I love a challenge!!! I love a to do list where I get to check off stuff. This past week our pastor, Ryan Pack, issued a challenge to the congregation of First Baptist Church in Hendersonville. He said that this message was given to him last year around October and he has been praying and chewing on it since then. In his challenge, he gave us 7 points for us to follow.
We are to commit to these things
1. To pray for the world
2. Read through the entire Bible in 2011
3. Memorize God's Word
4. Sacrifice our money for God's purposes
5. Spend time outside our comfort zones
6. Connect with our church family
7. Invest in the life of a person who is far from God
I found myself mesmerized at his message. I had prepared a lesson for my 10th grade girls class about passion and focusing that passion to a purpose for God. I love when God puts things like this together!!!! I challenged my students to do this and then I got home and wrote up a challenge for my family and for myself. Here is the Edgerton Clan's challenge:
1. We got the total number of countries in the world and figured out that we will pray for 1 country for 2 days before moving on to a new country. We decided to begin in Central America and make our way around the world eventually back to the USA. I printed off a blank map and when we have prayed for the country, one of the children color in the map. We are praying for the church in that country, the missionaries, the government, and for God to radically move.
2. We have begun reading through the Bible chronologically as a family. We began with Job on Sunday night. I get so excited to see the kids with their Bibles following along and highlighting their Bibles. The littlest ones have a hard time paying attention but I know that God's Word does not return void.
3. We have chosen to memorize 24 verses as a family. Since my kids go to AWANA and memorize so much, we are going to memorize the ones that they do for Wednesday nights. If I already know them, then I will add my own.
4. We will sacrifice our money for God's purposes. I am not sure how this one is going to work since our income is very low to begin with. We are waiting to find out. Speak to us God please!
5. We will spend time outside our comfort zones. Again, I am waiting for God to speak on this and I am praying that I will hear Him when He speaks!
6. We will make time to connect to our church family. We do this fairly well already but I want to form a closer bond with my girls on Sunday mornings.
7. We have chosen 1 person in particular to pray for and invest in this year. I have already contacted this person and am excited that God had already spoken to me about him/her on New Year's Eve. Watch out because we are asking the Hounds of Heaven to chase this person straight into the arms of God!!!!
I know that we are not going to be perfect and because of my work schedule I won't always be here for family Bible reading but I will read it myself to keep up my commitment to my family. I can't wait for God to work in our family and see Him move in the lives of the people in our church. Each of the Edgertons have been created for a purpose. We are looking forward to moving towards fulfilling that purpose!
