Master of Subtleties

Most mornings I drive Makayla to school and, depending on the day, I look to get a laugh by acting goofy. She’s easily responsive, so I’m pretty successful. Lately however, increasing her fun, she works hard to ignore me by simply looking out the window, or looking boringly at my antics. She’s pretty good at it, actually.

Perfecting boredom seems in vogue these days. The best reaction is no reaction, give nothing away, as if being unaffected is the goal. 

But the pursed lips and vacant stare give me a hint that she’s very aware of the game. When I pinch her knee, she presumes to be uninterested, but with lightning speed she smacks my hand to ward off a tickle. This silent fun usually entertains us both the entire way to school. 

I enjoy a type of wordless prayer. Thinking with God about various people or situations. It’s the subtleties that keep me engaged as I drive around, the license plate with a name of the person I’m thinking about, or the billboard with the phrase that stands out, or the random comment on the radio, that proves God is very invested in our “play.” He’s listening, anticipating, watching, directing things.

On our school mornings, Makayla and I hardly talk at all, but much is said, much is spoken in our play. Sometimes it’s the words that get in the way of real communication. 

Are you picking up on the subtle play of God in this season? Or has boredom become your norm?

What felt like a normal 2019 has played out wonderfully. I didn’t realize all the things He was doing with us, until I started writing them down. If the past is an indicator of the future, the next year should be exciting. Kingdom Prayer Initiatives (KPI) saw a good bit of activity, much of it rotating around Northstar Church and the events hosted there:

  • 2000 people participating in Prophetic Prayer & Communion events (7 of them, this year)

  • 110 people serving regularly on PPC evenings

  • 50 people trained in "basic prayer"

  • 60 people serving regularly on Sunday morning prayer teams

  • 30 students (from 5 different churches) in the School of Kingdom Ministry

  • Viewing of the film "Sheep Among Wolves 2", highlighting the persecuted church

  • Hosted a Global Catalytic Ministry event at Northstar.

O T H E R   A C T I V I T I E S   A R O U N D   O U R   C I T Y

  • 5 equipping events for different churches

  • 5 successful prayer / care ministry trips with Back2Back orphan care ministry (Haiti, Cancun, Nigeria, India, Mazatlan)

  • 25 different prayer advisor / consultant appointments across the city and region

  • Increasing influence and partnership with city business and ministry leaders

  • Cincinnati Canopy Prayer -- 24/7 prayer coverage of Cincinnati, a growing effort by many in our area

  • School of Kingdom Ministry / More Love More Power Conference

  • Advisory Board member for Roots&Branches,  Waking the Heart Ministries, and Sons and Daughters as well as the elder board for Northstar Community Church. 

  • Speaker at Randy Clark's Kingdom Pursuit conference at Vineyard Church Northwest

  • Pushing myself to personally pray and prophesy to hundreds of people

  • Numerous other pastoral care and prayer ministry appointments around the city and region

  • I had hoped to round out a book of stories this year, and have made good progress, but will need some more time before that's a reality

F A M I L Y
 

A B B E Y  is growing and influencing as the Worship Coordinator at Northstar, while enjoying learning all things "coffee" at Cavu Coffee in West Chester. We love seeing her thrive in the worship gift she's been given.

I A N  will graduate with a degree in Information Technology from the University of Cincinnati in the spring. Before settling down to his "real" job at the company where he's been co-oping, he plans to travel for a few weeks. He continues to enjoy climbing trips to Red River Gorge in Kentucky with friends. 

A I D A N  continues his work towards a Mechanical Engineering degree from Cincinnati State, while also working at Breakout Cincinnati. He makes cool things on his 3D printer, and designed the coolest one-handed bottle opener we've ever seen.

M A K A Y L A  is maturing and discovering as a 4th grader at Maple Dale Elementary. She is still very much into birds and, currently, dragons. She is a creative and intuitive thinker and always joyful.

J E N  is remarkably able in all the details as admin at Sibcy Cline Realtors, while adjusting to continued cancer treatment. She is incredible.

Russell GeverdtComment