Tear it down, pull it up, sell it

“… let us throw off everything that hinders ….” (Hebrews 12:1)

When I look around our house, especially in its present state – Katherine would be furious if I put up pictures – it becomes all too clear that we have a lot in our life here that hinders us. Old things, books, toys, clothing, furniture, paperwork, the house itself – it all weighs us down. And the process of getting rid of it all, in one fashion or another, is pretty painful. It’s so easy to say, “It’s too much. I just can’t do it.”

There’s a lot that we’re trying to do simultaneously: sell or give away unneeded items, renovate parts of the house, set aside things to put in storage, and prepare for life in Germany. Oh, and while all that’s going on, there’s the daily grind of household and office. “Hey, welcome to real life.”

But is that the way the Liddles are supposed to live? “… let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I’m not aiming to get preachy – it’s just that the message from God is the only instruction I can truly rely on, especially when struggles in life seem insurmountable. Katherine and I are convinced that God has marked out a race for us. Now He’s watching to see if we’ll run … or if we’ll hide.

Please pray for us to have this perseverance as we literally wade through everything that we’ve accumulated in our time in the U.S. Oh, how the enemy tries to take hold of us through our stuff! Jesus said, “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Unfruitful? I do not want to be like that.

Pray for Katherine and me to have patience with one another as we persevere through this season of stress. A big move will always put stress on a marriage We want to demonstrate to each other, to our sons, to our families, and to anyone else who’s watching (even the enemy!) that the power and love of God can overcome all difficulties.

This week I’ll complete the removal of some of the carpet in the house, clearing the way for the new flooring. We’re setting aside a mountain of things to tag and haul off to a Just Between Friends sale next week. And Katherine and I will be sitting down together with our health records, application forms, and a German dictionary so that we can apply for health insurance over there. Gesundheit! Bitte, beten Sie!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3) BAM!

Everybody out!

Our IT department could use your prayers. There are two construction projects under way in our building. One is a renovation of all the offices that belong to the Global Publishing Services group. The other project is the replacement of the heating and cooling equipment throughout the building. During this time, ventilation will be intermittent, dust will be everywhere, and the noise will be maddening — at best.

So we’re moving out … again. We squeezed many of us into a conference room down the hall while our own office space was renovated three years ago. This time, the work is more extensive, so our move will be, too. Much of our department will work out of a recently vacated mobile home on the campus. My team, the customer service team, will probably move to two offices in one of the other buildings.

If you look at a map of the campus at Google Maps, you can see the four main buildings arranged around a small quadrangle. Our office is in the Hunt Building on the east side. My team will probably be located on two different floors in the Key Building, the large pointy-ended structure on the south side. The mobile home is in the trees just south of the pool, which is covered in the picture. (Yours truly also manages the pool, by the way. If you wonder why a bunch of missionaries need a pool, come visit us anytime from June to August.)

Please pray that we’ll be able to keep service uninterrupted and undiminished while we’re away from our normal workspaces. We won’t have all of our tools and other resources handy, but I’m determined to show the people we serve that nothing will deter us from giving them and the Lord our best. You can praise God for this opportunity to make our team more visible and accessible — sometimes we spend too much time hiding in the office surrounded by computers. We’re such geeks.

At least we’re not fleeing from a hurricane ….

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