Looking Back on 2012

I am sitting at Panera Bread with Rachel right now and I am thinking about where God has taken us in the past twelve months. It is really hard to believe that we are no longer at Johnson. The time really does move too fast. Johnson feels like a distant memory now. This time last year I was cramming for exams and wondering where God was going to take us in the world of ministry. Now I am here in Grand Rapids currently working at Gordon Foods Services (Marketplace) as the man in the freezer. I have no doubt that God has a purpose for this time but it has been an interesting journey. A couple of weeks after graduation Rachel and I made our way to Michigan in our car followed by a nice Penske Truck. We stayed at my mom's for a couple of days and then on to Grand Rapids. After packing as much stuff into my step mom's basement we heading to Fremont where we stayed with my Aunt Sara and Grandma Behr. Already God blessed us with a place to store our belongs and summer home for a few months. I was able to work at Dunham's in Fremont for part of that time. By the end of August we saw our need to look for a job that would help bring in a little more financial support so I applied at GFS and have been working in Cascade ever since. Rachel has been blessed with a full time interventionist job helping under privileged kids with their school work. In that time we moved in with my step mom and have turned her basement into a small apartment for the time being. It has been a wonderful experience and we feel very blessed. However there is something still stirring in both of us. There is this nagging feeling in my heart to get back into ministry. I am excited to see what God is going to do next as we continue to circulate my resume and pray for the leading of God's Spirit with every church we look at. As we learn to wait so many thoughts travel through our minds. At one point I was certain God wanted to use us here in Grand Rapids (He may still). At other moments we thought He had other places in Michigan that He wanted us to serve. So far we are still waiting for a clear picture of God's will. Even if that means letting go of our hope to live in Michigan. Sometimes we must let go of we want in order to do what He wants. That is the most exciting, frustrating, curious, and interesting place to be. We still have no clue as to what God wants us to do, but what we have learned in this time of waiting is that we want to follow God, we want to serve Him with our whole hearts, and we want to help others have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the point where God is telling us, "This is all you need to know... for now." So as we continue to seek God for His wisdom and guidance continue to pray that we will have willing hearts to follow Him wherever He leads. We continue to wait, but we are in a good waiting place at this point where we can truly focus our hearts and minds on what Christ is doing in our lives right now. We give thanks to God for all of you who are praying for us as we continue on our journey following Jesus whether He is moving us or having us wait. In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.- Proverbs 16:9 Have a great week everyone.

Beyond the Dinner Table

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday over the past few years. It is a time that you come together with family. It is a time that you truly give thanks to God for all that you have been blessed with. I have so many memories of thanksgivings past. I remember being taught about the Pilgrims and how the Indians helped them through their first winter. I remember going to my grandmother's house with all of my mom's family. I remember the smell of turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, among other wonderful foods. What sticks out the most to me though is this Thanksgiving that I spent with Rachel. It was just the two of us this year. It was wonderful. We had a nice quiet day together. There was no rushing or running around. We were so thankful for how God has provided for us in the past year. It wasn't about the food. It wasn't about gorging ourselves on turkey. It was about being together and giving thanks to God for His presence constantly working in our life together. My prayer is that this Thanksgiving was an experience that moved beyond the dinner table and into your hearts. May each of you be blessed in the coming year that you cannot help but be thankful with each moment.

Wilderness

God does amazing things in our lives each day as we travel the road He desires for our lives. More often than not that road does not look the way we would have carved it out. God has a way of shaping our road the way He sees fit. This is one of the most difficult ideas I have struggled to wrap my mind around as a Christian. Of course that is the moment that God reveals the egotistical road that that mindset takes me down as His follower. When I travel down the road of self; it really is not truly following God's will because I want to put parameters on it. It sounds really nice to tell people that I want to go where God wants me to go, and deep down that really is true. The fact of the matter is this.... More often than not I want to go where I am comfortable. I want to do God's will so long as His will fits my will. "Lord, I'll do whatever you want except.... I go where ever you want me to go except there." When we put parameters on God's will we really are not fully surrendered to what He wants us to do. That does not mean God will not use us to glorify His Kingdom; because eventually He will find a way to bring us around to His will until we finally do raise our white flag to give Him glory,truly following after Him. As I am in my own wilderness I believe that God is using both Rachel and I. I believe this battle of my will versus God's will is soon coming to an end with God having the victory and me saying oh so that is what you were trying to show me. God has blessed us in so many ways. He brought us through four years of college at Johnson University (Johnson Bible College)completely debt free. In fact He even helped us to pay off the rest of the debt I had acquired years ago before I even met Rachel. He helped me to attain a 4.0 my last semester there. God taught Rachel and I so many ways to trust Him and to lean on His plan for our lives. An interesting thought about how He shaped and molded us over the last four years is this.... God is not finished with us. He is still at work in our lives; even when we do not know what He is doing. We are all unfinished work. Whether you want to use the image of a potter, a sculpture, and gardener or whatever; this idea remains. God continues to do His work in us no matter how stubborn we are. No matter how much we want to think that we have control of our lives; God truly has a far better plan than we could ever imagine. That is where our hope lies. Our hope is in the plan that God continues to orchestrate in our lives each day. That same message Christ lays out for each of us. It is simply a matter of whether or not we choose to be receptive to His plan. That is both the beauty and curse of free will. Jesus does not force His will on us. We have the freedom to choose our own path, do our own thing, or make our own plan. However, when we choose this path it often ends up becoming much more difficult. When we surrender our plans to God's plan it does not necessarily become easier, but we turn our eyes to a greater purpose than our own and inste

ad of putting our plans in front of God's plan; our plans become God's plan as we let our own human desires die and seek to do what He desires. It is an interesting and often times difficult transition to take in life but the rewards on the other side are blessed and eternal. This is the return of the Behr's Trails. My hope is that we may share what God is doing in our lives and perhaps God can show all of us some insights as we all travel our own road. May you allow Christ to do His work in your hearts this week by letting go of your idea of control and embracing that God is in control and wants to do amazing things in each of your lives. "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." -Proverbs 16:9

Approaching the Desert?

Once again it is been a large gap from our last post. May the gaps fill in. As it is reaching the wee hours of twilight this ole Behr is heading for a short hibernation. However there will be more to come soon to bring you all back up to speed with our life. Stay tuned.