Marriage & Mission Continued (a year+ later)

This week I was digging through some old blogs trying to find this pumpkin bread recipe. Why I only seem to have it in blog form astounds me! Anyways, I stumbled on this blog post from a year ago on Marriage and Mission.

When I originally wrote that blog post, I was in the mindset that we were looking for one set-in-stone mission and then we could happily go forward knowing what that is. In the last year, my ideas on mission has changed because God has changed it. General ideas have stayed the same, i.e. Mission is about giving Glory to God. The day-to-day look of mission (and calling) has more flexibility which is kind of scary-cool. Can that be a new adjective please?

Mission:
1. a specific task or duty assigned to a person or group of people:
2. a person's vocation

At the beginning of 2011 we were feeling called to leave the church we had been at for 5+ years. For a period of time we allowed (or I definitely did) fear of the unknown keep us where we were comfortable. Fear is kind of a funny thing, because it took a while to realize it had the ruling grip in our life. When we finally admitted that fear of the unknown is not a reason to stay put, we began to put the wheels in motion. We knew where we were being called to: a smaller church that loves on the community it is in. We just didn't know the name. Our 'church search' was comically representative of the times we live in. We had a list, we listened to sermons online (online stalked), narrowed our list, tried one and God confirmed for us that is where we were meant to be. Well, that was easy! What was all that fear business about?

Being in a new church community where we are becoming known puts us in a whole new position - being open and vulnerable. As we become known we are also figuring out how we are going to serve the church and the community. We have to continually raise the question of what is our mission.

A year ago I wrote that we were sure that "service, community, and mentoring" are important components of our mission. Today we would also add that giving our time, talents, and treasure which are from God - back to God. We also want to be intentional in how we serve. Our pastor talks about wanting the church to invest 1 inch wide and 6 feet deep as opposed to 6 feet wide and 1 inch deep. We like that concept and we're trying to use that as we pursue our mission and calling both individually and as a couple.

As we move towards the season of giving thanks (which is more than a season in our book), I want to say that I am so thankful for an alive and loving God that is moving in our lives. I am thankful for God's providence and for opening this new chapter for Paul and I to grow in our mission as a family.