What a weekend! Friday Olivia threw up all over her car seat!! We prayed and prayed and tried to figure out what to do about the interview. We decided to giver her some milk and send her to bed. It seemed like the best way to see if she had a virus or just an upset stomach. She was fine and we loaded up after Dan finished his last paper of the semester. PTL! We just kept praying that the other girls wouldn't get sick while we were there.
We had a great time in the nice hotel room that the church provided for us. The girls and Dan went swimming and we stayed up late and got up early. The girls choice, not ours! Then we headed over to the church to get the kiddos settled in to extended care during the worship service and really enjoyed the atmosphere of the church. Then we were invited to one of the committee members home for lunch. I felt really comfortable and able to be myself. The girls were great and a big hit with all! We got them tucked in for naps and started in on the interview. I felt like it went really well. Before hand we had prayed that we would just be able to be ourselves instead of trying to always say the "right" things. Dan did a great job and it was so fun to be interviewing together. They wanted to know as much about me as Dan and Dan was really sweet to point out some of my strengths. I tried to do the same for him.
It feels to me like this church and position would be a good fit for us. But you know how it goes...now we just wait for the Lord to work and reveal His plan for us. Dan and I both agree that this interview solidified our call to this type of ministry. It is very family focused and we are passionate about that. SO even if this isn't where God has for us, we feel confident that there is somewhere out there that will desire our passion for the family as a whole.
Dan did decide to go ahead and quit his city job. It has been a really great job for this time but we feel like this time has come to an end. We promised each other that we would not sacrifice the family in order to accomplish this God directed path. It was time to honor that promise. I am so thankful for Dan and his leadership of this family. What a hard thing to do. He was most likely about to be moved to a permenant position. From the world's point of view his decisions don't make a whole lot of sense. It looks like he is just quiting and he isn't quiting for another job. This is yet another step of faith for us. The Lord has never disappointed us when we call on Him to provide for us or guide us to the next step. No matter how uncertain that may be the girls and I will definitely benefit from having him around more.
I am so excited about the future!! It can hold any number of adventures for us, and with Dan that is just a given! Thanks for all your prayers, but please don't stop!!!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Blind Faith
Well, Dan did a great job preaching last Sunday. We really enjoyed the church, too. They were a very sweet church and it was very evident that the spirit of the Lord was among them. They were very outward focused. Our eyes were opened to the responsibility that comes with a pastorate. It is a lot of work and dedication. We do not feel a definite leading either way as far as this church is concerned.
This weekend we are traveling to meet and interview at another church in Jacksonville, TX. The position is Children and Young Adults. The church is trying to make their children's program more family centered. This minister will also be responsible for initiating an Upwards Sports program. I have to admit that it has been VERY hard not to get ahead of God on this one! This position seems a bit tailored. Tailored to the needs of the church and tailored to fit our specific talents. I do not believe that the church has tailored this position to fit us, I give credit to the Lord for that. This may not be where God is leading us but it is so encouraging to see that there are specific ministry positions that will fit our family and Dan's personal giftings. It is also encouraging to see that there has been a purpose for what we have been learning in these past six months. We knew very specifically that God provided the current job that Dan has. He has learned so much about implementing and perfecting programs. He had a lot of knowledge in this area concerning programs that were well established, but his experience here at Fort Worth has given him a lot of understanding in how to create, implement and perfect new programs.
I am not sure why I doubt God to lead us to work out the passions He has laid on our hearts! He has proven himself faithful time and again. Dan has encouraged our family to trust God implicitly in each step of our lives. We have stepped out in faith numerous times to follow God's call with out seeing how He planned to fulfill that calling. We have never been disappointed or abandoned! I have faith that God has a plan for our family and I have faith in Dan to lead us in the middle of that plan. So if you need some encouragement in seeing God work, you are more than welcome to accompany us on this journey!! The Father is continually revealing next steps for us to follow and we are on the edge of a big one!! It is an exciting place to be, following God blindly. But it is not for the faint of heart!! SO take courage and we will keep you posted!!!
This weekend we are traveling to meet and interview at another church in Jacksonville, TX. The position is Children and Young Adults. The church is trying to make their children's program more family centered. This minister will also be responsible for initiating an Upwards Sports program. I have to admit that it has been VERY hard not to get ahead of God on this one! This position seems a bit tailored. Tailored to the needs of the church and tailored to fit our specific talents. I do not believe that the church has tailored this position to fit us, I give credit to the Lord for that. This may not be where God is leading us but it is so encouraging to see that there are specific ministry positions that will fit our family and Dan's personal giftings. It is also encouraging to see that there has been a purpose for what we have been learning in these past six months. We knew very specifically that God provided the current job that Dan has. He has learned so much about implementing and perfecting programs. He had a lot of knowledge in this area concerning programs that were well established, but his experience here at Fort Worth has given him a lot of understanding in how to create, implement and perfect new programs.
I am not sure why I doubt God to lead us to work out the passions He has laid on our hearts! He has proven himself faithful time and again. Dan has encouraged our family to trust God implicitly in each step of our lives. We have stepped out in faith numerous times to follow God's call with out seeing how He planned to fulfill that calling. We have never been disappointed or abandoned! I have faith that God has a plan for our family and I have faith in Dan to lead us in the middle of that plan. So if you need some encouragement in seeing God work, you are more than welcome to accompany us on this journey!! The Father is continually revealing next steps for us to follow and we are on the edge of a big one!! It is an exciting place to be, following God blindly. But it is not for the faint of heart!! SO take courage and we will keep you posted!!!
Friday, December 1, 2006
The Arctic Blast!
You have to love the weather in Texas. It is original at least! You never know what you are going to get. Yesterday we had winter. Who knows if we will get any more winter weather this season but it would be ok with me if we didn't. In Pennsylvania, winter was just something that came and everyone knew it was coming and they paced themsleves to make it throught the weeks of teen and twenty degree weather, the snow and the icy roads. But in Texas, people get crazy!!
It was spitting sleet most of the day yesterday but you have to remember that the day before it had been 80 degrees!! Just about every private school was closed or let out early and everyone was warning you about the dangers of driving. When Dan left for school and work I told him to be careful but I wasn't worried about him driving to work. I was worried about him driving to work with all the other crazies that were driving 20 mph on the interstate that wasn't even very wet! Granted the bridges did get a little slick and caused some significant problems. For example, Dan ran to the library around lunch time. On the way back is a very long bridge that gets pretty steep. Several drivers were having a hard time getting up it. Probably because they were driving 20 mph. Dan saw a woman in trouble and pulled over to help push her car up the rest of the incline. While he was pushing and red in the face with physical exhertion, a woman drives up and rolls down her window. She proceeds to yell at Dan from her window, "Stop it!! Are you crazy!! Don't do it! You are going to die!!" Then she goes on her way.
I assume that she was afraid the car would slide back and pin Dan to the wall of the bridge. I am thankful for her concern for Dan if that's really what she was expressing but I am not completely convinced of that.
The rest of the story goes something like this...a typical Dan story;) As Dan got out of the car to run and help a damsel in distress he locked the door, out of habit, of course! Good habit to have, except when you forget to grab the keys first! SO I get a call from a very flustered and frustrated Dan. I pack all the girls in the car and we meet Dan at work. Luckily someone was nice enough to offer Dan a ride and take Dan to his home to make his telephone call. That doesn't always happen anymore. Anyway when we drive back up to the bridge the police have closed the bridge. I look wide-eyed to Dan and he quickly informs me that he called the police to tell them about the car blocking the middle of the bridge. I guess I misunderstood him because I was sure he told me he pulled over. Apparently not. He just parked the car and ran over to lend a hand. Well, the story ended well despite the drama. Dan got his car and the police were very friendly and helpful. We aren't sure if they closed the bridge because of Dan's car or if they closed it because it was causing so many problems. But either way we have the red cavalier back safe and sound!
As Dan and I were discussing this story later it made me think of the way some christians, myself included, approach spreading the gospel of Christ. We, like that frantic woman, just take enough time to yell the dangers of hell at others with out actually stopping to explain why we are concerned for them or better yet, getting out and helping them ourselves. Jesus ministry was very personal. He always took time to speak with people and love them. Even the woman who was healed by merely touching the hem of his cloak. He stopped and deliberately asked who it was so that he could make a connection with her.
Yesterday, it felt a little like the apocalypse around here!! Everyone was running around like crazy and unfortunately some were only concerned for themselves. That woman that slowed down enough to yell at Dan was either overly nervous or truly concerned for Dan. Her concern was not taken very well by the two men who were straining to help move the car. In fact, it wasn't helpful to them all. Yes, sometimes we are called to point out the dangers of this world and its coming doom to others, but I believe that Jesus, when asked what the most important commandment was, answered like this, "The most important one, ...is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' The second one is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31
They go together. They have to go together. We cannot love others as ourselves if we are not loving God with all we are.
I too often just pass people by. I am in too much of a hurry or to engrossed in my own affairs to take notice of those around me. Other times, I slow down only enough to tell them what's going to go wrong or the danger I can clearly see in their lives. We have to offer the whole picture from beginning to end and sometimes that takes an investment of time and energy. But if we are really loving them as ourselves that won't matter or shouldn't anyway. The message isn't only of sin, eternal damnation and seperation from Christ it is also about the love that caused God to send his Son to this world to take on the sin of the world in order to restore us to a right relationship with Himself. You can't have one without the other. They go hand in hand. We are doomed if you leave out the hope and if you only tell of the hope then we cannot grasp the fullness of that hope.
This apocalyptic ARCTIC BLAST sure did cause me to rethink the way I approach others with the message of Christ and his miraculous gift of eternal life. It also made me smile a little.
But really, it WAS only one day of freezing weather and the whole city goes crazy! If only we(I) could get that excited about the coming of our Lord!
It was spitting sleet most of the day yesterday but you have to remember that the day before it had been 80 degrees!! Just about every private school was closed or let out early and everyone was warning you about the dangers of driving. When Dan left for school and work I told him to be careful but I wasn't worried about him driving to work. I was worried about him driving to work with all the other crazies that were driving 20 mph on the interstate that wasn't even very wet! Granted the bridges did get a little slick and caused some significant problems. For example, Dan ran to the library around lunch time. On the way back is a very long bridge that gets pretty steep. Several drivers were having a hard time getting up it. Probably because they were driving 20 mph. Dan saw a woman in trouble and pulled over to help push her car up the rest of the incline. While he was pushing and red in the face with physical exhertion, a woman drives up and rolls down her window. She proceeds to yell at Dan from her window, "Stop it!! Are you crazy!! Don't do it! You are going to die!!" Then she goes on her way.
I assume that she was afraid the car would slide back and pin Dan to the wall of the bridge. I am thankful for her concern for Dan if that's really what she was expressing but I am not completely convinced of that.
The rest of the story goes something like this...a typical Dan story;) As Dan got out of the car to run and help a damsel in distress he locked the door, out of habit, of course! Good habit to have, except when you forget to grab the keys first! SO I get a call from a very flustered and frustrated Dan. I pack all the girls in the car and we meet Dan at work. Luckily someone was nice enough to offer Dan a ride and take Dan to his home to make his telephone call. That doesn't always happen anymore. Anyway when we drive back up to the bridge the police have closed the bridge. I look wide-eyed to Dan and he quickly informs me that he called the police to tell them about the car blocking the middle of the bridge. I guess I misunderstood him because I was sure he told me he pulled over. Apparently not. He just parked the car and ran over to lend a hand. Well, the story ended well despite the drama. Dan got his car and the police were very friendly and helpful. We aren't sure if they closed the bridge because of Dan's car or if they closed it because it was causing so many problems. But either way we have the red cavalier back safe and sound!
As Dan and I were discussing this story later it made me think of the way some christians, myself included, approach spreading the gospel of Christ. We, like that frantic woman, just take enough time to yell the dangers of hell at others with out actually stopping to explain why we are concerned for them or better yet, getting out and helping them ourselves. Jesus ministry was very personal. He always took time to speak with people and love them. Even the woman who was healed by merely touching the hem of his cloak. He stopped and deliberately asked who it was so that he could make a connection with her.
Yesterday, it felt a little like the apocalypse around here!! Everyone was running around like crazy and unfortunately some were only concerned for themselves. That woman that slowed down enough to yell at Dan was either overly nervous or truly concerned for Dan. Her concern was not taken very well by the two men who were straining to help move the car. In fact, it wasn't helpful to them all. Yes, sometimes we are called to point out the dangers of this world and its coming doom to others, but I believe that Jesus, when asked what the most important commandment was, answered like this, "The most important one, ...is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' The second one is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31
They go together. They have to go together. We cannot love others as ourselves if we are not loving God with all we are.
I too often just pass people by. I am in too much of a hurry or to engrossed in my own affairs to take notice of those around me. Other times, I slow down only enough to tell them what's going to go wrong or the danger I can clearly see in their lives. We have to offer the whole picture from beginning to end and sometimes that takes an investment of time and energy. But if we are really loving them as ourselves that won't matter or shouldn't anyway. The message isn't only of sin, eternal damnation and seperation from Christ it is also about the love that caused God to send his Son to this world to take on the sin of the world in order to restore us to a right relationship with Himself. You can't have one without the other. They go hand in hand. We are doomed if you leave out the hope and if you only tell of the hope then we cannot grasp the fullness of that hope.
This apocalyptic ARCTIC BLAST sure did cause me to rethink the way I approach others with the message of Christ and his miraculous gift of eternal life. It also made me smile a little.
But really, it WAS only one day of freezing weather and the whole city goes crazy! If only we(I) could get that excited about the coming of our Lord!
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