Of all of the posts I have written since the beginning of this blog in 2017, the post most viewed is When God Brings You Out. I sometimes wonder why? What is it in the title that draws people to take a peek, and do they find what they are looking for? When God brings us out, it is mercy; and where mercy leaves off, grace is waiting. He brings us into something better.

Do you remember, in Luke 5, Peter and his brother met Jesus in their boat after a long night of fishing and catching nothing? Jesus used their boat as a platform to teach the listening crowds because water has pretty good acoustics. Afterward, he told the men to go back out to deep water and re-cast their nets. They had to make a decision to trust his word, or not. At his word, they decided to let down their nets, and they caught so many fish that the nets were breaking. James and John came to help them drag the fish in, filling two boats, and the fish were so heavy that the boats began to sink. Peter, realizing that only God could do such a thing, fell before Jesus, and Jesus told him that from now on he would be catching men. Once they brought the boats back to shore, the fishermen left everything to follow Jesus.

Everything.

Those fishermen were offered an opportunity greater than anything they could ask for or imagine, represented by the overflowing nets. They didn’t know what the future would look like when they left their boats, but they knew that Jesus was worthy of their devotion. God always gives us a choice. There is an invitation, and we have to make a decision: decide to stay where we are and keep doing the same thing, or we can decide to follow Him into the unknown where we are promised an abundant life. We have to let down our nets… change our expectations… re-cast our vision. We have to leave our proverbial boats and walk into the future that God has for us.

Right now, Jesus is bringing our family out of Minnesota, telling us to leave our boat and go to Missouri, where we are being called to serve at a young, growing camp called LifeChange Camp. Tony and I were 30 and 31 years old when we moved to Camp JIM in Pillager, Minnesota. We have grown up here. For nineteen years, we have raised our family, been involved in our community, and invested in our home church. We have watched God grow Camp JIM, and with His help, we have served dozens of churches, trained numerous leaders, encouraged hundreds of families, and seen at least 1,000 souls come to Christ during our camps and retreats. It was ALL GOD.

♥ Our nets are full. ♥

We have grown to love so many people, and we have so much gratitude in our hearts to God for allowing us to partner with Him here.

Oswald Chambers said that when we “go out,” following Jesus into the unknown, there is no logical answer possible when people ask what we are doing.

God has blessed us here. We thought this is where we would retire, but God is telling us to pull anchor. Sell our home. Recast our vision. Follow Him to Missouri. By men’s standards, it doesn’t make much sense to start over, but God tells us not to focus on the unknown and keep our eyes on Him; so, we are saying “Yes, Lord, we will follow You.”

Please pray for Camp JIM, as we help them re-calibrate. They will be searching for God’s choice of a new Director who can continue to lead this camp in the mission and vision that has been cast. Please pray for our family and for LifeChange Camp in the transition. Invite God to do all that He has in mind to accomplish! He is enlarging our hearts as we look forward to meeting the camp family, church, friends, and Jesus seekers that God is preparing for us to love and invest in. We will be leaving opportunities at our current camp and in our home church for others to step up and lead. Pray for leaders!

Our moving date is coming up at the end of December. If my posts become more sporadic, it is because I am still homeschooling and going through my house with new eyes, letting go of a lot of possessions that do not need to make the journey to Missouri. God will provide what we need when we get there. The house needs some touch up. The kids need extra attention. And I need time to listen to what God is telling my heart to be learning in all this change. Be patient with me!! I’m not planning to disappear from WordPress.

I treasure your friendship and your comments!

~Linda