About John and Jaci
Let’s start with characterizations that embody who we are.
Just like everyone we are sinners saved by grace. We don’t share this characterization based solely on a scriptural understanding of our own depravity, although that is important. We share it because we have walked it. We are prone to failure just like everyone else! We think that this is important to divulge because all too often folks of faith are considered to be unapproachable by our culture so, let me go on record and say... I have experienced multiple train wrecks in my life and Christ specializes in train wrecks!
We are People of Simple FaithWe revel in the reality that the Book of Romans so perfectly drives home, fully embracing, the finished work of the Cross of Christ, the understanding that we are hidden in Him, blameless before God, righteous in His sight, justified, sanctified and fully able to enjoy the freedom that comes in a walk of simple faith. This is our rest!
After the heart of GodWe are pursuing His heart! This pursuit often requires obedience to a never changing God who changes us while we embark on the new adventure of Sonship. For further exploration see... (The Map of Sonship).
We Desire a Walk in the SpiritWe fully understand the characterizations of Charismata and Pentecost and have experienced both, however, they are not what identifies us as Christ follower's. I think Jaci and I would prefer to identify ourselves as a couple who are under the influence and work of the Holy Spirit. We fully trust that He is capable of doing whatever He desires in our lives and does not require us to do the work that He does so well. This doesn’t mean that we ignore Him, or that we have it all figured out! It simply means that every day we conversate with His Spirit in the language of the Spirit. We are learning to daily invite the fullness of His power and gifts into our lives.
We are not perfect!We still struggle day to day and we still work through issues of our past, family, health, finances, relationships, and everything in between. But we have Hope and we Trust that the Lord will direct our steps. He has proven Himself faithful and His Holy Spirit bring us direction in life!
The Prayer FactorWe love to Pray! Not just alone but with everyone we come in contact with. We find it to be one of the most impacting ways to bring Jesus into our circumstances. Saints need it, those who are lost crave it, and what better way is there to love on one another? It hasn't always been that way, a life on the path of Jesus looks like communication with the Father. Otherwise, it is not a life as an adopted son. So often in life our own spiritual prowess gets in the way and we fight from our own strength. Over many years, hardships and failures. We are still learning to give up our work to yoke with Jesus. It is a labor of rest!
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Wider ScopeI am a man's man kind of guy and my wife Jaci is a gal's gal kind of girl! We are keen on simple living, family, relationships, and doing life in a rural-country setting. We are not flashy and are better suited for western liv'n. I guess that's a nice way of saying We are just simple!
Passion for the WordThe Word of God is one thing that we are most passionate about. I love to talk about the scriptures in ways that give those who hear an opportunity to make practical application in an easy to use kind of way. For a long time it was information, theology, religion. Now, it's just opportunity to spend time with the Lord.
Sweet CommunionWe frequent the Lord's Table of Communion. Jaci and I both do this privately and with our church family so as to regularly be reminded of the glorious work of the cross and to frequently connect with Jesus. For us, it is so important to continually be washed with His blood, forgiven of our sins, and renewed by His Spirit.
About HerI love my wife! Next to the Lord she is the most precious commodity on this planet. She is wise beyond her years, a student of the scriptures, She is meek, humble, temperate, my counselor, my companion, and beautiful. You will not find a more lovely person or a better friend than my wife Jaci.
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Story
Story is how we figure things out in life. It’s how we make sense of things as we align, compare, and correlate them with the story of God. God is not interested in what you think you should be or feel. He is not interested in the narrative you have constructed for yourself, or what others have constructed for you - or even the one your church has fabricated for you. Your story may be chucked full of ruts and potholes, crashes and do-overs! The Lord may even be using all these things to deconstruct some of your small stories and narratives to ultimately bring them into alignment with His story, a big story, a glorious story, a story of redemption and restoration, the story of God! I believe He does this on our behalf so that we don’t have to be burdened by what someone else’s expectations of us or, what others think your story should look like. When it comes right down to it, the big picture and story of God is the only thing that matters!
He loves us so much that He is interested in you and me. The us who go through suffering. The us who inflict suffering on others. The you and me who hide. The we who have bad days (and good ones). And God meets us where we are in our story.
Jesus is not the man at the top of the stairs—he is the man at the bottom. The friend of sinners. The Savior of those in need of one. He is the lover of of those who are unlovable! Which is all of us—all of the time!
Let that sink for a moment!
We freely share our life story with others because we realize that we have all suffered setbacks along with victories, and that often our stories certainly haven't turned out the way we thought or even hoped! many of us encounter pushback from those around us because our story didn't meet their expectations of us. What I do know is this... God has been the author and finisher of our stories the whole time and His story of love and redemption is what is so evident in all of our epic novels!
We love the outdoors and are drawn to a more western lifestyle of country living. We prefer minimalistic and cozy, good friends, a campfire and great coffee. We love exploration and adventure. and laughing at the commonality in our struggles. We have found our niche and love what the Lord does as we share story in simple places that are off of the beaten path. Doing life with simple folk who struggle and bearing one another's burdens has become the common setting where we can identify God's plans, what He is doing, what His intentions are, and settle in to an adventure of hope and restoration as we share our stories and become part of His story.
Life has been good at dealing us a great deal of adversity and we have made ourselves an ample amount of messes. In the last 13 years there have been many changes, trials, wins and losses. They have brought us through a tremendous season and made us stronger. God, even now continues to show Himself faithful to those of us who are weak!
