In the Word a new believer is left with an initial impression of gratitude. There is a wonderment of joy and the realization one is no longer bound to that dead life they left behind. As one grows in the Lord and attempts to mature and gain wisdom that wonderment fades. Often replaced by a growing emptiness they turn to the gathering of study or endless activities to fill it. Sometimes there is a full retreat from all of that and a desire to recapture that first love that is so important.
This is where we found ourselves in 2011. Our home life was suffering from a prolonged job situation that had disrupted the headship structure God desires with long hours and days of time away from home. Our personal relationship with Jesus was absent the power of the Holy Spirit. We were in need of a change that we correct our course.
We ended up 1200 miles away in an unknown area full of strangers to purchase previous life. The job situation was tough in that it was dramatically different but I was home every night. Our personal lives were challenged by many new experiences. We started to adjust and slide back into the same rut we always seemed to find. Life got more comfortable and the desire slipped farther out of reach. Then a series of events changed our family course.
A house fire is not something I would wish on anyone. In our case it wasn’t as devastating as some but traumatic none the less. Through this event some relationships were exposed. I was brought to remembrance what I had said in front of God of what I would do if given the chance to be home and we faced a decision. Our choice was get our family together each night and learn about God through His Word by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we started gathering as a family and exploring God’s Word we got an immediate teaching from the Spirit regarding God’s viewpoint on one’s allegiance to Him. Through this teaching we walked away from some man made traditions with supposed Christian connection. In the spring of 2012 we were challenged again by the Spirit to read through the Word in ninety days. We were able to accept and also started using a chronological reading plan at the same time.
In this state we were really tender and open to God’s Will. We began to look around us with different eyes. We watched a documentary on someone who used God’s teaching of Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs to reach out to other believers. We began to look into why and how God said to Praise Him. We started encorporating the fundamental basis of the feasts and there current relevancy into our lives. More importantly we renounced the pagan based worldly feast days that are not of God.
After a few more events over the next year and a half to include the premature birth of our tenth child and the death of one of our parents we were ready for the next chapter. We packed everything up and moved back to Ohio. The Lord began to bring back past musical experiences and singing the scripture became a focus. We found a common Spiritual thread running through our Worship and it was the Praise of God through song.