Tim and Kristen Borseth and Family

Moving and Much-Afraid

The prospect of moving soon has brought me much fear. Moving away from Ames, not so much the city as the people. A people and church family I have known for over 20 years. These are the people that shared the good news with me, that taught me how to read the Bible, pray, draw near to Him. They have taught me to open up, share my feelings and take it all to God. Now God has a different path for me.

I recently took a personal retreat with a couple of other women. Most of the time was spent alone praying, reading, listening. However, we all came together a couple of times. During one of these times Dawn read a couple of chapters from a book called “Hinds’ Feet on High Places”. Although I had heard of this book since my first years as a Christian I had never read it. A friend of mine had even shared a small portion of it with me but I did not quite connect at the time.

This time however, it hit me right in the heart. I took the book home and read the whole thing. The book is about a woman whose name is Much-Afraid, she lives in the valley of Humiliation with her family the Fearings. However, she has chosen to work for the Shepherd who is the Fearings enemy. The Shepherd asks Much-Afraid to go on a journey with Him. She accepts and He plants the seed of Love in her heart. They begin the journey, but it is very difficult for Much-Afraid.

I suggest you read the book to get the full impact of the story, especially if you are going through tough times right now. There are many parts that touched me, especially how gentle and caring the Shepherd always was with Much-Afraid, even in times of doubt and fear. One particular time when Much-Afraid was dreading what was coming next the Shepherd tells her:

“Much-Afraid, don’t ever allow yourself to begin trying to picture what it will be like. Believe me, when you get to the places which you dread you will find that they are as different as possible from what you have imagined”

God has been teaching me that he holds me in His arms and protects me. Psalm 138: 8 says that “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever…” Also , in Psalm 145: 8-9, 13b “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. … The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” As He takes me to new and different places I just need to remember these things: do not try to imagine what it will be like and He is good and is with me always. Even as I learn these things, and sometimes have doubts, He is faithful.

What's up with working at Red Wing Shoe Store?

Some of you might be wondering if I got kicked out of ministry or left the pastorate or something. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have taken a part-time job at the Red Wing Shoe Store in Des Moines BECAUSE of ministry!

In obedience to the clear leading of God (ask me for the story sometime), I am in the process of moving to Decorah IA to plant a Great Commission Church called LifeHouse Church. As I have followed God in this, several issues have been identified that make this step a very wise (although admittedly risky) move.

Here they are:
1) My presence and the introduction of a new church in a smaller town like Decorah will be more acceptable and welcomed if I am actively contributing to the community like bringing in (or in my case reviving) a business and employing locals.

2) The job market is very tight in Decorah (like the rest of the States) and so a business would be able to employ a few of the church planters who will be/ already are in Decorah that don't have jobs yet.

3) I have 6 kids and they are my primary disciples. As such, a business of this nature would provide a great opportunity for them to learn business principles and practices that could benefit them for the rest of their lives.

So, the manager of Red Wing (Matt N.) has been very understanding and supportive of this mission and has hired me to train me to increase Red Wings presence in Decorah.

I wanted to share all this not just to explain it all, but to make a personal request of you:

Could you help me bless Matt and Red Wing back by bringing some of your business to this business in the coming month or so?

Yes, Red Wing Shoes are pricy, but it's not because of their name or fancy unnecessities. These shoes are of the highest quality you will find in the world (which means they will be more comfortable and longer lasting than any other shoe you've had), and they are backed by warranties and incredible care and repair service for the life of the shoe.

But for those of you on tight budgets, I got a win - win for ya. There is a sizable selection of Red Wing shoes on clearance that the manager would LOVE to get rid of (pics from my cell phone). These shoes (boots, dress shoes, sandles, tennis shoes, women's shoes) are at a very manageable price.

I'd love to see ya and practice selling shoes on you. I will be working there on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 - 5.

The good & the difficult

The good: Philippians study
This summer, Stonebrook Church has been teaching through one of my favorite books. In fact, my favorite chapter in the whole Bible is Philippians chapter 3... and I got to teach on part of it! I have gone deeper in my walk with Christ because of this study.
The biggest lesson I have learned is where to get my joy from. I have found that over the course of time my joy came from favorable circumstances. In Philippians, Paul makes an indelibly strong case that lasting joy comes from having Jesus Christ as your greatest and truest treasure!!

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord... I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Phil. 3:1, 7, 8a

"Knowing" in verse 8 means an experiential knowledge of. It means to know Christ as a personal friend, a personal savior. Not just in an academic sense, but in a real life day to day sense. Having such a personal value in and experience of the God of the universe brings about a joy that overflows the highs and lows of life's circumstances.

The difficult: All Ames eats together
Well, Ames doesn't really eat together, as I found out. The purpose and plan for this event was to raise awareness and financial backing for Ames' Good Neighbor assistance program. The idea and purpose was rock solid. It's just that no one showed... other than myself and a few of my kids... at least at the park next to the Stonebrook Church location.
I was shocked that more people in Ames didn't take the need to help the hungry more seriously. After this event, my wife and I watched Beyond Borders dealing with aid relief to war torn nations. The first people they tried to help were the starving in Ethiopia. While the hunger situation in Ames is nowhere near this level, it heightened my concern for and responsibility to help the hurting. It's just too bad that the rest of Ames was too busy to care.

Now let me think... what was the good again. Oh yes. My value is in Christ and not in circumstances. So even though we may desire better things in our world than this, we can rejoice if Christ is our greatest treasure and no one can take that away from you.

Here's a great video that brings this truth home!