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December 2008
You can allow the obstacles to set you back,
blind your focus, or hinder your will to trust God as He fulfills His
purposes through EVERY circumstance in your life. OR you can continue to
move, step by step in faith, knowing that He is Lord and that He will lead
and protect. And that He will do so even in the most painful of challenges
or in attempts by the evil one to steal, kill and destroy.
God exploded the multiplication of His people in Genesis and Exodus through
a process that began with Joseph being sold into slavery by his own
brothers. Read the amazing climax of that story in Genesis 45-50, but note
here and now a life principle for each of us living out our Kingdom lives:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what
is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20
We look to 2009 with hope after a period of incredible brokenness – and
intended warfare from places we could never have anticipated. But here we
stop and rejoice at God’s faithfulness revealed in the sending of His Son
Jesus to free sinners like us, now to give our lives away to others in a
very lost world...
Paul & Julie
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One of the ways we see the hand of God in
this challenging year...
Paul is leading a group of eleven coaches and trainers on Monday and
Tuesday, December 8-9, from western Europe, eastern Europe, and
central Asia. These partners represent ministries of over a thousand
people throughout these three regions, and these eleven are tasked
to steward their people into more effective team ministry and body
life evangelism. Even three years ago, we could not have planned for
God to open such doors of favor across the global body of Christ.
Alongside this, PRAY for Julie’s steadily improving health and
for spiritual, emotional and physical protection while Paul is gone
six nights in southern Germany (Friday-Thursday, December 5-11).
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Julie...one step at a time
It has been a battle that has taken us through three different sets of major
obstacles,
with setbacks at each turn. But we now see God’ s healing to be steadfastly
real, and happening still ever so slowly but at least headed in the right
direction. A major step outward was to risk a long-planned trip to see
Stephen in Washington, DC during November.
Julie battled every step of the way to get
there and back. Our time was both precious with our son and confirming that
Julie is indeed breaking through and slowly becoming herself again. PRAY for
ongoing physical strengthening related to major iron, thyroid, and iron
deficiencies, full restoration of joy in Julie’s mornings, and for spiritual
protection in what has been the most difficult season of warfare in our
lives. We are pictured at Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC with
Jennifer Marshall, Stephen’s cousin and the Director of Domestic Policy for
Heritage. Stephen finishes his Heritage internship on December 11.
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Another way we see the hand of God in this
challenging year...
As most of you know, Paul has pioneered a tool called the
Grip/Birkman Blueprint, a resource designed to help Christians more
effectively mobilize themselves and their ministry teams toward that
same body life team ministry and evangelism noted earlier. As God
has expanded the use of this “GBB” tool into at least 16 countries
by a group of now over 200 coaches and 25 trainers, Paul has
released significant oversight and training functions to at least
five others over the course of the past 18 months.
In this year where God has asked me (Paul) to stay home for the
majority of eight months (April until now), He has used my calling
to equip and release others into ministry to be the very thing that
has multiplied this ministry far beyond anything that we could ask
or think. NOTHING has slowed down God’s purposes. In fact, the
multiplication has increased! Praise God that He multiplies His
plans as we intentionally invest our lives deeply into those whom He
gives under our care, and then learn to step out of the way and
watch exponential growth that only God could bring. For me, it
continues to start at home with my bride, and move out from there.
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