Our second week here was busy much like the first week was. The unpacking was completed but many chores were waiting in a queue to be accomplished. We were grateful that our home sold in just three days on the market and we closed on it just before leaving but we still had plenty of unfinished details to wrap up with other moving related items. We had a vehicle for sale that did sell last week so were able to remove that from our car insurance policy. We are still in the middle of working out cancelling our cobra coverage that extended Jonathan's health insurance coverage until our Tennessee policy took effect. We have been paying off final bills for things and closing Virginia accounts and finally got Jonathan's IRA set up to roll his 401K...all of this around the kids and his school work. Things have been crazy with paperwork and phone calls to be sure. (It is not all finished yet...we still have to change our licenses and tags and title on our van).
Our washing machine wasn't working properly either so we got a new one this past week...before that we were taking our laundry upstairs to a vacant apartment unit to do. We are thankful to have the ability to do our laundry right here in the kitchen...with four children there is plenty of it to do. Our oven was a pretty big mess so I cleaned it once but actually it needs further attention tomorrow. The chores are coming to an end though as far as special ones due to moving in.
We visited Costco and purchased an annual membership and stocked up on a few things. The kids really loved the free samples and our grocery trip was quite pleasant. Our pantry is full and I have been experimenting with a few meatless meals to help budget well. We also enjoyed a few old favorites this past week. Having a kitchen again is so nice.
Much of my homeschool curriculum arrived this past week and I spent several hours organizing it on our shelves. I always place book titles in week order and that takes quite a while. I still have math curriculum arriving that will be time consuming to organize but every other subject has arrived. I am so excited about this school year and all the things that we will be studying. I have also been writing out lesson plans and reading the first of our books that we will read aloud.
Jonathan's logic class ended last Friday. He made an A in the class. It was 60 hours in the classroom, many hours of reading and studying, and pages of problems worked out. He enjoyed the first class very much but it is definitely a lot of work. He was up early to slip in an hour of studying, often fitting a couple of hours in during nap/rest time, and then a couple more after the children go to bed each evening. He is quickly getting to know the other students and today he began his next course that will last for two weeks.
Like last week, this week was not without difficult moments. The 4th of July was a little hard because rain cancelled a cookout we had been invited to attend and we ended up having sandwiches instead. The kids were pretty bummed because we always get together with family back home and they were talking about missing people. Our cookout was postponed though and the day after we enjoyed good food and fellowship...the kids had a blast playing outside with friends.
I was really missing the mountains of home this week. Rain really cooled things off back home and friends kept posting misty mountain photos. Here rain seems steamy rather than misty and seems to occur right during events we want to be at but no other time. We have found a lot of beauty here though. We visited a pond with lily pads and a greenway attached and really enjoyed our walk there. We also visited the botanical gardens here this past Saturdy and they were amazing.
All in all, it was a good second week and we are looking forward to our third week.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Saturday, July 2, 2016
A busy first week
Our first week at the Memphis School of Preaching had a rough beginning. The drive from our home in southwestern Virginia to our new home in western Tennessee is supposed to take eleven hours (according to mapquest :))) Our journey with all four children took seventeen hours. We were only three hours into our trip when Jonathan's parents vehicle broke down on the side of the interstate. (With two of our kiddos inside!) We had stowed the backseat of our Kia Sedona so that we could fit overflow belongings that we didn't want in the back of the moving truck. Because of that only four people at a time could fit into our vehicle. Jonathan took the two children who were riding with us and myself to Target as soon as we came up with a game plan for how to handle our situation. Then he went back and got our other two children and his mother and brought them on to Target as well. We had called for a tow truck and figured out where to tow the vehicle for repairs and he got back and managed to shift all of the luggage from the broken down vehicle into the Kia just before the tow truck arrived. Then they headed off to the rental car company so that we could get a vehicle to continue our drive. They left their car to be worked on during the week that they were out with us helping to unpack. (Trust me, at this point we were tired already and all of that took around three hours or so to accomplish). We managed the rest of the drive with no other interruptions but it was around 10:30 at night by the time that we arrived at our hotel.
Our move in day occurred on Saturday and that went extremely smoothly. We had a number of preaching school students to help us unload the moving truck (which had been driven here by my dad with my sister along for company). We filled our apartment to the brim with boxes and furniture. Everything was basically a cluttered mess but with my trusty box cutter in hand I set out ripping open boxes and slowly brought order to the apartment.
In six days, thanks to the help from my in-laws, I managed to have every single box unpacked and the entire apartment clean and feeling like home. It might not have taken that long but we had quite a few errands that needed to be accomplished as well. We had to sign our papers for the apartment and get our keys, we had to pick up Jonathan's books from the library here, we had a big Target trip to make for things we needed (like lots of command strips to hang pictures on our walls!), we had to go and open a bank account here for Jonathan's direct deposit to go into, and a few other things. Around unpacking we were also ordering our homeschool curriculum for the next school and of course taking care of the four children. Also in the midst of our unpacking Jonathan was in class from 7am to 1pm each day. I was so glad to have Jonathan's parents along helping to unpack or I might still be unpacking well into the end of the year! Jonathan was getting out of class early in the afternoon but he had a lot of reading and homework assignments to contend with in his afternoon and evening hours. We are pleased with the apartment though and all of our neighbors are wonderful.
Jonathan's first class is "Logic" and it will last for two weeks. Sixty hours of class in two weeks is pretty intense but he is enjoying the class and his instructor very much. It is good to see him so happy each day...there is no question that our decision to come here has been a good one for our family. He had his first exam on Friday and we are looking forward to see the test score this week. Before their exam on Friday the entire class went to eat at Chick-fil-a for breakfast and Jonathan really enjoyed that time of fellowship.
Not everything about the week was easy or wonderful. There were tears shed this week as goodbyes had to be made to family. It has been hard to the children to get to sleep each evening in the new apartment (although that is getting better). There were plenty of stressful moments as we tried to unpack with so many little people underfoot. It was strange this week for me because Jonathan was meeting all of the other students in class and the kids were meeting friends from the building as they played outside with their poppy but being stuck inside unpacking I was meeting no one. It was nice last night to serve food at a banquet for teenagers and meet other wives and students.
All in all, we can consider our first week a huge success and we ended it today with a trip to the Memphis Zoo.
Our move in day occurred on Saturday and that went extremely smoothly. We had a number of preaching school students to help us unload the moving truck (which had been driven here by my dad with my sister along for company). We filled our apartment to the brim with boxes and furniture. Everything was basically a cluttered mess but with my trusty box cutter in hand I set out ripping open boxes and slowly brought order to the apartment.
Not everything about the week was easy or wonderful. There were tears shed this week as goodbyes had to be made to family. It has been hard to the children to get to sleep each evening in the new apartment (although that is getting better). There were plenty of stressful moments as we tried to unpack with so many little people underfoot. It was strange this week for me because Jonathan was meeting all of the other students in class and the kids were meeting friends from the building as they played outside with their poppy but being stuck inside unpacking I was meeting no one. It was nice last night to serve food at a banquet for teenagers and meet other wives and students.
All in all, we can consider our first week a huge success and we ended it today with a trip to the Memphis Zoo.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Love lifted me
We had our last worship service with our home congregation yesterday morning. It was a morning that was absolutely filled with encouragement and love. We had so many hugs and well wishes before Bible class even began and that alone was a steadying thing. Jonathan taught the Bible class and was able to do a presentation on our MSOP adventure. He talked mainly about why we are going, what it will be like for us there, and what will happen after he finishes up with preaching school. For his application essay he had written an equation that he called Desire + Ability + Need= Willingness to go. The desire portion is simple enough to understand, he has the desire to go and receive training that is needed in order for him to switch from being a business analyst writing and reviewing design plans for business cases for a fortune 100 company (among other things) to being a preacher of the gospel being able to teach and preach God's word. The ability part refers to skills that he has already developed. In the work environment he has done copious amounts of writing, teaching, and presenting. In our home congregation he has had the opportunity to teach the senior high Bible class for the past four years as well as doing short devotionals and occasional sermons so he already knew that the basic skills are in place to help him to be successful. Need is quite self explanatory as well. There is a need for people to be willing to teach the gospel and stand for the truth. Not only can a preacher reach lost souls but he can also uplift and encourage the congregation and strengthen them so that they can remain faithful. How could we not be willing to go with all of these things in place? He did such a good job with his presentation and answered so many questions that people had about our going to Memphis.
Yesterday was Fathers' Day and our children from the age of 9 to 18 were also leaving for camp so there wasn't enough time in the afternoon to be able to do a light finger foods fellowship as a send off for us as we generally might do when a family is leaving the area. We were not forgotten by any stretch of the imagination though and I think the way that our send off happened might have even been more special. During the opening prayer a special prayer was said for many things including for us and we were prayed for individually by name (all six of us!). Our song leader for the month of June sang two songs that are favorites of ours...Magnificat and The Greatest Command. Our minister mentioned us before his sermon and then afterward we were presented with a lovely basket full of small gifts. We received cards with money to help with our upcoming travel expenses. We received a grocery gift card to stock our kitchen when we arrive. We received snacks to eat on our eleven hour drive. We received fun games and activity books to help to entertain the children on the drive. We could not be more grateful for the outpouring of love from our brothers and sisters in Christ. During some of the stressful times ahead (exam weeks!) we will be able to look back on our send off and remember that we have a ton of people who love us and are rooting for us back home.
As I looked around our congregation of around 130 yesterday morning I saw faces that were dear to me filling every pew. My eyes lingered on some of our elderly people that we love because I fear that some of them may not be still there when we return later for visits. I studied the faces of children who are close friends to my own children and found it a little easier to be patient as they played in the lobby and halls for this last time for months. I made sure to store in my memory bank my little four year old daughter sitting on the lap of her "adopted grandmother", as she does every week and worried just a little about how she will feel this next week as we sit in a strange congregation to her without the two sweet ladies that she loves to sit with. I was sad that some faces that are dear to me weren't present in the audience because of cancer treatments and other sickness. I smiled to see families that I love sitting together and worshiping God together. I listened closely to the singing, knowing that a week from now that I will miss these voices that I am used to hearing as they praise God. I soaked in that sermon, realizing that it is the last time for many months that I will get to hear our preacher speaking. It was a lovely service but it was difficult in some ways it was hard, just as saying goodbye to our loved family and friends has been. We are blessed to be a part of a congregation full of Barnabas's though...encouragement all around us.
We are strengthened, fortified, and lifted up. We have family still to say goodbye to this week, we have appointments still to keep, we have packing and loading still to do, and we have the drive ahead of us. But we are excited and energized and so ready to begin this next adventure. We have four days left in our beautiful home in the valley between the mountains and then we will head to flat west Tennessee to a time that we have already been looking forward to for a year. We are a little more ready than we were just days ago because of the love shown to us yesterday. We are thankful that no matter where we go we are part of the Lord's Church and we know that we will have love shown to us in Memphis as well.
Yesterday was Fathers' Day and our children from the age of 9 to 18 were also leaving for camp so there wasn't enough time in the afternoon to be able to do a light finger foods fellowship as a send off for us as we generally might do when a family is leaving the area. We were not forgotten by any stretch of the imagination though and I think the way that our send off happened might have even been more special. During the opening prayer a special prayer was said for many things including for us and we were prayed for individually by name (all six of us!). Our song leader for the month of June sang two songs that are favorites of ours...Magnificat and The Greatest Command. Our minister mentioned us before his sermon and then afterward we were presented with a lovely basket full of small gifts. We received cards with money to help with our upcoming travel expenses. We received a grocery gift card to stock our kitchen when we arrive. We received snacks to eat on our eleven hour drive. We received fun games and activity books to help to entertain the children on the drive. We could not be more grateful for the outpouring of love from our brothers and sisters in Christ. During some of the stressful times ahead (exam weeks!) we will be able to look back on our send off and remember that we have a ton of people who love us and are rooting for us back home.
As I looked around our congregation of around 130 yesterday morning I saw faces that were dear to me filling every pew. My eyes lingered on some of our elderly people that we love because I fear that some of them may not be still there when we return later for visits. I studied the faces of children who are close friends to my own children and found it a little easier to be patient as they played in the lobby and halls for this last time for months. I made sure to store in my memory bank my little four year old daughter sitting on the lap of her "adopted grandmother", as she does every week and worried just a little about how she will feel this next week as we sit in a strange congregation to her without the two sweet ladies that she loves to sit with. I was sad that some faces that are dear to me weren't present in the audience because of cancer treatments and other sickness. I smiled to see families that I love sitting together and worshiping God together. I listened closely to the singing, knowing that a week from now that I will miss these voices that I am used to hearing as they praise God. I soaked in that sermon, realizing that it is the last time for many months that I will get to hear our preacher speaking. It was a lovely service but it was difficult in some ways it was hard, just as saying goodbye to our loved family and friends has been. We are blessed to be a part of a congregation full of Barnabas's though...encouragement all around us.
We are strengthened, fortified, and lifted up. We have family still to say goodbye to this week, we have appointments still to keep, we have packing and loading still to do, and we have the drive ahead of us. But we are excited and energized and so ready to begin this next adventure. We have four days left in our beautiful home in the valley between the mountains and then we will head to flat west Tennessee to a time that we have already been looking forward to for a year. We are a little more ready than we were just days ago because of the love shown to us yesterday. We are thankful that no matter where we go we are part of the Lord's Church and we know that we will have love shown to us in Memphis as well.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
The Beauty in Christianity
An article I read this morning saddened me because the author actually feels there is a great ugliness in Christianity. It is heartbreaking because she is choosing to step away from God and acknowledges that she will not ever return to serving Him. She cites several examples to offer reasons for her choice and those reasons are discouraging to hear.
Her reasoning does not illustrate the Christians that I know, however. The Christians I know actually don't spend vast amounts of time discussing politics. We are watching all of the election coverage to be sure, and we have opinions about the candidates, but I have quite a few friends who call themselves Christians who have not shared enough of their opinion with me for me to make much of a guess as to where they stand. The Christians that I know are trying to consider God's laws and statutes as they consider the candidates but, like other Americans, they are thinking about issues such as the economy and jobs, education, national security, and healthcare as well. The Christians I know understand that neither of those people running are doing much to demonstrate they are true followers of Christ but that we still need a leader to run this country and we have a civic duty (and a privilege one might add) to vote. Have some Christians made inflammatory comments and been unkind or judgemental on social media? Obviously they have (she cited an example after all of at least one person who did so). Have some Christians chosen to elevate an issue or two as priority and focus only on those items as they think about the ballot they will cast? Again, most certainly. But, the Christians I know aren't discussing politics at the church building. That is because while they are there they are talking about evangelism and reaching those lost souls that Ms. Ferguson says that we will loose for good. You see, the Christians I know understand that we are standing amidst a world that for the most part does not know God. We see the preciousness of human life around us- the precious nature of EVERY human soul.
The very words in the Bible do nothing to promote a bigoted and racist attitude. They do everything to admonish us to treat others without favoritism and with love. (If you are reading this and you wonder if that is true simply pick up any Bible near you and read the book of James.) God created man and His creation was good. We must love those around us. I have met missionaries who have worked in the slums of Rio De Janeiro living apart from their family for two decades to show love to the poor in South America. I have known those who worked in Tanzania, again for decades even establishing a preaching school there so that African men who want to learn to become ministers have someplace to study without leaving their own homes for two to four years. I have known missionaries who loved the people of Vanuatu so very much that they stayed in those Pacific Islands going so far as to take their two young children out into the bush to live with no electricity and running water for several years to help establish church congregations there. There is great love in the hearts of Christians and they are serving around the world!
The love doesn't end with missionaries. I have watched friends tirelessly work to serve on university campuses around the states not only teaching those students about the Bible but also being an encouragement during the struggles of everyday life. I have seen the men and women tired and worn out from working and taking care of their families who show up at the building to teach inner city school children every single week during the school year and who often work with those children tutoring them in schoolwork and helping them enjoy extracurricular activities in the summertime. I know ladies who knit blankets for the NICU and oncology treatment centers where every patient is a stranger to them. I have myself stood in the serving line at soup kitchens and homeless ministries dishing out the only home cooked meal that some of the people in line have had in months. I have seen teenage girls learn to use their mom's sewing machine to make pillow case dresses to send overseas. I have seen and participated in the countless hours put in to prepare VBS materials or week long camp experiences for students. The list goes on and on with the love that I have personally been able to watch others not only show but generously, freely, lavishly give.
I have experienced this love personally with brothers and sisters in Christ loving me and my family. I have had an entire congregation sending care packages to a soldier husband during his Iraq deployment and seeing tears as I at times felt overwhelmed with our first child as a newborn and my single mom status. I have been the recipient of months of meals for my family several times a week while struggling with hyperemesis gravidarum during my pregnancies. I have received sunshine baskets to help to encourage my own child hospitalized after surgery. I have received the cards, phone calls, hugs, and caring that brothers and sisters give to one another. And most recently I have had a most beautiful going away party for me as we prepare to leave our church family in the congregation we have called home these past few years. Time and again my church family has been there to support me and my family and to love us. These people, these Christians are my family.
Christians aren't perfect and sometimes those who wear the name of Christ aren't true followers. That much is evident with a quick look around the auditoriums of congregations all around. I have met those along the way who don't always behave in the way that God desires. (Never any who spoke of dancing on the grave of anyone!) I have also been a part of, or at least experienced, quite a few congregations in quite a few states and I have seen love move beyond those walls of the church building over and over. In fact, we have a sign at our building that says: "Enter to worship, leave to serve" and people take that charge seriously.
I am sorry for the experiences that Ms. Ferguson had but those are not the experiences she would find everywhere. I will be praying for her and for everyone who has been touched by reading that article. Christianity won't fail though because love never fails. Those who are truly Christians do love and they do so with all of their hearts.
Her reasoning does not illustrate the Christians that I know, however. The Christians I know actually don't spend vast amounts of time discussing politics. We are watching all of the election coverage to be sure, and we have opinions about the candidates, but I have quite a few friends who call themselves Christians who have not shared enough of their opinion with me for me to make much of a guess as to where they stand. The Christians that I know are trying to consider God's laws and statutes as they consider the candidates but, like other Americans, they are thinking about issues such as the economy and jobs, education, national security, and healthcare as well. The Christians I know understand that neither of those people running are doing much to demonstrate they are true followers of Christ but that we still need a leader to run this country and we have a civic duty (and a privilege one might add) to vote. Have some Christians made inflammatory comments and been unkind or judgemental on social media? Obviously they have (she cited an example after all of at least one person who did so). Have some Christians chosen to elevate an issue or two as priority and focus only on those items as they think about the ballot they will cast? Again, most certainly. But, the Christians I know aren't discussing politics at the church building. That is because while they are there they are talking about evangelism and reaching those lost souls that Ms. Ferguson says that we will loose for good. You see, the Christians I know understand that we are standing amidst a world that for the most part does not know God. We see the preciousness of human life around us- the precious nature of EVERY human soul.
The very words in the Bible do nothing to promote a bigoted and racist attitude. They do everything to admonish us to treat others without favoritism and with love. (If you are reading this and you wonder if that is true simply pick up any Bible near you and read the book of James.) God created man and His creation was good. We must love those around us. I have met missionaries who have worked in the slums of Rio De Janeiro living apart from their family for two decades to show love to the poor in South America. I have known those who worked in Tanzania, again for decades even establishing a preaching school there so that African men who want to learn to become ministers have someplace to study without leaving their own homes for two to four years. I have known missionaries who loved the people of Vanuatu so very much that they stayed in those Pacific Islands going so far as to take their two young children out into the bush to live with no electricity and running water for several years to help establish church congregations there. There is great love in the hearts of Christians and they are serving around the world!
The love doesn't end with missionaries. I have watched friends tirelessly work to serve on university campuses around the states not only teaching those students about the Bible but also being an encouragement during the struggles of everyday life. I have seen the men and women tired and worn out from working and taking care of their families who show up at the building to teach inner city school children every single week during the school year and who often work with those children tutoring them in schoolwork and helping them enjoy extracurricular activities in the summertime. I know ladies who knit blankets for the NICU and oncology treatment centers where every patient is a stranger to them. I have myself stood in the serving line at soup kitchens and homeless ministries dishing out the only home cooked meal that some of the people in line have had in months. I have seen teenage girls learn to use their mom's sewing machine to make pillow case dresses to send overseas. I have seen and participated in the countless hours put in to prepare VBS materials or week long camp experiences for students. The list goes on and on with the love that I have personally been able to watch others not only show but generously, freely, lavishly give.
I have experienced this love personally with brothers and sisters in Christ loving me and my family. I have had an entire congregation sending care packages to a soldier husband during his Iraq deployment and seeing tears as I at times felt overwhelmed with our first child as a newborn and my single mom status. I have been the recipient of months of meals for my family several times a week while struggling with hyperemesis gravidarum during my pregnancies. I have received sunshine baskets to help to encourage my own child hospitalized after surgery. I have received the cards, phone calls, hugs, and caring that brothers and sisters give to one another. And most recently I have had a most beautiful going away party for me as we prepare to leave our church family in the congregation we have called home these past few years. Time and again my church family has been there to support me and my family and to love us. These people, these Christians are my family.
Christians aren't perfect and sometimes those who wear the name of Christ aren't true followers. That much is evident with a quick look around the auditoriums of congregations all around. I have met those along the way who don't always behave in the way that God desires. (Never any who spoke of dancing on the grave of anyone!) I have also been a part of, or at least experienced, quite a few congregations in quite a few states and I have seen love move beyond those walls of the church building over and over. In fact, we have a sign at our building that says: "Enter to worship, leave to serve" and people take that charge seriously.
I am sorry for the experiences that Ms. Ferguson had but those are not the experiences she would find everywhere. I will be praying for her and for everyone who has been touched by reading that article. Christianity won't fail though because love never fails. Those who are truly Christians do love and they do so with all of their hearts.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Memphis, here we come
Today is the day. The day that my husband went to work and turned in his notice that he will be leaving in two short weeks to pursue other opportunities. We have known about this day for almost a year. It is a day that we consulted the wisdom of others about, prayed about, and discussed at length before it could even become a reality. It is a day that almost didn't happen. We almost let fear and worry stand in the way of this day and all that it means. It is not a moment that we took lightly since it involves our entire family moving 600 miles away from our home where most of our family members live.
In four weeks we will be moving to Memphis, Tennessee so Jonathan can attend the Memphis School of Preaching (MSOP) for two years. The fast-paced program basically accomplishes a full four years of study in two. Often times it will be stressful, which we know because we have friends who have gone there before us. There will be many scriptures memorized, many papers written, much Greek learned, and opportunities to preach and teach Bible class beyond what he has done already. Our time there will be busy and he will regularly travel on campaigns to participate in gospel meetings. All with four children in tow. And we can't wait to begin!
Around three years ago Jonathan was invited to participate in a preparation and delivery class at the congregation that we attend. It was a small class with a handful of students and it was designed to mentor to some of the men in the congregation and help them to become better speakers and teachers and it had students who weren't seasoned speakers already. Our congregation is blessed to have many excellent Bible class teachers and is always encouraging to people who want to become teachers. Jonathan was already teaching the senior high class at that time. The prep and del class was extremely useful to him in improving as a teacher to the senior high class.
His four years of teaching the teenagers gave him a desire to teach more. The first year that he taught he developed lessons about common household items and tools to do jobs that are mentioned in the Bible. (For example, he did a class on salt.) The second year that he taught he did a class on spiritual lessons that can be learned from Pixar. The third year that he taught he did an apologetics course combating evolution. This year he worked entirely from the book of Luke and did an overview during his teaching time. He always hated not having enough time to spend as he developed those classes and loved studying for them and preparing his weekly lesson. Reading, writing, and teaching are all skills that come naturally to my husband and they are skills that he has used extensively in the workforce.
Our congregation is diligent in supporting efforts to spread the gospel. We have several missionaries that we support and when they are home on furlough they often do presentations about their work abroad. During one of these presentations we heard the speaker talking about how many gospel preachers in different areas are getting older and closer to retirement age and not as many younger men coming to fill those roles of preaching and teaching. In general the Christian population in the United States has been decreasing with many young people leaving the church. He spoke about needing more people who are able to do the job and willing to do the job.
Around 18 months ago I was able to attend a ladies' day about beautiful feet that carry the gospel. I heard a lady speaking who had spent 8 years with her husband and children in Vanuatu where her husband was a missionary. She too spoke of the need for more people to have love for souls and want to teach the gospel. She specifically addressed mothers and grandmothers who were there asking them not to be selfish and to let their sons and grandsons go and preach even if it is not in their own hometowns. She asked wives not to be selfish if their husbands wanted to be ministers. I left that particular ladies' day with so many things to talk to Jonathan about.
We have also been so blessed in our lives with the pulpit ministers around us. The pulpit minister and associate minister at our own congregation have impacted our lives in ways that they have probably never imagined. They have challenged us to study the Bible and store for ourselves treasures in Heaven. Unlike many families though we have home away from home congregations when we visit family members. We have also been impacted by preachers in other congregations. We have been able to see quite a few men who came to preaching after having careers in other fields first and going to preaching school at later ages so we knew it was possible.
For years we have been serving in the church. Jonathan is a deacon who leads a fellowship team at our congregation. He has served on the table, led prayers, done devotionals, taught the teens, and helped with VBS. I have participated in planning many ladies' days and even directed one. I have taught everything from the cradle roll class to third grade. I have hosted breakfasts for the teen girls in our home. We have spent hours doing bulletin boards and working on curriculum for classes. We created a group for the children in our congregation from infants to fifth grade since there never was a group for them before where we meet at least every other month and do fun fellowship together so that the parents and the children can develop friendships. We have been trying to give our time and our talents to God and serve Him.
We have chosen homeschooling to educate our children and are doing our very best to train them in the paths of righteousness so that when they are old they will not depart from it. The children and I have Bible time each morning and Jonathan is often working with them on different topics whether it is getting ready for an upcoming Bible Bowl and learning the scriptures for it or studying character concepts. We are trying to teach them to pray to God and why they should. We want for our children to grow up to follow God as well and not because their parents did but because they fear and love the Lord.
All of this combined is why we eventually began to discuss the possibility of Jonathan attending preaching school. After months of raising support money, packing all of our belongings, getting our home ready to be listed, moving in with family while the house was for sale, and tying up what feels like a million loose ends we are ready. We are ready to go and embrace those challenges of the two years at MSOP. We are ready to learn there and form friendships with other Christians to encourage us down the road. We are ready to finish there and find employment with a congregation where we can serve God full time as a family.
Lord willing: Memphis, here we come!
In four weeks we will be moving to Memphis, Tennessee so Jonathan can attend the Memphis School of Preaching (MSOP) for two years. The fast-paced program basically accomplishes a full four years of study in two. Often times it will be stressful, which we know because we have friends who have gone there before us. There will be many scriptures memorized, many papers written, much Greek learned, and opportunities to preach and teach Bible class beyond what he has done already. Our time there will be busy and he will regularly travel on campaigns to participate in gospel meetings. All with four children in tow. And we can't wait to begin!
Around three years ago Jonathan was invited to participate in a preparation and delivery class at the congregation that we attend. It was a small class with a handful of students and it was designed to mentor to some of the men in the congregation and help them to become better speakers and teachers and it had students who weren't seasoned speakers already. Our congregation is blessed to have many excellent Bible class teachers and is always encouraging to people who want to become teachers. Jonathan was already teaching the senior high class at that time. The prep and del class was extremely useful to him in improving as a teacher to the senior high class.
His four years of teaching the teenagers gave him a desire to teach more. The first year that he taught he developed lessons about common household items and tools to do jobs that are mentioned in the Bible. (For example, he did a class on salt.) The second year that he taught he did a class on spiritual lessons that can be learned from Pixar. The third year that he taught he did an apologetics course combating evolution. This year he worked entirely from the book of Luke and did an overview during his teaching time. He always hated not having enough time to spend as he developed those classes and loved studying for them and preparing his weekly lesson. Reading, writing, and teaching are all skills that come naturally to my husband and they are skills that he has used extensively in the workforce.
Our congregation is diligent in supporting efforts to spread the gospel. We have several missionaries that we support and when they are home on furlough they often do presentations about their work abroad. During one of these presentations we heard the speaker talking about how many gospel preachers in different areas are getting older and closer to retirement age and not as many younger men coming to fill those roles of preaching and teaching. In general the Christian population in the United States has been decreasing with many young people leaving the church. He spoke about needing more people who are able to do the job and willing to do the job.
Around 18 months ago I was able to attend a ladies' day about beautiful feet that carry the gospel. I heard a lady speaking who had spent 8 years with her husband and children in Vanuatu where her husband was a missionary. She too spoke of the need for more people to have love for souls and want to teach the gospel. She specifically addressed mothers and grandmothers who were there asking them not to be selfish and to let their sons and grandsons go and preach even if it is not in their own hometowns. She asked wives not to be selfish if their husbands wanted to be ministers. I left that particular ladies' day with so many things to talk to Jonathan about.
We have also been so blessed in our lives with the pulpit ministers around us. The pulpit minister and associate minister at our own congregation have impacted our lives in ways that they have probably never imagined. They have challenged us to study the Bible and store for ourselves treasures in Heaven. Unlike many families though we have home away from home congregations when we visit family members. We have also been impacted by preachers in other congregations. We have been able to see quite a few men who came to preaching after having careers in other fields first and going to preaching school at later ages so we knew it was possible.
For years we have been serving in the church. Jonathan is a deacon who leads a fellowship team at our congregation. He has served on the table, led prayers, done devotionals, taught the teens, and helped with VBS. I have participated in planning many ladies' days and even directed one. I have taught everything from the cradle roll class to third grade. I have hosted breakfasts for the teen girls in our home. We have spent hours doing bulletin boards and working on curriculum for classes. We created a group for the children in our congregation from infants to fifth grade since there never was a group for them before where we meet at least every other month and do fun fellowship together so that the parents and the children can develop friendships. We have been trying to give our time and our talents to God and serve Him.
We have chosen homeschooling to educate our children and are doing our very best to train them in the paths of righteousness so that when they are old they will not depart from it. The children and I have Bible time each morning and Jonathan is often working with them on different topics whether it is getting ready for an upcoming Bible Bowl and learning the scriptures for it or studying character concepts. We are trying to teach them to pray to God and why they should. We want for our children to grow up to follow God as well and not because their parents did but because they fear and love the Lord.
All of this combined is why we eventually began to discuss the possibility of Jonathan attending preaching school. After months of raising support money, packing all of our belongings, getting our home ready to be listed, moving in with family while the house was for sale, and tying up what feels like a million loose ends we are ready. We are ready to go and embrace those challenges of the two years at MSOP. We are ready to learn there and form friendships with other Christians to encourage us down the road. We are ready to finish there and find employment with a congregation where we can serve God full time as a family.
Lord willing: Memphis, here we come!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)