| We are off and running! I attended my first seminary class last Tuesday, and my job has officially shifted to a pastoral internship at Village Seven Pres. We are rejoicing! This has been a long time coming. Joy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for spurring us on through prayer and support. It truly would not be possible without God's provision through you! From the Classroom: As I walked into class for the first time at Denver Seminary, I must admit I was a little nervous. I had waited a long time to walk through those doors, and the day was finally here. As I sat down and class began, my nerves, which had been practicing gymnastics in my stomach, finally began to settle, and the excitement of learning more about God took over. The first day of class was amazing. This is not just school; this is a place where I am being challenged in my walk with Christ and growing in my understanding of the work He wants to accomplish through me here in Colorado Springs.It will not be an easy journey - Greek is already a challenge - but this is a path I am grateful to be walking. From the Youth Group: This past summer was great! Parts were exhausting, but it was amazing to see God work in the lives of the students. The brightest highlight was a trip I lead to Juarez Mexico. We collaborated with a local church and came alongside them to reach out in their community through work projects and a children's backyard Bible club.The most exciting part of the trip was watching the Spirit move in the lives of our students through group devotionals each morning. Together we studied Jerry Bridges’ book, Day by Day Holiness, and the students were challenged to pursue Christ in every aspect of their lives. God is at work in them and in Juarez! From the Coffer: We are very happy to report that fund raising is going well. God is so good! We have not yet reached our goal, but we are much closer. Roughly 75% of the needed monthly amount has been promised. What a praise! These monthly pledges literally pay for my salary through the church. Once our monthly goal is met, we will still need extra funds to cover tuition and commuting gas, but God is even meeting us there through one-time gifts. Thank you so very much, and God bless you for your generosity! Please pray that the final 25% will be pledged. From the Home Studio: Our house is filled with the sound of music once again as Joy's voice and piano lessons have begun. She also teaches the Journey School choir once a week for elementary age children. Theo is quickly morphing into a little boy who is busy crawling, laughing, grabbing and forming his own opinions. We laugh and learn as he teaches us! We send our love to you and your families, dear friends and partners in grace! Praising God from whom all blessings flow, Evan and Joy Nelson |
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This past weekend, we went on a family camping trip to Twin Lakes, CO. Just Evan, Theo and me. What an incredible Creator our God is! And what a sweet time we had as a family, sharing life and sharing fun.
While we enjoyed the wilderness, Evan and I read through the book Friends and Lovers by Joel Beeke. This book presents a refreshingly practical approach to cultivating intimacy in marriage, both emotionally and physically, which sparked great conversation and gave us much food for thought on how to improve our own marriage. We highly recommend it! Today, Evan is romping around with a bunch of middle school kids at Elitch Gardens in Denver. Oh the energy! It takes a lot to keep up with junior highers! Talk about sharing life and fun! When I watch Evan hang with kids, I see kindness, servanthood, humility and care in every move he makes and every word he says. I see students admiring him, asking questions about living for Jesus and laughing with him. It's amazing the good that can come from just palling around. Next week, Evan will go with the senior high students on a camping trip. I pray for open hearts and meaningful conversations, and there's nothing like a good campfire to share both. Sadly, Theo and I will have to hold down the fort at home as I continue to teach lessons. I hope to drop in on them midweek, though, to join the campfire fun. On the seminary/internship front, God is doing good things! Praise the Lord, we received another monthly pledge last week! Every prayer and every gift gets us a bit closer to our monthly support goal which we need to reach in order to keep the internship at Village Seven Pres. I have to be honest, my heart is a little sore from all the stretching and faith building raising support brings. It's a spiritual workout during which my weaknesses become painfully obvious and make me want to crawl under the covers and hide. Even so, I'm learning how to stay in it, stay present, be vulnerable, faithful and humbly hopeful. We still have a ways to go in raising the funds we need, but so far the journey has been exciting, challenging and rewarding! Thanks for sharing your life with us as we go forward! Love and blessings, Joy  Well, its official, I will be attending Denver Seminary in the fall of 2014. After much prayer and consideration, Joy and I concluded that Denver will be the place that we begin our seminary journey. Many different emotions come with making a decision of this magnitude, relief (we finally decided), happiness (we get to stay in this beautiful state), joy (we are near friends and family), fear (how will God provide?), sadness (missing out on new adventures) and many others. It feels as if our emotions have been placed upon a rollercoaster (you know, the ones that turn your stomach upside down/inside out, and even the bravest of souls stumble out after the ride looking as if their body had spent the last 5 minutes defying gravity), and we have simply sat back and held on for dear life. However, God has been good to us and has brought peace that only He can bring. Yes, there are still concerns, concerns over finances and the drive to Denver each week and many others, but God is in control and He will provide.
I want to thank you for walking alongside us as we follow where our Savior has called us to go. I have been encouraged by the comforting words of Louisa M. R. Stead, who, after watching her husband drown trying to save a young boy, wrote: I’m so glad I learned to trust thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend, And I know that thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust him more. Trusting in Jesus, Evan Nelson In the Nelson household, today is a day for reflection, prayer and finally THE BIG DECISION. I can't say when or what it will be exactly, but we will share our seminary choice with you in due course. In the meantime, I want to reflect on all the awesome things God has done 'til now. If you read Psalms (or just about anywhere in the Bible), quite often the writer takes the time to recount the mighty works of God in ages past. It was a way to remind themselves of God's goodness and faithfulness to his children for the purpose of giving thanks and bolstering faith for the days ahead. Likewise, I've taken to making this a regular practice in my life. Remembering the Lord's faithfulness is especially encouraging as we step up to the edge of this seminary faith leap. Here goes Throwback Thursday. God brought me to Colorado after graduating from Grove City College in 2005. That's a pretty cool story by itself where God worked in awesome ways. Another time perhaps.
Then the Lord directed Evan into full time ministry at Village Seven Pres in their youth department at a time when he had little to no qualifications for the job. It was a miracle! This was a dream come true for Evan, a confirmation on God's calling on his life to share the Gospel. What a gift this community is to our hearts! 
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Precious Cora Lane is in our hearts always. The loss of our baby girl has marked us forever. We thank God for her short life and for teaching us so much through her death.
There is so much more to come, I know. The next five months hold great change for us. We are at a fork in the road. Lord, please go before us and guide us as you always have done. To God be the glory, come what may! Here's to future Throwback Thursdays and all they will tell us. How has God been faithful in your life?
I wanted to take a brief moment to update you on where Joy and I stand in regards to which seminary I will be attending this fall. When I began this journey last year I never imagined that making a final decision would be this difficult. I am struggling with the thought that I may make the wrong choice. The wrong choice for our family, the wrong choice for my education, the wrong choice for ministry…the list goes on. I sometimes (and to be honest I have) want to cry to the heavens “Lord, please, show me what to do! Now!” However, there is freedom found in the truth that God will give us clarity, that God will provide a way, that God is in control and He loves to take care of His children.
Allow me to catch you up with were we stand now. Denver seminary has offered me the Kingdom Scholarship (half-off tuition) and they are looking for an answer by Friday, March 21st. This means I have one week to decide my fate. I recently applied to Redeemer seminary in the Dallas area and am waiting to hear back from them (they also offer a half-off scholarship). Southern out in Louisville has crept back onto the list as a serious contender. Those are the schools. There are pros and cons for each, and Joy and I are neck deep in trying to figure out where God would have us go. The financial aspects of each are challenging, but I do know that God will provide. Praise God for the encouragement found in His Word. “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). I simply long to be “in Christ Jesus.” Thank you for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us over the next week as we make our final decision. As C.S Lewis stated in his novel The Silver Chair “Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do” (Lewis, 1953). For the glory of God, Evan  Yesterday Evan and I returned home from a wonderful visit to Chesapeake, VA where we spent time with my parents and explored the Tidewater region. While we were there, Evan visited Regent School of Divinity. It is a beautiful school with several attractive qualities, but after meeting with a couple professors, Evan feels that it is not the seminary for him. We are thankful for this clarity even if it means closing the door on Regent. Evan may widen his net a little bit and look into some other seminaries we have not yet considered. We know the Lord will direct our steps as we seek him. Thank you for your prayers.
Meanwhile, we have received several gifts of support, and we are praising God for His provision through such generous saints as you. Love and blessings! Joy | AuthorEvan is an aspiring seminarian and Joy is a stay-at-home mom and music teacher. Join us as we share the twists and turns of early married, seminary and parenting life! ArchivesAugust 2014 Categories |
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