Sometimes I think about what we're about to do and I realize it is only because of God's providence and his specific call on our lives. Savannah and I aren't really in the same mold that a lot of missionaries tend to come from. Well, at least the people in college that were on the missions program. We aren't the most well-traveled people in the world you see.
Savannah was born and lived in the same small town in North Carolina her whole life. She had the same classmates in school from kindergarten to her senior year in High School. College was her first real adventure you could say. I moved quite a bit when I was younger, and had my fair share of first days at a new school. But for the most part I was from Florida, I liked Florida and I planned on living in Florida for the rest of my life.
I had a job that required quite a bit of traveling at one time in our marriage. One time I had to spend a week in Philadelphia for a conference and Savannah went with me. We didn't have a lot of Big City experience. I've been to a few, and so had Savannah, but it was still quite an experience. Everyone was in a hurry and if you were at a fast food place and didn't know what you wanted right away, the cashier and the person behind you would yell at you at the same time. If you walked over the vents in the street, you would get a gust of warm air that smelled like cheeseburgers but not in a good way.
One day out of that week I skipped an afternoon session of the conference to do some sight seeing. We underestimated the size of Philadelphia, and by the time we saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and all that, we had walked about 4 miles and we then realized we had to walk four more miles back. It was July and we were really hot and tired by the time we got back. I was pretty much crawling into the hotel, which might speak to my current physical fitness level.
One night while we were there we were watching the news and someone was reporting about a murder that happened that day and the place where it happened was somewhere we walked right by earlier that day. It freaked us out a little bit, and we decided wherever we were planning on going that night suddenly didn't sound as fun as going to the hotel pool.
I guess the point of all this rambling is that we are both silly and ridiculous. We are ill-formed tools to perform the work that God has called us to. We are so thankful that that doesn't matter. We know that He will shape us and help us grow and that all the work that's coming is His work, not our work. All we have to do is let Him do it. We leave for our first trip to Verona in about 9 days. We will be silly and ridiculous there too, and we could not be more excited about it. God has put a fire in our hearts for a place we haven't been to yet. He's put a yearning in our spirits for a people we haven't' met and we wouldn't even be able to talk to yet. He provides the will to do it, the desire to want it, and the strength to accomplish it. The best part is He likes doing all of these things with ridiculous people.
-Brandon and Savannah
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Morning Devotions
This morning I was reading an exerpt from Blaise Pascal. He was talking about the amazing contradictions that we are as humans. There isn't another creature on the planet with the same kind of duality that we have. On the one hand we, who were created in God's image longing for a restored relationship with Him (even when we don't know that we long for it). We are capable of great love, service, and devotions through God. Yet on the other hand we have our fallen nature. We do the wrong thing more than we do what we know to be right. We seek out all sorts of carnal desires and pleasures and we lie, steal, and hate without thinking twice. No other species in the world could produce an Adolf Hitler and a Mother Theresa in the same gene pool.
Pascal went on to say that for him, no other religion gives a satisfactory explanation for this dual nature that we all have inside us besides the Gospel of Jesus. Even the shadow side of our hearts scream out and testify to the name of Jesus Christ!
I was thinking about this in my own life. I know that I have a long way to go before that final nail gets driven into my flesh and he stays down for the count. I daily have to pin him to the ground and tune out his protests. But he does not control me anymore. What a blessing to have the strength of Christ in my arms as I wrestle to the ground the old me and remind him that Someone Else is in charge now. What peace and what joy to finally have clarity of thought and a clear vision without all the duality that plagues us all. I am so thankful that I'm on the road to be a singular person, a person that imitates Jesus Christ. When I look back just a couple of years and see the things I've done or the way I've treated some people, I am humbled. I know that I will probably have that same experience a couple years from now when I'm farther on this daily journey with my Lord and Savior. Above all, I'm thankful that if we just open oursleves up (with all our filth and duality) God's Spirit will enter in, and that before long when people look at us they'll see Him instead. That's the ultimate goal.
-Brandon
Pascal went on to say that for him, no other religion gives a satisfactory explanation for this dual nature that we all have inside us besides the Gospel of Jesus. Even the shadow side of our hearts scream out and testify to the name of Jesus Christ!
I was thinking about this in my own life. I know that I have a long way to go before that final nail gets driven into my flesh and he stays down for the count. I daily have to pin him to the ground and tune out his protests. But he does not control me anymore. What a blessing to have the strength of Christ in my arms as I wrestle to the ground the old me and remind him that Someone Else is in charge now. What peace and what joy to finally have clarity of thought and a clear vision without all the duality that plagues us all. I am so thankful that I'm on the road to be a singular person, a person that imitates Jesus Christ. When I look back just a couple of years and see the things I've done or the way I've treated some people, I am humbled. I know that I will probably have that same experience a couple years from now when I'm farther on this daily journey with my Lord and Savior. Above all, I'm thankful that if we just open oursleves up (with all our filth and duality) God's Spirit will enter in, and that before long when people look at us they'll see Him instead. That's the ultimate goal.
-Brandon
Faith Raising
Brandon and I have been at this Support Raising thing for about 4 months now. I can't believe it has been that long. When I look back to April when we started I would have thought by August we would have alot more money coming in and be a whole lot closer to our goal. I could easily get discouraged and think that God's not going to hear our prayers and provide for our need but I know we're going to get there. It seems everytime I get stressed or worried about it I am reminded of what powerful and loving God we serve.
We were driving home from Indianapolis the other night and as we drove by a church the message on their sign stood out to me. It said "Where God guides, He provides." That little statement really rang true for me. I think back to last summer when Brandon and I were searching for where God wanted us to go and what capacity He wanted us to serve. As we stayed on that path constantly seeking God's direction and guidance we found the opportunity on the Verona team and before we knew it, God had put us where we belong. I know every appointment with a church missions board, every connection we establish, every email we send, and every dollar that comes in is a step towards our goal. All of these things are blessings and gifts from God. I try to not take any of them for granted but it's so easy to forget that we're not the ones controling who gives us money and who meets with us...it's our mighty God.
I just pray that as each person on our team strives to get to Verona that we all remember throughout every step that even though there is alot to accomplish, God will meet us half way. He'll be there to guide us and He will be there to give us all we need to complete the work He has called us to do.
-Savannah
We were driving home from Indianapolis the other night and as we drove by a church the message on their sign stood out to me. It said "Where God guides, He provides." That little statement really rang true for me. I think back to last summer when Brandon and I were searching for where God wanted us to go and what capacity He wanted us to serve. As we stayed on that path constantly seeking God's direction and guidance we found the opportunity on the Verona team and before we knew it, God had put us where we belong. I know every appointment with a church missions board, every connection we establish, every email we send, and every dollar that comes in is a step towards our goal. All of these things are blessings and gifts from God. I try to not take any of them for granted but it's so easy to forget that we're not the ones controling who gives us money and who meets with us...it's our mighty God.
I just pray that as each person on our team strives to get to Verona that we all remember throughout every step that even though there is alot to accomplish, God will meet us half way. He'll be there to guide us and He will be there to give us all we need to complete the work He has called us to do.
-Savannah
Friday, April 4, 2008
Blog By Brandon
Hello!
This is Brandon Eaton. My wife and I are the newbies on Team Verona. I saw Savannah's awesome blog on here and thought I'd better get a move on. I thought first I'd tell you a little bit about my self. I was born on ... OK maybe not that much. I'm a Johnson Bible College Graduate and due to my four years there I not only got a great education but I got a beautiful wife out of the deal. I think that makes the student loans worth it. When Savannah and I left Johnson and plunged into life we weren't exactly sure where we fit or what God had planned for us. We've continuously prayed and sought out His direction. I won't tell you on blog number one every step He took us on to get to where we are now, but lets just say that looking back at our path, He had us walking towards this all along.
I will be working in the area of youth and college age in Verona. I have a passion to work with those age groups specifically and have been in some form or fashion since I left school. Savannah will be working in children's ministry. I know we will work in each other's ministries as well , and I'm pretty sure that's how the whole team is going to function.
We are currently in preparation mode, and have been working towards this goal of getting to Verona. At the end of this month, we will transition out of our current employment and start preparing and fund-raising full-time. We can't wait. My thoughts are consumed with Verona, the Italian people, and everything that God is going to do in this beautiful city. Granted I haven't seen it with my own eyes yet, but I watched a pretty good show about Verona on the Travel Channel! We get to visit next month though, so in blogs to come expect me to be a smidgen more informed.
We are so excited to be a part of the Go Verona family. That family and support just keeps getting bigger when you think about Taking Christ to Italy, Team Expansion, and the hundreds of people that will be supporting us throughout this country. What a privilege to be a part of this.
This is Brandon Eaton. My wife and I are the newbies on Team Verona. I saw Savannah's awesome blog on here and thought I'd better get a move on. I thought first I'd tell you a little bit about my self. I was born on ... OK maybe not that much. I'm a Johnson Bible College Graduate and due to my four years there I not only got a great education but I got a beautiful wife out of the deal. I think that makes the student loans worth it. When Savannah and I left Johnson and plunged into life we weren't exactly sure where we fit or what God had planned for us. We've continuously prayed and sought out His direction. I won't tell you on blog number one every step He took us on to get to where we are now, but lets just say that looking back at our path, He had us walking towards this all along.
I will be working in the area of youth and college age in Verona. I have a passion to work with those age groups specifically and have been in some form or fashion since I left school. Savannah will be working in children's ministry. I know we will work in each other's ministries as well , and I'm pretty sure that's how the whole team is going to function.
We are currently in preparation mode, and have been working towards this goal of getting to Verona. At the end of this month, we will transition out of our current employment and start preparing and fund-raising full-time. We can't wait. My thoughts are consumed with Verona, the Italian people, and everything that God is going to do in this beautiful city. Granted I haven't seen it with my own eyes yet, but I watched a pretty good show about Verona on the Travel Channel! We get to visit next month though, so in blogs to come expect me to be a smidgen more informed.
We are so excited to be a part of the Go Verona family. That family and support just keeps getting bigger when you think about Taking Christ to Italy, Team Expansion, and the hundreds of people that will be supporting us throughout this country. What a privilege to be a part of this.
Savannah Eaton ... Reporting for Duty.
For those of you who don't know, I am Savannah Eaton. My husband and I just joined the team recently. We are really excited about it. I'm here to write my first blog. Blog is such a 21st century word. I kept plenty of diaries as a teenager so I should be pretty good at it.
So, this week I've started the initial stages of support raising. I've went through a range of feelings and emotions about the whole thing. What I have felt the most is doubt. I have found myself doubting myself, God's people and even the Almighty himself. During my quiet time, I've been praying and praying for my faith to strengthened and for my doubts to be relinquished.
God provides peace and comfort in the most unexpected ways.
Oddly enough, I've got some amazing encouragement from the book "People Raising" by William P. Dillon. I picked it up thinking it might give me some tips as I am calling people and setting up appointments to meet with missions boards. It gave me alot more than that.
One of the first reasons it gives for why support raising is important is that it stretches your faith. It goes on to give many more reason but this resonated loudly with me. Here I am, already experiencing this...the more I thought about it, I just realized that where my doubts are is the same place where my faith will grow and expand. This process is going to be a challenge, but through it, the doubts I have will turn into a stronger and steadier belief that God will meet my every need.
Through reading the book, I also came to understand that my own negative attitude could be my downfall. I can't look at support raising as this daunting task. I know that I have an amazing opportunity to share with others in the body of Christ this work God has put on our hearts and let them be a part of it. What we're doing is actually pretty exciting.
I can't say I'm feeling absolutley amazing about support raising but I can say I am not dreading it anymore. I'm looking forward to sharing Verona, Italy with everyone and giving others a chance to be a part of it.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"- Matthew 6:33
So, this week I've started the initial stages of support raising. I've went through a range of feelings and emotions about the whole thing. What I have felt the most is doubt. I have found myself doubting myself, God's people and even the Almighty himself. During my quiet time, I've been praying and praying for my faith to strengthened and for my doubts to be relinquished.
God provides peace and comfort in the most unexpected ways.
Oddly enough, I've got some amazing encouragement from the book "People Raising" by William P. Dillon. I picked it up thinking it might give me some tips as I am calling people and setting up appointments to meet with missions boards. It gave me alot more than that.
One of the first reasons it gives for why support raising is important is that it stretches your faith. It goes on to give many more reason but this resonated loudly with me. Here I am, already experiencing this...the more I thought about it, I just realized that where my doubts are is the same place where my faith will grow and expand. This process is going to be a challenge, but through it, the doubts I have will turn into a stronger and steadier belief that God will meet my every need.
Through reading the book, I also came to understand that my own negative attitude could be my downfall. I can't look at support raising as this daunting task. I know that I have an amazing opportunity to share with others in the body of Christ this work God has put on our hearts and let them be a part of it. What we're doing is actually pretty exciting.
I can't say I'm feeling absolutley amazing about support raising but I can say I am not dreading it anymore. I'm looking forward to sharing Verona, Italy with everyone and giving others a chance to be a part of it.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"- Matthew 6:33
Friday, March 14, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
