Little Bits

Tim is in LaGrange this week, speaking to students at Frontier School of the Bible about ministry and ministry opportunities at Shepherd's Staff.  One unexpected blessing for him was the number of students there that we have worked with in past ministries.  Last night he talked with a young man we knew during our time in Laramie; today he chatted with students that had attended Camp Rock and encouraged a young lady that we know because of our time at Shepherd's Staff.  It is always neat to see how God connects different parts of our lives.

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I wanted to share a couple of snippets from our lives...things that have been running through my head but haven't made it to paper or screen.  The kids are finishing their Awana year next week and we are so proud of each of them.  Nattie completed her Cubbies book, Jesalynn finished her last Sparks book and did the review, and Tyson is working on the last section of his T&T book.  His assignment was to choose one of the question and answer sets he studied throughout the year, find "backup" verses, and tell how this applied to his life.  I want to share some of his words with you:

"The answer I chose is "I need to know that God wants me to honor Him.  To honor God means to love and adore Him.  If you honor God, you do the things that He tells you to do...Some things you could do to honor God are you can honor your parents.  You could do what He says every day.  Or you could clean your church every week.  Anything you do with love for God is honoring God...One way this answer goes to work in my life is that when I honor Him I feel good.  As you honor God more you get closer with God, making your relationship with Him stronger."

It is so rewarding to see one of our children expressing his growing relationship with Christ!

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For the past few years we have prayed with the kids every night before bed, and on Sundays we specifically pray for their "someday husband" or "someday wife".  As I pray with the girls, I ask God to be drawing that special person to Himself, to develop him into someone that can lead, protect, and provide for each girl.  Tim prays with Tyson for his future wife, and I often hear Tyson close with "...and help me to be the man of God that You want me to be."

It has struck me that they may not understand everything that we are praying for them, but I hope that they will internalize these characteristics that they will be to search for or incorporate as adults.  Parenting is such a process--so many things we do today won't truly come to fruition until years from now.

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Lastly, we're coming up on the end of our second full year of ministry with Shepherd's Staff.  The last two years have been rewarding, challenging, difficult, encouraging, and so much more!  Thank you for being a part of our ministry through your prayers, support, and friendship.  We couldn't do it without you!