A Living, Growing Body

Ephesians 4:11-16
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ - from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

This Sunday is our last Sunday at our church here in Norwalk. While I am really looking forward to moving and seeing what God has in store for us next, I am very sad to leave my church family here. God has used this local body to get me closer to the "measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", and I am so grateful for the time He gave us here.

I'm thankful that God directed us here 7 years ago - to a Body that was living out Ephesians 4. We had much to learn (and still do), and as I reflect on the past several years, it's awesome to see how God placed us right where we needed to be to learn how to function as a family within a local church body. We have had more opportunities to minister than I could list, and we were consistently being equipped to do the work of the ministry. God gave us very dear friends in our former Pastor and wife. Pastor Craig taught us the importance of living out Ephesians 4, particularly the importance of edifying the Body and speaking the truth in love so that we can grow to be more like Christ. He also helped us discover the importance of gospel-centered living, and how the gospel is applicable to every part of our lives, not just our salvation.

We came to First Baptist seven years ago as a dating couple. Throughout our time here we've gotten engaged, married and have had 2 children. After ministering full time as a single woman for a few years at Calvary, God used First Baptist to give me the opportunity to learn how to do ministry as a married woman and as a mother - and those dynamics definitely change the degree to which you can be involved in ministry. What a blessing. We received Biblical counsel from Pastor Craig & Tracy when we went through a rough spot early on in our marriage. God was good to place us right where we needed to be to receive godly counsel that would spur us on to become more like Christ, counsel that encouraged us not to run from conflict, but to eagerly allow God to use it to further His work in us.

What a blessing to get to be a part of this local body as a joint that works effectively, by God's grace, to cause the growth of the body. I praise God for all of the other joints that make up the local body here in Norwalk. And I pray He will continue to use them to enable each other to grow.

We're Moving

It's been quite awhile since I've done a real blog post, and I figured it was about time to update. There is much to tell, but I'll try not to be too verbose. :)

There are 2 main events going on in our lives right now. #1 is detailed in my previous video post - we're expecting!! #2 is that we're moving in 2 weeks.

In God's sovereignty, we still haven't found an associate pastoral position for my hubby. We've been searching/interviewing/candidating for over 2 years now. After much prayer and wisdom-seeking, we decided to move back to SE Iowa and attend Kyle's home church (Calvary Baptist in Mount Pleasant) while he pursues his Biblical Counseling Certification. He'll still get to keep his current job and work long distance, we'll get to be close to his parents, and we'll get to keep preparing for future full time ministry.

We're REALLY going to miss all of our church family and being so close to my family, but I can't tell you how thrilled we are to get to be back at Calvary. Over the years, God has used the ministry and people of that church through His Word and Holy Spirit to bless us incredibly. Kyle was saved and baptized while there, I got to do full time ministry there, we met and were married there . . . I could go on. I am so excited that God is directing us back there and that we get to introduce our boys to the people and ministries there.

Another bonus that God has graciously given us is the opportunity to live in a HOUSE. I don't think I can adequately express in words how excited I am about this. While apartment-living has definitely met our needs, I am so grateful that God is giving us the opportunity to have a house. My in-laws have been doing most of the work on this topic, and I praise God for them and for how they continue to serve us in that way.

Yesterday I was reflecting on the many blessings God has given us while we've lived in the Des Moines area: Living close to my parents, sisters and brother; Getting to do ministry at our church in Norwalk for 7 years; Developing many wonderful friendships; God is so good. I was reading in Genesis and part of Jacob's prayer rang true for me -

Genesis 32:10
"I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant."

I realized again that I am not worthy of salvation and all of the spiritual blessing that it brings, let alone worthy of all of the physical blessings God has given me. He is so good. I love being His daughter, and I look forward to seeing how He will continue to bless me, unworthy as I am.

Coming soon . . .

October 3, 2012 - to be exact. :)