Listening and Obeying

This month's GPS Life Journey Story is from Glenda Haendschke.
"I moved to East Tennessee five years ago having left a very large non-denominational church in Florida where I truly found my home. The move to Florida initially was God-driven but not without some personal strife. It was at that church I was first baptized by immersion and truly felt the Holy Spirit take over my life. It was there where I began to learn about what a relationship with God really meant. I found fellowship with fellow believers and discovered the beauty of studying God’s Word. It was where I found the meaning of God’s Church outside the four walls where services were held. It was where I learned that God does really speak to me
… if only I’d listen.

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… And then I did! I was visiting my family in Tennessee and heard the strongest message – so strong I did not think before asking my siblings what they thought about me moving to Tennessee. The rest as they say is history. I sold my house in Florida to a friend from church who had been struggling for months, trying to find the right home for herself, her mom, and her dad. I then moved to North Carolina where I also had another home to sell. God sent a family who was being displaced from their current home to buy it.

Having left a church where I was born again and planted in my spiritual journey, I began my search when I arrived in Tennessee to find the same … and was HARD! I’d go to one church then another church then and still another church before I gave up for a while. I never quite felt welcome or fulfilled. Then, four and a half years later I was led to First Baptist Church, Lenoir City (FBCLC).

I sat in the front of the church and was greeted by a couple who lived near me. They introduced me to a couple of other people and then I heard and met Pastor John Hunn. I left that day feeling like I had finally found my home! My next steps were trying to figure out how to get connected and I found a display table in the foyer that spoke about this GPS Life Journey class. Fast forward a few weeks and I get an email saying new classes were starting up again and asked which timeframe worked best for mean. And thus my GPS journey began.

While I was familiar with and in agreement with the findings of the assessments we took for the class, the jewel really was putting into writing my mission and vision statements. With the guidance of Paula Mills, my facilitator, I was able to focus on my spiritual gifts. I discovered how I could use them not only for the benefit of people in need but also to fill my tank with God’s love so that I could continue being the light God intended me to be.

Setting specific goals and thinking about how and when I could fulfill those goals was a tremendously helpful exercise.  Through those goals I identified certain mission areas that I believe will be great fits for me within FBCLC and enable me to truly become a part of this church family. I feel like I’ve finally found my home.

Thank you, Nolen Rollins, for putting this study together. Thank you, Paula, for being my guiding light through this journey and encouraging me to write these thoughts down. But most of all I am so thankful to God for reminding me once again that He has a plan for me and I just need to listen and obey!"

If you would like to participate in the GPS Life Journey process then please check our Events page.  We offer in person and online via Zoom.  You can learn more about us here.  We look forward to helping you discover God's Plan for Significance in your life.