Ordination

Saturday September 13, 2008 a night I will never forget. Glenn and I were ordained as pastors. It was humbling, honoring, loving, affirming, sweet. We stood before family and friends as they expressed their love and confidence in us. We had hands laid on us, prayers prayed over us and a double portion imparted to us. It was overwhelming, but it was not about us, it was and is about a God who can and does redeem every part of our life.

Glenn and I were married at 17 and 16. We had a baby girl 6 months later. We had been raised in church, but it was a Sunday morning thing, not a living experience. After we got married we were in a "what happened, how did we get here, we are Christians" state of mind. But we loved each other and continued to pursue God. We thought, "okay, we missed something" and we began searching for what that was. We eventually discovered the rest of the story.

Salvation:
Jesus came to earth. He was fully man and fully God. He loved us so much that He dies on a cross to bridge the gap between us, fallen man, and a Holy and Righteous God. John 3:16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

The rest of the Story:
John 14:2 "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."
John 14:15-16 If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever--
Acts 2:1-5 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The missing piece: When I was filled with the Holy Spirit, I knew I had the help I needed, the power I needed, the understanding I needed to walk out the life of a Christian, "one who is a follower and disciple of God." One of my first thoughts was, "this was what I needed when I was in high school." I would have had God with me all day helping me in my decisions. and I want my daughters to have this too! And so began the journey of growing in the Lord that has never stopped or grown old for 30 years!

The passion God has given Glenn and I is to teach, encourage and help couples to not only stay married, but find fulfillment in their relationship with each other and to have fun all along the way. We have learned what to do and what not to do, we continue everyday to learn more. The first key though is to be committed forever. An if Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not a part of your life you too have a missing piece.

One of our pastors said that "You don’t start pastoring when you get ordained. You get ordained when people notice that your pastoring." God noticed us and our leaders noticed us and we have been entrusted with this gift of shepherding couples to wholeness in their relationships and to help them discover their destiny as a married couple.

God took two teenagers who loved Him, made mistakes, pursued Him with all our heart, who raised up 3 young women to love and serve Him all the days of their life, who prayed in young men to be their husbands who would join them in their pursuit of God's destiny for them as a couple and for their families...and the story continues. He is a redeeming God who loves us more than we can ever know or understand and He will bless us all the days of our lives. About the time you think it can't get any better it does!