Ora et Labora

               Karen and me at the Life Way Christmas Party

Consider and think about joy when you encounter trials! The testing of your faith will produce endurance.

Let endurance have its completed and mature effect so you can become mature and complete yourself. James 1:2-3

I was 52 years old when in a comfortable position when I was led to start Life Way. I had dark brown hair and happy at College Hill Presbyterian Church. I loved the people and was treated extremely well by the staff, Elders and members. My stress level was low and I was ready to settle in to several more years of ease in Zion. Then the Holy Spirit intervened and I started a wild new organization. At 52!!!! Crazy, 

Over the years at Life Way we faced so much resistance, so many personal, spiritual, financial and insurance related attacks that my joy has reached unbelievable heights! (Sarcasm!) But we did grow in faith.

As my hair grew white and my resolve failed, we learned how to lean on and trust God plus work like crazy. With the leadership of staff and prayer partners like Steve Griebling we borrowed a slogan: Ora et Labora.

It is the slogan adopted by Franciscan Friars when they went to France to fight diseases and discovered that mosquitoes from the swamps were some of the main culprits. Their slogan, Prayer and Work was perfect for us.

Instead of staff meetings we helped weekly Miracle Meetings because we kept going only if God showed up and we could pay the bills. We prayed, we worked and we marketed ourselves to a skeptical Christian world.

Yes, not only were the agnostics against us, so were many Christians.