Callum's Birthday

Dear friends and family,

The Bass family, as you may have heard, gained a new member on May 23rd, 2018. His name is Callum Silas Bass and he is such a gift. This transition into parenthood has been full of hard moments, of sleepless nights, and of "what the heck do we do" questions. But this season has been overwhelmingly drenched in the gift of having this baby in our lives and our family. It is insane to me how much our lives make sense now and made automatic room for Callum the moment he entered our world. 

His journey to making it earthside is one that I wanted to share with you all because I believe it is another incredible testament to the goodness of God and the beauty that he weaves into each of our stories. 

As many of you know from my last post Callum ( or Junebug as he was being called at the time) began making appeals to fly the coop early at 34 weeks. Due to that, my midwives wisely advised that I begin bedrest to make it to 37 weeks, full term. James and I took their advice and I went on bedrest. During those weeks of bedrest I was having a ton of false labor and pre-labor signs. We would make it another week and I would be amazed that my body had continued to hold out. But it did, and I believe that is the first miraculous part of Callum's story. Despite doubt from most of our healthcare team that my body would make it full term, we did make it, almost to the day.

Also, heads up to those of you who don't want to read the full birth story, feel free to skip to the "The Perfect Birth Date" part to get the most important part! 

May 20 // Labor Began

Sunday, May 20th arrived, 37 weeks officially. I had woken up feeling like this was it, we waited and waited for this day and my body wasn't going to hold out much longer in keeping this kid inside of me. That evening we had gone to eat at James' parents house and I had been having false labor contractions all day (as per usual) but then I had a different feeling contraction. One that felt more intense and made me want to jump out of my seat and walk it off. I mentioned it to James that night, we went home and tried to bunker down to rest knowing that if this was real labor I needed some sweet energy stored up. We managed to rest until the early hours of the morning but around 2 or 3 am my contractions began ramping up and we were no longer able to sleep soundly. We waited patiently until 6 am when my contractions had become timeable and regular at about 5 minutes apart. We called the midwife on call and got a "congratulations you made it full term, go ahead and come to the birthing center." 

May 21 // Labor Continues

James and I loaded up our go bags that had been backed for the past 3 weeks in anticipation of whenever this babe decided to arrive. We drove to the birthing center but stopped at Sonic first because I was determined to have a Sonic water with lemon and their ice while I labored. The midwife greeted us, checked me and verified it seemed I was in real labor but was only dilated to a 3. She sent us on a mission to walk and ramp labor up. We walked for about 2 hours but upon returning to get checked nothing had changed. 

Oh how optimistic we were at this point!

My mom arrived at this time, the midwife wanted to send us away to wait it out longer. Due to the birthing center being quite a ways from our house I called a friend who lived about 5 minutes away and asked to come labor at her house. She graciously allowed us to take over her home while she had a toddler and a newborn of her own to manage. Shout out to Kristen Martin, your hospitality and friendship has always amazed me but allowing me to upend your day by laboring at your house for a few hours was an all time new level of love. 

After a few hours at Kristen's house I bent over her kitchen counter and demandingly announced "we need to go to the birthing center NOW." We all hopped in the car and upon arrival found out I was dilated to a 6, I could be admitted to the birthing center. It was one of those hallelujah moments, I was thinking "Whew, okay this baby is going to come tonight, I've got this." 

Oh how wrong I was...

I got into labor mode, practicing comfort measures with James and my mom faithfully by my side. Hours passed I had not progressed at all. I started getting feisty, I climbed stairs, I used the birthing ball, I did lunges. Yes, lunges, while in labor, real fun stuff. Afternoon turned into night and nothing had changed. 

James was the best labor coach

The midwife advised a time of therapeutic rest, since my first real contraction the night before it had been 24 hours and both James and I were tired. Due to the possibility that at 37 weeks our baby could possibly not have a fully developed respiratory system, I opted to not take any medication (since this particular medication could interfere with the babies' respiratory function) to help with the rest and space out the contractions. So I slept that night, as best as one does in between contractions.

May 22 // Labor Stalls

The next morning dawned, it was Tuesday and once again nothing had changed. I had not progressed one bit. The birthing center decided that it seemed my baby didn't want to come quite yet and due again to baby being full term but early at 37 weeks advised it could be good to wait and not push it along too quickly. Exhausted, severely disappointed, and still having contractions in this pattern of stalling at a 6; we decided to trust our medical team and trust God. I got in the car and broke down in tears for what would be the first of many times that day. 

We drove home and arrived with the directions to rest as best as possible for whenever labor decided to ramp up. I went to my chiropractor that morning with desperate hope that maybe that could help labor move along or at least make it to where this baby was positioned in the best possible way for when labor did ramp up. I continued to have contractions every 5 minutes or so and I continued to cry out to God "what the heck are you doing, my body cannot do this much longer." At this point it had been a good 36 hours of labor and about 24 hours of being in this stalled pattern. Funnily enough I had convinced myself that I could do a 12-15 hour labor no problem while I was in birthing class. Yeah, I was WAY past that. 

That night, we chatted with our midwife again (we had been in touch throughout the day) and came up with a game plan to try to get rest that night and come back on Wednesday morning to help move this labor along. James and I felt good about the plan. I had been prescribed an anti-anxiety medicine used to help with easing contractions when I had been on bed rest, I was advised to take that medicine that night to help with resting (and since there were no risks of interfering with the baby's respiratory system) I agreed. 

I popped the pill, laid down, and literally jumped out of bed 30 minutes later clutching at our bed post and exclaiming "I don't think these contractions are slowing down James." James helped me into the bathtub to see if maybe the water would help ease them. About 15 minutes into my bath, the contractions continued and I announced to James, "I'm not leaving this tub, the midwives are going to have to come to me." At that point he thought it was a good idea to call our midwife and see what she thought about this turn of events. 

Due to the frequency, intensity of my contractions/the fact that the anti-anxiety medicine turned me into a loopy, very foggy version of myself, James chatted with my midwife on speaker phone. He told her, "She's refusing to get out of the bathtub." Our midwife announced to James' surprise, "You need to get her here now, she sounds like she's in full fledged labor." James, the poor guy, who at this point had been in this labor long haul with me for the past 2 days goes "Are you sure? She's been in labor for a long time." After getting a more stern directive from the midwife, he jumped into action, packing our car, getting me up and out of the bathtub and to the birthing center in about 30 minutes flat (which is impressive seeing that our birthing center is a good 45 minutes away with no traffic). 

May 23 // Callum's Birthday

We arrived to our midwife and her student, I walked through the door in a complete daze and said, "check me." That anti-anxiety medicine worked wonders for my chill level in labor. I was at an 8. The midwife announced "you are going to have this baby soon." 

My thought was, "IT IS ABOUT FREAKING TIME." But I was way too tired and drugged to vocalize that. 

We began laboring and it, praise God, began moving fast.  Within 2 hours I was at a 10 and got the go ahead to begin pushing. Pushing...well let me say first, pushing SUCKS...just had to get that off my chest.

We began in earnest, I mean I had been in labor for the past 2 and a half days and I was in the home stretch I would do anything to free this baby from my body. Turns out though the homestretch was not going to come easy (I mean at this point I should have expected nothing less.) About TWO hours into pushing the baby's heart rate began to drop during contractions. They put me on oxygen to help assist the baby as I continued to push. More minutes passed and I heard from my midwife, "I'm no longer going to be cheerleading, I'm going to get more direct we need to get this baby out." The baby's heart rate had begun to drop again and we were not at a hospital, so really the only way to get this baby out was ME. They turned me onto my hands and knees and I began to push earnestly, in between shouting "IS MY BABY OK?!?!?", as they checked the heart rate. After what felt like the hardest half hour of my entire life James caught our beautiful, perfectly healthy baby. I was handed this screaming, cheesy looking, hairy babe. The babe was a boy, just like his Daddy and Aunt Kenzie had called from the beginning. Oh and at 37 weeks was fully developed and a whopping 7 pounds and 2 ounces. 

We named him Callum Silas Bass. Callum means dove in latin but was used by the early Church as a symbol of the Holy Spirit and peace. As I was pregnant with Callum both James and I as we were praying for him had gotten verses about peace and peacemakers. We also had gotten a verse that talked about Callum ushering in a new season of restoration and hope to our extended families.

The Perfect Birth Date

What we didn't know is that Callum would be fulfilling that word of restoration on his very first day of life. My mom had come to stay with us that first night and explained to us that this was the week she dreaded each year. You see, 15 years ago it was the last day of school for us as kids, I was graduating 5th grade and my sisters Kenzie and Rissa were graduating 3rd and 1st respectively. We had come home from school that day, Kenzie had been home sick with what we thought was just a passing bug that whole week. Instead on that day she had her first seizure and was diagnosed with viral encephalitis that progressively ravaged her brain and stole a lot from her and honestly our entire family for these past 15 years. My mom, of course, would dread the anniversary of that day each year. Earlier that week, she began worrying that with the complication of my pregnancy with Callum trying to come early, that something bad was going to happen. This week held the most terrible history our family had ever experienced. But instead of something bad happening, on the day that Kenzie had her first seizure, May 23rd, 15 years later to the day, my mom was given her first grandchild, a perfectly healthy baby boy.

I cried for a lot of reasons when she told me that. But the thought that pulsed loudest in my mind was, "God, you are a God who is involved in the smallest details of our stories, weaving the ugly into the most beautiful of plot twists." I was on bedrest for 3 weeks and in labor for 50 plus hours (and though that was down right awful and I had no idea when this baby would decide to come) God knew the perfect date for Callum's birthday. 

Callum Bass, you have already made an impact that is beyond what I could have ever imagined for you in your first weeks of life. The most exciting thing as your mom is I get a front row seat to all the ways God is going to continue to write your story. I can promise you bud, it is going to be epic. His stories always are. 

Newborn Photography by Deborah Glenn

All my love,

Molly  

Junebug Bass

A New Normal

Hey everyone,

It has been about a year since we have finished up discipleship school and took our mission's trip to Belgium. You may be wondering why we have not posted anything to our blog this past year. There has been a lot of normal things happening; going to work, getting pregnant, investing in our local community and church. This season felt like a good time to put in the work in a less "tell the social media world about it" way. It has been quite the journey, our biggest and best one being this baby we are about to meet any week now. 

Bed Rest

However, since I have been on bed rest, in a forced "sabbatical" as I have re-named it, the urge to update this blog before this monumental transition begins has increased. You see, a lot of being pregnant and growing this baby has been a front row seat to the miraculous. I believe that pregnancy, a baby growing from one cell to a living, breathing human, can be described as no less than miraculous. Not only have I been inspired due to this miraculous journey but recently this pregnancy has taken a few unexpected turns. James and I were bopping along, doing life, with the whole usual rollercoaster of ups and downs that life provides us when our typical, healthy pregnancy was hijacked by a babe who decided to start making a move (down my pelvis). 

We had gone to church like usual 2 and a half weeks ago when some unexpected, way too much information to share on a blog, type of things occurred in my body. I called one of our midwives, and she said it did seem unusual but not to be too worried even though I was only 34 weeks. Later that day we had gone to our birthing center for one of our birthing classes. That same midwife happened to be there due to a mom going into labor. She took a moment to check me and announced that not only had Junebug dropped (way low) but that my body was preparing for labor. It was too early, at this point in the pregnancy, before 37 weeks it is referred to as preterm labor. A baby's major systems are not ready to go, but especially their respiratory system until 37 weeks. I was given strict instructions on what I could and could not do, one being I needed to stop working. 

A Legacy of Freedom 

I was officially bummed. First off, I had been doing everything right, had a healthy pregnancy, everything was going according to my plan. Everything about this new waiting, doing nothing game, clawed at my want for control and pushed my fear into overdrive. That first morning off from work I was sitting down determined to have a good quiet time with Jesus, and he brought me back to a conversation James and I had recently. 

We had been sitting in the car and the topic of what kind of parents we wanted to be had come up again. It was a typical topic for us, I mean aside from the fact we are pregnant with our first child, we majored in child development and marriage and family therapy for crying out loud. This stuff is our life work and we see the good, bad, and ugly of it everyday in our jobs. I began to talk about how I wanted Junebug to know that they were worth so much more than they produced, that their worth was and always would be ultimately found in who God created them to be. I began crying as I talked about it. The crying was not only from pregnancy hormones (although I'm sure that was a contributor) but from a deep connection with that truth. It has been something only a few years earlier that during a freedom weekend I found out that I had struggled with believing. My nature was to operate out of a place of my worth being found in what I did rather than who I was. I am sure I came about it quite naturally as a natural achiever, first born in my family, and growing up in America (where go getting is our way). The problem with that though is, it isn't the gospel. It is not who I am  as a child of God, nor how I have to operate. In fact, the gospel is quite the opposite. We did not do anything to earn salvation from God, it is a gift that through faith we get to receive. The gospel is not about what we did or what we do even now, it is about what God did and is doing in our life. Paul covers this topic well in Ephesians 2 when he says: 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no man may boast." 

For me, learning that I was operating under that presumption or really a lie a few years ago, utterly rocked my world. It was not something I was able to give up that one time but something that freed me to begin seeing myself as God sees me more and more. It freed me from not having to live and die by what I had achieved that day or week. As I was realizing this, God reminded me that a forced "sabbatical" to help Junebug stay inside of me was another great opportunity to learn this lesson, that I am more than what I can accomplish on any given day. Believe me, you cannot accomplish much during bed rest, except well, rest. He also gently reminded me that in order to teach this lesson to Junebug as they grow up in our home, I needed to learn it first. 

So for the past two weeks I have had the chance to learn and receive this truth again, that I am more than what I do. In order that one day this baby will hopefully not have to wait til they are 23 years old and at a freedom conference to receive it. My hope is that their norm will be to find their worth in who they are as a child of God first and foremost. 

Now we wait for this baby's arrival with all the feelings of first time parents, excitement, nerves, and anticipation. Junebug, you have made this a good ride, babe. I have learned so much just by carrying you these 9 months and I know that it will only increase as you teach me more the rest of your life. Meet you face to face soon, okay? 

Love,

Your Mom

Bon Jour Brussels // Hola Barcelona

As many of you know, we came back recently from a trip to Brussels as a part of finishing up our year in Antioch's Discipleship School. We are now completely finished with ADS (*insert victorious applause here.) So many of you partnered with us in providing support through financial gifts, praying, and personally encouraging us. We needed that, oh so much on this trip. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here's the down low on what happened...(if you need to skip to the pictures at the end, by all means.) 

Brussels 

Some interesting things about this Brussels trip that I feel set the stage for how it went down that you should know...

1. This was James and my first international short term trip together. (1a. But it was our 4th short term mission trip led by Jeremy West) 

2. Our team's trip included 7 kiddos under the age of 6 years old.

3. During our 10 days there, Brussels experienced a heatwave with temps reaching into the high 80's and low 90's most days with bountiful sunshine (3a. Brussels, along with many countries in Europe, do not have A/C. This combined with the heatwave/doing street evangelism points to the more miserable part of this trip)

4. Brussels is marked by diversity. In our time there just James and I alone encountered people from over 15 nations. 

5. Our church, Antioch Dallas, is setting up a church plant there in the city. These are the people we got to partner with while there. 

6. The Brussels' long term team included young adults there for 3 month internships. Those interns were freaking rockstars. 

7. Our two main focuses were evangelism and prayer & intercession.

8. Our day to day included evangelism throughout Brussels in their parks, squares, and streets.

9. A few of the women on our team partnered with a local ministry in reaching out to women in the red light district of Brussels.

10. Getting to go on a short term trip with our discipleship school crew was such an incredible bonding experience.

Ministering the Gospel in Europe

For James and I being back in Europe is like being back in your old stomping grounds. People often ask us if we would move internationally again, we say "yes, specifically back to Europe." When we lived in Ireland, God gave us not just a heart for that country but the whole continent in a way that solidified our passion for seeing the gospel come there. Some of you may not know that Europe is known as one of the hardest places to reach for the gospel in the world currently. Most of Europe is not "unreached", as in they have never been exposed to the gospel, but much of it is classified as post-christian and unengaged with the gospel. 

As James and I met people in Brussels day after day we found ourselves ministering to Europeans. I don't know if this was us purposely identifying people we thought were Europeans and going up to them, or God placing them in our path, or a mix of both. But what we found over and over again as we spoke to Europeans, many around our age, are three main things: 

1. They did not grow up in church. The last people to attend church regularly in their family were their grandparents.

2. They had never had the gospel explained to them, even though they may be able to tell you who the main characters are.

3. They think the Gospel and Christianity are good things for some people but not for them. Especially when they're this young and just enjoying life.

Honestly, that's how most conversations went, James and I again having lived in Europe were not surprised in the least. This is what we were used to, this is the environment we had gotten to know while living in it. 

What did surprise me though was that during our trip we actually did encounter people seeking God, studying the bible, looking for community, wondering about the gospel. It was by no means the majority of the trip; I mean James got shut down by every single person he talked to each day except for the last person on our last day there. Here's the story: He and two of the interns had met a guy with a cast on his leg. As they got to talking with him they realized that he had NEVER HEARD THE NAME OF JESUS. They then explained the gospel and that they believed God healed and asked to pray for it. The guy lit a cigarette and sat there smoking but let them pray for his leg to be healed. After they prayed, they asked if he felt any different. The guy actually stood up and started walking around on his leg in the cast which he hadn't been doing before. He was blown away! What took my breath away is that there were stories like that the whole week, even among the rejections. There was a time recently in Brussels where that would not have been the case!

I was stalking my favorite worship leaders on Instagram (as you do) and I came across one of them quoting Melissa Helser as describing what's happening in Europe as a thawing. I don't know if there is a better way to describe what God is doing in Europe right now than that word "thawing." A thawing is not something that happens instantly, it's slower, steadier, easily overlooked if you are in a hurry. But it's there. That's what I saw in Brussels this time around, that's what we got to partner with, the thawing that's taking place in people's hearts and lives across that city. It was an honor to be a part of it.

Barcelona

The part of our trip that not as many of you knew about is us going to Barcelona. One of our best friends, Vivian, and her sister, Audrey are living over there working with a local church. We have the opportunity to support both of them in their ministry so we wanted to take the opportunity to go over and see in person what was happening at their church and in their city.

The first morning we were there we went to the local coffee shop near their house and down the street from their church. As James was checking out he asked the cashier if she knew about the church our friends were a part of, the cashier brightened up and spent 5 minutes gushing about how much she loved that church and the people there. What a sign that you are impacting a city, when your local barista tells a stranger about the love that she has felt from your church. The Sunday service we were in, two young adults that grew up in Barcelona committed their lives to Jesus publicly in baptism. It was such an honor to witness the fruit that day of what so many of the missionaries at that church have invested in the people of Barcelona. 

James and I have a huge heart for encouraging missionaries and pastors and there may have been no greater encouragement during our time in Ireland than when people came over to see us in person. There were just something about having them there, flesh and blood, in your place, learning what you did that lifted the burden and strengthened you for the journey like nothing else could. For us our hearts are to be able to provide that for others, because we have felt the need before. So to be able to be that for a few short days for Vivian and Audrey was such a sweet gift. 

If you'd like to know more about what they are doing over there in Barcelona, you can check it out here

Again, to everyone who gave, thank you! Your partnering with us as we go where God has called us has made all the difference in our lives. We could not do it without you. 

Now ADS is over, mission trips have finished and we are settling into a new little milieu here in Dallas, Texas. We are continually blown away that we get to wake up each day and go to jobs that we love and are passionate about. (James' bio is now up on his company's page) We are enjoying and soaking in the sweetness of community we have here. We are just now beginning to go back to the drawing board and have space enough to dream and hope again for what is to come. Our mission here looks like it's just now ramping up. We can't wait to share it with you in the coming months. 

Love,

The Basses 

You're going where? But, why?

Have you ever jumped headfirst into a commitment for no other reason than you felt God calling you into it? 

To be sure, Molly and I definitely stepped out in faith as we became missionaries in Ireland. Most of you reading this blog either walked closely with us through that season, or supported us financially and with prayer, or some mixture of both. THANK YOU. Honestly, you all changed our lives for the better in that season and God did some incredible work.

Yet, August 2017 began a new season as we returned from Ireland and landed in Dallas Texas. Molly had just landed a dream job, and I was jobless, both of us living with my very gracious parents. (You may have read Molly's blog a few weeks ago about this and it was epic, if you haven't yet, you should go back and read it.) Then in September, with our transition barely even started, God opened up an opportunity to jump into Antioch's School of Discipleship ( a 10 month commitment), and we took it. 

"WHY?", you ask? We weren't sure entirely, and we were quite intimidated by the journey, but we felt God's direction and we knew it would be for our good. So we dove in headfirst. 

Thus began a season where on a weekly basis we questioned whether we had what it took to finish. We experienced the joys of a new and deepening community, along with the pain of sharing each other's burdens. We learned epic things about God's heart for us and for the nations from pastors and missionaries from all over the world. We spent hours each week preparing, reading books, writing reflections, and applying what we learned to our lives. We began to see each of the individuals and families in our class as a team, and we got excited as we noticed God growing and maturing each of us every single week. The books we have read, the things we have heard, the discussions we have had, the prayers and advice spoken, and the disciplines we have put into practice are irreplaceable, and I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity to join into this team. God truly knew what He was doing. The injured parts of us have begun the process of healing, our foundation has been re-established, and we are known and loved in an incredible community. That is how life-changing this discipleship school has been for us.

And now, this weekend we are graduating from Antioch's Discipleship School and we are so excited. 

YET THERE IS ONE THING LEFT FOR US TO DO TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY... WE NEED YOUR HELP to become fully funded to go on the Discipleship School's Brussels Mission Trip. 

We have less than one week left!

In only 6 days we board our flight to head over to Brussels for our 2-week mission! That is SO SOON! This is the capstone to our whole discipleship school, the mission we have all been praying for these past 10 months!

So here's the skinny: As of tonight we are 56% fundraised for the trip. That means we only need $1,980 to be fully funded. That's it! To everyone who has been praying for us and has given, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Our goal: To be fully funded by midnight Sunday, June 11.

How do you play a part? Take a moment, ask God to provide for us, and see what God says. Thats it. Plain and simple.

And if you'd like to invest in us going on mission to Brussels, YOU ARE AMAZING. Here's the link!

To be honest, God has provided for us in crazy ways over the years, and we're guessing this will be no different. You guys have been with us through the thick and thin and we know whatever God tells you to do, you act on it, 100%. This is just an opportunity to jump into what God is going to do in Brussels and in us the next two weeks. 

Why Brussels?

Every year, as a final part of Antioch's Discipleship School, the class goes on an overseas mission trip as to experience and practice what we have been learning throughout the year. Last year our church sent a team to Brussels as well and they encountered over 100 different nations!

This is a unique opportunity for the Church to reach the world, and our church is responding again with two primary purposes: to build on what was started last year in Brussels, and to begin to a church plant right there in the city!

As of right now, there is already an Antioch team of about 10 people in Brussels who are committed to be there either for the whole summer or for a whole year. Our class' job will be to travel to Brussels, and for two weeks, help jumpstart their mission there in any way we can. 

As many of you know, Brussels is the home to the European Union. This places the city as the centerpoint to European politics and global interest. Not only that, there is a flood of refugees and immigrants from various parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, which has led to a cultural hotbed of religions and people groups never before seen in the same city until now! 

So here are several things we are hoping to see God do the next several weeks that you can be praying for. First, we need our discipleship class to be unified, protected, and bold to share our faith with the people we meet. Second, we need God to give favor and wisdom for the church planting team who will be there long after we leave. Third, for the people of Brussels to find peace and security in Jesus Christ, and for the hearts of every culture and refugee group to be open to receive the Gospel. 

Thanks everyone, we can't do this alone, and your support and prayers are powerful! We can't wait to share with you what God does in Brussels in a few weeks!

When You Get A Yes

Hey friends, family, strangers (if there are any of you reading this who don't know us, welcome),

This week was a monumental week for the Bass family. After 9 months of being back from Ireland, James began his full time job. He had been working diligently job searching, working part time jobs, and working over 60 hour work weeks with two part time jobs these past few months. That all changed on Monday, and the story of how we got here is one for the record books.

Some of you may know pieces of it via social media or hearing from friends or family. Some of you were very much a part of it, walking through the continual ups/downs/and horrific waiting that accompanies job searching. Big shout out to our discipleship group, lifegroup, best friends, and family who trudged through it with us. 

This week I felt the need to share a few more details into our story because my hope is that it will deeply encourage somebody. Whether you are in the middle of a job search, following a dream God has given you, or just in a particularly rough season of waiting on what feels like forever for God to make a move; I hope this helps. 

Where it all began

This all started much further back than August 2016, when we stepped off the plane at DFW. This journey really began on Curracloe Beach in Ireland. It was our favorite beach, the place where James and I would go to dream dreams and envision our life. As God began to close our chapter in Ireland we began to dream together of what he may have next for us. For me, it was most definitely without a doubt getting to work as a child life specialist in the hospital setting. For James the dream was to continue in ministry, doing what he loved, pastoring the church. It seemed pretty clear to us, he was currently rocking at ministry and loving every second of it, why not continue to do it when we got back?

The few weeks before we left Ireland James began job searching. He had countless positive conversations and interviews in the month we got back with various churches and ministries in Dallas. Then I was blown out of the water when after two weeks of being back in the states I got the call that I got the job as a child life specialist, a dream more than a decade in the making for me. We rolled into September, I started my job and James and I began to pray about what church and ministry God wanted him to be a part of. 

When the answer is "no"

This is when it got hard, when God first tipped his hand that this may not go the way we thought. Because as we prayed, and as job offers from churches and ministries came in, we kept hearing a resounding "no" from God. For those of you with kids between the ages of 18 months and 3 years old who have experienced the gravity and drama associated with telling your child "no" and the ensuing meltdown that can occur, that is how I would best describe my typical response when God tells me "no" to something I'm positive that I desperately need. These weren't just any churches. These were churches and ministries we theologically agreed and deeply resonated with, and God was saying "no." What the heck God!

So my husband, in one of the bravest moves I've seen him pull to date turned down these job offers one by one, until there weren't any job offers left. This began the scarier season of October through December, where I was happily working my job that was incredible but in no way could financially support the both of us, we were living with James' parents going on three months at that point, and we both had no idea what job James was supposed to pursue or what he even wanted to do. Top it off with having to share one car and not having any savings, we found ourselves in one of the most desperate places we had been in to date. 

During this time God showed up and provided through many odd jobs that family and friends (shout out to the Basses and Briscoes) gave to James that helped not only float us but also enabled him to maintain his sanity. James began broadening his scope of job searching to coffee shops, book stores, para church organizations and began thinking about what going into counseling would look like, but the picture wasn't any clearer to either of us. And on top of that none of those jobs he was applying to ended up offering him a job. It was adding insult to injury. First he had gotten job offers, good ones, that he turned down and now he wasn't getting anything! Even though James had his master's in marriage and family therapy, for those of you who may not be familiar with the therapy world, when you begin counseling you have to accrue thousands of hours before becoming professionally licensed and in most cases are getting paid hardly anything for the few years it takes to accrue those hours. So in the moment, when you have no savings and are still living with your parents, it wasn't really an option.

All out of options

So in a move that was almost completely born out of desperation we decided to fast one weekend in November and believe for God to show up. We prayed and fasted and at the very end when we decided to break the fast and share with each other what we felt God say we hadn't really gotten anything new or anything clearer. A few minutes later I checked my phone and found a text from a good friend of ours. She had sent the text the very minute we had broken the fast and in it she said "I don't know why I haven't shared this with ya'll yet, but for the past few weeks every time I pray about James' job I keep hearing "counseling" and feel peace about that instead of ministry in a church." That text message, in one fell swoop, changed it all. It was the first clear thing we had heard about jobs in months and it also happened to be the first time counseling had been mentioned from somebody we completely trusted was interceding for us. 

The month of November went by and James applied to a few more places including one counseling place that the son of a family friend worked at. November turned into December, our budget looked as meek and mild as the baby Jesus in the manger and James was no closer to a job. A few days before Christmas James got a call from that counseling place out of the blue, they were looking to fill a part time position, found his application and wanted him to come in for an interview. We were pretty excited but tried to suppress the joy so as not to get let down one more time. At the same time James had gotten an e-mail from a student at DBU looking for a caregiver for his last semester of his undergrad.  That too, came out of nowhere, we thanked the Lord for the opportunities but wondered how it would all work out. Mind you at this point we were still living with his parents, and James' younger brother had also moved back home for the winter break, so we were all one big happy family of 5 adults sharing bathrooms and kitchen space and wanting more than anything that Christmas for Santa to bring us our own home. 

New Year's Eve weekend rolled around and we decided we needed to get away just to pray and think about these two jobs that it looked like it was coming down to. We got away and the first night we got a call from the student at DBU offering James the care giving position full time. That weekend was spent rejoicing and thanking God but also wondering about the counseling job and the word that we had gotten in November. The following Monday, Innovation 360 offered him a part time position as a life development coach, which is essentially experiential therapy where they take their clients to do activities to process what's happening in their lives. We had a decision to make: to take only one of the jobs meant we'd be in James' parents house for a while longer, or to take both of the jobs meant 2 hour commutes and 60-70 hour work weeks for the next few months. We prayed about it and in another move of complete strength and bravery my husband took on both jobs. Which meant in February we were able to move out of James' parent's house after 6 months of living with them, at the ripe old ages of 25 and 26, after being married for 4 years (just want to paint the picture for you.) It kinda felt like a jail break, except that I love my in-laws and they cooked us dinner every night. But the freedom, the freedom was like no other. Like I could walk around in my own space with various levels of clothing on kinda freedom.

Celebrating This Week

On Friday, James finished up care giving with Brian at DBU. I can't explain all that the role entailed because I didn't live it. But I can say for all the long commutes, the unseen work of care giving, and the physical toll of it, I don't know if I've ever been more proud of James Bass. A few weeks ago James got the offer to start full time as a life development coach and coordinator, a job that he had fallen in love with doing part time. Oh and it also happens to be in the .05% of therapy jobs where they pay you a decent salary even before you are professionally licensed. Go figure! His first day of full time work was this Monday, the next business day after his full time job with care giving ended. God's timing again, something I never fully comprehend in the moment, turned out to be perfect. 

A good friend of ours and beyond brilliant woman of God shared with me back in the bleak seasons in the fall after James turned down multiple jobs that "all of God's no's are for our good, they make sense in hindsight, we just have to remember that in the moment when it doesn't make any sense at all" Oh man, was she spot on. 

So here's my encouragement to you, if you have been told "no" by people, by your job, or even by God. If you are out of options and far from your dreams. You may be even sharing in the blessing of living back home with your parents post college. If you feel like you are stuck with no clear direction and no money in your bank account to support you even if you did. We've been there, recently. By no means will I say it was a walk in the park but my goodness I can say God out-did himself. I've got the hindsight now that comes after the "no's" and I am confident that we are exactly where we need to be in Dallas serving the weary, the broken, and the hurting. He's got that for you too, he has a "yes" for you that will come after all of this waiting. The rainbow after the storm, if you will. And if you wait for it, if you hold on to that promise just a little longer, it will be absolutely breathtaking when you see it come to fruition. Just you wait. He's always faithful to bring the "yes" after the "no."