Welcome to my (Matthew's) new blog... this one is mine and only mine. The other one I started with Kelly was hijacked by her. It would have been weird posting my own stories about guns, bomb shelters, motorcycles, and projects amongst all the mushy stories of Reagan and the growth of our family. Well... enjoy as I make this my personal journal.
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Here is a little background before I start assuming you know what's been going on in our lives. So, Kelly and I moved down from Syracuse last year (Jan. 2011) for me to attend seminary at Liberty University. Time has flown by! God has brought me so many opportunities to mold my family, character, personality, workmanship, and humor (who knew).
Here we are the day before we left "Sunny" Syracuse.
I got a job at Liberty University at the Center for Worship. I was the Church Ministry Liaison for the center. I loved my job - I got to place students in Internships and careers in church plants to mega churches (like Saddleback Church in CA).
I traveled with Dr. Whaley and other office staff to Worship Seminars
I even got to travel with LU Praise to Trinidad and Tobago.
In Trinidad, I saw two great friends from Lee University (Ronald & Amanda)
God established so many strong relationships at Liberty in one year. The friends we have here are a blessing to Kelly and me.
Kelly got the best birthday present ever when she took a pregnancy test and it was positive. We were not scared... we were thrilled. Kelly made a beautiful pregnant wife. Her stomach grew, and grew and grew.
Kelly was a course editor for the university's online Blackboard. She had a tough time being pregnant and working. Poor kelly had troubles like: throwing up in her cubicle from smelling hazelnut coffee to interoffice politics (and personalities). She made the best of it.
Once we decided that Kelly was not going back to work, I had to make up the difference. You know as well as I do that universities don't compensate well, so God had to make up the difference. When we moved to Lynchburg, I began looking hard for a job (or jobs) to sustain us. I met Jamie Osborne, a pastor from Hilton Head Island, SC that was looking to move his ministry and family to Lynchburg. Jamie made a huge impression on me. He is a dreamer, visionary, entrepreneur, and implementer for the advancement of the Kingdom. Although I wanted to work with Jamie in Lynchburg, there were too many unknowns at the time. I chose to work at the Center for Worship and continued to build my relationship with him. It turned out that he ended up moving six months later, so God's timing was perfect.
I left the Center for Worship to provide for my family better, and to this day still have a strong relationship with the office. In August 2011, Jamie hired me to work as his Associate Pastor of Shout Church.tv. Jamie to this day has stretched my mind when it comes to sustaining a ministry to implementing one. We are working on projects now that will potentially change the world. Jamie's Kingdom mindset with his business and personal skills makes ideas happen.
November 29, 2011 was a day that I will never forget. That day my life changed. I was given a son. The most precious moments in my life were being written before my very eyes. The strength of Kelly and the purity of a new life was overwhelming. Reagan Cope Schallmo is the new addition to our family. Life is changing!
Kelly is loving her life right now. She is staying home with Reagan. I am jealous at times... until I realize that she has a TOUGH job. Leave me alone with Reagan for 5 hours and I am ready for Kelly's help. She is a wonderful mother - I don't know how she does it!
Even though I am a new dad, a seminary student, and part of a thriving ministry, God is still stretching me and moving us forward.
