Hearing God’s Directions

April 28, 1998

Isaiah 30:21 “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”’

God has been teaching me to stop talking all the time and listen to Him.  My prayer time had become a time of asking God to teach and guide me but not waiting to hear a reply.  It wasn’t until I took the time to listen that I found out what I needed to do to grow spiritually.

At the beginning of the semester I was driving around Tulsa just to pray for a while and think about a story I needed to write for class.  As I prayed I found myself near downtown Tulsa and decided to ask God what I should do then listen for his response.

I prayed, “Lord, where should I go?” Continue reading

Reaching out to the heart of his city

For most of his life, Kevin Curtiss did not believe in God.

Even when his wife, Donna, started attending Resurrection Life Church, Kevin made it clear he wasn’t interested.

“You could consider me an atheist at that time,” he said. “I didn’t want to have anything to do with [church].”

For several months Donna prayed that Kevin would open up to a relationship with God, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. It took some time, but gradually Kevin realized that the church experience would be a valuable for their teenage son. Still, Kevin realized that he would have to set the example by going himself.

“It was time to get Tony involved with [church].” Kevin said. “And he wasn’t going to go unless I did.”

Putting aside his own apprehensions, Kevin announced his decision:

“One day I said, ‘That’s it! We’re going honey.’,” he said.

And they did.

One week after his first visit to ResLife, Kevin raised his hand in response to pastor Duane Vander Klok’s invitation to accept Christ. That decision has changed his life. Kevin soon began reading the Bible regularly. He completed the entire Bible in just over a year and supplemented his reading with other Christian books to learn all he could about his new faith. The changes in Kevin affected not only his reading habits but also the way he lives and leads the whole Curtiss family.

“I’m a lot more family oriented,” Kevin said. “God is first in my life, my family is second and my work falls somewhere after that.”

Now, not only is church a regular part of their lives, but Kevin has sought out other ways to be involved beyond Sundays. While reading through the ResLife Web site to see what opportunities there are for getting involved, Kevin discovered the inner city outreach called Power House and something clicked.

“I knew I wanted to do something outside the church,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what, but I clicked on the Power House site, saw the kids and thought, ‘I want to try that.’ I got involved in Power House, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Now, Kevin, along with much of his family, spends Tuesday evenings teaching children about the God he didn’t believe in.

“I never really in my wildest dreams three years ago, thought I’d be out teaching kids about God,” he said.