Some of you are aware that my husband recently left a pastorate where we had served for 4 years, and it didn’t end well. It was one of the most difficult decisions of our married life, and a very unpopular decision in some ways, yet since then I’ve rested in the peace of knowing we made the right decision.
When this first happened, God did some amazing things for us!He provided for us in inexplicable ways – as only God’s people can do as the body of Christ.
And when we made the leap to church-planting (who? us?!), we were filled with encouragement, excited, and rearing to go.
But then some disappointments came, and church-planting ended up being a lot more difficult than we imagined. We thought we had a solid plan for how this whole thing was going to work out, but as He so often does, God quickly showed us that our ways are not His ways.
Since then we’ve been in a season of waiting.
If you follow this blog or Being Confident of This’s facebook page, then you know that discouragement hounded us for a couple of weeks. We were no longer seeing quite as much physical evidence of God’s blessing or direction.
And like so many humans, we began to doubt. An Israelite at heart, I began to complain to the Lord about our circumstances. Daily bread wasn’t enough for me; I wanted more. Thus, a spirit of discontentment invaded my soul.
Wouldn’t you know that during this time, I ran across Christi’s post three separate times?! Three! And even after reading it several times, I found new things to like about it, not just because Christi’s an excellent writer, but because the message of her post is so very true.
We hear and read a lot these days about our BIG God who encourages big “dreams” because He’s the God of the impossible.
While all of those things are true about our God, He remains true to His character and His Word even in the times when dreams don’t come true, when He doesn’t show off.
Please take a few minutes to read Christi’s post. I know you won’t be disappointed!
And for those who might be curious, we’re coming out of our little cubby of discouragement and embracing the truth that God IS who He says He is. So, we press on knowing the path He has laid before us and trusting Him to guide us each step of the way.
We’d appreciate your prayers for Montpelier Bible Church!
Thank you, friends.
Jen 🙂
Welcome to Grace and Truth, the Christian Living link-up that takes place every Friday!
Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement each and every week. If you’re a blogger our hope is that you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader our hope is that you’ll meet new bloggers that love Jesus just as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.
Meet Your Hosts
Satisfaction Through Christ
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Arabah Joy
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A Divine Encounter
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Being Confident of This
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1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels. This is not mandatory, but appreciated!
2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. Links of this kind will be deleted. We also reserve the right to delete posts that don’t align with the theme or that are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.
3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community, so please don’t link and run!
4.) All links are randomly sorted – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!
In order to be featured next week:
5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.
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Good Morning, Jen!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been praying about a way that I could encourage other bloggers who have been encouraging me. Through your ministry, posts, words, comments, and faithfulness—your life has been a blessing to mine, and I wanted others to know about you!
So, I compiled a list of those bloggers who I’ve personally found to be the MOST INSPIRATIONAL on the web.
You are ONE Of these bloggers – in my estimation!
You can find the link to the list where you are featured here: http://www.melanieredd.com/the-100-most-inspiring-christian-blogs-on-the-web/
I’ve also signed up to get your emails, and tried to follow you on your social media outlets!
I pray that God will encourage you today through these simple acts~
Melanie
Jen. One of the beautiful things I’ve gained from finding people like you on the website is finding you…a people of the yielded heart. It is when we don’t see with our physical eyes or hear with our ears, but know in our heart He has not changed. His character remains the same. He shepherds His people in the valleys, on the mountaintops and sometimes we have to go through the desert to lay in the green pastures He’s prepared for us. He is Sovereign and in control. He will someday show you why you had to wait and in the waiting you’ll gain your strength. I will never forget the day I realized the Creator of time is not subject to time – He knows just what He’s doing and it is good….very good. Have a blessed day, my dear friend, and cuddle up to a good word of encouragement in Psalm 91, or Isaiah 40 or just Philippians 4:6-8. Again. Blessings….your Chris~
Thank you for these words of encouragement, Chris! 🙂