Who we are

I suppose the first readers I will receive will be curious facebook friends wondering what I'm "up to" now, but for those of you who don't know us, please allow me the opportunity for introductions. Then I'll tell you all what we are "up to" now.

Jeff Ford: husband, father, friend, teacher, preacher, counselor, comic book geek, and so much more. I'm a little biased, but I know very few who would disagree with me in saying he is one incredible guy. Jeff gives new meaning to the word laid back, yet has a stubborn determination that puts most to shame. Before he knew Christ (BC as he refers to it) Jeff put that determination to work in his studies. He will tell you that it was his way to ensure he would be able to come back to his hometown one day as a wealthy surgeon. God had other plans, thankfully.

He did acquire a Masters of Science in Psychology; however, about the time he was finishing school, Jeff gave his life to Christ. His stalwart determination has remained fixed on serving God ever since that blessed day. His desire to be successful financially has become a desire to be successful spiritually.  We believe that good financial sense is a part of spiritual success...that, however, will be saved for a later blog. Jeff has worked in many facets of counseling, yet has always ended up back with teenagers. Currently, he teaches 7th grade writing at an amazing middle school in Northwest Arkansas. He feels that it is a strategic age to make a 'God-impression' on his students. Over the years, Jeff has had several mentors, and each one's imprint is evident to those who knew them. Their guidance and leading have helped to make him the man of God he is today, and more will come to continue the process God is putting him through. We thank God for these men.

Mandee Kennedy Ford: wife, mom, friend, preacher, and well, that's about it. Well, we can't forget preacher's daughter. I have heard others, even Jeff, speak of a time when they accepted God's call to ministry on their life. I have just always known I'd be in the ministry; however, I can think of many times that I have surrendered my perceptions of God's calling in order to align myself with His plans. Some people may tell you I'm laid back like Jeff. Those who know me best would beg to differ. Jeff lovingly refers to it as being passionate. I think God knew Jeff would need a little spice to keep his life from getting too boring.

I've had ups and downs, but have lived my life for Christ since I was a young girl. I always believed I'd be a missionary living in a hut somewhere. I went on my first missions trip at age 16. I preached my first actual message a year later after returning from my second missions trip. I remember that day, feeling God's anointing and the amazing clarity of what I was to say. I had never felt so alive. As a female, those opportunities are rare, but I pray I never stand to speak in the name God without that anointing, or write for that matter. Currently, I stay home with the youngest of our four children. This allows me ample time to glean wisdom from the amazing women God has put in my life. I am especially fond of the fitness ministry I attend at our church, along with the mom's group that meets weekly.

What are we doing? We are beginning a ministry focused on helping others see the church's, and  their own need for mentoring, and discover their abilities to mentor. As we begin to blog regularly, we will use many scriptures to support this statement. For now, I simply want you to understand where we are coming from.

Jeff and I have both been blessed with amazing mentors in our Christian lives. However, we have both longed for more mentoring in the last few years. It has felt as though we have somehow reached a stage and someone determined that we are finished with that part of our lives. According to Paul's writings, that stage has yet to come for either of us. We both have so much to learn, especially in the areas of practical living. The more we prayed about this, the more we realized the need was far larger than just us. So many younger adults are needing help, advice, and reassurance. This is our vision. (Did I mention that I have tendency to dream very large?)

We will be blogging regularly about the different areas of mentoring found in Scripture. The plan will be to have "Manly Mondays" written by Jeff and, you guessed, they'll show up each Monday, "Wednesday's Women" written by Mandee will be posted on Wednesdays, and "Family Fridays" will deal with issues that pertain to youth and children. Please feel free to comment, as we plan to use this blog as a sounding board of sorts.

In time, we hope to develop a curriculum to be used in churches or men's and women's bible studies that will outline the different areas of mentoring. This curriculum will be based on the belief that we never outgrow the need for mentoring, and we most assuredly never get too old to mentor others.

ver the youth workers, we also have plans for developing a youth devotional journal that will encourage teens to develop a habit of studying and pondering God's word. Also, a long-time dream of conducting girls' conferences and boys's conference will be strived for.

Through all of this we will be continuing to raise our own children and maintain our family time, which comes second only to our 'God time.' We are excited about the ideas God has given us, and we ask you to join us in this ride. Please, pray for us, and keep up with our blog. We'll do our best to keep it enlightening and entertaining as we seek to hear God's voice.