Tom & Laura: December 2017

Our Heart for Marriages and Families...

Early in our marriage God put a burden on our hearts for marriages and families.
We were elementary teachers and we saw first hand the effect of divorce on the children in our classrooms. Our hearts were broken.
We also had several close friends that were getting divorced and we wanted to help but we felt powerless.
In 1995 we attended our first FamilyLife Weekend to Remember Conference. As we sat there and listened to God's purpose and plan for marriage we thought, "This is it!"
On Sunday afternoon we had the chance to find out what it meant to join staff with FamilyLife. When Laura heard, "Raise your own support and move..." she immediately thought, "no way." Tom however knew this was God's call. Laura listed all the reasons why there was no way we could do this. God used her Bible study the next two weeks to show her this was His plan and He was calling...so we went.
It has been an incredible adventure to see lives transformed and marriages saved when people hear and apply the truth. You can see many quotes from the conferences we serve in our blog list.
As missionaries with FamilyLife, we are responsible to raise and maintain 100% of our support. If you would like to join us to make a difference in lives and families for eternity click on the link below. Thank you!

How So Many Families Today are Like a Sand Castle...

Have you ever built a sand castle on the beach?

The beach is one of our favorite places to go as a family. So for our daughter's fourth birthday, it was only natural to have a beach party theme.

Laura decided the perfect cake for the party was a sand castle cake. She found a similar cake in a cookbook and decided it would be easy. All was well until it was time to put the cake together. The cake acted just like a sand castle - it fell apart during the building process. Laura finally got the cake to hold together by using toothpicks and freezing it until the party. The cake lasted throughout the party and no one knew that it was literally crumbling from the inside out.

Unfortunatley, so many homes today are in the same condition as the sand castle birthday cake in this story. They are crumbling from the inside out. Families today need the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word! It is only by His strength and power that families can be changed, challenged and strengthened.

Here is an example of a marriage that was crumbling until it was transformed by the power of God...

"This conference has helped to open my eyes in many areas. I not only realized how much I was doing wrong, but I also realized how blind I've been. I opened my eyes and prayed for the first time. I accepted the Lord into my heart and into my life. We went from talking about divorce
already to actually sitting and talking for hours on end!! I strongly believe that we are going to thrive!"

This marriage had already ended in divorce. The couple came anyway and God worked a miracle...

"For every reason on God's earth we should not have come to this conference. We are divorced, our children have been shattered and our home
destroyed. Satan had complete and total victory in our family. His destruction was thourough...or so he though. This conference has restored
our relationship, our faith in God, and in His power to heal. We have given back to each other our heart, we have forgiven each other, we have set aside all the pain and the tumultuous history between us and we are moving ahead. We look forward to the joy of our family together, our hearts joined and to being married again. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!"

Tom & Laura

Welcome!

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Brokenness is a Good Thing, End of Year 2017

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