Thursday, October 29, 2009

Want to join us?

God is so good. I might not understand what He's doing, but I know He's in control, so I AM DECIDING to trust Him again today. I refuse to get in the way of His plan, so I will trust and obey. Yes, I need the prayers of my friends, I thank God for my friends as the verse I posted on Facebook for today says:

Two people are better than one because together they have a good reward for their hard work. If one falls, the other can help his friend get up. But how tragic it is for the one who is all alone when he falls. There is no one to help him get up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

We have a good reward. I know it looks dark and confusing, but that's with the natural eye. We have just been allowed to turn a corner into our full time ministry and yes it's a big one, a scary one if we aren't careful, for those of you who don't know what I am talking about, I will try to be as brief as possible. Yesterday Oct. 28th, Paula was part of another round of budget cuts where she has worked for 9 1/2 years. This job was given to her by God back in 2000, this job allowed us to move to Georgia and pursue our fulltime ministry, it gave us the flexibility to home school our kids, take advantage of a home based business opportunity and allowed me to be a stay at home dad…

Some of you know the struggles we have been “blessed” with these last 10 years, because of this decision. It has not been an easy road for any of us, I could write a full blog about this, it’s not a decision to be made or taken lightly and I would be more then willing to discuss this with anyone, but the bottom line is that God told me to do this, He NEVER told me it would be easy, but He promised it would be worth it and I HAD TO BE OBEDIENT, I am accountable to no one but my Father. I have struggled with satan on a daily bases and continue to do so, but my Lord will be victorious. I have fought this fight with many dear friends at my side, standing with me, praying for me and listening to me complain and watching me struggle without having answers for me, or thinking they had the answer, but it was just the wrong time. I know they meant well and got frustrated with me because their solution was not my solution. I know how frustrating it can be to give advice that’s not received, I heard all the advice and for those of you who think I ignored you to do my own thing, I didn’t. I heard it all, took it to my Father, prayed about it, stored it for later and yes, I did try to ignore some of it, because it wasn’t what I wanted to hear at that moment or I hadn’t made myself clear in expressing the real problem, but I thanked God for the advice given.

So here we are looking to Him and leaning not on our own understanding. I invite you to join us on this journey as God is about to do some stuff we might not understand. He asked me a long time ago to wait on Him and I’m not claiming to have received any kind of epiphany or vision. I wish I could say that last night God opened my eyes and showed me that it was going to be alright. He didn’t. I slept fine, just your normal weird dreams with no hidden meaning…that I know of at this time, but I woke up this morning and had to make the decision to trust Him. I pray that this corner we have turned opens up to both of us being allowed to work full time in our ministry. Paula has been attending classes for the last three years to obtain her ministerial credentials. She has a gift that can take her anywhere, she is a teacher and a trainer, she is sought after as an expert in numerous fields, she has already been approached by someone who attended one of her recent classes, asking if they could partner together on a project. The last couple years she has had to decline invitations to speak at or train for different groups with income opportunities, because of the conflict with her position. Now that door is open and she can take these opportunities to do contract work on behalf of Sweetrees. I still have no clear direction to what He wants me to do TODAY. I have been a stay-at-home dad officially for the last 12 years and the five years prior to this I was paid to be a parent with Paula at a residential care facility. The years before were spent trying to find my self or my career… I never received any training that could be marketed today. So the idea that I could just go out and get a job causes some real issues. I know I have been called to minister, to pray, to be a watchman, so I am excited about and I look forward to any opportunity where I can serve. Again I say thank you to all my friends, both near and far who have walked Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 with me or have allowed me to walk with them. Because “Two people are better than one because together they have a good reward for their hard work. If one falls, the other can help his friend get up. But how tragic it is for the one who is all alone when he falls. There is no one to help him get up.” I refuse to allow anyone to be alone. It may not produce a paycheck and it may not make sense to those looking in from the outside, at our “situation” but it is what I am called to be…Jenoah… Noah sounds like the Hebrew word for “rest” I am called to help you find rest in His name. I may struggle with this ability myself, I am no Superman, I am human and I am weak, therefore I will REQUIRE you to be patient with me, as we walk together and I will be patient with you. I may not have the answer…as a matter of fact I guarantee I won’t have the answer, but I know the One who does and I will pray with and for you to hear that answer when He is ready to give it. I will listen and I will pray. I’m not good at picking up the phone to call you, I am praying for that gift, but until then, I am here by email, Facebook, phone call (you might need to leave a message on my voice mail) or in person. You are not wasting my time when you need to vent, dump or just share…my time is His time. If I don’t answer the phone or get right back to you, it’s because I am either busy spending time with God, with my family, or with another friend…

So are you ready to walk with us and see what God is doing? I promise you it won’t be boring…
~Q!Q~

(fyi: my “watching and praying…always.” tag.)

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My family

My family