Georgia's baptism

Since we knew I was pregnant with each of our children, Nathan and I have prayed for their salvation.

It is the deepest desire of our hearts for our children to follow Christ.

Georgia has been asking spiritual questions for months now,

 and we have been so very blessed by our conversations with her.

In late August, with no prompting from her parents, she prayed and asked Jesus to save her, 

to draw her to himself, to give her new life in him.

Her joy and enthusiasm was immediately apparent--is still apparent--and is such a blessing to us.

After a private interview with two of our pastors, who confirmed the work of God in Georgia's life (to the best of their ability), Georgia was baptized by her father on October 9, 2016. Later in the service, as a baptized believer, she participated in communion for the first time.  What a privilege! What a blessing! We pray it will be a lasting, treasured memory for Georgia as she grows in her faith.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Nathan's sermon at SBTS, September 15, 2015

Last week, Nathan had the opportunity to preach in chapel at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. We spent two years at SBTS for Nathan's M.Div., and we loved our time there. We grew in our love for Jesus and our love for each other, and the seminary has greatly shaped who we have become now. It was quite the honor and privilege for Nathan to preach. Sadly, I wasn't there in person, but I was able to live stream it (see my cute screen shot?:-)

You can listen to Nathan's sermon here, and I pray you will be blessed by it!

http://www.sbts.edu/resources/chapel/the-danger-of-false-teachers/

The Finns take Jackson, part 2 (first contact)

You can read part one here

Mid week of Valentine's week, Nathan came home from work, put his things down, and sat in his rocking chair to chat with me about his day. This was not unusual or uncommon; he did this most days. The kids weren't around at that moment, though I don't remember why. Nathan seemed distracted and fidgety, but it wasn't enough to bother me.

Then he said: “I've been contacted by a friend at Union about submitting my resume for the Dean's position.” Long pause. “And I didn't say no.”

BOOM. There it was. He didn't automatically say no, and in that moment, I think we both knew something had changed.  In the past, different people had suggested Nathan submit his resume for the open position, but he had never felt led to do that until the "first contact" in February. 

He agreed to pray about it, and we took a few days to pray and decide if he should proceed with sending in his resume. Truthfully, I prayed a little bit, and cried a lot at least once in those few days. Yes, I had a big, ugly, I-don't-want-to-go-don't-make-me cry before Nathan even sent his resume. Because, you see, sending the resume is saying we were okay with going. And I wasn't. In fact, I told Nathan that if he wanted to submit his resume because of some age-old promise to Danny Akin (see part one), I wasn't biting. It was not necessary, and it was unfair to Union (or any other school that came calling) if we didn't really mean to go through with the process. Nathan assured me that he wanted to submit his resume to Union because he wanted the job. God had changed his heart, and I am not sure either of us saw it coming until it hit.

We can point to many things that led us to the conclusion that Nathan should submit his resume, but the biggest one for me was the multitude of 'outside confirmation.' To be clear, we told very few people we were even considering submitting our resume. It was much too early in the process for us to do that. However, Nathan and I each told our closest friends so they could be praying for us and supporting us (and for my girlfriends to know why I might randomly burst into tears at any time). The response was universally positive, encouraging, 'yes I could see Nathan doing this job' comments. We felt a peace about taking the first step in the process and Nathan sent his resume in.

This was not a calm peace, at least not for me. It was a jittery, on the edge of my seat, waiting for the cute guy to call me, nervous energy kind of peace. I knew it was the right thing to do, though I was reluctant about it, and Nathan knew it was the right thing to do, and we just wanted answers. What next? Would he get an interview? If he did get an interview, would he be offered the job? Would he take it? Our minds were racing about how soon Union University wanted to fill the position. As it had been vacant for two years, we knew they needed someone fast. There was a lot of crazy speculation happening in the Finn household, and at times, not much else! Nathan still had to teach, and be an elder, and a daddy, and I still had to homeschool, and help lead a Bible study, and be a good mommy and wife. It was an interesting balancing act, to say the least.

Right after Nathan submitted his resume to Union, winter storms hit. Two weeks in a row, we had snow in Wake Forest, and Jackson Tennessee had snow and freezing temperatures at the same time. It threw everyone's schedules out of whack, including all the committee meetings. So we sent Nathan's resume off, and then we heard absolutely nothing for weeks. It seemed like months, but it wasn't quite that long (though it was close). It was nerve-racking, but God was teaching us and molding us, causing us to cling to the cross, to focus in on what was most important, and to lean hard on God's goodness when we had no idea what the future held.

More to come....

One month in

One month in Jackson today. It seems both long and short. It seems like "hey, we've completely got this whole 'Jackson' thing down" and then other days we are drowning in adjustments and emotions and new jobs and making friends and life. God is good, and God is faithful, and this struggle--for struggles are not automatically bad--is for our good and His glory. We are glad to be here in Jackson. We have seen growth and fruit and development already, and we cannot wait to see what else lies ahead for us on this journey.

The Finns take Jackson, part 1 (the background)

Before I can even start the story, I need to give some background. If my life were a movie, this would be a quick flashback, but my life is not a movie and instead it's a long rambling blog post. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Union University is a top-ranked private Christian university united in its love for Christ, for rigorous academics and for Biblical truth. (I didn't write that--it's direct from the website, but it is truth, and you can check it out here: www.uu.edu)  Union is the gold standard in evangelical Christian liberal arts education, and has been for decades. The former president, David Dockery, a brilliant theologian, writer and thinker, influenced and shaped Nathan's view of higher education for the glory of God.

Five or more years ago, Nathan and I informally talked about our five and ten year 'plan.'

It wasn't a real plan, as in we did not take active steps to put things in motion; it was more of a dream followed by some searching questions about what was next for us.  Union was a 'pie in the sky' kind of dream in that talk. You see, in our early married life, we never expected to teach at a seminary. "Our plan" was always to pursue a Ph.D. and then Nathan would find a job in a small Christian college. Teaching opportunities at a seminary rarely materialized, and so we didn't hope for it. When we discussed our pipe dreams, teaching at Union under David Dockery was on the list. 

But that changed--honestly because we found ourselves becoming more rooted in Southeastern. More involved in the vision of the campus. More in love with the Wake Forest/Raleigh/Durham area. We loved being a part of the mission at SEBTS and had no desire to leave.

Let me also back up a little bit and say that in the academic world, there are some positions, some jobs, that just due to WHAT they are, you should hear them out. In other words, don't automatically say no, don't slam the phone down on them, don't say it could never happen. Once upon a time, Dr. Akin told several young faculty members that though he wants them to stay at Southeastern forever, if certain schools should come calling, especially for positions of influence, they had to talk to them. Yes, Nathan was one of the people who heard that speech.  Union was one of the schools on that list, but Nathan thought nothing of it.

Circling back around (thanks for bearing with me, folks!), Union University's Dean of the School of Theology and Missions left two years ago to become the president of another school.  The position has been vacant for a long time! It was vacant while we were here for sabbatical last spring, which led to a lot of jokes (which really weren't jokes) about us having a semester long audition for the job.  Let the record show, the job was not offered to Nathan while we were here January 2014-June 2014:-)

We didn't even really pick Union for our sabbatical. Shortly before Thanksgiving 2013, we were discussing Nathan's upcoming sabbatical and I wished out loud that we could go someplace exotic (confession: I meant England). Nathan told me that we could relocate, but it would have to be affordable, and have access to a library and writing space. I thought it sounded intriguing, and we made a list of a few schools to contact. Union happened to be the first one because Nathan has a good relationship with several administrators. To our surprise, Union was very amenable to the idea, and ended up rolling out the red carpet for us, finding us a house to live in for free, giving Nathan office space, and granting him library access. So we moved to Jackson for five months.

And...Nathan's and my experiences were a bit different:-)

He researched and wrote all day almost every day. He attended weekly STM faculty teas (basically just faculty hang out time), and though they gave him plenty of space to do his work, he got to know most of the faculty in the department. For me, it was harder. We moved in January, when the temperature was zero degrees. I had four children that I was homeschooling, it was freezing cold and I didn't want to go out, and the youngest child was just eight months old. It was a lonelier time for me. I confess that I allowed that loneliness to color my interpretation of Jackson to my friends back home, to the point that someone said to me "How can you move there? You hated it!" Whoops.

I didn't hate Jackson. I missed my friends, my home, my church, my rhythms of life in Wake Forest. Jackson felt foreign to me, though it is a very Southern town and in many ways is oh so familiar. My kids were very lonely during the cold winter months, especially my social butterfly, Georgia. I did not feel like people made much of an effort to reach out to me, and I allowed that to irk me.  In addition, though we lived in Jackson for five and half months, we were away from that city five weeks of the time, visiting Wake Forest, hanging out with friends in Nashville and Kentucky, and spending two weeks in Georgia when Nathan's mother was deathly ill. We were never in town more than five weeks in a row.  I could have made an effort to make friends and get to know more people, but I wasn't too concerned about it-- we were going back home to Wake Forest soon!

All of the above aside, Jackson was an amazing time for us as a family. The Finnlings grew in their relationships with each other and their abilities to play together. I read so many books because we didn't have any evening plans! As a family we explored parks and cities that we had never seen before. Chickasaw State Park became a favorite weekend spot, we adored our day trips to Memphis, and we stayed in Nashville for the weekend as much as possible:-) We found our favorite Mexican restaurant, Tulum, in Jackson, Tennessee.  Much to my surprise, after returning to Wake Forest, we had many moments where we spoke about how we missed Jackson.

It was the Lord preparing our hearts.

Big changes for the Finns

When months go by between blog posts, many things are bound to change.

For the Finns, the change in the past few months has been earth-moving for our little family. We have moved from our home of eleven years, Wake Forest (and our beloved church and school), to west Tennessee--specifically Jackson, TN and Union University.

Nathan has accepted the position of Dean of the School of Theology and Missions at Union University in Jackson, TN. In God's kindness to us, we lived in Jackson for five months last year, so we have a jump start on our knowledge of the area, learning our way around town, etc.

We have seen God's hand guiding us here, and we have been blessed beyond measure by how He worked every detail out during the process. As a family, we all miss Wake Forest, First Baptist Durham, and SEBTS, and that manifests itself in different ways at different times. Yet the Lord has said "Go" to us, and we cannot help but follow. We look forward to seeing what is in store for our family here, and we are excited to be a part of the wonderful things going on at Union University.

Over the next few blog posts, I hope to tell the story of how we came to this place, not because it is an amazing or even terribly interesting story, but because we want to remember this process and set these 'memorial stones' in place as a reminder of God's faithfulness to us.

For the record, God has ALWAYS been faithful to us.
It is against his nature for him to be unfaithful.

Nathan and I know that in this big life changing decision to move states and jobs and homes and churches we have seen God's faithfulness and sensed God's leading in multiple ways. I do not want to forget these past few months, and I want to be sure my children know this story as well. So please feel free to follow along. Thanks for your patience with me in my sporadic blogging. 

It takes a village...

...or, more correctly, it takes the body of Christ (by this I mean those people who believe in Jesus Christ, and as such, though members of different churches, are all part of the body of Christ).

These past two weeks, Nathan and I have truly felt the love of our 'family', the body of Christ, both those who are members of our church and those who are members of other churches. Without the help of friends, we would have been really at our wits' end when Eleanor was born. We had so many people who watched our children and took care of them while I was in the hospital!

--The Hutchinsons gladly took our children to gather with our church on Sunday, January 2, when we thought the baby was coming (but she didn't). Handling two extra children in addition to their own two was a hassle, I am sure, but they were very eager to help (and my kids LOVE THEM, and didn't want to come home).
--Hannah A. watched G and B Monday morning, January 3, while Nathan and I went to the doctor. When the doctor gave the thumbs up for us to go to the hospital, Hannah continued to keep the kids until another family picked them up.
--The Quinns took the kids home with them Monday afternoon and kept them overnight. This was right after they had returned from visiting family out of town! Ashley, the mom, corralled four kids under 4 and I cannot thank her enough for that.
--The Mounts hung out with G and B the night of January 4 so Nathan could come visit me at the hospital (he kept the kids that day, and brought them up to the hospital to met Eleanor).
--Becca D. babysat the kiddos on Wednesday morning, January 5, so Nathan could pick me and Eleanor up from the hospital.
--Leanna D. watched G & B yesterday so I could run errands with E without taking all three of them:-)
--Multiple friends have made meals already or will be bringing us meals in the next two weeks. It is so wonderful to not have to cook regularly!


In typing this up, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to our friends who have blessed us so greatly around the arrival of Eleanor. They have truly shown the love of Christ to us, giving sacrificially to us in a manner that was above and beyond "the call of duty." It is our prayer that Christ will be glorified through our friends' generosity, and that we might serve others as our friends have served and blessed us. Thank you so much dear friends! We love you, and we see the love of Christ in you!

Celebrating the incarnation

As wonderful as the lights, food, music, and presents are, the greatest thing we celebrate this Christmas season is the coming of Jesus Christ to earth as a baby, who grew into a man, who lived a perfect sinless life and who died a horrible death to deliver us from our sins. We pray that the truth of Christ's incarnation will be real in your lives this Christmas!

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5, ESV

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

To my wonderful readers--my apologies for the lack of posting! December was a very crazy month, but I am hoping that January will be calm and relaxing. I pray that each of you had a wonderful Christmas season celebrating the birth of a baby who would die to save the world from their sins. It is because of this Jesus we can celebrate Christmas, and enjoy a truly Happy New Year! Blessings to you all, and be looking for more posts soon with pictures from the holiday season.

We Have Seen His Glory

~John 1:14; Philippians 2:11~

We have seen His glory,
The Prince of Peace has come;
He left His heavenly throne above
And made this world His home.

We have seen the glory,
Of the Father's only Son;
Whose vict'ry rescues us from death,
The curse of sin undone.

God the Father, rich in mercy,
Reaches down from heav'n above.
To offer us salvation
By virtue of His love.

Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate,
Hero of redemption's story.
We worship and adore Him,
For we have seen His glory.

We have seen His glory,
Raise your voice in one accord.
Let ev'ry tongue His name confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord!

by Dan and Heidi Goeller

"We believe that God is sovereign"

"We believe that God is sovereign, and he takes an active part in our lives, and even in sorrow there is joy.” This quote, which brings tears to my eyes, is from Don Van Ryn, the father of Laura Van Ryn, a Taylor University student involved in severe accident two years ago that led to a huge and horrible case of mistaken identity. The Van Ryns were told their daughter was alive and in serious condition, and for five weeks they sat by her side and cared for her. After five weeks they learned that the girl they thought was Laura was actually Whitney Cerak--and Laura had been dead for five weeks. Both families have recently written a book about the experience and they appeared on the Today Show this week. The faith of both of these families is amazing, and the opportunity they have had to testify to God's faithfulness throughout this process is indescribable. I am thrilled and encouraged by their faith in God and their faithfulness to proclaim HIS glory, even on the Today Show, even when asked tough questions. There was no bitterness, no resentment, no anger. Praise the Lord for His works of grace and peace in the lives of this family. Here are a few links to the story:
Family speaks about switched identity ordeal

Victim of mistaken identity draws faith from it

There is a special Dateline tonight on NBC that goes into great detail about the entire experience, and hopefully will be an opportunity for God to be even more glorified.

Parent-Child Dedication

Yesterday, as part of our church service, First Baptist Church of Durham had a Parent-Child Dedication. Nathan, Georgia and I had the privilege of participating in the group which dedicated 18 children total. This was not a christening service, or a baby baptism. It was simply us as parents committing to raising our children in a godly manner, and the church committing to support us, pray for us, encourage us, and if necessary, correct us. Nathan and I were excited to participate, and to publicly state our intentions to raise Georgia in a godly manner, seeking to point her to Christ in all that we do. The full text of the dedication is below.

MINISTER: Mothers and Fathers, the child you are now holding is a gift from your heavenly Father; therefore, today is an occasion to celebrate and to reflect on God's goodness. According to Psalm 127 we know that "sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Parents, what then is your response?
PARENTS: We are blessed.
MINISTER: Do you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, and do you trust in Him alone for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life?
PARENTS: We do.
MINISTER: Parents, do you then desire to lead your children to repent of their sins and believe in Christ alone for salvation, as you have?
PARENTS: We do.
MINISTER: Do you now commit in the presence of God and this congregation to raise your children in a godly manner and to be examples of godly living, believing that "godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" (1 Timothy 4:8)?
PARENTS: We do.
MINISTER: Do you believe it is primarily your privilege and responsibility, as custodians of your child's spiritual development, to lead them to Christ and to bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord?
PARENTS: We do.
MINISTER: Recognizing that it will be the Word of God that will create faith in your children, do you commit yourselves to know and to teach the Scriptures faithfully to your children, "talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:7)?
PARENTS: We do.
MINISTER: Do you desire to be committed to the mission and purpose of this church, "to delight in, display, and declare the glory of God...", and do you intend to instill that same commitment in your children?
PARENTS: We do.
MINISTER: Congregation, do you desire to support these parents in the task of Christian nurture and witness, encouraging them in the spiritual development of their children?
CONGREGATION: We do.
MINISTER: Do you then welcome these children into your love and care, and do you desire to pray for them and their families?
CONGREGATION: We do.

Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

We pray that you will truly know the depths of God's love today--that He sent His Son to this world to become a man, to take on sin for us, to die a horrible death, and to rise victoriously from the dead. Christ the Lord is Risen, and therefore those who believe in Him can celebrate Easter and life everlasting!