Facing Life’s Giants in Texas

By Kevin Schroeder –
Junction, Texas is a rural ranching community nestled deep within a fertile Texas Hill Country river valley. The city derives its name from its location at the convergence of the North and South Llano rivers. This week, 11 men from various locations throughout the United States, converged upon the Blaylock Ranch with the common goal of aligning their lives with the life God created them to live. As always, Mighty Oaks staff and participants were greeted with genuine love and hospitality. Located above the kitchen serving window are the words: “You have refreshed the hearts of God’s people,” Philemon 7. What a blessing it was to see scripture come to life in the servant hearts of Steve and Mary Ann Blaylock along with other loving volunteers-Steve and Eva Jay Sessom, Frankie, and Joe and Sandy Chapman.
In 1 Samuel 17 we read the account of David and Goliath. This story is a great depiction of the the giants in life we are at times faced with. These giants can range from anxiety, fear, marriage struggles, struggles with sin, etc. Goliath challenged the Israelite forces to send him a man to fight. To everybody’s surprise, the young shepherd David rose up to the challenge. At the end of the day, David was not depending on his sling and stones to conquer this giant, for he declared, “the battle belongs to the Lord”. The Warriors that attended this week came with some significant giants to face. MOWP staff locked arms with these men and helped them identify and face these giants with confidence, courage, and dependence upon the Lord for the ultimate victory. Classes such as Brotherhood, Purity, Our Common Enemy, Legacy, and more were presented to these warriors, thereby giving them the necessary tools to align their lives with the life God created them to live. A life filled with hope and purpose.
During recreation time, these warriors were invited to enjoy the beautiful hill country of Junction and participated in 4-wheeler rides, “hooptie” (as the ranch staff likes to call all terrain vehicles) rides, and kayaking and swimming in the S. Llano river.
These warriors fought hard this week, valiantly faced their giants and committed themselves to be the men that God created them to be. We closed the week out by celebrating the baptisms of four of these warriors and celebrated the weeks’ victories at graduation.