So many things have changed in our family and I haven’t taken the time, or effort, to put them on here to maybe share with folks what is going on in my life. So where are we at? That has been a question that has recently changed for our family in several parts: Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually. So where to start, well I am not going to back build the story very far because it would have to be a series of posts so I will try to shorten it to smaller text. (In my mind I hear my wife saying, “Yeah right, you put whatever you are trying to say in less words not more…good luck!” But I am going to try.)
My family and I were “Stuck” in Illinois, and I use stuck in quotes because there is so much that is involved in that word, but it seems fitting for the synopsis of what has happened in the past year. We were wondering what was going to happen in our lives. We had been diligently looking for a place to Pastor or a Place to serve as an Assistant Pastor, Student Pastor, Outreach Pastor, something ministry related, but nothing came to pass. (Again, another long story with many things behind it, but I am trying to simplify this post.) The big problem is that we were stuck with a house and couldn’t get it to sell. We gave it to the Lord and said that if the Lord would sell our house then we would move wherever he wanted us. Wow, did he put that to the test.
We were driving 62 miles to Church (One Way) and loving the folks at Quint City Baptist Church, and were wondering if this would be where God would have us to be? The Pastor, John Beeler, was a great guy and we clicked really well, but we still had this house to sell! So nothing came to pass. But then, in July we had an offer on the house! It was lower then what we needed so we countered the offer, and guess what? The house sold! Praise God! Hallelujah! Amen! But then the big question was, ok where do we go, where do we live, what do we do?
What was really weird about this time is that both Charlie and I had perfect peace about not knowing and trusted that God would show us where to go. We had four weeks before we had to be out of our house and we still didn’t know where to go. Well truthfully we knew what God wanted us to do, but I tried to reason and make “Sense” out of what God was doing in our lives. We had it narrowed down to three choices. One move to Peoria, which is where my job was at, and then try look for a Church to get involved in. Two, move to Quad Cities, maybe try to work with the company I was at from a distance (I was already driving 104 miles a day to work, and 124 miles to get to Church every Sunday and Wednesday. Don’t know if that is important but put it down anyway.) Or three…well this one will take a little more explaining.
About three or four years ago (Don’t remember when for sure, because I am a little brain dead on Mondays) my family and I met and fell in love with a family at the Church we started attending. It just so happened that the family that was such a blessing to us was the Pastor and his family. We had great fellowship with them, we were challenged to grow for the Lord with them, and just enjoyed the wonderful hearts they had for the Lord and loved being with folks that just loved Jesus! I also had the opportunity to work with Pastor Andy as the youth pastor of the Church we were at. It was great, but God called Pastor Andy to the Houston area a little over a year ago in what I had opportunity to see as a wonderful leading in a man’s life! Such a great story there, but no time for it in this post. So now option three, move my family to the Houston area and join the Southwinds Baptist Church Family.
What was I thinking? This made no sense! Move my family to an area where there is a Great Church and a Great Pastor? Wait this can’t be right? I would have to quit my job and have to find another one? I would have to find a place to live while unemployed? God surely can’t be moving us here! This was the struggle I was going through, but the fact is that it was God’s leading and He doesn’t always have to make sense to us, but He will always provide when He leads. We had the peace of God that this is where He wanted us and with three weeks left before our house was somebody else’s we decided to move our family to the Houston area. That peace of God that passes all understanding…how wonderful! It truly demonstrated Philippians 4:7 to us in a real way! (Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”)
So we told my office (Samaritan Ministries Intl.) that I would be moving my family to Houston and let our Pastor know the same. And then you know what happened? We saw God provide in His way and it was wonderful! God worked out the way for us to get to Houston, a place to live, and a job for us as well. God is so good and now we are in the Houston area! We are still transitioning and getting adjusted but we are so happy that God has not only moved but helped us be reminded of the faith we need to have in Him! We look back at the past several weeks and have the wonderful knowledge of how good our God is, how wonderful He provides, and know that our faith in Him is never a faith misplaced! Oh so much more to say, but I am over a 1,000 words and will leave it here for now.
