Our training continued

 

                                                    More things to learn!

 

     The next phase of training that the Lord  brought our way was to  join our churches healing and ministry team. It was quite an honor  for us to be  be invited.  Kit and I prayed about the invitation and we felt the Lord said Yes. We felt like David must have felt  when  he faced the giants as the people we were working beside were very well known in the church and  greatly respected.  Kit and I felt we were beginners but were always reassured that the gifting within had nothing to do with ourselves. God calls us, fills us and uses us. We just needed to yield to Him and be willing. We learned quite a bit during that season in our lives and felt very blessed to be trained up on a team to pray and intercede for others. As we look back now, we can see that the time spent on the team was truly a gift and a part of God's purpose for our lives then as well as for our future as His hosts for Kings Tavern.

     Another call on our lives was to leave our church of seven years. This church was our 'home' and it took a lot of faith to leave but we knew God was telling us it was time. Our church had become what one would call a 'Mega Church' with 6 services and a continuously growing congregation. Kit and I longed for a more intimate church home, close relationships and more accountability. Before the Lord led us to our new church we enjoyed something new to us. Home church. We began worshiping, praying and seeking God together in our living room and found that God showed up in magnificent ways. His presence, peace, and joy filled our hearts as well as our home. In the year of 1999 the Lord directed us to a new body of believers. This church was small, intimate and actually mirrored the lives of the believers in the book of Acts in the bible. We had never seen a church like it and felt so blessed and honored to be a part of such a loving family. The Lord called us to use our gifts in this church even more so than before,  thus growing us up even stronger in the spirit. Kit was asked to be an elder and the Lord used him to influence many a life both young and old. His counseling and leadership skills began to flourish as well as his faith. The pastor and his wife asked us to become their personal intercessors as well as the bookkeepers for the church. Our lives drastically changed as we became more and more involved and we were so very blessed by all that God was doing. With many new friends, plenty of bible studies, fellowship and ministry, our lives were full and blessed. To our wonderment as we began to become friends with our pastor and his wife as well as another couple in our church, we learned that they too shared the same passion and dream to one day have a Bed and Breakfast Retreat for people in the ministry. The six of us would sit and talk for hours sharing our thoughts and ideas of how all of the rooms in the Inn would look, the cuisine, where the B&B would be located, etc. Kit and I were so excited to have four other hearts to share and dream with. We were asking God, "Could these new friends be a part of your plan. Would they be our partners for King's Tavern?" We were thrilled at even the prospect.

     More and more confirmations came this year regrading the call on our lives. One evening while sitting by the fire after a lovely dinner, our pastor and newly made dear friend  spoke to us such heart felt words.

     "Susan and Kit, I have never been in a home quite like yours. The ambiance of your home with the cozy decor, flickering candle light, roaring fire, glittering white lights and Dickens villages all aglow, delightful fragrances, soothing music and the gourmet meal we just finished have brought my wife and I such a feeling of warmth, pampering and peace."

     Now, can you imagine how his comment made me feel? All the things that the Lord had taught me were being reflected through our pastor's words. I was so blessed and happy that I could give to others what God had imparted to me! It was a delightful evening indeed. No, we did not yet have our home by the water, our King's Tavern that God had promised but the Lord was kind enough to bring evidence that it was all in the making. We praised and thanked Him for His confirmations along the way.

 

     Thank you Lord for all the confirmations you bring to our lives as we travel along the path you have made for us!