Peeling an Onion

I never realized how much stuff we had accumulated and how hard it would be to get rid of it.  But layer by layer, it is being peeled away.  Not without tears though....  It has been hard to sort through and choose what is important and what is not, what to save and what to throw.  In the long run, how much of it really is important?  NOTHING really, except our relationship with Jesus Christ and our families.  But those pieces of paper with childish scrawlings that say "I love you Mom" and those pictures of grinning kids with chicken pox splotches on their bodies...  Each layer that gets peeled away brings tears, but also freedom because one less "thing" is an anchor keeping us from freely following God's call. 
God, please help us to peel away all the dried and unnecessary layers until there is nothing left but the living and useful part of us.  We want to be free of all those things that tie us down and keep us from being all that you want us to be.  Help us, Lord.

Southern Florida District Nazarene Missions Convention

WOW!  What an awesome convention!  Listening to Rev. John Haines talk about what God is doing in the Eurasia District was awesome.  He is able to present his messages in a way that really gets your attention.  The theme was "Cast your net on the other side".  The key was the disciples obeying when Christ told them to cast the net on the other side even though they had caught nothing during a whole night of fishing.  Sometimes, in our Christian ministry, we do not see much in the way of results for the work we do.  But, if God has called us to the task, we must stay the course and be faithful.  For the disciples, they did not see success until they did something different but God directed.  Then they were greatly rewarded with God's blessings.  If we obey God's call, we may not see results right away, but we must stay faithful.  God will take our faithfullness and bless it.  In the story, the net can symbolize the methods we use to draw people to the Lord.  The net catches many different kinds of fish.  The net does not discriminate against any fish.  All are drawn in.  We too, should not discriminate against those who are drawn in to the Lord.   God values ALL people and wants all to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  That should by our goal too. 
At the convention, they also had a prayer time for us, Rev. John Haines, Wes Chambers, and Amanda Pound.  All of us are in or entering into a new stage of serving our Lord.  God's presence was stongly present during that time.  Thank you, God!  We covet prayers during the time of transition. 
It was sad to know this is the last Southern Florida District's Mission convention we will be attending for a while.  But again, we are excited about what lies ahead.  God has been so faithful to us.

God is Faithful

These past few weeks have been a bit tough.  I had sugery on April 20th.  I debated about whether I should have the surgery or not.  It turns out according to the doctor I was wise to have it when I did because, though there was nothing seriously wrong now, there were several issues that could have become serious within a short period of time.  At least this way, I was able to have the doctor I knew and trusted do the surgery.  God has been faithful through it all.  I am recovering well, but slowly.  There is so much to do, and I have little strength to do it. We really only have a little less than two months left to clean out and get ready for the move.    Please pray for us that we will be able to accomplish all that needs to be done. 

The first of a long list of goodbyes...

Today, I refereed my last soccer game at North Fort Myers.  I have been affiliated with that league off and on since our oldest was around 5.  He turns 31 on Sunday.  It was hard saying goodbye to those I have known for many years and worked with closely these last five years.  We are excited about what is ahead of us, but sad to see some things come to an end. 
Refereeing soccer is something we have enjoyed doing for many years.  There was a time when soccer consumed our lives.  We have made many friends through the years and hopefully touched many lives through soccer.  It has been a hobby, a ministry, and an outlet for us. 
But the call on our lives to go to Ecuador is strong.  If it means I never referee another soccer game or teach another referee class, that is okay.  We will miss the refereeing, but we do not regret our choice to obey the call.  We know that God will have other ministries in store for us that will be just as enjoyable and fulfilling if not more so.  God's plan is perfect.

Cleaning house (literally)

The time has come for us to chose what is and is not important.  It is not easy sorting through 35 years of accumulations, but it must be done.  The POD has been delivered and items we are getting rid of are being move into it.  Time is flying by and so much has yet to be done.
Through it all God continues to make it clear to us that we are on the right path.  On Friday, a student from FGCU came to observe some of our math teachers.  When talking with her and sharing a little of what God is doing in our lives, she told us that her mother was from Quito.  So many little things have happened that keep reminding us that God has called us and will equip us for this walk of faith.
It is time also to clear out all those things in our spiritual lives that are not important.  We should not be busying ourselves with activities that (though not bad) are not what our Lord wants us to spend time with.  It is time to focus on strengthening our relationship with our Lord and Saviour to equip us for the battles ahead.  That does not mean we stop doing anything else.  We just need to make sure what we are doing is what God wants us to do, not just what others want or expect us to do.  Some will understand, some will not.  God's call and expectations of us must be our primary focus. 

Challenges

What a challenge the last few months have been.  God opened the doors for us to go to Ecuador and we have said a hearty "YES!" to the call.  Since then, with God's help, we have been fighting off attacks on us in the areas that held us back from doing something like this before... our family and finances.  On February 1, my father died.  Although he was 94, he was relatively healthy until October of 2010.  Because of his illness and subsequent hospice care, I flew to spend time with him and with my mom.  The time with my dad was precious and I would not have wanted to miss that time for anything.  It was a joy to be able to help care for my dad in his last days.  But missing 9 days of work as a teacher was a nightmare. It is now the end of the third quarter, and I am JUST finally catching up and back on top of things.  Then, just as I was finally feeling like things were smothing out, another crisis came.  One of our children has a beautiful family with two children.  Depression was driving a wedge and destroying that family.  We live so far away from them and will soon be moving even farther away.  We did not know what to do, so we cried out to God and to any prayer warriors we knew, asking them to pray for a healing.  Praise God, positive progress has been made.
We have also been hit financially with bills that we had not counted on.  We have a $14,000 - $15,000 septic system that has to be installed soon. Then, just when we thought that issue was figured out, vandals broke out a window that has to be replaced.  Of course it was not cheap glass but tempered glass.  That is an additional $400.  We know a lot of this is because someone is not happy we are obeying God's call.
We continue to move forward towards the call that has been placed on our lives.  We do not want to miss out on all God has in store for us. 
Please uphold us in prayer as we continue this journey.

God has opened the door for us to go to Ecuador!

Check out our link to find out what God has been doing in our lives.  http://web.nazarene.org/goto/KRAMorris

We have been on an incredible journey this past year.  Keith and I have desired to teach on the mission field after we retired.  This past summer, we attended a Cross Cultural Outreach training with the Church of the Nazarene at MidAmerica Nazarene University.  We thought we were getting ready for heading out in a couple of years.  But God had something else in mind for us.  He has opened the doors for us to go next year.  We are very excited about this opportunity.
We have our work cut our for us to get ready and we do know it is going to be a BIG change and adjustment, but God has called us and will equip us.  Please pray for us as we prepare for the next adventure in our lives.  Above all, we want to be used by Him for His honor and glory.