Life update! Where do I even start? It's been a over a YEAR!

  Life update! Where do I even start? 

    With the world of social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) I don't always remember to keep this blog up to date. I think I forgot that I even HAD a blog in the first place... 2020 was a long and stretching year and SO much happened, both good and bad. 😊

    Ultimately, I may switch to posting on here more often then I do on any other social media site. I really value being able to share my opinions and the truth without being censored or attacked for it. 

    In some senses, my blog is like some type of online journal that has kept a record of my thoughts and experiences over the last few years. I feel like I can be much more personal and authentic on this platform and I've been able to look back at older posts and see just how much I've grown as a person and how faithfully God has been at work in my life.  

It's always encouraging to see growth and change in yourself, am I right? 😉

    In other news, I'm sure most of you know that I started a relationship in 2019 with a wonderful, godly guy named Justin (AKA Cabbage to all our FSB friends). He proposed and we got engaged March 31, 2020. We then had a VERY small "Covid 19" wedding on May 4th. (I will have to do another post with our story and all of our wedding pics later!) We originally planned to get married in August of 2020 but then all the Covid things hit and we didn't know what would end up happening. So we decided to give up our original wedding plans and have a small, family-only wedding in FSB's chapel building. (More to follow on this later.)

Marriage has been a wonderful adventure! It's been a challenge in it's own way, but it's also been the greatest blessing in my life apart from salvation and growing in Christ. Justin is such a godly man and is so loving and patient with me. We make such a good team too. He counters my weak areas with his strengths and is always encouraging me to trust God and to grow in my faithfulness and devotion to Christ. Justin is far from perfect, but I honestly couldn't ask for a better husband. God created us so perfectly for one another. 💕

Also, I am now a Senior in Bible college, and getting ready to graduate in May! What a crazy thought that is... The time really does fly by!

This semester I'm taking Theology 4, Revelation class, Mission Field Prep 2, Women's Ministries 2, Church planting, Church History and Senior Project class.

I am also working one day a week in the school kitchen making dinner for all the dorm students (and usually some faculty and staff members too!) on Thursday nights. Justin works part time as a bus driver for the LaGrange school district and part time as a missionary volunteer in the home office of Tentmakers Bible Mission. Our schedules are hectic right now, but it's teaching us to manage our time well and stick to a schedule to stay caught up with everything! 

Lord willing, after graduation our next step is to do an internship in Washington while working towards getting our Biblical counseling certifications from ACBC. (the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors https://biblicalcounseling.com/ ) From there, we have several possibilities. We've been encouraged to consider the possibility of doing foreign mission work in Scotland, but have also felt led to help out with evangelism and church planting in the Provo, Utah area. 

We don't have a clear direction yet, but we do know that our most immediate step is to go to Washington, intern under a church there and get our biblical counseling certifications before choosing a mission field. 

It's very much like walking through a dark forest holding a candle. God doesn't show us the whole path, he simply shows us the next step to take. Sometimes there is just enough light to see only a foot or two in front of us, but our job is to faithfully take that next step and leave the rest of the navigating up to God. 

And honestly, we don't have to know the whole plan because we serve an all-powerful, all-loving God who works all things out for His glory and our ultimate good! 

Our time at Bible school is coming to an end and we will see what awesome adventure He has in store for us next!


Until next time,

Haley *Allen* 💗😉👫

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