Keeping Up With the Roberts Family
Each month Cliff and Denise Roberts write home to their high desert family at New Life Fellowship to share all the happenings in their lives and their new church community. We look forward to posting their spiritual insights as they continue walking with the Lord in Lakeland, Tennessee.
june: Memphis Morning Center
As I write this, I’m getting ready to join Tom on a brief road trip to Pennsylvania. And although this trip isn’t primarily (perhaps not even AT ALL depending on our circumstances) a prayerwalking trip or an opportunity to connect and pray with leaders, I’m looking forward to the time with friends, the brief time away from home and the opportunities the Lord always brings during our travels. So, I’m headed to Franklin, TN in the rain, will be driving to Pennsylvania in the rain, and will probably return home again amidst even more…rain. But for a former desert rat, the rain NEVER gets old here. We love it!
I got caught up writing about discipleship in last month’s newsletter, and I didn’t get the chance to fully share a few family details that are extra dear to my heart. So, I’ll take the opportunity this month to do some of that instead.
I’ve preached hundreds and hundreds of sermons over the years, and unless I browse through my saved sermon files, I can’t remember 99% of them. But one that has always stuck with me was one time on a Sunday morning when I spoke about abortion. It was a difficult topic to preach on, but one that I have been passionate about for years. I cherished that opportunity to address the issue from God’s Word during a Sunday service years ago in Barstow. The days leading up to that were an intense time of prayerful preparation, very much a spiritual battle. It was eye-opening to confront the topic head-on, but also enlightening as I spoke with others afterward and heard their stories. The argument for life can easily become a theoretical one that certainly has a right and wrong side, but where actual engagement often remains at arm’s length.
I’ve supported pro-life causes for many years. I have worn out more abort73.com t-shirts than I can remember. I’ve prayed for decades with many others for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. PRAISE GOD that He did that in my lifetime and my kids were alive to witness it! He answers prayer, seldom according to my preferred timeline, but faithfully every single time. But my heart has always been burdened by a desire to impact people more directly than just through t-shirts, giving, or casual conversations. That’s why the Memphis Morning Center is an answer to prayer that I am so deeply thankful for.
I’ll let y’all do your own research and discovery at www.memphismorningcenter.org, but the fact that this is a local ministry right here in our own backyard is amazing. I first heard about the Morning Center through Samaritan Ministries, our family’s health care sharing network. The Morning Center provides “Jesus-centered prenatal and postpartum care to under-resourced pregnant women, at no charge.” One of our dearest friends oversees this ministry, several more friends work there, and now Wisdom is doing a sponsored internship with them. Talk about my tank being filled to overflowing with God’s abundant goodness—that’s awesome! I’m so proud of her humbly following the Lord into unexpected directions and new places. (Yeah, I know a little bit about that myself, huh?) She has stretched herself in uncomfortable areas but has persisted through each potentially overwhelming new situation to become such a beloved addition to their team. They are always raving about Wisdom and telling me what a joy and a blessing it is to have her there. She often feels like a square peg among an assortment of round pegs, but they absolutely ADORE her “square”. I’ll submit a personal plug here on her behalf: if you’d like to support Wisdom as she continues her internship with the Memphis Morning Center, you can head to https://www.memphismorningcenter.org/wisdom and read more of her personal story there.
Connected to that (and no, this is NOT a fund-raising email. BLECH!), our family is joining the Morning Center for their first ever 5K: “Steps for Redemption: A Virtual 5K for Life”. Yeah, our whole crew makes up the majority of our “team”, but anyone can join to walk/run/crawl wherever they’d like to participate from, and can join us in supporting our extended family in the body of Christ. I know, that’s too much info all at once. You can read more about that event here: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/steps4redemption/team/1031467/. I know, I know, another link. I’d apologize, and it’d be sincere, but it’s not the last one I’m sharing. So I’ll wait…
Okay, sorta lastly and finally (after a way-too-long delay), I think I’ve got our email situation sorted out a bit better for those who keep up with us via this monthly newsletter. Yes, each of these updates is posted at https://newlifebarstow.com/keeping-up-with-the-roberts. However, many other family and friends follow along as we email you every month from “7mf9m7ymnd@privaterelay.appleid.com" (yeah, it goes directly to SPAM for me too). That will be changing…soon? now? next month? we hope? Denise has been working on a personal blog site for the past year, and in February, she actually “went public”. At (yes, here comes another link…) https://priestlyprophet.org, she posts writings and encouraging reads that are saturated in hours and hours of her sitting in the presence of the Lord. Yes, please check it out and feel free to sign up for her emails, but for those of you reading THIS email, we’re working on a new address to add to your inbox (maybe something along the lines of RobertsFamily@priestlyprophet.org?). We’re not quite there yet, so for now, keep checking your spam folder, but all the rest of my contact info remains the same:
Call or text me at (760) 217-8854.
Email me at godurmyall@hotmail.com.
Visit us at 4481 Mount Gillespie Dr. in Lakeland, TN for coffee and board games!
Okay, that’s about it for this month. I know this wasn’t a typical update, but all of this stuff is very much a regular part of our family’s life. We are engaged with friends doing ministry in a variety of ways, in different spaces and with different groups. Our kids are involved as well, each in their own unique way, and Denise is thriving like never before. Things are good here, and I hope sharing that with you is encouraging too. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer as we navigate the many surprises and opportunities God keeps bringing our way. Following Him is certainly an adventure, and we’re grateful to be surrounded by and supported by so many in His body. For those giving financially, New Life Fellowship remains our flow-through at newlifebarstow.com/give. The Lord continues connecting us to new and old friends on this discipleship journey in Tennessee. Home is good, and family is good, all because He is so infinitely good. I pray that He reveals His goodness to you as well in ways that only He can. We love y’all very much.
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
I got caught up writing about discipleship in last month’s newsletter, and I didn’t get the chance to fully share a few family details that are extra dear to my heart. So, I’ll take the opportunity this month to do some of that instead.
I’ve preached hundreds and hundreds of sermons over the years, and unless I browse through my saved sermon files, I can’t remember 99% of them. But one that has always stuck with me was one time on a Sunday morning when I spoke about abortion. It was a difficult topic to preach on, but one that I have been passionate about for years. I cherished that opportunity to address the issue from God’s Word during a Sunday service years ago in Barstow. The days leading up to that were an intense time of prayerful preparation, very much a spiritual battle. It was eye-opening to confront the topic head-on, but also enlightening as I spoke with others afterward and heard their stories. The argument for life can easily become a theoretical one that certainly has a right and wrong side, but where actual engagement often remains at arm’s length.
I’ve supported pro-life causes for many years. I have worn out more abort73.com t-shirts than I can remember. I’ve prayed for decades with many others for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. PRAISE GOD that He did that in my lifetime and my kids were alive to witness it! He answers prayer, seldom according to my preferred timeline, but faithfully every single time. But my heart has always been burdened by a desire to impact people more directly than just through t-shirts, giving, or casual conversations. That’s why the Memphis Morning Center is an answer to prayer that I am so deeply thankful for.
I’ll let y’all do your own research and discovery at www.memphismorningcenter.org, but the fact that this is a local ministry right here in our own backyard is amazing. I first heard about the Morning Center through Samaritan Ministries, our family’s health care sharing network. The Morning Center provides “Jesus-centered prenatal and postpartum care to under-resourced pregnant women, at no charge.” One of our dearest friends oversees this ministry, several more friends work there, and now Wisdom is doing a sponsored internship with them. Talk about my tank being filled to overflowing with God’s abundant goodness—that’s awesome! I’m so proud of her humbly following the Lord into unexpected directions and new places. (Yeah, I know a little bit about that myself, huh?) She has stretched herself in uncomfortable areas but has persisted through each potentially overwhelming new situation to become such a beloved addition to their team. They are always raving about Wisdom and telling me what a joy and a blessing it is to have her there. She often feels like a square peg among an assortment of round pegs, but they absolutely ADORE her “square”. I’ll submit a personal plug here on her behalf: if you’d like to support Wisdom as she continues her internship with the Memphis Morning Center, you can head to https://www.memphismorningcenter.org/wisdom and read more of her personal story there.
Connected to that (and no, this is NOT a fund-raising email. BLECH!), our family is joining the Morning Center for their first ever 5K: “Steps for Redemption: A Virtual 5K for Life”. Yeah, our whole crew makes up the majority of our “team”, but anyone can join to walk/run/crawl wherever they’d like to participate from, and can join us in supporting our extended family in the body of Christ. I know, that’s too much info all at once. You can read more about that event here: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/steps4redemption/team/1031467/. I know, I know, another link. I’d apologize, and it’d be sincere, but it’s not the last one I’m sharing. So I’ll wait…
Okay, sorta lastly and finally (after a way-too-long delay), I think I’ve got our email situation sorted out a bit better for those who keep up with us via this monthly newsletter. Yes, each of these updates is posted at https://newlifebarstow.com/keeping-up-with-the-roberts. However, many other family and friends follow along as we email you every month from “7mf9m7ymnd@privaterelay.appleid.com" (yeah, it goes directly to SPAM for me too). That will be changing…soon? now? next month? we hope? Denise has been working on a personal blog site for the past year, and in February, she actually “went public”. At (yes, here comes another link…) https://priestlyprophet.org, she posts writings and encouraging reads that are saturated in hours and hours of her sitting in the presence of the Lord. Yes, please check it out and feel free to sign up for her emails, but for those of you reading THIS email, we’re working on a new address to add to your inbox (maybe something along the lines of RobertsFamily@priestlyprophet.org?). We’re not quite there yet, so for now, keep checking your spam folder, but all the rest of my contact info remains the same:
Call or text me at (760) 217-8854.
Email me at godurmyall@hotmail.com.
Visit us at 4481 Mount Gillespie Dr. in Lakeland, TN for coffee and board games!
Okay, that’s about it for this month. I know this wasn’t a typical update, but all of this stuff is very much a regular part of our family’s life. We are engaged with friends doing ministry in a variety of ways, in different spaces and with different groups. Our kids are involved as well, each in their own unique way, and Denise is thriving like never before. Things are good here, and I hope sharing that with you is encouraging too. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer as we navigate the many surprises and opportunities God keeps bringing our way. Following Him is certainly an adventure, and we’re grateful to be surrounded by and supported by so many in His body. For those giving financially, New Life Fellowship remains our flow-through at newlifebarstow.com/give. The Lord continues connecting us to new and old friends on this discipleship journey in Tennessee. Home is good, and family is good, all because He is so infinitely good. I pray that He reveals His goodness to you as well in ways that only He can. We love y’all very much.
The Roberts Family
(Cliff, Denise, Purity, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Honor and Life)
Here’s Wisdom at the Morning Center! Some days it’s meetings. Other days it’s mailings. She travels sometimes on “missions”. And then there are days like this when she gets to blow bubbles for little ones while their mom is being cared for. Needless to say, she loves it.
I know I already embarrassed Truth last month with his Senior Picture, but here he is again! He’s looking forward to having the summer off, but is also ready to finish up his welding certification in the Fall. We may not know exactly what the Lord has in store for this young man, but his heart is focused in the right direction, and he’s got an amazing Guide. He’s gonna do great.
This is me sitting on a pig bench at the Bluff City Fair. It was free admission day and Life said he’d never been to a fair before. (What?! We went when he was 3! Doesn’t that count?) So, we went and rode some rides, ate some food and I apparently let Honor take a bazillion pictures of me sitting on this pig bench. Crazy teenager…but hey, it was fun!