{"id":1840,"date":"2024-08-12T13:23:40","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T17:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/?p=1840"},"modified":"2024-08-08T16:04:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T20:04:42","slug":"spokes-in-the-wheel-in-august","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/2024\/08\/12\/spokes-in-the-wheel-in-august\/","title":{"rendered":"Spokes in the Wheel in August"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In our previous episode\u2026<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We shared our decision to remain in Florida and hinted at a possible team we could join. And we asked you to pray for our time in a tiring season where we prioritize paying off debt. This update will be a little bit longer as we have two big things to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Check Engine Lights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You know that feeling when you’re driving along, and suddenly the “Check Engine” light comes on? Is it a minor issue or something major? It’s best to get it checked out to be sure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In life and ministry we\u2019re seeing a few check engine lights come on. With our finances and with the transition to the next ministry team.

First off, let me testify to God\u2019s faithfulness to our family these past few months! He\u2019s enabled us to prioritize paying off debt each month while also keeping us afloat. It\u2019s been tight, especially this past month when we had an unexpected plumbing expense, but we made it through.

That said, this is not a sustainable way for our family to live. As is often the case with missionaries, we lost a few monthly financial supporters over this past year along with the income tied to Lynn being alive and at home with us. This, combined with our efforts to pay around $1500 a month towards debt, has resulted in a downward financial trend. We\u2019re asking the Lord to bring some increase.

We know that God could eliminate our debt in a heartbeat, but even then, we would still need to raise our level of support to cover living expenses and emergencies. Since we can’t take time away to focus on fundraising like we did in 2020, we’re making these needs known and trusting in the Lord, trusting Him to remain our Firm Foundation no matter what happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would you pray for this increase? And would you ask the Lord to provide in a mighty way that we might be able to clear our debt sooner than we are planning? As soon as we can pay this off, Bethany will be able to join me and together, we can both serve as a part of the work with Ethnos360 that we STILL see the Lord involving us in. If you feel any leading from the Lord to give towards these needs, click the button below.\u00a0<\/strong> \u2b07\ufe0f<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal for our family is for Bethany and I to BOTH be serving full-time with Ethnos360 like we were when we were a part of the EquipAsia project. At the moment we\u2019re pursuing that kind of team-fit but have needed to pull off to the side of the road because of another check engine light. At the moment, there is a need for the team we\u2019re planning to join to do some organizational work that will give them clarity on what our roles would be and how we will fit in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s always hard to wait when you\u2019re on the cusp of transition and change that you want to see happen but this is a necessary wait as Bethany and I have ministry values that hold up clarity on our roles and mutually accepted expectations of our team and we\u2019re willing to wait for this team to be a supportive environment for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Start Support or Give a Gift<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Coming Up\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

School\u2019s Back! Kate is excited to begin High School at Lyman Public HS, a smaller school in our district and we\u2019re mostly excited about it as well, though we\u2019re asking the Lord to connect Kate with some solid friends right away as she enters this new world.<\/mark><\/strong> Owen is starting his senior year of High School at home and we hope to make it as special a year as we can for him. School starting and especially with Kate out of the house means a major schedule change is imminent! Pray for us with that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


We asked you to pray about our involvement at our Church. Joel auditioned for a guitar player spot with our worship band and got it and will play for the first time on the 25th of this month. We\u2019re also considering whether we have the margin to join a small group in order to deepen our connections. Pray for wisdom in discerning if that\u2019s the right choice for now.<\/mark><\/strong>

In our house in Michigan, Bethany painted part of this quote on our wall as it was so meaningful to us: \u201cThe quality of one\u2019s work depends on the nature of one\u2019s rest\u2014and the rest should be like His own, known and enjoyed with Him.\u201d Sometimes we wonder, \u201cWhat are we doing wrong?\u201d when we look at life and see struggles or often, a lack of something to show for our work, our ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The quality of one\u2019s work depends on the nature of one\u2019s rest”<\/p>\nJ. B. Stoney (Brethren author)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But I was reminded recently that God cares more about how we walk daily with Him, the \u201cquality\u201d of that restful walk, than he does about us having something to show, or the quality of our work. We pray that you would find Him faithful in the quality of your own rest.<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our previous episode\u2026 We shared our decision to remain in Florida and hinted at a possible team we could join. And we asked you to pray for our time in a tiring season where we prioritize paying off debt. This update will be a little bit longer as we have two big things to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":782,"featured_media":1841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[448,83590,639,83591,5],"class_list":{"0":"post-1840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-family","8":"category-ministry","9":"tag-ethnos360","10":"tag-family","11":"tag-kids","12":"tag-ministry","13":"tag-missions","14":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/782"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-potter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}