First of all I want to thank Sister Faye Leggett for asking me to share this month. I have been immensely blessed by the inspirational words that I have read throughout the year and I am honored to have this opportunity.

In the way of an introduction; my name is Tammy Fountain. My husband, Rick Fountain, works with Dr. Carpenter in Evangelism USA here in Oklahoma City. We moved from New York City to Oklahoma two years ago and I would like to share briefly something valuable that the Lord has shown me through this transition.

Just prior to my husband taking his present position at the RDC, I received an invitation from one of the Conference Bishop’s wives to come and share with the minister’s wives in her conference. It didn’t take long before I felt a confirmation in my spirit on what the Lord would have me to share. I shared about being continually defined by the Lord and not succumbing to the temptation to define ourselves by what we do. It comes quite natural for us to settle into ministry and use those gifts that seem most apparent. It is an amazing thing to have God anoint and use us, but, what happens when the winds of change begin to blow? If we have settled too snugly into our role or perhaps even subconsciously begun to define ourselves by what we do, we run the risk of believing that what we do is indeed who we are. When we do this, we are in danger of becoming unable to visualize ourselves doing anything else.

It wouldn’t even be a whole week before I would find out that Rick would be taking a job to work with Dr. Carpenter in EVUSA and we would be moving from New York City to Oklahoma. Instead of walking in the faith that I knew was there, I faltered a bit. Although God had given me clear direction almost immediately of what He wanted me to do, it took me a while to get used to the fact that God was leading me into a season of study and preparation.

I finally began to realize that I had indeed been guilty of defining myself by my role in ministry. Consequently I found it difficult to know what to do when I ended up smack dab in the middle of the unknown. What I finally came to see was that although I knew who I had been in Christ up to that point, I had no clue of all that God had placed within me. In that light, I finally embraced the season that God had brought me to and began enjoying the blessings of the Lord.

People often state that no one likes change but a wet baby and it is so true. We talk about change and preach about it, but when it comes right down to it, it’s never easy. Whether God is asking us to open our hearts to new ideas in ministry or to move across the country, we can truly trust the heart of the one who created us.

The scripture that got me through was Psalm 103:1; “Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me; bless His holy name.” I realized how very much I desired to be all that God had ordained me to be. I didn’t want to just be satisfied with the great things God had done, but to look forward with anticipation to the great things that God was going to do. What I decided was that I wanted it all; all of it! During that period of renewed purpose, I read the parable of the Sower. It was the last part of the story that now stood out to me. In verse 8 of Mark chapter 4 it says: “But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced; some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred. We would all consider ourselves good ground, but it was the thirty, sixty and hundred fold prospect that further stirred my spirit. I realized that if there was sixty fold in me, I didn’t want to be ok with thirty. And if there was a hundred fold in me, I prayed that God would never allow me to settle for less.

When I accepted this season in my life, I went back to school and finished my bachelor’s degree in ministry and have recently enrolled in graduate school at South Western University. I suppose there are a million reasons why we believe the lie of the enemy when he tells us that we can’t do all the things that God has placed within us to do. But in the end, the choice to believe and follow God is up to us. I suppose we could make our way through life, play it semi-safe and arrive at the gates of eternity in somewhat good condition. But I think I would much rather slide into home; heart, soul and body thoroughly used up for the glory of God.