Thursday, May 31, 2012

Settling In

I am really excited about the news I will share in this post, Katie and I have settled on a Church that we believe God is calling us to be committed members and involved ministers to (not a ministry position, but lay-ministry).  After visiting a few different churches, we have decided to plug back in with Bethel Baptist Church of Fruitport MI, the church which I grew up going to for something like 12 or 13 years.  I am very excited about this mostly because I have been longing to finally settle into a church and get deep in ministry!

Not only do the people at Bethel already feel like family, but the relationship that I have with them, and they with us, will allow us to get involved much more quickly.  Katie and I are particularly excited to work with the children, teens, and college age kids!  Bethel has a new pastor after a year and a half of searching, so the whole church is buzzing as churches usually do in that situation. We are excited to be a part of the new direction that pastor Paul is looking to bring to the church, as well as we are excited to get to know him and his wife and two young children.

Bethel has some very unique ministry opportunities especially focused on the children and teenage groups.  The Church is located right across from the public high school and elementary school, and very close to the middle school!  They have had some wonderful ministries through the years that have allowed kids to come to after school programs at Bethel.  In recent years they have had to cut back on those programs because of under staffing, but we are praying that we can get the staffing to save those wonderful ministries!

I ask that you would join us in praying for the health and focusedness of Bethel.  The church has been through a lot of change since I left for college 8 years ago, but it has a great people with a passion for God, so we ask that God would make his plan for bethel clear and that he would give us the courage to be strong and courageous as we enter this body and join in the fight for the Gospel with them!

Thanks for reading, you are all very encouraging to us and we cannot tell you how much we enjoy when you leave us comments!  Thanks for your prayers and we love you!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

A Worth Divided!

Team Worth finds itself facing its greatest separation ever, for more than twice as long as ever!  Katie and Eden flew out of Grand Rapids on Wednesday for New Jersey to enjoy Memorial Day with her family.  They are not scheduled for a return until Saturday June 2nd.  The time and distance seemed a daunting task, but it is funny how God often uses the things we fear to work mightily in our lives.

The last month or two Katie and I began allowing frustration and arguing to get a foothold in our marriage.  We have never been prolific arguers, but recently you wouldn't be able to tell.  If marriage teaches you how selfish you are, then becoming a parent only intensifies that awareness.  I say this because, most of our arguing stems from our selfish desires.  We want our personal free time and both usually feel as though we have received the short end of the stick.

I have attempted to pin this recent bickering on a thousand different things, but it has clearly stemmed from a lack of intimacy with God, our Creator and Redeemer.  Now, Katie and I are finding that just having a couple days of distance has allowed us so see past our circumstances and the busy stress that brings out our selfishness.  We have become more acutely aware of how desperately dependent we must be on God, and how important it is for us to cultivate a daily awareness of His work in our lives.

I can also testify to the truth that absence does make the heart grow fonder!  I miss Katie like the desert misses rain.  This also aids in gaining a new perspective and refocusing our desires on our spouse, as opposed to ourselves.

I don't write this to say we are cured, or that just because we know what is wrong the struggle is now over.  I just write this to update you with how God is working in our lives.  It is a difficult process ripping out the deep seeded roots of selfishness.  A long and difficult process, but we cannot let bitterness find its way into our hearts or our marriage.  We must learn to love as Jesus loved us, giving Himself up for us.  That is what we vowed to do on the day we said I do, and I anticipate that this struggle with be a life long one.

Thanks for taking a moment out of your day to read what is new in Team Worth!  We would love to hear your feedback if you have gone through similar trials as this, or if you have an encouragement for us.