Jump! A Leap of Faith

 

As the new semester begins, we thought we'd take the time share with you about our newly reorganized life as well as our prayer requests.

Once we made the decision (well actually God made it for us) to commit to full-time seminary 100%, we knew that in order to make it work, we needed to re-organize our lives and our priorities. 

Since we had a large mortgage, and Tim was no longer able to keep two jobs and go to school, we knew we needed to get rid of our wood staining business and sell our home. This would allow for Tim to focus on school and not have the pressure of a large mortgage hanging over our heads.

After a few months of keeping the house in "show condition", (which is no easy task with 3 boys), we decided to take it off the market during the holidays and place it back on the market come Spring. The DAY we had planned on removing it from the market, God so graciously brought us a buyer. HUGE Blessing in this market..We sold it to a sweet Christian family, and were able to find a smaller home with a much more affordable mortgage payment. (A great time to make sure we are being good stewards with what we are given -we also cut-out unnecessary bills such as cable tv, home phone service, newspaper delivery, life insurance and pest control. ) The best part is that none of us miss TV at all! 

Tim's brother is a general contractor in town and was able to take over the stain business fairly easily. Since we no longer needed our truck having gotten rid our wood staining business, Tim sold it for a more economical and fuel efficient 2003 Honda Accord.

In the middle of all this, Tim was quickly realizing that he wasnt able to give 100% to school and 100% to the youth group at the same time...and for those of you who know Tim, he gives 100% or none at all! (certainly a quality I love about him) So, even though it was difficult, in an act of faith, he stepped down from his youth pastor roll. Yes, we know this leaves us without a job, but feel called to finish school nonetheless. 

By God's grace, we were not without jobs for long. Tim and I have both gotten two part time jobs each. Tim delivers chinese food for a friends restaurant and works the front desk at a local storage facility. (bonus - he is able to study during slow times)  I work as a marketing admin for SSG and as a crossing guard at Tyler and Austin's school. 

Because we lost our benefits and have minimal income, we have applied for CHIP (health coverage for the children) and have recently been approved for the free lunch program at school. We have never taken advantage of a social program, but know that this is only for a short season. We are thankful for these programs that allow us help in time of need.

Prayer Requests and Praises!

-Even though we have minimized our expenses, we currently have a monthly budget deficit of approximately $800 while Tim is in school. We would be so thankful for your support and prayers if you are able. Although this may sound daunting to some, we are so confident is God's ability to provide for His people and have been so blessed, that somehow this doesnt worry us.

-Tim's school coursework is very difficult and although he thoroughly enjoys studying, please pray that he is able to retain what he is learning and be able to apply it in practical ministry.

-Please pray that God provides a strong pastoral mentor for Tim to encourage and nurture him in the faith 

-Pray for our family as we adjust to all of the changes in our lives in a short amount of time (the largest of these is my working outside of the home)

-Pray that over the course of Tim's schooling, that our call to the ministry, mission work, teaching or other would be made perfectly clear

-Pray for the Lord to bring the right people forward to help raise funds for Redeemer Seminary in Austin 

-Praise God that he is so evident in our lives right now
-Praise Him for the ridiculous blessings he has bestowed upon in this season

-Praise Him that in spite of ourselves His glory is still shown

-Praise that His involvement in our lives did not end with the cross, but that we have the Holy Spirit with is to sanctify and guide

-Pray for the ladies bible study I am starting in our home every other Tuesday evening that it would be glorifying to God and that our neighbors would desire to be involved..so far we have 6-7 ladies committed to studying God's word. Praise! (Let me know if you'd like to join. We will be studying the book of Psalms starting in March.)

-Pray for a new leader for the CP youth group and for the hearts of the youth to be transformed by the Love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

-Unlike us who have been richly blessed in this country, continue to pray for those that are persecuted for their faith 

Lastly, thank you so much for your support, love, friendship and interest in our lives. 

We are so much richer because of you!

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Much love,

Shellee

"Dayenu"

Growing up Jewish, Spring was synonomus with Passover. My mother made grand preparations for the big passover meal. Since the service is so long, the haggadah (the traditional book you read from, for all my gentile friends) was littered with silly songs and responsive readings to help keep the little ones entertained. 
One such reading or song was aptly named "Dayenu" which is hebrew for "it would have been sufficient".
The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah and Shabbat, and had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. This is to show a much greater appreciation for all of them as a whole. For those of you who have never read/heard it: 

Five Stanzas of Leaving Slavery

1) If He had brought us out of Egypt. "Dayenu"
2) If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians. "Dayenu"
3) If He had executed justice upon their gods. "Dayenu"
4) If He had slain their first born. "Dayenu"
5) If He had given to us their health and wealth "Dayenu"

Five Stanzas of Miracles

6) If He had split the sea for us. "Dayenu"
7) If He had led us through on dry land. "Dayenu"
8) If He had drowned our oppressors. "Dayenu"
9) If He had provided for our needs in the wilderness for 40 years. "Dayenu"
10) If He had fed us manna "Dayenu"

11) If He had given us Shabbat. "Dayenu"

Five Stanzas of Being With God

12) If He had led us to Mount Sinai. "Dayenu"
13) If He had given us the Torah. "Dayenu"
14) If He had brought us into the Land of Israel. "Dayenu"
15) If He built the Temple for us. "Dayenu"

The word remember is use in the bible 231 times (give or take depending on your translation) 

Psalm 77:11
"I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago."

Similarly as Christians, let us contemplate and consistently remind ourselves of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross and never forget His unending love for His people!

Not only did he shed his blood for us for the remission of our sins, but He continues to bestow ridiculous blessing upon us even now.

"Oh Lord.....DAYENU!"


Shellee

Season of Change

Over the last few months, our home, car,  jobs, and other things have have changed. This makes me so very thankful that our God does not change!  (Hebrews 13:8)  His plan for salvation was and is the same, His holiness will never change, his providence and promises for our lives will never change, His indelible grace cannot be changed, His goodness and love never change, He is faithful always, He is merciful and powerful and sovereign forever and ever! May we live in awe of God our father (our creator and sustainer), our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (our sacrificial redeemer), and the Holy Spirit who guides us in all righteousness for His Glory! 
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
Much love,
Shellee

Redeemer Seminary 2nd year anniversary

Redeemer Seminary celebrated its 2 year anniversary this week. Tim Keller was the guest speaker (He also spoke at the convocation 2 years ago) and preached a wonderful sermon on Philippians chapter 4. Go to the following webpage if you would like to listen:
http://audio.pcpc.org/archive/entry/5983/

I was included on a small breakfast get together with Tim Keller and about 40 other people. He shared some thoughts about the Christians duty to serve the least and the lost and made a solid biblical argument for us to be involved in various social justice activities (think habitat for humanity, abortion counseling, sex trading, homeless shelter).
What is amazing about Tim Keller is that in less than 30 minutes he can challenge you biblically to rethink the way you live out your faith. Loved the time with him and I believe he is one of the great leaders of the church in our age. I received a copy of his new book Generous Justice which talks about the same issue he addressed to our group. I look forward to reading it and will try and post a review.

Its all Greek to me!

Thanks to all who helped us move out of our old home and into our new. We are so thankful for all the help.
I wanted to take a moment to update everyone on where I am at in school. Currently I am in the middle of Greek II. The class is covered during the month of January with classes meeting 3 times a week. There have been some serious moments of despair as I tried to hold on to what I had learned the day before while piling into my brain new ideas. God has been faithful and thus far things are going well. I have a great teacher, Bill Burns, who is really shepherding all of us through this process. I am also thankful to all the guys I am in class with. Since I am a bit high strung, having guys around to joke around and loosen things up is a huge plus. I also have the best study partner in all of seminary. His name is Boyd Murrah. He is a theologian of the highest caliber and has decided to brush up on his Greek and is in class with us. We all go to him with our questions and he always has the answer. He has been a huge blessing to me in school and as a friend. We have been carpooling to save gas money and everyday is filled with deep and meaningful discussion.
Thanks again for all your prayers as we have moved and as I push through seminary. There are many times when Shell and I are so certain that we are being carried along by the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ! God really is good and we are thankful for his grace and for providing all we need!
I am working on my Spring class selection and will have a full course load, and of course Greek III!

Home Sweet Home

Please update your address books..our new home address is:

3556 Pine Needle Cir
Round Rock, TX 78681

Thank you to all of our friends who helped us move in. We truly appreciate it!
This home is a true blessing to us. Stop by and say hello anytime!

The Sharp's

Embracing Joblessness!

Its official- We are crazy! I have stepped down from my role as youth director at CrossPointe Church. It has become apparent over the past few months that full-time ministry, full-time seminary and full-time family cannot all be done well without burning out or something worse. I will be looking for part-time work and will be spending more time building our support team. I am trying to remember the last time I have not had a job, and I had to go back to age 14. The year 1982! That is a long, long time. We are committed to seminary and the opportunity God has provided with Redeemer seminary here in Austin.
Thanks for your support, thanks for your prayers, and thanks for coming along for this crazy ride with us.

New Home

Thanks for all of your prayers! We have successfully moved out of our old home and the new owners have moved in. Our new home in Mayfield Ranch. The plan is to move in on January 8th. The great news is the home is lovely, new (built in 2007), and in a really nice neighborhood. We are eager to move our stuff and get settled in. Thanks again to all of you for your prayers, support, and encouragement over the past few months.

Redeemer Seminary Houston in the news

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/7268753.html

Redeemer Austin in one of two recent locations added in Texas from the mothership in Dallas. Take a look! Good overview of what we believe God is doing in the church and more specifically through Reformed teaching.

Proverbs 31 wife

I was thinking recently about how thankful I am to have such an amazing wife. Proverbs 31 says:

"An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good and not harm, all the days of her life.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Lord thank you for Shellee my lovely wife! When we got married 16 years ago I thought I was doing pretty well for myself. Little did I know just how fortunate I was and how richly God had blessed me. I really could not imagine living life, family, and ministry without her.

Question: An excellent wife who can find? Answer: A dumb dude named Tim!