Luke 11:33
"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light."
The gospel of Luke is rocking my spiritual world right now. Read chapters 11 & 12. It covers: prayer, our spiritual "lights," a reminder that legalism isn't the answer to heaven, not putting value in possessions, and worry. God knew we needed to hear that tonight.
SIX DAYS!! How crazy/insane/scary/exciting/sad/happy/anxious it is! It is coming so fast, but yet so slowly. We will obviously miss our home, family, and friends in the beautiful Pacific Northwest (don't forget mountains, we will miss those too! Good bye Cascades!) But we are so anxious and ready to begin our new adventure. To go into the unknown, show up in a town where the only family we know will be out of town when we get there, and pray like crazy that our stuff shows up on time and in tact. It is so scary, but I guess, I have never done it, so maybe it's fun??? I don't know yet.
God has provided amazingly for us. He wants us in Elkhart, Indiana badly apparently. We sold Caleb's car to the director of YFC here in Spokane, which was their answer to prayer too. God works in some cool ways. We sold the desk, table, and couch. All we got left is the tv (Please buy it someone!! You know you want it!!) We chose to opt out of our lease and hope that it is rented out very soon. We put our 20 day notice in that we were leaving, going on faith that we would get the support we needed, and later that day, the support we needed to get to $1000/mo. arrived in the mail! Thanks Mamaw!!! Now we just need all our supporters to send their forms to Indiana.
It has been a wild, emotional ride the last four months, one we are ready to get off. Limbo is a weird place to be, especially considering Caleb is a proactive guy and hates sitting still.
Hey prayer buddies! Here are some requests:
- someone will buy our tv (32'' HDTV, not flat screen, heavy)
- someone will rent our 1-room apartment ASAP!
- safety on the road as we road-trip across the US
- that everything fits in our car and the Relocation Cube
-that those pledged to support us send there forms TO INDIANA
-continued support raising as we transition to Indiana
Any and all prayers are appreciated! We love you all and will miss you dearly. Come to our Going-Away party at 6pm @ New Community Church to say goodbye, or catch us at church this Sunday. If you can't make either, and we haven't said goodbye yet, we are going to miss you!! God bless!
The Stantons :)
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
12 Days!
John 15:1-2
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
This last Sunday, our speaker used this passage in John to speak about pain. He pointed out that pruning hurts. Unfortunately, that is the reality of the Christian life. It's not all rainbows and butterflies. It's hard and hurts sometimes. Considering that I spent the last half of the sermon crying my eyes out, it's safe to say I really identified with this talk.
We leave for Elkhart, Indiana on July 25th. Twelve days. I never thought leaving would be this hard. It feels a bit like my heart is being torn in two, one half wanting to stay in Spokane, the other excited and ready for our adventure in Indiana. How do I reconcile that? I am grieving so deeply for what I am losing, that the joy of what I am going to is lost or unseen. But I think that is my process right now. I don't think I have ever cried this much in my whole life. Thankfully, I am blessed with an amazing and patient husband who lets me cry on his shoulder and understands that I need to cry. I have never lived farther than half an hour from home, and when I did, I still went home every other weekend. I value my family alot, and have a close relationship to my parents. Realizing I can't go over and spend an afternoon talking to my mom or shopping with my sister is brutally hard. I know that it could be worse, that there is worse pain out there, but for me, this is what I am dealing with.
On the other hand, Caleb and I are incredibly excited to move to Elkhart and begin a new life there. Make a difference in kids' lives, meet new friends that know us as a couple rather than individuals, learn to grow and depend on each other, have a new home that we don't barely fit in. It's a great, God-willed adventure that we are ready to take on. Caleb's ready to take on the challenge of a new job and create talks for the upcoming school year. He is happy to play basketball all the time again, while I am happy to watch him play. We are a little nervous about finding a new church, especially because we love our church here, but God is good and wants his best for us. We are making our 32-hour drive into a sightseeing trip, stopping to see Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and the town I was born in. Elkart, you better get ready for us! Because we are coming!!
A couple things you can pray for:
- That we can get everything packed and fitted into the ReloCube we are shipping across the country
- That we can sell Caleb's car, our dining room table, our tv, and desk
- Our apartment to be rented out by August 1st so we don't have to continue paying rent
- That we can continually seek out God for direction and encouragement
- Support will continue to come in.
OH! We are having a going-away party Friday the 22nd at New Community Church starting at 6. Please come by if you can to say goodbye to us and we can see you one last time. Love you all!
The Stantons
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
This last Sunday, our speaker used this passage in John to speak about pain. He pointed out that pruning hurts. Unfortunately, that is the reality of the Christian life. It's not all rainbows and butterflies. It's hard and hurts sometimes. Considering that I spent the last half of the sermon crying my eyes out, it's safe to say I really identified with this talk.
We leave for Elkhart, Indiana on July 25th. Twelve days. I never thought leaving would be this hard. It feels a bit like my heart is being torn in two, one half wanting to stay in Spokane, the other excited and ready for our adventure in Indiana. How do I reconcile that? I am grieving so deeply for what I am losing, that the joy of what I am going to is lost or unseen. But I think that is my process right now. I don't think I have ever cried this much in my whole life. Thankfully, I am blessed with an amazing and patient husband who lets me cry on his shoulder and understands that I need to cry. I have never lived farther than half an hour from home, and when I did, I still went home every other weekend. I value my family alot, and have a close relationship to my parents. Realizing I can't go over and spend an afternoon talking to my mom or shopping with my sister is brutally hard. I know that it could be worse, that there is worse pain out there, but for me, this is what I am dealing with.
On the other hand, Caleb and I are incredibly excited to move to Elkhart and begin a new life there. Make a difference in kids' lives, meet new friends that know us as a couple rather than individuals, learn to grow and depend on each other, have a new home that we don't barely fit in. It's a great, God-willed adventure that we are ready to take on. Caleb's ready to take on the challenge of a new job and create talks for the upcoming school year. He is happy to play basketball all the time again, while I am happy to watch him play. We are a little nervous about finding a new church, especially because we love our church here, but God is good and wants his best for us. We are making our 32-hour drive into a sightseeing trip, stopping to see Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and the town I was born in. Elkart, you better get ready for us! Because we are coming!!
A couple things you can pray for:
- That we can get everything packed and fitted into the ReloCube we are shipping across the country
- That we can sell Caleb's car, our dining room table, our tv, and desk
- Our apartment to be rented out by August 1st so we don't have to continue paying rent
- That we can continually seek out God for direction and encouragement
- Support will continue to come in.
OH! We are having a going-away party Friday the 22nd at New Community Church starting at 6. Please come by if you can to say goodbye to us and we can see you one last time. Love you all!
The Stantons
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Prayer Requests
Here is how we are praying and how we could use your prayer!
20 @ $50/mo
15 @ $100/mo
Thank you for all your prayers,
Caleb Stanton
- That we can trust the Lord in the big things but also the small day to day tasks we have to complete
- That our pledged supporters would send their support to Lifeline by July 25th
- That we can sell my car in the next three weeks (It's sweet! :)
- That someone will rent out our apartment so that we do not have to pay out our lease
- That we can be fully financially supported!! I am praying for 55 monthly supporters
20 @ $50/mo
15 @ $100/mo
Thank you for all your prayers,
Caleb Stanton
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Dear Anonymous Giver:
Dear Anonymous Giver:
THANK YOU!!!!!
Coming home from out of town for a week and a half and finding an envelope with your support in it was amazing and just what we needed. We had been praying for God to show up and bless us with support when we got home, and you provided that. Thank you so much. I wish I could say thank you in person, but you didn't leave your name, so I don't know who you are!! So I will thank you on here and hope that you see it and know that what you did made a huge difference. I am still shocked and awed by your gift and so blessed by you! I wish I could know who you are, but I am sure you had reasons not to put your name. At least if you read this blog you can know that your gift made a difference and answered our prayers :) Thank you so much for your generosity. I know that God will provide for you as you have helped provide for us. God bless!
Jenna
THANK YOU!!!!!
Coming home from out of town for a week and a half and finding an envelope with your support in it was amazing and just what we needed. We had been praying for God to show up and bless us with support when we got home, and you provided that. Thank you so much. I wish I could say thank you in person, but you didn't leave your name, so I don't know who you are!! So I will thank you on here and hope that you see it and know that what you did made a huge difference. I am still shocked and awed by your gift and so blessed by you! I wish I could know who you are, but I am sure you had reasons not to put your name. At least if you read this blog you can know that your gift made a difference and answered our prayers :) Thank you so much for your generosity. I know that God will provide for you as you have helped provide for us. God bless!
Jenna
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