Pastors Wives Newsletter: December 2011 (Sandy Hopler chides about Faithwalkers)

Pastors Wives Newsletter

Volume 11, Number 12

December 2011

"Now...the people were in a state of expectation..." Luke 3:15

This verse is a motivation to me as I look forward to Faithwalkers. Christmas is a wonderful time with family, followed by the Faithwalkers conference where we come together with God's people to worship, hear God's word and fellowship together.

The following are some testimonies that I, and other women, have of how Faithwalkers has been used in their lives. My prayer is that God will make the 2011 Faithwalkers a time where you experience God in a new and fresh way.

Blessings to you,

Sandy Hopler
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Getting Ready for Faithwalkers

Every year around the middle of December I chide myself: "How have you gotten yourself into so many things? Why do you do this?" Then I state, "Well, next year I don't HAVE to go to Faithwalkers." Then after Christmas, we pack up as much of our family as is available to go and head to North Carolina for Faithwalkers East. I am always so blessed by the teachings, the worship, and the extra time spent in fellowship with people I don't see very often. I love hearing what God is doing in people's lives, basking in God's presence, and watching my own children grow and learn from exposure to some of the godliest people I know (3 John 4). Every year I am so glad I made the decision to go.

Louise Martin

Columbus, Ohio

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I read an article one time by Michael Pearl who wrote about children jumping ship, and why so many kids of Christian parents left home and forsook their faith. He commented how so many Christian parents spend so much time homeschooling, often keeping their kids home and apart from other children their age in order to shelter them from the world. They involve their children in church activities but not much more. Therefore, they are not exposed to the world or to many other people so that when they leave home they do not know how to be a Christian among so many different kinds of people. His analogy was our family is on a ship going downstream. We pass all kinds of other ships with all kinds of other families on them. When our children see what the other families are doing and it looks more exciting than what we are doing, then they will want to jump ship and join in what the other family is doing. So, in order to keep this from happening, Michael Pearl suggested two things. 1) Make sure we are continuing to engage our children in doing worthwhile and eternal things on our ship so they want to stay onboard. 2) From time to time, dock your vessel with the other vessels so that families can interact and enjoy what the other families are doing.

For us, this is one thing we love about Faithwalkers. It gave, and still gives, our boys (now young men) the opportunity to "dock" with other kids their age and enjoy relationships that were established at LT, or other Faithwalkers, or simply by being with the kids of their parents' friends. They get to see that kids their age are doing the same things they are: reaching out, sharing Christ, and enjoying the Lord. It's an opportunity for them to be sharpened by the examples of older men and women and their peers.

I love it that we can all experience the same teachings, meal times, tie downs, etc., but each one comes away with something different because the Lord has met them where they are. And many times, the things they come away with are learned from other kids their own age.

Thank you, dear ladies, for raising godly children that are such positive influences on our young men!!

Barbara Wilson

Raleigh, North Carolina

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I would like to take this opportunity to share with you how God did a unique and special work in our family at the Faithwalkers conference in 2003.

As John and I have raised our children, our hope was always to have them united with us in love for each other, and for the Lord. We knew the greatest gifts we could give them were faith in God, and a mission worthy of their lives. Whatever vocation they eventually would choose, we hoped they would be part of fulfilling the Great Commission. We knew we had to live this out in front of them first. In general, we were thankful for the direction our family was headed. Yet we were looking for the Lord to "show up" in greater ways. Did John and I still have the same burning passion for the things of God, and were we transferring that to our children? Or would we be satisfied with what we were, and "settle" for lives not too dissimilar to the world around us?

It became apparent that God was more concerned about the spiritual state of our family than we could ever be. As we came to the first Faithwalkers conference that December, we couldn't conceive of how much He would bless us. Thirty years (!) ago our lives had been changed radically by joining our Christian community at conferences, where we received God's Word taught by godly men. Now we were able to bring our family to listen to some of the same men- Christian leaders who had continued to faithfully follow Christ. The teachings we heard, and the relationships our children established, had profound effects on us. At the end of the evening teachings, our children mixed with other believers in prayer. God awed us all as the "nextgen" and the older generation became one "generation of those who seek... His face." (Psalm 24:6).

But, God did more amazing things after we arrived back home in Ohio. In Mark 5:42, after Jesus raised their little girl from the dead, it was said of Jairus and his wife that "...they were completely astounded." John and I were astounded with God's goodness and power on our first night back from Missouri. In humble tears, on their knees, our children dedicated their lives more fully to Jesus Christ. It was the most significant time of prayer we have ever had as a family.

Since then, God has continued to work in our children's lives. One example of this was demonstrated when our son David reached out to a young man from school. Eight years later, that young man and David are leading out in ministry.

For our family, while I am encouraged with what the Lord has done, I realize that there is plenty of room for growth. And for this reason, John and I come to God freshly this December, expecting great things from Him as we go to Faithwalkers as a family.

Sandy Hopler
Columbus, Ohio

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We sincerely hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends, and experience God this holiday season. Let's look forward to what He will do in 2012.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!