Benj's New Job and more visitors....

I am so excited to write this blog because Benj is finishing is second full week of a new job at the post office! He has been searching and working hard to find a job and nothing was available it seemed. God has been blessing us through our neighbors who have hired him for some odd jobs with construction and plumbing but nothing consistent. Once again, God has simply handed us a huge blessing that we know was only from Him! A friend that I was working with at Starbucks asked if Benj still needed a job and he was able to start the next day. He has already made some solid connections with the people he works with (one including another church planter in the county) and we are both adjusting to the changes that the job brings. Even though we only have one car, it seems to be working out really well. God is truly in control of our lives and we are loving it!

Last week as Benj was starting his job, we had some visitors from Liberty University too! We loved having friends stay with us and they were such an encouragement! We can't wait for more visitors and thank you everyone who have been praying for our jobs and God's providing!

Mark and Denise's Visit to Sunny FL!

Walking around City Place after a great lunch at City Pizza!


Such a pretty day...a little cold on the water though!


Loved having them here with us!


We celebrated Mark's birthday while they were visiting!


A day at the beach!!!

Benj's Parents are visiting!!!!

This month, we gathered together as a launch team for the very last time! It seems like this year went by so quickly and I can't believe how much we've learned during this time. Not only have we learned to depend so much on God's provision and leading, we have also grown even closer together in our marriage! We are so thankful to be where God wants us!

This week, we are excited to have Benj's parents, Mark and Denise, with us for a whole week! We are so glad to be able to spend some time with them and just be able to rest with a few days off work!

We will also be sending out our March Newsletter and Prayer Calendar. If you don't already receive those, you can request it by emailing us at thelitters@gmail.com

Once again, to hear the podcasts from each of the Gatherings at Discover Church you can visit www.discoverchurchpbc.com

~Steph

We have had a pretty quiet few weeks here and I need to get better at posting more blogs and pictures!

In the past few weeks: I have been getting a ton of hours at work, which I am so thankful for, and Benj has been working for one of our neighbors and getting paid as well! He has been searching for a job but nothing is working and in the midst of that frustration, God has provided abundantly, allowing him to work many hours doing odd jobs, construction and even plumbing with our generous neighbor! God is so faithful and we are seeing Him provide for us daily!

With Church: We had two great Gatherings in January and we are having 2 more in February (this week and on the 28th). After this we are going to WEEKLY services March 7th! It's strange to think that in less than a month we will officially be launching Discover Church! We have learned so much in the process and will continue to be learning as we continue to grow!

Some God moments: We have had the awesome opportunity to have spent a lot of time with our neighbors lately! They are so generous to us and I know this is where God wanted us because the conversations and time with them have been nothing short of God's working.

We hope to have many more God-stories to share with you soon! He is definitely providing so much and showing up in new ways!
~Steph


Benj and I with our kitten Brutus

A New Year.....

Benj and I have entered into a new year excited to be married, trusting God much more than we ever have, and ready for new challenges. Church planting is something we are continuing to learn more about and we are seeing how powerfully God works through His church. We potentially have our first family of 4 joining the church and I am so excited to watch God work in neat ways.

Discover Church held it's 4th service (called, The Gathering) on January 10th and it was a great success. We had 42 adults and 7 kids!!! It began a new schedule and a new series. We are beginning to hold 2 Gatherings a month during Jan. and Feb. as well as officially launching the church March 7th!!! We also started our first 4 week series, "Love Stories." Each of the podcasts will be on the church's website if you would like to experience what we are learning! This past week's topic was God's unconditional love (Luke 15).

On another exciting note...Discover Kidz had 7 kids and 5 volunteers including myself. We had a great time learning about the Parable of the Loving Father (Luke 15) and we are starting to make great connections with kids that are returning! I have a great team and I can't believe what talented and passionate leaders they are! We are truly blessed with an awesome team of people at Discover Church!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for this Gathering and continue to pray for us and Discover Church!
~Steph


Here are just a few photos of the past Gathering...

Christmas in OHIO....

Just wanted to get a few pictures up here of our wonderful Christmas Break! We miss our family and friends in Ohio and we are so thankful to have spent time with them!

Christmas Eve


Baby Cade's Dedication


Litter Family Christmas at the Bell Tower


We celebrated Steph's Grandma's 90th Birthday this Christmas

Back to Florida....

We are back in Florida and ready to see friends and get back into the swing of things, but missing family so much at the same time. We were so blessed to be home for 2 weeks for Christmas! This year was extra special for several reasons....
First, this was our first Christmas being Married!!! We were also able to be at my Grandma's 90th Birthday Party and she is doing so well! This Christmas was also special because all of Benj's family on his dad's side were able to be home and the big Litter Christmas Party at the Bell Tower was the best one yet! Benj's cousin, Kelsey, took family pictures, and the program was so good this year!

As we praise God for our families and the time we had with them, we also praise Him for our church family in Ohio. As student loans have kicked in and monthly support and income is limited, God has provided in one week, what we will need for our entire next month! Yay God! He is so faithful to provide and overwhelmed us with His love and outpouring of finances this past week. We want to say a special thank you to those who listened to God's prompting and were blessed by how He provided through you!

We are working on our January newsletter and prayer calendar and would love to share that with you and your family if you send us your email address! We are still in need of more monthly supporters and prayer partners and ask that you would pray about what God would have you do this coming year! He is moving and we are so thankful that He has put us here in Florida to help start Discover Church!

~Steph