Eleven Months and New Milestones

Me and my Bubba! I sure do love him!!!

We are doing great! God continues to both guide and bless in more ways than we can count. Just the other day, I finished our taxes. We had a huge property tax bill and our house insurance both coming due, with no idea how we would pay them. You guessed it, our refund will come to just about $34.00 over the amount we needed! Isn't God good???

We continue to move forward in our quest for God's will regarding our ministry. The church I mentioned last post has been checking my references, and though it cost me a pretty penny I'm sure. That all went well according to them! :-) This is a sweet church with great people. We just want to know God's will.

As for the second option we are exploring, God continues to open doors there as well. We have been fully exploring both options, so as to keep the doors open till God chooses to close one of them. I have been looking for a secular job in Texarkana, having made two trips in over the last month or so. We have explored a couple of opportunities for either a meeting place and / or a place to live. We are trying to cover all our bases as we pray for guidance. God has continued to show Himself faithful in all of these things as well.

We continue to covet your prayers, for our future ministry, our finances and the need to add a secular job for me, guidance regarding which decisions to make. We have so many things that must be decided in the coming weeks. If we are to move, we will need to rent / sell the home we are in now. As in all things, our sole desire is to know and do the perfect will of God. Nothing more, nothing less. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

We've had quite a few people asking us about the church plant option. Several have committed to be a part of it, others have expressed interest, still many more have probed and asked questions about it. I'll be writing a lot more about it in the coming week. I'll have a new website up soon (working on it), all serving to give more information to those who might be praying about taking part. As I've said before, we have no desire to take anyone from their church home. We only want those that God leads to us, they too must be in the perfect will of God. That is our prayer for all of you. If you want to know more, or are just curious, feel free to write or call me. We will answer any question, share our vision, pray with you, or just love you as you seek God's will for your life. You don't have to join, commit, or in anyway feel pressured. We are only here to love and support each of you on your life's journey. We will be offering a Bible study soon, on at least one night, if not two. I think we will focus on the end times. Anyone is welcome, whether they have any interest in the church work or not. We would love all our friends and loved ones to come, if they are interested. You will never be pressured or made to feel uncomfortable. We want you to grow in Christ, whether He leads you to join in this new work or not. We love you all. Thank you for your prayers.

Micah

Zachary is headlong into the 9th grade, having finished the eighth grade about four months early. He is doing 9th grade work in every subject but Geometry, that is 10th grade. He is maturing so fast, not only physically, but as a man. He shows such a sensitivity to things of God, a sensitivity well beyond his years. He is such a fine young man, we are truly blessed. He is about 5'9 1/2" tall now, and pushing about 150 lbs. He is all muscle, none of the "insulation" his pop carries around with him. He works out a lot, and it shows. The girls (God help us) are gawking all the time. I see some long long long days ahead. Pray for us there! :-)

Samuel is huge, not fat, just big. He is a little over 11 months old now, and is wearing 2T clothes. He is talking up a storm, spouting new syllables almost every day. He says all the normal words, like Da Da (sometimes Da D0) pronounced like the word do. He says Ma Ma, Bu Bu, Ba Ba, and lots of stuff we have no idea about, like qua, ta, ka. His newest additions are the words Cat and Tan To (thank you). Tan To is REALLY cute! He LOVES the cats, the youngest ignores him and runs aways, the old one tolerates him just long enough to get tired of him and bite a plug out of him! Oh yeah, then he just goes after her again! It is a hoot! He isn't walking yet, we think because he is such a fast and gifted crawler! He just doesn't need to yet. However, he is really, really close. Our little barricades that block off parts of the house are quickly failing. Today, he emptied his toy box, so it would be light enough for him to push out of the way. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

It is all so much fun. We enjoy our sons so much, God is and has been so wondrously good to us. God is good, all the time.

Here are some recent pictures of our brood:

Bubba looking every bit the young man,
he's not a boy anymore, that's for sure!

DaDa, where is the food kept??

I LOVE to take baths!!! I should have been a fish!

Daddy was babysitting me and let me do WHATEVER I wanted! :-)

Am I looking like a big boy, or what?

Daddy can't believe I'm 11 months old already!
He sure does love me though!

Oh yeah! I LOVE LOVE LOVE TO SWING!!!
(Bubba was pushing me, Daddy was tickling my feet,
and Mommy took the picture!)

Sadness Amid the Excitement

I SURE AM GLAD MY DADDY IS HOME

HE'S BEEN GONE FOR THREE WHOLE DAYS!!!

Greetings everyone! Long time no type! Sorry about that, busy with so many things right now! I guess I'll tell you what all has been going on in our life.

As you can tell from the title of this post, we are excited about something, while at the same time sad. I guess I need to explain. God has been really moving in our lives, showing us so many things, opening doors of opportunity for us, really showing us what He wants us to do in the coming days. We've been so excited, working hard to make it happen, trying to do all the things we need to follow through in obedience to His leading. In the middle of all this, we were hit with quite a surprise, Carrie found out this week that she was pregnant. No, we weren't exactly planning this, we knew it was possible, (see Samuel if you need explanation on that point!), but not expected. We were pretty sure she was pregnant, and it was later confirmed with a pregnancy test. The sad thing is the reality that she would not be able to carry this pregnancy to term. She began spotting this week, very lightly at first, but in the night, she began to miscarry, leaving little doubt what the eventual outcome would be. She was about 5 weeks along. We've cried a little, been down a little, and certainly suffered a real sense of loss.

Carrie and I have been blessed now with four children, two that we were blessed to have born healthy and without any complications, and two that we have lost. One we lost almost 11 years ago, and one this week. While any joy we might have felt has been tempered by our present sadness, we rejoice in knowing that both of the children we have lost, are not lost to God. His Word is clear, He knows them in the womb, and they are His. Scripture says that "their angels", meaning those that guard the little ones, always see His face in heaven. We rejoice in knowing that the great reunion day, ever closer and ever more meaningful, holds at least two very special reunions in store for us. We can't wait!

Despite our sadness, we are so excited at what God is doing in our lives. Some of you know, many of you might not. We have been steadily working towards returning to active ministry. Since the terrible physical trials of last summer, God has brought me full circle. I was diagnosed with Lyme's disease, after all these years of suffering. The treatment began to have miraculous effects almost immediately! My body began to heal and repair itself. I started sleeping again. Strength began to come back, energy increased, life returned. Still, the seizures stood in the way of any serious attempt to return to active ministry. We worked, we prayed, we trusted, we waited. Eight weeks ago, after the prayers of so many of our friends and loved ones, after my Dad's church had a special time of prayer after one of their services, I was delivered completely from my seizures. I have been seizure free for almost 8 weeks! God has steadily, in His perfect timing, removed all the obstacles to serving Him again that have stood in our way.

As always, we view our lives through the lens of scripture. The Bible says, "the thief comes but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." Satan has attacked us, robbed us of over two years of ministry, taken life, both figuratively and literally, and sought to destroy our ability to minister again. Unfortunately for him, the scripture quoted above ends with this glorious promise, "I (Christ) am come that you might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." We might not have chosen this path, with all of its hardships and sorrows, but God in His infinite wisdom, grace, and love has seen us through it all! God truly is good, all the time!

As for returning to ministry, we have explored a number of different options these last few months. Many good opportunities have been available, we have prayed throughout that God would close the doors He wants closed, and open the doors He wants opened. He has certainly done that. Some doors have closed outright, which is good. Others, we have simply felt the Lord leading us not to pursue, only for Him to confirm later we were right. We are left with two final options, after many months of prayer and seeking. We feel certain we know which he would have us do, but we are committed to finishing the journey on the other opportunity, making certain we leave no stone unturned, as we seek God's will for our life.

Our opportunities are these:

1. There is a church near us, looking for a pastor. I am preaching there this Sunday, not in view of a call, but have already interviewed for the position. I had an incredible time with the committee! They seem to be the most genuine and wonderful people. This church is a fantastic opportunity, and I am certain a great place to serve God.

2. The other opportunity is a church plant or new church start. We have been asked, by so many people, time and time again these last few months to return to Texarkana. Either to pastor an existing church outright, which I have not felt the Lord leading me to do, or in some other capacity. We now have a small core group of people, who have committed to serve with us in planting a new church in Texarkana, if we feel led to pursue it. We have explored this possibility, the costs, the opportunities, and the logistics of it all.

So, those are the two final options we are left to pray through. Again, we think we know which of the opportunities the Lord would have us pursue, and have only to receive that final confirmation from God, before step out in faith towards one or the other.

No matter which ministry opportunity we pursue, our finances dictate my returning to secular work, outside our home based business, at least for a time. The downturn in the economy, has taken a real toll on our business, we are working hard, but only time will tell if the business can survive. I have been exploring working opportunities both in Denton and the surrounding areas, and Texarkana. We have worked very hard to keep both opportunities viable, while we sought the Lord's will in all of this.

So where does that leave us? I hope that we have thanked you all enough for your many prayers and your abundant love you all have shown for us. You are all so special to us. I don't know what to do, except to ask you for your prayers again.

Please pray for the following:

1. Pray we will know God's perfect will with certainty. That is all we desire, nothing more, nothing less. We don't care about man's opinion, man's desires, or man's objections, only God's whole, complete, and perfect will for our lives.

2. Pray that I will find a good job. We continue to have some income from Carrie keeping kids in our home, but it is a small amount. The economy has taken a toll on this as well. We have our business, though it is really slowed down to very little these last few weeks. Whatever ministry opportunity we find ourselves in, will provide a small portion of our income needs, but a new job is a must. I am, for the first time in so long, physically well enough to work consistently. I wouldn't take a job, if I wasn't certain I could honor God by working hard and doing a good job. I am able, ready, and willing to do just that! God has consistently met our needs. He has been so faithful, it hasn't always been easy, but it has been awesome to watch God meet our needs. Time and time again, often from such unexpected sources, God has shown Himself faithful. He is so good!

3. Pray that the logistical hurdles of either a new church plant, or adjusting to a new church will be met. If we find ourselves at the church near here, the new job, commuting and all, will have to fit the church and her ministry needs. If we pursue the new church in Texarkana, we will have to have a job, a place to live, a place for the new church to meet, and a solution to the home we own here in Denton to be found. It either must be sold, which will be very hard in this economy, or rented, which holds its own obstacles with us living so far away. Lots to pray about here!

4. Pray that we will continue to experience God working in our lives as He has been! Awesome is the only thing I can say to describe what God has been doing. We have seen His hand so often lately. Words fail me here. I just know, I don't want to ever leave this place, that place of knowing and seeing the presence of God, day in and day out. There is simply no other place I want to be, than the center of His will, in obedience and a daily walk with Him.

5. Pray for Carrie especially, and for the rest of us too. This miscarriage has been hard, in many ways. It has been hard on all of us, but especially her. The first miscarriage she experienced was one of the most traumatic and life changing things she has ever experienced. This one has been a little easier, we are much older, have experienced much more life, and we hope, have a much stronger and more mature walk with God, but it is still hard. Even though it is an early miscarriage, that is our child. We would have chosen a different ending. We would have picked a different way. That said, we know God is sovereign, and has promised to work all things to our good. Please pray for just that.

One more thing, I know that some may look at the second option I shared, moving back to Texarkana and planting a new church, and wonder what the impact might be, or if it will effect our former church members, family, and friends, etc. I want to go on record, and assure everyone we know, our desire, if we return home is NOT to hurt Hickory Street or any other church. We desire and pray for nothing but the best for that special church. We pray God's blessings on its mission, its members, and her pastor. We have NO desire to influence any of her members, steal people away, or be anything but a blessing to her! We pray for this church everyday! We pray for Bro. Tim and his staff, her members, her work, her influence in the community, everything. We have no desire to detract from that. If God calls us to return to Texarkana and begin a new work, our only desire is to help start a new work there, a sister church, not a competitor. We want to be a place of peace, joy, worship, growth, and love. Any member from HSBC, any former members who have since joined other churches, any family member who is now a part of another church, no matter who you are, we wouldn't want to steal you away from where you are. We would want each of you to serve the Lord, where HE would have you serve, nothing more, nothing less. Any person, regardless of where they have previously served, would be encouraged to pray and make certain where the Lord wants them, BEFORE ever joining in a new work. I hope this addresses any fears or questions some might have.

We love you! Thank you for your prayers!

Micah

Now, as for a long awaited update to the blog, here are some more pictures:

Our boys, very interested in something...?? :-)

Look Dad, I've made a soft place for me to land when I jump!!!
(Samuel, having emptied his bed, AGAIN! We have no idea why he does this, but he does it ALL the time!!!) :-)

What? I'm not doing nuffin?

Oh yeah, I'm 14!!!!!!!

OK Pop, don't you think this sink is a LITTLE small for my posterior??
(Trying to find an easier way to bath little britches in our hotel,
on a recent trip home to Texarkana.)

Mommy, take my fish, there isn't room for both of us in here!

I just couldn't fight that sleepy monster ANY more!

Mommy I surely love you, but couldn't we get some hair gel or something?
Have you seen my hair?????