Seriously Ridiculous..."pick up the pen!"

"Seriously Ridiculous"...is a phrase that I picked up while attending a Youth Specialties Conference this past November in Nashville, TN - while listening to Francis Chan talk about his walk of faith, and his book "Crazy Love" - I recommend you pick this up, if you have not already done so! And "seriously ridiculous" completely and precisely explains God incredible Love for you and me, and the journey that we are currently walking through!



Last night - was one of the hardest nights Kelly and I have ever faced! Here we are facing the news of Jackson's condition - and the only "sight" of stability was to take our home off the market, get out of the contract, and not close July 24th, allowing us to stay in our home 15 minutes away from the doctors and hospitals that Kel and Jackson will "most likely" need over the next several months/years of our life! But - our God is in the restoration/redemption business, and no matter how hard the news was to take, and how hard our cry was last night...God opened our blind eyes, unlocked our deaf ears and continues to walk every step with us! And this is exactly why we call Him, Emmanuel...because Christ is with us!



After many hours of prayer and conversation with our wise counsel, experts in the field of real estate, and our obligations in the contract...it looks like the Lord has asked us to "pick up the pen!" and continue in the move! Of course my "natural reaction" late last night and early this morning as Kel and I prayed through the Spirit's prompting...was "God, this is seriously ridiculous!" And His response to that reaction came through Kelly's prayer/devotion time in the form of this question: "Doug, do you have faith in your finances!" First off - this is a question I have never faced before! Of course I have faith in the healing process of Jackson, our family relationships, our community, our church, our "positions", and our Lord and Savior who is in all, over all and through all...but not once have I ever been "face slapped" with this question! And now - I am in a moment of decision.



Of course I bring faith into financial decisions - but that was not God's question! His question is..."do you have faith in your finances, or faith in me?" And there it is...the question of Matthew 6:24. Are you going to trust God for direction and life, or are you going to trust your financial perspective! And I have never been "laid out/fully exposed" like I am right now...because here is the truth! Not just from a dollar and cents perspective - but from the the worlds perspective of stability, emotions, stress, finances and health we - as a family - can not "afford" to move! And if we hold on to those strings, we can't grab a hold of the Promises of God!



So we are cutting the strings, and grabbing a hold of His Promises! Psalm 37:4 teaches us that as we draw close to Him, He will give us the desires of our heart! And as we have been drawing close to him over the last several years, and in the early morning hours today - He has given us the desire to have faith in Him, not our finances and continue to walk by Faith and not by the sight of this world!



Now, how can God ask us yesterday to put the pen down...and then today ask us to pick it up! Simple: the question is not of the pen, but of obedience! Yes, we will continue to put the full armor of God on in the midst of this storm and the attacks - and He has revealed His Glory, Majesty and Presence in our family's move! Its "seriously ridiculous", but so is His love for you and us!



Please join us today...praying for the home He has prepared for us, the place of sanctuary, restoration, health, space, and the opportunity to serve and invest in a community/church that He is calling us to! Specifically...we have been drawn to a home in the Slippery Rock Area that would provide us just that - and we will be going on a prayer walk tonight around this property at 6:30...and I am asking you to join us in prayer at that time that God's supernatural, divine intervention and provision would make a way for us to see His will clearly, as he is the author of clarity not of confusion! There is no way "from the world's vantage point" that we can obtain a mortgage and move in the next two weeks with all that we have to face regarding Jackson's care - but our faith is not in the things of earth, but of the treasure that lies inside of our hearts! So as broken clay jars...we are crying out in desperation for Him to continue to open our eyes...so we can see Him at work, open ears ...so we can hear his voice of truth and encouragement, and open our hearts so we can come to know His Son our Lord - Christ Jesus - more intimately right now!



We love you...and we thank you for all of your prayers, encouragement, stories of hope, support and grace that you are sharing with us along this "seriously ridiculous" journey!



All Eyes on Jesus...