Living a Better Story

The reason for this blog entry is twofold: 1. I want to update everyone with the great adventure Jeremy and I have been living the past year and a half; and 2. I am submitting this into a contest for author Don Miller’s “Living a Better Story” seminar taking place in Portland next month. Here is what the contest is all about:

You can find out more about the “Living a Better Story” seminar here: www.donmilleris.com/conference

Here is how Jeremy and I  started living a better story, and how we want to continue doing so…

———————————————————

“Put in your two weeks’ notice at Red Robin. You’re going to have more work than you know what to do with.”

Those are the words God spoke to my husband, Jeremy, in a half-unpacked office just past midnight.

It was March of 2009, and we had just moved into a friend’s house in order to save some money. The economy was starting to affect our finances, and Jeremy and I signed over our lease at our apartment to a complete stranger because we had an inkling that we would no longer be able to afford it.

Jeremy had been struggling. Back in September, he had opted not to return to film school since tuition for non-residents of Colorado were too pricey; he padded the sting of reality with the reasoning of any logical 26-year-old husband by saying, “Besides, it would be a better investment at this point to put tuition money towards filming equipment and train myself.” Which is perfectly good reasoning. But I could tell that’s not exactly how he felt.

My husband’s dreams were still there. He had always been a dreamer while also being a jack-of-all-trades. In high school, he played soccer, football, dabbled in photography, wrote stories, and played guitar to name a few. Since then, he always struggled to pinpoint exactly what he wanted to do in life. But he had passion. And in recent years, he had discovered a definitive niche for media and film; he desired to see the culture of media today shift in a positive, inspirational direction. But how?

Then came the clear, concise thoughts from God.

A call to quit his serving job. A call to spend time diving into the things that make him come alive. To learn how to harness media and make it into something meaningful, relevant, and challenging in this culture. To pursue his dreams that were still unfolding. To stop waiting for the right time and just do it.

A couple hours later, after Jeremy had gone asleep, I woke up in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason. I was wide awake and bewildered since being pregnant had made me a deeper sleeper than ever before. And just seconds after I stirred, Jeremy woke up beside me and asked if I had dreamed at all.

“No,” I replied. “Why?”

“Well… Here’s the thing. I felt like I had to spend time praying tonight, and I felt God tell me to put in my two weeks’ notice at Red Robin. That I’ll have more work than I’ll know what to do with.”

I laid there in silence for a moment, propped on my elbows with my growing belly under the covers. Then, I remember saying with a smile on my face, “Well then, go for it.”

We had NO money. I worked at Starbucks and a music school part-time, and that covered barely half of our living expenses. Not to mention the medical bills that were only just beginning to pile up with prenatal visits. So where was this idiotic sense of peace coming from within me? I’m still not sure to this day. But I knew at that moment that God was calling Jeremy and I to something greater than what we were living and being at the time. And I knew that if I turned the other direction and ran from it, we would miss out on something really, really big.

So we went for it. Jeremy quit Red Robin and started his training days at “Crazy-Go-Nuts University,” studying tutorial after tutorial online, learning as much as he could about web design, graphics, film editing, and what-have-you. I spent my days serving coffee, budgeting our groceries out of my weekly tips, and growing a baby.

Out of that season, a little seed called Studio Mae was planted into our minds. The jack-of-all-trades in Jeremy never quite left him; he didn’t want to focus on just one thing when it came to our media studio. He envisioned documentaries, back-pack journalism, podcasts, short films, radio broadcasts, magazines… the list kept growing. And I kept finding a desire to help with design, writing, and music composition. We both wanted to find every way that we could give a voice to the issues of this world and support the journeys of others living lives of love, joy, compassion, and inspiration. And since then, the vision of Studio Mae has flourished into a company that features media, arts, and entertainment to create a “new media culture.”

Alongside that, our faith has been flourishing, as well. If there was any time to get us on our knees and depend on God for every single thing – from mountainous medical bills to loaves of bread – this has been the time. If there was any time to jump into a sea of beginnings and learn to swim in it without water-wings – this has been the time. It’s also been a time of refining our characters individually and as a couple; we have learned to listen to each other and serve each others’ needs more than ever. In fact, the biggest miracle in this entire journey just may be the fact that despite the hardships we’ve faced in the last 18 months, our marriage has never been stronger. Our love for God, for our family, and others has never been deeper. And the best part is – by His grace, we’re still growing.

We’re still broke. We have been living in the grace of God’s provision through odd short-contract jobs and the blessing of families and friends around us – but we’re still just getting by. To top it off, our lease is up at the end of the month, and our landlord is selling the condo so we have to move out… but have yet to find a new home. And I find myself writing all of this with a smile on my face because I know God is about to come through in a big way. That would not necessarily have been my perspective 18 months ago. Somehow, someway, I know that God is going to provide a way for us to continue pursuing our passions – to live our dreams – and pay the bills at the same time.

In all of this, some people may say that having a baby in the midst of quitting a job and kick-starting a company is beyond foolish. I would beg to differ. Beyond crazy perhaps? Absolutely. At 12:30am on September 10th, 2009, just 10 days after we moved back into our own apartment, I went into labor. Nine hours later, our boy Gideon Leo was born. And our world continued changing. Along with our own business, our grappling with the story of our lives, we added another character to our novel. His name, Gideon, was chosen for the biblical meaning “Mighty Warrior” – yet we’ve realized how much the biblical story of Gideon has been a part of our everyday lives.

Gideon may have been the very least in his clan, but God used him and a handful of other wanna-be warriors to bring down the gigantic Midianite army. Gideon knew he had no way in Hades to accomplish such a feat, and therefore had to ask God for proof – twice – before he could be sure God was actually serious about His plans. But God provided victory for Gideon. And I know that even with all the times we’ve asked for confirmation, and all the times we have told God “There’s no way we can do this!” – God will do the exact same thing for us. After all, Studio Mae really is God’s vision over our lives that He is unfolding.

Yes, it has been financially harrowing; and raising a newborn has taken a gripload of time and energy. We quickly came to terms with the fact that like Gideon, we are warriors in this fight, but can’t make any of this happen in our own strength by any means. In the midst of it all, God has taught both Jeremy and I so much about His power, provision, and peace through having our now 11-month old Gideon our lives. It has shown us first-hand what “childlike faith” looks like. Gideon has absolutely no worry of what he’s going to eat or where he’s going to lay his head down at night. All he knows is that his Mama and Papa love him, and they both take care of everything he needs. Jeremy and I discovered the same thing about God; He delights in providing for us, and never wants us to worry. He provides it all – including victory over our obstacles.

So here we are, with this story unfolding in front of our eyes. I feel like we are closing up the prelude, and God is about to begin writing the first chapter of our adventure with Studio Mae. But we could use a little help. Studio Mae started with a passion for media, the truth, and entertaining. The vision of what it may look like in the future is still taking shape. Over the past year and a half, we have taken the steps to live a better story – and major steps of faith that has brought us closer to where God has called us. It has not been without it’s peaks and valleys, supporters and nay-sayers; but through it all we cling to the dream that God has given us. Going to Don Miller’s “Living a Better Story” seminar would be essential to this part of our story because it’s still just beginning, and we need all the tools and encouragement we can get to continue living it out.

We’re excited and full of anticipation. We can’t wait to flip the page into the next chapter. Because this is our adventure. This is our life. This is our story.

(p.s. To take a peek at what God has shaped Studio Mae into so far, check out http://www.StudioMae.com)

Advertisement

Posted in: Uncategorized