The Beginning

I think this might work out better than the e-mail entitled "windows" that I sent out there for awhile. Lot's of change is upon us. In only 7 days we will be moving into the RV and beginning the next leg of the journey God has in store for us. It is interesting the way God does things, where He will take us if we let Him. My vision of what God wants me to do is very clear though how we get there has taken a turn I would not have predicted....Camp Macoba I mean. I have to say though I am excited about the whole thing and the wheels in my mind have been turning about the possibilities there. Will God give you the desires of your heart? Oh Yeah if we are faithful in our calling. I can remember that Denise was a little disappointed when the first place we had decided on to move was Seebo. It was great and had the campground atmosphere. It did not work out and what did the Lord do but open up a door to an even better place !

I think sometimes fear can be a great motivator. This is what God finally used to bring me to the point I knew I needed to be on my health. I had secretly been praying about how weak I was in this area and I needed something major to happen to me to turn the tide. I did not want to have a heart attack or anything like that but having a couple of sugar readings right on the line of being a diabetic did the trick! I have been virtually sugar free for a month now...no sugar in my tea or coffee which was a big deal. Not only that but six days a week for a month now I have doubled my exercise to 1 hour on the treadmill with 440 calories burned each time. This has caused me to lose 1 pound every week. This does not sound like much but I know that if I stay with this it will be worth it. Not only that but it has led to me feeling much better physically and is building my confidence in myself and the ability to conquer big things. I have interviewed 10 Pastors so far for my book and have slowed down that for now for a couple of reasons. One is the move about to take place and the other is I need to find the way to get these interviews down on paper now before it gets to be too big of a job. As I write this Denise is leading a Beth Moore Bible Study at our house. I think she will do great with this and especially with this group of Ladies who all know that she cares for them. Denise is only just beginning to tap into her potential in her service to the Lord. There are many talents still yet to come out. Our time at Lighthouse is coming to a close I believe as I am being drawn to New Market Baptist. This church is very close to Camp Macoba but not only that I have had lunch with the Pastor there and we might end up helping them...we will see. It has been awhile since actually serving in a church and it is driving me crazy. Though we all have different gifts and God calls people into different ministries the common denominator is that it is all about serving others. A quote I heard in part of my devotion lately that has stuck in my mind is "the place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet".

As clear as day last Sunday in the middle of Randy's sermon the Lord revealed to me why we had been a Lighthouse for this short period. I must say it made me sad because I did not step up to the plate. Years ago I had helped work on the Constitution & By-Laws there without much movement. After all this time they had finally made it to the place where it had been worked on and finally brought before the church for discussion and possible amending. I got a copy and commented about some things that needed to be changed to insure better protection and accountability to Denise and even Randy. Without actually saying it I could feel that Randy hoped I would get involved but I could see that he did not want to fight this battle himself. I went to one of the several times it was discussed and bit my tongue. I then stayed away until it was over and decided. I justified it by saying to Denise that we had only been back a little while and we didn't want to cause a stir especially since we don't know how long we would be there. This was a mistake and I was ashamed and told God so. I knew in my heart that speaking up was the right thing to do but I didn't do it. This was a lesson I should not have had to learn.

I canceled our web page on Faith highway today because I know very soon a new great one is coming from my son-in-law Jason. Also I am getting rid of all the old ministry brochures because my son James is going to have us some first rate stuff in the near future. I really would like to have my whole family involved in this ministry. God has been connecting me with different groups of people for awhile now. I recently have made a connection with at group called MLL which stands for Market Leadership Luncheon. The have a web site. It is where a group of business leaders who are also believers meet on Thursdays for lunch each week. There is 30 minutes for lunch and generally two pastors who each speak for 15 minutes apiece and bring a message that applies to the market place. It is always uplifting. A man who got me involved Ed Maples, is someone I really would like to have on Board in some aspect of the ministry and he told me he would !

We have discovered a new way to use the fish I catch courtesy of my dad. Instead of tuna fish salad we use the fish I usually catch. It is great and better than any tuna I have eat. I could go on and on but I think I will end now as I have a few notes of encouragement to write and to set my agenda for tomorrow.