Staying Faithful...

Well two days of Vacation Bible School has come and gone and with lots of success! I am really happy to say that things have gone very smoothly and with much prayer and hard work, they will continue to run smoothly throughout the course of the week.
It's amazing how Satan knows to show up in full force just before something really big for the cause of Christ is about to take place. We have been under some of Satan's attacks over the past few weeks in our ministry but the Lord has been faithful to us through it all. One of the devil's greatest tools is discouragement and he knows how to use that tool very well. I know that there is a reason why we are dealing with the issues that we are dealing with right now because I know that God is in control of it all and that he only has our best interest at heart.
We have an amazing senior pastor at our church who loves the Lord with all his heart. He truly has been a blessing to our church and to us personally. He also serves as a great friend and mentor to Steve. I have a new found respect and appreciation for him as a pastor and as a friend in the midst of these heartaches and frustarations that have hit our church and our youth ministry. He gave us a great piece of advice in talking with him yesterday. He said that in every negative situation, always look for something positive that you can take away from it. After talking with him, I have really made that my focus and God has given me such a peace. I was reminded of the bible story of Joseph. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, his master's wife falsely accused him of trying to rape her, and, as a result, Joseph was thrown into prison. Even while in prison, Joseph kept doing his best, and he always rose to the top in every environment he found himself. He rose to the top in Potiphar's (his master) household; he rose to the top in prison, and the jailor gave him special responsibilities. Finally, God began to change his conditions. Eventually, God put him in charge of all of Egypt in preparation for the famine he had prophesied. He became a great man of God and maybe wouldn't have had that opportunity had all of those negative things not happened to him. The bible tells us that God works ALL things out for the good of those who love him...not just the good things but ALL things, good AND bad. Joseph is the perfect example of this. We are trying to stay focused on this truth from God's word and we are trusting in and clinging to Him to meet ALL of our needs in ministry and we know that He is faithful to do just that. Please continue to pray for us. We are so blessed to be in this ministry and to have this opportunity to work with the youth in our church. We love them all and pray for them everyday. God has truly blessed us richly!