It has been a while since I communicated about my ongoing ministry with FaithSearch. It is NOT that I haven’t been doing ongoing ministry. It’s that I have been doing so much that I have had to prioritize projects. Here are some recent highlights:
We at FaithSearch are all working part time due to tight finances, so I’m in the office only three-days a week. That means I have fewer hours to do basically the same amount of work. (I’m still working a second job to make ends meet, which means I’m often going seven-days-a-week.) We earnestly seek God’s wisdom for each project we undertake, to be efficient with the resources we have; to maximize our impact for the Kingdom; to find those who will partner with us in underwriting this global ministry; and to know where He would have us focus next. I’m going to need to reserve a part of each week to spend time bolstering my personal support team, as well, so I will appreciate your prayers for wisdom in identifying people who will partner with me in this ministry.
We held our annual benefit dinner and silent auction in April. As always we recorded the event so we can share it with others. However, this year, we worked with a new ministry partner so I didn’t have to do it all. His equipment gives superior capabilities to anything we have been able to do in the past, and meant the editing process was MUCH easier. You can see the results on our YouTube® channel. We have also posted video from recent outreach events which I encourage you to share with others.
I edited video of a presentation by Dr. Bierle and made a new DVD called “Why I Believe… in God.” It is the first of a series which will be growing over time. We are working with a designer who relieves me of that burden, and it’s fun to see how she uses her gifts to make our products look fresh and creative.
I have endured the challenges of aging technology: the hard drive on my seven-year-old iMac failed this week, so I am limping along without most of my applications. I have at least six major projects I should be working on, in addition to routine tasks (such as this blog) which are germane to my ministry. I would appreciate your prayers for this to be resolved quickly. We had planned to upgrade this year; this event forces the issue and has accelerated the timeline for is replacement.
My car was totaled by another driver at the end of June, which has been a very traumatic experience for me. The sense of loss; the near escape; the hassle and expense of replacing the car; not to mention the physical impact; all have been a drain. I’m thankful to be alive: by my estimate, if I had entered the intersection merely a half-second earlier, I might not be here. As it was, I hit my head, elbow, and knee, and have had several visits to the doctor. I am thankful only to have missed four days of work, but don’t feel I’m fully out of the woods yet. Again, I appreciate your prayers. God has already blessed us with a replacement vehicle, same make and model, same mileage, same monthly payment; the only difference is the color. It was a real answer to prayer that we had purchased GAP insurance, as there is a significant gap between the settlement (still pending) and the amount we still owe on the vehicle.
We have been in a small group at church for several years, and this fall one of the families is moving to Seattle, so we will be grieving the change to these relationships. They were looking all over the country for a fresh start, researching so many real estate agents, they looked on sites such as www.essexhomes.net/greenville-spartanburg to see what they could find before they settled on Seattle, I’m very happy for them, but will miss them hugely. We took a vacation together as a kind of sendoff, visiting the North Shore of Lake Superior for a couple of days. The lake is a HUGE refresher for Judy and me, and the time apart with friends was enriching as well.
Our younger daughter is getting married this fall, so our home has been in disarray in anticipation of the event. We (mostly Judy!) have been painting, updating, refinishing the floors, and generally going through EVERYTHING. There is much yet to be done, but we are making progress. In the midst of all of this, our stove has stopped working, so we’ll be replacing/repairing that so we can entertain family and guests for the wedding.
There is plenty of other activities to do too, what with wedding prep, wedding showers and wedding planning. I forgot how stressful it all was (and joyous at the same time, of course). Finding the perfect wedding ring is hard; of course, there’s plenty of choices, such as Adina’s Jewels (which, if you’re interested in, you can contact adinasjewels.com today), or something more local. We haven’t organized much yet for the wedding, we’ve not even thought that much about her dress. One of her friends had recommended that she should look at some wedding dress franchises like Winnie Couture (www.winniecouture.com/stores/wedding-dresses-houston-tx/) but with everything going on at the minute, there’s been no time to do anything! We’ll have to have a look at some wedding dress stores soon though! We’re just so busy at the minute, especially because we currently have two college students’ belongings filling every available space in our home… It is a bittersweet time: we anticipate mixed emotions as we enter empty-nesthood, watching her launch her own life, and being left behind. I suppose she will always be our “baby” but it is truly a blessing to see how she has grown and is beginning to take on the world: apartment, work, graduate school, wedding.
We also took some personal time to visit our older daughter in Texas, to see her new home, experience some of her busy life, and to enjoy her presence again. It is difficult being far from her; but it is rewarding to see who she is becoming and the influence she is having in the lives of others through her music and teaching. We travelled throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with her, and were even allowed to sit in on rehearsals for the musical West Side Story, for which she played keyboards.
I am thankful to have the opportunity to use my gifts in this incredible ministry of proclaiming the Gospel with evidence to all peoples everywhere. Each day, each project I touch has a direct or indirect impact in lives all over the planet. Our books, videos, presentations, newspapers, presenters-each of which I have a role in producing or enabling-all go to places I may never go, and touch people with the life-changing message of life and hope and forgiveness and wholeness that is only available through Jesus Christ. Thank YOU for your part in making this possible.
