Today, I'm reminded of God's Gifts. It's Laila's 5th birthday. She is an amazing gift in our lives. Her arrival into our family was very unexpected. It was one of the very big lessons that God is in control and I am not. As we were trying to prevent adding to our family, God was planning to bring increase to our family. Yes, He does indeed know better than I! Laila has brought much increase to our family. Laila is such a gift to us all, but, at times, I feel that she was a gift just for me. She is so much like her mother it is scary sometimes. Jared calls her "Mouth Jr." and says God must think since he could handle me that he could handle another like me. God has used her to teach me more about myself than anyone else on this earth. Her birth has brought amazing life to our home and our lives. Her birth also brought new direction.
When Laila was born, we were in a time of transition. Jara had started school in all day kindergarten. We had moved from the community that we had been living and working in for 5 years. Jared was seeking other employment. It was a time of change. It was a time that God started moving in our hearts and lives. Looking back, He began then the process of moving us into full time ministry. As we moved from one community to another, we sought a new church home. We found that home at Horizon Christian Fellowship where we still attend and are being sent out from. It was here that God revealed to us the gifts that He had given us to use for His Kingdom. We have both known our personality profiles and our strengths (and weaknesses) in the world. (These things were taught to us early on in college and in our business and professional careers.) But God revealed how He had bestowed upon on gifts through His Spirit. We gained new perspective on those "strong personality traits". Not just a "this is how God had made us" mentality, but these were gifts given to us by Him to be used for Him. We also became aware that the talents that God has given us (like Jared's drum playing and Lora's decorating) were not just talents but gifts given by God...Why weren't we using these talents for Him? God revealed His gifts literally almost overnight to us. His Spirit moved and we moved in obedience to use our gifts and talents for His glory. We became involved in the ministry at HCF in a much different capacity than we had been involved in the ministries in Greenwood. It wasn't about our gifts and talents but more about God's gifts and talents He displayed through us. It wasn't about being good at something, but it was about glorifying God with something. God's gifts have changed our lives. God's gifts allow us to be an integral part of His body. God's gifts enable us to serve Him not on our own ability and strength but in His. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." (1Cor.12:4-6 NIV) What are God's gifts in your life? How are you receiving and using the gifts that He has given to you? God's gifts are priceless...especially His gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. And that's only the beginning of the gifts He wishes to give you!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
God Remembers.
As we have worked through the last week and over this last weekend, God has called us to REMEMBER. He has caused us to remember His faithfulness, His promises, His Truth, His provision and His love. Lora attended a women's retreat this weekend and the theme was REMEMBER. She found it quite like God to continue His personal revelations to her into the public forum at the retreat. What was even more like God, He stopped Jared this weekend to times of remembrance as well (even though Jared had no idea the theme of Lora's retreat).
God started our remembrance with our last post regarding Jara's birthday. Certain dates, especially birthdays, draw us in to look back on the past and give us perspective on the future. The recalling of dates (Jara's birthday, Laila's birthday, our re-birth days, God's call in our lives into missions and ministry) has reminded us of God's promises that He has given us. In the time since, we have been busy scanning our many, many photographs into the computer. (Trying to lighten our load, we are putting everything in digital format.) Of course, looking at these pictures from the last 14 years of our relationship and even pictures from our school aged years, this process has reminded us of God's love for us. For while we were still sinners, Christ died for our iniquities. He also reminds us of His faithfulness to us through any situation that we have and are to face in this life. He reminds us daily as we spend time in His Word that His Truth is sufficient for all our needs, is counsel for all our questions, and is absolute for all our answers. His Truth sets us free and calls us to rely on Him. He has reminded us of His provision as He daily supplies our needs of food and clothing and as He brings people into our lives who desire to come along side of us on this journey as financial sponsors and/or prayer partners.
God has been calling us to remembrance of His work and His hand in our lives. By calling us to this remembrance, He reveals His love... God remembers. God remembers us. He wants to show us that He loves us. He remembers... when He spoke but we chose not to listen yet despite us He still prevailed, when He provided protection from the enemy's attack on that road, when He gave us a choice and we chose Him, when He provided the money or that job just at the right timing (His timing), when He was faithful to see us through the consequences of our disobedience to Him, and on and on. God remembers that He loves us. He sees the Son that bears scars of that love. Yes, God remembers.
God started our remembrance with our last post regarding Jara's birthday. Certain dates, especially birthdays, draw us in to look back on the past and give us perspective on the future. The recalling of dates (Jara's birthday, Laila's birthday, our re-birth days, God's call in our lives into missions and ministry) has reminded us of God's promises that He has given us. In the time since, we have been busy scanning our many, many photographs into the computer. (Trying to lighten our load, we are putting everything in digital format.) Of course, looking at these pictures from the last 14 years of our relationship and even pictures from our school aged years, this process has reminded us of God's love for us. For while we were still sinners, Christ died for our iniquities. He also reminds us of His faithfulness to us through any situation that we have and are to face in this life. He reminds us daily as we spend time in His Word that His Truth is sufficient for all our needs, is counsel for all our questions, and is absolute for all our answers. His Truth sets us free and calls us to rely on Him. He has reminded us of His provision as He daily supplies our needs of food and clothing and as He brings people into our lives who desire to come along side of us on this journey as financial sponsors and/or prayer partners.
God has been calling us to remembrance of His work and His hand in our lives. By calling us to this remembrance, He reveals His love... God remembers. God remembers us. He wants to show us that He loves us. He remembers... when He spoke but we chose not to listen yet despite us He still prevailed, when He provided protection from the enemy's attack on that road, when He gave us a choice and we chose Him, when He provided the money or that job just at the right timing (His timing), when He was faithful to see us through the consequences of our disobedience to Him, and on and on. God remembers that He loves us. He sees the Son that bears scars of that love. Yes, God remembers.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
God Blesses.
God continually blesses us on this journey. It shouldn't surprise us that He loves us so much. After all, He did send His Son to die for us. Yet, we are still in awe at His grace, love and mercy. As we delight in Him, His majesty is just further revealed to us.
Today, eleven years ago at 11:21pm, He blessed us with our first born daughter, Jara. She truly was a gift from God, finding out that we were pregnant with her on Christmas Day 1998. She was also a gift from God that reached out to us, to reveal His love and desire to commune with us. We had been refocusing our lives on Christ for a little over a year before her birth. But something about becoming parents, it spurred us into overdrive. It caused us to jump right in, no second thoughts, and dig deep into a faith and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Upon her birth, we began full force serving in ministries at the church we were attending and haven't looked back since. At her dedication to the Lord, we also got baptized through submersion. We publicly proclaimed a commitment we had both made almost two years earlier. Jara was used by God. She is a reminder to us of a turning point in our lives where we decided that standing on the sidelines wasn't enough, but it was time to enter the game. We didn't just go to church. We became part of Christ's Church.
He has brought us far over the last 13 years as we began our walk with Him again. He has blessed us more in the last 11 years that we have walked in unwavering faith and obedience to His Word. He blesses us even greater now as we have sold out completely to Him and His Work and His Call upon our lives for full time work in ministry.
When He spoke to our hearts regarding mission's work, we weren't sure where, when or how that was going to look in our lives. Then as Jared was called out of a secular job and into full time studies at Bible college, we knew that God was up to something big in our lives. We knew that He was preparing us for what His will was for our lives. We just had to walk in complete faith and obedience. During the year of Bible college, God used that time to redirect our lives, our thoughts and our priorities. Now, He is sending us. Really US? It humbles and blesses us that our heavenly Father would see fit to use these imperfect and unworthy voices to spread His Word, hands to do His Work, and feet to go to all nations. "It's not because of who I am, but because of what You've done. It's not because of what I've done, but because of who You are." Yes, God Blesses!
We pray that God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you.
Today, eleven years ago at 11:21pm, He blessed us with our first born daughter, Jara. She truly was a gift from God, finding out that we were pregnant with her on Christmas Day 1998. She was also a gift from God that reached out to us, to reveal His love and desire to commune with us. We had been refocusing our lives on Christ for a little over a year before her birth. But something about becoming parents, it spurred us into overdrive. It caused us to jump right in, no second thoughts, and dig deep into a faith and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Upon her birth, we began full force serving in ministries at the church we were attending and haven't looked back since. At her dedication to the Lord, we also got baptized through submersion. We publicly proclaimed a commitment we had both made almost two years earlier. Jara was used by God. She is a reminder to us of a turning point in our lives where we decided that standing on the sidelines wasn't enough, but it was time to enter the game. We didn't just go to church. We became part of Christ's Church.
He has brought us far over the last 13 years as we began our walk with Him again. He has blessed us more in the last 11 years that we have walked in unwavering faith and obedience to His Word. He blesses us even greater now as we have sold out completely to Him and His Work and His Call upon our lives for full time work in ministry.
When He spoke to our hearts regarding mission's work, we weren't sure where, when or how that was going to look in our lives. Then as Jared was called out of a secular job and into full time studies at Bible college, we knew that God was up to something big in our lives. We knew that He was preparing us for what His will was for our lives. We just had to walk in complete faith and obedience. During the year of Bible college, God used that time to redirect our lives, our thoughts and our priorities. Now, He is sending us. Really US? It humbles and blesses us that our heavenly Father would see fit to use these imperfect and unworthy voices to spread His Word, hands to do His Work, and feet to go to all nations. "It's not because of who I am, but because of what You've done. It's not because of what I've done, but because of who You are." Yes, God Blesses!
We pray that God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you.
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