Hey all,
We are back in New Jersey. Our first leg of the trip proved to bring exactly what we expected: challenges, blessings beyond expectation, tears, frustrations, overwhelming joy, beauty and glory for God's Kingdom. I can go on and on. Our quarterly letter will be going out this week in which I'll go into more detail, but I have realized time and time again that when we do the work God has put before us, but inject our own grandios ideas and expectations of how things should work, then we will always be disappointed. The sooner we get ourselves out of the way and let God work through us, the easier and more enjoyable it becomes. My upbringing was strong in hard work, which produces results. This upbringing was great, as well as biblical. However, because of my upbringing I have come to expect certain results, but they don't always pan out the way I expect. When I do this, oftentimes God brings about different results which have far more of an impact for His Kingdom. But sometimes I miss out on the awesomeness of this because I am too down on the fact of not having the outcome I wanted.
I was reading Ephesians 3 this afternoon, and in it Paul expresses the work God can do through us: Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. It's clear here in the bible, and obvious to all who know God's power, that God will do and does do so much more than we can even know. For instance, a homeless man whom God lead to us in Florida called me a few days ago, weeks after we showed him the love of Christ. He wanted to let us know he and his wife were thinking of us, and remembered us praying together, and that they continue to pray for what we do. He said he loved us and was thinking of us as he was heading to a possible job for himself. Long after we've left and moved on, God was still using His work through us to bring people to Him. I have learned to use these works of God to be more effective in using the opportunities God has set before me every day, instead of trying to always create opportunities myself and then expecting a certain outcome. This, I know, is more effective because it's God's way.
In Tennessee God opened the door for us to tell of our ministry at three different services at two different churches. We are still in awe of the spiritual and financial support we received from God's children. Two churches are considering supporting Four Disciples Mission regularly, so please be praying for us. We are in New Jersey for a couple of weeks as Carol will be helping her mother recuperate from major leg surgery, and I will be working on the bus and trailer. I am trying to work out a lot of kinks that I've found to be problematic before we head out west. Once we head out again we will be stepping even further out of our comfort zone, as we won't have the comfort of family as we go along. Thanks so much as we spread the word and show the love of Christ to whomever we come in contact with.
Peace & Grace,
Doug & Family
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3 comments:
Hi Doug, Carol and all:
I read your message and was inspired by your words, especially regarding the Ryan bitter-sweet, driven based, work ethic. It is good to learn that while goals and hard work are admirable, we shouldn't beat ourselves up by not being satisfied with the end result. God does have a plan for all of us and everything is not in our control. And, for the most part,it seems, when you look back, the end result works well even if you didn't meet your personal goal. I seem to often forget this in my life's pursuits.
I love your spirit and your optimism in spite of adversities - I guess with God as your co-pilot, you can always observe life's glass as half full, when others would look at it half empty. It's a much sweeter way to live!
Love you all! Aunt Barbi
Hi Doug, Carol and all:
I read your message and was inspired by your words, especially regarding the Ryan bitter-sweet, driven based, work ethic. It is good to learn that while goals and hard work are admirable, we shouldn't beat ourselves up by not being satisfied with the end result. God does have a plan for all of us and everything is not in our control. And, for the most part,it seems, when you look back, the end result works well even if you didn't meet your personal goal. I seem to often forget this in my life's pursuits.
I love your spirit and your optimism in spite of adversities - I guess with God as your co-pilot, you can always observe life's glass as half full, when others would look at it half empty. It's a much sweeter way to live!
Love you all! Aunt Barbi
I was reading your outpouring of emotion as it pertains to your mission. I can empathize with your feelings. Ravi Zacharias said in reference to such. "We cannot truly do Gods work until we feel a burden on our hearts". You are feeling such a burden, not in a negative way but in the way Nehemiah felt the Burden to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah is the account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is a symbol of the city of God, God's dwelling place and the center of life for the world. In an individual life, then, the rebuilding of the walls would be a picture of re-establishing the strength of that life. We have all met people whose defenses have crumbled away. They have become human derelicts, drifting up and down the streets of our large cities, absolutely hopeless and helpless. But God in grace frequently reaches down and gets some of those people and brings them out to rebuild the walls. This is the picture of the way the walls of any life, of any local church, of any community, of any nation, can be rebuilt into strength and power and purpose again. It is the Burden you feel upon your heart to do God's work. Do not mistake it for accomplishments lacking. I need to remember this as I rebuild my own Life. There is much work to be done, but I must always feel the burden within my heart or it will become just just a straw house no foundation or "rock" on which to build.
Your blog alone never ceases to prompt me to reach within me and grow in Christ for what I read and reflect upon. I grow through your experiences and use them to tackle the struggles within myself. I pray for accountability to my responses. I pray heavenly Father your will be apparent in every moment on my life. I pray that the burden is in my heart to rebuild my life and further your Kingdom, not mine. I pray in Jesus name, Amen
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