Living the Journey

Last summer we were surprised by a visit from two of our young neighbor children. The little girl (9) and the little boy (5) were new next door and had observed us playing in our backyard, from their side of the woods. We introduced ourselves and got to know them better by asking questions. My siblings and I were passionate about reaching out to these two like big sisters and brothers, so we all made it our goal from the very start to be salt and light.

It wasn’t long before our little neighbors began visiting four or five times a week. They would come over after school let out and stay until dinner. We quickly discovered that working in the kitchen was a favorite for both of them! The little boy had never touched flour before! When we made muffins for dinner one night, he had fun playing in the flour bin and learning to crack eggs for the first time ever. We made baking a regular activity, along with other discipleship-oriented activities like football, board games, and story-reading. We decided to plan group activities that would promote structure, fun, and character building through team-work.

One day in early spring of this year, I (Sarah) came home to find the two out playing in our yard. It was warm and breezy, and watching the little boy come up with creative tactics to wipe out my line of matchbox fighter jets was rather amusing. At one point he told me he would finally agree to let me win once, but then his fuel truck somehow snuck into my base camp and blew the place up. When I reminded him of his promise, he mischievously replied “well, I tried to let you win, but it just didn’t work out!” Sometime during the game, he looked up and said, “I know I’m going to heaven when I die.” I replied, “Really! How do you know that?” He smiled. “I asked Jesus to come into my heart.” I smiled back. “That’s great! When did you do that?” He promptly answered, “Today…just a little while ago…with David.” My heart filled with joy, as I watched his beaming face. His smile told a beautiful story! He was even letting his big sister use his electric toy dirt-bike.

On Friday our neighbors dropped by again. I was babysitting a few of the younger ones and making dinner. As I tidied the kitchen and scrubbed a few last dishes, the little girl came over and joined me. We talked about her family – what she loved about her new step-dad who was finally going to get married to her mom in just a few weeks, and what she loved about spending time with her real dad. I also asked her if she knew that her brother had asked Jesus into his heart. She immediately answered, “Yes…what does that mean?” I began to explain that we cannot simply have a knowledge of Jesus but that we must have a personal relationship with Him – like Father and child. She asked, “What does it mean to worship God? What does it mean to have a relationship with God? How do I really become a Christian? I already pray before meals and at bedtime. Doesn’t that mean that I worship God if I know He’s real?” Such wonderful questions! By this time Bethany, Jonathan, and her brother had all joined us in the kitchen to listen in. The little boy enthusiastically blurted out, “I’m already a Christian so I don’t have to pray again!” He enjoyed sharing advice with his big sister on how to make sure she was going to heaven.

That afternoon the little girl prayed to receive Jesus into her heart. She told me that she had believed that God was real, and had prayed to Him. I was thrilled that now she could take this a step further and have a relationship with Him, and worship Him! We gave her an extra Bible that we had and encouraged her to read it every day, in order to discover more about God and His ways. What a beautiful change there was in her! I saw a sudden interest and desire in her to begin honoring her parents by saying Yes ma’am and yes sir. I heard her confess that she needed to love her brother more and would be working on sharing and being kind. We were ALL standing there in the kitchen surrounded by blueberry muffins, just having a marvelous time talking about Jesus Christ and how we could love and serve Him more! When it was time for them to go home, the little boy gave me a huge hug and yelled “Goodbye sister! I’ll see you next time!” So precious, so priceless! Praise the Lord!

We are getting to know our little neighbors more and more every day. Just one week after these two prayed to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ, their step-sister came to visit and also received salvation. We are seeing incredible fruit resulting in the lives of these precious children, as they seek to live and act in a way that is glorifying to their Heavenly Father. It is so much fun to spend time with them, reading character-building stories or just baking in the kitchen together. They are so incredibly sincere about seeking God! I believe that God is going to do a beautiful work through this family for His Kingdom! In my journal I wrote, “All I can say is praise the Lord! My God answers prayer, and He has given His priceless treasure gift to these three precious souls! I know that this is just the beginning of a beautiful work that He has begun, and the journey these little ones will take closer to the heart of God – may it be a testimony to the world of God’s redeeming love.”

~ Sarah Stelzl

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She was just a little old lady – stooped over with age and leaning heavily on her cane as she walked past. I glanced in her direction and shot her a warm smile. I can’t really say why I did, except she seemed so sweet and grandmotherly and yet it touched my heart when I noticed a sadness about her. My heart jumped when in return of my smile, her eyes lit up and I was rewarded with a crinkly toothless smile. I love doing that…I love making others happy from the happiness in my heart that was given me by Jesus.

I walked over to my table, sat down, and ordered my meal. Scrambled eggs with cheese, hashbrowns, toast and coffee. I was going all out. After I had been there awhile, my waitress came up and asked how I was enjoying my meal. “Delicious!” I told her, “Thank you so much.” She smiled and then said, “Good, I am glad. I just wanted to let you know your meal has already been paid for.” In surprise, I asked her what she meant. “There was a little old lady that grabbed my hand as I walked past and told me that she wanted to cover the tab of "that girl with a smile". She had tears in her eyes as she told me that it had been ages since a girl so young had taken the time to smile at her. She told me to tell you to keep smiling.”

I was shocked. All because of a quick smile…and she paid for my meal?! I glanced up to see if she was still around, to notice her walking out the door. I started to jump up from my table, but she motioned with her hand for me to sit back down, and mouthed the words, “God bless you.” With that, she was gone.

That has never happened to me before and it may never happen again, but I know it will be something I’ll never forget. For giving a smile…God sent a smile right back to me that warmed my heart.

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You heard from my incredibly wise, patient, wonderful and Godly fiancé yesterday, so here’s a peek into the other side of the story as I reveal just a little of the miracle of how the Lord brought us together. It truly is a miracle! I think back on all the events leading up to these last few glorious months and praise the Lord for never letting me stray and showing me the importance of sticking to Scripture despite opposition.

This “love story” began eleven years ago when I made the decision to submit to my father’s authority and let him approve of any guy who was interested before I talked to him. This submission to my earthly father not only strengthened our relationship, but it drew me closer to my heavenly Father. Over these last years, the Lord brought countless situations where I had to make a decision based on His Word and not on other’s opinions, emotions, or how it appeared by sheer logic. The Lord was training me to obey His voice, know it intimately, and follow Him without question.

After ten years of no one coming to Dad, I started contemplating the idea of being single for the rest of my life and became excited about the freedom it would lend to minister to others more effectively (or so I thought) and settled, very contentedly, in what I was doing here in Big Sandy, TX.

Last summer, the Lord brought three young men to my father, all wonderful and Godly men who desired Him with their whole heart. How was one to determine which was the Lord’s “one?” Simple: by following the lessons He had taught and prepared me with previously—to trust and obey. I trusted that the Lord would reveal the right one first through my father and then through Scripture, and I obeyed the direction of my father. Even when things weren’t going the way I had planned, I listened to my father and was blessed beyond my wildest dreams as I entered a relationship with Robert. The Lord confirmed it through my parents and then gave me Scriptures to support their decision.

I look back now and see how everything fits together, how clear the Lord’s warnings were when I started heading down a wrong path because I thought I knew better than my Dad, how vivid His display of blessings and love, and how much more He wanted to bless if only I would trust. These last ten years have been the foundation of my relationship with Robert because during those years of waiting and trusting, the Lord brought me to the place of being content no matter where I am. It is rightly said that you will never be content married if you are not content single.

It has been a wonderful joy to get to know Robert better than a friend and as he mentioned, to do it freely, with the consent of our parents, and without guilt. Yet another confirmation gleaned from this experience has been watching the sovereignty of God and how all things really do work together for good to them that love the Lord. ALL THINGS…not some, not most, but all things. We need never fear if we’ll miss “the one,” or if we’re in the right place, what if our parents don’t approve, what if we don’t like the guy, or what our future holds. Our job is to love the Lord. He’s more concerned about our love life than we are! The more we love Him, the more we’ll have the capacity to love others…including wonderful fiancés like Robert. That’s all that life boils down to…love God.

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Valentine’s Day has a whole new meaning for me this year!   I am engaged to a beautiful, godly, and talented young lady!  But as I read back through various Journal entries over the past four years, I realize that the path to where I am now has not been all lined with roses.

Years ago, the Lord impressed me with the fact that it would be defrauding for any guy to single out a girl for special attention without first gaining the blessing of her parents to pursue her heart. That was easy enough … until I met Kendalyn! We worked together at the IBLP Headquarters for a little over a year and my admiration for her humility and virtue continued to grow. But the Lord had led me to make a commitment to serve Him with a single focus for a certain number of years. So any thoughts or actions of love toward Kendalyn would just have to wait. This little secret between God and I really deepened my closeness with Him. I often found myself quoting Psalm 73:25: “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.”

I still remember standing in a church one Sunday after Kendalyn had left Headquarters and returned to her home in the remote regions of western Canada. My heart was aching. She was gone. I really missed her! We stood up to sing a hymn, and it was the words of I Timothy 1:12 set to music: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” There was such a freedom in completely committing my future to the Lord! If I simply trusted and obeyed His leading, He was going to work out every situation, whether easy or hard, for my good.

Eventually my commitment to single service was up and I suddenly realized that I was at a critical point of decision. Should I actually try making “the call” to Kendalyn’s Dad to discuss courtship? This was no small thing! I really wanted a clear word from the Lord! So I asked Him for it. Then I looked down at my Bible reading for the day. It just so happened to be “the wedding Psalm”! Psalm 45:13 jumped off the page to me: “The king’s daughter is all glorious within.” The inward virtue radiating from Kendalyn’s life was precisely what had attracted me so much to her! When I excitedly shared this rhema verse with my Dad, he smiled and said, “That is exactly the same passage of Scripture that the Lord gave to me before I married your Mom!”

Little did I realize that it would be another whole year and a half before all the lights would turn green and God would allow my authorities to give their full blessing on me making “the call” to Kendalyn’s Dad. It was during this time of patiently waiting, however, that over and over again God emphasized to me the importance of learning to fear Him: “He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him” (Psalm 145:19). “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed” (Psalm 112:1-2). As God’s desires became my desires by surrendering my will and delighting in His, fulfilling my desires would become God’s responsibility: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).

I was honestly very nervous when I finally talked to Kendalyn’s Dad in July of 2010. But the many clear rhemas that the Lord had given over the past few years were a source of complete confidence and hope: “I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope” (Psalm 130:5). Five months later, Mr. Kowalchuk gave his full blessing to begin pursuing Kendalyn’s heart.

Looking back, I am so grateful for the many challenging years of patiently waiting on God’s timing. Now Kendalyn and I are able to pursue a wonderfully fulfilling and guilt-free relationship. With a heart full of gratitude, I wholeheartedly affirm that …

My God is worthy of all my trust, in His Word I fully relax,
’cause His Will is exactly what I would choose
if I only knew all the facts.

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Over the summer, I helped out with a month-long Character Camp in Oklahoma City. One day, a boy named Edgar came up to me, wondering how a person could be saved. A few minutes later he asked Christ into his heart! Over the next couple of weeks we studied a little bit of the Bible each day. About 21 other kids came to know the Lord during this Character Camp.

Christians often have the thought, “Does it really matter if I get involved in a ministry? I’m only one person. How can I realistically change the world, or even my city?”

When God told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham begged Him to pardon the city if there were but ten righteous people in those cities. God said he would. Yet there were not even ten that did what was right. Today God is looking for young men and women who are normal, everyday people who simple care about Him and want to make a difference. God notices when even a few righteous people obey Him, though all others may be doing what is wrong, or simply doing nothing.

For Edgar and each of those twenty one kids saved, it only took one person who cared about them and took the time to explain the Gospel. All around us are those who are lost, who are searching for the truth. Many are bitter, and when you witness to them or hand them a track, they reject you and your message. But it is worth being rejected!

Let’s get involved in ministry. Ask God where He wants you to serve Him, whether it would be helping out with a current program in your church or going to a program like In the Gap. You could go on a missions trip somewhere in the U.S. or overseas, or perhaps start a little Bible study with some neighborhood kids. Even giving a track to the local grocer or bank teller can make a difference! The key is being open to serving God in some capacity, so that when He examines your life, He can be pleased and say, “Well done.” Who knows, but someone might be saved by your example!

~ Paul
November 2007 Journey

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In April of 2010 I went on a Journey to the Heart, where I dealt with many issues of the heart and learned a lot about who I am in Christ. One of the things I learned about, was that God wants us to share our faith with others instead of keeping it to ourselves. Since a very young age, I kept my faith to myself—mainly because of my reserved nature. In fact, I used that as an excuse. When I went on the Journey, I realized how weak that excuse was. I was basically blaming God for making me “shy” and telling Him that’s why I couldn’t share the Gospel with others. The truth of the matter was that I was scared to take a chance; scared to do something in faith.

After the Journey to the Heart, when I came back home, I started seeking to reverse my past weakness and start sharing the Gospel with others. When that didn’t happen as soon and as easily as I had expected, I was tempted to get discouraged. But instead, I remembered that God will only use us when we’re “hot”. Last week, I was asked by a leader at our church to lead devotions at our weekly staff meeting. I felt led to talk about Revelation 3:15,16 and I was making the point that God will only use us as long as we are spiritually “hot”. So in order to practice what I preach, I made an effort the rest of the week to remain usable and “hot” for God.

The very next day, I was at my church when I saw four kids, around 8-10, playing around in the fountain. It turns out that they were from nearby apartments and had never heard about God’s plan for salvation. When I asked them to get out of the fountain, they asked me what the empty tomb (a replica of the tomb Jesus was supposedly buried in) was for. So I had the amazing opportunity to share the story of Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection with them. And after I finished telling them about the way to be saved, they all wanted to ask Jesus to be their Savior! It blew me away that God could use me to impact those kids’ lives!

What also blew me away is that I did none of this on my own. When I put aside my weakness in speaking to others about God, I was able to be used by God to advance His Kingdom! God says in Exodus 4:12 “I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” Regardless of the fact that I did not know what to say, God spoke through my mouth to those boys. When I rendered myself usable for God, only then was I able to share with those boys.

~ Luke
April 2010 Guys Journey

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