2015: Promises Fulfilled and Glory Revealed!!!

   Here we are again, crossing over into a new year and a new territory. In my short 25 years here on this Earth I have seen and experienced many great and tragic things in my life, but 2014 was by far one of my hardest, and most blessed years yet. 2014 was a season of shift, reliance, faith building, pain, pruning, and total abandonment for my family and myself.
   We started the new year off last year with the loss of a child, and (for me) the tone was set for 2014: I was absolutely convinced that this was as good as it gets for me. A little bit of gain, with all the more loss. But oh boy, was I wrong! 2014 held some of the toughest obstacles I have had to cross yet, but was more than filled with the voice of the Lord showing me his love.
   After our second miscarriage in late May/early June, I was all but defeated. The fight in me had nearly died, and become nothing more than complete and total abandonment to the Lord. I didn't care what I gained or lost, I didn't care where I would come or go, I just wasn't willing to say "No." When the Lord told us that it was time to leave the ministry we were with, the answer was all too easy to say "Yes, Lord! I am DONE!" but at that point, I wasn't sure where he was leading us. All we knew, was that He was NOT done with us! And he poured into us in ways we so deeply needed over the next season.

   The Lord lead me in my blindness for around 2 months as a stay-at-home-dad. He was very quiet during this season, and asked very little of me. He simply asked me to stay at peace, rest in him, and continue to say "Yes!" I didn't even know what I was saying yes to, but after the hurt of loss, and the excitement of growth, the one thing that I knew was constant, the only thing that I knew I could put my trust in, was Jesus.
   Now as we are rounding the corner of the new year, I am floored at what the Lord has done in our lives in just the last couple of months (and in the last few years). He has asked to us move to a strange place, where we know very little, and have even less resources. He has asked my family to uproot from all that was comfortable, and dive head first into his great graces. He has asked us to put our faith so greatly in him, that if he hadn't provided for us, we would be in serious trouble.
But the beauty of this is that He has shown up and shown off time and time again! He has made a way when there was no other way. He has provided when funnels seemed to have run dry, or completely evaporated. He has brought us through trial, after trial, after trial and he has  never failed us. Even as I type this, we face some great obstacles. Our vehicle is on the fritz with no way for us to fix it, or replace it other than God providing a miracle. I thank Jesus for the ability to see this as a set up for him to show us his love, rather than a set back. I am still human, and have my days of doubt, and concern, and worry (and I certainly stress about not being able to get to appointments, etc. in a place where we no very little!) But God is so merciful to love me in my weakness, and embrace me in my doubt.
   My prayer for my family and myself in 2015 is that we would not compare it to 2014 or past years, but that we would hold our past years as a testimony to what we can look forward to Jesus doing in our lives in this new year. My prayer for my family and myself in 2015 is that we would remember the ways that God has provided for us, the miracles he has performed, and hold this light against the darkness. That our doubts would be extinguished with the guarantee of his promises, and how we have seen them fulfilled in our lives. My prayer is that our focus would not be on the obstacles hidden behind opportunities, but on the opportunities hidden behind seeming obstacles.
   My prayer for my family and myself in 2015, is that we would fall so deeply in love with Jesus, that anything outside of his will and his word would fall away from us like the dust on our feet.
   I declare that 2015 will be a year of fulfilled promises and restoration over my family. That the Lord will give back what was stolen from us, and this will be a year of great victory and great faith for my family. We are going into this year with the repayment of what we once lost. A beautiful, healthy baby boy; a promise we thought we had lost; a promise we thought we watched die. A promise we have seen literally revived from death.
My prayer for my family in 2015 is that we would become so totally consumed and overwhelmed by Jesus.
Oh, Lord. How great thou art!

We are now located in Martinsville, IN
where the Lord has called us to build in
family and in ministry. It is beautiful to
watch the promises of the Lord come to
pass in our lives, and we look forward to
the impact we can make on generations
for the glory of Jesus.