We have two beautiful boys who keep us on our toes and moving like crazy! In 2012, we started on a journey that would change our lives in ways we never imagined. God's plan was always bigger and better than ours, but at the time we did not see the bigger picture. We’ve learned a lot over the years. From full-time college students, to being a teacher, to working in full-time ministry, to corporate America, to jobless, to entrepreneurs. Our track record is not that impressive to one who deems a traditional career path the hallmark of success. However, we choose to view life differently. We got married young and have enjoyed growing up together.
In the midst of our spiritual, financial and physical highs & lows, we had this underlying desire to serve others and enjoy adventure. Bottle that up and there is birthed Love Fast Live Slow. This motto was birthed from Jesus' words to the Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
— Mark 12:30-31
To really understand the full picture of who we are, we need to back up further than 2012.
We met in college in 2004.
Started dating in 2005.
Engaged by 2006.
Married in 2007.
In 2009, Nick was working full-time as a student pastor while I was working in marketing for a medical software company. That’s when things got really interesting for our family. After a lot of praying and seeking, we decided to uproot and move to the Tampa Bay area to be part of a church plant. In December 2010, we picked up everything and moved to Florida.
Fast forward a little, by mid-2011 we were neck deep in the church plant and loving our new home and friends. It was the first time in our entire adult life we understood the power (and necessity) of community. Our new friends had truly become family.
Even with the sweetness of our new community, church planting can get a little messy. After about a year, we started to realize the church was not going to thrive. In February 2012, the church plant merged with another church and we chose to step away and go another direction.
Did I mention we had just learned we were pregnant with our first child?
We were very excited yet dizzy from being in survival mode. I was still working for the same medical software company. During my entire pregnancy, I was traveling 75% and lugging suitcases around airports and hotels. Nick accepted a job at that same company which had him traveling 90% away from home (4-5 days every week). Nick barely made it home in time to be with me when I went into labor. We were getting by with the skin of our teeth. But survival was all we knew. And a fast paced life was what we were good at.
This is where we pick up in 2012.
With zero exaggeration, ten minutes after we got home from the hospital with our newborn, Nick had a scheduled video interview with a church in Georgia. This was a job opportunity he had heard of a few weeks back. Weighing the perks:
Nick wouldn’t have to travel 90% anymore
Our family was obviously wildly hopeful we'd move back
It offered health insurance
It was a hat trick. We prayed and sought advice from mentors. Quickly accepted the job and were scheduled to move to Georgia one month later. We will never forget moving day. Our son was 5 weeks old and I cried for the first few hours of the drive. Our emotions were high but we didn’t know whether to trust our head or our heart.
Masking our disconnect, we thought if we planted deeper roots it would feel more like home. Perhaps we hadn’t put enough skin in the game. So we bought a house. I was sinking quickly and desperate for a place to call home so we went big and sealed the deal on a 4,000 sq. ft house and made plans to pay it off in 15 years. It was seemingly the white picket fence life.
We had to hire a nanny because we both had to work full-time demanding jobs to keep up with our bills. My commute was 3 hours a day (3 days a week) and Nick worked several nights a week.
You get the picture? We were not in good health. Mentally. Spiritually. Physically. Emotionally.
“You change your life by changing your heart.”
— Max Lucado
Things started changing by March 2013. I started a side thing with an online health & fitness company called Beachbody.
I started working around the clock but within three months, I was earning enough money from this new online business that could fulfill a dream I've always had: to be a stay at home mom.
Suddenly, it didn’t matter that we were going to be scraping by financially. What was more important was the balance and harmony in our home. Major life lesson #1 about living slow.
However, there were major bumpy roads still to be had. A few months later, even though I had found my dream job, Nick still felt like a square peg in a round hole. And it was obvious. God had been sending us red flags and there was a final straw that was undeniable. Nick was fired from his job and it took us for a tail spin.
We had to quickly sell our house because we couldn’t afford it. We had to move in with Nick’s parents to make it through the holidays. Losing a job is one of the five most traumatic life changes. And boy, did we feel it. God had a lot of pruning to do in our hearts and understanding of his bigger plan.
Thankfully, my online health & fitness business with Beachbody was picking up. That combined with part-time work Nick was able to pick up, we were able to afford our own place again by April 2014. We were trying to feel like a family again.
Getting our bearings, we knew we needed to establish a home in a community where we could thrive. Florida was tattooed on our hearts and by August 2014, we were earning enough with Beachbody that we decided to move back home to Florida. And guess what? We were pregnant with baby boy #2.
This time we vowed to do things differently. No more 9-5 and certainly no more missing milestones with our newborn.
We wanted to be home with our boys and raise them together. A month before he was born, we officially said goodbye to having a boss. Now we were officially a entrepreneur family. That freedom is attainable and we are proof!
Right when we got to Florida, we plugged back into our small group for healing and sharpening. We began peeling back the layers of who we are and what we were put on this earth to do. Applying our family motto Love Fast and Live Slow to new areas of our life.
It's still a bit baffling what an incredible turn our life has taken over the years.
We want to encourage others and just live our life. If it happens to encourage someone else, then there is good in that.
Thanks for reading and being a part of our journey!
We have two beautiful boys who keep us on our toes and moving like crazy! In 2012, we started on a journey that would change our lives in ways we never imagined. God's plan was always bigger and better than ours, but at the time we did not see the bigger picture. We’ve learned a lot over the years. From full-time college students, to being a teacher, to working in full-time ministry, to corporate America, to jobless, to entrepreneurs. Our track record is not that impressive to one who deems a traditional career path the hallmark of success. However, we choose to view life differently. We got married young and have enjoyed growing up together.
In 2009, Nick was working full-time as a student pastor while I was working in marketing for a medical software company. That’s when things got really interesting for our family. After a lot of praying and seeking, we decided to uproot and move to the Tampa Bay area to be part of a church plant. In December 2010, we picked up everything and moved to Florida.
Things started changing by March 2013. I started a side thing with an online health & fitness company called Beachbody.
