so yeah..

I'll be praying, friend.

Praying Jon. Let God lead.

it is not just the money issue it is also the fact that we are basically living on my mother-in-law (her house, etc), it has been a God sent as it has kept us off the street ... however, my wife is getting tired of hearing her comments about me not working, etc... and so we are trying to find a way to move out of the house and at the same time looking for work.. while at the same time worrying about my daughter and my ex-wife's plan to move her out of state... I know God works everything out and that God is in control.. it's just that right now I feel helpless and I don't know how to do this and preserve relationships and provide for my family... etc.

sorry if this is too personal folks... I promise I won't say anything else about it.. just expressed my frustrations.

no way, man, rant here all you want. I'm still praying for ya...

unworthy wrote:well, I received noticed from my ex-wife of her intent to move (with my daughter) to NM.. on such notice I got a copy of our decree/agreement and a phrase in the agreement says that she can't do it without my written consent. So, I'm going to contact a lawyer to find out what my options are and what would be the best course of action to be sure that what is best for my daughter is done. I also found a few other phrases in it to be interesting and absolutely opposite to the way things have gone between us... anyway, I just would like you all to pray for God's will and for my family (my daughter especially)...

Praying for ya. You could say I have seen it from the other end. in 1997 when my step son was 5 we informed his dad we were moving to Missouri. But there's nothing he could do about it. I found a job there. My wife had to go to court to set up out of state visitation and that's it. His dad is not a Christian and lives a hard lifestyle, then and today. In fact, he never paid any child support. Funny thing about it is that now that my step son is 19 and married and lives outta state, Tennessee decided to finally go after him on child support. We recently started getting some back payments.

For what it's worth, my step son refers to me as his only dad and calls his biological one by his first name.

Anyway, praying.

Praying.

well... from my understanding my ex-wife does not allow my daughter to call me "dad" or "daddy" instead is only allowed to call me "Jon" ... I have never extended that courtesy to her. Her mother will always be her "mommy" and nothing can ever change that.

anyway, I better stop before I start running off at the mouth again. lol

good grief, it's too bad your ex-wife doesn't live near me, I'd give her a piece of my mind...

still praying...

unworthy wrote:I finally started the "big talk" with the pastor about being called into the ministry. So starts the journey.

pray for God's will, direction, and provision.

..what kind of ministry ?

Praying that God will open the doors that need to be opened....and close the ones that need closing.

I'm going after ordination...

unworthy wrote:I'm going after ordination...

Oh....ok. Seminary ? Any particular Denomination ?

sentient 6 wrote:

unworthy wrote:I'm going after ordination...

Oh....ok. Seminary ? Any particular Denomination ?

I'm going for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene

so I talked to a lawyer on my trip down to IL to drop my daughter off and he confirmed what I had already heard. My ex-wife has to file a petition with the court before she can move out of the state with my daughter; proving that it is in my daughter's best interest and coming up with a suitable visitation arrangement. So the first piece of advice is to send her a message which I make sure she is informed of these facts and if she responds unfavorably or does not respond to then file with the court to stop her from being able to move until the court determines what is best in the situation. So, tomorrow I'm going to send said message; probably by overnight certified mail (as my wife has so strongly suggested) and then we will see where it goes from there. I heard, through the grapevine, that they plan to move there by the end of the month! This doesn't make sense with the fact that my ex-wife granted us permission to have her for part of the weekend we will be down there for her birthday and so she can see more of her family that will (hopefully) be stopping by. This also doesn't make sense with the fact that she told me in her "notice" that she intended to move by the end of the summer. Though this does make sense with the fact that if they are moving down there they have to do so by the beginning of the school year.

also, my ex-wife just posted pictures of my daughter and her step father at the "daddy/daughter dance" on facebook; an event which I was not informed of nor invited. Needless to say I am going through some serious emotions about that because it confirms the suspicions that we've had that my ex-wife is doing her best to get me out of the picture and turn my daughter towards them and away from me. No matter what her stepfather will not and cannot be her daddy; that is who I am. He is not her daddy any more than my wife is her mommy and I know if I posted a picture of my wife and my daughter and put anything about "mommy/daughter" it would be the fury of h*** unleashed from her. Why is that? Does she then think she can walk over me and that nothing I say or feel matters? The sad answer to that is of course she does... she's been doing it for years and I haven't been man enough to stand up for myself in some of these situations and fight for the rights of my daughter to not only know who her father is but to know him relationally and to spend all the time possible with him.

anyway... just thought I would share... the stress is at a rather high level because of all the other stuff I posted.. on top of this.

^^...not that I would know...but thats some rough emotional stuff to deal with...

unworthy wrote:

sentient 6 wrote:

unworthy wrote:I'm going after ordination...

Oh....ok. Seminary ? Any particular Denomination ?

I'm going for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene

...oh.....ok. I grew up in the Wesleyan Church ( very similar in gov and theology ) and I used to go to a Nazarene Church.

....very solid denomination of that persuasion.

sentient 6 wrote:

unworthy wrote:

sentient 6 wrote:

unworthy wrote:I'm going after ordination...

Oh....ok. Seminary ? Any particular Denomination ?

I'm going for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene

...oh.....ok. I grew up in the Wesleyan Church ( very similar in gov and theology ) and I used to go to a Nazarene Church.

....very solid denomination of that persuasion.

this is where God put me and I'm just tryin' to do what He wants me to do.

yeah.. all the emotional "prayer" need is on the previous page.. for new viewers lol

I pastored from 2004 through 2011. If you ever want to talk, I'm here. Got lots of experience to share.

well.. right now I've got a lot of stress going on... so this has kind of taken a backseat... I know cause I got a 30 minute lecture from God about my whining to Him to tell me what He wants me to do when I already know what He wants me to do and I'm not doing it! ... lol

seriously, though, I know what I need to do and I can't figure out how to do it.

Jon,

I'm in the same place. I feel called to a very specific ministry, which I've shared. To me, it makes sense to do this thing here first, then do that thing ove there. But God's telling me "No. Do it my way." and I'm doing my best to listen, even when I don't understand.

please pray for me... I don't know how I'm going to get through all this...

Praying.

same here.

got a lovely letter from my ex-wife's attorney today...

my wife called a lawyer that I had former dealings with and she might be willing to help us out... please pray that she will be able to and willing to do so despite some obvious reasons she shouldn't/wouldn't..

it's like a roller coaster of emotions... lol

Praying for ya, Jon.