Journey of Shawn Peoples' Walk in Grace!

         This morning, my wife thought it would be a great idea to recount and remember the past year of pain, joy, prayers, and how God has answered every challenge with our children tonight. As she and I have taken today to reminisce, God continues to remind me of His faithfulness in our journey with Him. When I resigned last year as the pastor of Faith Community Church Lakeside and then restarted a degree I should have finished 22 years ago, my only hope was God providing and not leaving us to flail about dying from pain brought on by an uncertain future. Even thought today, that future is as uncertain as it was when I resigned, I am more hopeful that God is able to carrying us through and cause us to thrive as he has these last 9 months. With every resume I send to churches I can hear the enemy tell me how unqualified I am and how no church is going to hire someone not currently at another church. I am met with doubts and tempted to give up the idea of ministry. However, I cann

     First, I am incredibly grateful for those who have been praying for my family and I, as I finished something that should have been done 22 years ago. Yes, 22 years in the making and I can finally say that I am a college graduate. I completed 14 classes in 8 months and I am exhausted. I finished with a 3.62 GPA and will have made the Dean's List twice (I would have made it three times but they didn't count the fist term back because I wasn't full time at that moment, but who is bitter?). Okay, I think the humble brag is done ... did I tell you I finished with a 3.62 GPA after starting with a 3.5 GPA in March?      I cannot take credit for one ounce of what has happened the last 8 months. It has been God's Grace that has kept me from giving up when times were hard or money was scarce. It has been His strength that got me alone three-four days a week to read and write. I didn't think I was going to make  that last week with three of my harder classes requiring a