Catching UP

I keep wishing that I could post pictures of the various documents I work on for Shepherd's Staff. I would love to share with you the poster for the Beth Moore simulcast that I'm working on this afternoon...or show you some of the recent brochures that I've done. I think it would give you a better idea of what it is that we do here. But so far I haven't figured that out, so you'll have to be happy with these new family pictures we had taken recently.

When I started this blog I wanted to give readers a more regular glance into our life: both ministry and family. Seems like I haven't done well on the "regular" part or the family part. So today, I'm going to share with you where our family is.

Nattie is 4 1/2 now and loves life. She always wants to be a part of what the older two kids are doing and had a great time being the youngest "camper" at Creative Arts Camp. Jesalynn is 7 and loves to direct her siblings and friends in various performances around the house. As I type this, she is setting up a puppet and streamer event in our living room. Tyson will turn 9 on Friday. He's losing teeth and loves to read. He has also discovered the joy of helping his Dad with various projects, both at home and around Shepherd's Staff.

I have been doing a lot of publicity work for upcoming events at Shepherd's Staff. It's also nice to have a break from school and so I've been trying to get some long-neglected projects done. Tim built a need "kid wash" out of pvc for Tyson's birthday and is trying hard to keep our garden alive. We both look forward to fresh produce later this summer!

So that's a little about us...next time I'll try to catch up with what's going on at Shepherd's Staff.

Summertime...

I think summer has finally arrived in Rexford. We've had a delightful spring, with cool weather and rain, but today was hot, humid, and heavy. Summer in Kansas...

I'm not even sure where to start in trying to catch up with news. Family-wise, things are a little slower right now. School and AWANA and other activities have finished, we already have VBS behind us, and the summer seems quiet. Work-wise, though, we're gearing up for Creative Arts Camp, the Village Missions conference, and a few assorted events--and looking towards August when things will start to build momentum again.

Would you pray for us over the next couple of weeks, that God would really guide us in the path He has set out for us? It's hard sometimes to be sure that we are following Him and not just chasing our own desires.

Thanks...and we'll be sharing with you about Creative Arts Camp soon.

Prayer and Drudgery

We had the pleasure of spending a few days in Nebraska last week, and I (Gwen) had the specific pleasure of visiting a good friend one afternoon. As we sat in her living room, we chatted about the place of prayer in our daily lives. We both felt the need for a more constant communion with God, but short of throwing our virtual aprons over our heads (a la Wesley's mother), we weren't sure how to achieve it. Jodi recalled that a friend used to attach a prompt or reason to pray to common household chores. For example, the friend would thank God for removing the filth from her heart while scrubbing the toilet.

This concept seems to have taken root in my mind over the past week, and as I've considered it, I've come up with many prompts. I'll share some below, but I thought it would be neat to hear what some of you come up with as well. So leave a comment--tell me how the mundane and the every day might inspire us to commune with the Great and the Unique.

mirror cleaning: praying that I might reflect Christ more fully
cooking: thanking God for the food He provides for us
laundry: thanking God for His provision, for the children that wear the clothes and get them all dirty
dusting: confession of the "buildup" of sin in my life

Picking Up

We sat in the conference room today with Serena, our housekeeper and food service person, and looked at the calendar of upcoming events. Starting with this weekend (March 26-28), we have eight consecutive weekends booked. This is a big deal for Shepherd's Staff, who had a total of 16 events in the first six months of 2010. It's also a big deal for the staff (all of us) as we adapt to the changes that a busier season brings. It is that odd phase of growth where we see huge potential, exciting new adventure, and the need for additional staff. However, we cannot bring on new staff before the ministry is ready and God has led us there, so the challenge is to be patient and wait for His timing.

Mostly, though, we praise God for how far He has brought our family and this ministry in the past year. Twelve months ago we were packing, wondering what the future held, and imagining life in Kansas. Now that we've been here a while, we seem to be finding our stride in family and ministry. Tim has met hundreds of pastors, made connections with many churches, and begun the process of discovering how we can serve them. Our family is reaching out to the community through the monthly Free Family Movie and relationships. And our family is growing internally, learning to relate more intentionally within the family and with those we come into contact with.

I was recently reading chapters from "On Being A Servant of God". The author makes the point that each place God puts us is in preparation...whether for growth, the next position, or for serving others. I think we are really seeing how God used our experiences at Camp Rock and Table in the Wilderness to prepare us for service at Shepherd's Staff. I pray that we have also learned from our previous experiences in relationships and service and are applying that to our current lives, too.

God's Grace Always Amazes Me

Really, that's all I need to say. God takes care of us, provides for our needs in ways I could never fathom. When I think of all the times I have whined to Tim or to God about money being tight, about how hard it is to raise support--I feel ashamed. God is in control of this, and He always has it taken care of.

Part of my job here at Shepherd's Staff is to process the mail: bills, information, contracts and payments, donations. I can't tell you how many times I have sat in this chair, almost stunned, at the contents of the envelope I have just opened. Today was one of those days.

God always takes care of His children, and all He asks from us is that we live for Him. How could I not, when He has so lavishly loved me?

O Lord, your grace, your provision...YOU amaze me.

Teaching Hebrews to Boys

Every week I (Gwen) help at the Rexford Kids Club. Somehow I ended up with the 3rd-5th grade boys, which is a daunting task at times. It seems like Wednesdays roll around twice as fast as any other day of the week! Since Christmas, our schedule has been thrown out of whack by snow days and scheduled days off, and it feels like we are just getting into the semester when it's really half over.

A friend from church gave me some Sunday School booklets put out when we was a young teen...in 1979. We're going to be using two of these booklets for the remainder of the year, starting with a study on Hebrews for March. At first this seemed too in-depth, too structured for a group of boys that is distracted by just about anything. But we're beginning this week, talking about WHY Jesus is the one we should put our hope in and trying to understand what Christian growth/maturity is and why we would want to pursue it.

Please pray for me on Wednesday afternoons as I try to maintain order with 12 boys who just got out of a long day of school and for whom learning about the Bible is a pretty low priority. I'll be explaining the need for salvation today so that we'll all be starting from the same base, so a lot to cover.

Thanks for praying!

The Conference Is Coming, The Conference is Coming!

Well, our first attempt at the Christian Workers Conference is coming: Saturday. We spent this morning setting up the Vendor Hall and we'll spend late afternoon working to get the workshop areas ready to go. There's still a lot to do: programs, bag stuffing, last minute details. So far we've sold around 90 tickets, which is getting ever closer to our goal of 100. God is working here!

Tim and I had the chance to retreat a little this weekend. Tim spoke at First Christian Church in Garden City, then we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast there before heading back to northwest Kansas for a meeting and a Valentines Banquet.

It's a busy time, but we are relying on God to supply our needs and to help us do what we need to get done. We appreciate your prayers, now and throughout the year.