2011 has been another WiLd RiDe of a FAITH journey! It was everything BUT uninteresting! This year 'My Man and I have been in war!..."A REAL war, a WAR for sOuLs of men!" as Bob O would say! We have witnessed God perform miracles right before our eyes!!!! We have also watched the enemy try to "steal, kill, and destroy" John 10:10...Yet all the while, God's mighty hand was in control of eVeRyThInG!... including the puppet-satan himself!
In ministry I watched God use 'My Man' for the Kingdom in powerful ways!!! I was & am blessed beyond measure to stand alongside of him-- to serve and help in ministry in anyway possible! I watched God use my hubby, by taking a very spiritually dead youth group into an amazing group of students who rededicated their lives to Christ and some who met Him for the very first time! As 'My Man' taught them scriptures and led them by example, -I watched students who went from just coming to church on Sundays, BECAUSE THATS WHAT WE DO ON SUNDAYS!... to students who wanted more of the GOD of the UNIVERSE to be invloved in their lives! Watching them COLLIDE with their CREATOR was every bit of a miracle! 'My Man' got to baptize some of the precious students on his birthday~ Talk about a "Happy Birthday!!!! Love, GOD" kind of blessing that was for him!!! They were the very first students he has ever baptized!! Satan thought he'd throw in a funny one in during this time to try to STEAL the joy!..but the scheme didn't work~ just makes us laugh! A person wouldn't allow their teen to be baptized because 'My Man' wasn't ordained! So somehow I guess that would make their childs baptism not legit???!!! LOL... I wonder if John the Baptist, who baptized JESUS himself...the WiLd CRAZY looking man of the wilderness, who loved him some locusts... was ordained??? I wonder if his LACK OF ordination made the baptisms he performed not legit??? The irony is that the religious/ legalistic leaders of the day interrogated him too!!! (side note-I'm sorry if anyone finds my blog offensive, but my motto after this past year is~ speak Truth always--NO MATTER THE COST and when sin needs called out... CALL IT OUT!!!! Us christians need to stop worrying about stepping on toes, get REAL, STOP playing church & get back to the scriptures!!! Forget this don't want to be offensive crap--Let's face it: THE CROSS IS OFFENSIVE!!!.......... "Wounds from a friend can be trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6)
That particular scheme wasn't the only CrAzY idea of a scheme that satan tried this past year. We experienced MANY trials in ministry, but all of them just made us more bold and determined to speak the Scriptures no matter what the cost was!!! The cool thing was how when satan thought he knocked us down God put a whole slew of ppl to stand along side of us and support us thru the trials! A big lesson I learned this year is that God sends people to certain missionfields, and there will be times in ministry when only SOME people who recieve the Truths...but just like what Jesus says in Matt. 10:14-15 "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement..."
After God called us out of our last place of ministry, He sent us back home with fam and friends which some have went thru very similar things in ministry! Def. has been a huge blessing to us! God immediately gave Brad a secular job, and has even opened up ministry opportunities as well! God had us live with fam for a short time, and on our 3rd anniversary we moved in our cute home that we are renting! It feels very homey!
The BEST thing that has happened to us this year is-- on MAY 10,2011, God gave us Kaeley-Belle! She is proof of God's faithfulness and grace! From the day we found out we were pregnant with her...God has shown us that He is in the miracle making business! She def. has God's autograph written all over her story! I couldn't even keep down vitamins--not even kids vitamins! And those of you who know my diet of fries and mac n cheese are def. not the healthiest!!! We def. thank God for her, and feel blessed beyond measure that He has allowed us to be her parents!!!!! She is sassy, strong willed, full of love, has joy overflowing, and def. has a unique "Kaeley-Belle quirkiness!" She SHINES for Him already! I can see in her eyes that He has HUGE plans for her!!! Our love for her is indescribable!!!!
The Truth that God never leaves or forsakes His, has been evident in our journey in 2011! Even though we faced many trials, through God's grace and faithfulness, HE carried us through them all! I'm excited to see what God has planned for the next part of our faith journey this new year!!!!
