Life is changing
Submitted by jason on Mon, 2006-10-30 09:31
Our family is going through some pretty big life changes; my new job is one of them, Rachel's birth is probably the biggest, and our most recent change has been in our place of worship. We are no longer members at the church in Livermore and are attending a church here in Brentwood.
It was a decision that was packed full of mixed emotions, but we are very confident in our decision and so thankful to God for making His path for us very clear. Saying goodbye to a church family that you've known for most of your life is rough, but thankfully we don't live out of state; they're not rid of us yet!
We are grateful for the many years we had there and so grateful for the memories we have to take with us. Many of the members there are truly like family to us and we will cherish them always.
We know that not everyone is going to understand our decision or think it was the best one, but that is entirely between us and God and its a decision that we, as a family had to make.
We have such a strong desire to be connected to a local body and be able to serve more and give more of ourselves than we're able to now.
Our kids are small, and of course that adds to us not being able to serve as much as we used to, but even with small kids we'd like to be used greatly of God. We finally realized we can't do that when we're 45 minutes away from church. It made the serving seem more burdensome (or we just missed stuff altogether) and that hasn't been good for our spiritual lives. We are praying that God would use us in Brentwood and give us wisdom and boldness to spread His word and win others to Christ.
We're very excited about this new change, but nervous as well. Its hard (and does not come naturally) for us to start all over again, meeting new people and trying new things.
BUT... we serve a gracious God and we are happy to start this new chapter in our lives and see how He uses it to our good and to the good of others.
Please pray for us, when you think of us and pray that God would grow us and mold and shape us into His image more and more. We would ask that you would pray for our kids. We desire to see them saved young and we know that our example of God's love is something the Lord will use in drawing them to Himself. So in that, we ask that you pray for Stef and me. We need God's constant grace to guide us and teach us how we ought to live our lives before them and most importantly, before God.
Thank you so much!
Life is changeSubmitted by shaneNotSean on Mon, 2006-10-30 14:19.
Hey Guys,
Suz and I totally know what you are going through. Just be encouraged
that God will bless your desires. The body of Christ is such an
important thing to be plugged into. Having kids makes staying
connected difficult, but not impossible! Remember that! You can serve
and be fed by the local body, it is awesome how God works it all out.
Just a few things we have learned.
1. Suzy is plugged into several ministries, as am I, but our primary
ministry as is the one God holds us accountable for, we are parents.
Our kids never come second except to our relationship with each other.
Church comes in third. Worship team, witnessing, mops, etc. it is so
easy to plug into too many outlets. Thankfully our pastor looks out
for those like us that over commit. ;-) He helps us to balance.
2. Kids do what they see. We strongly believe that we have been SAVED
TO SERVE. Having a servants heart and serving the body are great ways
to show your kids Jesus.
3. The local church, the body you fellowship with is there to support
you, and you are there to support them. Basic I know, but easily
forgotten. Being local means seeing each other during the week, bible
studies, dinners, 6:00 coffee bible studies, makes being a Christian
and having fellowship so exciting.
4. Great and frequent fellowship is equal to growth.
God bless you guys. We will be praying for you. This is a great new
chapter for you guys! You will find that while the change is scary and the idea of new people is even more hard to fathom, that God's people are loving and they will help you through the change.
Blessings!
Hey guys!I know that thisSubmitted by GugGreen on Mon, 2006-10-30 15:15.
Hey guys!
I know that this decision comes after much prayer and contemplation. It was very apparent that LRBC meant a lot to both of you.
As a person who has watched many people leave our church, I know that these decisions are so difficult and sometimes traumatic. I really appreciate the way in which you went about resiging from the church. It was done "decently and in order" rather than abrubptly or secretly. I have seen people leave both ways. One leaves a really bad taste in your mouth. The other is easier to accept and cope with.
I am sure that your presence will be missed in Livermore, but being a part of a local church is Biblical. Pastor Briggs just preached about this yesterday. You might want to check out the sermon on our website (www.immanuelbc.net). He was teasing that people in the UK wouldn't even attend a church 5 miles away.
I will pray that the Lord will establish your family in a church that will meet your Spiritual needs. It is not easy to find good, solid churches. However, the Lord is faithful and will honor your attempts to be faithful and true to Him and His Word.
We love you guys!
-Jessica Green
you'll be missedSubmitted by gretchen yimbo on Mon, 2006-10-30 15:56.
Oh, life is full of change isn't it?
I've been feeling it in the air lately, not sure if an earth quake is coming or what (tangent) but I'm thinking it's something big, maybe just because we're expecting baby #3 and because I have friends and clients moving away, who knows.
Life is full of change and I believe the Bible teaches that we're to hold loosely the things of this world, which is really difficult to do in our flesh because we like our little comfort zones and familiarity.
I know leaving the church you've both grown up in was not an easy decision but I trust that it's the best decision for your family. As a person who lives a ways away from church and people at church I'm excited that you have the opportunity to get connected in your community. Just don't forget your friends!
We'll worship God together in eternity but until then we'll pray that He'll grow you individually and as a family and convert your children early (and give you many more children, to the glory of God )
We love you and know that we'll always be friends even if we don't see you every week,
Gretchen and family