Some days I look at my life; I see that I’m 55 and I start to think… Isn’t it kind of late for me to be doing this? Isn’t it kind of late to be leading a ministry that I could have started 30 years ago? Have the past 30 years been a complete waste of time?

And then I’m reminded of Moses who was 40 years old when he left Egypt and 80 when he returned. What was he doing for those 40 years in between? Was he wasting his time? Or could it be that those 40 years in the desert with Jethro were a time of training and preparation for the work God would have him to do?

A pastor once told me that desert testing is never a waste of time. It’s a teaching tool. It’s education. It’s the necessary experience that we need before God will take us to that next step.

In Exodus 3:1 we read, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.”

Do you see the name of the mountain there? This is the very same place that Moses took the Israelites to right after they left Egypt. This is the foot of the mountain they stood at when they received the 10 commandments (Deuteronomy 4:10-14, NIV).

Moses was not only familiar with the land, he was trained to be their shepherd by first leading a flock of sheep. I can only imagine all of the other training that took place during those 40 years that we don’t even know about. Training that would otherwise seem like a normal part of everyday life.

And so we see, that even the most mundane seasons of life are of great value as God is shaping us for the journey ahead.


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Tilling the Soil

Read Exodus Chapter 3 where we see God calling Moses into ministry.

Planting Hope

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)


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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.

She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.

It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical FitnessReshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.

Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.

Connect with Darlene:

Facebook: @timewarpwife
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You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife