So, it has officially been a week of prayer and fasting, asking for God to come thru in some big ways. Last week I mentioned the story from 1 Kings, where God sent Elijah to a ravine to wait. While he was obedient we waited and waited. During that wait God provided food via ravens. Anyways, as I read that story over and over last week, I realized that Elijah put himself in a place where only God could provide. So, last week we tried to put ourselves in that place. Let’s take a look at how God came through. Here is the box score on some of the things that we have been praying for:
- THEN: We said we needed some more investors to help support our vision financially.
- NOW: In one week our monthly support nearly doubled!
- THEN: We said that Jill needed more hours at starbucks so that she could qualify for health insurance to lower our budget for KC.
- NOW: Last week Jill got promoted to Shift-manager. Not only is she getting way more hours, but she a raise too!
- THEN: We said we needed to find someplace to settle into in KC.
- NOW: We are talking to my good friend Jesse who is moving away from KC. We are talking about buying his house, which is a prime location in proximity to where we are planting in Kansas City!
We are still looking for a buyer for our house. Please continue to pray with us for this need. Overall, it amazing to see how God comes through in the clutch! We serve a God who provides what we need right when we need it. Although we didnt get everything that we were praying for, we were reminded that God is faithful and we should trust Him and His plan. I have quite a few thoughts from the week that I will be sharing over the next few posts.
Well, we have come to a moment of truth in our exciting journey to KC. We are a week away from August 1st which is officially a month from when we are done with our position at Faith here in South Carolina. After that we are on our own, so to speak, without the saftey net of a salary. We really need God to come thru in some big ways. You see, our house just isn’t getting any traffic from potential buyers. It will be very difficult to pay a mortgage without a job, while raising support for reachout KC. We were hoping to have a contract on our house by August. Because most contracts take 30 days, which would be perfect timing for us to free ourselves up from our mortgage. We are also in need of some investers. We need more people to catch the vision and help get us to KC financially. Jill also needs more hours at starbucks so that she can become eligible for healthcare, which will lower what we need per month to survive. We also need to settle into someplace in KC as soon as possible. We have to find a preschool for Ethan to attend, which will already be past enrollment for most schools.
I was reading in I Kings last night. It was the story of how God led Elijah to a ravine. Then He fed him there, by providing ravens to deliver food. It seems like it is all in days work for God to provide this way. I was thinking how God has provided for us every step of the way in our journey. But, now we are on a whole new playing field. Im sure God proved himself faithful to Elijah countless times before this. But, as Elijah settled into that ravine, in exile from a King who trying to hunt him down like a dog… it probably mattered even more in that moment how God would provide. Because he was in new territory, trusting God at an even deeper level. It doesn’t say when the first raven showed up with a happy meal. I wonder how many prayers were sent up before that raven arrived.
I’m telling you all of this because we need some ravens this week. God does everything on time from His divine perspective. This week I’m trying to gain a little of His perspective. He has brought us this far, and we are trusting him to take us all the way. But, we find ourselves in a ravine so to speak, completely dependent on Him. So, I am taking this week to fast and pray. I am asking specifically for him to show up in the big ways that I have mentioned. Listen, I know that God has his own divine timing and his own omnipotent plan. But, I also know that my requests don’t scare him at all. I can’t help but be reminded of a message that I recently heard. The big idea from the message was, “God’s promise is always bigger than my perhaps.” So, this week perhaps God will show up in some big ways. Won’t you join me in seeking God for some ravens? Stay tuned for updates!
Over the course of this year we have had the privelege to get to know Troy and Janet McMahon. We are so excited to join them in ministry in KC. Troy has been launching things for most of his life and in few months we get learn how to and help him launch. I really believe that Troy and Janet’s God breathed vision will affect the spirtual landscape of the entire city of KC. I just read in his blog that they are moving today! Pray for him and his family as they pull away from the curb on this incredible journey. We have had so much fun gettting to know him and his heart for church planting. But, we are still learning stuff along the way. What I learned this week is that he sings. In fact he sang his swan song in Chicago last sunday. Check this out:
Tommy watch out, this guy can plant a church & lead worship too! What can’t Troy McMahon do?
This is the biggest need that we have right now. (not far behind is raising the support we need to fullfill the mission for KC, but that is another post) If you look at the countdown to kc in the sidebar, we are 1 month & 15 day away from being done here in SC. The biggest need in front of us is to sell our house. Please pray for God to provide a buyer for it. It really is a great house. We call it our dream house. But , we have to leave it behind to pursue the path that God has for us.
I love my wife. She always has a well thought thru opinion of things. Try challenging her on something. You will soon find that she doesn’t do things willy nilly… without having some thought behind it. I trust what she has to say and I trust even more the heart of where it is coming from. Well, she wrote a great post that I thought really tells why we are so drawn to reach young adults. She is way better at this blogging thing then I am. She is really flexing her blogging muscle now. Check out the post here.
Today, I was reminded that the reason faith is so hard, is that I often look at thru grown up eyes. (exactly when did I grow up?) That isn’t how Jesus invites us to enter his kingdom. In fact their is no entry at all unless we become like this perfect child. (my son) We have to trust that he isn’t going to bash us into the wall, slam us on the floor, or throw us thru a window. Lately, for me faith has become a battle of will power. I must force myself to trust God for this journey. There really is no other option. I feel like God is inviting me and my family on that blanket. The adventure of a lifetime is what awaits.
Check out the new Reachout KC site! It is finally up and running. If you have more questions about just what it is that we are doing then this should give you a lot of answeres. Also, if you have any suggestions, let me know.
The family and I are in Chicago this week for a wedding. It has been fun hanging with friends and family. If you just got a packet from us in the mail, then give me a call or shoot me an “email. We would love to have coffee and talk more about Kansas City.
I have been working like crazy to make the reachout kc site actually look like a website. This is a challenge since I am pretty weak at web design. It just isnt visual enough for me. When I make a video or a mailer, it is visually driven. If I want to change the look I adjust what I want. But with web design it is not visually controlled. If you want to really tweak something you have to go into the code and adjust it there. With all that said take a look at the site before we go live with it here. Let me know what you think.
I am a lot of things... a stay at home dad... an off site video producer for the Chapel.. a media arts director for Restore Community Church and a wanna be church planter. Read here to see what happens when all of this collides.
I love my wife. She always has a well thought thru opinion of things. Try challenging her on something. You will soon find that she doesn’t do things willy nilly… without having some thought behind it. I trust what she has to say and I trust even more the heart of where it is coming from. Well, she wrote a great post that I thought really tells why we are so drawn to reach young adults. She is way better at this blogging thing then I am. She is really flexing her blogging muscle now. Check out the post 
