Lord is that you? A phone call - Part 5/8

For the next 4 days, we are going to tell our faithful readers a story.  If you missed part 1, click here.  For part 2, click here.  For part 3, click here.  For part 4, click here.

It's our story.
It's the story that has slowly emerged in our lives over the last 11 months.
We hope you are encouraged by it.

If you don't want to wait for 4 more days….you can listen to this podcast (33 minutes) of us telling our story to our church congregation.

Part 5 - Lord is that you?  A phone call. 

I am convinced that in God’s kingdom, timing is everything.  For example, in deciding to propose to your fiancé…the right person at the wrong time in life isn't the right time to get married.  It’s all about timing.  We believe God provides the right person at the right time and calls them together for a purpose beyond themselves. 

In the week that we knew God had renovated Heidi’s heart towards Fresno we got a phone call.  A man named Gary, a pastor to Church planters was on the other line.  He heard that we were in a season of discernment and felt compelled to call us and ask if we would ever consider Church planting in Fresno.  Remember, timing is everything.  We had just opened up our heart to Fresno and in the same week was a man asking us to consider taking a step towards it.  If he called a week or two earlier….we would have never considered it.   I’m more convinced that our hearts are in a game of chess with God and that he’s a Chess Master who is multiple steps ahead.  “Was God just waiting for our hearts to change so that we could hear Gary’s call as an invitation?” I wondered. 

At the end of our conversation with Gary, he suggested that we do two things:  He said, “Joe, how about you and Heidi start to dream and pray.”  “What do you mean,” I replied.  He said, “Dream about the kind of church you would plant in Fresno and begin to pray and ask God if he is asking you to walk deeper into this invitation.”  No strings attached…. just dream and pray.  We could do that, we thought.

And so for months….that’s exactly what we did.

What did we dream?  We wrote it down, HERE. 

Be careful what you dream and pray about.  Somewhere within our dreams is His dream for us. 

Part 6 (tomorrow) – Learning to Love it Local: A Neighbourhood Church

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