“What a difference a year can make!”

What a difference a year can make!  This morning I turned to the front of my present journal which I started one year ago.  My journal starts out with the following:

“When we step out for God, He will provide direction.  Satan will provide distraction which may lead to a time of despair” – Jim Baker, TPCC Mission Trip, Kenya 2013

As I begin this new journal, what great words to remember.  Yes, we’ve stepped out for God and sense He is providing direction toward KCC.  We’ll know if this is the case in a few weeks.  In the meantime, Satan continues to distract and create despair with the ‘money thing’.  It’s not only ‘what if you don’t get it?’; it’s also, ‘if you get it, how will you live on it with kids in college?’

May we rest in His promises where He’s leading will have provision and be a much better life for our family!

John 12:24-26″ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal (life) …”

To the point of “distraction” and “despair” right as I finished reading this passage, we received a phone call as parents you never want to hear.  “Mom, I’ve been in an accident!”  Yes, it was Kylie’s first day driving in significant snow accumulation for which she had reservations and her father encouraged her to drive.  Imagine our thoughts receiving this call, during the 30 minutes it took to end up at the scene, and arriving to see the Explorer pictured below.  Miraculously, Kylie had no major injuries and we were able to take her home from the scene of the accident with us. 

Referenced in the journal entry was “KCC”.  At the time, I was in the mist of interviews for an executive pastor’s position for a local church.  2015 was a year we had spent time intentionally entertaining executive pastor roles for which we felt called.  Even at that, you can likely pick-up in the words written that I was a bit unsettled in my spirit at the time.  Was this distraction and despair or simply God’s spirit affirming our walking the path; yet, it’s not going to end in the destination we were perceiving?

For some, you know the rest of the story.  A couple months later, after months of waiting and interviews (which was the second time within that year), we received “the call”.  On the other end of the phone line, “It was a tough decision; however, we’ve decided to go with the other candidate.”  While initially it stung a bit, you can read “finding blessings in the closed door” to learn more of how we were at peace with having the decision.

To the point of “What a difference a year can make!”, the picture of myself above is standing in the middle of Farm 360 just yesterday, one year from date of initial journal entry.  As many of you know, I accepted a position of General Manager, Farm 360 about 6 months ago.  Friends, the point of today’s post is that Farm 360 wasn’t even on my radar.  You can learn more of that story “One play can (has) changed the game!”.  The short version is I wasn’t looking and in one short conversation ended up in a game changer.  Beyond being a game changer in our personal lives, it’s been an opportunity to work alongside an incredible team with an incredible vision.  I could go on and on about how grateful I am to serve in this role even with it’s daily challenges for which being a start-up there are many.

Whether Farm 360 is a lifetime or a season, I don’t have the slightest.  Much to the point of today’s post, scripture speaks regularly of our not knowing what tomorrow will bring.  Additionally, to the point of “when we step out for God, He will provide direction”, I’m learning to take His direction one day at a time.  When one’s heart is surrendered to God’s leading, which while not perfect I strive to do daily, you discover “destinations” are far less important and “the journey” is rarely as you perceive.

As you seek His daily direction, may you not get caught up in “distraction which may lead to a time of despair!”  God is in control if we allow Him to be.  Rest on His promises!