Giving Up Isaac

As far as thoughts, comments or phrases go in Christian circles this one, “Giving Up Isaac”, holds a great deal of weight. Specifically because it immediately brings to mind the “letting go” of something that is so near and dear to ones heart. I can’t even begin to imagine what Abraham was going through as God requested of him his son to be sacrificed. How about walking up that hill side with no lamb to be slain? How do you answer your boy when he realizes that there is no lamb and he says, to paraphrase, hey dad…we have the wood, the fire and the knife but no lamb. What’s going on dad? (Gen. 22:7)

We have been taught and I believe that all scripture is inspired by God and was written for our / my sake. I admit, I am not always initially sure what every single one has to do with me much like the passage in Genesis that speaks of Abraham and his son. By faith I read, believe and receive His word for my life now or later. So, would I, in my lifetime, really be asked to give up something I count as God given gain? Just think, Isaac was the promised son God gave to Abraham and Sarah and God was requesting him back.

As God has ordained in His perfect plan the question has come to me / us and this passage has now become crystal clear. Some of you, recently, have been made aware of the financial situation that we find ourselves in. Let me preface this a little. I'll begin by saying that it was not the incorrect decision to move here (MD for Bible College). In the past year I can say that I've grown closer to God more than ever. I / We have been richly blessed as a family and we are wonderfully built up in the Body of Christ. That said, the expense of living here has caught up to and passed us in a very real and serious way. With much prayer and consideration it has come to this. We are “Giving up Isaac” and that being in the form of our home. NO WAY!!?? Yes, it has come to this. We are to the point that we find it in our best interest to move…again. God gloriously gave us this house (Isaac) for our move from PA for me to go to Bible College. What a wonderful provision at the time. But as time has passed it is time to let it go. We firmly believe this too is of God because getting into something with a more manageable payment will allot the following:
1. Saving – I can’t remember the last time we were able to save something and this will enable us to do so. For emergencies, rainy day anything. Not necessarily storing up treasure on earth but able to maybe rub two pennies together.
2. Going – We’ll finally be able to make some trips that have been on our hearts. The European Conference, Puerto Rico and more.
3. Paying – Well be able to pay down the smallish debt we have accrued. It is our desire to be credit card debt free and maybe even no car payments if at all possible and live without this burden that so many live under and are weighed down by.

The decision has been made. Isaac (our house) is on the altar (up for rent), however this is not the end of the story!! God provides!! The ram is in the thickets and Isaac is not sacrificed. For us, God has provided a very unexpected opportunity for me at work which opens doors for about 10 hours of overtime a week temporarily. This is huge to us! However, as I stated the decision has been made and we will still move. To us this is just an added bonus from God! We ask ourselves… is God honoring our decision?!! We choose to believe so, because this solution to our situation brings us complete peace. God is the one that gives peace when we are letting go of “ourselves”. That is amazing! Less of me, more of Him (Jn. 3:30)!! Thank God for these places in our life where this can transpire. Places that are valleys, but we go through them walking closely with our Lord and before we know it we are on the mountaintop praising God and wondering how we got there… oh, it was HIM!!!

We want to deeply thank everyone that has gone to throne for us in prayer! Wow, what a response of friendship, of love, of compassion, OF BODY LIFE!! We are eternally grateful and to be honest we didn’t think we would be saying this is an answered prayer already, but I think it is. However, we do ask for continued prayer as we go into the process of renting our house and looking for something that would be a blessing to our family in an apartment. By the way, just as another “praise report”… we finally got word on our car (see prior Blog) and it is going to be fixed. We will have it back next week. This was a looming concern to us since is it was on the borderline of being totaled. Once again, praise God!!

Well, hello again. It has come time again for the "Turner Family Blog" update. Of course the past weeks have been busy and there is much to tell so we'll get right to it.

I'd like to begin with a bitter sweet Labor Day. We had the distinct privilege of dropping off our dear friends, the Matthew family (<--see their Blog), at BWI for their great adventure to the island of Puerto Rico as missionaries. A family of 7 taking a step of faith to begin a Finished Work ministry in the Caribbean. It is no easy task moving a family of 7 to "the islands" as you can see...

...but, in the end, there was room for 20+ luggage items, 2 car seats, toys, clothes, computers and more.

We took a video of them being sent out on stage but the file is too big so you'll have to settle for picutres:

Talk about an amazing way to be sent out!! What a beautiful prayer by Pst. Schaller and evening as a whole. An awesome time of praise and singing, special music by the spanish singers and a powerful message on "Practicing the Presence of God". What an amazing family / team!We love them, miss them, we'll pray for them daily and Lord willing we'll see them soon.

So next on the recent activities list is school. Not only for me now but for Misty and Grant as well. By God's grace Misty is able to take a class this semester. She is taking Cults and Comparative Religons. She is so excited. She had her first class and could only say that it exceeded any expectations she could have had!! So... not only is she a student but she is a teacher as well. She started home schooling Grant and I can't believe how well it's going. Grant is doing great and has already memorized Genesis 1:1. He will be memorizing a different verse each week w/ his Bible class. He does really well with his math (already getting better than his dad... guess that is not saying much) and has begun phonics. He knows the sounds of m, s and short a. For his other subjects, each week Misty reads a book to him all week long and each day they discuss a different subject using that book. For instance, this week they read "A Story about Ping", so on Tuesday they did Geography: China (as the story takes place on the Yangtze River in China); Wednesday was Social Studies: Discernment; Thursday was Art: Medium and Viewpoint and Friday was Science: Animal Kingdom, Buoyancy and Reflection of Light. Needless to say he is taking alot in and we are amazed by the things that he repeats that Misty really didn't think stuck in his brain. And Of course Reese is not about to be outdone by his big brother and joined in on the action as well.

I'll be taking two classes this semester. The Gospels is one and Discipleship will be the other. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me this semester. I believe it is going to be a great semester for our family.

Consider this topic for prayer, our car was in an accident and took on some significant damage. Please pray that the car is not totaled, that it can be successfully repaired and we'll have it returned to us soon. We think it's just cosmetic but hope the repair cost does not exceed the value of the car.

Well, as a departing thought, the ups and downs of life's details can, at times, seem overwhelming. This would be called "heat". The question is when the heat comes...what is the state of my heart?? Am I a tree planted beside living water? Do I have have deep roots that firmly plant me so as not to be swayed by circumstances? Will I operate in my new heart (Ez. 36:26) that tells me that no matter what I am not alone? I am a new creation and can depend on Him to see me through!! Or, will I shift back to the old heart that is like cactus in the desert? No roots, no fruit and is staring at the heat! Will I be swallowed up and consumed by doubt, guilt, shame, fear!? God forbid. My prayer is that God would grant me / us the grace and wisdom to not shift back to the old heart but look to Him in these trials that come our way. Realizing that in His eyes I have significance and I'm secure in His plan. How do I know this you wonder...because He loves me with an everlasting love and will never leave me nor forsake me. In that I can rest. In the midst of the storm I can be still and know that He is God. What an amazing thing to be able to depend on someone beside myself. I can cast all my cares upon Him because He cares for me. Wow...that is such a word of encouragement. Just to be able to pen this thought in confidence with truth is refreshing for sure.

So, thanks for sticking with us. Your prayers are such a blessing. It is such a privelage to be part of the Body of Christ. We love you all. Until next time...
-Andrew, Misty and the boys