I had rather be a door-keeper...

I Stand at the Door
 Sam Shoemaker 
I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door - the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands
And put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man's own touch.
Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it - live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.
Go in great saints; go all the way in -
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics.
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in.
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.
There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia
And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled.
For the old life, they have seen too much:
One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door
But would like to run away. So for them too,
I stand by the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door.
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply and stay in too long
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there too.
Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them.
But - more important for me -
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
'I had rather be a door-keeper
So I stand by the door.

Two Things We Have Heard: an invitation to pray with us

Father God,


May we not run from your calling, no matter how difficult it may be. Jesus you are Love, and we run to you asking for your goodness and provision to follow.


We question, we call out, we pray.


We know you are calling us to something greater, but God are you calling us to something different? We are feeling your tug, your waves of calling lapping at our hearts. We can scarcely believe the honor of this - could you really be saying you desire us to go for this, full time, to further your Kingdom God? Humbly we know we are not good enough for this task, and with even more submission we ask - how? - when such a thing seems impossible.


So we ask for help in our prayer, from those who love You and are thus known by You. Is our calling to jump into ministry in radical ways, to forgo the ordinary, and seek a way to love the lost full time? 


But we know You and your power, and we know oh Lord that with you we have the gift of unfailing love. And that is enough for now as we discern, fast and pray. 

 One thing God has spoken, 

   two things I have heard: 

“Power belongs to you, God, 

  and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; 

and, “You reward everyone 

   according to what they have done.

Psalm 62:11-12

Joys and Sorrows

This week has been full of highs and lows here at the King house. God has blessed us with tremendous times with friends. Old friends Kate and Justin and their super cute/fun kids Ryan and Emma have recently moved back to Walpole - yay!  It's been awesome to be with them, and we love how we can just "pop over" places to visit friends now. We're blown away by God's faithfulness and how He is bringing our prayers for community into reality - we are so blessed.


We've also had truly encouraging times with our campaigner group. It's been great to mix up Bible study a bit and really dig in with our high school friends. Even more joyous however, is seeing how Jesus TRULY IS changing lives. -Watching our once "un-churched" friends now not only KNOW God, but now grow closer to Him and see how He is changing hearts, families and lives .... it is beautiful.


We've started "the basket". (We joked of maybe calling it some mixture of rhyming words like Questions, Suggestions, Objections and Reflections ?). It's been a unique opportunity for the leader leading the talk to ask kids to write down questions they have or comments or topics that THEY want to learn more about. Really just give kids a chance to write down their thoughts of any kind, feel heard, and we hope/plan to compile them soon to help us shape our lessons for next semester. The responses are sometimes guided by specific questions, sometimes open, all anonymous, and many have been so sweet. 




A few recent ones:


 "How to talk to my family about God."
"Whenever you ask God for help, he would someone make it happen so your day would be better."
"Should you try to date other Christians?"
"Evolution"
"Is there a proper way to pray/read the Bible?"
"[I have learned] My relationship with God is unbreakable...God's words give me strength whenever I think I can't do something. God's love is so beyond unconditional."




We love that these kids feel comfortable asking these types of questions, and we hope to encourage openness and make campaigners a safe place to not only learn, but also doubt and grow if needed. So fun to walk with most of these kids for at least one more year, and with some 2-3 more years! We've also been so happy to live within walking distance of 4 of our campaigners - and love having them pop over or stay late. Our home is truly growing into a place of ministry, something we have always prayed for and dreamed of.




Cait in particular amidst all this joy has had a tough week dealing with the sudden passing of a co-worker. Trying to process her own grief, looking for tangible ways to support her co-workers and praying for Christ given words of comfort have been both tiring and rewarding.  God and all things spiritual become very real in death and Cait has spent considerable time meditating on 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 which we will leave you with today :

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.