Well, this blog has been awhile in the making. I’ve thought about sitting down and writing this so many times but didn’t quite know what to say or how to say it. Many of you know that a little over a year ago God began to stir something in our hearts to move to Colorado Springs to partner with our good friends in planting a church. January to June of 2012 was filled with anticipation and excitement. Equally impactful was the impending terror that accompanied the thoughts of packing up our family, our lives, and heading west. Those six months were filled with God-ordained stories that paved the way for our move. From divinely orchestrated jobs to the sale of house in a tanked economy, we knew without any doubt, God was leading us here.<\/p>\n
Once we arrived in Colorado Springs our lives took a dramatic turn. It wasn’t quite what we had expected, yet God had this planned for us as well. After 21 years of living my adult life in Northwest Indiana and 16 of those in full-time ministry in one place, life came to a screeching halt. There were no more meetings to attend, life groups to teach, or worship to lead. It was just us, the Plotners, a couple of jobs, and the mountains. It was a breath of fresh air. Ministry had given me a full, rich life with so many opportunities, relationships, and stories. Yet it in a matter of days, it all stopped. What I didn’t realize is how much I needed it to stop \u2014\u00a0at least for awhile.<\/p>\n
Without going into all of the details, I realized that God had brought us here for a different reason. He didn’t bring us here to plant a church. He brought us here first to rest. While others back in Indiana were still making preparations to relocate, we were in the process of reprocessing what brought us here. Most people thought the journey to get to Colorado was a huge story of faith. I began to realize that our journey of faith actually began once we arrived.<\/p>\n
It was during this time that God began to speak to me and show me much of my past and my history that helped define who I was. Yet in the process of this, he was redefining me. As a kid, I was submissive child. I wanted to please my parents and make them proud. Growing up, I followed the straight and narrow because of my own fear that I may disappoint them. I took that same attitude into my adult life and my work. What I began to realize was that many of the decisions I made as an adult were based upon what I thought were the expectations of others. Whether perceived or real, I made many of my decisions based upon the expectations of others.<\/p>\n
So how does this all connect you may ask? I came here knowing that everyone back in Indiana was expecting us to come to Colorado to help plant a church. I knew that my friends that would soon arrive expected me to partner with them to plant a church. My wife and kids expected that we came 1100 miles half way in the middle of the country to plant a church. How could I say that we\u2019re not? Yet, this is what I felt God speaking to me. I heard him telling me to rest \u2014 for us to rest. To stop. To wait.<\/p>\n
Honestly, it has been one of the hardest things I\u2019ve had to do in my entire life. I\u2019ve had to say \u201cno\u201d to the expectations (most of them perceived and not real) and listen to the voice of my Father. You see, I truly believe that this is the journey that God has me (and my family) on right now. I\u2019m learning that it\u2019s ok to say no. I\u2019m learning that it\u2019s ok to rest.<\/p>\n
So where do we go from here? What\u2019s next? Quite honestly, I haven\u2019t a clue. I do know that our family is thriving here in Colorado Springs and that God has us here at this time for this purpose. We are attending New Life Church<\/a> while fully supporting, encouraging, and loving our friends, the Dyers, as they plant KeyStone<\/a>. All I can confidently say is that I know God has exactly where he wants us. What tomorrow holds is up to him \u2014 not me. I am learning that this really is what faith is all about.<\/p>\n You may have questions, and I may not have answers. Either way, I\u2019d love hear them!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, this blog has been awhile in the making. I’ve thought about sitting down and writing this so many times but didn’t quite know what to say or how to say it. Many of you know that a little over a year ago God began to stir something in our hearts to move to Colorado […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[10,81,3,6],"class_list":["post-1067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main","tag-cell-ministry","tag-colorado","tag-family","tag-life"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pzg9k-hd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1543,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/big-givers-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":1067,"position":0},"title":"Big Givers 2016","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"November 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"My family and I are excited to be a part of a wonderful event this holiday season. Help a family in need by sponsoring them, shopping for their Christmas gifts, and then delivering them to their home \u2014 all in the matter of one afternoon. Watch this video and visit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1338,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/christmas-letter-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":1067,"position":1},"title":"Christmas Letter 2015","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"December 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been awhile since we've sent a family Christmas letter, but this year has been filled with so many changes that we thought we should update all of you on the latest on the Plotner's in Colorado. After almost three years working at Church Community Builder, I left that job\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0711","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_0711-650x650.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_0711-650x650.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_0711-650x650.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1938,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/life-update-were-moving\/","url_meta":{"origin":1067,"position":2},"title":"Life Update: We\u2019re Moving!","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"May 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Time for another LIFE UPDATE. If you\u2019ve stayed up to date with the Plotner Happenings, you know that I quit my job at the end of 2018 not knowing quite what the future would look like. Yet, I was confident there was something promising ahead. I was totally surprised myself\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"multiethnic couple packing ceramic belongings in parchment before relocation","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pexels-photo-4246193.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pexels-photo-4246193.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pexels-photo-4246193.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pexels-photo-4246193.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/pexels-photo-4246193.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1567,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/ten-reasons-i-love-my-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":1067,"position":3},"title":"Ten Reasons I Love My Church","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"January 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This month my family and I are celebrating five years since we made the decision to leave our Indiana home and relocate to Colorado Springs. On our first Sunday here in June 2012, we attended New Life Church and have been here ever since. At that time, we had no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2061,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/bravery-in-the-face-of-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":1067,"position":4},"title":"Bravery in the Midst of Change","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"December 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"As I end 2019, I am reminded of my word for 2019 \u2014 \u201cbe brave.\u201d Little did I know that I would need that word throughout the year .... little did I know that I would pack my family and move a little further west. Little did I know that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"couple passing carton box to each other while unpacking car","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-4246264.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-4246264.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-4246264.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-4246264.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/pexels-photo-4246264.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1033,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/really-im-out-of-control\/","url_meta":{"origin":1067,"position":5},"title":"Really . . . I’m Out of Control","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"April 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I've often thought about it and wondered . . . what really is faith? I hear it used in so many different ways in today's culture. Yet, the Bible is pretty clear about what it is . . . it's the \"confidence in what we hope for\u00a0and assurance about what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1067"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1069,"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067\/revisions\/1069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}