Update Letter - August 2013

Written by Ben: 

One of my favorite things about my dogs is their silly expressions. One of my favorites is when he cocks his head to the side and has that look that says, "I Don't Understand!!"

Lately, God has been teaching me that the way He operates often leaves me with that very feeling. Have you ever stopped to think that in almost every story in the Bible God works in ways that to us don't seem "logical"? Take the story of Jericho. God's plan was for the men to march around the city blowing trumpets. Then the grand finale was to shout at the top of their lungs and the walls would fall down! Or the battle of Midian where God kept making the army smaller and smaller, until there were only 300 men left to fight 135,000 Midianites! God orchestrates His plans so there is no doubt where the credit belongs.

Being a follower of God often means trusting and obeying when our logic doesn't seem to understand what God is doing. Being a disciple means becoming more and more comfortable with trusting God even when you don't fully understand His plan. What is God doing in your life right now that He is asking you to trust Him for, even though His plan may seem a bit hard to understand? We would love to pray with you through this!

This has been our experience lately. My role here on the ETM team is Properties Administrator. However, over the last 2 weeks I have been almost entirely on bed rest due to a herniated disc in my lower back. From my logical perspective, I don't understand why God operates the way He does, yet I do know I can trust that there is a purpose and a reason! Please pray with us as we try to seek an alternative to surgery over the next week or so. While this didn't seem to fit into our idea of our ministry schedule (or our life schedule with Wyatt on the way!), we know God has a reason for changing our focus for the time being!