Christian musician, poet, and singer/songwriter Rich Mullins once said, "I feel like God's leading me out, so I'm kind of sleeping with my shoes on. When God parts the sea, you don't want to say, 'Oh rats, where are my sandals?'" Lately we've been 'sleeping with our shoes on.' We knew that this year would bring transition, but weren't sure what that would look like or when it would happen exactly. I applied to Masters programs, going back and forth between passions, trying to figure out the next step. What we're about hasn't changed: prayer, worship and ministering the Lord's love and mercy. We've been blessed to have been able to build helping relationships with Apache teens and young adults that we'll take with us the rest of our lives, however, we feel that the Lord's leading us into a new season of ministry.

Over the past few years, we have enjoyed our fellowship with the Alliance of Renewal Churches ( arcusa.org ). Joel has key mentors who are a part of this alliance, and as we got to know the leadership, we have grown closely connected to their values. We have led worship at their annual conferences, and Joel has taught workshops at their conferences as well.

The beginning of June, Joel received a call from an ARC church, asking him to consider a full-time worship leader position that had become available. The details began to fall into place for us, and the Lord gave us great peace and desire for the position...even though the position is in Minnesota! We had no idea that the Lord would be transitioning us from the mountains of Arizona to the colder climate of MN, but the more we prayed about it, the more we felt a big "yes" over the opportunity. The weeks following, we spent much time in prayer as we talked with the pastor and interviewed with the church leadership. Through the process, the peace on our hearts turned to excitement as we've been on this ride of God answering our prayers for clarity.

We feel that the position at North Heights is a good fit for Joel because, not only is it a worship leading position (and we love leading worship), but the church is passionate about prayer, active in outreach, they are hungry for soaking worship (worship times that foster intimacy with Jesus), and they want someone who is experienced in, and passionate about, intercultural ministries and reaching the nations with the Gospel. We feel that this position is right in line with our passions and the Calling that the Lord has placed on our lives.

Now we are in packing mode, and we'll be moving the end of August. Please be praying for us in this big transition. There is much to be done, and while we are excited about this new 'starting line' in ministry, we also have a 'finishing line' on this season of ministry - for which much needs to be done. 

Grappling with death is one of the inevitabilities of human existence. Every person through history did it, and Jesus even did it. The two verses above are verses that are conceptually embraced by western Christians, however, there is a large disconnect when it comes living like we believe it. The persecuted church gets it, where believers (even in this moment) are being persecuted, harmed, or tortured for their faith. In living it out, they are showing us what it really means to believe those verses.

We need to live for the Kingdom that we claim we belong to. As long as we live for this kingdom and this Age, we’ll try to find ways to have all the blessings of this world and all the benefits of Heaven (i.e. Gnostic Christianity). However, Jesus was all or nothing, and He calls us to be all or nothing. I admit, that’s not a very popular thing to teach today, but, judging from the Gospels, it wasn’t a very popular thing to teach in Jesus’ day either.

This morning we stayed home from church since our 2 weeks and 6 day old daughter is getting this whole living thing worked out (breathing, sleeping, pooping, and eating). As I gave little Sarah her first rundown of the resurrection story, I thought, “Wow, what an existence.” It really is all about Jesus. Eating, breathing, sleeping, living, would be meaningless without the sacrifice and the person of Christ. The cross was the plan from the foundation of the world. Us being with the Father (in love) is the primary purpose of our existence.

Today as I held our little girl Sarah Clare, I remembered the son that we lost: Elijah. We sprinkled his ashes on a hill with three crosses, overlooking the reservation where we work. Today that is a declaration that death is not the end – it has been conquered. In that moment I realize that my heart is starting to grasp the truth of “Death where is your sting” and “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” I have a daughter on this side of Heaven, and a son on the other. There is a fellowship that my wife and I share, “a strength for today, a bright hope for tomorrow.” As a family, our living is done together, and when that day comes where we cross over onto that other shore, it means eternity together. Life means living for the Kingdom of our citizenship now, as strangers in this land (1 Peter 2:11), testifying of the Kingdom of Heaven by the way that we live now.