Ever Learning

Marr-wage, is what brings us together here today

2006-09-15T11:33:00.000-04:00

I have now been Mrs. Karen Wells for almost 3 weeks!! I know, I know, those married couples are thinking... ah, what a short time, still so much to learn. :) Though these past 3 weeks have had some definite, unexpected challenges, Joe & I have grown closer & stronger through them. And I can still say (even more so) that I am so grateful and blessed and blown away that Joe would love me so unselfishly and completely and committedly! My husband's love & faith & faithfulness to God and those around him amazes me, and challenges me to continue to grow in those areas of my life. But I think the thing that awes me the most is what a friend of mine just reminded me of- God's faithfulness. Joe & I have quite the story- not unlike some other couples, but still, quite the story, even before we arrived at this place in our lives. And all I can do is thank & praise God for never leaving either of us in the midst of His weaving our lives together. Sometimes it felt like He had, or that things had gone all wrong, but man, God was in every part of our story, working together what seemed bad to bring so much more good & blessing!

Our wedding day was beautiful! But our biggest hope is that our wedding, lives & marriage will be a testimony of God's awesome faithfulness & love, always at work, always for our best. Thank you, God!!!! And thank you, husband, for walking faithfully with the Lord. I love you so much!!!!

In 29 Days....

2006-07-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

I will be Mrs. Karen Wells!! :D Can you tell I'm excited??! Maybe just a tad... ;)

Well, Joe finally moved here, and it is AWESOME getting to see my wonderful soon-to-be husband every day!! It'll just be more awesome when I get to wake up next to his handsome face every single morning.

Hmm... what else is new... sorry it's been awhile since I've updated. No one probably even reads this anymore just because it's been so long. But I finally have a computer to use at our apt. (instead of trying to do this at church). We're just finishing getting things set-up & unpacked, and trying to get life details & wedding details finished up. So please keep us in your prayers if you think of us. And if there's anything we can be praying for you about, please send us a note!

This isn't the most exciting blog ever, but in a month, I'll have more exciting news & pictures to share! Until then, May God continue to be with you, blessing your faithful obedience in your life. Love you all!!

I'd like to introduce you....

2006-03-03T14:03:00.000-05:00

To Micah Anthony MacLeod!!! :) This is my adorable 2nd nephew who I just got to spend an amazing week with in blistery Nova Scotia, Canada! It was c-c-cold, but such an absolutely wonderful time! Joe & I and my parents had a really fun time together with my sis & Duane and my other totally cute nephew, Noah. :) He's quite the kid! He loves balls & has already tried several times to share his balls with his baby brother (not quite as well received yet). Poor Micah got a few hits and bounces on top of him. But Noah loves him lots! He is always giving him hugs & kisses, wanting to hold him, and looking around for him to make sure he's there. He loves saying 'ball', 'baby', 'puppy', 'uh-oh', 'mommy' (which is who everyone is to him) and other gibberish. While we were there, he learned to say 'clean bum', though it sounded more like 'ean bum'. :) He also said 'anen' (amen) for the first time, and danced & played, told stories & loved cuddling & reading books. We had a grand ol' time together! And I can't wait to see them all in August again at our wedding! :) But I had to take a moment to have some Auntie bragging time. Thanks for humoring me. :) God Bless!

Thoughts

2006-02-28T19:13:00.000-05:00

What interesting creatures God created us to be. So complex, intricate, unique, & delicate. And with that comes amazing joys & celebrations, but also at times, deep struggles & challenging thoughts and circumstances. The human heart, soul, & mind are complex things. They have great capacities to love, but also to hate. To soar, but also to drown. To dream, but also to discourage.

My heart's desire is to be on the positive, up side of things as much as possible. I want to be a wellspring of life, flowing over to help lift others up & bring glory to God. And yet at times I find discouraging, defeating words coming out of my heart & mouth, and choking my thoughts as well. Is it because I am too self-focused at times? Is it because I have done something wrong? Is it because I am too hard on myself? Or is the enemy trying to drag me down the one way he knows how to really get me?

Thoughts. They are constant & never ending. They are free flowing & hard to keep rein on at times. They can lift you up to soar to highest heights, or bring you plummeting down to the depths of despair. How do we rise up & soar? How do we avoid the depths of despair? As Christians, is it wrong for us to struggle with down times of life? Is there a difference in struggling between men & women because of our make up?

Thoughts. Questions. Seeking answers & help to combat this rollercoaster ride of life.

Perhaps I need to continue to pray for God's help in following Colossians 3:2. "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things."........

I am thankful that God still loves & accepts us even when we don't feel at our best. And that He is always there to help us too.

I think I need to go have some more time of prayer & seeking Him. But thanks for letting me share my thoughts. And I hope your thoughts on your mind right now are encouraging & uplifting to your heart & soul & mind.

I'm an Aunt, again!!! :)

2006-02-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to share with everyone the exciting news!! My sister & bro-in-law, Jen & Duane MacLeod, recently welcomed their 2nd son into the world last night. My precious little nephew's name is Micah Anthony MacLeod, and he weighed 9lbs. 9 1/2 ozs., and was 21 inches long. His big brother, Noah, is going to the hospital this morning to see his new baby brother for the first time (how cute!). I'll get to see all of them this coming Saturday, so I am SUPER EXCITED!!!! :D Thank you for those of you have been praying for them. It was a smooth delivery and mother and baby are both doing great. :) God bless you all! And thank God for little, precious miracles such as these. God is so good! :)

Old Testament Reminder

2006-02-04T16:20:00.000-05:00

Life has been crazy, constantly on the go, never stopping the past few weeks. Part of that has been starting to explore wedding plans for my upcoming wedding to Joseph Wells, the man God has blessed me with in answering my years of praying for my future husband. I am truly amazed and blessed by God's gift of his love. Thank you, Lord!!! :)

It also has been crazy busy because with the new year and still the newness of my position, we are exploring some changes and trying some different things to see how they will work for the children's ministry (& am still plugging away with the youth ministry too). So with those things in full swing, and trying to prepare for 10-12 days away at my sister's house, trying to make sure everything is covered here, that I have everything done that I need to before I leave and for shortly after I get back. Needless to say, life has been anything but dull and boring. :)

However, in the midst of all the craziness, I have been held accountable in immersing myself in my daily Bible reading, and have truly thirst for this time and benefited greatly from it. Today God spoke a reminder to me. In the 10 Commandments it talks about honoring the Sabbath day and keeping it holy. I realized that I have not been doing that. Sundays, for pastors, cannot truly be a Sabbath day, so it is our responsibility to choose another day and take it for rest. Instead, the day I have had home each week I have been using to catch up on life and stuff here at my apartment instead of seeking God, relaxing, and resting in Him. Well, that changed my plans for the day. I have taken the day to explore dresses online for my bridesmaids, but also to rest, relax, catch up on the lives of my friends, and seek God in quiet time and reading. I have a bunch of work that needed attending to, but I trust that in taking this time that God has set aside not only for Him, but also for my own good, that I will be able to better do my work and minister to others than if I had not taken this time out to rest. It amazes me how God has purposely laid out things for our best interest, and yet we naturally keep pushing ourselves to go, go, go and overlook the reason for our true need of rest- both physical and spiritual. Hopefully as I strive to make this a weekly practice in my life, both myself, my relationship wtih God, my relationships with others, and my ministry will benefit greatly from it. Thank you, God, for looking out for us, especially when we have trouble looking out for our best sometimes on our own.

And make sure you make watching the Superbowl tomorrow night a part of your Sunday/Sabbath day :)- cheer on the Steelers!!! :)

GO STEELERS!!!!!!! :D

End of the Spear

2006-01-29T00:36:00.000-05:00

I went to see the movie out in theaters about the mission to Ecuador that began with hope, stung with great pain, but ended in victory. The movie was very good, but it was not the movie that amazed me- it was the story of how a group of missionary families gave all they had to God's service without restraint or hesitation. And here I sit still trying to process it all. My heart is full of mixed thoughts and prayers. Thoughts of how utterly horrible it must have been for the families of those 5 men that were killed. And yet amazement at how they truly loved the people who took their husbands/fathers away from them. In the movie, it is emphasized that no one took their lives away, but that they gave them freely (which also amazes me greatly). I wrestle with the thoughts of if I could really do that. If I could give up my life so that others may have the chance to be saved. Or if I could trust my husband to God enough that if his life would be needed to draw others to Himself, I could trust God enough to let him go. My prayer is for God to help my selfish and small, limited faith to grow where I can truly entrust my life and the lives of those I love fully to Him. God has greater plans beyond what we could ever see or fully comprehend. Our lives play a small part in the grander scheme of things, but each one still plays a very important part. I pray for God's help that I will hold nothing back from Him- that I would give all I have to Him for His work and service. I think giving up my own life doesn't scare me as much anymore as it does to think of those I dearly love giving up their lives. But our lives are not our own, nor is my husband-to-be or family or dear friends my own- they are God's blessing to me for a time, but ultimately His. God, help me to truly surrender them to you. Help them to be found faithful. And please help me to be found faithful. Thank you for using all things to reach people for you. Please help none to perish without the opportunity of knowing you, and I pray that they will. We need to keep praying together for those who do not know Christ to come to know Him before the end of their time comes. God has pressed a few people deeply on my heart, and I hope He has yours as well. Never give up- God is at work, whether we can see it or not. He is faithful. If you want to be challenged and amazed, go see the movie. But even more so, let God do the work in your heart He wants to do so that He can do the work in the lives of others He needs to. Hm.... I'm just blown away by God's great love and what it can do.

Wedding Date! :)

2006-01-24T16:40:00.000-05:00

Joe and I have finally set our wedding date. We will be getting married in 7 months, 1 day, 22 hours, and 34 minutes! :) Or more easily translated, on August 26, 2006 at 2:06pm at my home church. It worked out pretty cool because we discovered our favorite #'s are 2 & 6! Well, Joe thought we should get married Feb. 6th instead, since that would be more precise, but that idea was overruled. :) So mark your calendars if you want to! And please be praying with us as many details and things need to be planned and accomplished between now and then. God is so good though! He is providing and guiding us each step of the way. As we grow closer to Him, we grow closer to one another. What awesome plans God has! :)

We're Engaged!!!! :)

2006-01-16T16:59:00.000-05:00

I have to share the most wonderful news of my life- Joe asked me to marry him this past Friday and I said yes!!! :) I am SUPER excited and amazed by all that God has done in orchestrating this wonderful plan. God is so amazing, and so is my wonderful fiance!!! :) We'll let you know when the wedding will be! :)

Christmas time & facing a New Year

2005-12-30T12:14:00.000-05:00

Christmas day has passed and December is almost over- to be honest, I'm kind of glad. Being a pastor in the Christmas season this year has awakened me to a whole new understanding of the words "busy" & "crazy". Actually, it was challenging at times to muster up the Christmas spirit because of just being utterly exhausted. I realized how easy it is to lose perspective of what Christmas is all about. But I am thankful that Christmas is not a one-day celebration. Well, for many people it is, but truly Christmas can be and should be an all-year round, every day celebration! Jesus Christ didn't come for just one day or one lifetime on earth- He is with us ALWAYS!! And yet how easy it is to forget that at times admist the hussle & bussle of life.

As I look towards the new year we are about to begin, it seems I always take a glance back first. This past year has held many changes & challenges, and hurts & joys. There were times that I felt the closest to God that I ever had before, but I also experienced feeling the furtherest from God that I ever had as well. I experienced one of the deepest heartbreak & challenging times of my life, but in the midst of that, the blessing & discovery of what true friendship means. I graduated with great honors beyond what I could have ever dreamed, achieving not just a diploma, but a life-long foundation of friends, and a faith and God that I found would never fail me. I was stretched in taking a major step of faith in going on my first mission trip overseas, but blessed beyond belief through all that experience entailed- and the people I met are continuing to be such a blessing in my life. I hope our paths will cross again someday. I also experienced the most shocking and evident work of God in my life- He brought the man of God that I loved & still love so dearly back into my life. And I am still amazed by how all of that happened. Thank you, God!!! :) But most of all, I have seen God's faithfulness & goodness & promises fulfilled, and in the midst of a future I cannot see, I have a peace knowing that the One who walks with me & leads the way has it all taken care of for my best & good. So no matter what the new year brings, I know my God will never leave me nor forsake me, and He will continue to grow & restore me & always give me perfect joy & peace if I look to Him & accept it.

These things I know- I love my God & He is absolutely faithful & trustworthy!! I love my family & friends, and am so thankful & blessed by their love & friendship that they give freely & forever. I love Joe & can't wait to see all that God has in store for us this coming year (especially finally being together!)! :) And I am at peace & excited to see all that God has to teach me & lead me through this year, especially in my ministry & work for Him. Surrendering my life to Him was the best decision I have ever made, and my prayer is that this coming year, many others will come to realize that to be true & do the same.

I love you all & hope you have a very Blessed new year!! :)

When Love Came Down

2005-12-19T16:39:00.000-05:00

I love the song "When Love Came Down" that Point of Grace sings. The words go something like this, "Christmas Eve, two a.m., heavy snow is falling down and the streets, clothed in white, echo songs that were sung by candle light. We're alive, we can breathe, but do we really care for this world in need; there's a choice, we must make, each and every day. So close your eyes and share the dream, let everyone on earth believe; the child was born the stars shone bright, and love came down at Christmas time, and love came down at Christmas time, (and so on...)" :)

I love this song because it reminds me that God showed us the perfect and purest example of love, and that is what we celebrate at Christmas time, but also all through the year. How can there be any purer or more perfect example of love than Jesus Christ? That's why in Ephesians 5 God speaks about marriage and love to husbands and wives and uses Christ and the church (people) as an example of the kind of love husbands and wives should share with one another.

I am thankful for the love God has lavished upon us, and also thankful that He makes it possible for us to share that love with others- not only with spouses, but also with everyone we meet. My prayer is for God to help me love all people with His love & see them through His eyes, because that's not an easy task on my own. My hope is that you too will make this your prayer & choice this Christmas & all through the year- we need to share God's love freely with those around us & this world that is in need of being shown true, pure love.

Acting like Babies

2005-11-20T17:41:00.000-05:00

Do you remember how much attention and care little infants require? I was holding a tiny, little baby just yesterday, and it amazes me how fragile and helpless he seemed. It made me want to protect him and keep him safe, and make sure I held him just right so he could sleep comfortably.

Well, this is a good comparison in some ways to what new/"baby" Christians are like. They need help and protection along the way as they learn to establish their own thriving and growing relationship with God.

However, in Hebrews 5:11-14, Paul talks about many Christians who are still like babies, needing to be spoon fed their spiritual food in order to survive. People, this should not be!! There needs to come a point where every Christian is mature and able to feed themselves their own spiritual food. If you feel or claim that you have been a Christian for awhile, then why are you lacking spiritual growth and fruit in your life? When I ask this question, I am asking it for you to reflect on (as well as myself). Yes, it is challenging to establish a thriving, growing relationship with God at first. That is why what we do in order to get to that point are called spiritual disciplines- it takes time and concentrated, purposeful effort to grow. But in time, it becomes a natural and joyous experience.

So let's make sure we're not acting like babies anymore- we need to be responsible for our own spiritual growth. We can do this through Bible study, prayer, getting connected into a church where we can learn and be challenged, helping lead ministries that reach out to other people, and getting together with other Christians to help sharpen one another (iron sharpens iron). There's ways to do it, and they can be a lot of fun too! But we need to make the choice to have this be our priority so busyness, tiredness, and other things do not hinder us in doing it.

That is my challenge to you (and one I am taking seriously too).

Weight of the World & Courage

2005-11-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is pressing down on you? I know that too often I assume too much on myself and instead of sharing the load, I try to carry it on my own. I'm reminded again that God did not create us to be like that. We are to be there for one another and work together as a team, and accept help when it is offered, or not be too afraid to ask for someone else's help, even when it is not offered.

But even not just with other people- we need to do this with God as well. He is walking with us and gave up so much so that we wouldn't have to feel weighed down by life's problems and burdens. Yes, He's given some of us the heart to help lift up the burdens of others, but He wants us to walk with them and give the burdens to Him- not try to be a Savior to them on our own.

I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to seek help sometimes, but I know I need to make it more of a habit.

One good, encouraging word that lifted my spirits yesterday when I was a bit down is a word about courage. I was talking with a friend and sharing some concerns and fears that have been weighing on my heart and mind lately. And she told me that she is proud of me because I have great courage in what I am doing. I didn't understand what she meant at first because I more often feel like a scaredy cat than a brave, bold person. But she said courage is not the absence of fear, as many people believe it to be. Instead, courage is still doing the right thing, even in the presence of fear. This really applies to me in where I am at in life and ministry right now. So many times I feel afraid to step out and be the leader I need to be. I feel afraid that I've misled the Pastor into thinking I'm someone that I'm not, and that I'm just going to end up failing. I feel afraid to step out and trust new people, for fear of trusting wrongly and having my heart rejected and hurt. But if we live life in fear, we will never go anywhere. That reminds me of the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz. But we need to have courage and find our strength in God to keep pressing on, even when we feel afraid to go on and try something new. Is life safe? No. Are we never going to fail or make mistakes? No. So why live in fear and miss out on all that God has in store for you and I. We have one life to live, and I want to keep pressing on and trying to live it to the fullest. With God's help, I can. :)

Hope

2005-11-10T17:07:00.000-05:00

"Hope is a desire for something to happen, and being confident that it will happen."

I was listening to a sermon on the radio this week on my way to work, and this idea that the preacher brought about challenged me. How often do I use the word hope, and in what context? When I use use this word, am I really confident that what I am stating will happen? "I hope you have a great day!" "I hope you feel better." "I hope that it doesn't rain." Sometimes these statements are made just as statements- a mere wish or kind word.

But how often do I state my real desires and dreams, or do I even dare speak them as hope, for fear they might not come true. If so, then I am not placing my hope and trust where it truly needs to be- in God. Too often I keep my hopes hidden and safely tucked away for fear that they might be dashed or disappointed. And yes, our hopes will be if we put our hope in things or other people. But when we put our hope in God and truly give (surrender) our desires and hopes to Him, we need never be disappointed again. When we do this, in an unexplainable way, our hopes and desires will become His hopes and desires for us, and He will give us the new desires of our hearts. (Psalm 37:4)

Putting our hope in God also implies a certain amount of perseverence, believing that something is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. But Luke 1:37 tells us "For nothing is impossible with God." I know that is for sure! This past year of my life holds much testimony to that very fact! Therefore, I know I can't give up hope for some of my family members and friends to come to know the Lord.

Hope- it's the only thing we have that is worth living for, and God gives us an everlasting hope. Therefore, my prayer and hope for you is this, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)