Pathways Church Blog

Dear Pathways Church community,

I’m sending you this request on behalf of Ian and Taryn Hardy.  If you were at church yesterday, you had a chance to hear Ian & Taryn give a little bit of their story, in that they are in the process of adopting three brothers from Nicaragua.  Well, they just got a call today from their contact in Nicaragua, telling them that they would actually like to release the boys into Ian & Taryn’s custody, when they go to Nicaragua at the beginning of February.  Wow!  What a blessing!  However, there are some kinks.

Because of the adoption process, there are ALOT of steps that need to be completed before parents are allowed to take custody of the children.  Background checks, finger prints, psych evaluations, etc…  A lot of these “steps” have been put on hold by the Nicaraguan agency.  Well, now they are ready to release custody of the boys, but Ian and Taryn still have some “steps” to complete.  They are asking for prayer in that all of the necessary evaluations would be able to be completed before they leave for Nicaragua, so that they can be in full compliance with the Nicaraguan adoption agency.  Also, if they were to take custody of the boys, that would mean that they would have to stay an extra 2-3 months in Nicaragua before they could bring the boys back to the United States.  This presents a whole new set of logistical issues.  Time of work, finances, etc…

All this to say, if I could implore you on their behalf to stop what you are doing right now, and offer up a prayer for them.  Please pray for the following things:

1)  That God will be in the midst of this situation, and that he will be glorified.

2)  That God will make a way for Ian & Taryn to receive the necessary evaluations/checks that still need to be done before they leave for Nicaragua next month.

3)  That God will take care of the logistics of their time away from the states.

4)  That ultimately, His will would be done, in His time.

Thank you for praying, and please feel free to offer your support to Ian & Taryn by commenting on this post.

This weekend is annually one of my favorite Sunday’s of the year at Pathways. We reserve the last weekend of January for Children’s Dedication. (There is no football on the last Sunday as there is a two week break before the Super Bowl. You can laugh out loud (or groan) but it clears any conflicts for families to invite friends and family.)

We are in the midst of our first Financial Study as a church community. We are “guarding our heart” as we ask tough questions. Questions like, “Am I demonstrating trust in God with my finances.” This week, we’ll be looking at what it means to be a Steward beyond our pocketbooks and into our relationships. How are we trusting God in our relationships and more specifically, as people entrusted to raise up the next generation of followers of Jesus. – whether you are a parent or not.

Alright, now we’re getting to the heart of this series and dealing with the issues that make us squirm. Giving.

Let’s recap.
A New Attitude - God has something to teach me about money.

Leads to a Fresh Perspective - This stuff ain’t mine! Realizing that my Faith and my Money are tied together is crucial as well as understanding that God is the true Owner of all that I “Own”.

Leads to a New Role - I am not an Owner, I am a Steward. A Steward keeps the house in order for the Owner. A Steward must be proven Faithful & Faithfulness is 100% or it isn’t Faithfulness.

This Week:

Leads to New Priorities - If I’m a Steward, my priorities must be the priorities of the Owner in order to be Faithful. My life purpose is to pursue the heart and desires of the one for whom I am “Stewarding”. We also call this being a Disciple. Being a Follower of Jesus. It can be said many different ways, but they all convey the same meaning.

Last week we kicked off our series by taking a look at our “Attitude” toward money. The two big ideas that we hit were these:

1) Your attitude determines your altitude
2) Which has a larger voice in your life? Jesus or Money?

If last week was a focus on Attitude, this week is a focus on Perspective.

When I view all that I have as “mine”, it changes how I treat the stuff around me.
When I view myself as a steward of God’s stuff, it changes how I treat the stuff around me.

The bottom line is simply this: Your perspective on your “stuff” matters and will effect how you use it.

My hope is that we, as a community, will allow God to shape our perspective as we dive into His Story this weekend.