his sisters, Selah and Jadah, might be scared to death of their Pappy Henry with his shirt off. (This has happened on multiple occasions.) Some days Christian might be bashful to sing at Awana’s, while other days he will belt it out at the top of his lungs. Whatever the fears may be, they are usually somewhat fleeting and many times totally irrational.

Further introspection brought to light an interesting point. As Christians, we tend to give in to irrational fears much like my son did that night at Red Robin. We hang Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13 in our homes, but do we ever stop and realize the meanings of those verses in our lives? If we truly believe that “God has plans to prosper and not harm us” and we can “do all things through Christ that strengthens us,” then why do we still have fear?

Why are we scared when we lose a job or don't like a job? Why are we scared when our house won't sell and we desperately need to sell it? Why are we scared when we don't know God's plan for our entire lives at this moment in time? Why are we scared when our children, younger and older ones, make mistakes? Why are we scared about anything, that when it comes down to it, is outside of our control?

I'll tell you why, it's because we're human! All of these “adult” fears make perfect sense and should be concerns. But time and again I have seen people lose sleep and practically create panic attacks over issues they really have no control over. As the old adage goes, “You have to let go and let God.” I know this is MUCH easier said than done. But imagine what life would be like if you could simply let go of all of your fears and doubts and trust completely that God has things under control! There are a vast number of references in the Bible of God promising to take care of us. Not even a sparrow falls without Him knowing. He knows the number of hairs on your head, don't you think He knows your fears and doubts? And better than all of that, He knows your hopes and dreams.

With that said, may you go with God. May you not worry and not fear the troubles of this world. May you walk with confidence and assurance through the scary streets of your personal memoir. May you see the balloons of life floating toward the hot lights in the ceiling and say. “I know you might pop, but I'm not going to be scared anymore.” May you always know that God does have a plan for you and you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Indiana, again?

In attempt to help you use your imagination, I'm not putting any pictures on this post.  Words.  Just words.  Take that, blogosphere.

Wow, it's hard to believe that almost a year ago, I wrote this post about moving to Maryland.  I'm not gonna lie, parts of this year seemed to take forever (like the winter), but as a whole, it has gone by so fast.  I haven't written much about Simon's job in a while because frankly, it wasn't turning out the way we had imagined.  What we hoped would be a perfect fit just wasn't fitting.  And as time went on, going to work became harder and harder for Simon.  
The issues at hand involved the desire to work in an office setting with other people (as opposed to being alone all day except when with clients).  If you know Simon, you know he loves to have a good time during the down time, laughing with people and brightening the day.  He would also benefit from a set schedule rather than a loosy goosy flex schedule. 
After talking with his regional leaders, he was pointed in the direction of looking at the Edward Jones headquarters for a new position.  When the job he really wanted fell through (for no apparent reason), we were left with no ideas and were willing to move anywhere.  
This is where the story gets crazy.  See, my parents go to a financial planning company that they rave about and when they're feeling brave, they joke about Simon working there.  When I shared our dead-end job search with them, my mom asked if she could suggest their financial company.  Simon went ahead and submitted his resume (on a Friday), and the same day got an email to set up a skype interview on Monday.
I'll spare you the gritty details, but lets sum it up to say that by Friday of the same week, Simon accepted a position with a financial company in South Bend, Indiana!


The company is privately owned, and although they don't advertise themselves as a Christian company, everyone who works there is a believer and faith is integrated into everything they do.  They work in an office together and do a lot of things as a team rather than as individuals.  I think it will be a perfect fit for Simon.  
He'll be continuing to get more licensing and move into more of an advisor role over time.

We know that this job wouldn't have been possible without first moving here and doing what we did and what Simon went through.  It's really a God thing.  God had been preparing us for several months, and we both felt like a move was coming soon.  We would not have guessed it involved going back to Indiana, but we have to admit, we're thrilled about it!  Another thing: when I was at my parents a few weeks ago, my mom was telling me that they have felt like there was a reason they needed to get their basement finished... like someone was going to need to live there.  She thought it might be a college or exchange student, or maybe my sister and her husband after he finishes chiropractic school.  Never in a hundred years would she (or I) have thought it would be us.  (If you haven't picked up on it by now, yes, we are going to live in my parent's basement to start).  


Simon starts in one week.  ONE...as in, August 22nd.  I'll be here in Maryland packing and enjoying our last days in Maryland bliss.  We'll be moving around the 2nd weekend in September.  This entire situation has been surrounded by prayer, and with the timing of this job and how quickly it came about, we trust that God has prepared a place for us.  
The downside to moving will be leaving Simon's family.  I have really enjoyed getting to know them better (as I had never lived around them since we had been married)... now I feel like they're truly my family too, and leaving comes with sadness.  And we'll KEEP making that 8 hour drive!


Indiana, here we come!