Pioneering

We've all experienced adventure to one degree or another.  Doing something we've never done before.  So big, we can't put our arms around it.  Faaaar from our comfort zone!  That is the norm in God's way of doing things.  You've probably heard it said, "If it isn't God-sized, it probably isn't God."  If you can go into a new endeavor with a pretty good idea on how to accomplish it, they say, it probably wasn't God's idea.

I've always been most excited doing something that I didn't have a template on how to do it.  Everyone who does exploits for God has that pioneer spirit.  The pioneer isn't the one who gets on the bus to ride with everyone else.  The pioneer is the one who cuts out a pathway so others can follow.  Pioneers are drawn to frontier country to create something that didn't exist before, whether its launching a new ministry, starting a new business, inventing a new product, etc.

Our new adventure has begun at what was historically the gateway to the American frontier.  Just a few miles from us is the site where Lewis and Clark set out on the most epic adventure in American history...stepping into the unknown frontier known as the Louisiana Purchase.  And just south of there is what is called the Daniel Boone house.  That's the home Boone retired to when his own frontier exploits from the Appalachians to the Mississippi came to an end.  One pioneering generation gave way to the next.

I know the Lord has strategically placed us here in this our new location as part of His design.  I just can't tell you what that design is.  I have a sense that I will be working in unseen places initially which will set the stage for what is to be.  But one thing I am absolutely certain about is I am in the right place and that His timing is perfect!  We've marveled at how several times each week since this entire transition process has begun, the Lord confirming our move in so many ways.  Since arriving at our new little apartment, we've likewise marveled at the arrangements, the setting, and even the first inkling of relationships we already see the Father connecting us to!

But we are SO aware that we were launched by a wealth of wonderful people who have loved us and hold us up in prayer.  To each of you, we offer the same love and prayers for your well-being.  May the Lord unfold his richest plan for you in these momentous days!

The Start of Our New Adventure

A year ago, I found myself commenting to close associates that the Fall of 2014 would begin a period of major transition in the Body of Christ.  Worldwide, God would quietly be reassigning and repositioning many of His people to station them for a coming move of God of global proportions.  To my wife, I said that would be my time.  I wanted "in" on what God was doing.

That time for us has arrived...and I've been amazed and humbled to personally witness how such a life transition unfolds.  You see, Bev and I are being sovereignly relocated to the St. Louis, Missouri, area from

our home here in Louisiana.  Other than a year I spent on the mission field, Louisiana has been home for my entire life.  But since the start of 2014, the two of us began to notice how things in our lives were shifting.  We were sensing a series of disconnects from all the things we long held dear.  Then in July, the final and most significant disconnect took place.  My full-time employment was cut in half and I was immediately, fully aware this was the Lord's doing.  Bev and I both knew instantly it was time for me to shift from the marketplace to the ministry arena.  What's more, it was time to move to the St. Louis area; something the Lord put strongly on our hearts simultaneously 8 years earlier and the move would happen after Thanksgiving 2014.

We've watched an amazing number of people whom we personally know very well who are being launched into new phases of ministry ALL beginning THIS fall!  Every one of them I can think of just now have required relocating.

So while we're excited about what the Lord has in store for us, we're at that tender place of feeling emotional about the beauty of all we leave behind.  Louisiana is gorgeous and culture-rich. Fragrant pine forests, lush bayous lined with cypress, moss-draped live oaks, and hidden harbors to interlaced waterways.  From the stately, antebellum homes of bayou country to the Creole cottages of the French Quarters...my lifelong home has been a grand showplace.  But all that is only a backdrop to the lifestyle of Louisiana: working hard to play even harder, lots of laughter at every gathering, backyard crawfish boils and tailgating, ALWAYS time for a good time, raising close-knit families and quick to make others feel like a part of the family.  And friends.  They are the REAL beauty.  Friends who are as dear as family.  It is these amazing friends that we will miss most.

To our friends: God graced us with an abundance of you...precious saints every one of you...who surrounded Bev and I with the warmth of your deep caring for us.  Whether we gathered in living rooms, backyards, church foyers or had one of those wonderful, chance meetings where we simply bumped into each other, you always felt like a brother or sister to us. You always let us know we were loved...and you treated us that way.  Each of you has left a deep impression on us and have forever changed us.  Our lives were made rich because of you!

The Lord assures me the best is yet to come.  I can't imagine how He will outdo what He's already done.  But we leave with huge anticipation for what lies ahead knowing it is a great adventure in His kingdom...and knowing we get to take you with us!