Well, I can now safely inform you all that after much prayer and discussion, Kendra and I have decided that the time is right for us to pursue returning to vocational children's ministry. We've been talking about this and praying about it for a while, but we have only told a select few so we can have them praying through this with us. This was because I hadn't told my parents until yesterday. See, my dad is my boss and I wasn't sure how things would go.
Yesterday, Kendra and I went to lunch with my mother and we informed her of our decision. She was quite happy for us, but was not surprised. She came to the conclusion that this is what we were going to do by putting together a lot of things that really had nothing to do with us returning to ministry. We let her think they really did, but at least she had figured it out already. She even began, in December, to prepare my dad that this was probably coming.
So, yesterday, after lunch, I told my dad. He wasn't surprised, but had very little to say about the matter. Please pray for him, as today he is quite depressed. Not just about me leaving, whenever that will be, but that is part of it.
So now that they know, I can tell you all!!!! We are thrilled!! I am going to start submitting my resume to churches soon (within the week) so please be in prayer with us about God leading us in the right direction. When we went to Victory Highway 9 years ago, we knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that that is where we were supposed to be. We are trusting that God will give us the same confirmation this time around.
For those of you who know us well, you know that the last several years have been VERY rocky ones, and we thank you for your prayers. My relationship with Kendra is much stronger today than it has ever been. God has brought a lot of spiritual healing to our family and especially to my life (which I believe has been the catalyst for the growth in our family).
Please continue to pray for God's direction and timing in our search. We love you all and appreciate you all very much!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Friday, February 08, 2008
Fasting and other thoughts by Me
In January I participated in a 21 day partial fast. I've never done a fast like this before. I've actually only fasted for one day at a time only once or twice. This 21 day experience for me was AMAZING!!!!
My purpose in the fast was to break strongholds in my life that I have been struggling to get rid of for quite a while. Through learning to rely on God's strenght to withstand temptation for food, I was able to move the knowledge I have about God's love and power from my head to my heart. For the first time in a long time I have been able to truly grasp that God's love for me is all I need. I am a child of God and it doesn't matter what other people think of me. It only matters what God thinks of me! It's so freeing when this finally sinks in!
I have also been reading a couple of books. The first, which I recommend for ALL parents is called "Child Training Tips: What I Wish I Knew When My Children Were Young" by Reb Bradley. It talks a lot abou the goal of parenting is to raise self-controlled, mature adults. Wow, what a challenge! The cool thing about this is how it is pointing out to me how immature and un-self-controlled I am in many areas of my life. It has really inspired me to mature as a person and to strive to be self-controlled as an adult.
The other book is "The Search for Significance" by Robert McGee. This is a book I recommend for ALL Christians. This book has really understand that I get caught up in the performance trap. We all too often think of our self-worth in the following equation: our performance + other's opinions = our self-worth. This is just what satan wants us to believe. Our performance isn't important. Other people's opinions aren't important. The only thing that matters is what God thinks of us. When we accept Christ, we are given Christ's righteousness and God views us through that filter. Does that make us perfect? No. It grieves God when we sin. But he doesn't think any less of us when we sin. He still loves us! Nothing will ever change that. Praise God that we can be free from satan's lies and free of performance anxiety!!!!
On other news, Dr. James Dobson has spoken out against John McCain. Hear his thoughts on McCain that were read on the Laura Ingraham show by clicking this link. He has endorsed Mike Huckabee. Go Mike!!!
Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day! Have a blessed day!
My purpose in the fast was to break strongholds in my life that I have been struggling to get rid of for quite a while. Through learning to rely on God's strenght to withstand temptation for food, I was able to move the knowledge I have about God's love and power from my head to my heart. For the first time in a long time I have been able to truly grasp that God's love for me is all I need. I am a child of God and it doesn't matter what other people think of me. It only matters what God thinks of me! It's so freeing when this finally sinks in!
I have also been reading a couple of books. The first, which I recommend for ALL parents is called "Child Training Tips: What I Wish I Knew When My Children Were Young" by Reb Bradley. It talks a lot abou the goal of parenting is to raise self-controlled, mature adults. Wow, what a challenge! The cool thing about this is how it is pointing out to me how immature and un-self-controlled I am in many areas of my life. It has really inspired me to mature as a person and to strive to be self-controlled as an adult.
The other book is "The Search for Significance" by Robert McGee. This is a book I recommend for ALL Christians. This book has really understand that I get caught up in the performance trap. We all too often think of our self-worth in the following equation: our performance + other's opinions = our self-worth. This is just what satan wants us to believe. Our performance isn't important. Other people's opinions aren't important. The only thing that matters is what God thinks of us. When we accept Christ, we are given Christ's righteousness and God views us through that filter. Does that make us perfect? No. It grieves God when we sin. But he doesn't think any less of us when we sin. He still loves us! Nothing will ever change that. Praise God that we can be free from satan's lies and free of performance anxiety!!!!
On other news, Dr. James Dobson has spoken out against John McCain. Hear his thoughts on McCain that were read on the Laura Ingraham show by clicking this link. He has endorsed Mike Huckabee. Go Mike!!!
Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day! Have a blessed day!
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