Thursday, March 06, 2008
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Looking to community... a request
Hi all,
First of all, hello to you out-of-staters (Womacks & Nackes), folks we
haven't seen for a while (Regehrs, Hogues) and everyone else in between. I
am writing to apologize for not being at our last week's discussion on
Community. I know that we are all being challenged to push our boundaries as
to our perception of what doing "true community" is like and I
know the Lord is not exempting Tracey and I from it-- believe me I wish we
were-- which brings me to the purpose of my email.
Amidst all the real serious stuff that we have discovered that is going on
in other people's lives due to our new role as Community Pastors, Trace
and I have talked to and prayed for people who are on death-beds, lives
being brought out of chemical dependency, families down to cents in their
bank accounts, people in abusive relationships, and so much more. I mention
this because this has created a certain mentality within me-- one that
causes me to think, "Gosh, these people have real problems compared to
what Trace and I are struggling with."
Why do I say this do you ask? Because this thought process has made me feel like I am selfish to ask for prayer in what I consider "minor" or trivial struggles
compared to the struggles other people are challenged with resulting in keeping me from reaching out to those for which we are supposed to be in community with
(you guys). One thing I am realizing is the Lord is calling me and Trace
to share our "stuff" with you guys, our community, as we go through the journey of life with all of you.
For this I apologize for because I have missed out on the true gift of
community that the Lord has blessed us with. There are SO MANY people
desiring to be in close community with others within RH and I have taken for granted the gift the Lord has given Trace and I with for over 7 years. We are called
to "be real" with each other and therefore this is my attempt to
break out of what has been of this thought-process that has kept me
from being a part of our community-- which brings me to my prayer requests:
Can you please pray:
1) Against this flu I've been struggling with for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I've
been missing quite a bit of work (both my full-time job and announcing
commitments). It has been a difficult couple of weeks because I turn into a
big baby when I get sick and I'm sure that Trace hates dealing with me especially since I hate being laid out to a point where I can't do a thing.
2) Since being back from Australia/New Zealand, I sense that my supervisor
has not been very satisfied with me and the atmosphere between her and I has
been one of thick tension due to time loss from work from being gone on
vacation for 3 1/2 weeks at a crucial time, time off due to the passing of
my Grandmother and the missing of even more time due to illness related to
the stress of all these things happening at once (migraine headaches, lack
of sleep, worry, etc).
3) The ability to see the Lord in what He is doing in this season of life He
has placed me in (which one is obviously doing true community with all of
you).
Some of us can make the argument (this includes Trace and I) that we have
"community", but it is my belief that our MLG has been hand-picked by the Lord for each of us see if we can be good stewards of the relationships He has given to us. For example, I could only imagine how hungry Trace and I would be for community if we
moved to another area (like Narrabeen near Sydney, Australia) without a community of
believers-- I would be pretty depressed without this gift community.
Hebrews 11:16 refers to a community who have an earnest desire to "seek
the heavenly country" with others. This is my first humble step in that
direction to re-nurture a deeper a appreciation of this Divine gift
entrusted to me and Trace.
I apologize for my long-winded email, but just felt the Lord prompting me to
take a first-step in watering this seed within our group to see what kind
kind of fruit is born from His calling for me. I would love to dialog with all
of you in this (so please feel free to reply to everyone).
Thanks for your eyes and ears-- and your entrusting of your hearts to
include Trace and I in our MLG community!
Seeking the heavenly country (Heb 11:16),
Rob Espero
P.S. I try to post this to our blog at:
http://millerlifegroup.blogspot.com
P.S.S. Great job as of late to the Norlands since taking over of LG
leadership. I love seeing the desire the Lord has placed in Josh &
Christy's hearts to bring us to a deeper relationship with the Lord and each
other.
P.S.S.S You've got to check out the photos at the RH 10-Year Celebration at:
http://www.rockharbor.org/photo/thumbnails.php?album=75&page=9
Notice the feet on the blanket next to Josh in the grass. He bored one of his kids to death!
What's up with Josh being anti-social at a group picnic-- what up dude? Social skills deteriorating? Checking ESPN.com?
There are also pix of myself & Nina, Cassi and others.
First of all, hello to you out-of-staters (Womacks & Nackes), folks we
haven't seen for a while (Regehrs, Hogues) and everyone else in between. I
am writing to apologize for not being at our last week's discussion on
Community. I know that we are all being challenged to push our boundaries as
to our perception of what doing "true community" is like and I
know the Lord is not exempting Tracey and I from it-- believe me I wish we
were-- which brings me to the purpose of my email.
Amidst all the real serious stuff that we have discovered that is going on
in other people's lives due to our new role as Community Pastors, Trace
and I have talked to and prayed for people who are on death-beds, lives
being brought out of chemical dependency, families down to cents in their
bank accounts, people in abusive relationships, and so much more. I mention
this because this has created a certain mentality within me-- one that
causes me to think, "Gosh, these people have real problems compared to
what Trace and I are struggling with."
Why do I say this do you ask? Because this thought process has made me feel like I am selfish to ask for prayer in what I consider "minor" or trivial struggles
compared to the struggles other people are challenged with resulting in keeping me from reaching out to those for which we are supposed to be in community with
(you guys). One thing I am realizing is the Lord is calling me and Trace
to share our "stuff" with you guys, our community, as we go through the journey of life with all of you.
For this I apologize for because I have missed out on the true gift of
community that the Lord has blessed us with. There are SO MANY people
desiring to be in close community with others within RH and I have taken for granted the gift the Lord has given Trace and I with for over 7 years. We are called
to "be real" with each other and therefore this is my attempt to
break out of what has been of this thought-process that has kept me
from being a part of our community-- which brings me to my prayer requests:
Can you please pray:
1) Against this flu I've been struggling with for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I've
been missing quite a bit of work (both my full-time job and announcing
commitments). It has been a difficult couple of weeks because I turn into a
big baby when I get sick and I'm sure that Trace hates dealing with me especially since I hate being laid out to a point where I can't do a thing.
2) Since being back from Australia/New Zealand, I sense that my supervisor
has not been very satisfied with me and the atmosphere between her and I has
been one of thick tension due to time loss from work from being gone on
vacation for 3 1/2 weeks at a crucial time, time off due to the passing of
my Grandmother and the missing of even more time due to illness related to
the stress of all these things happening at once (migraine headaches, lack
of sleep, worry, etc).
3) The ability to see the Lord in what He is doing in this season of life He
has placed me in (which one is obviously doing true community with all of
you).
Some of us can make the argument (this includes Trace and I) that we have
"community", but it is my belief that our MLG has been hand-picked by the Lord for each of us see if we can be good stewards of the relationships He has given to us. For example, I could only imagine how hungry Trace and I would be for community if we
moved to another area (like Narrabeen near Sydney, Australia) without a community of
believers-- I would be pretty depressed without this gift community.
Hebrews 11:16 refers to a community who have an earnest desire to "seek
the heavenly country" with others. This is my first humble step in that
direction to re-nurture a deeper a appreciation of this Divine gift
entrusted to me and Trace.
I apologize for my long-winded email, but just felt the Lord prompting me to
take a first-step in watering this seed within our group to see what kind
kind of fruit is born from His calling for me. I would love to dialog with all
of you in this (so please feel free to reply to everyone).
Thanks for your eyes and ears-- and your entrusting of your hearts to
include Trace and I in our MLG community!
Seeking the heavenly country (Heb 11:16),
Rob Espero
P.S. I try to post this to our blog at:
http://millerlifegroup.blogspot.com
P.S.S. Great job as of late to the Norlands since taking over of LG
leadership. I love seeing the desire the Lord has placed in Josh &
Christy's hearts to bring us to a deeper relationship with the Lord and each
other.
P.S.S.S You've got to check out the photos at the RH 10-Year Celebration at:
http://www.rockharbor.org/photo/thumbnails.php?album=75&page=9
Notice the feet on the blanket next to Josh in the grass. He bored one of his kids to death!
What's up with Josh being anti-social at a group picnic-- what up dude? Social skills deteriorating? Checking ESPN.com?
There are also pix of myself & Nina, Cassi and others.
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