I have a blog?

Ok, you know it is bad when it’s been SO long since your last blog that you have completely forgotten not only your password BUT you have also forgotten your username. Yes my friends, that just happened. 

I want to begin this blog with an apology! I am so sorry it has been over a YEAR since our last blog. So much has happened in that year so I am going to attempt do a condensed recap of 2011 to catch you up to speed.

2011 has been a roller coaster in the Chandler household. My first year of teaching was everything I had dreamed it would be. I was doing what I loved and I finally had a class to call my own. Seeing their sweet faces and how much they grew was such a blessing to me. Unfortunately, as the year came to a close, there was no longer an available position for me at my school and my contract was not renewed. My heart broke at the thought that I would not get to see my sweet babies grow. As sad as I was, I had a peace that only God could grant. I knew He was not done with my story. The market is tough but Jason and I continued to pray that God would be faithful… and of course, He was.

Three days before school started I became the new Kindergarten teacher at Stenstrom Elementary where I had done my senior internship in 1st grade. It was like coming home. I was welcomed with open arms by an amazing (and I mean AMAZING) team who work together and care for one another, I get to see my FABULOUS collaborating teacher, Nancy on a daily basis and I have the most amazing administrative team and co-workers a girl could ask for. My sweet first graders I had during my internship are now in third grade! I love getting to see how much they’ve grown! To top it all off, I am head-over-heels in love with my 18 Kindergarteners. God.Is.So.Good. 

Jason has been learning and growing as a leader, pastor, mentor and shepherd more than ever this year. In the past year Jason’s responsibilities have grown to include leading the media team, maintaining and updating the website and all graphic design responsibilities at the church. God has been doing amazing things in and through the people of Genesis this year! January 24th marks Genesis’ 2 year anniversary! We have seen amazing growth and incredible things happening and we are so honored that God has chosen us to play a  part of this amazing church body. 

2011 also carried with it new friends and goodbyes, my parents divorce and new marriages, untimely, heart-breaking death and the miracle of new life. Through the laughter and the tears, I am so thankful for a powerful, loving, gracious God who has blessed me with the most wonderful man to do life with. I am thankful for each day we get to spend together! 

So, here is to 2012 and all that it may bring. One thing I hope it brings… more frequent blogs from yours truly. That is (one of) my goal(s)!

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas

2010 has been a year full of trials, surprises, answered prayers, new friends, new jobs, a new house, new pets, God’s provision, Disney, neighbors, and so much more!

As we look back on 2010 we are thankful for what we have, amazed at where God has brought us, humbled by His provision, encouraged by people’s hearts and obedience, and challenged to be true disciples of our Lord and Savior all the while keeping our marriage healthy, full of love, communication, and Christ centered.

We look forward to 2011 with excitement and can’t wait to see what God has in store for us!

Merry Christmas to all of our loved ones!

A House becoming a Home

The time has finally come! As of June 29, 2010 Jason and I are offically homeowners! The journey has been a long one full of frustration, confusion, disappointment, excitement, thankfulness, and above all, faith in our almighty God.

Nothing throughout the entire process of moving to Orlando and finding a home went according to our “plans”. Jason and I began the house hunting process in September and after looking at approximately 40 homes… number 39 was “the one”! We placed our offer, it was accepted, and the wait began. We began to plan and dream of how we would eventually raise a family in the wonderful home we thought of as our own. One month turned into two and then into three. Seven months later we still had not heard anything back on the home and our deadline for the First Time Homeowners tax credit was nearing an end. With heavy hearts we decided to begin the house hunting process once again.

Our wonderful friends and real estate agents Granny and Papa had the perfect house picked out for us. We pulled into a neighborhood and up to a model home. Immediately Jason was thinking “there is no way we are going to build”! Little did we know, that is exactly what we would end up doing! Three hours later we had signed papers and were on our way to owning our first home!

Everything about our experience with Centerline Homes has been absolutely wonderful. We could have never in a million years guessed the outcome of our situation which is why we must let go of the things we want so desperately to cling to and lay them down before the Lord. Nothing is a surprise for Him. Our God is good and loving and even when our trials feel trivial to us we must remember that NOTHING is too small, nor too large for our Heavenly Father.

Here are some pictures of the building process!

The final picture will be posted soon!

Is this real?

A lot has happened since our last post! Genesis Church began its services on January 24th. For over a year we have been planning, dreaming, and praying about how God would use Genesis to touch the community of Avalon. It has been such a blessing to meet and begin building relationships with the families in our community, because at the heartbeat of Genesis Church, that is what we are about. Community. Doing life together. There truly is something so humbling about seeing everyone together, serving and helping wherever a need arises.  That first Sunday was a lot like a wedding; you spend months preparing and then it flies by in an instant and now we are entering the 8^th week! Here are a few pictures of what has been going on.

The move into our new “home” went great. It is difficult for us to feel completely at home when we are living in a hotel room, but the fact that we are here is such an answered prayer. We are missing our friends and family terribly, but there is an unexplainable peace that came with finally arriving where God had called us. We are still waiting on the approval from the bank for our house (6 months now…), but we know God is moving and we’re so excited to finally be here.  Thank you all for your prayers and support to bring us to this point and sustain us as well.  We will continue to keep the updates coming.

with love,

the Chandlers

Today’s the Day!

After months of planning, praying, and preparing, the day has finally come.

We still have not received any word from the bank on our house so today we are moving into an extended stay hotel. It is similar to a one bedroom apt. and we were ‘lucky’ enough to find a great monthly rate! I will start my Student Teaching the 8th and Genesis Church is starting the 24th! Needless to say, we are going to hit the ground running!

Today marks the next milestone in our journey and even though nothing has turned out the way we pictured it in our minds, Jason and I are truly thankful for and humbled by all of God’s provisions, and the journey has only begun! I am beyond excited to see how God uses Genesis Church to touch the lives of the community!

We love you all and thank you for love, support, and prayers!

-Rachel & Jason-

** For more on Genesis Church go to www.onlyonecity.com **

** If you are interested- our new address at the extended stay hotel is:

11801 High Tech Ave, Suite 515

Orlando, FL 32817 **

“I will go, Lord send me
To the world, To the lost
To the poor and hungry
Take everything I am
I’m clay within your hands
I will go, I will go, send me.”

-Starfield-

Merry Christmas!

With Love,

The Chandlers!

I’ve Been Sitting, Waiting, Wishing…

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

-Philippians 4: 6&7-

For the past 3 months Jason and I have been waiting to hear from the bank about our house. We have been planning, preparing, and praying but still we have not heard anything. As you can imagine, we began having feelings of worry, stress, and discouragement. About 2 ½ weeks ago God laid this verse heavly on our hearts after we were reminded by many of our friends and family that God’s timing is perfect.

Perfect. His timing is just that. As we marinated on that truth, our prayers began to change. We had become so focused on this house, we had lost sight of all the ways God was already providing for us.

We are human, and therefore, we still have moments where we begin to wonder why it’s taking so long, but we write this with thankful hearts. We are thankful for what the Lord has been teaching us through this. We are thankful for how our marriage has grown in the past months, and we are thankful for the reminder that without our Lord, we can do nothing.

We ask you to continue to join us in prayer. We know one thing, and that is we are being called to Orlando, FL to play a part in Genesis Church. God has given us a peace about the situation, now we are just excited to see how He provides! Even if it does not look like what we are expecting.

Many exciting things have been happening with Genesis Church!

• We now have a facility to meet in!
• We have had about 5 new couples join the launch team!
• We have had audio equipment donated or sold to us at an amazing price.
• We have been receiving a lot of support from the surrounding churches.
• Aaaannnddd we are just under 2 months from our Launch date of January 24, 2010!

Things to be praying for…

1.  Jason & Rachel- we would hear from the back about the house.

2.  Tim & Tandy- their house would sell.

3.  Jim & Katie- would hear about his job transfer.

4.  Josh & Katie- to get settled after their move, that Alaina would adjust quickly, and that Josh would find a job.

5.  John & Kristie- pray for their newest addition & for Kristie’s pregnancy. J

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. We love you all and will continue to keep you updated!

P.S. Here is our Wedding Day Trailer!!

Thanks Lauren and Mark Estes for our wonderful wedding video!!

With Love,

Jason & Rachel

There’s No Place Like Home…

We’ve all had the feeling. After being gone on a trip, there are few things better than finally being home. Well, when you are living life in two different places, which one do you call home? The answer is both.

Jason and I are currently living in my parent’s basement while I finish up this semester of school and Jason his last 2 months of work. We are trying to soak up our family and friends as much as possible before the big move in December. In the past few months…

we went tubing in alligator infested waters

one of my best friend got engaged

we got a little rebellious with some of our closest friends

and we had to say goodbye to two of my favorite people in the whole world as Davis and Caroline went to college.

On the weekends that we are not in Georgia, we are in Orlando preparing for our new life. Labor Day weekend the entire Genesis team was in town for our first community event. Saturday we spent the day at the UCF tailgate where we handed out about 500 free meals to students on campus. We were able to meet and connect with the people at the tailgate. If you want to see a little bit of our day you can go to www.genesischuchorlando.com.

We drove home Sunday night and were back in the car Thursday headed back to Orlando. This time… it was time to shop for a house! Friday morning we woke up and headed out to a day full of houses. House after house, hour after hour, the day flew by and yet we still hadn’t found “the” house. We had 3 houses left and were feeling a little discouraged. We walked into the house and fell in love. We had found it. Our future home. We placed an offer and the seller accepted! Now we wait for the bank, which could take up to 60 days. We love our house and cannot wait to make it our home.

We can’t even being to describe the sadness we feel as we face the realization that in a mere 2 ½ months we will be leaving the place we have known as home for so long. Although we know we are just a state away, we are leaving our wonderful family and amazing friends. While we are full of sadness, we are also full of excitement and anticipation as we embark on this new journey into the unknown. We are going where God has called and we know that he will provide in ways we have never dreamed of.

As we leave our home in Georgia and begin to make a new home in Orlando, we ask for your continued prayers. We ask that you pray for our friends that are on this journey with us. Many of them need their houses to sell and job opportunities to present themselves. Also, please be praying for Genesis Church as we continue to reach out to and love on the people of Orlando.

For more information on Genesis Church go to www.genesischurchorlando.com

Life after the “I Do’s”

After months and months of meticulous planning and endless nights of dreaming the “big day” was finally here! On the morning of June 6^th I woke up with a stomach full of butterflies and I was overflowing with so many different emotions! I was excited, nervous, anxious, and most of all, I was thankful. It was the day I was going to say “I do” to the most amazing man I have ever met, the only man that has truly ever held my heart, and I could hardly wait!

The day flew by as if someone had pressed the fast forward button and before I knew it Jason and I were waving goodbye and were on our way as Mr. & Mrs. Jason Chandler.

The next morning we boarded our flight and headed to Mexico where we spent an entire week doing absolutely nothing! We enjoyed every second of our trip just soaking each other up.

Now that we are back Jason and I have started preparing for the hardest/most exciting/scariest thing that God has asked either of us to do. This past October Tim Grandstaff approached us about moving to Orlando to help plant Genesis Church. For years now Jason has felt called to be a part of a church plant the only question was when and where. We both took time to pray about the decision separately and then together and it was obvious that God had given us the same answer… Go. So we will. This December, as soon as I am finished with school, we will be packing up and moving down. As excited as we are to be on this journey, we are not naïve enough to think that it will be easy. We are preparing our hearts and marriage for attacks and tough times but we are also anxious to be amazed and humbled by God’s provision and never failing love. We ask that you will keep all of us embarking on this journey together in your prayers!