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Pardon the singing. Lily's super cute when she dances.
Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,
This week I felt the need to follow up last week's post about the biblical foundations for support raising with a post explaining the joys and benefits of living as a faith-based missionary who raises their support. For a lot of people, including some missionaries, support raising is a daunting and difficult task. Why would anyone ever choose this lifestyle? Here are few thoughts on that...
The Lord Calls You. In one sense, when the Lord calls you to a particular ministry, you have two choices, go or don't go (ie. obey or disobey). Sometimes the Lord's call involves raising the financial support to be able to do the work. It's simply a matter of obedience.
The Lord Provides. People don't call this lifestyle "faith-based" missions for nothing. It has taken every fiber of our redeemed selves to trust the Lord to provide for all of our needs. For us, raising support is a humbling, stretching, and often uncomfortable way that the Lord chooses to demonstrate his faithfulness to provide for the needs of his servants.
Awe for our Maker. Since we began the process of raising support two years ago, the Lord has continually amazed us at His glorious provision. When our efforts in a particular direction generated no new funds or partners, He has literally raised up partners we didn't seek, led partners to increase their gifts without our asking, and met every financial shortfall with incredible provision. I won't kid you and say it's easy to trust the Lord, but it's been a sanctifying time in our lives as we watch Him meet our every need.
Incredible Partners. We've been blessed with an amazing group of partners who give so faithfully it's incredible. But it's not just that our partners give, we're blessed to have an incredible prayer chain that lifts us and our ministry up before the Lord on a regular basis. The Lord is the one doing all the ministry work, and it is the prayers of our partners alongside us that moves His hand of favor and enables us to bless others.
New Friends. Through the support raising process the Lord has given us many opportunities to meet incredible people that love Jesus who we otherwise would not have met. It's a joy to be a part of the lives of so many godly men and women.
Being a Blessing. A big part of the responsibility the Lord has given us is to be a blessing to those who bless us. We work hard to make sure that our ministry isn't just in East Tennessee, but that everyone who is praying and giving and visiting here is being encouraged in their walk with the Lord. We want our partners to be growing in their relationships with Jesus and know that their lives are making a difference for the kingdom.
So the next time you wonder why anyone would choose to raise their own financial support, know that it's got far more upsides than downsides! Again, to all of you who give so faithfully to enable us to fulfill the Lord's call in our lives, THANK YOU!
1. Meredith and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on Saturday. You can join us in praising the Lord for an incredible 5 years and praying He'll allow us another 50!
2. We're continuing to plan for the group from Denton Bible that arrives 5/31, so please pray all will go smoothly as we prepare.
3. Charlie and I have been asked to fill in a number of the teaching times at U-Turn for Christ, a local substance abuse rehab ministry, over the next 3 weeks while their pastor is out of town. Please be praying for our time as we pour into a group of men and women who've walked a path quite different from our own, but are now seeking the Lord and living for Him.
4. Praise the Lord Lily's rash is gone, and she appears to be completely recovered!
5. If you would, please remember the family of Jacob Spain. Jacob was a young man in the youth group at Central Baptist Church, and I taught his Sunday school class before moving here. He passed away suddenly yesterday from a brain aneurism at age 16. Our heart goes out to his family, as well as all of the other members of the youth group who were his close friends.
Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,
This week I felt the need to follow up last week's post about the biblical foundations for support raising with a post explaining the joys and benefits of living as a faith-based missionary who raises their support. For a lot of people, including some missionaries, support raising is a daunting and difficult task. Why would anyone ever choose this lifestyle? Here are few thoughts on that...
The Lord Calls You. In one sense, when the Lord calls you to a particular ministry, you have two choices, go or don't go (ie. obey or disobey). Sometimes the Lord's call involves raising the financial support to be able to do the work. It's simply a matter of obedience.
The Lord Provides. People don't call this lifestyle "faith-based" missions for nothing. It has taken every fiber of our redeemed selves to trust the Lord to provide for all of our needs. For us, raising support is a humbling, stretching, and often uncomfortable way that the Lord chooses to demonstrate his faithfulness to provide for the needs of his servants.
Awe for our Maker. Since we began the process of raising support two years ago, the Lord has continually amazed us at His glorious provision. When our efforts in a particular direction generated no new funds or partners, He has literally raised up partners we didn't seek, led partners to increase their gifts without our asking, and met every financial shortfall with incredible provision. I won't kid you and say it's easy to trust the Lord, but it's been a sanctifying time in our lives as we watch Him meet our every need.
Incredible Partners. We've been blessed with an amazing group of partners who give so faithfully it's incredible. But it's not just that our partners give, we're blessed to have an incredible prayer chain that lifts us and our ministry up before the Lord on a regular basis. The Lord is the one doing all the ministry work, and it is the prayers of our partners alongside us that moves His hand of favor and enables us to bless others.
New Friends. Through the support raising process the Lord has given us many opportunities to meet incredible people that love Jesus who we otherwise would not have met. It's a joy to be a part of the lives of so many godly men and women.
Being a Blessing. A big part of the responsibility the Lord has given us is to be a blessing to those who bless us. We work hard to make sure that our ministry isn't just in East Tennessee, but that everyone who is praying and giving and visiting here is being encouraged in their walk with the Lord. We want our partners to be growing in their relationships with Jesus and know that their lives are making a difference for the kingdom.
So the next time you wonder why anyone would choose to raise their own financial support, know that it's got far more upsides than downsides! Again, to all of you who give so faithfully to enable us to fulfill the Lord's call in our lives, THANK YOU!
Things you can be praying for this week.
1. Meredith and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on Saturday. You can join us in praising the Lord for an incredible 5 years and praying He'll allow us another 50!
2. We're continuing to plan for the group from Denton Bible that arrives 5/31, so please pray all will go smoothly as we prepare.
3. Charlie and I have been asked to fill in a number of the teaching times at U-Turn for Christ, a local substance abuse rehab ministry, over the next 3 weeks while their pastor is out of town. Please be praying for our time as we pour into a group of men and women who've walked a path quite different from our own, but are now seeking the Lord and living for Him.
4. Praise the Lord Lily's rash is gone, and she appears to be completely recovered!
5. If you would, please remember the family of Jacob Spain. Jacob was a young man in the youth group at Central Baptist Church, and I taught his Sunday school class before moving here. He passed away suddenly yesterday from a brain aneurism at age 16. Our heart goes out to his family, as well as all of the other members of the youth group who were his close friends.
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| I have mommy's eyes. And I like crackers! |
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| We're still not sure what she reacted too, but the rash you see on her cheeks finally subsided. |
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| Isn't she precious? |
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| "I put the sand in the bucket." |
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| I love my hat. |
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| Hugs for mommy at bedtime! |
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| She really wasn't sure about the pool at first. |
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| But she warmed up to it pretty quickly. |
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| She love to slide down! |
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| Having a great time! |
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| She was giving the giraffe kisses and spotted the camera. |
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| Kisses! |
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| Lily likes to grab daddy's hands and dance at random moments. This was Sunday after church. |
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