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| December 2008 |
Warren, Michigan
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Bradford Family
Newsletter
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Greetings!
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Below is a brief summary of 2008 for the Bradford family, an update on where things are at right now, some ponderings and prayer requests. Thank you for your continued love and prayers!
With love,
Paul & Tammy 
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| The Year in Summary
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2008 has been filled with more unexpected transition than any year in our 25 years of marriage. In January we were on a much-needed Sabbatical in California, planning to return to ministry at Lakeshore Vineyard in Holland, where I had served for 20 years as Senior Pastor. By March, we had come to the conclusion that the time was right for us to transition to a new ministry setting, and we began searching for what the Lord had in store for us next.
Over the next few months our daughter Aleyse graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. David graduated from Holland High School. Aleyse got a position in a professional dance company in New York City, Laura got accepted to New York University as a transfer student (Junior), and both of our girls moved into an apartment together in the Upper West End of Manhattan. I was chosen by the Reformed Church in America to plant a new congregation in eastern Michigan, and so transitioned out of years of ministry in the Vineyard back into the denomination where I was first ordained. David began college at Grand Valley State University. We moved temporarily into a parsonage in Warren, Michigan (near Detroit), and have been home schooling Stephen while also beginning the process of planting a church in Rochester Hills. What a whirlwind.
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December and Beyond
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We've had an awesome Christmas season with all of our children at home with us in Warren. Last night we took time as a family to share the things we're most thankful for this year, and we all pondered how faithfully the Lord had provided for jobs, school, and places to live.
We also looked into an uncertain future as a family and prayed for God to open doors. The next three months will determine whether the "Great Oaks Church" plant has the momentum to move forward. We are believing God for his success. As we press forward, we are learning more deeply than ever what it means to place our hope in God alone.
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| Thoughts on Waiting |
I've thought a lot about how long God's people have waited for his promises to come to pass. Abraham waited 25 years after God promised him a son before Isaac was born. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never owned more than a few acres in the land God promised to give them. Jacob's decedents lived 430 years in Egypt, probably half of that in slavery, before God brought the nation out of Egypt with signs and wonders. 1500 more years passed before the promised Messiah arrived on the first Christmas day. Yet God loved his people and provided for them while they waited - day in and day out, year in and year out.
God is our hope - not the economy (!), not an IRA, not any relationship with a person or group of people, not a ministry or job opportunity, nor anything else. We cling to him alone. We call to him, waiting patiently in faith, and he rescues us! "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him." (Psalm 62:5)
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| How to Pray |
Your prayers in all of these areas will be powerful and effective, releasing God's grace on our behalf.
- Paul as he networks at Kensington Church (our parent congregation) to raise our team, and gives brief but important presentations to the congregation in February.
- Tammy as she seeks to find a job so we can purchase a home in our target area of Rochester Hills. We both need grace to live by faith not by sight. As months of uncertainty continue we do have some hard days of heaviness, but also many days when we rest confidently in our Father's care.
- Stephen as he continues to be home schooled - which is challenging and lonely for this energetic young man. He's doing well, and we're proud of him.
- David as he is entering his second semester of transitioning into college life, is seeking part time work, and is playing drums on the Campus Ministries Worship team.
- Laura who had a very successful first semester at NYU, but needs continued grace to handle the demanding course load. She's also trying to find a church home.
- Aleyse who longs to spend more time pursuing her dance career and less time waitressing to make a living. Pray for great tips and other job opportunities.
God has given us awesome children who love the Lord and who are a true blessing to us. He has given us a rock solid marriage. He has given us an eternal hope in Christ Jesus our Lord, and promise of his victory in this life. God is good.
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Feel free to forward this newsletter to people who you think might be interested. You can subscribe or unsubscribe from this email automatically as well.
May God bless you and grant you a wonderful year in 2009! He is our loving Father and surely cares for our every need. He is our powerful God, and is fully able to provide!
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