Good Wednesday to you! Michele and I would like to thank you for all of your cards, notes, comments, messages and calls this past week. It has been a tough time. Your prayers and thoughtfulness have overwhelmed us, and continued prayers for my brother Jonathan and his wife, Jenny, are greatly appreciated. Aleena Grace is in heaven, perfectly healthy and perfectly whole. Amen. Psalm 9:10 “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Trust can be a difficult road to walk down, especially when put into the context of trusting God. God often requires us to walk arduous paths, and doesn’t always tell us why, or show us the end result up front, He just asks us to trust Him and walk with Him by faith. Easier said than done. It was one year ago today that we closed the doors to our daycare center at Life Church Louisville. Serving our community for more than forty-four years, teaching and caring for hundreds of children, the center could no longer remain solvent with reduced state funding. The decision to close was a difficult one, filled with uncertainty and was weighed over and over for weeks. Sitting down with families and long-time employees, informing them of the boards decision, was without a doubt, the most difficult thing I have done administratively as a leader. When the last child left that afternoon, some of our staff gathered together with our director, joined hands, shed hot tears and prayed. My mind was flooded with questions about the future of the facility, primarily it’s purpose, care, and the desire I had of maintaining its legacy of serving families in our community. The vision of beginning a Dream Center, a volunteer driven organization that finds and fills the needs of individuals and families throughout the community, was massive for our small church. The Dream Center was the largest leap of faith in our ministry to date. It was a extremely intimidating. But, I was gently reminded of all of the “seeds” we had sown into making this dream a reality. When a farmer sows a large amount of seed, he reaps a large harvest. We had fed, clothed and cared for our community on a small level, but God was about to expand that exponentially because we had trusted Him in the small things. We had to remodel the building, which is slow, but is being done debt-free. We had to recruit and train more volunteers, we had to believe for equipment. One small step of trust at a time. Since the Dream Center opened in December of last year, we have fed thousands of people. We have had hundreds come for free clothing. We have provided career counseling and assistance, partnering with several staffing agencies, finding full-time employment for individuals who were under-employed or unemployed. Administratively we have updated our office equipment and operate with the latest non-profit software and systems. We have re-incorporated and have filed for our 501c3. God has sent people with administrative and accounting backgrounds, builders, electricians, plumbers and carpenters to do the work. He has sent food, clothing and grant-money. We have found favor in our community. All of these great things began with a hard, step of obedience…requiring a lot of trust. We have a long way to go and need a lot of support. But, God has promised us that we going to be a great “hub” in our community. How do we do that? One small step of trust and obedience at a time. Whatever you are facing today, ask God for His purpose and direction in it. Then walk, trust and obey! God is with you and He will be faithful!
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 13:04:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015