Leaving Corporate America

The desire for us to walk in full time ministry as a family was clear. The how, when and where was not. That desire never ceased and gave way to years of dialogue with God to answer these questions. And it was answered in a way only God could have orchestrated!

THINK ABOUT IT

How does a young family with 5 children to raise, educate, nourish, ultimately totally provide for, just up and dive into any sort of full time ministry?

Lets begin with the definition of Provider?

A Provider is a person who gives someone something they need.

The role of a provider is most synonymously used in the financial realm but it certainly is not limited to finances. Remember provider is a person who gives someone something they need. A husband provides for his wife differently than he would provide for his children just as a wife provides for her husband differently than she would provide for her children.

Before children our desires were fixated on pleasing each other deeply by spending all of our free time together doing the things we enjoyed as a couple. We provided each other with spontaneous gift giving, thoughtful packed lunches for work, outings together such as long bike rides or a nature walk. The role of provider was met by us both simply drinking in that deep young love as a newly married couple.

After children our roles of provider changed. We not only had one another to provide for but now we had little mouths to nourish, countless hours to cultivate a will, and the conviction to provide an atmosphere of holiness in a world that resists it entirely.

As our family continued to ebb and flow through these seasons of growth, change, and pressures, we never forgot the desire to one day be solely reliant on God as provider of all our needs in full time ministry. Today we are blessed to be a family of 7 who has been continuoulsy molded by the very hands of God. He has worked so patiently to equip and fulfill His desire for us to serve as full time missionaries with our children overseas.

Gods timing is never premature and He never demands things of us we cannot sustain. He is however persistent in His pursuit of our hearts, our dreams, and our potential in Him. For that we are so incredibly grateful.

A person that never pursues his or her God given dreams is a person that settles for a life with so much unmet potential and missed opportunities. God desires to bestow His glory on those who walk by faith and not by sight.

WHY NOW?

If we would have retired in the latter part of our lives from corporate America we would have missed God completely and never would have fufilled the call on our lives that He placed on us before we were even born.

Five children later ranging from the ages of tender two to fourteen, we have pulled the plug completely on corporate America and have stepped out on the water as Peter did.

When God calls someone into their purpose or calling He doesn't renege on His promises nor is He a God that can be mocked. He is a jealous God and He wants all of us, namely all of our heart. Distinctly we both remember different times He has ministered to us about missionary work. We knew one day we would not only be taking short term missions trips but would move into missions full time. However, there comes a price and that is something not all of us are willing to pay.

"The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few..."(Luke 10:2)

A Process Over Time

We labored for years in prayer over His will and timing (and continue to do so). We questioned if we would even be able to get out on the missions field. We have 5 children and corporate America was a comfortable place. But deep down neither of us were content with where we were. Rather than ignore this significant place within our hearts, we continued to press into God with a desire to fully obey Him. That desire became an ache that would not go away. Over time it became clearly evident that God was simply waiting on our "Yes". His desire was always for us to "choose" His will. After all, this is a loving relationship between Father God and His son and daughter. Where is the love if forced to obey?

We gave Him our yes and slowly things started to fall into place. One yes would lead to another piece falling in to place. So on and so on until we got to the point where God requested something huge from us; To leave corporate America completely.

Remember, He gave us a choice. A choice to choose Him over all things and fufill our destiny through Him. It was a willfull pruning and we said yes again. From that yes (and only after that yes) God opened an amazing door for us to finish our training. It was more than we could even imagine. It was finally time! All the years of prayer, doubt, impatience, and questions all came into proper perspective. Consequently, our decision to walk out on the water was being totally honored by God!

Proper Alignment Has Been Birthed

Now, we are fully commited to the harvest field. There are no words to describe what that looks like and what that feels like. There are tears cried in joy and tears cried in humilty as we leave everything familiar and embark towards this unknown territory. The only comfort and blessed assurance is Him. We are awed when He comes so gently and whispers Thank you. WOW! How beautifully humbling He is! We continue to stand amazed at how many key pieces continue falling into position for us to carry out this mandate on our lives.

The harvest is truly plentiful but the laborers are few. Soon there will be 7 more on the full time missions field! How great thou art!

We would greatly appreciate your continued prayer and encouragement.

To God be the Glory in Christ Jesus!

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