Last Day as a YP

Well, I'm done! I'm no longer the youth pastor at Defiance Church of the Nazarene. In fact after close to 15 years of being involved in youth ministry I may be done with youth ministry as a "profession". It's a good day, but one that I really didn't know would ever come. I had always thought that I'd be a "lifer" in youth ministry. I guess at my age, almost 36, that is a lifer to some. I have only a few regrets over that period of time and it has to do with my efforts, but thankfully God is very gracious and has blessed me with more "jewels" than regrets over that time. Many of you reading this are some of those jewels. (Those in the picture are just some. I look constipated in this picture) As I reflect back over the years, I'm even more excited about my future as I can see how God used me in some of my worst moments to help him reach some of his lost children. It gives me hope for my future as I'm a little farther down that road now. (Implying that I may not make some of the same mistakes) I'm excited about this next chapter of my life. If the next 15 years are anything like the past 15, I would be blessed beyond words. If, however, they are bigger than the past 15 then only heaven will be able to contain what is to come. Father God, thank you for where I've been, but help me not to dwell on my past but to anticipate where you're leading me now.

Busy Week

Sorry for the long delay in my posting to the blog, but had a lot of stuff going on around here. First of all, it seems, at this moment, that all is going well with the sale of the house. We are still trying to sell it by the 1st of February. Sunday was my last Sunday night with the teenagers. I still have tomorrow with them for Wednesday nights, but after that then Sunday is my last day on staff. Sunday night went really well. I've been trying to create transition with the youth and the adult leaders and they have begun to really step up and do some things that I wish they could have been doing a couple of years back, but maybe that's another reason for God pulling us out now. I'm looking forward to Sunday, kinda, as it will be our last day, but the pastor made a point of telling everyone in the church to "pour out their love for us" through cards, cash and groceries. It makes me a little uneasy and humbled, but I guess it's another answer to prayer. As for answers to prayer, the church has also decided to pay for our insurance for the next 3 months as well. That's a real blessing. My parents were here last week (part of the delay in posting) and my dad, unfortunately, got sick. I think it was the flu. I had to pick up Connor from school today because he was vomitting and tonight Dawn is. Thanks Dad. Anyway Reagan and I are next and we can hardly wait. Thanks Evan! (http://evanandjulia.blogspot.com/)
On the other front, God is beginning to direct me in some specific ways and we are getting more and more excited every day. I won't post them right now, but I will in the future as He directs me to more specifics. He is definitely a great God!

Praise The Lord, We Have An Offer!

Tonight at 9:08 I received a call from my realtor that WE HAVE AN OFFER! It's not too far off of what I had said my bottom line was and so I'll counter offer tomorrow. Hopefully, they will accept and we will close in about a month. Please continue your prayers, they are working. Pray that they will accept the counter offer and that all will go through with all that needs to happen for a house to close. God is faithful! I've been specifically praying that we would have an offer on the house by this weekend. I truly cannot believe it, but I really can.

UPDATE: We counter offered today (Saturday) and within a couple of hours they had ACCEPTED IT! Praise God! I put an incentive in it for them to close on it by the first of Feb. and they are going to try and make that happen! Here's a picture of it. Yeah, that's a silo. It was previously a barn that was transformed into a home back in 1978. It's the main entrance and the upstairs bath now.

The Word is Out

It's Wednesday and I've already told the church board and the teenagers who were here on Sunday night about my resignation. I'll give a testimony on Sunday to the whole church so that they will hear it from me and not just the rumormill around the church. The responses that we have received have run the gammot as we've seen those who were totally excited for us and what God is doing in our lives to those who have felt betrayed. It's the latter who make this journey a little tougher than what we would like, but we realize many trials will come as we try to pursue this path and we will have to let God prevail and carry us through them. One exciting aspect of this journey is that I have really begun to have a passion for lifting people up to God in prayer and petitioning Him on their behalf during these past couple of weeks. It's strange, but by stepping out like this I, personally, have had my eyes opened some to what Jesus has asked of us about "the first shall be last" and so forth. I have been finding it easier to put other people's concerns above ours and thus have felt an overwhelming sense that God understands our concerns and will take care of them. It's very exciting. In fact, I am already tired of being the center of attention in all of this. I can almost be a martyr for God as I say "look at me and what I'm doing for God", but neither Dawn or I want any part of that. We simply want to place the focus completely upon God and His faithfulness. For He has truly been faithful to us during this time. We are still asking for your prayers, however, as we continue on this journey as we know that there are times ahead that you will have to carry us upon your prayers. One specific prayer that I would ask of you is that a house that I have will sell very quickly. Many of you know that Dawn's dad and I buy and fix up homes that need work. Well, we have had a home now for over a year that has been on the market for about 6 months. We need that home to sell so that we no longer have that burden upon us and that would really alleviate some stress in our lives. I'm not concerned with making a profit at this time, but rather that we can break even and pay off what we owe on it. Obviously, it would be nice to make some money but I know that even if we don't God will provide.
Anyway, I will try and keep you up to date as to our progress on this journey. A final reminder, as you read this post, please remember that I am praying for you and that our God is truly in Love with you.

Anxious Anticipation

Since my last post it seems like my life has opened up to all new and exciting areas. One of the most unexpected results from resigning from my pastoral position has been the overwhelming sense of freedom and security. One would think that security would be the furthest from me since I've just let go of my only paycheck, but God has been reassuring me over and over that He is in control and that our needs will be met. The freedom that I feel is the result of a loss of guilt that I constantly had as a result of feeling that I wasn't passionate enough or puting enough effort into my current ministry position. I've been released to dream again and not feel like I'm shorting those in the youth group. It's also been amazing how God has revealed himself to me so clearly through the scriptures during this time. I can't seem to get enough time of reading in the Word and spending prayer time. Really, the only thing that is preventing me from more reading is my eyes hurting. (I'm getting old) Not only have I been encouraged in this fashion, but Dawn has been as well. Almost nightly we've been discussing how this verse or that one or that passage has spoken to us. We're dreaming together and get so excited that we can hardly sleep at night.
As a result of all of this, I've been challenged and stretched by God in some specific areas of my life and I'm very greatful that God has deemed us worthy of His time and effort. I'm amazed that God cares for each of us on this planet especially me. His grace astounds me and overwhelms me. Who am I that God should care for me? I am but a whisper in all of eternity, but He loves me. Praise the Lord! I'm looking forward to tomorrow as I will share with the youth group and the church board my resignation. I'm not looking forward to the disappointment that I believe some will have, but I'm relishing the opportunity to explain to them exactly what God has been and is doing in our lives. My prayer is that someone, of whom I share with, will be someone who's been struggling with letting God have control over an issue but has not the faith to follow through with it and because of our testimony they will gather strength and become what God wants them to be. I believe that those of you who read this could possibly be one as well. Continue to pray for us as we will continue to pray for you.

It's Official, We're starting the New Year off with a Bang!

January 29th, 2006 will be my last day on staff here at the Defiance Church of the Nazarene. I turned in my resignation today and spent some time talking to the pastor about it. It went well and he was very supportive. I'm glad he was, it made it a lot easier. Some of you may not know what's going on, but here's the short 411. We have felt led to resign and let God take control. We feel like he has something planned for us, but in order for us to discover what that is we had to fall completely into his arms and let him carry us. So, that's what we've done. We're not necessarily moving to some other assignment, but are willing if that's what God desires. We'll actually still attend the church until we feel directed otherwise. We are nervous, as we should be, but very excited about what God has planned for us. We ask for your prayers during this time as I, will be trying to find work or win the lottery, whichever comes first. The lottery will take a ton of faith since we don't play, but who knows. Anyway, pray that God will open and close doors accordingly in our lives. We know you will and are trusting in a great big personal God!

Blessings