My last meeting with our current minister, Pastor Doug. He's leaving us, after a very short four years, to move on to a position with another church in Zeeland. He will be doing outreach, working with churches that are broken, hurting and in despair. This job will be perfect for him. He is a very strong bible based, faith to move mountains sort of man. It is really his gift to go to churches that need help. Pastor Doug will rock in that capacity.
While I am grieving the loss of my friend and pastor, I know this was absolutely God's will. I know because God told me Pastor Doug was going. And that, my friends, is a miracle all on it's own.
You see, I do not "hear" the Lord. There are those who will get a very strong sense of what they are to do, what decision they are to make. One lady I know had to find a building where she was teaching a class. She was not from the area and left the directions at home. Had no phone. She prayed, Okay, Lord, I'm lost. How do I get there?
And she just drove onward. He told her where to turn. She did it. He said follow the white car ahead of you. She followed. He said cross this street then turn left into the parking lot. She did that. He said the largest building is the one you want. She walked in and found her classroom easily. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Things like this never happen to me. I have not got the ability to discern the Lords voice like that at all. There have been times when I have felt a twinge, like I need to go to the Goodwill on the north side, for example. So I do it and I find the exact thing I need for a prop for the show I'm doing. Or once it was the feeling I had to go to a fairly out of the way secondhand store-which I don't like to go into because it's filthy and smells bad. But off I went, and found all kinds of spectacular stuff just crammed into a basket for 3 dollars. If someone had bothered to look through all that "junk" they would have found vintage jewelry, vintage trims and ribbons, vintage patterns, some vintage fabrics, vintage singer parts for sewing machines, and a small vintage porcelain doll. But no one bothered to look. So I was the winner on that one. But those are the few times that come to mind when I've sensed God's nudge to go somewhere or do something.
Yet I felt it powerfully and strongly with Doug and that call. I knew he was going to go. He had to go. It was necessary to the plan.
I will miss him terribly, but I am also thrilled he's going to be doing a job he is uniquely called to do. This is a wonderful opportunity for him and Laura, and their boys as well. I pray for their continued good health and well being while they go onto this new chapter in their lives.
What an adventure!
While I am grieving the loss of my friend and pastor, I know this was absolutely God's will. I know because God told me Pastor Doug was going. And that, my friends, is a miracle all on it's own.
You see, I do not "hear" the Lord. There are those who will get a very strong sense of what they are to do, what decision they are to make. One lady I know had to find a building where she was teaching a class. She was not from the area and left the directions at home. Had no phone. She prayed, Okay, Lord, I'm lost. How do I get there?
And she just drove onward. He told her where to turn. She did it. He said follow the white car ahead of you. She followed. He said cross this street then turn left into the parking lot. She did that. He said the largest building is the one you want. She walked in and found her classroom easily. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Things like this never happen to me. I have not got the ability to discern the Lords voice like that at all. There have been times when I have felt a twinge, like I need to go to the Goodwill on the north side, for example. So I do it and I find the exact thing I need for a prop for the show I'm doing. Or once it was the feeling I had to go to a fairly out of the way secondhand store-which I don't like to go into because it's filthy and smells bad. But off I went, and found all kinds of spectacular stuff just crammed into a basket for 3 dollars. If someone had bothered to look through all that "junk" they would have found vintage jewelry, vintage trims and ribbons, vintage patterns, some vintage fabrics, vintage singer parts for sewing machines, and a small vintage porcelain doll. But no one bothered to look. So I was the winner on that one. But those are the few times that come to mind when I've sensed God's nudge to go somewhere or do something.
Yet I felt it powerfully and strongly with Doug and that call. I knew he was going to go. He had to go. It was necessary to the plan.
I will miss him terribly, but I am also thrilled he's going to be doing a job he is uniquely called to do. This is a wonderful opportunity for him and Laura, and their boys as well. I pray for their continued good health and well being while they go onto this new chapter in their lives.
What an adventure!