Tag Archives: Revival By Design

Loyal

3 Replies

It’s everyone’s favorite day of the week and my favorite time to write. The #FiveMinuteFriday word prompt today is loyal. Write for five minutes (I try real hard!) with no editing (that is usually noticeable). All for the love of the written word. You can read some of my friends’ posts here!

217,431. Want to guess what that number represents? It’s definitely NOT our bank account, thankfully it is NOT our debt either. And, no, it isn’t the number of friends I have on social media.

This number represents the number of miles we have traveled for Revival By Design in the last 4 1/2 years and the dial that turns on our 2005 Nissan Altima every single day.

We bought this car right before we went to Latvia in 2010, shortly after we had sold our home and nearly all of our possessions. It was the first time we were a one-car couple EVER. We were thrilled to find it, a 2005 with only 30,000 miles on it, I am positive no one had ever sat in the passenger seat or the back at all and we were convinced that the single, older lady that owned it only drove it to church on Sunday’s. It was exactly what we needed and exactly what we could afford.

Fast forward to 2016. We didn’t dream we would still have this loyal friend with us. Of course we would love to have a newer car; who wouldn’t! But if she has been anything, she has been faithful. That is what I think of when I think of the word loyal. Always there, always dependable, never questioning when we hop in for long trips to Milwaukee from Tennessee or heading off to Louisiana, Alabama or Arkansas for the umpteenth time.

Not one time have we been stranded along a highway. Not one time have we had to call a wrecker or someone to fix the car. Aside from a battery, ONE battery, and new tires and oil changes, we have not had to have any serious work performed on our loyal friend. We are forever grateful.

loyalty

I think know the Lord picked that car for us that day. He knew the miles we would be traveling for the Kingdom, He knew what our finances would be like for the next several years and He alone could provide such an instrument of blessing where we wouldn’t have to worry about transportation when going from church to church.

As simple as this post sounds today, this is our God.

In the seemingly little, everyday things, to the cancers, job losses, divorces and other tragedies that cause our knees to buckle, He is faithful. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!'” Lamentations 3:22-24 NKJV

Every day I can count on that car to start right up because God provided it for me. And one day when it doesn’t? He will make a way for our ministry to afford another! And every morning, when I rise, I can count on my loyal friend, Jesus, to be waiting for me. He meets me where I am, comforts me, encourages me through His Word and gives me the strength I need for each new day.

And one day when I get up and my world has fallen apart? His Word declares that He will STILL be loyal, still be faithful because He is God and I am His child. He will be the One to make a way of escape.

“The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 3:18

For the Kingdom

Sharing with Grace and Truth

Saying, “Goodbye” to our Small Town

2 Replies

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying, “Goodbye” so hard.    ~ Winnie the Pooh

Saying, “Goodbye” to our Small Town…

Life has a funny way of taking you down twists and turns, stopping, staying a while and then starting all over again.

I was born in a small town. (Hey, we Hoosiers can say that all we want since Mellencamp lives in our small town!) I love this college town even when the traffic is insane and the lines at Target are long; it’s my hometown. I’ve been a Skibo, a Bulldog, a Panther and a Hoosier, proud of each one even when I have to explain the first and last to others who weren’t born here.

A Hoosier bleeds red and white and eats, sleeps and breathes basketball; the loyalty never leaves them even if they locate elsewhere. (Claim to fame: Have I mentioned that I was an extra in the Gene Hackman movie, Hoosiers? If you look real close in the final basketball game you probably won’t see me but I was there screaming just as loud as anyone for Hickory High.)

Memories are down every road, past every landmark and in every face. I grew up here, fell in love here, had two of My Three Sons here and met Jesus here in this Small Town. In 1985, we moved away the first time to Indianapolis where The Sweetheart began his career as an air traffic controller with the FAA. In 1995 we moved back to Bloomington and to the farm where The Sweetheart grew up. It was a great place to raise boys and we loved it. But then in 2001, the Lord called us into full time ministry and we moved again to Ohio and then to Missouri to pastor. In 2010 our lives took another twist and turn as we left everything we had ever known, sold almost everything we had and flew to lands unknown on our first missionary journey.

small town

We assumed we would be overseas a long, long time but only God knows what is behind every open door and He decides when it is time to close one and open another. So in 2012 we came back to this Small Town to continue our ministry with Revival By Design, traveling around the country on the weekends. We have been living in the mother-in-law suite of my mother-in-law’s home for the last four years, (how is that for a twist!) and caring for her physically as she deals with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

It has not been an easy decision to come to this point and say that we are pulling up stakes and moving again. Anyone who knows me is aware that I have ALWAYS wanted to live in the eastern mountains of Tennessee. Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamed of actually calling the Smokies home. Then little things happen.

norah jayne

Yeah, this little thing lives on the other side of the Volunteer State and we want to be a part of her life. As a family, we have waited a long, long time for this blessing that has turned all of our lives upside down and we couldn’t be any happier. Norah will have her Nana and Poppy right down the road and her Nanny, Rachel’s mother, Tonya, moved just around the corner a year ago. We want Norah to be spoiled by her grandparents and I am thrilled to get to babysit a couple days a week as well. Who wouldn’t want to snuggle that little bundle all day?! Tonya calls it living in Norah-Norah-Land!

With Goodbye’s come thank-you’s. I want to thank The Sweetheart’s family for stepping up to take over the care of my MIL. It is no easy task to care for an aging parent, especially when their mind is struggling to keep up. Thank you in advance to my sisters-in-law for all the responsibility you will be taking upon your shoulders.

Our church family at Turning Point has been amazing. We will miss you more than you know! Pastors Ron and Cindy Hawkins are simply first class and we will forever be indebted to them for giving us a place to land and feel at home for the last few years.

To Kristopher and Korey: thank you so much for allowing us to leave again and not making us feel guilty. And thank you a thousand times for helping us last night with The Move. Your patience with the two of us was inspiring. Remember, Eisley has a place to stay at our house!

I don’t see my parents or siblings as often as I would like to but appreciate knowing they are close by. Thank you all for being there for us these last few years.

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

That’s the great thing about small towns, you take a part of it with you no matter where you go. I love all of my friends here and the good thing is that nothing else changes, we will still meet here on the blog, still follow one another on social media and still encourage each other in the hard times and rejoice with each other in the good.

Pray for us today as we travel and get settled. Look out Norah, here we come!

nana

Sharing with Wholehearted Wednesdays, Sitting Among Friends

 

 

 

The lamp and the light

Leave a reply

The Lamp and The Light.

Our car had the worst foggy headlights I had ever seen. I would complain to The Sweetheart that I couldn’t see well at night, it never seemed like our lights were even turned on. I tried every Pinterest remedy I could find from toothpaste to baking soda to bug spray. Some would make it look a little better for a while but then it would come right back.

Finally, we heard that a local store offered, at the low, low price of $29.95, a once-and-for-all fix for those cloudy headlights. I do not know how they did it but they look brand-new and completely clear!

You simply cannot drive at night without headlights, you are asking for disaster.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105.

And you simply cannot navigate in the world in which we live without a lamp for your feet. We have GPS, a God-send to people like me who are directionally challenged! (I may or may not have just created a new word.) But even this modern technology can be wrong at times.

Recently, on one of our Revival By Design trips to the South, we were to be staying with missionary friends for the weekend. We had plugged the address into our GPS and finally arrived at about 10:30 p.m. We pulled down into the driveway, quite a steep dip, and were waiting on our other friends to arrive before we went to the door. They were twenty minutes behind us.

But things didn’t look quite right. The house was very small, I was already wondering about the accommodations. There were toys scattered all over the yard and there were lights on in the house.

The Sweetheart was content to lay his seat back and snooze until our friends arrived! I was in a panic, sure we were at the wrong address and even more sure that the homeowners would come out with a shotgun at any moment.

We WERE at the wrong house. Typing the address into GPS but leaving off a necessary East or West apparently makes a difference. When we finally realized we were sitting in someone else’s driveway and it was nearing midnight, we got out of there and fast!

It matters what map you use and what kind of lamp lights your path! When this God-breathed inspiration of scripture was written it was necessary to carry a lamp, filled with oil, if you were going to be out at night. There were no street lights or anything else to light your way.

And that lamp didn’t light up the road for miles, it just showed enough for the next step, and then the next and the next, etc. God’s Word is enough for every day, for every situation and then the next day you open it again and it is enough for that day. You will find your answers, your direction for EACH DAY when you make it a priority and let it be your guide.

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow,” said Jesus, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34.

You have to take that next step and keep walking and the Light will always be there, it will be a continual light for your path, for your LIFE.

Lamp and the Light

In studying this thought today, I discovered the Hebrew word for light, אוֹר, can also mean happiness. Say what?! Could the psalmist have meant that when we let that lamp guide our feet then we will have complete contentment, joy, even happiness walking in that Light?!

Or perhaps the reason the Psalmist mentioned a lamp AND a light was because if we let the Word of God take us on the first step, in the light that the lamp gives us, then He will light up our entire path, giving us continual direction and lighting our way to see clearly where He is leading! He will give clarity and assurance that He is with us, making our way plain.

A lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Walking daily with God will give us all the light and direction we need for each step, for each question, for each trial that comes our way. Jesus will always be there for HE is the Light, the Truth and the Way.

Are you struggling with something today and not sure which way to turn? Let the Word of God be that lamp that points you in the right direction and the Light that brings the peace that passes all understanding.

For the Kingdom

Sharing with Modest Mondays