Well, 2012 has begun! 2011 has been a great year for my family. All my family is healthy, we have a job that supplies all our needs and then some, and I feel as though the church is on the brink of explosion. I can't help but to believe 2012 is going to be the best year of my life yet!
In saying all that, I sit and wonder, "How might have 2011 been even better?" Could it have been better?
Every year, I spend time in prayer for the church, to present the vision in our yearly "Vision & Budget" meeting. I lay out a vision so that, like in Habakkuk 2:2, "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it." I want the people of our church to clearly see the vision that we have as a body of believers. This past year we have seen our vision clearly, and have ran with it, as we have seen many people come to accept Christ in their live, or rededicated their lives to serving the Lord. This happened all because we listened to God, and He was faithful to what He called us to! It's amazing how faithful God is! This is where we find ourselves today at New Covenant. On January 8th, Angel and I, along with many others from our church are beginning a fast so that we can hear from God, clearly see what His plans for us in 2012 really is. We want God to direct our paths, therefore we are drawing near to Him through much prayer and fasting. For 21 days we will be drinking only water, and eating no meats or meat products. This fast is called the Daniel Fast taken from the Old Testament book "Daniel". We are pushing away from our needs to draw closer to His.
Something that's been on my heart since thinking about all this "Vision Stuff", is what if I applied this into my family life? I have spent years praying for vision for my church, and my role as the pastor, but what about God's vision for my family. If God really does know the plans He has for me, then He knows the plans fro my family, right? Don't get me wrong, I pray for my family and guidance as a Husband and Father, but I have never clearly written a vision for my family to see, so that they can run with it! Something that hit me like a ton of bricks this year is this, "If it's important to have the vision for the church clearly seen so the church can run with it, how much more important is it for my family to see our vision so they too can run with it?" It's time for the Leaders of the homes to clearly write their visions so the family knows what their all about!!!
So, this year, as I pray and fast for our church body, I am going to also be crying out to God to help me write out the vision for my home. How often do we say that we want the best for our kids, and then due to lack of preparation, fail to lead them? I don't want to be a parent that just makes sure they live till they're adults, but i want to help prepare them to be healthy, productive, disciples of Jesus Christ! I want them to know that God still speaks, God still leads, and God still LOVES them! So much that He will never leave them nor forsake them. The only way they will truly see this is if I live a life being spoken to, led by, and LOVED by God. Some may say, well my kids don't understand. They never will if you don't teach them. Our world will disciple them if we don't, and it starts at home!
In the next couple weeks I will be blogging about my fasting experiences, and for all those doing the fast with me, it will hopefully give opportunity to reply about your experiences so others can see. On February 5th, we will be having our Vision & Budget Meeting. Following that meeting I will post our churches vision along with a copy of the "Shelton Family Vison" for all to view. All of this is to hopefully help all who read find the vision for their family.
