05 Dec Home for Christmas
Home for Christmas. That phrase feels different to us this year. When God called us to FamilyLife in Little Rock this spring, we imagined we’d be there for Christmas. Of course, when it first came up, I (Lila) had no desire to go to Little Rock. But God worked on my heart and we began to anticipate that move. So we put the house on the market the first week of June, and the real estate market began plummeting immediately after. During the next few months, our passion for families and marriages grew, and God prompted others to partner with us in this effort. By the end of August, we had enough support that FamilyLife would allow us to report to our assignment. But, we still needed to sell the house. FamilyLife graciously allowed Steve to start working from home, and now it appears that we WILL be here in Topeka for Christmas. So, is this home or is Little Rock? The answer, of course, is neither. We do not belong to this world, and if we forget that, we take our eyes off our heavenly home.
This week, as we were reading about Paul we were astonished to learn that he waited years before beginning his ministry. God is not the one in a hurry, we are! He has given us time to spend with Him as we take a required New Testament Survey class for Campus Crusade; time to spend with each other (since we’re all four at home together all the time now); and time to plan and prepare for the future.
As we look to the coming year, we pray that we will make the move to Little Rock, and we’ve learned that we will be required to attend an every-other-year event in Fort Collins, Colorado with other Campus Crusade staff this summer. Because we are planners and budgeters by nature, we’d like to begin preparing for the upcoming expense of moving and getting settled, and for the week long trip to the conference. Steve will also be making a trip to the home office for a week in December, to work from there and get more extensive training. In light of all this, if you feel led to help us with a year-end gift, we would be so grateful. We desire to balance walking in faith with good stewardship and planning, making sure it is all covered in prayer. (1 Cor. 4:2, Luke 14:28).
Please let us know of your prayer requests, and thanks for your continued prayer for us and for the impact that FamilyLife is having on marriages and families.
We want to wish you a very blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ! (Luke2:11)
Steve, Lila, Marshall and Maddie