Karl and Bonny Hoeflein and Loving People Into the Kingdom

Episode 21 is here featuring October’s testimony behind the matrimony with Karl and Bonny Hoeflein. Bonny and Karl live in Rochester, New York and have been married for 35 years and have adult children and are expecting their first granddaughter. Their heart for ministry, family and facilitating others gifts and dreams for the Lord shines vibrantly through in their sharing.

If you know the podcast, you know I love traveling to the couples I interview to record in person, face to face. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to New York on such short notice. Karl and Bonny were gracious being the guinea pigs as we navigated the virtual world of podcast recording.

background

Bonny is a teacher, author, and speaker. She talks about her book, More Cake, and what exactly that means. Live Brighter Ministry is the fruit of Bonny's life passion for nurturing, empowering, and inspiring men and women to act bravely, love deeply, and live brightly.   You can find her book and ministry at livebrighter.org

Karl Software is a project manager for software programming for x-ray medical devices. Bonny describes him as her flagpole meaning he is the support system and facilitator of her dreams. He enjoys being behind the scenes and calling out the abilities God has gifted others and help aid them in making their vision happen.

testimonies

When Bonny’s older sister was born her mom decided “she needed to get her act together”.  She wanted to become a “noble mom”, went on a quest to be a woman of faith but took years to find a really good Bible-teaching church. Bonny was 9 years old when that happened. was not a Kingdom household necessarily, she shares she was spared a lot of heartache but wasn’t sheltered. 

She believed in the Lord at an early age and during her teens years, she grew in her faith becoming more mature in her faith during college.

Karl was a devout roman catholic, went to church every Sunday, went to catechism schools, was the alter boy but it was in college that he began searching for meaning and power over sin and shame. He started carpooling with a guy who invited him to a homegroup. His friend would give him Scripture and told him to look things up and hold it against the power of Scripture and it set him free. Karl shared what he thought as he read through Scripture,

“I either close this book right now and just go on like I’m living or I’m going to be totally different and of course I couldn’t close the book, so I kept going and it transformed my life.”

“It was the power of God over sin and the grace message that was the thing that got me.” — Karl

coming together & home groups

About six months after this transformation in Karl’s life, Bonny and Karl began dating. They went out to eat a lot and with his newfound faith, he was having a great time getting to know this beautiful girl who had just graduated from bible college. He came at her with lots of Bible questions but she steered him to ask his good friend instead. She says she didn’t want to mess up his new faith and have him associate it with her, she had reverential awe for his newfound walk with the Lord and didn’t want to mess it up, especially if they didn’t end up working out.  She told him, “I don’t want to be your mother in the faith, go talk to Russ.”

They married and have since opened up their home and currently run a weekly young adult ministry where they dish up dinner and lively biblical discussion. Karl gets to encourage the college students who come who have similar backgrounds as his and shares, “You can serve the Lord with your abilities no matter what they are, it’s not just pulpit ministries that honor Him”. They have seen the beautiful provision of the body of Christ that has come because of who they connect to and who they meet along the way as they’ve opened their home. Karl includes, “It’s affirming to see the Kingdom from things or jobs that aren’t atypical.”

marital and pre-marital wisdom

A marriage tip they share and something they are really passionate about is taking weekly date nights making the decision to prioritize the marriage. Bonny says, “Going out to eat makes sure they’ve made the time to look into each others’ eyes and talked to each other about lives and hearts.” Plus, she says she gets bored with the same kitchen every night.

For those cold weather couples, it’s good to get away during those cold months (children-free) to thaw out and come back recharged. “The kids have been okay and understood that it’s adult time. The kids will forgive you, it’s good for them when you nurture the marriage.”

Bonny shares powerfully, “Those date nights help to work at talking about facilitating dreams, watering souls and not just feeling like I’m a group home worker, I’m feeling like the bride again. That connection is the bridal anointment, and we don’t become crusted over with resentment.”

For those waiting to be married Bonny encourages with, “They’re not cooked yet. You have to wait for that guy who is secure enough to facilitate/steward the dream God has given the girl with a vision. It’s worth waiting to find your flagpole. They are mature people. He won’t be competing with you because he is secure enough in himself.”

the value of God’s Word

Bonny and Karl recommend diving into your Word on the daily. Bonny was taught to love the Word early on.

“It’s like having our antenna up to take in the God-breathed, you’re in tune with the frequency of Heaven and it’s pumping out good from the throne of grace.”

“When there’s all spirit and no word you blow up, when there’s Word and no spirit you dry up but when the spirit and the word together you grow up.“ Bonny shares a word portrait, “Stack the wood of the Word up and the Holy Spirit ignites that and you can make an impact. You need principles stacked in your lives. 

Resources: More Cake by Bonny Hoeflein