ICCM Day 4

So as ICCM comes to a close (well actually one more half day) I am contemplating many things.  One thing I am and have been contemplating is in regards to missions.  I feel a strong call towards a full time missions but no specific direction. What does that mean?  There are several possible thoughts. One is that God is placing a passion for missions on my heart but is saying not yet.  That is a real possibility. Another possibility is that the oppurtunity or open door is just around the corner.  I am not sure what it means but what I am sure of this passion and seeking the Lord's will in this matter has most certainly brought me closer to Him.  Especially during my time here at ICCM.  I have certainly had my ups and downs over the past 18 months but especially the past 6 months have been trying.  I have had trials at work that usually spilled over to home.  But over the past 4 days I have received both confirmation for missions, but perhaps more importantly a peace in the not knowing.  I feel at peace that God is working in me and preparing me for something.  But what has been really cool is this peace has also spilled over into answering the what, when and where for my passion for missions.  While I do not know the what, when and where, I am ok with that.  I have gotten to know some really awesome people at Lightsys and have currently applied to be a member of their LAN (Lightsys Associate Network) and am letting the Lord lead from there. Because of my passion I have been convicted that I am not doing my part to be ready for when the specifics come.  Two ways I intend to intentionally do my part are in applying to renew my passport and to work to pay down debt as fast as possible.  I have meant to apply to renew my passport for nearly 3 months but whatever reason have not.  Also while we have worked to pay off debt as a family I certainly can do more.  I believe this was one way the devil has been attacking me.  The second way was definitely through work.  There has been a lot of stress at work and I have been responding negatively for sure to it.  I have allowed it to fester like cancer and eat away at my attitude.  See, no matter if God opens doors to missions tomorrow or 3 years from now He has me at Marlington today. And as a believer it is my mission to do the best I can and to show others Christ's love through where I am at. I can still have a passion for missions and be working towards that, but perhaps the doors are not open yet because God still has more for me to learn where I am at.  The ultimate goal should be to draw closer to Him and seek to serve him with all I am, were I am at.  It is my prayer that the passion He has given me, and my love for Him, will be evident to others.  Life on this earth is too short, and I only have but one chance to reach those I come in contact with for God's kingdom.  I pray that I get out of the way and let God lead so I can run after him.

ICCM Day 3

Today started with great fellowship at Breakfast and continued with great praise and worship through song. It was a great mix of some older songs, Come Thou Fount and ones I had not heard before like One Pure and Holy Passion. It was a great time of getting to worship my Lord and also have some truely emoutional moments. For some reason this morning the power behind the words truely touched my heart. The line from Come Thou Fount that really hit me was as follows:

Oh to grace how great a debtor

Daily i'm constraint to be!

It just hit me how much I need Jesus and how far from him I get at times. It all came to fruition with the last song, One Pure and Holy Passion. Dorinda from Lightsys shared that her passion is to help reach others with the gospel and the first 2 linea of the verse at first seemed to enforce that:

Give me one pure and holy passion

Give me one magnificent obsession

But when you complete the verse and go into the chorus it really hits home what our pure and hold passion should be:

To know and follow hard after you

To grow as your dicsiple in your truth

This world is empty, pale, and poor

Compared to knowing you, my Lord

Lead me on and I will run after you

Lead me on and I will run after you

It really hit me hard. Even in my persuit to seek God at times I try to 'help' him with how I think I can best help him. I firmly believe, especially after this conference, that I am called to missions and so is my family. In my struggles to know the what, when and where I have tried to 'help' God figure it out. But as the chorus says To know and follow hard after you, to grow as a disciple in your truth and finally Lead me on and I will run after you. I must completely surrender first of all where I am. I may be unhappy at times but I must surrender it to him. I must also surrender where I may be in the future. God knows where he wants me and where I will be and what I will do. I do not know and the beauty is I do not need to know. All I need to be is ready to 'run after Him' when he 'Leads me on...".

As I close I will quote the last verse of Come Thou Fount as it says it well:

Oh to grace how great a debtor

Daily i'm constraint to be!

Let Thy goodness like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wander Lord i feel it

Prone to leave the God I love.

Here's my heart

Oh take and seal it.

Seal it for thy courts above.

Praise God! 

ICCM Day 2

Today was a very good day. The Lord is definitely cementing in my heart the call to missions technology.  I have met so many good people and created the beginnings of what I believe will be some great relationships. I firmly believe the Lord is leading me to missions or to work with a missions organization. The with whom, what and where is still yet to be decided. But the great part is that God knows and is in control. I am looking forward to a great time of worship and fellowship tomorrow. I cannot wait to hear what God has for me tomorrow.

ICCM Day 1

Today was quite the whirlwind of emotions to say the least. I woke up this morning ready to embark on a new adventure. But for the first time in a really long time I was heading out on my own. It was really emotional and difficult to leave my family today. I broke down and could not speak. My wonderful wife lead our family before the Lord in prayer and I finished it up and I was ready to go. I spent the next 5+ hours making my way to Taylor University and when I arrived, I was welcomed by a smiling face. Once I settled in the dorm I went down to the lobby to mingle. I immediately connected with several people and started 'talking shop'. But the difference between this time and every other time was the people I talked to were excited about what they were doing. Most times when I talk shop with people, it includes stories about people that are trying to say the least. It was neat to talk to people who were excited about what they were doing.

I then went to dinner. The gentlemen at my table had a wide range of experience. One guy works with a church planting organization. Many of the people are in hard to reach areas. Another is a developer, and another is a Tech Director for a Christian school in Africa. It was neat to hear what the Lord is doing in their lives.

Then it was time for some worship and introductions. We sang two songs (Everlasting God and Mighty to Save) and jumped into introductions. I found it neat that there is several people like myself who are searching for where they can fit in and get connected. I also got some faces to catch up with later this week to make connections. I did get to formally meet Greg and Dorinda from lightsys.

At this point we all headed back to the dorm and began socializing. Then we had a fire drill. It was like being back in college. It was commical. I got some good pics of campus security and the fire engine that arrived. I went back in and talked to some more people and also spent some time trying to figure out the game Epidemic. Once I started drifting off to sleep I decided to head back to the room and go to sleep. It was a great first day and am looking forward to tomorrow.

ICCM

I will be attending my first ICCM conference this coming weekend in Indiana. I am looking forward to making some connections and growing closer to the Lord. The conference is about International Conference for Computing in Missions. It should be a great time of learning and worshiping God. My biggest request is for God to reveal his plan to me (even just a little bit). I am feeling strongly called to missions but am awaiting for further direction from God. I know he will make his will evident to me and prepare me for what ever He has for me and my family.

New Blog

I am creating this blog as a way to share our heart for missions an hopefully future trips. I want to keep this separate from our family blog as that is more personal in nature.  Please check back for future updates.