Back in the Loop Again!

As I sat down to write this, it feel like it has been forever. Then I realized that it has - my last post was on March 11th - so nearly two months! I am going to go ahead and give the warning here that this will be long. But, please keep reading, because the Lord has done some amazing things in the Brown household the last couple of months, and I just have to share!

When I last posted, we were still in the middle of Corey's job search. As a recap, Corey decided to stop his Pre-Paid Legal Business in December and began looking for a new job in January. Little did we know where this journey would take us.

Although I was working only part-time with United Way, we weren't all that concerned about finances, because we knew that Corey would have a decent residual income still coming from Pre-Paid, so we felt like he had a good couple of months to find something. For anyone that knows my husband, you know that he is a born salesman - as the saying goes, he could sale a "snow cone to an Eskimo." He just has this booming personality and very little fear of rejection - a great combination for sales. So, we felt confident he would find something quickly.

He has always had an interest in medical sales (not pharmaceuticals), but like medical devices. So, that was where he started networking. He also had quite a few job offers while he was selling Pre-Paid (from CEO's of companies he was selling to). So, he started following up with those companies. Let me just say that the Lord's favor was overwhelming. In total, Corey probably ended up with 5 or 6 offers from some really great companies, but nothing seemed to be the right fit. Over the last few months, we constantly felt the Lord telling us to wait. Meanwhile, Corey's residual income was slowly trickling down, so were facing the possibility of surviving off of my part-time non-profit salary as of March 1st.

While Corey is continuing his job search, I am still working two days a week at United Way. I had given my notice the end of November and agreed to work until the end of March. My replacement had already been hired, but a few other positions needed to be filled to keep things running. Well, as the first of March rolled around, we were still two positions short and kicking off a HUGE transition within the organization. To say that they could use another full-time staffer was an understatement. So, I proposed coming back on board full-time, and allowing Corey to be a stay-at-home Daddy until he could find something. My boss was thrilled, and so on March 1st, I jumped back into full-time work and Corey took over baby duty!! What we thought would be a four-week stint turned into 8, because at the end of March, the Lord had still not made it clear what job Corey needed to take. So, we continued to wait.

As April rolled around, United Way work really kicked into high gear as we conducted 17 community forums in one month. I went from working 15 hours a week to nearly 50, and was completely exhausted - hence the reason I haven't posted in a while. But, I felt like I was doing exactly what I was supposed to. Also during April, Corey was in discussions very heavily with two different companies about a job - one was a very large company (over $400 million in sales), the other one fairly small (around $2.3 million in sales), but with a lot of potential for growth and for Corey to help lead them there. For literally three weeks, it was a back and forth - we both felt peace about both of them, but wanted the Lord to show us very clearly which was the right opportunity.

In the end, Corey accepted a job with Down East Protection Systems - he will be head of their Sales and Marketing. We are super excited about what the future holds and the Lord has overwhelmed us with his goodness once again.

I wish I could say that I never doubted the Lord, but I'd be lying. There were many days that I just kept asking the Lord - "why." Here we were jobless and 6 months pregnant, and there was an offer on the table, regardless of how good or bad - it was so hard not to just take whatever came along. But, our Provider knew what was ahead and what he had planned for us - we just needed to be obedient and wait. And talk about timing - Corey accepted the position with Down East on Thursday, April 29th and my last day of work with United Way was April 30th (they had hired the needed staff and couldn't keep me on beginning in May). Only our heavenly Father could have orchestrated it so perfectly!

So, as of yesterday my hubby is back to work and couldn't be happier, and I get to be home full-time with my sweet Riley and in the near future, our new addition, Georgia. As hard as the last few months have been, I wouldn't trade them for anything because the Lord has used them to teach me (and Corey) so much:

• He never leaves us - through every trial he is at our side and with us in the waiting
• He is our provider - no matter how bleak things seem financially we don't have to worry, because he will meet all of our needs (note that says "needs" not "wants")
• The "wants" really aren't all that important.
  
• What you think may be the right path for your life really may not be - the Lord makes our paths straight, so we should look to him for direction

I am sure there is more, but for now that's all I've got! For now our trials are over, but believe me I won't get too comfortable, because you never know when the Lord is going to bring another one around the corner.

Lastly, just a special note of thanks to everyone who has been praying us through this - we could feel them lifting us up, so much appreciation!!