"Those kind of people"

This past week while Nick was preaching a revival, he mentioned something that always humbles me.
It's a great reminder of who we were.
Where we came from.
And what the Lord has done for us.

You see, we were "those kind of people"...
You know... the kind that  never goes to church but sends their kids on the church bus.
The kind that never goes to church but lets their kids go with the neighbors.
The kind of people that "churchy folk" love to shake their head at and pray for their poor children...

Yeah... that was us.
I'm not proud of that but it is true.
We were so blind we actually thought we were great parents because we made sure our children went to church.  I mean,  I was so proud of it  I even videoed it! No lie.
I stood in the living room videoing out of the window as the girls waved goodbye and proudly climbed on board the bus in their little dresses with their little bibles tucked under their arms.
Yeah....we were awesome parents as we sat there in the living room watching TV while waiting for them to get back home. We were so ignorant and blind. We honestly thought we were doing something great.

And so do so many other parents out there who are still yet to be transformed by the grace of God.

You see..... I can assure you that this sweet neighbor with 3 kids herself to get ready on her already hectic Sunday morning had NO idea what the Lord was going to do in our family through her one act of obedience.
I promise you that she never dreamed in a million years that the very man that her kids were scared of and intimidated by  would one day lead countless children to the throne of grace.
And that the very family she was burdened enough over to inconvenience herself every Sunday would one day have a church van ministry of their own.
And I guarantee you that she never ever would have imagined that just a few years later, our family would answer the call to full time ministry and that my husband would become a pastor.
Crazy stuff!!

That's what the grace of God does y'all!
God takes the most unlikely people and does some unimaginable things through them ....all for His glory.

Yes, we were some of "those people".
The kind who need Jesus.
Just like hundreds of people you probably know. Maybe even your neighbor.
I'm so thankful that when my neighbor, Leslie,  saw us out in our yard barbecuing on the weekends whooping it up with our ice chests full of beer and my often immodest way of dressing that she didn't shake her head with disgust and keep her kids at a safe distance.  I'm eternally grateful that instead, she always stopped and spoke to us.  She let her kids play with mine.  She gained our trust.  Took our kids to church. And loved us into the kingdom of God.  Her one act of obedience has had a HUGE impact on the kingdom.

And you know what?  When God did begin to draw us to Him and we began to seek Him to find a church...we didn't even end up at Leslie's church!  Nope.  We did visit it, but that isn't where the Lord eventually led us.  And guess what?  That's OK.  It's not about gaining church members.  It's about gaining brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.  It's about kingdom work.  The big picture.

It never ceases to amaze me that before the Lord moved us off that Navy base, we went from having our kids picked up for church to picking up kids to take to church!  Amazing Grace indeed!!

What about you?  Do you know any of "those kind of  people" that God wants to use you to show His love to?  It might cost you some time.  It will probably be an inconvenience.  But your one act of obedience might cause a ripple effect that continues throughout eternity.  What a thought.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

Stephanie