“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3:1
It is time to for us to leap. To give up everything we have known and grown comfortable with over the past five & a half years. God is calling us to our next big adventure.
I have resigned from Thomas Nelson and have accepted a job as Marketing Manager with International Justice Mission. (IJM is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression.)
We will soon be packing up our lives and moving to Northern Virginia.
There is no doubt that God has been preparing us for this next adventure for a long time. We have both been feeling a little restless, knowing that God was up to something. We just didn’t know when, where, or what.
I believe, wholeheartedly, that this is a position that God has created me for and has been preparing me for. He knew this was coming, long before I did. I can already see His hand at work through every bit of the process thus far.
“For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 (The Voice)
I am excited. I am nervous. And I am just a little bit terrified.
I ask for your prayers as we take this leap of faith. We have a lot of logistics to work out in the next month. I also invite you to stay tuned to our adventure. I’ll be posting a lot more frequently here with thoughts along the way. At the upper left of the page, you can either choose to subscribe via email or subscribe to the feed via RSS (if you use Google Reader or something similar).
Here’s to the journey ahead…




21 comments
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December 13, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Julie
Karen, we will miss you, but what a PERFECT place for you!! I will be watching you through this blog, and praying for everything you do.
December 13, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Misty
So I read your blog post, then scrolled up to the top of the page where I noticed the name of the blog: Live.Love.Serve. It’s such a great reminder to me that your passion has always been in helping those with the greatest needs. This really is the perfect job for you, and I know you will be blessed for your faith in following this path. I love you, friend, and will miss you!
December 13, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Karen Barnes
Oh man, thanks friend! *tear* I will certainly miss you much too!
December 13, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Alan Rudnick
Karen, these can be tough choices but I’ve found being faithful to God is so much more rewarding. May God go with you!
December 13, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Alyssa
Congrats on the job! IJM will be lucky to have you. Excited to hear about the adventure!
December 13, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Laura Eller
Hey Karen — great opportunity! IJM is doing a GREAT job in Guatemala, and a friend from our church in Guate will be at the office there with you in VA. May God bless you as you take the leap!
December 13, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Karen Barnes
Thanks Laura! Yes, Javier told me about Pablo Villeda. That’s awesome! I look forward to meeting him when I get there.
December 13, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Matt
Super Excited for you and your family!
I have some good friends who are serving in Asia with IJM.
December 13, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Karen Barnes
Thanks Matt! And that’s awesome that you have some IJM connections. Very cool!
December 13, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Lindsey Nobles
So excited for you!
December 14, 2011 at 9:12 am
Alece
so excited for you and this journey you’re on!!
December 14, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Robins
Great Karen, I also took a leap of Faith from being with Corporates fpr over 20 years into World Vision where I seved for around 1.5 years and now I am in Habitat for Humanity all in India.
Good wishes and Prayers.
December 19, 2011 at 2:44 pm
To the land down under…. « lindsey talerico.
[...] the decision to “take a leap of faith”, as my dear friend Karen has said recently in her own blog announcement. Borrowing from her wisdom and sharing in her feelings, I like what she has said, because [...]
December 21, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Emily Nichols
Karen – I don’t know you but ran across your blog via Twitter and links from some IJM folks. I used to work at IJM in the Comms department, and I can tell you…this will be an incredible experience. There is little that is more meaningful than the work IJM does…and it also happens to be a great place to work! Congratulations and best of luck.
December 21, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Karen Barnes
Thank you so much Emily! So glad you found my post. I’m so excited about it and I really appreciate your words. That makes me even more excited!
December 22, 2011 at 8:42 pm
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December 23, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Jason
Congratulations on the new position and move of God! IJM is such a wonderful organization!
December 23, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Karen Barnes
Thanks Jason! I appreciate it!
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