Moving Update

25About three o’clock in the morning ◙ Jesus came to them, walking on the water. 26When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 27But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”
28Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.”
29“All right, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
(Matt. 14:25-31, NLT)

We felt God stirring in us something new, something that would call us out of the comfort of the boat. We prayed Peter's prayer, "Lord if this is You, command us to come." He did. And then we had to grip the rail of the boat, swing our legs over and drop down into the stormy sea. Now we are walking slowly toward Him on churning, swelling waves. They are screaming for us to look at them and take our eyes off Jesus. "What if no one rents your house?! You haven't booked the movers yet? What about that tile in the kitchen? That has to be fixed! You have no insurance!! What about that?!"

It's freakin' scary. No shame in admitting that. But we believe that God is bigger than all that. "The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!" (1 Thess. 5:22, The Message paraphrase)

How can you pray for us? So glad you asked! :-)

1. We need to rent our house. Until the market turns around, selling is not an option. Of course, God could do it if He wanted. But it looks like He wants us to rent it for now.
2. We need a place to land on the other side. We can't afford a down payment and I don't think we could get a loan without selling our house in Vegas anyway. We need an affordable place to live (that will allow us to keep our dog!) until we can buy our own place. There are a few things in the works but nothing is settled yet.
3. We need affordable health insurance. This is huge. The church we are going to serve with doesn't have a group plan but pays for the pastors to buy their own insurance. But as we all know that stuff ain't cheap. We need wisdom and guidance in finding something affordable with enough coverage for our whole family.
4. I need to raise some support money. While I will have a set salary, the church is still young and asks all its pastors to help offset payroll by raising a fourth of their salaries in support. I will be drafting a letter in the next few weeks and sending it off, along with a short DVD. Please pray about helping support us in this new work God has called us to.

Right now we are targeting June 30th as a departure date. That's coming up fast so start praying NOW! :-) When we have a packing date for the movers, we will let everyone know who has expressed an interest in helping. Thanks so much to all of you who have been so encouraging to us these past few weeks. Stay tuned...