Friday, October 17, 2014

My Man of God

PERSISTENT PRAYER is what we do to engage FAITH as we expect SPEEDY answers. God has a time table, a season and His reason for having us wait and trust Him. My request that God deliver me a personal man of God has been answered! Holding on to my VISION for so long did what He intended! It stretched my FAITH ~ PRAISE GOD! What a year 2012 has been! My son has returned to God, and the spirit of heaviness has been lifted! The BIG BONUS BLESSING is to have Michael Hoyle walk alongside, hold my hand, bring me flowers, and encourage me in my writing as he glows with HOPE for a future as an "us". "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if you were working for the Lord." Col 3:13 His timing took from 2006 -2011 to restore, rebuild, refresh, renew and show me His plan took about 5 years. All things work to bless in ways we cannot imagine. In 2006 my dad and my son's dad entered eternity, I lost physical mobility through back surgery, I lost my home and my savings for retirement, and I nearly lost my son with several close calls in ICU. During that same time Michael lost a home to a fire, and his hope that God would spare his wife. With the strength God gave them, both Michael and Barbara kept seeking God and on May 28, 2012 they met, and after 20 marathon dates, on a Communion Sunday at Quail Lakes Church, July 1, 2012 we declared our commitment to one another, and sealed it with a sweet kiss. With sincere concern Barb was aware that Mike had isolated alone in Washington for six years before his family wisely intervened. With the Holy Spirit leading she inquired if Mike was "ready" for a relationship. Mike assured her that his heart was healed and that he was ready to meet someone. As Barbara is a ragamuffin believer who feels closer to God some times more than others, she is a woman that admits her requirement for ongoing grace and solitude to recharge her batteries. Halleluiah I thank the Lord for the eyes He gave Mike, that he may see with clarity what God treasures in me. Mike likes baseball, particularly the Dodgers. I have never been much of a fan of the sport, so I did some research.  There is beauty in the relationships and camaraderie found on the bench, and in the stands. From behind the plate, fans witness a strike zone that reaches out beyond impossible.  The expectancy of what may happen lifts each spirit, regardless of race. Each fan can thrill as they imagine hitting a fly ball over the top of our human bond of imperishable hope, to a glorious run to home! The pace of baseball allows time for conversation and opinion, and it fills our lungs with expectancy for a great day in the park! With each game, history is made, legends are created and memories are shared. It is a game to follow, to read about and to talk over. Men who fail seven times out of ten are considered America's greatest heros! The spirit of baseball fans is a beautiful thing to watch and I am the benefactor of Mike's hall of fame knowledge of the game. I enjoyed watching Mike thrill over the National League winning the 2012 All Star Game! This is a tale of my star, Mike and his grand life statistics! Mike believes that this sport, and any team sport teaches kids the important life principle of having a plan, having FUN, knowing the plays, anticipating hardship, perseverance, respect for the abilities of others, unity and the JOY of a job well done ~ even with a few errors. Mike's dad taught him landscaping and Papa Tom confidently left Mike to tend to their business at the age of twelve. In due time, at the appointed season, having been steadfast in his faith, with honor for his heavenly Father, Mike gives thanks to his earthly dads belief in him. Mike maintains a focus on Jesus, and he lives to bring His name Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another." John 13:34 Mike chose to love his dad, his mom, his family as they are, imperfect and in need of grace, just as God loves Mike, flaws and all! Michael knew in his heart that God drew him to preach at the age of 15 ~ Mike takes pride in being a hard worker and he earned and saved $2,000 at the age of 15. His first thought was that he would take a trip to Israel. But the Lord intervened and used a friend to prompt him to use the money God had provided to enter ministerial school. Mike believed that when he announced to his dad that he was leaving home to go to school at CLC in Stockton, that his dad Tom did not think that Mike would leave home and enter seminary right out of high school ~ but Mike did, and his dad, a man of few words, certainly felt the loss. Only God knows the human heart, and every thought that passes through our brain, and by His grace, His Love is active, not passive ~ and it forgives what we think we know. Barbara has learned by experience that merely reading, writing and hearing about God's love did little for her soul ~ but when she choose to act upon receiving God's love, she began to love as He loves, warts and all. By our love for the unlovable, by us loving the unforgivable, we demonstrate to the watching world that God is good, He is able, and as His HOST, we bring Him glory by the way we love. Life took us both on a roller coaster ride of emotions, and like children do in Santa Cruz we became childlike, we held on and forgot all of what we thought we knew about life, love and God. We got caught up in our Father's unforced rhythms of grace. This is when we found the grace of CONTENTMENT, the beauty and ease of simply trusting God in all things and enjoying our relations with family and more time in the park with friends. "Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like." James 1:22-24 THE MESSAGE in plain English ~ Michael has been a doer of the Word for 30 years and he is NO FOOL! He listens and mimics Christ by embracing the Truth. "The Christ in me, is His hope for glory" God gets all the glory when we LET GO and LET GOD, do His mighty work of love in us, that we will love ourselves as He loves us! Our Father's glory shined through Mike on July 4, 2012! Mike wore flip flops for the first time as he walked as Jesus did in sandals around a pool of water. With childlike GLEE, Mikey wore a grin from ear to ear for having served God mightily by simply trimming the overgrowth of some flowering plants in Barb's backyard. As an Ambassador of Christ, Mike's life is a reflection of our heavenly Father's hope for His beloved! As a bride of the bridegroom, I observe the reverence that Mike has for Jesus Christ. Mike respects Who God is, he defers to Him, he honors Him, esteems Him, appreciates His lavish provision, he prizes every living word, and he adores the privilege of serving God. Mike admires God's plan and he praises God in his devotion for the GIFT he gave Mike as a shepherd of a small flock in Washington and in a small village in the Philippines. Mike loves the Lord deeply and he enjoys his ministry no matter what season he is in. In 2012 his sister Paula insisted that Mike move to California and she welcomed her beloved brother Mike into her new home. He got busy trimming up the Juniper bushes and helping Kevin with odd jobs around the ranch. Mike's dad Thomas Hoyle is most proud of his son as he has observed from a distance all that Mike has been enabled by God to accomplish. "When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him—to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband" God's plan for Michael included the blessing, the JOY, and FAVOR of UNITY with family! It is God's will that Mike reconcile with every member of his own family and coast along in His easy rhythm of grace before Mike begins a new job. PRAISE GOD for His ways are always best! MY PERCEPTION: Mike "chillin" with his siblings, laughing and enjoying the thing that God values most ~ RELATIONSHIPS! "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24 KJV In other words give and it will be given unto you, pressed down upon you. If you give laughter, kindness, grace, then you receive the same back. Observing Mike interact with his family, I see their love and his gratitude for their generosity of encouragement as Mike seeks a job and a new home. His sister Paula, Brother Steve and brother Tom have each been blessed by Mike's handy-man gifts. Steve and Tom tease Mike ---- and then say "We love you Bro!" I can only imagine that Jesus jested with his flock a lot too! Yes people in Washington have voiced their appreciation for having Mike as a friend but in January 2012 Mike's family encouraged him to return to California to be renewed by the care and love of family. On March 3, 2012 Mike traveled once again to the Philippines to share a SERMON that he personally experienced at a church he planted there. Out of extreme pride, Mike's mom commented on Facebook "I actually expected to see some pictures of my son Pastor Michael Hoyle speaking at the Dipolog meeting." Yes many folks have experienced the gift of Mike's devotion, but NOW it is Barbara's turn to praise God for His divine plan of our friendship. CHANGE and RECONCILIATION is God's divine plan. He changes us as we submit, and He reconciles us to Himself, and to His ways as we allow. Focused on a teaching ministry for over 30 years, today Mike has a NEW life in Christ, a NEW focus, and a NEW renewed JOY by simply teaching by example, the GOOD LIFE of being a Christian is all about loving family as they are and where they are, and enjoying ~ NEW adventures and NEW friends. As a native Californian, Mike easily adjusts to shorts, sandals, country music, and boating on the Delta. in His perfect timing work it all out. God enlisted my boss Richard to introduce Michael. His ways always surprise and delight! Michael Hoyle was born October 24, 1952. His mother Marge Hoyle lives in Lodi - his dad Tom lives in Little Rock, Arkansas and his sister Paula Straw lives in Acampo. Brother Steve lives in Morada and brother Tom lives in Oregon. The whole family is blessed with a prize winning grand-daughter named Kate. Growing up Mike shared a few fond memories of spending entire days at a school yard playing baseball. The all American sport that offers every man a field of dreams. Viewing the
glory. Mike admits being angry with God at times. FAITHFUL in his focus on the promise of God to prosper him in all ways, through a time of reflection, Mike came to see his wife's passing as well as his sacrifice of childhood play, as God's timeless and matchless way of causing all things to come together for His good will. "And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint." Galatians 6:9 ~ Mike is the eldest of three siblings, and he admits a bit of regret for not thanking God adequately for the JOY and the LESSONS of his youth ~ God's ways are not our ways and Michael's character of faith was developed through perseverance. Mike enthusiastically boasts that he has the ability to get things done. Mike and friends built a church and a school in the Philippines and he also worked for eight straight years as a pastor to pastors. "I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another.

2 comments:

  1. Seems to be a greatly embellished story... a fairy tale perhaps.

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    1. Not a fairy tale, married for 10 years and going strong. It is a blessing to be cherished by the man God specifically sends to allow us on earth to experience unconditional love. Blessings to you.

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