Here is a link to the song By your side by tenth avenue north http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J95rAr0gOFU it is a favorite of mine right now.
This morning as I was reading about Paul, I was again reminded that it was 14 years after the scales fell off his eyes that he was a “known and accepted” man of God. It got me to thinking: Saul (soon to be Paul) gets blinded by a great light, has a talk with Jesus and goes blind. When the Lord tells Ananias to go there and pray for him…. Ananias knows Saul’s reputation of killing Christians and decides to point that out to God (something I would TOTALLY do). So he eventually goes, the scales fall from Saul’s eyes, he is baptized and becomes a follower of Christ. That is a pretty outstanding conversion…. but it took “man” 14 years to accept Paul. I wonder if I fault-er because of time tables….. I wonder if I doubt great calls and communications with the Lord because it isn’t “happening fast enough”.
Most you you know that Phil and I have been here in NC for 9 years. I remember our NC calling…well…really Phil’s. We were living in a small apartment in California. I liked California…the weather, the life…. it seemed so “posh” to live there. I liked my job and I liked my friends….why would I want to move? Phil was being called into a new ministry and in the second bedroom as I walked by on my way to get my morning coffee…. I saw a US map…. it was just laying on the floor…. I didn’t ask questions…. Phil once baptized a guy in Balboa park with a bottle of water and a towel…. so I just waited. I can’t remember the time frame, but my heart sank as I walked by one morning and it was folded in half…. only the middle and east coast showing. I still had no questions….. I knew we had sent resumes to all the East Coast Supervisors…. so it was obviously a possibility. Phil and I sat on the sectional watching TV and the Lord said to me, “Phil needs a haircut”. My first thought, that is ridiculous Lord! But the feeling was so strong. Now…this is normal conversation between Phil and I….so it was not at all weird for me to tell him. I said, “Ummm God wants you to get a hair cut for some reason.” Phil said, “Right now?” We walked everywhere in those days and so we walked down to the barber and got a trim…. I think we had cell phones, but I am not sure that we relied on them as much….. nothing happened at the haircutting place, but neither of us felt dumb about it…. as we approached the apartment the phone was ringing…Phil grabbed it and it was Glenn Burris….. the supervisor from from the South East District…. he was going to be in LA the next day and wanted to meet with us. We laughed because of the hair cut…. he really did need one…especially for an interview! We sat and ate with Glenn and Debbie… God just came right in the middle of it and soon we were off to Matthews, NC. I clearly remember the vision God to Phil and me too. We fell in love with this area…. and we can’t seem to let go. Phil has gotten a few offers in other states…. we just have not been released to leave here….. and so I am glad for Paul’s account…. because timing does not minimize the dramatic way that God brought us here…. and it does not lessen the calling…. God is cool that way!
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