Cooking With Gas

Please pray for us!

This past weekend we moved out of our Darby St. apartment (our first home together), and packed all of our earthly belonging (minus a couple of suitcases) into a POD. We'll be staying with my dad and then with Josh's family for the next few weeks until we hop into our Honda Civic and begin our drive across the country to Peoria, IL.

While in some ways it seems like our time in CA is coming to an end, there is still much to do before we pull away on May 25th. I (Janea) am still working part time, but am now able to slow down for a minute and enjoy some of my last times here with friends and family, but the calender is filling up FAST. I'm planning a good bye open house this week on Friday May, 3rd. You are all invited. The details are on Facebook. We'd love to see you and say goodbye. I'm also planning Josh's graduation open house. You are also all invited to that as well, and to graduation if you are interested. Details for that shindig are also on Facebook. :)

Josh is still hard at work, getting ready to preach tomorrow (Tues.), finishing papers and assignments, scrambling to finish some big projects at work, and leading us in the move/charge ahead. His plate is full, sleep is scarce, but God is good!

We'd appreciate your prayers as we close this chapter in our lives, and open up a new one with fresh beginnings.

Josh's Sr. Testimony

If you're more of an audio/visual  learner, here's Josh's Sr. testimony that he gave at a TMS chapel.

Josh's Testimony

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." --Isaiah 53:6

I was born in Colorado, as the oldest of four siblings, to parents pursuing success in the business world. Our family moved across the country, as our father followed each new promotion, eventually leading us to Peoria, IL. While our family was based on Christian values, we rarely attended church. I understood guilt at a young age and felt depressed over my actions, which I knew were wrong, and feared the concept of death. I had never heard of Jesus.

My recurrent questions regarding God, eternity, and life after death went relatively unanswered by my parents who wanted to avoid the topics altogether, until their hearts were drastically transformed through the ministry and prayers of neighbors and members of a local church in Peoria, Illinois.

The change in our family was dramatic. We were no longer the center of our lives—Jesus was. God used the faithful witness of my parents to teach me the simple truth of the Gospel: the only deliverance from my sin would be found solely through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, where he bore God’s wrath on my behalf. I recognized my need for a Savior and placed my trust in Christ’s death and resurrection with a childlike faith. By God’s grace, I believed.

I’m certain my story is shared by many. While the seed of the Gospel was present in my life, as I entered into my teenage years, battles with sin became more fierce. I felt my faith challenged by the offers of the world and was not impervious to temptation. I faced daily battles with integrity, laziness, lust, and pride. But that faith did not die, it grew.

Through the years I can honestly say I have seen evidence of God’s grace continually at work in my life. Disobedience has always brought pain, and walking with God has always brought joy. My heart’s desire is longing to please my heavenly Father. My life has only continued to confirm my confession as a young child: Jesus is my only hope.

In 1999, our family moved to California for my father to attend seminary. Three years later we were serving as missionaries in South Africa. My years in South Africa were filled with invaluable experiences and numerous examples of God’s provision. I cherish those times.

I eventually left South Africa to attend two years of high school in America and studied business at small Christian college in California. I participated in a variety of ministries and grew profoundly in my love for God’s word. I served as the junior high and high school intern at local church and felt a burning desire to preach and study God’s word at a deeper level. I felt weak as a young man, but inevitably trusted that if I could be used in such a way, God would have to shape me.

In 2010, God cleared the path for me to attend seminary and provided a variety of opportunities for me to grow, learn, face trials, and experience His grace. By far, the greatest earthly grace God supplied during my time in seminary was my precious wife, Janea. We were married on May 19^th, 2012. Janea is an embodiment of answered prayer, joyous companionship, and Christlike love. Janea and I prayerfully anticipate serving in full-time ministry leading high school students in Peoria, Illinois after my graduation in May 2013.

Janea's Testimony

"For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." --Psalms 84:10 

 

By God’s amazing grace I was born into a family that loves Jesus Christ and raised me in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I was brought up in the church, so I learned about Jesus Christ from the time I was little. I also attended private school for most of my education, so I was constantly surrounded by and immersed in the influence of believers. At a young age, I “accepted Jesus into my heart,” understanding as much as a six-year-old possibly could.

As I grew up, I continued going to church each Sunday, but I was basically living for myself. Practically, I lived as though I was saved because I was a “good person.” I had mastered the art of compartmentalizing my life. I was a Pharisee (Matthew 5:20). I would attend church on Sunday and Wednesday night and neglect to acknowledge God for the rest of the week. I was constantly disrespectful, disobedient, and dishonoring to my parents. I sought the approval of man rather than God, which manifested itself in my pursuits and goals. I was intensely involved in gymnastics and planned to train for the Olympics. Gymnastics was an idol in my heart, consuming all of my time and energy. It was my strongest passion, not God. I didn’t count the cost of following Christ (Matthew 10:38).

It wasn’t until I was at a winter camp with the junior high group at Grace Community Church that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and showed me I was living hypocritically. It was then I realized I couldn’t rely on my parents’ faith to save me. I had to believe and obey the truths in God’s Word (Luke 13:24-30). I learned that true, genuine, saving faith is a relationship with Christ who died as the ultimate sacrifice and payment for my sins. (Romans 10:9). In a response of thanks for what Christ did for me, I am called to give Him every part of my life—not just Sunday (Romans 12:1). I believe it was then that I truly committed my life to the Lord.

Right away the Lord put trials in my life to prune me and shape me into His image. My mom was diagnosed with cancer. This made me evaluate my priorities and put things into perspective. I began to focus more on significant, eternal matters (Colossians 3:1-2). And for me, giving up myself meant giving up gymnastics. I quit the sport that had once consumed my entire life. Now I had a desire to read Scripture and to spend time with the Lord in His Word. My motives for attending church changed radically. I went because I loved God’s Word and His people (1 John 4:7-8).

I knew once I made the decision to follow the Lord, I should be baptized in obedience to His command, but pride held me back. (Acts 2:38). I thought to have an effective testimony you had to be saved from a life of drugs or outward sin. A leader in the youth group helped me understand the error of my thinking. Salvation is God raising someone from the dead (spiritually speaking). It is a miracle only God can perform (Ephesians 2:1). I was just as dead in my sins and praise God he pulled me from the pit of self-deception. I share my testimony to proclaim what a great and powerful God I serve—no salvation story can possibly be “boring.”

Today I am blessed to be a member of Redemption Church of Northridge where I am able to use the spiritual gifts the Lord has given me to serve the body wherever I am needed (teaching Sunday school, women’s ministry, food team, etc.) The Lord has radically changed my goals and pursuits, and has given me a burden for the lost and a desire for a life of ministry. The Lord has used trials in my life, like the death of my mother, to remind me of my constant dependence on Him. Now, as a new wife, I look forward to growing even more in my walk with the Lord as I spend time in His Word daily and seek to honor Him by loving, serving, and helping my husband.

It Begins

Since I (Janea) am no longer on this journey of life alone, I have given up my "single" blog! Josh and I are combining forces to create The Beakley Blog. The purpose? To keep our friends, family, and even casual browsers updated on our lives. We hope each post will be be encouraging, amusing, and well worth your reading time.

For our first post, I will follow the lead of my blogging buddy when she first began her married blog. They began with their individual testimonies of salvation. I'll start with mine and Josh's will soon follow.

Thanks for visiting!