Sister Heather,

I am returning the favor of commenting on my blog page. Thank you for stopping by. It is amazing how us Christians can meet each other from all over through the Internet. Certainly, there is much to hesitate at and even avoid. But I like how blogs can bring out some amazing stories and biographies. Thank you for your comments. I just recently started a blog. As a pastor, husband, father, community leader, I am impressed by the Spirit of God about sharing the things of God.

However, I am somewhat humbled by your comments. In reading your testimony this morning (which is long, but I was gripped by it), I can see how you can speak to being patient and continuing to encourage others. I also read some of the comments others have left you. I am so thankful that you are in the Love of Christ, after everything you have been through. I shuttered through some of the details and have a true appreciation for where you are now.

I am happily married with my wife of 27 years, four children all serving the Lord and have wonderful extended families. There is much I could go into today, but it is Thanksgiving and I want to spend appropriate time with my family. Suffice it to say, you were a topic at our Thanksgiving table this morning. Our meal was just my immediate family today. Usually, we are going somewhere else, or we are having someone else over with us. This is the way ministry is usually. But since it was just us, I gave a family speech after the meal. With each child, I went person by person and gave a State of the Family exhortation. I gave each one encouragement in what God is doing with them and gave exhortation about what they needed to work on for God’s plan to be worked out in their lives.

After that was done, I inserted your testimony to provide them with a comparitive understanding of my children having it better or worse than someone else. If I am not careful in addressing their attitudes about being a pastor’s kid, it creeps up as various attitudes within the family. I made it clear that God’s done wonderful things in you, but it took a lot of trust and working out relational situations (not that you may still feel you have many more miles to go with it). But I am using your testimony, along with my recent start at blogging.

As I was laying out my fatherly speech, a next door neighbor that goes to our church, came by to grieve as she lost her mother to cancer this summer. The last two months of her mother’s life, I took my guitar over to her home and sang her mother songs about Heaven and gave her communion to encourage her. We of course prayed for a supernatural healing, but this ladies mother was so ready to go home. So, our neighbor was just missing her mother today. She came and wept on my wife and I’s shoulders, apologizing the whole time. I assured her we were there for her. After she left, I explained to our family, “…see, this is what the essense of ministry is…” My family is used to this and is fine. But I closed the exhortation about them being prepared for whatever ministry God has for each of them to give. I have a son 24, daughter 21, daughter 13, and son 10.

Thank you Heather for being a part of our day this Thanksgiving. All because you stopped by my site to encourage me…

In Christ,

Pastor Mark Stevenson