7/25/2016 0 Comments Setback or Strategy...Just over a year ago God started speaking to my wife and I. We just kept hearing "exit strategy"? We started asking God for discernment and He began to put things together. I'm gonna do my best to keep this short haha.
It started with an opportunity to sell our house to our best friends. We had 7.4 acres with a 1500 square ft 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house and a 750 square ft 1 bedroom 1 bathroom house. We were able to sell it at a very good price to them which meant that Wanda and I would move into the little house. It happened so fast! 30 days from the time we talked about it, Mike and Erika sold their house and purchased our place and moved in! That put us in the best financial position we had been in since we were married. Then God told Wanda that it was time for her to step away from her position as the mission director at the church where we were both employed. She had been the missions director for 5+ years with 3 of them being paid on staff. In October of 2015 she stepped away and became a stay at home wife. It was quite an adjustment for us, but it was good! Then in December of 2015 I was just unsettled in my spirit, I'm not really sure how to explain it. I started fasting and praying, I was getting closer to God than I had ever been. By the time January 2016 rolled around I knew what I needed to do. It was something that my wife knew I was suppose to do from the moment I gave my life to the Lord. I was to leave the church that I was employed by, a church that had raised me from the moment I gave my life to the Lord(14 years). A church that I loved so much! I talked with my Pastor (boss) and told him what I believe the Lord was leading me to do. After talking with the leaders of the church we decided that I would leave my position in April. I needed a job!!!! When I decided to be obedient to the Lord the first person I thought of talking to was a good friend of mine who had is own small business. One Sunday morning I found him and told him what I was doing and needed a job, before I could say anything else, he said, "you're hired!" For those that know me I can be a little emotional, so I started crying haha. Alright, I have a job! I started with Craig in May 2016. Funny thing is, I didn't even know what I was gonna make until I got my first check haha!!! My first day of work, my boss and friend started chemo. He found out he had cancer 3 days before I started. I know God has me in the right place. Craig and his wife Paula are amazing people who love the Lord and have glorified Him through all that they have gone through. While all this transition is going on a small group of us were meeting on Saturday nights. I started by sharing the vision that God has given me for a new church (Water's Edge) and began teaching. We are a few weeks away from launching the church. The plant team has grown to 41 adults and children! More on than later... Exit strategy! In a year our house and our income has been cut by more than half, but God is faithful. Everything that my wife and I own fit in our 750 square ft. home and a 7x7 shed haha! Everything had been was cut in half! What could easily be looked at as a setback has actually been God's strategy for His will to be done! I'm reminded of the words of John the Baptist, "He (Jesus) must increase, I must decrease"! God will always give you an exit strategy, we just have to be willing to decrease so that He can increase! Love ya Rick
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