For my Memorial Box Monday, I'm going to talk about our current situation and all the ways that we have seen God move on our behalf. Moving is always a huge undertaking but we know that the Lord is in control and it is always fun to watch Him work out all the details.
It really started with Alan being asked to be on this proposal for a client in Chicago. It was a process that lasted several months. We put out trust in the Lord that if He wanted us in Chicago - He would bring this about. Well - He did!
Next - finding a place to live. This is a big decision. It shapes where you go to church and who your neighbors will be. Your sphere of influence is greatly determined by this choice. Again - we saw God's faithfulness as He gently led us through this process. Now that we are here - we see how perfect His guidance was.
The last couple of months, Alan and I have both felt like the Lord was steering us toward ministry with young adults. We live in a very young area of Chicago - we are the mom and dad of our street! The other two units in our building are young people and the guy above us, as it turns out, works for KPMG also. What are the chances of that!
We had been given some information on the Lakeview area by a friend and in there was a website for a church plant in our area. It turned out to be just a few blocks away from us. We checked it out yesterday and both felt such confirmation about it. It is in our neighborhood (something that we really wanted), it has about 35 young people and a young pastor and his family. As we talked with the pastor after the service, he said that he and his wife has been praying for a mature Christian couple to come along that would mentor and disciple the young people of the church. WOW Is leaving the familiar, good friends and family hard? YES - but when you know that you are fulfilling God's purpose for your life, it is so very doable!
God is so good to give us confirmation after confirmation that we are following His path for us. He doesn't have to do that - but He is just gifting us with this encouragement. Every day is an adventure when you choose to follow Jesus Christ. I love not knowing what is ahead but completely trusting the One who leads.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
Thats really cool! Our speaker talked about that verse in chapel today.
ReplyDeleteHey Chrisann, loved reading this post... I'm adding your blog to my RSS feeds.
ReplyDeleteJenny and I are in some transition of our own so this hit home... We were asked to lead the Cleveland team. Three times I've turn them down. Now, the ministry has been turned over to OSU to lead from afar (in the absence of a director), and once again, I've been asked. This time however, the very first thing I thought of when I read the proposal was Jonah fleeing Nineveh. Needless to say, I'll be distance coaching Cleveland area ministries 3 days/wk, "distance coaching" my part of the ministry at OSU 1 day a week, and the perk is a day a week to take classes at Ashland. It's a huge experiment, a pretty cockamamie plan, but God's in it. Over the next year we'll be asking the Lord if this should be a permanent call with a move.
We can pray for one another!
Very Cool. That very is my life verse...it's the one I use for the "Juggler's Philosophy of Life" I'm very excited for y'all. Can't wait to see all that is God is going to do!
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