As I pray over this Central Valley of California, so dry, so dying from a water needs point of view, I pray specifically for the perspective of believers.  May our perspective as believers be sharpened and refined by the challenges we encounter, rather than us doubting God or being angry with our circumstances.  It has cooled off a bit lately, if 90’s is cool, and we are experiencing a breeze here in Merced that cools off our home each night and allows us to close up the house in the AM for a reasonably low electric bill.  These are the big thoughts of my day-to-day of late, how to save money, pay off debt, and start to focus on some of our goals as a family, such as relentless grace displays with our time and resources.

Debt is ugly, both financial and moral.  All of us have a moral debt to Jesus that we can never even attempt to re-pay.  It is in valleys of struggle that we most frequently come to realize how amazing this grace of Jesus Christ’s death for us truly is.  God refines our perspective and we see afresh how relentless His love is for us.

My prayer is humble of late, as I consider how broken I am and imperfect, how in need of a Savior I am and how unworthy of proclaiming the name of Jesus I am except that God has somehow found me, rescued me, and called me to be not only His child but one of His trumpets of Salvation in Christ Alone.  May we join together, siblings in Christ, and worship this great Savior!

For a brief update, my wife and I are downsizing into an apartment still here in Merced.  We hope to save up to one day buy a home again now that both of our businesses seem to be stable and gently growing.  We hope to see God’s guidance over the next year, however, and we don’t want to rush into any purchases until God makes His plans extra clear.  Merced is our home base, and Twain Harte and San Francisco areas seem to be our additional regions of communication and interaction, as well of course as some international and domestic adventures and friendships/family ties.  Carrie’s business shows promise of taking us here and there in the world as well as mine through trips we can win with my company.  Through these family adventures, we hope to meet interesting people and tell of what God is doing around the world in the years to come.  I hope to be particularly Gospel-oriented in my content here, because I can and God has given me this avenue through this blog.  My hope would be to inspire your adventuresome spirit, not necessarily to have to travel, but to dive into dialogue with those you encounter around you, and to look specifically for what is different about the person across from you, different from you, something you admire and want to encourage them about right then and there.  Share the Gospel of Christ with them in creative and refreshing ways.  Connect with folks right on the ground where God places you, friends, and may your stories wander over to this blog or elsewhere and encourage many dear souls both of believers and someday believers.

Signing off for the night.

Much love,

– Torrey