How will it work out?

 Lisa over at The Preacher’s Wife,  has served up lesson 3 in her “I AM – so you don’t have to be” study.  Girls, if you aren’t joining in this – you should be because even though I have never heard her hubby preach, I believe she is giving him a run for his money with these lessons!Lisa, I cannot tell you how much the LORD is using you to speak to me in this study. “He has placed you just in time, has saved you by his loving kindness, and either has given you or will give you a desire from the lower deep of your nature to accomplish what HE intends in your life”  OH MY, what a thing to say and for me to remember!  I’ve posted before about the difficulties the church hubby and I serve is having.  LOTS of hurt and pain.  This study is so SO speaking to my situation.  Let me tell you a little story before I get to the questions (bear with me here).  Before we moved here to the place we live now, we served a different church about an hour and a half away.  We were comfortable there – loved there – and content.  EXCEPT – we both began to feel that after 7 years there, maybe it was time for someone else to come along side this church and maybe it was time for us to move on.  We decided that instead of saying a definite ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to moving – we’d say ‘yes’ to whatever God decided. So, hubby told his DS (district superintendent – in the Methodist church we are on an itinerant system – if you want more info on this just email me and ask – i’ll be glad to fill you in as best I can) that if we needed to move this year we would.

We were told that next March (of 2006) that yes, indeed we would be moving to a church that was about 30 minutes from where we were before.  Just on the other side of the city where we lived.  How fabulous we thought! – Our girls could still have some stability. Still see friends and still attend their dance classes with their friends.  We visited the church who was going to give us a housing allowance  – so we began looking for a home.

We decided to rent a home for a year and see from there what we wanted to do – so we went looking.  I’m NOT kiddin’  ya’ll – the very day we found a house we were ready to sign to rent, we got a phone call from hubby’s DS saying that his appointment had been changed (by this time it is May 2006) and we were now moving about an hour from where we were and EVERYTHING – literally everything changed.

We weren’t too happy to say the least.  BUT we worked through- choosing to trust that the LORD is in control of all (that thing, Lisa that you said about a “series of unrecurring incidents”) these changes and go with it. 

We moved to this church and began serving here in July 2006.  You have read here and here about the things that this church needs.  I have always believed that God sent us here for a purpose and we are to do it.  AND, Lisa, you are reinforcing and causing me to believe EVEN more that God is in CONTROL of this whole situation!    SO, with all that said – here are my answers to the questions.

1. It was stated in the Lesson that God has made you “once, twice, three times a lady.” Where are you in this progression? Obviously we have all been physically born, but are you ‘twice a lady’? Have you been born again spiritually? This may be a private matter you’d like to discuss confidentially. If so, email me. If you have already received this gift, write a brief prayer of thanksgiving or testimony.  
I grew up in the Methodist church so there wasn’t a lot of talk about being saved — but there was talk about asking Jesus into my heart and believe that those are the same thing. As I grew up though and reached adulthood my spirituality has grown so much more than what my 9 year old self was really able to comprehend.  I am definitely “born again” — although we don’t say that in the Methodist church, I know that Jesus died for my sins and is my savior!

Dear God, thank you for loving me so much even in my sin that you gave your son to save my life!  I cannot fathom most of the time why you would do this – because human love doesn’t reach that far.  BUT it is awesome Lord, that yours does and I am thankful this day that one day because of you grace and glory, that I will be in heaven with you!  Amen!

2. Are you three times a lady? Has God given you a stirring deep within your Spirit to be a ‘deliverer’? Do you have a desire or are you already meeting a need in the life of the church, a particular ministry (such as jail ministry, food ministry, etc.) or perhaps individuals who share common issues?  OK – I’m beginning to see a theme in each thing that the LORD is leading me to read these days – faith- belief – even Moses.  A few weeks ago the Lord gave the Hebrew 11 to read  — coincidence that it is one of our scriptures for today? No, no I think not!  I am grabbing on to God that he will use hubby and I to be the “deliverer” our church so desperately needs.  And the REASON I think he chose us — we are so absolutely unequipped for this challenge — only by HIS doing and with HIM will be be done!  The desire is there — the how – not so much yet.  We will wait and see.

3. Do you ever get tired of waiting for that opportunity to do something worthwhile for God? Do you ever feel God is using someone else instead of you? Yes!  Most of the time when I feel that I have no place and can do nothing well…………..I see HIM using others and long to be used.  I think all that God has been teaching me in the past months about FULLY focusing on HIM is leading up to how he will use me.  It is tense, scary and exciting all at the same time!

4. What do you consider ‘worthwhile ministry’? Are you like me and sometimes find yourself mistakenly thinking it has to be Big to be Important? All I can say, as I hang my head in shame, is yes.  Sometimes my pride wants me to be the center of attention and be doing the big and important things.  Lord, please forgive my pride!

5. Have you ever taken a spiritual gifts test? If yes, what are yours? If no, here’s a good one from Ephesians 4 Ministry. Will you take it and come back with a response? Knowing some of you like I already do, I can almost pick out what your gift is before you say it. I can’t wait to see if I’m right! I’ve done one but it has been a while .  I will go do this one and see…………OK – so I got  Pastor/Shepherd – 19, Showing Mercy- 18, Teaching 17 and then it went drastically down from there……was it what you thought? =)

Looking forward to reading other responses when I have time!

In HIM -

Mindy