You’re Not Behind – You’re Being Prepared
Salt and Light Newsletter
November 26, 2025
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Pastor’s Thoughts
You’re Not Behind – You’re Being Prepared
One of the most common struggles I see among believers today is not doubt in God’s power, but discouragement about their own pace. So many people quietly carry the burden of feeling like they are behind in life. Behind where they thought they’d be by now. Behind where others seem to be. Behind the timeline they envisioned years ago.
Behind in marriage.
Behind financially.
Behind spiritually.
Behind emotionally.
Behind in healing.
Behind in calling.
And because we live in a world of constant comparison, that feeling only grows stronger. Social media shows you the highlight reels while God is doing deep-rooted work in hidden places. It’s easy to look around and conclude, “I’ve missed my window. I’m late to my purpose.”
But here is the truth I want to press into your heart today:
You are not behind—you are being prepared.
God has never once been early or late. He is always right on time. Scripture reminds us, “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). Jesus did not arrive a minute before or after God’s perfect schedule. The same God who timed the arrival of His Son is the same God ordering your steps today.
We often mistake delay for denial, and waiting for wasting. But God sees preparation where we only feel pressure.
Think about Joseph. At seventeen, he was given a dream. But the fulfillment of that dream came years later—after betrayal, slavery, false accusation, prison, and forgotten prayers. If you had asked Joseph in the pit, or in Potiphar’s house, or in that dark prison cell if he felt “behind,” I am sure he would have said yes. But God was positioning him for a moment that would save nations and preserve a people.
Preparation rarely feels powerful while you’re in it.
Moses spent forty years in the palace and forty years in the wilderness before he spent one year leading Israel out of Egypt. David was anointed king as a teenager and didn’t sit on the throne for many difficult years afterward. Even Jesus spent thirty quiet years before three years of public ministry.
If God was in no rush with them, why do we assume He is behind with us?
Sometimes the very thing making you feel behind is the tool God is using to prepare you. The closed door that taught you to knock. The heartbreak that taught you to pray. The season of weakness that taught you to depend. The disappointment that taught you to listen. The waiting that taught you to trust.
We want progress without process. We want arrival without apprenticeship. We want promotion without preparation. But God cares far more about who you are becoming than how fast you arrive.
And here’s the part we often miss: God prepares differently than we would choose.
He uses loss. He uses obscurity. He uses waiting. He uses pressure. He uses loneliness. He uses broken plans and rewritten stories.
What feels like delay to you may be discipline from the Lord. Not punishment, but refinement. Not rejection, but redirection.
Scripture tells us, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). That means nothing in your life is unfinished by accident. God never abandons a work midway. If you are still here, He is still working.
You may feel behind in life, but heaven does not see you as late.
You are not behind in healing.
You are not behind in purpose.
You are not behind in usefulness.
You are not behind in fruitfulness.
You are exactly where God has allowed you to be so that you can become who He has called you to be.
Let me speak to someone who feels especially discouraged today: the fact that you care about being behind tells me God is still stirring something inside you. Dead dreams don’t ache. Dead faith doesn’t wrestle. Dead hope doesn’t ache for more. The tension you feel is often evidence that God is still writing.
Seasons of preparation are often quiet. They don’t come with applause. There are no crowds, no platforms, no spotlights. But God sees every unseen step of obedience.
God does some of His greatest work in the hidden places of our lives. Long before Joseph stood before Pharaoh, he learned faithfulness in a prison cell. Long before David stood before Goliath, he learned courage in lonely fields with sheep. Long before Jesus carried a cross, He learned obedience in a carpenter’s shop.
We celebrate the moment, but God shapes the man in the waiting.
And the waiting is not wasted.
What feels like silence is often structure. What feels like delay is often development. What feels like nothing is happening is usually the season where everything important is being formed beneath the surface.
A seed does its most important work underground. You don’t see the breaking, the stretching, the forming, or the rooting but without it, nothing above ground could ever stand. Some of the strongest believers I know went through seasons where it felt like life stood still, only to look back later and realize God was building a foundation deep enough to carry the weight of what was coming.
You may feel behind because you don’t see fruit yet but preparation always comes before fruit.
There is also something deeply dangerous about believing the lie that you are behind, because it tempts you to rush what God is still forming. Rushing into relationships God hasn’t prepared you for. Rushing into ministry without roots. Rushing into decisions without wisdom. Rushing past healing because you’re tired of hurting. Rushing past repentance because you’re tired of conviction.
But rushed fruit is often rotten fruit.
God is not slow. He is thorough.
And when God finally opens the door, you will realize it opened at exactly the right moment not when it was convenient, but when you were ready.
Some of you feel behind because life didn’t turn out the way you planned. The marriage didn’t happen on your timeline. The family didn’t look like you imagined. The calling unfolded differently than you expected. The dream took wounds along the way. The road curved instead of running straight.
But God does not waste detours.
What if the very path you did not choose is the one that prepared you best?
What if the delay you resented is the reason your faith is now rooted?
What if the loss that broke you is also what made you usable?
We look at clocks. God looks at hearts.
We count years. God counts growth.
We measure progress by milestones. God measures progress by surrender.
You may feel behind, but God measures you by faithfulness, not speed.
There is also a beautiful truth tucked inside all of this: if you were truly behind God’s will, you would not feel conviction, you would feel comfort. The ache you feel, the longing, the holy dissatisfaction, the tug toward more. That is not evidence of failure. That is evidence of calling still alive inside you.
You are not late to God’s plan.
You have not missed His purpose.
You have not used up your chances.
You have not ruined your future.
If you are still breathing, God is still preparing.
And sometimes preparation looks like sitting still long enough for God to heal what movement keeps reopening. Sometimes it looks like learning contentment before receiving increase. Sometimes it looks like learning humility before receiving influence. Sometimes it looks like learning how to hear God’s voice again before being sent back out.
We often pray, “God, take me to the next season,” while God is saying, “Let me finish the work in this one first.”
You are not behind. You are becoming.
And when your moment does come, it will not be because you forced it open. It will be because God finished the work beneath the surface and said, “Now.”
Until then, stay faithful in the small. Stay obedient in the quiet. Stay yielded in the waiting. Stay hopeful in the tension.
Because the same God who started the work in you has no intention of stopping halfway.
You are not behind.
You are being prepared.
–Pastor Justin Walker
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Celebrating New Life in Christ!
This past week, we rejoiced as two believers followed Christ in believer’s baptism at Salt & Light. We give thanks to God for the work He is doing in their lives. Let’s continue to encourage and walk alongside them as they grow in faith.
Join us in celebrating:
Reese Pace
Jake Swords
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Church Happenings
Wednesday Night – November 26 - there will be no dinner, services, or groups
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Prayer Meeting has been cancelled Friday, November 28.
Resumes Friday, December 5 with a new start time of 6:30 PM _________________________________________________________
Decking the Halls for Christmas - Saturday, November 29 | 9 AM-Noon
It's time to decorate the Christmas trees!
Help prepare our church building for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, our Lord & Savior!
Sign Up Here to let the Event ministry know you are coming.
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This Sunday – November 30 | 11 AM
The Unexpected Christmas Series
Message: Week 1 — Unexpected Christmas
Text: Luke 1:26–38
This Sunday we begin our Christmas series, The Unexpected Christmas Series: Five encounters with the coming King, with Week 1, Unexpected Christmas. From Heaven’s view, God reveals the King through Mary in a way no one anticipated. The timing was unexpected. The method was unexpected. The messenger was unexpected. Yet every detail was sovereignly planned by God. As we open the Christmas season together, we’ll see that what feels unexpected to us is often the very tool God uses to unfold His perfect will. This series will leave a mark on the way we see the Christmas story and how we recognize God at work in our own lives today.
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Men’s Discipleship - We’re building a discipleship ministry to raise strong, praying, overcoming, witnessing men.
Chip Gilmour will be leading a group of 8-10 men interested in being part of the pilot group. They will meet once each week of December. The date and time will be determined based on the availability of the men involved.
More details or to join in text Chip 502-419-9403
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Coat Drive - Collecting through December 7
Salt & Light is collecting new and gently used, clean, warm coats, hats, gloves and scarves for the children, teens and adults at Good News Homes.
Please place in the labeled bins at the church entrances through Sunday, December 7th.
Questions? Text Sally Moriarty 502-216-3868
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Christmas on the Skywalk – Sunday, December 7 | 6-8 PM
Bundle up and join us for live music, firepits, hot chocolate, smores, fellowship and more. Be sure to bring a camp chair... and maybe a blanket.
This is a Salt and Light classic held on the skywalk to the main entrance that you don't want to miss!
Sign up to bring s’mores and hot chocolate supplies and to serve throughout the evening here
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Christmas Food Drive - Collecting through December 12
Salt & Light will give Christmas meals, along with a Bible, prayer, and sharing the gospel, to families in need in our community on Saturday, December 13.
The following donations are needed for the Food Pantry to assemble the meals:
Ham
Boxed - Potatoes / Macaroni and Cheese / Stuffing Mixes
Canned – Corn / Peas / Green Beans / Gravy / Cranberry Sauce
Refrigerated Crescent Rolls / Cookie Dough
Frozen Pies Please place donations on the hospitality counter near the Coffee Bar in the Upper Lobby and ask the Coffee Bar volunteers to place perishable items in the refrigerator or freezer.
If you know someone in need who would be blessed to receive a meal, please encourage them to contact Kristen Tingle 502-931-7987
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Salt and Light Academy Christmas Program - Friday, December 19 | 6-8 PM
The church is invited to join Salt and Light Academy for their annual Christmas program with presentations by each class.
Let’s support our SLA students and enjoy this delightful evening celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, when God came to earth to dwell among us.
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The Bible and The Constitution of The United States of America
Sundays through December 21 | 10 - 10:50 AM Upper Lobby
Studying the vital role of the Bible in American History as outlined in this book.
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Women of the Word Bible Study- Tuesdays | 9:45-11:30 AM
at Sharon Holbert’s Home Questions? Contact Sharon 502-235-6687 ________________________________________________________
Salt & Light Cookbook
As you prepare food for the holidays, please submit your favorite recipes for the cookbook being compiled. We would love to have at least one recipe from each family!
When completed, the cookbooks will be sold with the proceeds going to the church.
Please email your favorite recipe(s) and a favorite scripture for each recipe - along with a photo of the completed dish, if possible - by December 31 to Ashley Mazzoni at Ash.82Mazzoni@gmail.com
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Youth Camp - June 12–16, 2026
5 days of fun and fellowship—lake swimming, staying up late, eating too many snow cones, and most importantly, growing in God’s Word.
Students 12 years old (by June 12 and have completed 6th grade) through high school may attend.
A $5 registration fee is required to hold your spot.
Total cost is $400 per student - $75 is due February 16th and the remaining balance of $325 is due May 18th. All camp payments are non-refundable.
Register Here
If the cost of camp is a hindrance to your student’s attendance, please see Paul Thomas or email Youth@SaltandLightKy.org
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Young Adults | Next Chapter (Ages 18-31)
For anyone around 18–31 who wants to stay connected, build friendships, and grow in faith together.
Signal Group - to request to join and stay in the loop or with questions - text Joshua Rieth 502-230-6629 or Kaiden Perrodin 502-663-3681
Bible Study - Sundays | 10:05 - 10:45 AM - Meets near the Library
Currently studying Colossians
Questions? Email Cheri Grinnell - Cheri@SaltandLightKY.org
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Lee Corps - Tuesdays | 7 - 9 PM Upper Lobby
Lee Corps provides a youth led, adult facilitated, Christian cadet program to foster leadership and a love for Christ in our community’s youth, ages 12-18. They excel in leadership and military skills preparation with a Christian worldview to serve their country and communities through training in tactics and field training, Christian apologetics, marksmanship, physical conditioning, and much more.
Lee Corps is not associated with or a ministry of Salt & Light Church but uses our facilities for their weekly training and welcomes interested young people to attend. No registration required.
Younger youth are welcome if they can sit through and be engaged in the presentations.
For more information LeeCorps.org or contact LtCol (Ret) Michael Muller (270) 300-1571 _________________________________________________________
Serving Opportunities & Needs
Building Fund - $139,326 of the $200,000 due 12/31 has been given.
Thank you for prayerfully considering giving an offering toward the property purchase.
Please memo your offerings “Building Fund”.
In 2021, when Salt & Light outgrew our former location, God provided the beautiful 71 acre property with a former horse auction facility and barn where we now gather as a church family.
We entered a lease to own agreement with a payment due December 31 of each year until the purchase is complete. Monthly rent and all improvements and repairs the church invests in the property is also credited toward the purchase.
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Security Team - Volunteers are needed to serve on the Salt & Light Security Team.
Please text Mike Muller 270-300-1571
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Food Pantry
Bible Donations - The Food Pantry gives a Bible to many of our visitors. Children’s Bibles are especially popular.
We are not requesting purchasing Bibles. If you have gently used Bibles that you no longer use or that your children have aged out of, it would be a blessing if you could donate them for us to share.
Please place Bibles in a bag labeled “Food Pantry” and place them on the hospitality counter near the Coffee Bar.
Food Donations - we are in need of donations to restock the shelves with the following items. They are listed in order of greatest to least need.
Canned Meats- Tuna, Chicken, Roast Beef, Spam
Cheese
Frozen Pizzas and Meals
Pancake Mix and Syrup
Hamburger Helper
Instant Oatmeal/Cereal Bars (Nutri Grain)
Chef Boyardee
Jelly
Chili Powder
Taco Seasoning
Canned Carrots
Canned Peas
Alfredo Sauce
Spaghetti Sauce
Knorr Rice/Rice a Roni
Beef or Chicken Ramen
Cereal
Thank you for donating and praying for this ministry!
If you are in need of food or know someone in need of food, please text Courtney Day 502-648-5447 for a private appointment to shop in the pantry.
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Children’s Ministry
Teachers for 4-6 year old class - 11a Sundays - God has sent many precious children to Salt & Light in recent weeks and they need teachers to share the gospel and Bible with them while their parents worship and learn in the Sanctuary service.
Music with the Children - if you are musically gifted, we would love for you to teach and sing Bible songs with the children twice each month or as you have time to share.
Substitute and Rotational Teachers are needed to fill in for 1 class or multiple weeks when regular teachers are unavailable or to give them a break for a month or so.
Special Needs - Volunteers are needed to serve as one-on-one buddies in class with children with special needs.
For More Details - text Jessica Walker 502-365-0839
Greet and Check-In children and their families to the nursery and their classes when they arrive on Sunday morning and/or Wednesday evening. Text Debbie Duvall 502-321-8798
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Salt & Light Academy
Classroom Build Supplies Needed - new classrooms have recently been constructed and a few items are needed to complete the project. If you have any of these items you could donate, know a donor, or would like to give money to purchase supplies, please see the listing of needed items here.
Questions contact Kurt Shelton 502-387-0960
Lunch & Recess Volunteers - Interact with and help the children to give the teachers a planning period. A background check is required. Email Michelle Elliott michelle.elliott@saltandlightacademy.com
Please continue to pray, promote, and support Salt and Light Academy. Your ongoing giving keeps the school fully funded and tuition-free, and every gift matters.
One-time or auto pay weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly donations may be made or set up online Here
Donations of needed supplies for classes and the office are greatly appreciated. You can view and give through our Amazon Wish List
Guns4Good Raffle - $20 per ticket
A parent-led fundraiser for Salt & Light Academy
4 guns will be individually awarded with first name drawn having first choice, second having second choice of the remaining guns, etc.
Purchase tickets at the front desk inside the main entrance during school hours or text Paul Thomas 502-480-7287
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Wednesday Dinner
Volunteers are needed to assist with food prep at Katie’s house in Shelbyville on Tuesday and/or Wednesday.
We don't need a weekly commitment, anything you can do to lend a hand will be greatly appreciated!
Contact Katie Anasis by call or text 937-441-4225. Thanks so much!
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Salt & Light Library
Open Sundays 8:30 - 11 AM and 15 min after service
Wednesdays 5 - 7 PM and 15 min after service
Volunteers Needed - Text Sharon Holbert 502-235-6687
Book Donations appreciated — view our wishlist:
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Family Communication Board
We have a bulletin board in the Upper Lobby inside the main entrance, on the wall above the giving box across from the Connection Point area, for you to post needs you would be blessed to receive and shares you would like to give.
Freely Receive - If you have a need - a service or item or a friend to do something with - please post it on the side of the board labeled “Freely Receive”.
Freely Give – when you have something to give - a lawn mower that still works, furniture you aren't using, a willingness to serve by sharing a skill or some spare time - please post on the side of the board labeled “Freely Given”.
Note papers are in the basket to write your give and receive notes to post on the board.
This is not a buy, sell, or trade board, but a family sharing board.
The only money that should be exchanged would be a paycheck if you are offering to hire someone.
Check our family sharing board often, there may be a message that will be a blessing for you!!
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Care Ministry
If you are in need of care (hospital, long-term facility, homebound), please contact Salt & Light 502-265-6828
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Stay Connected – Join Our Facebook Groups
Stay encouraged and connected!
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Have an Announcement of an Event or Volunteer Need?
Please email new submissions by Monday each week to Marie Long at Long12686@gmail.com
Thanks for helping us keep everything clear and timely!