God's way

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

It has been an amazing 3 weeks. We've had the opportunity to visit 3 great churches (Lakepoint Church in Keizer, OR; Waldport Foursquare church in Waldport, OR; and Christian Life Center in Chico, CA) and have visited with a number of pastors and church leaders. As we travel, one thing is certain, God is the one determining our steps. We took many months to plan our strategy and approach, build a team and raise support, and plan our schedule and the churches we would visit (certainly all of which is important and necessary). What we have discovered is that as we travel, God is crossing our path with people who weren't on our 'schedule', giving us the opportunity to share with, minister to, and encourage them. God knew, long before we packed the car and headed north, where we needed to be and who we needed to meet.

I can't help but think that too often we plan God right out of our lives, missing opportunities to be salt and light because we are on tight schedule. We didn't set out on this trip with the intent of making unexpected stops, but some of those stops have proved to be some of the richest times of fellowship and blessing we've had thus far. Don't miss the opportunities in your day to share the love of Christ.

Trip update:

We are currently in Reno, NV where we will be visiting our friends Kris and Melissa Dahir. The Dahir's planted a church in Reno/Sparks a few months ago and are enjoying walking out God's call on their lives. I will have the opportunity to preach at the church on Sunday and we will be in Reno until heading to La Grande, OR next week. More to come soon.

The Big Picture

It was almost twelve years ago that we first met Rick and Karmel. In the week following us first meeting each other, our families spent almost every evening together and a strong friendship was formed as we sat in our living room into the wee hours of the morning talking about life, marriage, family and faith. We moved to AK and while we were there, Rick and Karmel moved to Chico, but our friendship has remained and we consider ourselves blessed to have friends like them.

We pulled up Rick and Karmel's house in Chico close to 1am last night/this morning. Despite being worn out from a long day in the card, and the fact that Rick had just returned from a business trip, we found ourselves once again unable to stop the conversation and stayed up way too late discussing matters of life, marriage, family and faith. What a joy it was to look back to those early days and recount the lessons learned, the hardships endured, and more than anything, the faithfulness of God in the years between then and now. There was no way we could have looked into the future and anticipated where both families would end up, but one thing is certain: God knew. He knew every challenge we would face, every pain we would endure, every victory we would celebrate, every move we would make, and uses them all to shape and mold for His glory.

Last night was a great reminder that God sees the big picture. He knows where He's leading us, and He know's what needs to happen along the way in order to prepare us for when we arrive. Nothing is lost to him. I stand in awe of all God has done in my life and family, and the lives of Rick and Karmel and their kids.

NW Trip