Such Good Times with Friends!Last month we mentioned we have been having some sweet times with friends lately. Over the past few weeks this has become a theme for us. To be honest, over time we have developed some bad habits; habits of not keeping in touch with good friends from days gone by. This has caused us to lose track of what has been going on in their lives and to lose the opportunity to learn life’s lessons alongside of them. We have missed seeing how they apply their faith to their trials and how they have grown closer to God through these trials.
Over the past few weeks of visiting with longtime friends, we have learned of surgeries, struggles with contentment and depression, massive automobile wrecks, children in tough marriages, financial struggles and so much more. Oh, we have also seen photos of and met children and grand-children, learned of great accomplishments and rejoiced with folks; but it seems it is the trials that stand out. James 1:1-2 has new meaning for us. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The couple we would say were our best friends during our college years have always been an inspiration to us. Although we probably did not use the term back then, they were the first couple to disciple us. Over the years we had essentially lost touch with them. We knew a few things about them, like the fact that they had two sons and then adopted an infant girl from Mexico. However, we had no idea how God had been shaping them through the adoption of this little girl who ended up being both hard of hearing and autistic. We watched them lovingly and patiently work with their now 22 year old daughter who still lives with them. We listened as they told stories of the adoption and how challenging raising their daughter had been over the years and as they wondered where she would live after they are gone. We learned how they have come through times of questioning God to trust Him at a deep and abiding level. They continue to disciple us now, after all these years. In a note to us after we departed, the husband said that he thought our time with them was a little glimpse of heaven. As we have contemplated that, it makes sense. Although the Bible does not give us much information about Heaven, we do get the sense we will know there people we knew here – one aspect of Heaven very well could be getting together with old friends and celebrating who God is and how He worked in our lives. We challenge you, if you have some long-time friends you have not kept up with, look them up, get together and celebrate the work of our Lord in each other’s lives. You too may feel it is a little bit of heaven here on earth
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JUNE, 2012Some of our freinds from The Woodlands.
Our friends from Tulsa!
Michael with their daughter Alicia.
Lori with Cindy Perkins in OKC. Sorry we missed taking a photo of Lance. Next time!
The Chapel on the University of Tulsa Campus, where it all began.
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Prayer Requests
Please Pray for healing of Lori’s foot.
It is a story we can tell sometime, but she broke her foot while we were
in Tulsa. Pray for wisdom for the
doctors as they discern if she needs surgery or not. Pray she will not need any surgery and for
quick healing.
Please pray for us to learn our lesson; that we would keep in touch with friends, be praying for them through their struggles and learning life’s lessons in community with them – even from afar. Continue to pray for us to be diligent in our studies, for God to open our minds to learn German, and for us to pass the test to gain the certification we need to receive our residency visas! Continue to pray that God would keep our hearts fully devoted to Him during this preparation period, and continue to burden our hearts for the people of Austria, Central Europe and beyond. THIRTY FIVE YEARS!We celebrated 35 years of marriage this month! God has been gracious to us in so many ways, none greater than in our marriage.
So, if we celebrated our 27th anniversary at the top of the Empire State Building, you may ask what we did for this milestone year. While in Tulsa, we visited many of the places we remember from when we first met. The moment that stood out to both of us was sitting on a bench outside the Chapel on The University of Tulsa campus where we were married and praying together. It was a sweet time of reflection and worship. THANK YOU! .... To all of you who are praying for us, we already feel those prayers. .... To those of you who have started supporting us financially. You each are a blessing to us! Let us know how we can be praying for you. Hebrews 10:32
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. (ESV) |