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Friday, December 10, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Career Change ...again but not really
Well as my child sleeps I will attempt to put the last several months down for our friends and family to see. This is Jeremy by the way, posting my first blog on our 'family' site.
Staci and I were on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ for about 6 months (specifically from January 2010-July 2010). While support at first, was strong and promising, by the time May rolled around all support had pretty much dried up. Now we are very confident that God was the one bringing it in so when it dried up we had to start praying and processing what God might be doing through it. My support coach suggested that we start looking elsewhere, not in a mean way, but he wanted us to be wise with our family. If in a few months support didn't pick up than we would need something else since a career with CCC is not possible without consistent support, but if God turned it all around than at least we would be confident that CCC was where we were supposed to be.
So we prayed...hard and long and we thought, we dreamed, we cried and we prayed some more and where God lead us was in a new direction. We were still support raising like God would provide but we opened up our hearts and minds to exploring a full-time position within a church. God laid full time ministry on my heart years ago, but we were never in a position to pursue it fully. Going on staff with CCC forced Staci and I to examine every area of our marriage and allow God to revamp and rejuvenate areas that we needed work. We re-learned how to Run To Jesus and this lesson was something we needed dearly with support raising.
So I started applying to youth pastor positions within churches all around the country. I got a lot of rejections but I also got several call backs...from churches only in the Illinois/Wisconsin area (with one exception in Ohio). Funny thing is I never put anywhere in my resume or bio that I grew up in Chicago and have family in Wisconsin (God has a plan and He is working it out to His glory). To make the long interviewning process easy to understand I will now give a brief time-line (Colors coincide with the church).
As for right now we are relying on God to provide more than ever. We don't know what the future holds, but we serve a God that is ridiculously HUGE and he continues to make his presence known through this process. I am currently working two jobs (stinks but hey sometimes you just gotta do it to make ends meet) I wish I could spend more time at home, but I know this is just a season and we will move on when it is time.
Again we have loved everyone's prayers and encouragement! As our Lifgroup 'multiplies' this term we are really excited to see what God does through it. Hope this gets everybody up to speed!
Staci and I were on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ for about 6 months (specifically from January 2010-July 2010). While support at first, was strong and promising, by the time May rolled around all support had pretty much dried up. Now we are very confident that God was the one bringing it in so when it dried up we had to start praying and processing what God might be doing through it. My support coach suggested that we start looking elsewhere, not in a mean way, but he wanted us to be wise with our family. If in a few months support didn't pick up than we would need something else since a career with CCC is not possible without consistent support, but if God turned it all around than at least we would be confident that CCC was where we were supposed to be.
So we prayed...hard and long and we thought, we dreamed, we cried and we prayed some more and where God lead us was in a new direction. We were still support raising like God would provide but we opened up our hearts and minds to exploring a full-time position within a church. God laid full time ministry on my heart years ago, but we were never in a position to pursue it fully. Going on staff with CCC forced Staci and I to examine every area of our marriage and allow God to revamp and rejuvenate areas that we needed work. We re-learned how to Run To Jesus and this lesson was something we needed dearly with support raising.
So I started applying to youth pastor positions within churches all around the country. I got a lot of rejections but I also got several call backs...from churches only in the Illinois/Wisconsin area (with one exception in Ohio). Funny thing is I never put anywhere in my resume or bio that I grew up in Chicago and have family in Wisconsin (God has a plan and He is working it out to His glory). To make the long interviewning process easy to understand I will now give a brief time-line (Colors coincide with the church).
- May- Got call back from church in Madison (LVC)
- Late May- LVC had me in their top 20 then in top 10 then turned me down for lack of experience (LVC)
- Early June- Got call from Church near Rockford (FCC)
- Late June- Had several conversations with search committee and talked with pastor(FCC)
- Mid June- Got call back from church in Oshkosh Wisconsin (OCC)
- Mid July-Was top candidate out of 100+ scheduled candidacy weekend (FCC)
- Late July- Turned down weekend with FCC because we felt that it would be a bad fit
- June-July-August and Present- Have had over 10 hours of conversations with pastoral team and (non official) face to face with head pastor with OCC
- Currently- Waiting to hear back on where I stand will know hopefully by Sept. 18th
As for right now we are relying on God to provide more than ever. We don't know what the future holds, but we serve a God that is ridiculously HUGE and he continues to make his presence known through this process. I am currently working two jobs (stinks but hey sometimes you just gotta do it to make ends meet) I wish I could spend more time at home, but I know this is just a season and we will move on when it is time.
Again we have loved everyone's prayers and encouragement! As our Lifgroup 'multiplies' this term we are really excited to see what God does through it. Hope this gets everybody up to speed!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Jameson's Baby Dedication
Last Sunday, August 29th we had the privilege of getting Jameson dedicated at Lifepoint Church. Jeremy and I LOVE our church and a lot of the people there have become like family to us...especially our Lifegroup. Having no family here in Columbus is hard enough at times, but our Lifegroup has made things so much easier. We love being able to go through life with these people! We're able to encourage one another, challenge one another, and pray for each other...so many good memories with these people!
This fall something that is happening in our Lifegroup is that we are "multiplying" (pretty much splitting). We've grown too big as a group and most of our homes can't accommodate that many people anymore. It really is bittersweet...God has blessed our group so much by bringing people in who can feel connected and where we can have community with one another. I love our group but will really miss the others but know we will still see them! I can only pray that as we begin this new fall term that God will continue to bring people to both of our groups and that He will continue to raise up new leaders in our groups so when the time comes to multiply again we will have people to lead those new groups. Jeremy and I have the joy of leading the East side group this fall and have been really praying for the people in our group to fall deeper and deeper in love with the Lord.
~~~~~~~~~~
Back to Jameson's baby dedication...since Jeremy and I were unsure whether we would be in Columbus the next few months or not, we decided to get Jameson dedicated here. Lifepoint has had a huge part in our spiritual walk over the last few years and we really admire Dean's heart...so we figured it was fitting to do the dedication here with people that we love and who know Jameson.
Something I love that our Pastor Dean says in this video is that "Jameson does not belong to us" but that he belongs first to God! This is something that I started praying when I first got pregnant. God is the giver of life and He has chosen to bless us with such a sweet boy, but we are just his earthly parents. We would be failing as parents if we didn't realize this truth. Our job as Jameson's parents is to try our best to raise him to know Christ...a decision that we can never make for him. Our prayer is that God will teach us how to be parents that honor and glorify Him. God gave up His son so that we may have life, and we need to be able to give up Jameson as parents.
So, here is the video of his baby dedication for all our family who couldn't be there. I can only pray that Jameson will give his life to Christ someday and that you all (family) will be there to share in the moment when he gets baptized. Sorry you couldn't be there for the dedication, but hopefully this video will make it seem like you were there. So here it is (oh, and Jameson got his first Bible from Lifepoint with his full name on it!):
This fall something that is happening in our Lifegroup is that we are "multiplying" (pretty much splitting). We've grown too big as a group and most of our homes can't accommodate that many people anymore. It really is bittersweet...God has blessed our group so much by bringing people in who can feel connected and where we can have community with one another. I love our group but will really miss the others but know we will still see them! I can only pray that as we begin this new fall term that God will continue to bring people to both of our groups and that He will continue to raise up new leaders in our groups so when the time comes to multiply again we will have people to lead those new groups. Jeremy and I have the joy of leading the East side group this fall and have been really praying for the people in our group to fall deeper and deeper in love with the Lord.
~~~~~~~~~~
Back to Jameson's baby dedication...since Jeremy and I were unsure whether we would be in Columbus the next few months or not, we decided to get Jameson dedicated here. Lifepoint has had a huge part in our spiritual walk over the last few years and we really admire Dean's heart...so we figured it was fitting to do the dedication here with people that we love and who know Jameson.
Something I love that our Pastor Dean says in this video is that "Jameson does not belong to us" but that he belongs first to God! This is something that I started praying when I first got pregnant. God is the giver of life and He has chosen to bless us with such a sweet boy, but we are just his earthly parents. We would be failing as parents if we didn't realize this truth. Our job as Jameson's parents is to try our best to raise him to know Christ...a decision that we can never make for him. Our prayer is that God will teach us how to be parents that honor and glorify Him. God gave up His son so that we may have life, and we need to be able to give up Jameson as parents.
"If you love your father or mother more than you love Me, you are not
worthy of being Mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than
Me, you are not worthy of being Mine...If you cling to your life, you
will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it."
Matthew 10; 37-39
worthy of being Mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than
Me, you are not worthy of being Mine...If you cling to your life, you
will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it."
Matthew 10; 37-39
So, here is the video of his baby dedication for all our family who couldn't be there. I can only pray that Jameson will give his life to Christ someday and that you all (family) will be there to share in the moment when he gets baptized. Sorry you couldn't be there for the dedication, but hopefully this video will make it seem like you were there. So here it is (oh, and Jameson got his first Bible from Lifepoint with his full name on it!):
Jameson's Baby dedication
I love my little guy!!!
I think these 2 videos are so cute! I took these about 2 weeks ago and had to share them! Here is a glimpse into the life of Jameson.
We have a snorer on our hands!
Pooping
Had to throw these 3 photos in...
We have a snorer on our hands!
Pooping
Had to throw these 3 photos in...
The guys are ready for the 1st Buckeye season of the game...Go Bucks! (oh, and they won!)
Jameson in his teddy bear jacket! I thought he looked too cute!
Our boy is getting so big!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Birth Story
We figured a lot of you have already heard our birth story, but I wanted to write it down so I didn't forget it. We also wanted to share some videos of Jameson's first few hours of life.
Sunday, July 25th at 3:00am....I woke up feeling some light contractions. They were about 8-10 apart...I remember laying in bed and staring at the clock as I timed them. I eventually got up cause I was so excited and couldn't sleep anymore! By the time Jeremy got up, we decided to skip church this morning...more so cause I feared my water breaking in the middle of church! Instead I spent the next 12 hours cleaning! I scrubbed the bathrooms, cleaned the kitchen, finished all our laundry, had Jeremy set up the baby's swing...oh yea, and finally packed our hospital bags. I am defiantly a procrastinator at times!
Sunday, July 25th at 11:00pm....after a day of cleaning and going on lots of walks, we decided that my contractions were not close enough for me to go to the hospital yet. They were lasting about 5-7 apart for 35sec-1min in length, but were not consistent enough, so we decided to go to bed.
Sunday, July 25th at 11:59pm to Monday, July 26th at 4:00am....I still could not sleep. The contractions were a little painful and were keeping me up. I maybe slept for an hour that night...I don't know how ppl can sleep through contractions! I was still timing my contractions and they were still about 5 apart and lasting about a minute. I woke Jeremy up at 4am and told him let's go for a walk! I'm sure he loved that! That night there was a HUGE full moon that was absolutely beautiful! After our walk, Jeremy cooked me breakfast and we decided to head to the hospital. of course, on the way to the hospital our car started shaking a lot and when we pulled into the parking lot, we realized we got a FLAT tire...lol!
Monday, July 26th at 5:30am....admitted to triage. Checked and was 3cm dilated! That was progress cause at all my doctor appts I had only been 1cm. The nurse monitored me for about 1/2hr and then let me get up to walk around. I walked around for about an hour. Nurse checked me again and said I was close to a 4. At this point the contractions started becoming a little further apart and were not consistent enough. We decided to walk for another hour but still had made no progress. The nurse gave us 2 options. We could go home or we could stay and they could break my water. I decided it was best to go home. I really wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I was terrified of getting pitocin or a c-section. We left the hospital around 8am. Jeremy put the donut on our car and drove to a shop where we got a new tire. We then headed to the mall to walk some more. Of course, around this time the contractions were coming further and further apart.
Monday, July 26th at noon...we head home. Contractions have pretty much stopped. :( We take a nap and shower. My friend Tara comes over to keep me company while Jeremy heads into work for orientation. 2pm...Tara and I go for a walk and the contractions start coming back. It seemed like anytime I was walking I would have contractions but when I would sit they would stop. 3:45pm...Tara and I decided to start making dinner. I had an awesome recipe for eggplant parmesean that was supposed to induce labor. While making dinner, the contractions started to get really INTENSE! I knew these were the real thing now as they became very difficult to walk and talk through. The other contractions I had been experiencing were just icing on the cake compared to these. Jeremy came home and wanted to head to the hospital. Of course silly me wanted to still stay home. I really wanted that dinner! But they were getting so bad that we had to go.
Monday, July 26th at 5:30pm...skipped triage and admitted to the hospital. Checked and was 5-6cm. Tried to last a little bit longer but decided it would be best to get the epidural. That was the longest wait and as I had to get an IV first. I finally got the "drugs" around 7pm and it was glorious! I could relax! They broke my water and I was at 6cm now. Checked an hour later at 8pm and no progress. Nurse come back at 9pm and still really no change. The nurse said she would wait 2 hours before checking me again. She mentioned pitcoin if things didn't start speeding up in the next few hours. I think my body didn't like hearing that and started to speed up things. Around 9:30pm I started to feel some pain in my lower back. I thought maybe the epidural was starting to wear off so I pressed the button they gave me for more medication. The pain was not going away, so I called in the nurse. She asked a few questions and asked me if I wanted her to check me and I decided I could wait one more hour...so stupid!
10:40pm...I was trying so hard to make it to the 2 hour mark but the pain was getting so BAD! I remember thinking I thought I'm not supposed to feel any pain cause of the epidural! I finally couldn't make it anymore and called the nurse back in. She checked me and yup I was at 10cm!!!! If only I would have had her check me earlier...I'm sure I was at 10cm an hour earlier but instead I decided to endure the pain!
11pm...started to push. I was trying so hard to make it before midnight cause I thought it would be so cool to have our baby on my due date.
Tuesday, July 27th at 12:06am...Jameson Tucker Iwanski is born!!! He had a mind of his own and came 6min past my due date! Jeremy and I were in complete shock that we had a BOY! We both thought it was going to be a girl and were pretty convinced. Jeremy was speechless when he came out. He was supposed to announce if it was a boy or girl. It took him a few seconds and then he finally said "we have a son" at the same time I said "it's a boy."
Sunday, July 25th at 3:00am....I woke up feeling some light contractions. They were about 8-10 apart...I remember laying in bed and staring at the clock as I timed them. I eventually got up cause I was so excited and couldn't sleep anymore! By the time Jeremy got up, we decided to skip church this morning...more so cause I feared my water breaking in the middle of church! Instead I spent the next 12 hours cleaning! I scrubbed the bathrooms, cleaned the kitchen, finished all our laundry, had Jeremy set up the baby's swing...oh yea, and finally packed our hospital bags. I am defiantly a procrastinator at times!
Sunday, July 25th at 11:00pm....after a day of cleaning and going on lots of walks, we decided that my contractions were not close enough for me to go to the hospital yet. They were lasting about 5-7 apart for 35sec-1min in length, but were not consistent enough, so we decided to go to bed.
Sunday, July 25th at 11:59pm to Monday, July 26th at 4:00am....I still could not sleep. The contractions were a little painful and were keeping me up. I maybe slept for an hour that night...I don't know how ppl can sleep through contractions! I was still timing my contractions and they were still about 5 apart and lasting about a minute. I woke Jeremy up at 4am and told him let's go for a walk! I'm sure he loved that! That night there was a HUGE full moon that was absolutely beautiful! After our walk, Jeremy cooked me breakfast and we decided to head to the hospital. of course, on the way to the hospital our car started shaking a lot and when we pulled into the parking lot, we realized we got a FLAT tire...lol!
Monday, July 26th at 5:30am....admitted to triage. Checked and was 3cm dilated! That was progress cause at all my doctor appts I had only been 1cm. The nurse monitored me for about 1/2hr and then let me get up to walk around. I walked around for about an hour. Nurse checked me again and said I was close to a 4. At this point the contractions started becoming a little further apart and were not consistent enough. We decided to walk for another hour but still had made no progress. The nurse gave us 2 options. We could go home or we could stay and they could break my water. I decided it was best to go home. I really wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I was terrified of getting pitocin or a c-section. We left the hospital around 8am. Jeremy put the donut on our car and drove to a shop where we got a new tire. We then headed to the mall to walk some more. Of course, around this time the contractions were coming further and further apart.
Monday, July 26th at noon...we head home. Contractions have pretty much stopped. :( We take a nap and shower. My friend Tara comes over to keep me company while Jeremy heads into work for orientation. 2pm...Tara and I go for a walk and the contractions start coming back. It seemed like anytime I was walking I would have contractions but when I would sit they would stop. 3:45pm...Tara and I decided to start making dinner. I had an awesome recipe for eggplant parmesean that was supposed to induce labor. While making dinner, the contractions started to get really INTENSE! I knew these were the real thing now as they became very difficult to walk and talk through. The other contractions I had been experiencing were just icing on the cake compared to these. Jeremy came home and wanted to head to the hospital. Of course silly me wanted to still stay home. I really wanted that dinner! But they were getting so bad that we had to go.
Monday, July 26th at 5:30pm...skipped triage and admitted to the hospital. Checked and was 5-6cm. Tried to last a little bit longer but decided it would be best to get the epidural. That was the longest wait and as I had to get an IV first. I finally got the "drugs" around 7pm and it was glorious! I could relax! They broke my water and I was at 6cm now. Checked an hour later at 8pm and no progress. Nurse come back at 9pm and still really no change. The nurse said she would wait 2 hours before checking me again. She mentioned pitcoin if things didn't start speeding up in the next few hours. I think my body didn't like hearing that and started to speed up things. Around 9:30pm I started to feel some pain in my lower back. I thought maybe the epidural was starting to wear off so I pressed the button they gave me for more medication. The pain was not going away, so I called in the nurse. She asked a few questions and asked me if I wanted her to check me and I decided I could wait one more hour...so stupid!
10:40pm...I was trying so hard to make it to the 2 hour mark but the pain was getting so BAD! I remember thinking I thought I'm not supposed to feel any pain cause of the epidural! I finally couldn't make it anymore and called the nurse back in. She checked me and yup I was at 10cm!!!! If only I would have had her check me earlier...I'm sure I was at 10cm an hour earlier but instead I decided to endure the pain!
11pm...started to push. I was trying so hard to make it before midnight cause I thought it would be so cool to have our baby on my due date.
Tuesday, July 27th at 12:06am...Jameson Tucker Iwanski is born!!! He had a mind of his own and came 6min past my due date! Jeremy and I were in complete shock that we had a BOY! We both thought it was going to be a girl and were pretty convinced. Jeremy was speechless when he came out. He was supposed to announce if it was a boy or girl. It took him a few seconds and then he finally said "we have a son" at the same time I said "it's a boy."
Jameson Tucker Iwanski
7lbs 10oz, 20 inches long
7lbs 10oz, 20 inches long
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Welcome to our Blog!
Jeremy and I decided to create this blog to keep all our family and friends updated on the happenings of the Iwanski family! So, please visit us often!
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