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August 29, 2009 |
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Written by The Rev. Charlie Vensel+
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Dear Saints,
I shared from James with your Council in our first meeting two weeks ago, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:2-5 ESV) The point I'm trying to make is that trials are not necessarily set-backs, but necessary for spiritual maturity.
How easy it would have been to open the doors to All Saints for the first time, have it filled with people, and everything be just the way we all wanted it from the beginning. But God rarely operates that way. He has a journey to take us on, and experience has taught me, the Lord is much more interested in our journey than he is in our dreams and ambitions. He assures us that he is with us through thick and thin, and we often don't remember that until we really need to count on him.
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August 20, 2009 |
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Written by The Rev. Charlie Vensel+
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is an honor to write my first Pastor's Blog post. We arrived in Spartanburg just two weeks ago, and it is amazing how much has happened in such a short time.
From Denver, thanks to the Internet and Mike & Nora Bishop, we found a great home in Glenn Forest that we were able to rent. We vacated our apartment in Colorado, Carey Moving showed up to gather our things, spent 3 days in the car with two dogs and two kids, and arrived here on time and in great spirits...an unusual feat if you've ever made that kind of trip in such short order; truly the Lord was with us.
We were unpacked in just a few days, the yard is clean, the pictures are hung, and the kids are settling into their new schools, Pine Street and McCracken. Praise be to God, Frances was able to keep her job and work remotely from our home; a very unusual arrangement for her company. Parishioners and new neighbors have been flooding us with attention, food, and household supplies. My, how we love southern hospitality. God's favor has shone upon us every step of the way here.
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