THOUGHTS FROM A FORMER PASTOR'S WIFE--PART 2

THOUGHT NUMBER TWO--The Leap Of Faith

When we made the decision to leave our pastorate, we were sure that we had done the right thing. I still believe we did though there have been some challenging days since. But, for the most part, this move was a leap of faith that increased our faith and tremendous, unexpected blessings seemed to follow. We have had some of the greatest victories of our lives in the economic realm since resigning, while at the same time having some of the biggest uncertainties face us as far as earning money goes.

Even after seven months my little part time job is the ONLY income we can count on in a "natural" or "normal" sense--by that I mean that I usually know how often I will work. But all the jobs Clint does (he has at least four part time jobs) are "on call" type jobs. You never know when or IF you will be needed. He barely worked during the month of June and then had more income the first few days of July than all of June combined. There is absolutely no way to project our monthly income until the month is over!

Our already limited monthly income has been reduced by about half most months. We had been working under a sizeable pay cut for the 18 months previous to our resignation. We had offered to take the cut, so please don't think our church was purposely trying to limit our income! But that meant that most savings were already dwindling. Still, I have been amazed that Clint may work only a few days to my 12+ days per/month and he always brings in more money than me. I am very happy with my pay by the way--so that's not a concern! I believe the "anointing" for earning an income is on him as head of the family so that even in these circumstances, he never fails to provide. This fact alone increases my faith.

Some people would call us fools for taking such a risky step this late in our lives. as I've said before, I wouldn't recommend doing such a thing lightly. Our past experience walking through the Christian life helped us recognize the proper timing and how to trust for provision.


Stay tuned for my next post on "Thoughts From a Former Pastor's Wife."

Meanwhile, on other fronts....I'm moving forward on publication of "The Cry From a Distant Field." Hooray! Also we are experiencing a very serious heat wave here in Michigan. Thankfully, we have air conditioning in our house! Today I spoke at a tri-county ladies' prayer luncheon quite a distance from my home. The meeting went so well! Their usual meeting room is not air conditioned so we met in an adjoining room. It was pleasant, and the ladies were so sweet to turn out in such weather, but it did get a little warm before the event was over. We had a great time together and I continue to marvel at how the Lord seems to use stories from our lives in our evangelistic and church-encouraging efforts. Today my topic was about how God spoke to my heart while I was in Africa in 2004! There was a lot of interest in my books and I was thrilled for that!

Stay cool, and BLESSINGS, Lori

CUT AND DRIED--WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED?

As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes, For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. Psalm 103:15-16

The funeral director in my small hometown had three funerals today. One was of a beloved teacher of mine. This is somewhat unusual to have that many funerals in one day in town that size. My husband, Clint, will have worked at three funerals in a week's time by next Tuesday. I worked on filing and cataloguing countless obituaries at the library this week as well. It kind of made me think about our lives and how or if we will be remembered.

This evening I "cut" and "dried" two bunches of the flowers pictured here. One was the yellow yarrow, and the other, the very profuse baby's breath that you see being held up by the iron fireplace grate. It got very big this year and needed a prop! These flowers would quickly fade and be forgotten unless I took pains to preserve them. Our lives are similar. I surely wish some of my ancestors had left better information about their lives. I'd like to know more about them!

But as Christians, we must answer the question, "Will we be remembered?" If so, it should be for our Christlike lives and the people we led to the Lord. We might also be remembered through the children we brought up who carry on the faith after we are gone. It's humbling to think about after reading the above Psalm. It really doesn't take long for us to be forgotten unless we are diligent to leave something greater than ourselves behind. I am getting first hand experience with this as I work in the library's history room. So many people come to me to get information about a long-lost relative or a house they once lived in. I've been living in this vicinity for 50 years now and I realize that with the death of my Dad and Grandma (and each generation) lots of information about our friends and relatives was lost.

Make an effort to live in a way that will influence generations to come by leaving a legacy of Christian faith and leading many to the Lord. Great people of the faith can trace their spiritual ancestry-by that I mean those that led them to the Lord or influenced them. Be one of those influencers that takes many people to heaven with them--preserving a lasting memory that is worth more than gold. Blessings, LORI

ONCE UPON A TIME.....

I thought "Once Upon A Time," was a good title for this fairytale picture! Who is the young couple? This is a picture of Clint and I headed off to the prom in 1979, I believe! That's the year I graduated. We never went to any of my proms, so it was a Centreville High School event, I'm sure. This dress is one of my all-time favorites. It was a voile fabric with rosebud clusters in the print, very sheer and airy. I loved the sleeves and collar. Two years ago I made a reproduction dress of the same basic pattern (the dress in the picture was purchased) and posted pictures of it on this blog. I love, love, love the style! and love how the flowering bushes in this picture mirror the dress fabric. I don't like my hairstyle, though. Too tightly pulled back. We were only about 18 then. My how time changes things!

In response to a comment on the last blog, I'll explain a few details. Clint and I are doing some traveling/speaking engagements since resigning our pastorate of 18 years last month. So far, we've spoken in three different churches and are going to a church in northern Indiana next week. In addition to that, the pressed flower pictures and tatting I posted recently are a hobby of mine that is now helping to supplement a little here and there, bringing in a little extra cash!

There was a question about my job as well. I am currently working at the public library in our old hometown--12 miles from our house. I wanted this job for years!When the kids were growing up and we were in the library every other day or so, I thought, "someday I'd like to be a library clerk in this library." The same week our resignation was final I was hired! It was one of the amazing confirmations that God used to bless us as we were stepping out in faith and starting a new chapter of our lives. I work two days a week and that's just right for me! And, yes, I continue to write. I'm working on the third in my courthip fiction series, "The Call From a Distant Field." This book takes place mostly in Africa and follows the families from the first two books as the years unfold. Many of the details for writing this book were reflections of things I noticed on my 10-day trip to Africa in 2004. I hope it will be out in the next few months. It's almost complete and we're in the process of designing the cover. I will be speaking at the library on Tuesday evening this week as part of their "local authors" series. Any of you that are in the immediate area are welcome to attend and cheer me on! I'd appreciate the support! I'll be signing books as well, talking about my new book, and giving background on the other books. Thanks to all of you for the lovely comments--I've got lot more projects to post about whenever I finish them! Blessings, LORI

I'm anxious to share my latest accomplishment with you! A local store called this morning to request more of my pressed flower pictures and so I spent a few hours constructing these. Took them over this afternoon to re-supply their stock. It meant a little quick cash for me and is such a blessing--just one more way the Lord is bringing blessings our way.

Loving my new job and looking forward to every day I GET to work. Yes, "GET" to work not "HAVE" to work! It's that much fun! Couldn't be more blessed!

Clint will be preaching at a church closer to home again this weekend. Pray for us if we come to mind! Blessings, LORI

FINISHED DOILIES

I'm pretty excited to share these pictures with you. This is what I've been doing during the cold winter evenings. The doily with the rounded edges is an original design and the one with pointed edges is the same one that I labeled as a "ruined" project a few posts ago! I fixed it!

I've gotten a part time job at a nearby library--a job I've dreamed of having for years! This was a real blessing of God at just the right time since I had actually applied over a year ago! This is like a dream come true for me! Instead of going to work, I feel like I'm going to FUN! I love being there.

Thanks for all of you that have been praying for us. We have the next four Sundays booked with preaching and teaching at various churches. God is really opening doors for us it seems and we are praising Him. Today we began gathering a prayer team of dedicated people who will pray for us as we are out ministering. This weekend we travel clear down to the Ohio/WV line to minister in a church there. EXCITING! In additiont to that, I am in the final stages before publication of my third book--I welcome the prayers for that project! Blessings, LORI

ENJOYING FAMILY HOLIDAY TIME

Here is a picture taken during the recent Christmas sesason at our house. I wanted a lovley little picture of the girls in the dresses I made them--but Sophie was mad about posing! They had little coordinating dresses made from some leftover fabric I sewed up from a bridesmaid dress Rhiannon had made for a friend's recent wedding! I did some beading on the decorative ribbon and added a sparkly tulle skirt to each dress. They looked like snow princesses! Wish I had a good picture of them in their outfits.





I really like the picture of two budding artists! Rhiannon got me a watercolor painting set for Christmas. I've always wanted to learn to paint. I am enjoying it so much. If you know anything about painting, you can see I am going about it the wrong way! But I completed the picture today and I am quite pleased. Emma insisted on sitting very close to Granny and coloring on her own pictures! I loved it!







I also wanted to tell all my blog friends that during this Christmas season, we made one of the hardest decisions of our lives. Early in 2010, it seemed the Lord spoke to us about this being a year of awkward changes. There were many! Some of the biggest changes of our lives, like JT and Kori moving to Colorado and Clint's mom moving out of her home of 49 years all occurred this year. In addidion to that we had a big decision to make ourselves. We resigned the pastorate at NCCF--a position Clint has held for over 18 years. This decision was agonizing. He began a sabbatical upon the strong advice of our oversight in mid-November. Clint was burned out at that point and seriously needed to regroup. Through much prayer, counsel, and even things like prophetic words and dreams, we finally could see that God was directing that our time at NCCF was through. This decision was emotional to say the least. We read our letter of resignation on January 2. We will stay at NCCF for a short transition until the end of January. After that our plans are indefinite.



It would have been more comfortable for us had we had another job in place, but this time it seemed the Lord was asking us to take a big leap of faith. We do not know what we are to do next--still waiting on the Lord for direction! In the last year or so we had done some speaking outside our church. Clint is an evangelist at heart and hopes to be able to do more along those lines. If you know of any churches or groups wanting special speaking or a series of meetings--please suggest us!





Please pray for us as we come to mind. We will be seeking other employment and Michigan is not the best environment for that, but we trust that God will work beyond any of our limitations.



Happy New Year to you and many Blessings, LORI