Hey guys! I just want to thank y’all for following me for another amazing year! I seriously cannot thank y’all enough for sticking with me. 2021 has been such a whirlwind year and it’s one I think I will remember my whole life!!!
Like I do every year, I wanted to share my year in review. This is something I like to do to look back on all the incredible memories we made and see just how much our life has changed. So enough talking, let’s get looking back!
January 2021
January 2021 was quite a big month. After Michael suffered another blow to his income in August of 2020, Michael and I were getting close to become broke again and had just enough savings to cover us for another month. That’s when Michael received a call out of nowhere to be interviewed to work for our church conference. Michael didn’t even apply but one day we were walking into Sam’s Club and Michael got a phone call from someone we had met a few months prior asking him to send his resume asap. Little did we know, after Michael sent his resume, he was given an interview the next day.
And the position- assistant pastor!!! It was literally like something out of a dream. It was the job that I had wanted Michael to have from the beginning. I’ve always said, why can’t someone just make you a pastor and Michael always told me, that never happens. But it was for us! Little did I know, God had other plans. Because after the interview, Michael was given just 3-hours to either accept or decline the job offer but there was just one catch – they wanted us to move to Southern West Virginia, which was 4-hours away and pastor 2 remote churches.
I wasn’t completely excited about moving somewhere so remote but after much praying, I believed God was telling us to trust Him and we accepted the position, all without ever seeing the area we would be moving to.
The next day, we decided we had to visit the area and, after that visit to Souther West Virginia I was sick. It was not where I saw God wanting our family and I remember begging God to please let there be another way. While this is no bash to S. West Virginia, the house we were to move in was right on a river bank and the one church was literally in the middle of nowhere. Nothing felt safe about this move.
And, I lacked faith. Me and Michael decided we didn’t want to move to Southern West Virginia and we were all but ready to turn down the job when something incredible happened again – the pastor that was supposed to leave those two churches decided to stay. We no longer had to move to Southern West Virginia! Instead, God once again intervened!
We were offered a church only 2-hours away and in a little better of an area. We were ecstatic but, yet again, we decided to see where we would be working.
As we made the two hour trip, it was all but exciting. The house that came with the church was already occupied and it looked like it would need a whole lotta work to be safe for a family with kids. Again, we felt like this couldn’t be where God was leading us and we prayed hard.
We were all but ready to turn down the pastor job but we were given more time to pray about it. Since the house was occupied and the housing market was so slim, they told us we wouldn’t have to move until the people in the house could finish building their house. I was realized to hear this, but still didn’t feel this was what God wanted for us, at that moment. So, we prayed really hard about everything and begged God to show us what He wanted and not what we wanted.
And, once again, God answered our prayers!
February
After such a stressful January, February was a much needed month and, it was tax time! After receiving a small tax refund, we had decided to keep everything in God’s hands and to take a much needed vacation to Florida.
View this post on Instagram
We had wanted it to be a memorable experience. And, since my parents always took my sisters and I to Florida every February growing up, we decided we were going to take the kids to Universal Studios since they were old enough to actually enjoy it. Our time there wasn’t as great as we expected and we were so disappointed with how much money we spent and how much fun we didn’t have.
And, to top it off, on the way home it was cold and rainy so we didn’t get to see or experience any fun at the beaches in Florida. So our trip kind of bombed. But we did get one phone call while we were in Florida. The conference had decided to hire Michael as an assistant pastor and start paying him that month. We were given the opportunity to work with our pastor and our church and just stay where we were!
This was a much needed phone call and just proved God was leading our life, every step of the way once more.
March
March was an uneventful month. It was Michael and mine’s 12th wedding anniversary. I have never been one to care about stuff like that so we quietly celebrated and I honestly don’t even remember what we did, maybe we went fishing?
Other than an anniversary, Michael was also hounding me about visit California in April. I thought there was no way we would be doing that and since Michael had a job, I figured it would be a long shot and he would never get the time off.
But Michael being Michael decided to ask the conference if he could go for some training in California in April and they approved it! I still doubted we would go but April proved that you can’t argue with God’s will.
April
April is one of the busiest months in the Carder household. It’s the month all three of our kids were born and it’s birthday after birthday. We eat so much cake in April that it’s almost sickening. But this April was a little different. Michael got his way, again, haha! We went to California for the first time!
It was something I never thought we would do but we decided to pack up the car and drive cross country for the first time. It took us a whopping 4-days but it was such an incredible experience that I recommend every one doing it at least once in their lifetime.
During our adventure out west we saw so much beautiful scenery that it literally felt unreal. When we finally got to California, Michael finally met his friend in person who he had been talking to online and on the phone for over two years and we got to spend the next 3-days in back-to-back meetings learning about God’s Sanctuary message.
View this post on Instagram
By the time it was time to leave, we were so disappointed. We had enjoyed our time in California so much! But we decided to make the trip even more exciting and swing up to Yellowstone National Park on the way home.
Yellowstone National Park was an absolute surreal experience. We saw so many animals and it was so beautiful. We were kind of disappointed that we didn’t have more time than just a few hours, but we have decided it won’t be the last time we visit the park. After leaving Yellowstone and staying in Billings, Montana for the night, the next day we decided to book it home.
Michael had been dealing with a skin lesion and it was beginning to really bother him. During the ride home, Michael was popping the Tylenol and Ibuprofen and just really trying to make it home. He wasn’t feeling well, he was having chills and cold sweat, so after making it to Fargo, North Dakota for the day, we decided to call it a night.
After settling into the hotel though, Michael begin to wonder if he needed to go to an urgent care and get checked. After finally getting to an urgent care that was willing to see him, we learned Michael wasn’t going to be able to go home that night. Michael had sepsis and we were stranded in Fargo, North Dakota!
I cried and we even begged the doctor to let us just rush home but after warning us of the dangers, we realized there was nothing we could do, we were stranded! Michael had to be admitted and me and the kids were on our own! Of course, I shared all about this fiasco on the BLOG, so I won’t share the details again, but if you have time, you should read about all details because it was so insane.
View this post on Instagram
Other than our trip to California and a ton of birthdays, we spent April feeling pretty darn lucky to be alive and home.
May
June
June was yet another busy month. It was the month of our church’s annual camp meeting, so we had to spend 2-weeks at the church camp in Huttonsville, West Virginia.
View this post on Instagram
Unfortunately, the camp is pretty primitive and the cabins are pretty basic and only the size of a walk in closet so spending 2-weeks in them was rough. Still we got through it and the kids absolutely loved the camp experience. They swam, played with other kids, and we hardly ever saw them. You can read about all the specific details in this post.
July
In July I got tasked with planning our church’s Vacation Bible School. It was my first time taking on a project quite this big and it was extremely stressful but we got through it. The kids even got to practice going door-to-door to invite the community to come.
Coincidently, July was also the month that Michael needed his tuition for an evangelism school in California that we were accepted in before COVID happened and shut it down in 2020. The new dates were in August 2021, and I never thought we would go.
We didn’t have the money and I couldn’t fantom leaving home for 3 long months. But Michael being Michael persisted until 1-week before the first payment was due. He had made a Gofundme weeks back, but I never let him share it to the public, but after constant persistence from Mike, I told him to share it and if we got the money, we would go. I NEVER in a million years thought he would get the money.
Soooo imagine my surprise when some wonderful friends and family donated half the money we needed. Still since it wasn’t the full amount, we were only planning to cash it out if we got the full amount because else we couldn’t go. So, imagine how even more surprised I was when someone else offered us the exact amount of money we needed yet for our downpayment. It was then I knew there was no turning back. Michael had got his way and God was making His plan obvious…
Coincidentally, July was also the month Michael scheduled to do his first ever Prophecy seminar. It was 12 nights, 2 meetings a night and it begun at the end of July and ran two days before the date we would have to leave for California.
It felt crazy, but guys it was such an amazing experience! We were so exhausted after the meetings but it was a good exhaustion. And, we got to witness people giving their lives to God – it was soooo beautiful!
August
Besides finishing the prophecy seminar, we were also planning to go to California for 3 months. It felt so surreal. I never imagined I would ever live in California and there I was, packing up and getting ready to leave the only life I knew.
But I knew this was all part of God’s will. Because we were leaving a job that paid to go to California into the unknown. But here’s where God’s handy work really showed up. Remember that financial issue I talked about briefly in January that we were experiencing.
Well it would be over two weeks after we left for California, meaning we wouldn’t have to struggle while we were out in California. Plus to top it off, God provided everything for us to go. Our church members literally donated every penny we needed for tuition and expenses!
Of course, there was one other problem we were facing. Our car did not have enough room to pack enough stuff for a family of 5 for 3 months. So, we decided to try for something a little bigger and everything just worked out perfectly. That has NEVER happened for us! We were able to get a VW Atlas which had the perfect amount of space for everything we needed.
So in mid-August, after a lot of tears and fear, we left our home and headed for California.
We got to California on August 19th and were able to check into our apartment and soon Michael started his evangelism school.
September
September we continued our time in California. Though I was little homesick, I knew 3-months was not that long. And, I really doubted anything would ever change in 3 months. BUT I was so wrong. While gone, my parents got COVID and my dad almost died from it. It was one of the scariest times of my life and I felt so helpless.
I couldn’t help them and there was a time we didn’t think my dad would make it through. But praise the Lord, God took care of them and my dad was one of the lucky ones, he made it, against all odds. Of course, you can read more details HERE.
After all this happened, I was even more homesick but held on to the hope that we only had a few weeks left.
October
October was the last full month of living in California and it was also one of our busiest. Michael’s class was preparing for a prophecy seminar but before it started, we got to go on a short 3-day trip to Albion, California.
In Albion we got experience a few more first. We stayed in cabin right beside the ocean, we (me + kids) kayaked for the first time – right beside the ocean!, saw redwood trees, and we spent time at the Pacific coast. It was a memorable experience for sure and when we got back to Roseville, we immediately spent the next 24-days helping with a prophecy seminar in Folsom, California.
November
It was the last month of living in California and we were all ready to go home. But we also had some exciting news. Michael was offered a job as a full-time evangelist and we gladly accepted! It was a job opportunity we prayed for and it meant we didn’t have to move! We can travel and visit anywhere we want and we get to spread the gospel with the world.
Mid-November we finally got to go back to Maryland but, of course, we didn’t miss the chance to stop and see the Grand Canyon on our way home. We arrived home on thanksgiving and it was so nice to get back into a routine and back on east coast time.
December
While it’s still December as I am currently writing this, December has already been another month of first. We went back to California but this time we all flew out on an airplane! I never thought I would ever get the chance to fly and, to be honest, I was kind of scared to fly but it went a lot better than I ever expected.
While in CA, Michael got to sign his work contract for the year and we got to attend an employee appreciation dinner with pastors and other evangelist who I grew up watching. And one in particular who I credit with the whole reason my family is Seventh-day Adventist to this day. It was such a unique experience that it still feels so surreal that we were part of it.
Other than that, December has been filled with a lot of Christmas shopping and we added to the family! Our yorkie, Teddy, had a son while we were in California and we got to adopt him! His name is Arlo, so I’m sure you will be seeing more about him on the blog in 2022 but right now he’s only 15 ounces and sooooo small.
View this post on Instagram
2021 was such an exciting year! Here’s to praying 2022 is even better!
Last Updated on 4 years ago by Crystal Carder