Would Love Fellowship...

[visayafam]

Hello, My name is Heather. My husband and I have been avid listeners of Steve for many years now. We my husband (Chris) and I live in Idaho. We have 3 children and have been married for almost 11 years. Love and Life have had its many hardships, but Our God is our refuge. Chris and I were talking as we were driving in to Boise this week about all of our friendships. We recently moved to Twin Falls Idaho from Boise a 2 hour drive from friends and family. True acceptance and real christian fellowship is one of the things Chris and I long for. I dont know if this is true for others as it is for us, but since we took the journey to really study God's word with Steve alot of things about us have changed. Not only have we changed a lot of our understanding and preconceived ideas, we have been dumped out and filled back up, I suffered more during the time I was learning and re learning than I ever had in my life of same old, same old Christian Life.

I know now that God has been at work, He did not leave me to be wrecked. Of course we are still on and will be on the path to understanding till we are taken HOME. Yet now we are faced with much adversity when it comes to the family of believers we had been united with for all our lives. It seems no one has the mind to openness, we face so much opinion. We hear of so much fellowship that exists where the church body, the wife of Christ comes together to edify and encourage and spur on and pray for and with. Yet we have had so much trouble finding these people. Of course we have our friendships, they are real, and we must continue to love and build up. I pray often for others who also have arrived where we are and are being built up. I desire oneness with The Body of Christ. Unity among family. I am excited to post and meet some of you, and I hope you will feel free to contact me. Visaya.family@gmail.com
We live in a Big Big World. I will continue to trust for I know I have a Purpose.
Peace be with you,
Heather Lynn Visaya

[Homer]

Welcome Heather!

I am sure you will find this a congenial place. Our host rubs off on us!

As far as fellowship goes, you will have that here also. All who are walking in the light have fellowship with one another.

You wrote:

We hear of so much fellowship that exists where the church body, the wife of Christ comes together to edify and encourage and spur on and pray for and with.

May God bless you as your are looking for a local church body that meets your needs, and that you can in turn meet the needs of others and be a blessing to them.

Homer

[Suzana]

Hi Heather,

It's nice to meet you, and welcome.

I think there's probably quite a few people around here who have had their pre-concieved notions change considerably also!
Hope you do find a good local place of fellowship.

[steve]

It's good to hear from you guys. I echo the welcome of others, and also hope you can find some good fellowship in your area. I had good fellowship in Kamiah, Idaho, at one time, and I know some wonderful brethren in the Sand Point Area—but I am afraid that is pretty far north from where you are.

Sometimes you have to attend a church for a while where you disagree with some of their positions in order to make meaningful Christian relationships with some of the people there. If you don't become outspoken or argumentative about your differences with people, you may find that there are people you can get close to simply on the shared basis of desire to follow Jesus. Once there is a friendship established, it is sometimes possible to have good-natured disagreements without endangering the relationship—though you have to be very cautious about the timing and the manner in which you choose to introduce disagreements.

[visayafam]

Thank you all for your Love and welcome. Thank you also Steve for your instruction and encouragement. Chris and I just spoke about Listening to others for a long while. It seems you learn a lot by failure. We have often been out spoken in our thoughts and new education and have gotten ourselves in some tricky business. I (Heather) come from a long line of Church of Christ background my grandfather being a minister and I married a man who had nothing nadda, until God revealed Himself to him while incarcerated as a teenager. My husband spent the major 3.5 years of his teenage hood behind bars. He was in a gang, and had neither a mother or father to train him up any other way. When we met I had never met a more Zealous man. I had a very grand relationship with my own father, and after meeting Chris I have to say when a man comes to Know his real Father in a real way, he is forever a different man. Chris never stopped talking of God or stopped reading Gods word, and in all honesty at first i was very jealous. I acted very unbecoming. I think as a very young wife 19yr. I knew nothing of how a Godly relationship was meant to be and I became a woman who sought all of my husbands attention. Chris spent every moment he could ministering to others. He had a juvenile ministry every week where the warden here in Idaho allowed Chris to spend an evening with the youth incarcerated and share Gods love with them. He was a walking witness, and soon it did become a hardship. I wish someone had come along side me and trained me how to be a courageous wife who could look after our 2 very small children and still encourage my husband to allow God to use him. Instead I became the ugly woman who stood pouting and destroying my own home. Chris tried to to all he could. Then he quit. Now as a woman who sees a Godly man is way more beautiful than a lost, resentful man. I wish I could go back and do so many thing different, but wisdom is training and boy was i trained. Now the rebuilding has been in progress. Chris after spending many evening in the presences of Matt Slick a friend and very adamant Calvinist, Chris found Steve, a very different and fresh breath of air after spending so much time in debate (if you know what i mean).a lot has of course happened over the years to bring us here, and we are still very much lovers, friends, and now learning to be what we are purposed for Christ Bride and Love. Thank you to Steve for never looking down on those that are young but setting an example to them, for Life, for Love and for Godliness.