Wednesday, December 28, 2011

2011 Newsletter

Isaiah 6 Ministries Newsletter
A Mooring for the Moorings
A hardbound dictionary will never go out of date for me. I love pulling the one off my desk to either look up an unfamiliar word or to see how Mr. Webster defined a familiar term. This year I looked up our last name- mooring. It comes from the root word moor. Some of the definitions for moor are - to secure a boat by mooring: ANCHOR; to be made fast.
2011 was a defining year of the mooring to the Mooring’s. 2010 had been a year of some deep highs and lows. Our hopes for 2011 had been for a smoother sailing kind of journey. God had different plans for us.
In the Spring, Mark’s dad took a turn for the worse. After a month long hospital stay he finally went to be with His Savior. In July my body started producing strange lumps and painful extremities. I saw just about every kind of specialist, had MRI’s and CT scans, and donated most of the blood in my body for research. The culprit was a herniated disc pressing on the spinal cord thus causing extremity problems. Physio- therapy has helped immensely. In August we received a new granddaughter, Joy Canaan Overholser.(She lives up to her name bringing much awaited joy.) October brought Mark a new awakening. No job is permanent. He was downsized after 17 years with AIG.
So what has been the mooring for the Mooring’s? Our God. He is an anchor for our souls, our minds, our bodies. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Oh how I want to be preserved blameless! I want the God of peace to be our peace. Job or jobless I want my peace to remain in Him. In life and death and birth and health I want the Prince of Peace to be our mooring.
I have had some ministry changes. I stepped down from teaching my ladies Sunday school class in March. I am now working in a young singles class. I serve as a mentor to the young women who desire an “older woman” to disciple them. At 55, I guess I am truly an older woman, though I still feel very young at heart! I had many speaking engagements over the Spring months and some in the Fall. My heart’s desire still burns to teach women the Word of God as their anchor, their mooring. 2012 already has some filled up dates with several pending. This excites me as I study and prepare. I am also working on a new study on the heart, mind, and MOUTH connection. As I look up verses I see my need to be careful with my mouth, my lips, my words. My desire is to teach believers how to edify one another and glorify God with what pours out. I am still needing God’s help and grace in this area of my life. Please pray for me as I finish this assignment God gave me awhile back.
Please pray for Mark and I as we decide what to do with our lives and ministries. We are at pivotal places in how we spend the second half of our journeys. Through it all we want to be obedient and honorable as kingdom builders. We pray the same for you with love!