Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Back in the Saddle....

Crickey!

It has been a challenging, faith stretching past few weeks.  Whoever thinks the life of a disciple is tame or boring needs to check their pulse! Or maybe read their bibles... There has been so much going on sometimes I forget to breathe... welcome to church planting!

God has been revealing so much of Himself to our family, and me in particular.  He is teaching me about the nature of discipleship, what it means and the cost of following Him.  He is reassuring me that He desires fruit to be born through us so that His glory can be made known to the world; however, He is a master gardener and knows when His branches need to be pruned to bear the fruit that He desires.

I know many of you have been asking how the process is going and what you can be praying for.  These requests are in no particular order....

That our house would sell.  
 In our limited perspective, a lot of Spokane related stuff  is hinging upon what will happen with our house over here.  It makes us feel a bit in limbo. This past month we lowered the price a bit, repainted the upstairs, and pulled all the carpet to reveal the hardwoods.  It looks like a totally different house.  Now we need someone to fall in love with it like we did!

Lack of fundraising.  
Many of our readers have seen the letter we sent out about why we are trying to get some planting money lined up.  We have truly been "blindside blessed" by some of you.  That said, we are not getting much response at all to this point.  Faith stretching and humbling, especially since we are 5 weeks out from not having income.

If you are not at a place to chip in here, perhaps you can pass the blog on to others who might share in our common vision? 

That God would continue to move in the hearts of His people in Spokane.  
God spoke to Paul in Corinth (Acts 18) and told him to keep proclaiming the Gospel with confidence because He had many people there.  Both saved and yet to be.  How exciting and motivating to know that God is moving and the body of Christ connected to us is a part of that, for His Glory!

Amy and I can get some quality time.  
Life has been so busy these past few weeks, we are needing to take advantage of the limited times we have to connect.  I mean, she is totally awesome, magically babelicious, and wonderful to be around.  I would be a fool not too!!

Our girls would be comforted.  
The reality of moving is setting in for them.  It is my desire to help them be a part of what we are doing, to own the process according to their passions and gifting.  We are a planting family, not individuals.  Pray that Amy and I can be sensitive to them in the middle of the stress and that God can reveal to us how we can include them in the mission.

I will post again shortly some thoughts about how God desires fruit for His glory.  It has really been transforming my understanding of serving him, how it plays out in ministry, and what that would look like for a church.