“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord you God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.”
- Deuteronomy 8:2
As most of you know by now, we are no longer pursuing full-time, vocational ministry in Salerno, Italy. (If you are unaware of this change, and desire to know more of the process leading up to this decision, click here.) Although this is not what we expected or envisioned, we are more than excited to continue to follow God as He guides.
First of all, we want to thank those of you who have surrounded us, and challenged us to ‘take heart’ that God does not make any mistakes, and that we are exactly where He wants us. Thank you for speaking truth into our hearts that this past year has not been a failure. We have experienced more growth and reliance on God in 2009 and 2010 than in any other year we can remember. We have seen success in the most important realm of our lives. We don’t want to forget what God has done.
More than once in the Bible, God tells his people to remember what he has done for them:
You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deut. 8:18)
Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you. (Deut. 32:7)
Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered… (1 Chron. 16:12)
Therefore, I hope to write several posts over the next couple weeks documenting and sharing lessons that we have learned from an endeavor born of faith and trust in God. My main objective for doing this is to solidify in my heart what God has changed, and to let the roots of lessons-learned grow deep. I hope that you are encouraged, and even challenged, as you read.
Stay tuned!
Earlier this month, we moved into an apartment in Longwood. This is a huge blessing for us as we prepare for the coming of our baby boy. For the last 10 months, we have been living with family so that we could save money and work full-time at raising our financial support. We are so thankful for our family for being so supportive of us, and for helping us get to Italy as fast as possible. However, with our boy on the way, we felt the need and desire to have a place of our own once again. God has provided a place that more than meets our needs at an incredible price. He is so good to us. 
Roughly two weeks ago, I participated in a weekend retreat with a few men from my church. Rob Farnsley hosted the retreat at his home in St. Cloud. The required materials were my Bible, the book ‘Wild at Heart’ by John Eldredge, the ‘Wild at Heart’ Field Manual, and the most elusive material of all…my heart. Wild at Heart played a significant role in my walk with God back in 2003, so I was excited to revisit Eldredge’s book, and go deep once again with a group of Godly men. Although I found myself disagreeing with Eldredge on a number of statements, his ideas once again had a profound impact on my heart, my passions, and my identity as a man made in the image of God. But the weekend was more than just a book study. It was fellowship. It was vulnerability. It was an opportunity to take off our masks, and talk about our fears, our wounds, and our failures. And it didn’t stop there either. It gave courage. It provided a group of men to fight along with in this battle for my heart. 
