When to Gather Manna

When to Gather Manna

   Many of us may struggle day to day with staying connected to Christ. Or, many of us are uncertain that what we are doing to stay connected is enough; as if something is lacking. This could be any one of us. But, praise the Lord, our eyes can be opened through this Bible study on Exodus 16. This study is presented in a way that gives a pattern to follow so as to have a close relationship with Christ.

   Here, we catch up with the Israelites in this section of Exodus just coming from Elim into the Desert of Sin. They have been complaining once again. This time they complained about the fact that they didn’t have any food to eat instead of having faith in their redeemer. What we will be focusing on in this study is the gathering of the manna.

   Please read Exodus 16 through once and then we’ll begin to break it down. Now that you’ve read that chapter once to refresh yourself of the exact details, it’s time to look at a selected number of verses where the word GATHER is: Exodus16:4-5, 16-18, 20-21, 26-27. This segment of scripture tells us how manna was the ‘bread from Heaven’, sent down to feed the people.  In addition to this passage, there is another area in scripture that points to manna. In John 6:32-35 Jesus calls Himself the manna, ‘the Bread of Life’. If Jesus is the Bread of life what does that mean about His word. In John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And 1:14 reads, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  So if Jesus is manna, which is the Bread of Life, which is the word, then the only conclusion is that Jesus is our manna! How would it read if we replaced manna (food) with manna (Christ/word of God) in these selected verses? Reread those passages now, putting (Christ/word of God) in the place of the manna. Find anything interesting?

Let’s first start by looking at Matthew 6:13. It says in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us today our daily bread”. The Lord is willing to provide that manna that we so need, but we have to be willing to gather it up daily for it to be of any benefit. In Exodus chapter 16 we read that God provided manna for Israel. The manna that He provided the Israelites was physical food. What we will examine is that of the Spiritual food. Now read those verses once more and replace Israel with yourself and manna with Christ.

   In Exodus 16:4-5 it says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days." Again replacing us for Israel and God for manna….God instructs us to gather manna (connecting with Christ) everyday. But what are we to do on the 6^th day (Friday) that is different than the rest of the week? At this point, He tells us to collect twice as much manna (word of God) on the 6^th day because there would be no manna provided on the 7^th day (Sabbath). This doesn’t mean that Christ won’t be with us on Sabbath. Instead, it means that we are to gather manna (the word of God, connecting with Him through prayer and study throughout the week) and on Friday, the 6^th day, we are to spend more time with Him in prayer and study (gathering) so that we can share on Sabbath what the Lord has done in our lives throughout the week.

   Let’s break it down even further. In Exodus 16:16-18 it says, “This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.” Here God is describing how we should go about gathering the manna – the word of God. God is telling us that each person should gather what he needs for that day. The Bible says that, “some gathered much, some little”.  This means that what I need to study today may be more or less than what I need for tomorrow. Or, what I need for any certain day will be different than that of another person.

    If we continue reading a bit further, you’ll notice in Vs.20 that if they kept the manna past morning it went bad. It says, “However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.” Once more, we are taking the view from the point of Spiritual food. How many times have we felt like we really need to spend an hour or two with the Lord to really get the full benefit of staying connected with Him? Only to remember a small portion of what we just studied? Or we may have spent so long on our knees in prayer that we fall asleep during it. Doesn’t that sound like a portion of manna going bad? It’s not so much about the amount of time we spend with Christ but the quality of time that we take with Him. Therefore, doesn’t it make sense that the time we spend with God be just the right amount of time we need to connect with the Lord to sustain us throughout the day?

   Continuing on in Vs. 21 Exodus16 says, “Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.” The manna that we gather or time that we spend with Christ is very precious and will start our day off right. When we connect with Him in the early part of the day this helps to set the tone of how the rest of our day will go. However, if we continue to wait longer and longer over the course of the day or days to connect with Christ, we may forget altogether. And before we know it some situation will arise and when we could really use God’s strength to see us through that moment it isn’t there; because we didn’t invite Him to walk along with us throughout our day to begin with. Therefore, if we gather our manna each and every morning; seeking God in prayer and study, then we won’t have to worry about our day getting away from us and we forget to collect our daily manna; letting our manna ‘melt away’.

   The last verses that we need to look at are in Exodus 16:26-27. It reads, “Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any. Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.” This is where all of these verses really come together and bring it home. Why did the Israelites not find manna on Sabbath? Why won’t we find our manna on the Sabbath?

   Many times we have all found ourselves at some point forgetting to connect with God throughout the week. We get so busy with life’s routines and circumstances that we fail to realize that a week has just gone by and we barely spent any time with Him. Then, we expect to go to Church on Sabbath and receive [our manna] from our Pastor that will sustain us for the next week or even make up for the week that we just lost. This is what this passage is talking about!

   The Lord suggests us to gather our manna throughout the week so that when Sabbath comes around we have time to give back to Him. Don’t expect to be fed on Sabbath. We should already be prepared by Friday for the coming of the Sabbath; we can take that time to digest the things that God has shown us. Every relationship is about give & take. God gave us six days to take what we need from Him by connecting with Him through study and prayer. Sabbath is the time to give back to God. Instead of sitting listening to a sermon, being fed; we need to take that time to Praise God for His unfailing mercies and watch care over us throughout the past week. We need to share with others, Christ. What is the best way to do that? By sharing your testimonies on what God has done for you throughout the week, sing songs of praise, praying; personally or corporately, visiting others, giving a Bible study, and all-in-all…witnessing!

   See the difference how the week is separate from the Sabbath? We should focus on our Spiritual growth during the week, reflect and strengthen that growth on Friday, which prepares us for Sabbath; where we can spend time in full praise by worshiping and witnessing of our Lord Jesus Christ! In other words, we gather all week and we give back to God on Sabbath!

By Krista Hooven

6/15/12

                                                                  

I know I haven't updated this lately and for that I'm sorry. I'll get to that a little later. Right now I have something that I really need to share!

Camping spots on our way to Reno

Shawnee National Forest

So our first weekend was perfect. Our first camping spot was in Glendale, IL. We stayed in the Shawnee National Forest. The site that we picked was absolutely perfect! It was nicely shaded with plenty of tall trees. At this camp site since it was so pretty we only set up our sleeping tent and bathroom (shower & potty). The temperature was a nice 70-75^o during the day and 30-40^o at night. Perfect camping weather.

Our shower…..Our shower is one of the best purchases we made! It was so nice to be able to warm up our own water and take a shower right next to our camping spot. Needless to say, that we didn’t have to go very far to potty at night! Glendale Recreation & Camping Area is definitely a camping spot that we would visit again!

Graham Cave State Park

We had a wonderful night at Graham Cave State Park in Montgomery City, MO. The camp hostess was very helpful and friendly and helped us find a really good spot. There's one thing for being said about camping out during the week....not many other people there! 

We timed ourself last night. It took us 1 1/2 hours to pick out our camping spot, setting up our tent and blowing up our beds and making them and ready for bed. Not bad! Now, lets see how fast we can get it all done tonight!!! :-)

Once morning came and we had our breakfast we made a goal of leaving camp by earlier than the last two times of packing up and hitting the road. We actually left about 3 hours earlier than the last two days! Trying to learn how to pack the trailer so that we only have to take out the essentials with our one night stays at these parks has been interesting and fun all at the same time. 

We are now on our way to see Kansas City! Yay!

West Rolling Hills Park  

So our first free camping site was at West Rolling Hills Park in Junction City, KA. It was a beautiful spot right beside a large lake! It was quite lovely.

Our Camping Shower

So showering in the out of doors without a typical bathhouse was thought, by myself, to be a bit tricky. But our camp shower sure is awesome!

We tried laying the bag in the sun for 3 hours like it said but because it isn't hot yet, the water didn't get hot enough for us. So we boiled water and had a nice hot show! It has a cubby for bathing products, for dry clothes, and a towel bar on the outside (window unzips completely to grab towel). We also put our potty in there for privacy when there is no toilet available or for easy access at night.

It won't take much to be able to have a nice shower whenever we have available water! So exciting! And it can totally fit 2! ;-)

On Our Way to Reno, NV

1st Camping Spot

Lake Glendale Recreation Area

Well, we made it to our first camping spot around 9pm. It wasn't our first choice. We had actually chose another camping spot that was free but it seemed to have been closed by the Government so we back tracked a bit and found Lake Glendale. It was quite nice. Very reasonable in price. We stayed for 3 nights, to get everyone acclamated to camping again - Kadin again and Danaya for the first time. Everyone enjoyed themselves. The trees were nice and tall and protected us from some high winds that were happening the first night.

We had a lovely bike ride and got to use our bike trailer for the first time while camping. We had a wonderful time biking around the camp grounds and then letting the kids play at the kid's park.

THE ARMOIRE

Anybody who knows about The Armoire knows that it has been for sale for about 3 years now. It was a wonderful piece of furniture that really served it's purpose! 

Oh the Armoire! When trying to have our Estate Sale we were hoping that this piece of furniture was one of the first to be sold! But alas, it was not! Here is how the Lord blessed us in the sale of our beautiful Armoire...

   Through the Estate Sale many people were very interested but no one wanted to pay what we were asking. And our asking price kept going down about each day that our sale continued. We had a couple of serious interests but once everything was said and done, no takers. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to have to donate it with the rest of our stuff that was left.

   We had a phone call the last Thursday of our sale (Friday was the last day of our Estate Sale) and the gentlemen seemed very interested. He was a Southern student engaged to be married in June and was very interested in the furniture. We sent him some pictures of the drawers as he remeasured his hallway, to make sure that it would fit.

   He had called back to let us know that he only had about a 2" clearance and didn't think it would fit. We were really bummed because we thought for sure that he was going to purchase it [at this point we had dropped the price down from $1000 to $500]. With Friday being the last day of the sale, we thought our chance just went out the window!

   However, that isn't the end of the story, but really just the beginning!! The gentlemen called back Friday morning and said that his fiance did want the piece and that he could pay only $400! I said, "SOLD"! He then preceded to tell me that he was talking with a friend of his about us going on the road doing ministry, selling all of our belongings (for the most part) and heading to Reno, NV to do laymen training. He said that his friend wanted to make a donation to our ministry that would match our original asking price! ($1000!!!)

   WOW! were we blown away! Praise the Lord, here we thought we would never sell this piece of furniture. The piece that we hoped would go first, went last. And in the end we got our original asking price!

   After searching all over Chattanooga, it seems, we finally found an open trailer to move this Armoire (apparently everybody was moving that weekend because not 1 truck was available). We got it loaded up nicely and 4 Southern students moved it into this guys apartment. They had a lovely one bedroom starter apartment that held the lovely Armoire just perfectly. We were glad to see it go to such a nice couple who will enjoy it for a long time!

What Our Ministry Is About

Well, from reading previous posts, you've probably read that the Lord has officially called us to Reno, NV. There, we will be joining a ministry called, Empower Ministries, started by Dr. Lee & JoLynn Gugliotto back in 2000. The ministry's emphasis is, The Great Commission. The main object is to teach people to practice Christianity in their homes, prepare them for the time when organized churches will have to regroup due to end time events, and focus on Home Churches; finishing God's work entirely out of their homes.

We look forward to using the tools and knowledge that we will gain while training to become lay ministers. 

Part of what we want to do on the road as our ministry is to go to different churches, sharing the concept of the Apostolic Home: A man's home is Christ's castle. The idea, is the Family is a Fortress, the Church is the Outpost and the Community is the Citadel. 

The other part that we want to focus on is preparing people and/or churches for Home Church groups. As it's getting very clear, the Lord's coming is not far off. Just within this last year has it been apparently clear that more things have changed for the worst within this Presidential administration by taking away our liberties and freedoms. And it will only get worse. We feel that sooner than we think will we need to be ready to move our churches from the beautiful buildings that they are now being held in, to homes. We should not be ignorant of what the future will bring, but be in constant awareness of how life is quickly changing around us.

Please pray for us as we take this big step and leave the comforts of our home behind and forge on this new adventure for the Lord!

The Hooven's Commission

Well my friends, we are praising the Lord for His loving kindness and diligence in answering our prayers! We have fervently been praying for the Lord's will in our live since work has been bad and just getting worse. 

Since we moved back into the area, about 1 1/2 years ago, work hasn't been as steady as we were hoping! And it just slowly began getting worse over time. The last months from November to February have been rough with January and February with pretty much no work at all. During this whole time, we have tried to stay positive as best we could, knowing that God was doing something great in our lives. As this new year began and there just wasn't work to be had, we questioned God why? What lesson was He trying to teach us? David had 3 jobs but neither of these jobs were producing any fruit! He had put in numerous application, sometimes twice, but nothing came from that either.

So we began questioning on whether God was asking us to move from this area. We put a fleece out to the Lord, that if it was meant for us to stay a full time job would present itself  from either his 3 current jobs or jobs applied for. Nothing happened! Then the information about Heritage presented itself and we were sure this was going to be it! We were so sure, from the interview we had, that we had this job. We thought, "surely the Lord would prefer for us to work in a more controlled environment like Heritage Academy than for us to be on the road"!!! But the Lord showed us by giving us this possible option and then taking it away, that He really wants us to do the ministry that He originally called us to do, training and teaching others to be laymen to finish the Lord's work.

So now to our answered prayers! We are going to Reno, NV to join Empower Ministries!!! There, we will go through an intensive training school that teaches lay people to minister, pastor, and plant churches. We are planning on leaving the Collegedale area around April 6th - 8th. We hope to find work around Reno while there.

During our road trip, we plan to take about a week; visiting the different areas that we stay to camp. And then heading to Prescott, AZ to visit my grandparents before heading up to Nevada.

 

We are really excited to be able to be a part of this ministry. Something that we have been waiting on for a while now. And it looks like the Lord is opening that door wide open, for we got the official invite to join the ministry with Lee & Jolynn Gugliotto's in Reno, NV.

A description of what we will be doing with this ministry to be following soon!

Waiting on the Lord

There looks like there may be a great possibility that we might be going directly to Reno, NV to help out with the ministry that we've been waiting for and for David and myself to start our lay training for ministry, pastoring, and planting churches. This is something that we've been waiting on the Lord for for quite a few months now. And it looks like it may start coming together where the ministry can start the online schooling mid April. Again we are asking for prayers for us as well as for this ministry. We want only what God wants for us at this time! May He open and slam doors shut to show His will!

Krista's Spiritual Attack

So as we have been continually praying for God's will to be done the devil has also been making his own plans to discourage. Because we feel that the Lord is calling us to full time ministry service, there will be many things like the incident below! This was my first experience with such a Spiritual attack and I know that it will not be my/our last!

Krista’s Testimony #1

There was a woman that bought some of our furniture that we are holding for her. She gave us a check for the items and then was going to bring cash today in place of the check. After her initial ‘purchase’ she found some other items she wanted and asked if I could hold those for her too and she would pay for those along with the other items Monday. Well, in my desperate attempt to get all this stuff sold, I ended up selling two pieces that I was holding for her (without the deposit) because I was able to get a better price! Yes, I know I shouldn’t have done it for one, and I should have called the woman to let her know I got a better price and to see if she would price match. But it was a crazy moment and I sold it without thinking clearly.

Well, the lady came by today to bring the cash in exchange for the check and for the other items and I informed her kindly that I ended up selling two of the items that I was holding for her because I got a better price. Well, she got completely irate and told me that I wasn’t any kind of a Christian and that I was a lost person essentially. I apologized over and over again, that I had realized my mistake after the fact and I should have called her before making the sale. She didn’t want to hear my apology and kept going on and on attacking me verbally. She said that she wasn’t going to buy the other pieces and I told her I understood that she could either buy them or not that it was my mistake. And she just kept going on and on attacking me. Well I couldn’t take it anymore. All this…no money, can’t pay rent, have to move, doing ministry on the road, having to sell almost everything we own…has been a bit stressful and I just broke. I started crying, explaining to her that I am desperately trying to sell all of our stuff so that we have this money to live on and that I just wasn’t thinking clearly. Well, apparently that got her attention because she stopped attacking me and began calming down. 

Well, if that wasn’t enough she started telling me that God doesn’t forgive sin and that we are all doomed! Oh boy, was I in for it! I tried to explain to her that if we confess our sins that God does forgive us of our sins; that we are washed clean as snow with the blood of Jesus who died for us on the cross. Well, she kept saying that God doesn’t forgive sin because we all die. Needless to say we went round and round in our conversation. I tried many times to stop the conversation but she just wouldn’t let me. And I didn’t want to rudely throw her out of my house. Well, our discussion covered the fact that she believes that when Christ came and died for our sins , that at that time the 144,000 went to the Kingdom in the rapture. And that everyone will be in the Kingdom no matter what they did except for Judas. I explained that I believe that the Lord was coming back to take His righteous home at the second coming and that only righteous will be in heaven. But she said that no one is allowed in Heaven except for those 144,000 but that we will be in His Kingdom. Went round and round again. ( I really did try to not have a debate with her but she wouldn’t let up). So then she went on to say that what we are doing, going on the road and doing ministry wasn’t of the Lord. That He would never call people to do such a thing. I then said, well what about Abraham? The Lord asked him to leave Ur but didn’t tell him where he was going. Well, she shut me down right then and there and said that I couldn’t compare myself to Abraham! Wow! What a statement! I asked her why not? Did not Abraham sin? I have every right to compare myself with those in the Bible. Apparently that got through and she went on to another subject she needed to ‘discuss’. She then went on to ask a couple of other things and then why we went to church on Saturday. I explained to her that I believed that Saturday was the Sabbath. That God created the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. That He blessed that day and made it special. Well, then she began arguing that the 7th day isn’t actually Saturday but Sunday and that the Jews have been doing it wrong this whole time. 

Well, she then proceeded to explain that there was a 7 day war and that it ended on Saturday so that the Jews could get ready for Sabbath, ‘Sunday’. I couldn’t get any more information other than its in history and that this proved that Sunday is the true Sabbath and not Saturday. She was also explaining that Sunday is the 7th day of the week and that Monday is the first. All this time I keep telling her that I really have to go; trying to get her to leave. All this took at least an hour or hour and a half. To be honest I can’t remember everything that was discussed but I tell, you there was so much more!

I tell you my friends, not until that very conversation did I realized just how much I have to learn about what my Bible says. And how I am so not prepared to try and explain some things to people! I brought my Bible out and we looked up a couple of verses but then she said that my Bible wasn’t good enough because it wasn’t the original Hebrew and Greek and that with the translations we are being taught false doctrine. 
Well, then she wanted to go back to our ministry in the conversation and was saying that the world doesn’t need missionaries and that the Lord wouldn’t ask us to go out doing ministry work to try and reach people who don’t know about Jesus. But that God Himself can reach them just fine. I asked her what about the commission that God gave to His disciples, to go to all the Nations teaching and preaching? She couldn’t give me a clear answer on that but that it stopped at some point. She went on to say that in Jeremiah, it talks about how False Prophets go out teaching people false doctrine and how they went over land and sea to get there. She then said that these were missionaries who were all false prophets and that we are all doing the work of the devil! During this whole, complete conversation I am becoming more and more of an emotional wreck! I’m thinking, how can I get this woman out of my house, have I said anything to her that has sunk in, does she really think that I’m doing the devil’s work? It just would never end! 

Friends, I am almost in tears while writing this… thinking of how many people have the wrong information and how it is up to us Christians to plant the seeds for God’s work so that He can and WILL come very soon! It is my responsibility to do what I can to be a missionary for God. 

I am NOT a false prophet!! I believe that my Lord and Savior is coming soon and because I ask for forgiveness for my sins and I except Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I live the best to my ability to keep His Laws and Statutes I will be in Heaven one day! 

The devil may have tried to convince me that I will be no good at trying to witness to others for the Lord. But he failed!!!!! I am even more convinced that the Lord wants us to do this work where we feel very strongly that we are to be doing traveling ministry. Although, I don’t have all the answers, I know now, how important it is to make sure I know my Bible more than I do and that no matter how much you do know your Bible, some people you just can’t reach!

Friends, please pray for us in our ministry! We have to be doing something right, for the devil to use this woman to get at me! To attack the very thing that our family is getting ready to do: to put our faith out there, knowing that the Lord will provide, not knowing where we are going what ministry we are doing, that we are giving up all our comforts for a life of camping and ministry (I don’t know about you, but being in the woods, listening to the birds sing and the wind blowing is very comforting to me! ) The Lord has put such a burden on our hearts that we need to help in finishing the work that Jesus left behind! We pray for direction in what we are to do in our ministry…..We need prayer warriors!

Camping Vs. Heritage Academy

Here is the run down of posts placed on Facebook of how the Lord was working through our life through prayers, conversations, and circumstances. Watch how the Lord has worked to put us where we are now!...

March 4

OK my prayer warriors! So we are still needing continuous prayers. As you know we put the fleece out, but have not had any results of a full time job here in this area! 

We told the Lord, that if no job became available that we would be willing to Camp in our tents for a living and do ministry. We feel so strongly that the Lord is calling us out of our comfortable apartment and work here that David has been doing in the past to work for HIM full time! Therefore, by the 1st of April we will be moved out from our apartment. 

With that said, we had an interesting development this evening that we need to share for further intense prayer! I was talking earlier today with some friends of ours, in hoping to see them Tuesday up in Altamont while up there attending a funeral. I was sharing where we were right now financially and the decision that we felt the Lord was asking us to make because we no longer can afford to live where we are currently. It just so happened that she called back this evening to finish our conversation (I thought we already had, but apparently she had more to say) and she asked if we had inquired about Heritage Academy and working there? I told her no, that we had inquired about Lauralbrook but it just wasn't the right fit and not the Lord's will. She kept stressing that we should try and contact them and see if there was anything there. Well, during the phone call, David get's a phone call on his phone from another Pastor friend and his conversation was to go to Heritage Academy too! The school has really grown this year, they are having to turn students away do to their growth and that they may need more staff and that there just may be a job possibility for David!

So after we both hung up with our calls, did we sit back and ponder the thought that both of us just got done speaking with two pastor families from different parts of the states about the same exact thing!!! At the same time!!! What are the odds?

We know that this has happened for a reason and we are excited to see where this will go! We are planning to have an Estate Sale and Yard Sales starting this Thursday with the intention of selling everything we own that we can't take with us. However, if our call is to Heritage Academy and not Tent mission traveling, then we don't need to have an Estate Sale!

Because the Lord answers prayer in specifics we are asking that you pray specifically please!!! If it is meant for us to tent live and travel doing ministry, that the door to Heritage Academy not open but closes. If it is meant for our ministry be to work at Heritage Academy then that door will open preferably before we have the Estate Sale! :-} We are praying that the Lord gives us distinctive answers in where we are to go. All we know for sure is that we are definitely moving and that the month of March will be our last month living here in the McDonald/Collegedale area for quite a while. 

Thank you for all your continuous prayers and faithfulness. We appreciate your friendship very much! With Love......The Hooven Family

March 5

For all of those who know about our situation and are praying for us....update. Current news is that Pastor Gugliotto contacted Heritage Acadamey and spoke with the director and they just had a guy quit and need to fill that position. Pastor Gugliotto mentioned our parallel phone conversations and the director that it was providential as well and he seems very positive. We just put in our application and are praying and waiting for the Lord's will!

Please keep praying for His will to be done here! Thanks again friends!

March 12

So our dear friends, The Gugliotto's showed us in scripture how we are like Israel before crossing the Red Sea!...God told the Israelite' s to pitch camp right at the sea entrance, to confuse Pharaoh and his army into thinking that the Israelites are confused and blocked. The Lord told the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today."

The Lord has put us in a situation where we have no money and are having to move. But to where? Are we to hit the road traveling and doing mission work or go to Heritage Academy.

With still no answer yet from the Lord on whether we are going to Heritage or hitting the road, the Lord is asking us to hold firm and watch what He is getting ready to do in our life! He is putting us in the position that we are in, not because of what we have or have not done in our life, but to confuse the Devil and his evil angels and prove that God is Lord and that He can make ANYTHING AND ALL THINGS happen!

God is getting ready to show His mighty power within our lives! 

Friends and Family, as our Prayer Partners it is YOUR responsibility to have Faith in the Lord, as you pray for us, that His Will will be done for the greater good! And that is mainly to prove that He is Lord of All and that He lead us to greater and better things!

Thanks so much for your prayers!

March 14

We just got a call from Heritage Academy and want us to come up there to visit them! We will be meeting with them about 7/7:30 our time. Please pray for God's will here to be done only. We pray that He opens or closes this door for us in doing His ministry!

Also a praise! David has gotten some work this week and will have some probably next some! Praise the Lord for His protection!

March 15

UPDATE: We went up to Heritage Academy last night and interviewed with them for about 3 hours. Great conversation about the school and about us. The conversation was very positive and we fully believe that we will be hired on there. It seems like this will be a great fit for both the school and for us. Right now we are just waiting to hear back a final decision after they talk with a couple of more people!

We are packing in faith that this is where God is calling us too. But, if for some reason that this is not then we still plan to hit the road...but I know that it IS....;-)

We are praying that we get a call before this Sabbath, Lord's will! We told them we could be moved in a week, so I guess I'd better get back to packing. Thanks again for all your prayers, we greatly appreciate them! Xoxo

March 19

Well....no answer tonight in confirmation on our move! The Lord is really asking me to learn patience here. I haven't slept very well this whole week due to anticipation of this move and waiting for the official word from Heritage. I think the Lord is asking us to continue having faith that we are going to Heritage, but to be patient just a little bit more while waiting for that special phone call! Again, it feels like waiting to open that present that you think you know what it is, but not 100% sure until it's opened!

March 21

Ok, family & friends...we have NEWS!!!!...it looks like God is calling us to the ROAD!!! Although I sure would have been nice to go to Heritage it looks like that door just closed. Due to 3 teachers quitting at the end of this school year, they first have to hire on 3 new teachers and then look at the housing situation before they can hire on to cover the construction job. 

Although it is a little disappointing, we know that God has our best interests at heart and we are continuing to follow His will!!

We ask for continued prayer as we begin to make the necessary arrangements to have an Estate Sale to sell all our possessions...sure can't take it all with us! ;-)

A New Beginning

So this is my very first blog ever! And I'm actually really excited to share what the Lord has been doing in our lives of late. These next few blogs are taken from posts that were post on Facebook these last couple of months. I wanted to share them with you here, just to show you how this New Beginning began. So here it goes...........

February 19, 2012

Question.....What is your and my main focus in life right now???

Is it having quality time with our family members? Is it gaining and maintaining good friendships? Is it striving to buy a home or pay off debt? Is it saving up for retirement?

Another question......Although all these things are important for our life, shouldn't our MAIN FOCUS be developing that Relationship we need with Our Lord for the End Times?

I don't know about You, but the Lord has really been speaking to mine and David's hearts that we need to hunker down and put God FIRST Second and Last! He has been telling us that if we keep filling our lives with things that don't help us to grow Spiritually and connect us with Him, then our relationship with Him will not be strong enough to last the really trying times. Therefore we have pledged to do away with meaningless things like watching t.v. and movies (really, God or entertainment?), regular recreational activities, and the like. 

Instead, God is calling us to better know him through His scripture; taking the time to put to memory promises that He has given us and keeping up with the signs of the Lord's soon coming!

Friends, now is the time we need to step it up! What is the Lord telling You???

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve..... But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

These have been questions that have been running through our minds within the last couple of years. We felt like the Lord was asking us to do something for Him, but just didn't know what!....

March 3, 2012

FB Family & Friends! We are asking for your prayers for today. We have some major decisions to make and we have put a fleece out to the Lord that ends this evening! I won't share with you just yet the details because we want to hear from the Lord only at this time! However, once this evening is over, and the Lord has answered our prayers and this fleece we will explain where the Lord is taking us in this next chapter of our life!

Prayer warriors, we need those intercessory prayers right now! Your thoughts and prayers are greatly and lovingly appreciated!

Thank you,

The Hooven Family