Three Ministries:

Three Seasons:

Two Weeks: 

October 15 -18, Colorado, winter

October 18 – 22, Arizona, summer

October 22 – 27, North Carolina, fall

 

 

One Carry-on.

It all started a week ago last Monday (October 15). The first leg of our trip was a retreat for a small group of Navigator staff wives, women I’ve come to know and appreciate. We called it a Gathering as there was no official speaker. Jean Fleming was our guest of honor and for two days she led us in a discussion of important stuff. What a phenomenal privilege. All 18 of us plus two babies lived in one of the lovely reunion cabins at the YMCA of the Rockies.

Jean fed us a banquet of wisdom gained from her years of walking with Jesus, her knowledge of the Bible, and her experience as a wife, a mother of three children, and a missionary.  We all left with  much to think about.

Jean’s Gems

Let me highlight just three that I’ve been pondering this past week.

Jean’s husband Roger died November 30, 2017, just under a year ago. Jean, however, did not want the word widow to define her in this season. Widow speaks to what is lost, what is missing. So she asked God for a new name, one that would speak truth to this chapter of her journey. Jean’s desire is that these years will be the most fruitful years of her life. Her new name speaks of anticipation and expectation. She says, this name I call myself is shaping me. It is her ‘inside name’, the name God has given her.

I’ve been asking God what his inside name is for me. I’m not sure yet. But I’m going to keep asking. I want God’s name for me to shape me too.

Another thought Jean shared is, Life cannot always be simple, organized, or balanced. But it can be focused. She said that if we’re living on a starvation diet spiritually at this stage of our lives, we’ll live on a starvation diet in our next stage. Changing circumstances don’t automatically create a healthy spiritual diet. In this stage … where I am right now … where is my focus? And how can I live that focus in the midst of my current circumstances?

Jean also challenged us to think deeply about truth. To process, to ponder, to ask questions, to do away with pat answers. She shared this illustration. A pastor called all the children in church one Sunday up to the front of the sanctuary for the children’s sermon. He asked, “What is small and gray, eats nuts, has a big bushy tail, and climbs trees?” Little Johnny excitedly raises his hand. The pastor calls on him and Johnny says loudly and clearly, “Jesus”. The pastor says, “Now listen well. What is small and gray, eats nuts, has a big bushy tail, and climbs trees?” A bit more tentatively Johnny raises his hand. The pastor calls on him and Johnny replies, “Well it sounds like a squirrel. But ‘Jesus’ is always the right answer.”

Is Jesus always our right answer? Or are we pondering deeply about what the scriptures are saying, are we asking questions? Or are we defaulting to what we think the scriptures are saying without taking the time to study, to meditate, and to ask God how a specific passage speaks to this situation. We grow more from asking questions than having the answer. A good challenge.

“This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success.”
Joshua 1:8