“If we’re going to move out of L.A. we might as well go where we already have family.” When I said those words to my husband in late 2004, little did I know that by Spring of 2006 we would be moving to Placerville!
After much prayer, I took a “leap of faith” and agreed to move. I knew this could be good in many ways, but questioned how I would find ministry fulfillment. I gave up much to move to Placerville - one was ministry with my parents (I was a leader in the church my dad pastored). The quality of ministry life I lived in Southern California was a gift. I didn’t expect God to replicate it. I admit the first 6 months here were challenging. But God’s faithfulness is everlasting, his mercies are new every morning! He met me each day with his powerful presence, reminding me that home is wherever he is, not something determined by earthly situations. We found Cold Springs Church within a month. Yet I felt God nudge me to remain quiet about my call to ministry. So for months we simply attended and fell in love with the people of Cold Springs and Placerville itself. Long story short, on March 27, 2007, I was invited on staff at Cold Springs. I cannot say enough that I have consistently felt in my “sweet spot” here. Pastor David is not simply a phenomenal preacher and pastor, he is an exceptional leader who brings out the best in those around him. My dad was a tough act to follow. God knew this. God knew the kind of leader I would need before I even thought to go into ministry. I am so grateful that God knows us better than we know ourselves! If it were solely up to me, I would have never been bold enough to jump into the unknown. We are called to do the things we cannot do without Jesus. That is the only reason I took the leap. I love the people who call Cold Springs Church their family. I love that. Calling a church your “faith family.” That’s what we are. And I wasn’t sure I would find that with the same depth again. My “leap of faith” wasn’t that big of a leap after all. Because what I forgot was that my little faith was all based upon God’s great faithfulness, not my own! And isn’t that a great relief?! With much love, ~ Esther Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1, NLT)
"Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying—and that was his coat. When he was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that One Solitary Life." -James Allan Francis |
WELCOME!to the Cold Springs Blog! Archives
October 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
SUNDAY MORNINGS
|