According to the Bible, Solomon was the wisest person to ever live. He was told by God to ask for anything and it would be granted. He could have asked for money, power, or anything else, but he asked for wisdom. That says a couple things about him: 1) he was already wise enough to know that if he was truly wise he'd get the other things, 2) he understood that God doesn't want us to go after things, but rather after His mindset. It's always a good idea to model behaviors after those that have been successful, so I'm asking for wisdom like Solomon.
We have a little over 60 days until we are moving, and I'm starting to freak out. At the risk of looking tacky I set up a web site for people to see our mission and donate to help support us in God's call on our life (youcaring.com/blizzards_to_beaches). That is fine and good, but with so many people going on missions trips asking for the same, I don't want to make people annoyed with another person seemingly begging for money. At the same time, if I was in a position to give, I'd want someone to tell me how I could do so. It's a catch 22 for me. The question becomes, "How do I ask people to support us without sounding like I'm trying to guilt them in to it?"
This is why I'm praying for wisdom. We know that God has called us to go to St. Pete. We know that he will provide. We need the wisdom in knowing how. Should we get a big truck and pack it all in, or should we be selling everything and starting over? What size truck or trailer do we need? Where are we going to live? Where are we going to work? Should I go down early and find work, or keep applying online and hope something breaks?
Listening and obeying God's call on your life is amazing. It's exciting, and I think about it constantly. As we make our decisions about what to do, we are asking God for his direction.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Welcome to the Beginning
Hey friends, family, and other random people that happened to stumble across my page. I want to introduce myself. My name is Aaron. I'm a married father of 2 amazing kids. I started this blog to keep people posted about what is going on in my life, in my family's life, and to share my journey of faith that God is leading us on
About 2 months ago my wife and I felt God leading us from the frozen (at least 6 mo. out of the year) tundra to greener pastures, St. Petersburg, Florida. Holy moley! That's a big change. Really God? 1600 miles is a long way away. Are you sure? We hate winter, but this is a big move. What started as a bout with cabin fever which we likely would have never acted on, has morphed into a calling by God to help plant a church in Saint Petersburg.
My wife, Jolene, has family in St. Pete (as it is affectionately called by the locals), and we visited there 2 years ago. As soon as we got on the plane to go home to Minnesota we said to each other, "When are we moving?" We didn't move, but every time we'd get a blast of cold air, or a winter storm we would look at each other and ask when we were going to move to Florida.
This happened a lot during this past spring, as we had blizzards in the forecast during the first week of April. I was trying to satisfy some cabin fever and my own curiosity by looking at rent prices there. Wouldn't you know it, if we found similar jobs we could easily afford to live in Florida. Like I said before, we probably wouldn't have acted on it, but I soon got the nudge from God that I needed.
Literally 2 days after I started looking at homes/apartments in the area, a good friend of mine, who I was in youth group with, and had been in a school for church planters posted a link to his blog saying that he and his wife decided where they were going to plant their church: Saint Petersburg, Florida. I told this to Jolene and her response was priceless, "SHUT UP!" I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that God has a purpose for everything we do, and all of our desires, but I wanted to do what the Bible says and put God to the test.
My son has suffered from anxiety from the day he was born. He hates any type of change in routine, so much so that he wore the same pair of shoes, curling his toes to fit in them because he didn't want the stress of shoe shopping. When he came upstairs to 6" of snow on the ground 2 days after I saw my friend's post about their decision to plant their church in St. Pete and declared, "That's it. I've had it. When are we moving to Florida?" I knew that God was doing something.
Little by little God has answered every question I've had in a favorable manor. I'm going to school for teaching elementary school and Florida is ranked in the top 5 for teachers in the nation. Good for my future. Jolene is in hospital administration. The #1 industry in St. Pete is medical research. Good for her future. My daughter is on board, OK with leaving her friends and excited to make new ones. God's will is becoming very clear. It's amazing what happens when you take a step of faith. The pastor I had growing up always said, "Walk in His ways, and He will give you ways to walk in."
About 2 months ago my wife and I felt God leading us from the frozen (at least 6 mo. out of the year) tundra to greener pastures, St. Petersburg, Florida. Holy moley! That's a big change. Really God? 1600 miles is a long way away. Are you sure? We hate winter, but this is a big move. What started as a bout with cabin fever which we likely would have never acted on, has morphed into a calling by God to help plant a church in Saint Petersburg.
My wife, Jolene, has family in St. Pete (as it is affectionately called by the locals), and we visited there 2 years ago. As soon as we got on the plane to go home to Minnesota we said to each other, "When are we moving?" We didn't move, but every time we'd get a blast of cold air, or a winter storm we would look at each other and ask when we were going to move to Florida.
This happened a lot during this past spring, as we had blizzards in the forecast during the first week of April. I was trying to satisfy some cabin fever and my own curiosity by looking at rent prices there. Wouldn't you know it, if we found similar jobs we could easily afford to live in Florida. Like I said before, we probably wouldn't have acted on it, but I soon got the nudge from God that I needed.
Literally 2 days after I started looking at homes/apartments in the area, a good friend of mine, who I was in youth group with, and had been in a school for church planters posted a link to his blog saying that he and his wife decided where they were going to plant their church: Saint Petersburg, Florida. I told this to Jolene and her response was priceless, "SHUT UP!" I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that God has a purpose for everything we do, and all of our desires, but I wanted to do what the Bible says and put God to the test.
My son has suffered from anxiety from the day he was born. He hates any type of change in routine, so much so that he wore the same pair of shoes, curling his toes to fit in them because he didn't want the stress of shoe shopping. When he came upstairs to 6" of snow on the ground 2 days after I saw my friend's post about their decision to plant their church in St. Pete and declared, "That's it. I've had it. When are we moving to Florida?" I knew that God was doing something.
Little by little God has answered every question I've had in a favorable manor. I'm going to school for teaching elementary school and Florida is ranked in the top 5 for teachers in the nation. Good for my future. Jolene is in hospital administration. The #1 industry in St. Pete is medical research. Good for her future. My daughter is on board, OK with leaving her friends and excited to make new ones. God's will is becoming very clear. It's amazing what happens when you take a step of faith. The pastor I had growing up always said, "Walk in His ways, and He will give you ways to walk in."
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