Today is Wednesday, September 28, 2011. Today is Mary’s birthday. She was born 62 years ago.
We met on the Internet on a Christian dating site called Christian Mingles. On our first face to face meeting we had a blast! I was an answer to a very direct prayer of hers to God. She laid on the floor face down and cried out to God that if He willed, would He send her a man of God?! Right after that prayer her sister sent her a note that also contain the an ad for Christian Mingles.
Mary was an answer to a heart cry I did not want to verbalize, but I felt very deeply. I had a difficult time admitting to myself that I longed for someone to see beautiful things with, and to worship hand in hand with, but God knew, and Mary was His answer. God was setting up something bigger than both of us.
I was just thinking today about how radically my life changed since meeting and marrying Mary. In January I was worked at a factory, pastored a church, lived with my daughter and her family, very involved in music, and only caually involved in my internet ministry.
I had 40 followers on Twitter, 100 friends on Facebook, and I had no idea if anyone was reading my publishings on Facebook or Twitter.
I had published The Parables on a Website called worshipjournal.com started by Noel Richards. The site was actually designed for worship musicians, and the journal aspect was not intended for publishing written articles. It provided a feedback mechanism by ranking popularity of the profiles. There was also feedback on how many visited the site and read or down loaded articles and songs.
I was surprised at how well my articles were received, and somewhat shocked when my profile popularity hit the top 100. My profile rose in popularity week by week until it hit number 7. About that time the website had a break down.
I was not faring as well on Facebook and Twitter. Then Mary entered the picture.
I had decided to retire from the 3rd shift factory job before meeting Mary. After meeting Mary, I had new family responsibilities, and I had no idea what they would involve. After very careful and prayerful deliberations, I announced I was retiring from the pastorate, which freed me to relocate to Michigan and see what developed with Mary's family. I did not want my new “children” to blame the church for the loss of their mother. It also freed up time to work on my web ministry.
Before Mary, I was a musician as well as a preacher, but the music was dropped, and I became a wordsmith instead. I had much to learn.
Before Mary, I was a factory worker, Pastor, musician, Hoosier, and involved daily in my families' life. After Mary, I was a wordsmith, Michigander, and travelled monthly and bimonthly to be involved with my family.
Perhaps such a radical change would have been hard in any other setting, but in the “remote” location with Mary’s full time company, it was delightful. I was, with the Lord’s help, able to wrap my mind around Internet workings and language, and began to put my Internet ministry on a solid footing. My Twitter followers grew 10 fold, and then grew 10 fold again. My Facebook friends grew 10 fold also. I even earned a little income.
Through trial and error, and God’s guidance, I discovered the power of a short quote. What was most incredible is that I was the one doing the quoting. The short quotes were the key to drawing in an audience for the Parables. People would stop by my posts for the quotes, and then stay to read a Parable.
Now things are changing again. We’ve learned that Mary’s family needs us less than we had thought. We always knew that my family would enjoy us as much as we could be there. The home in Indiana will be available for Mary and me to stay in.
I may get a part time job in Indiana, and possibly take on some music students as well. Since we will be there much more often, I may assist Family Bible Fellowship with the music. I have a lot of work to do on my Indiana home.
Mary can’t sell her home in Michigan, and there are tax advantages for us to keep our residency in Michigan. But my family, my home, and most of my time will be in Indiana.
The publishing of the Parables will remain a major part of my life. Thanks to the year and a half in “seclusion”, it will be on a solid footing, reaching 110 countries in 34 languages, telling the story of how God used a miraculous gift of rain to transform my life into a living Parable.
If you are thankful for the Parables, then thank the Lord, and if you should ever meet Mary or care to drop her a line, thank her. She has been a mighty catalyst in the publishing of these Parables around the world.
Happy birthday, Mary!
We met on the Internet on a Christian dating site called Christian Mingles. On our first face to face meeting we had a blast! I was an answer to a very direct prayer of hers to God. She laid on the floor face down and cried out to God that if He willed, would He send her a man of God?! Right after that prayer her sister sent her a note that also contain the an ad for Christian Mingles.
Mary was an answer to a heart cry I did not want to verbalize, but I felt very deeply. I had a difficult time admitting to myself that I longed for someone to see beautiful things with, and to worship hand in hand with, but God knew, and Mary was His answer. God was setting up something bigger than both of us.
I was just thinking today about how radically my life changed since meeting and marrying Mary. In January I was worked at a factory, pastored a church, lived with my daughter and her family, very involved in music, and only caually involved in my internet ministry.
I had 40 followers on Twitter, 100 friends on Facebook, and I had no idea if anyone was reading my publishings on Facebook or Twitter.
I had published The Parables on a Website called worshipjournal.com started by Noel Richards. The site was actually designed for worship musicians, and the journal aspect was not intended for publishing written articles. It provided a feedback mechanism by ranking popularity of the profiles. There was also feedback on how many visited the site and read or down loaded articles and songs.
I was surprised at how well my articles were received, and somewhat shocked when my profile popularity hit the top 100. My profile rose in popularity week by week until it hit number 7. About that time the website had a break down.
I was not faring as well on Facebook and Twitter. Then Mary entered the picture.
I had decided to retire from the 3rd shift factory job before meeting Mary. After meeting Mary, I had new family responsibilities, and I had no idea what they would involve. After very careful and prayerful deliberations, I announced I was retiring from the pastorate, which freed me to relocate to Michigan and see what developed with Mary's family. I did not want my new “children” to blame the church for the loss of their mother. It also freed up time to work on my web ministry.
Before Mary, I was a musician as well as a preacher, but the music was dropped, and I became a wordsmith instead. I had much to learn.
Before Mary, I was a factory worker, Pastor, musician, Hoosier, and involved daily in my families' life. After Mary, I was a wordsmith, Michigander, and travelled monthly and bimonthly to be involved with my family.
Perhaps such a radical change would have been hard in any other setting, but in the “remote” location with Mary’s full time company, it was delightful. I was, with the Lord’s help, able to wrap my mind around Internet workings and language, and began to put my Internet ministry on a solid footing. My Twitter followers grew 10 fold, and then grew 10 fold again. My Facebook friends grew 10 fold also. I even earned a little income.
Through trial and error, and God’s guidance, I discovered the power of a short quote. What was most incredible is that I was the one doing the quoting. The short quotes were the key to drawing in an audience for the Parables. People would stop by my posts for the quotes, and then stay to read a Parable.
Now things are changing again. We’ve learned that Mary’s family needs us less than we had thought. We always knew that my family would enjoy us as much as we could be there. The home in Indiana will be available for Mary and me to stay in.
I may get a part time job in Indiana, and possibly take on some music students as well. Since we will be there much more often, I may assist Family Bible Fellowship with the music. I have a lot of work to do on my Indiana home.
Mary can’t sell her home in Michigan, and there are tax advantages for us to keep our residency in Michigan. But my family, my home, and most of my time will be in Indiana.
The publishing of the Parables will remain a major part of my life. Thanks to the year and a half in “seclusion”, it will be on a solid footing, reaching 110 countries in 34 languages, telling the story of how God used a miraculous gift of rain to transform my life into a living Parable.
If you are thankful for the Parables, then thank the Lord, and if you should ever meet Mary or care to drop her a line, thank her. She has been a mighty catalyst in the publishing of these Parables around the world.
Happy birthday, Mary!
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