Spring has officially sprung here in Northern California (not to mention a million different pollen dumping flowers I seem to be allergic to). This week in particular we have had rain every day! While rain normally puts me in a slump it has reminded me of the showers of blessings Steve and I have been receiving from our Lord. (This is the part where I kick myself in the seat of my pants for not updating you sooner because I'm bound to leave out something good!)
The blessings go all the way back to Christmas break, but for the readers sake I have selected a top three to share:
1. After leaving my parents house we came back to California for Steve to take a week long class on evangelism. He felt it was nothing short of powerful. (I'm taking it now and I totally agree!) One thing that has really stuck out to both of us is the concept of fishing. (You Mississippi Folk will like this one!) Many times when we share we go out with fear of rejection. On the other side when nothing comes from sharing we feel disappointed. Here's where the analogy gets good. Now those of you down south who like to fish know that sometimes you can go all day without a bite. A true fisherman, however, loves fishing so much that he's willing to go back again and again just because he loves it. We should love sharing our faith in the same way. Not for the end result but because we just love to fish! (If you're more of a deer guy the same analogy can be used for hunters out there.) ;)
2. After Steve's class we were privileged to go up and visit Steve's family in Washington. It was so nice and relaxing to get away. While we were there we had a Merry Martin Luther King day (aka Christmas) with Mom and Dad R. and Mike and Kayla. I am a lucky girl to have such wonderful in-laws! We also got to meet with some awesome church planters who both encouraged us and challenged us. I'm not sure how many of you know this but church planting may be one of the hardest jobs in ministry. Our North American Mission board can only support a starting church for about 5 or less years. This is so they can keep opening new churches in unchurched areas. It does, however, make it very challenging for churches who are in slow evangelizing areas like Washington state or San Francisco. I challenge you to see if your church is supporting a specific Church plant. I believe they would tell you that every little bit helps!
http://www.seektheveritas.com/ Here is the link to the church plant Mike and Kayla help out with.
3. Steve now has a second job working for Life Way. He loves it! We have been so blessed! We have been praying for a miracle to help us start working off student loans and God has answered our prayers. Not to mention he has a discount for all those books off his wish list:) The moral of this story is expect God to answer prayer. So often we pray generally and without any real faith of Him answering. So be encouraged He hears you and loves to answer you!
We will be better about writing all the blessings God is pouring out in the future! Please know that we love and miss you all so much! As always the offer stands if you want to visit CA you have a place to stay.
In Christ,
Laura
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