Category: This and That

Merry Christmas Friends!

Merry Christmas Ministry Mama followers and friends. I hope you’re able to spend some time thinking of the miracle that Christ was on the first “Christmas.”

I love thinking of the special name of Christ: Emmanuel, God WITH us! Jesus didn’t stay up in heaven, although present and actively involved in Creation, lofty and high above this world and its inhabitants. He was a gift from God the Father and then in His life He acted out the pure and wonderful plan of dying for each person every lived, past and present’s sins.

The story could not be better written as a work of fiction and is true in its entirety. The characters were real and not once ounce of its account in the books of Matthew and Luke are works of imagination. Mary was genuinely approached by the angel to tell her of the news of the miraculous overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Joseph’s personal integrity was sincere and his own experience with the angel confirming that the baby was, in fact, the Messiah. The poor and humble birth in a stable filled with animals, dirt, and hay, a couple who may have never helped deliver a baby before. Amazing light shining down from heaven from the sky down upon the fields and shepherds below announcing “Glory to God in the Highest, Peace and goodwill toward men…” Each part of the story is a miracle, a magnificent birth announcement of Hope fulfilled in the flesh.

If God the Father’s efforts of showing how wonderful it was that His Son was born, then we must compelled to make room in our hearts for Him too. We should kneel in adoration that the tiny baby’s hands that held the finger of a sweet mother were outstretched and held him on that cross. This story itself proves God loves life in the womb, sweet babies, young parents, and has a plan for each and every one of us. There’s no doubt about it!

If we are in low places and the only glimmer of hopes are miniature dots of lights from our perspective, God the Father is still at work. It took  Christ is still abiding in and through the believer, and the Holy Spirit is present doing His part to help us keep our hearts and lives right with God. You don’t have to love the life you’re living, just love the Lord of life. Praise Him. Worship Him. Make His deeds known among the people (Psalm 105:1).

Just typing that all out gives me chills of excitement! It was real. Christ is real, He is really sitting on the right side of the Father waiting to come for us who are believers, and it could be at any moment! Let’s bow in thankful adoration that He came that day long ago and love the remembrance of His birth as a fulfilled promise that is confirmation of future promises yet to be fulfilled.

Merry Christmas to you from my family and I!

Listening to God’s Notifications

Listening to God's NotificationsNotifications announce or alert you to bring your attention to something. A comment on a photo or a reply to a status update gains your attention if you’re a Facebooker like I am. Notifications in the mail for late bills or upcoming events help you make a conscious decision for action, to pay the bill or to mark the event on your calendar. E-mails notify of deadlines for projects or sales events. Texts dings let you know someone has sent you an “important” message on your cellphone. In child language tattling is its own immature notification. A dog barking creates its own alert to pay attention for an unknown person nearby.

Does God send you daily notifications?

He speaks to me regularly and reminds me often of things He wants me to know or remember. The Holy Spirit is God’s notifier since He lives in the heart of the believer.

One day I kept track of a number of the notifications God gave me…

Baby crying – “You were once like this and your family loved you.”

Child tattling – “Do all things without murmurings and disputings yourself (Philippians 2:14).”

Correcting child’s behavior – “Are you listening to what I have corrected you about?”

Making another meal – “All you have needed I have provided.”

Teaching household skills to our children one more time – “Build them for me in character and skills so I can use them.”

Interruption of our daily routine by baby – “People are more important, they are who I died for.”

Child arguing – “Did you notice your child is selfish just like you? You argued in front of them last night.”

Inappropriate commercial – “Guard your eyes and heart, not just the children’s and change the channel!”

Hearing how God blessed someone else – “You can be happy for them and thankful I answer their prayers too. Don’t be jealous, your time will come.”

Laughter and silly giggling – “This is joy, loving the people and family I gave you.”

Witnessing child making a good choice – “All the hard work you do can produce good and godly results.”

Violation of my rights – “A servant serves no matter how they are treated. Christ was reviled and reviled not again. (I Peter 2:23)”

You might argue that those were conversations I had with myself or it was my conscience but I am confident that in God’s still small voice He spoke to my heart in these instances. Some of them as encouragement, some to alert me of my own bad attitudes and sinful behavior, some to help me rejoice in seeing Him working in my life even in little ways.

Pay attention, God is always speaking in His still small voice if you are listening. What will He notify you of today? Love that He speaks to you as His child and respond to how He speaks in obedience.

November Family Update

You may be wondering what has happened in my life since my husband and I have stepped out on faith to follow his calling to preach? We spent two months of our summer traveling, we waited two months for our fifth daughter to be born, and have now made a move to a new state.

Moving Toward Ministry

As we traveled those two months across four states and back home we were able to listen to preaching CD’s while we traveled. It was interesting to see God work and speak a specific theme to our hearts, “Move toward ministry.” You see, when you are out of  ministry for a while and you begin thinking of life and its’ choices there can be a big temptation not to go back into ministry. We had been very tired from busy schedules and some hurts that had come along through the years that I know that I battled those thoughts more than my husband has. God keeps confirming in our hearts that although He has not given us a specific place to serve yet that He wants us moving toward ministry.

At the end of July we traveled to my husband’s home state and hometown to attend his cousin’s wedding. While we were there my husband was able to get some good counsel from the pastor he grew up under who gave us some great things to think about and pray about as far as making specific decisions about… what do you think? “Moving toward ministry!”

Taking Care of Family First

We have taken the things his pastor directed us to pray about and felt the Lord was prompting us to follow Him to his home state. We interviewed with a church near my husband’s home church* and after months of waiting for a refinance to go through on their church building they still did not have the finances to bring us on. This was a disappointment we learned only one week before we moved, sometime in August we knew we would move even if we did not work at that church. We made a decision to wait until our daughter was born and stay with the midwife that had cared for my pregnancy. I dealt with some painful kidney problems daily the last months of my pregnancy that kept me from being able to stand or sit very long in an upright position. Looking back we know that was the right decision because our daughter Cinco’s birth was a special experience, better than what we could have asked for. We are now moved and relocated but because of our finances have moved in with my in-laws temporarily.

My husband has acquired a job that has him working with beginning to learn electrical work. While we are waiting on God’s direction our focus has been to provide the means to get into our own home and get settled and through the holidays. We joined my husband’s home church the first Sunday we arrived. Our children have already become involved in the children’s choir, Sunday School classes, and the Wednesday night Bible memorization program. We knew that we needed to plug them in quickly after many months of not being actively involved in church. They are loving it! My husband is taking advantage of opportunities to preach and teach as they are offered to him. Right now my main ministry focus is taking care of nurturing our new baby.

The Unknown Future

Transition is never easy for me and this entire year has been one full of transition. In so many ways I wish that 2016 would be a clean and fresh slate to be able to begin a new year in a new way and not look back at the difficulties 2015 has held for us. Thankfully God’s faithfulness has helped us be able to get through situations of great faith and truly leaning upon Him during the times when we could not understand. We’re still looking at an unknown future! The unknown is both exciting and daunting.

I have not had the title of “music director’s wife” for six months now, but it still seems strange. Titles do not keep us from ministering or equal anything special, it did help me to know my place and role in what I believed God wanted me to do at the time. Walking into a church and just being another church member with no expectations or requirements does not carry the liberating feeling I dreamed of on the busiest of ministry weeks. The church members in our new church are very friendly and welcoming and I know in time God will direct me to a specific place to serve and be a part, it is just going to take time.

I never imagined we would ever get to a place where we would be dependent upon so many other people. Living with my in-laws has been humbling to the independent part of me who wants to stand on her own and be just fine. God has prepared their hearts to help us be obedient to whatever God wants us to do and honestly I could not ask for anything more! They are making this part of the transition easier.

There are so many special stories that are the icing on the cake for our relocation process but I just cannot tell them all in this update. Thank you to those who have prayed for us and taken the time to ask me how things are going. I truly appreciate you! We know God has a plan for us and I can’t wait to tell you our future updates.

*What is a home church? We refer to a home church as being the church you grew up in and went to Bible college from. Our Bible college was in another state and each student would commonly refer to the church they came from as their “home church.”