answers to prayers

Well, it has been an interesting week full of ups and downs but what a difference one day can make. Thank you for all the prayers and this blog is about how they are being answered. First, the visa stuff is all off and we had only one call back...so far... and the processing has begun for that. Keep praying that we find favour with the NZ government and they accept our visas.
Second, after several calls both from myself and my District Superintendent we finally got the E.I. office to lift the "not approved" status from my E.I. claim. I found out this morning that all the issues had been settled and that we should be receiving some financial assistance very soon... I hope that means tonight! But anyway, thanks again for praying for God has reversed the original decision and now we qualify for E.I.
Third, we heard back from the founder of the society I had applied to join with and he was in favour of the idea pending we find out and settle any legal issues that may arise and also have a workable plan in place that tax Canada would approve of. So a couple more hurtles there but very doable and we are anticipating that by the end of this week we will hear final word from this group. Once that is in place we can begin the HUGE task of raising funds to cover our living expenses, traveling expenses, setting up a new home expenses and ministry expenses for the next two years. We think we need in the ball park of about $100,000.00 in order to do all this. PRAY PRAY PRAY.
Finally, we listed our house this past weekend with a realtor friend. Please pray that we sell it soon as that would be a real blessing to get the sale out of the way. Once that happens then Cheryl will begin the process of winding down her work, training her replacement and then go full time into packing and preparing our family for our new lives.
Hope all is going well for everyone out there.
God is Good All the Time

please pray

I must have made an error in my initial application for E.I. because we just received word that for two reasons we are not eligible to receive E.I.
The first reason was that I had put on my application that I was not available for work. So because I was not available to work they didn’t bother to follow the rest of the information I had given them regarding contacting my District Superintendent for more information. Not only that but I guess I am very frustrated that since I sent my initial application I have filed 3 times over the last 6 weeks stating clearly that I was ready and willing to work. So, no one called me, no one spoke to my DS as to why I had filed for a claim if I was not "ready and willing to work"! AARRGG, you wait for six weeks squeaking by on the little you have and then wham, they leave you high and dry!
The second reason they gave was that I had "left my former employment without just cause" so I don’t qualify. But my DS had assured me that this was going to be looked after if I made sure to inform them to contact him directly. However, they obviously did not do as I had instructed them to do so now I have two separate decisions that need to go through an appeal process and then another 6 week wait to receive the necessary financial help! This is all just very frustrating to me today.
Anyway, I hope and pray that my DS and I can get all this cleared up tomorrow and therefore I am asking you to pray that the Lord grants me favour with the insurance agent and that I can hold my temper so as not to make the situation worse than it already is.
Thanks for praying.
God Is Good All the Time!

Are you a non-conformist?

I am not working much these days. I am preaching a few sermons, doing some running around for our next season of ministry in New Zealand and I do have one more wedding to perform in a couple of weeks, but the pressure is most definitely off. I was trying to think of a time when I have not been working...and couldn’t come up with one. I suppose you could say going to school but even that was work and prep work for future employment, so if you don’t include that I have basically had a steady job since I started helping dad on the farm picking rocks and working farm equipment. I'm not sure when that started but I think it was around 14 or 15 years old.
Anyway, since I have the most amount of time I get to do the odd jobs like groceries and other errands. While picking up some fresh peaches the other day on a local farm I found myself in the middle of a very curious exchange of words with the farmer’s son.
As I arrived he was stacking a box of peaches on top of some other boxes but it was the wrong size of box and did not conform to the other boxes and he mentioned this out loud as I approached. For some strange reason I blurted out, " Non - conformist eh? Well you better sell me that box!" I still am not sure why I said that. He responded straight back with the question that buzzed around in side my head for a good portion of the day. He asked, "So, are you a non-conformist then? To which I responded with a solid "sometimes" without any hesitation!
It started me down a road of wondering why I answered - sometimes. As a Christian I am not to conform to the pattern of this world but I am to conform to the image and likeness of the Son of God. So my answer was correct. I do seek after the conformist way of life when it comes to my faith but I also strive to be a non-conformist when it comes to the ideas, philosophies, and attitudes of this present darkness.
I have also noticed that within the society of saints there are those who I deem as sub-cultured Christians. I try and stay away from their pattern of thinking as much as possible so in that sense I would tend to see myself as non-conformists within the faith. This tends to get me into some trouble whenever our ideologies collide within the context of the church. Then I wonder how much of that is just pride sometimes and not healthy? I like to think of myself as someone who would conform to being a non-conformist within the Kingdom of God and the society of saints. If that makes any sense!
It is funny how a simple exchange of words that happens in a split second of time can open up a world of thought within us. In this exchange of words the depths of what is in one's heart is exposed. I was blessed by that little exchange.
God is good all the time!