The Deep Breath before the Plunge

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - J.R.R. Tolkien;  The Fellowship of the Ring

If you've ever been adrift in a river, you know that there are parts that are smooth, where you drift forward at a pretty constant rate and encounter few obstacles.  Over time you notice that your rate of speed increases until you are whipping past rocks and flying past tree limbs in the water.  You are approaching the rapids.  Hang on!

We have found ourselves in the tranquil part of the river that lies between two areas of rapids.  We exited the first rapids after we moved into the apartment.  More rapids are ahead of us as we begin to plan our move.  Downtown awaits.

We were very fortunate to get a contract on our house late last week.  It just goes to show that when the Lord is ready to make it happen, He does.  I believe He had to bring us to a place of utter desperation for Him so that we would realize that He is all we need.  We simply must have a good understanding of that as we gear up for the ministry here in Everett.  We were very happy about the contract on the house, but I think our reaction was probably muted relative to how we might have reacted a few months ago.  We believe and we trust that God has a plan for us to purchase a house here in Everett.  That plan is contingent upon the sale of our house in Huffman.  We believe that He has a house picked out for us in this area, probably downtown.  It is possible that it has been waiting on us and hasn't sold for months, and it is possible that there are people downtown who are only now making the decision to put their house on the market.  All of these things require timing to be perfect, so we ultimately know that God is going to work it out His way and that the plan is perfect.  We used to have head knowledge of this, which was marked by words but often wasn't backed up by actions.  Now we have heart knowledge.

Lord willing, our house will close in mid-February.  What's next?  That's anyone's guess.  Amanda and I have talked extensively about where we think we need to be.  We have prayed and sought the Lord's guidance, and we keep coming back to some common themes.  Right now we live in a place that is a comfortable, safe suburb of Everett and Seattle.  It is ranked as one of the top 30 places in the United States to live.  People here have money and live very comfortably.  They generally busy themselves with their pets, sports, or filling their lives with the best of what is out there.  But, as I have said before, these things are all empty and are an attempt to fill a God-sized void in their souls.  The unfortunate part is that, because they can purchase their way out of anything, they don't "need" God.  They are hardened to Him.  Worse yet, many of them would tell you that they go to church occasionally and therefore believe that they are saved.  But you don't see the fruit in their lives that indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit.  There is no such thing as a fruitless Christian.

Isaiah 29:13

And so the Lord says,

“These people say they are mine.

They honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

And their worship of me

is nothing but man- made rules learned by rote.

As a contrast, if you travel downtown you have a completely different element.  You see the homeless, the drug addicts, the poor, the destitute, the imprisoned, the abused, and you even see some of the rich that I described above.  These are all elements of the urban environment, and Everett is similar to a mini-Seattle.  Downtown isn't a dangerous place, but it also isn't a comfortable place.  It is a place where we see ministry opportunities around every corner and even when we step out the front door.  People who have hit bottom many times will come to recognition of the God-sized hole in their lives and will take action to fix it for eternity.

Matthew 5:3

 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

I got to eat lunch with my beautiful bride today and she said something that resonated with me.  We were discussing where we should live and she said that she feels like we aren't supposed to be somewhere that is perfectly safe.  I couldn't agree more.  While the Lord won't always lead you into extreme danger, He also won't always keep you where you are comfortable.  

This is the specific area that we are praying over.

We hope to find the right place in the downtown Everett area.  There you can walk almost anywhere and you will encounter people from all walks of life as you are going.  There are shelters, restaurants, jails, movie theaters, office buildings, and apartments all in a relatively small area.

Starting of Ministry Work

In our last update we had introduced you to Mike, our home inspector and fellow church planter.  The Lord clearly orchestrated our meeting as we have discovered so many similarities in our personalities and plans.   Since the last update we have discovered that he and his family are friends that we never knew we had.  We have spent a lot of time together as a group, talking about ministry plans and various things that are on our hearts.  They have really turned into an oasis for us in the middle of all of our chaos.

Last Tuesday night we met up at an apartment complex nearby where the church meets.  This complex serves individuals who are in lower income families.  Some individuals have battled drug addictions in the past and have had their own children in the foster system.  The church meets there to provide a free meal and fellowship with the people that live there.  We had a great evening and, due to an unusually low turnout, we got to spend the evening talking to a number of very nice people.  We were not allowed to do a prayer with the group, but we did get to tell them a bit about our lives and invite them to come worship with us on Saturday night.  Several of them showed up that night!

Mike invited me to teach a small group study at their church after he preached last Saturday night.  It went really well and appeared to be well received by those in attendance.  As is customary, we ate a meal together as a church after all of the teaching sessions were over.  This church is a true family environment where the people care about and love each other as though they were part of the same family.  As it turns out, we ARE in the same family.  This is the way that the body of Believers are supposed to act toward each other.  This is what you see when the early church was described in the book of Acts.

Mike has kept the door open for us to continue to do more through his church.  We feel that the Lord clearly has this door opened and we are willingly walking through it.  We have a lot we can learn from Mike and his family, and there are numerous opportunities through their church and ministry to begin to engage the community in a meaningful way.  None of us know what the future holds, but for now, we will stay on this course.

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

The picture below was taken last week on a typical morning here in the Seattle area.  It has become largely symbolic of our journey as a family.

Ahead we see a road that curves around a bend.  We cannot see around the corner.  There are a few lights along the road and some dark places in between.  You can travel two ways on this road, and there are even arrows which insistently point in the other dirrection, loudly stating "you're going the wrong way!!!"  Objects can be seen in the distance, but their form is not clearly defined until you get closer to them.  Are they trees or buildings?  People or rock formations?

Psalms 25:4-10

Show me the right path, O  Lord;

point out the road for me to follow.

 Lead me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in you.

 Remember, O  Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,

which you have shown from long ages past.

 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.

Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,

for you are merciful, O  Lord.

 The Lord is good and does what is right;

he shows the proper path to those who go astray.

 He leads the humble in doing right,

teaching them his way.

 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness

all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

The Lord is revealing to us just what we need to know in that moment and no more.  We can't see where we are going.  We would never have guessed that we'd encounter someone like Mike and his family here and that this would detour us.  A year ago we would never have imagined that we'd be living in Washington.  But we didn't need that information during that time period.  The road that the Lord has laid before us is curved, but it is a road.  And make no mistake:  He has made its way and has cleared the path before us.  He is our leader.

Joshua 24:14-15

“So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”