The Shumaker Family's Blog

We have been greatly blessed since January with visitors. We currently have Pete Knickerbocker and his son Mark with us. I met Bro. Pete many years ago at my home church Rome Baptist Temple. I was saved for about a year and was in my second year of college. God had been dealing with me about giving my life. I wanted so badly to give Him my life, but I didn’t want to preach. I thought I couldn’t. I battled it for a few months. I told God I can’t talk in front of people, but God kept telling me that all He wants is my life. In 1996, when Bro. Pete preached, he challenged us to give our lives. He asked, “What’s holding you back from serving God?” I was holding myself back. I doubted that I could do it, but the real problem is that I doubted God could use my life. That night I told the Lord, “My life is yours.” He called me to preach that night.

While in France we stayed with Bro. Pete and his family on multiple occasions. We truly enjoyed our time with them. In 2008, Bro. Pete’s oldest son, Stephen, came to visit us here in Burkina Faso for a month. Stephen was unique in that he could speak French and English perfectly because of being a missionary kid. Stephen was a great blessing to us and is getting ready to begin deputation to come and work with us in Burkina Faso.

I will write another post soon on what God is doing while Bro. Pete is here but I wanted to ask you the same question that Bro. Pete asked me in 1996, “What is holding you back from serving God?” How many of us can truly say that we are giving our all? 15 years ago, I didn’t think that the God of Heaven could use my life. Let me brag on God for a minute because I know that Keith Shumaker hasn’t done anything. God has done amazing things through me since that night back in 1996 when He called me to preach. I have had the privilege to see churches started from nothing, lives that have been changed from sin, watched men who love their wives and children even though their father didn’t, seen many Muslims accept Jesus as their Saviour, watch men give their lives to become preachers, etc. That is a lot for somebody who thought he could do nothing. God is good. He is amazing and wonderful. He can use your life. What is holding you back? I don’t regret giving God my life back in 1996.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 at 5:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.