My name is Beth Banfill.
I have been married to my best friend Frank for over 20 years. We moved to the Dallas, Texas, area over eleven years ago to pursue God's calling on our lives for full time missions. Prior to that, Frank was a pastor in Ohio, and I was a District Office Manager for AAA Travel Agency.
Shortly after moving to Texas, we co-founded a travel agency. However, it quickly grew bigger than I was able to handle, so after about eight years, we sold the company. I stayed on as President for four years, but in the summer of 2011, I took a leap of faith and resigned as President.
Sometimes it's easy to hold on to what you know to be secure and comfortable. My job had begun to consume me again, and I had lost my joy. I took three months off and enjoyed the most wonderful time with my family, renewing myself physically and spirtually.
In the fall of 2011, I made a huge transition. I started a new job and am currently the Manager of Church and Missionary Travel with Raptim International Travel. So far, I love the new position, even though a year ago, I couldn't have imagined ever leaving my comfort zone.
Several years ago, the Lord led Frank to start MaxPoint Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Christians reach their full potential in Christ. www.MaxPoint.org His focus as of late has been on developing an internet Discipleship tool to help people systematically grow their faith. www.24-7Discipleship.com
We have two wonderful children, Amber and Jacob. I'm proud of who they are becoming, and they each have an amazing story of how God has worked in their lives. Fifteen year old Amber is an accomplished public speaker and has won countless awards. She has traveled abroad several times on mission trips, as a student ambassador, and represented the USA at an International Festival of Talented Children in Turkmenistan. She loves debate and is in the Gifted and Talented program at school.
Jacob is thirteen years old and loves life. He has a tender heart for the Lord and challenges himself with Bible Memorization. Jacob has had some major health struggles and is a living testimony of God's healing and direction in our lives. He is a definite people-person, encouraging most everyone he comes in contact with, and is an honor roll student, also in the honors program at school.
In my free time, if that really exists, I love to hang out with my family and write - Christian songs, poems, and this blog! I also sing on my church's worship team and enjoy hanging out with friends, decorating, and of course, shopping. I lead a Facebook group called: Groupies4God and am committed to memorizing one Scripture verse each week. If you're on Facebook, join the group and learn with us!
I'm not perfect - that is obvious to anyone who knows me. The most important thing I could write about myself is that I love the Lord. I want desperately to be used by Him...to be a vessel that can be used. I want nothing more than the title of this blog to be a reality: GodandMe2theMax.