Talk About Your Answered Prayer...

From Erika:

On Monday night Dave came in while I was giving Rolland his bedtime snack to have a family prayer time. He asked me for something tangible to pray for—something that we could look back on at the end of the week and say it had been answered Yes or No. I have a hard time with prayers like that because I hate being disappointed, so why even get my hopes up? Dave, on the other hand, seems to enjoy disappointment and takes every opportunity to get his hopes up. You should hear him talk about his brackets this year.

So Dave came up with prayers for both of us. For himself: that God would open or close the door on an opportunity he had pursued at work. For me: that Rolland would sleep through the night once this week. So, we prayed. And on Tuesday and Wednesday I prayed occasionally for his request (which is always easier than praying for my own). On Wednesday evening Dave walked in the door and said he had good news. In the morning he was told by the vise-principal that the opportunity at work was unavailable, but apparently word got around, and by the afternoon the principal told him he had re-written the budget specifically for Dave. Talk about your answered prayer.

Well. Rolland did not sleep through the night that night, but Dave’s answer changed my reasons for trying to pray that he will. If we hadn’t prayed for God’s clear leading, I would’ve heard Dave’s story with excitement, of course, but with a hint of hesitation in the back of my mind. Is this really from God? How can we be sure? But since we’d already talked to God about it, we can be confident and joyful. We had opened the dialogue about it so when God answered, we knew it was Him.

That makes me want to open the dialogue about Rolland’s sleeping. I honestly don’t have faith to believe that he’ll make it through the night this week, but I’m asking for it. This way, whether he does or doesn’t—or if something totally beyond all I’ve asked or imagined happens— I’ll know who to thank.



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And just for fun...

Ministry Update

There is an old phrase that goes something like this: "It's money in the bank!" I know that banks don't seem like the safest place today, but we are happy to say that a $10,000 match grant has been credited to our account (see our July '08 posting "Birthday Blessing"). Thanks to those of you who are committed to ongoing financial support, your gifts were officially matched!

The Bible teaches us that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Since that is true, we're not surprised to see God providing for financial needs in spite of a tough economy. The cool thing about God's "cattle" is that He asks His people to be stewards of the herds. Stewardship multiplies God's blessing. The giver and the receiver can both rejoice in what God is doing and what He will do with those finances.

There is still room for more faithful givers on our team.

picture

He's already showing signs of being more coordinated than his dad. Maybe he will be able to play sports and not just run on the track team.

Encouraged by perseverance

This morning I was reading from the book of Ezra. It begins with King Cyrus sending the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, this was prophesied by Isaiah before the people were even exiled. In chapters one through three the people are filled with excitement and anticipation as they begin the difficult work, However, it is not long before there is strong opposition. When King Cyrus was succeeded by Xerxes and Artexerxes the enemies of Judah lodged a complaint and basically had the work of rebuilding the temple forcibly shut down. It is not until Darius becomes king that the work can resume. This must have been a tough blow to the spirits and motivation of the Jews. They knew that God wanted them to rebuild the temple, and they had been waiting for years to see God's promises about the end of the exile come true. Then, just as things are rolling and starting to look hopeful, the opposition strikes hard.

I can relate. We hit the ground running one year ago as we began on the path Croatia and ministry. Support was coming in quickly, we were checking trainings and requirements off our "to do" list, and it looked like we would certainly be there for camp in 2009. I can not point to an enemy that is specifically working against us, but we have hit a serious slow down in the process. We are back to waiting to watching, just like the Jews in chapters four and five of Ezra. We do TRUST that God is in control, that He IS doing the work, and that He WILL complete His work. It took time, effort, patience, determination, and faith; the temple was rebuilt and later the city walls were rebuilt, too. God always comes through. We can trust Him.

Picture the Parents

When I brought the ol' camera to try and capture Rolland smiling, Erika commented about the number of pictures that are being taken of him compared to the number of pictures being taken of us. So, I thought I'd look for the most recent pictures of the parents.

Erika by herself (Jan 18, 2009)

Dave by himself (Dec 12, 2008)


Dave and Erika together (Nov 18, 2008)