Some Sunday
School Christmas Party Fun...I just love our church family!
School Christmas Party Fun...I just love our church family!
Showing posts with label Clearview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clearview. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
His Ways Are Higher...
I don't know why I get so shocked when the Lord answers prayer - I guess it shows my lack of faith sometimes and I ranked high for that gift...go figure! Anyway, our family has seen at least a year's worth of seeking the Lord's face and will in the ministry that He has called us to come to fruition recently. Most of you probably already know this by now, but here's the story anyway:
Looking back, I guess it started around January of 2007 when we felt like the Lord was beginning to stir something in our hearts and our time at our current church might be soon coming to an end. We both started experiencing the Lord's leading separately and didn't know it at the time. I hadn't said anything specific to hubby - I just prayed that Lord would give clear direction when the time came.
In March of 2007 I was asked to sing at our former church where E had served as youth pastor for 5 wonderful years. I prayed ahead of time that it wouldn't be awkward or in any way distracting from my true motivation for singing which is bringing the Lord glory. I was truly concerned with that, but it was so neat how the Lord just took that all away and I truly worshipped and people were so sweet and said such sweet things to me about "coming home". On my commute back home I was talking with the Lord (as I so often do in my vehicle) and praising Him for what He had done and I believe that the Lord told me right there that eventually He was going to lead us back to Clearview. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true and I went home and told E that. He just said "ok" and that he felt like the Lord was going to lead us somewhere else soon, but he didn't think it would be Clearview. I told him that I had felt like the Lord was preparing us for leaving soon too and had been seeking the Lord regarding His will.
Weeks later E and I went out to eat Mexican with some friends (bloggy friend Laine and hubby). I told them about coming back to sing and what the Lord had done before, during and after in my heart. We asked them to pray for us because we believed that the Lord was going to be leading us somewhere else soon, but we had no idea where because we hadn't been looking and weren't going to - we only walk through doors that the Lord opens until He shuts them. We were even praying to see if the Lord wanted us to consider starting a church.
I don't think that it was even 2 weeks later Rob called us after church on Sunday morning to remind us what we had said at dinner and to tell us that their Pastor at Clearview had announced his resignation to follow God's call back to NC. E said that he didn't think that would matter because he didn't think that they would consider him for Senior Pastor just 4 1/2 years after we had left and that he would have to pray about even submitting a resume after the committee was selected.
Over the next several months there were several churches that called or wrote and asked him to submit a resume for their Senior Pastor position and we did. Again, we walk through open doors until the Lord shuts them. Well, it was amazing that the Lord shut every open door and after we had submitted a resume at Clearview we didn't hear from them for months so we didn't think that was a prospect either. We continued to pray. The door only remained open at a church in Gulf Shores and we continued to talk to them and then we heard from Clearview around the holidays too.
E submitted DVD's to both churches as asked. He was then contacted by another church about 30 miles south of where we live. We still weren't convinced that Lord was leading us to ANY of these churches at this point...we just continued to seek His will and asked Him to give us CLEAR direction by opening wide the door He would have us to go through or shut them if He didn't want us to go through any of the three.
Well, over the next few months the Lord DID open wide the door that He would have us to go through. He was sent a questionnaire from the search committee at Clearview which he answered the questions and sent back to them in the allotted time and they continued to call him back for the next step...interview, see him preach in person, meet with staff...deacons and preach in view of a call and vote. The vote passed and the Lord was clear on His direction. We are being obedient to His call to go back to our home church of Clearview starting June 1st. It has been intense, exciting and incredible to see how the Lord has been leading us in this direction we feel like for almost 18 months and we didn't even know it! We are sad to leave behind another church where we have built relationships over the past 4 1/2 years of ministry there, but we also are excited about what the Lord has in store for our ministry lives in the future!
The Lord's ways are always higher than our ways - He does exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think! The church that I grew up in had a "life verse" that I memorized there...I think that it is still on a marble plaque in the middle of the walkway there. It is this:
Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
This has been true in our lives and throughout our ministry together. Praise You, Lord, for You are worthy to be praised! Oh taste and see what the Lord has done!
I don't know why I get so shocked when the Lord answers prayer - I guess it shows my lack of faith sometimes and I ranked high for that gift...go figure! Anyway, our family has seen at least a year's worth of seeking the Lord's face and will in the ministry that He has called us to come to fruition recently. Most of you probably already know this by now, but here's the story anyway:
Looking back, I guess it started around January of 2007 when we felt like the Lord was beginning to stir something in our hearts and our time at our current church might be soon coming to an end. We both started experiencing the Lord's leading separately and didn't know it at the time. I hadn't said anything specific to hubby - I just prayed that Lord would give clear direction when the time came.
In March of 2007 I was asked to sing at our former church where E had served as youth pastor for 5 wonderful years. I prayed ahead of time that it wouldn't be awkward or in any way distracting from my true motivation for singing which is bringing the Lord glory. I was truly concerned with that, but it was so neat how the Lord just took that all away and I truly worshipped and people were so sweet and said such sweet things to me about "coming home". On my commute back home I was talking with the Lord (as I so often do in my vehicle) and praising Him for what He had done and I believe that the Lord told me right there that eventually He was going to lead us back to Clearview. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true and I went home and told E that. He just said "ok" and that he felt like the Lord was going to lead us somewhere else soon, but he didn't think it would be Clearview. I told him that I had felt like the Lord was preparing us for leaving soon too and had been seeking the Lord regarding His will.
Weeks later E and I went out to eat Mexican with some friends (bloggy friend Laine and hubby). I told them about coming back to sing and what the Lord had done before, during and after in my heart. We asked them to pray for us because we believed that the Lord was going to be leading us somewhere else soon, but we had no idea where because we hadn't been looking and weren't going to - we only walk through doors that the Lord opens until He shuts them. We were even praying to see if the Lord wanted us to consider starting a church.
I don't think that it was even 2 weeks later Rob called us after church on Sunday morning to remind us what we had said at dinner and to tell us that their Pastor at Clearview had announced his resignation to follow God's call back to NC. E said that he didn't think that would matter because he didn't think that they would consider him for Senior Pastor just 4 1/2 years after we had left and that he would have to pray about even submitting a resume after the committee was selected.
Over the next several months there were several churches that called or wrote and asked him to submit a resume for their Senior Pastor position and we did. Again, we walk through open doors until the Lord shuts them. Well, it was amazing that the Lord shut every open door and after we had submitted a resume at Clearview we didn't hear from them for months so we didn't think that was a prospect either. We continued to pray. The door only remained open at a church in Gulf Shores and we continued to talk to them and then we heard from Clearview around the holidays too.
E submitted DVD's to both churches as asked. He was then contacted by another church about 30 miles south of where we live. We still weren't convinced that Lord was leading us to ANY of these churches at this point...we just continued to seek His will and asked Him to give us CLEAR direction by opening wide the door He would have us to go through or shut them if He didn't want us to go through any of the three.
Well, over the next few months the Lord DID open wide the door that He would have us to go through. He was sent a questionnaire from the search committee at Clearview which he answered the questions and sent back to them in the allotted time and they continued to call him back for the next step...interview, see him preach in person, meet with staff...deacons and preach in view of a call and vote. The vote passed and the Lord was clear on His direction. We are being obedient to His call to go back to our home church of Clearview starting June 1st. It has been intense, exciting and incredible to see how the Lord has been leading us in this direction we feel like for almost 18 months and we didn't even know it! We are sad to leave behind another church where we have built relationships over the past 4 1/2 years of ministry there, but we also are excited about what the Lord has in store for our ministry lives in the future!
The Lord's ways are always higher than our ways - He does exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think! The church that I grew up in had a "life verse" that I memorized there...I think that it is still on a marble plaque in the middle of the walkway there. It is this:
Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
This has been true in our lives and throughout our ministry together. Praise You, Lord, for You are worthy to be praised! Oh taste and see what the Lord has done!
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