Sing it! Shout it! Let the whole world know!

Do you ever feel that you cannot contain all the praise you have for the Lord?! I love the verses in the Bible which speak of giving praise to God.


Praising God is not a feeling. Praising God is a conscious activity. We praise Him by thoughtfully extolling His goodness, His greatness, His majesty, His love, His grace, His mighty deeds on our behalf, etc.

Today, I would like to share with you some wonderful answers to prayer and how God is working in my life and in the lives around me through heart-burdened and tear-filled prayers. I better type fast, or else I might just burst with all the praise bubbling up inside me!

First off, let me mention something - if you haven't already started a prayer book - I'd HIGHLY encourage you to make yourself your own prayer journal. It's great fun to write down, read though, and pray for all the requests, but the best thing about having it all on paper is that days, weeks, months, and years later you are able to fill in an answer to the prayer! God IS SO GOOD!!!!



Beginning in January of this year, I began to pray more and more fervently for several specific requests. Below is the request with a little snippet of how God is answering prayer....

#1- That God might save an older gentleman named Mr. B. Sadly, this man really wants nothing to do with Christianity and of course he as some type of excuse for visiting church. His wife passed away last year and the first time she and I met at church she asked me to pray for her husband's salvation. I began praying that day and will not stop. I care so much for him and want to see him saved. I'm thankful that we have continued to have contact with each other throughout the year. I was surprised to receive a note in the mail from him a few months ago, as I had decided that he didn't want anything more to do with me, God, church, etc. I personally think it is very important that a Christian stay in contact with the family of a deceased person. The family members may not have had anything to do with the church, but telling them that you're praying for them and letting them know you are there to help them is sometimes one of the very best ways to witness and that through it all they may see Christ in our lives.

#2- There is an older couple whom I have grown to love and I care deeply about that need salvation and not just a "religion." I'm rejoicing to see God answering my prayers. They have attended several church services and I'm continuing to pray daily for them.


#3- I'm deeply burdened for several families that I know who are not saved. It hurts to know that they don't want to know about the Lord, nor do they want their children to hear the truth. Yet, God is working in amazing ways and is able to conquer the foe!


Several weeks ago, I could not fall asleep as I felt so burdened to pray for those unsaved people that I was literally crying with tears pouring down my cheeks at 2am one night for these people who are living a life without hope. Love is so painful! My heart literally breaks when I see the hopelessness that these people have and it really does hurt.

We Christians have such a joy that we want to: Sing it, shout it, and let the whole world know what Christ has done for us and what He can do for them!


#4- I'm currently taking a course through an online school. I began the class in June of last year and plan on graduating within the next couple of months. I prayed long and hard about taking a class online. It was such a hard decision because I'm such a "people person" and love being able to commute with others. I asked the Lord for His will to be done. I enrolled in the school thinking, "God, what are you doing?! I'm not going to be a witness for you on here - there are no people to talk with!" I sit back and laugh now, but I was very concerned about having an opportunity to witness and wondered how I'd be able to witness to a computer, books, and myself. Well, thankfully the school had a forum........

Yes, religion topics are considered "hot topics" on the forum, but that's OK. I decided that the forum would be a great place to reach out to all my fellow students who live all over the country and the world! I decided that I was going to post a "hot topic" and if they told me that I was no longer allowed on the forum, then that was OK with me, but I was going to post something even if it cost me my forum membership! If you remember from a previous post, I mentioned that I posted the "Are You A Good Person" test from Way of the Master. Click here to read previous post to see what happened and the comments I received from the students on the forum for posting the test.

Well, after that thread was locked by the moderator (thankfully I wasn't kicked off the forum!) I continued to pray and to seek out other ways of which I could share Christ with the thousands of students and graduates.

I began a prayer thread where students could share prayer requests/praises and there was such an overwhelming response to that thread post, which allowed me to continue to share deeper and deeper things about the Lord. It's been truly amazing and cannot stop giving thanks and praise to God!

In March I was contacted by the school and asked if I wouldn't mind writing an article for the "Student in the Spotlight" for their upcoming newsletter which goes out to over 17,000 former graduates and current students as well as various MT companies. I was told that I could write anything I wanted. I was in total shock and wondered why out of the thousands of other students I was chosen as the student for the spotlight section of the newsletter.

All I have to say is that God works in AMAZING ways!!!! I prayed for ways to witness and God gave me an opportunity within weeks! The newsletter will not only go out to all those 17,000 people, BUT also to several different countries! I continually stand in awe of the way God works through the power of prayer!

I really wanted to share all the neat specific ways God has answered each request, but as this is a public blog, I do not want to post all the details on here, so I'll have to settle with sharing the "specific general info." I've posted.

PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM!

Books, Books, Books.

Sadly, I do not have enough time in my day/night to read all the books I would love to, but I'm trying my best. I currently am working on a stack of 14 medical theme books and 9 mission/prayer/biography themed books.


I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon outside reading a 320 page book from Revival Literature by Ron Owens. It was a very good book and a nice reminder of what happens when we have true faith.

Notes from the book:

Manley Beasley Man of Faith- Instrument of Revival.
By: Ron Owens

Here are some good quotes:

"When the glory of the Father is the goal of every prayer,
When before the throne of heaven our High Priest presents it there,
When the Spirit promts the asking and the pleading heart believes,
Then, yes then we know for certain he who's asking will receive."
~Unknown


"You can have as much of God as you are willing to pay the price for." ~ Manley Beasley

"The mark of a godly man, or church, is that everything they do is God-initiated."

~ Manley Beasley

"Faith is the substance of what you are looking for before it has even arrived.
God says it, that settles it, so go act upon it and you'll have a faith that's alive.
To get in on what God has promised His children depends on some action from you,
A faith that is living is more than just trusting, it's doing what God says to do.

It's not enough just to say you believe it if you don't intend to obey.
God has so clearly revealed in His Word how He wants us to live every day.
You'll find that you don't have to wait until heav'n to get in on what God has for you,
As you dare to step out in faith you'll discover what God says He'll do, He will do."



"Revival is God revealing Himself to man in awe-full holiness and irresistible power. It is such a manifest working of God that human personalities are overshadowed and human programs abandoned. It is man retiring into the background because God has taken the field. It is the Lord making bare His holy arm and working in extra ordinary power on saint and sinner."
~Arthur Wallis


Faith has three elements:

• Intellectual Faith
• Emotional Faith
• Volitional Faith

Intellectual Faith-

"This is the kind of faith that blieves God can do anything and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We believe that God can do anything."

See: Matthew 9:29

"If faith is just believing that God can do a particular thing, then why is He not doing what you believe He can do? Could it mean that your faith is incomplete?"

(Satan also believes this)


Emotional Faith- not real faith

"Sadly, that is about as far in the walk of faith that a lot of people go. They know intellectually. Their emotions desperately desire. But neither of these in or of themselves moves God into action."



Volitional Faith- act as though it has already happened.

God has given us a will.

"... God waits on us to act on His revealed truth because faith is acting on the Word of God. I must not only believe He can meet a need; I must begin to act as though I might not be able to see it, feel it, smell it, taste it, or hear it. I must begin acting as if it is so, when it is not so, in order for it to be so, because with God it already is so." Trust God.

See:
Philippians 4:19 (God HAS solved my problem)
Matthew 21:22- True belief is acting on God's revealed truth.
Luke 17:14- The lesson here is that only when their will moved them to obedient and believing action God granted their request."

"At the time of suffering it may seem that God is hurting you, but when you have passed through that valley of suffering and are able to look back, you see the benefits of it all. You literally forget the pain." ~ Manley Beasley

Jesus lived a life of:

• Submission - John 4:32-34
  
• Renunciation - John 5:30
  
• Faith - John 6
  
  
  
  .....more notes coming later. :)
  
  
  

Christians need to have children!

"Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed."

Psalm 112:1-2 KJV


"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
Psalm 127:3-5 KJV


"Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways." Psalm 128:1 KJV

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord."
Psalm 128:3-4 KJV

Why are so many Christian families only having 2-3 children?

Is money the issue? God will provide all your needs according to His riches in glory.

Is time an issue? God has given us 24 hours per day and reminds us in Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything. The time you spend raising your children for the glory of God is worth every sleepless night you have spent feeding them, changing their diapers, and praying for their souls. It's worth every mess you have had to clean up, every meal you've had to make and every boo-boo kiss you've given to heal their hurt.

Is being questioned for sanity an issue? Don't worry about it-if everyone started to have more children, then larger families it would become the norm, so you would fit in perfectly. Children are a gift and a blessing from the Lord.

Are you questioning how you would serve God on a mission field with a large family?
1st - Remember, if it's God's will then He will supply EVERY need.
2nd- God DOES call EVERYONE who is His child to preach the gospel and to share His love with this lost and dying world. God has given parents a mission field right within their own home to proclaim His word to their children.

Remember to keep this in mind:

He has blessed you with a quiverfull of arrows. Parents need to work on sharpening them so when the time comes you can shoot them out into the world as a light and witness for the Lord. The job of a parent is to raise children that fear, honor, and obey the Lord and who will serve Him forever.

No matter the cost we will: Trust God. Live for God. Die for God.

Are you worried about the state of spiritual decline in America? Are you wondering what will happen to your children and grandchildren? Then keep this in mind- the feature of AMERICA depends on US!!!! The size of your quiver does not matter as long as you are following the Lord. Get out there with your little arrows and start spreading the gospel!

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." Matthew 4:14

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. " Matthew 4:16

Let your little light shine!

Take the time to watch this video clip:

Market Music Ministry

WOW! It has been 4 months since I last posted something on this blog! It has been forever since I've even been on blogger or even read blogs and I feel so bad! I'm now trying to remember how to post things and figure out all the new little things on blogger.

So much has been happening that I have no idea where to begin.... I guess I'll start from today and work my way backwards in the upcoming posts this coming week.

This morning we woke up bright and early and headed over to our local flea market. We set up a tent, chairs, and tables on which we put a bunch of gospel tracts from Way of the Master. We call this our: Market Ministry. We arrived at the market at 6:00am and stayed until about 12:30pm. My sister Amber, my brother Curtis, and our friend Eugene spent the morning playing their stringed instruments from 6:30am-12:30pm. They played the guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, Dobro, and fiddle! We had quite a crowd gather to listen to the music and while they were listening to the music I passed out tracts and CDs. It was so much fun! We had a wonderful time. I was a little upset that we had forgotten to take the Spanish tracts with us, but I went ahead and passed out the English tracts to the Spanish speaking people we met. A neat thing that happened was that while we were there, two older missionary couples that we know dropped by our table. It was so neat because both of the couples speak fluent Spanish and were able to talk a bit with some of the Spanish people that dropped by our table.

Please learn from my experiences from talking with people this morning at the market.....

**TIP**: Be Careful What You Say!.....it may prove to be embarrassing!

Well this morning a young mom with an 8-9yr. son walked up to our table and I began to talk with her and invited them to come visit our church. I also noticed that she was probably at least 7-8 months pregnant and honestly believed that she would be having a baby in a few months.....
I'm not good at figuring out how many months along a pregnant lady is just by looking at her, but figured that it would be safe to ask because as I mentioned before....she looked very much pregnant.

Well......do NOT ask a lady who looks like she is at least 7-8 months pregnant when she is due! She may reply with, "Oh, I'm not expecting."

I felt so bad! It was seriously pretty funny though because I thought for sure she was expecting! Oops, I guess not. Anyway, I have learned that the best thing a person can do is to stick to talking about the Lord, church, and music - don't stray too far from those topics!


Lord-willing, I'll be able to post more of my exciting news from the past few months on the blog during this coming week.....so stay in tune! God is working in wonderful ways!

Oh Buddha!

I love this song sung by the Imperials and I hope you enjoy it as well!

What happened to my blog music?
I have removed it for the time being, and I'm hoping to add new songs to the playlist soon.
Plus, I figured it's easier to listen to video clips with out the extra music playing in the background.

No Complaining - time is short! Get busy!

Thought I'd share this with you - just a friendly reminder that we shouldn't complain about being a shy and not able to witness to others because we tend to be quiet. I used that excuse for a while, but after reading these verses things changed.....

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

God made our mouths.

If we allow ourselves to be molded and shaped into a vessel fit for our Master's use, He will give us the words to say and give us many opportunities to witness.

Christmas Love

CHRISTMAS LOVE....

Joy To The World

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Joy To the World -Words: Isaac Watts, 1719 Music: Lowell Mason, 1848
Originally named "Antioch," Mason's original score said "from George Frederick Handel."The tune is named after the city of Antioch, Syria, where believers were first called "Christians";(Acts 11:26).

It is now December and many people are planning for the holiday season. I just wanted to remind you that this opens up great witnessing oppertunities for those of us celebrating the true REASON for the season (the birth of Christ) to share with those shoppers, cashiers, and others that we will meet this month. You can bake Christmas cookies to take to neighbors with a Christmas card and gospel tract. If you have children let them help bake, decorate and deliver the cookies. Again, remember that many people that tend to refuse things from adults will take things from a child.

My youngest sister who is 8 years old, is always reminding us to take tracts every time we leave the house. Just the other day she was out shopping with my mom. She had her purse loaded with tracts and went straight up to a lady shopping in the store and said, "Hello" and gave her gospel tract. The lady asked, "What is this?" and my sister replied, "It's a gospel tract."
Sounds simple doesn't it?

I had surgery two weeks ago on my hips and just had my sutures removed this week. Well, since I knew I wouldn't be seeing the doctor and his staff until after Christmas I decided to make some fudge to give to them. Of course I had already put tracts inside the little snowman tin along with a bunch of fudge. On my way out the door for my appointment, my sister asked me if I had tracts to give them, but I was already one step ahead of her!

Here is the fudge recipe:

Two-Tone Fudge

Ingredients:
1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup butter, softened
divided 2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Line a 9-in. square pan with foil and grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugars, milk and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil; boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; stir in the marshmallow creme until melted and blended. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Pour 2-1/2 cups into a bowl; stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts until chips are melted. Pour into prepared pan. Add the butterscotch chips to the remaining marshmallow mixture; stir until chips are melted. Pour over the chocolate layer and gently spread to cover.Refrigerate overnight or until firm. Using foil, remove fudge from pan; carefully peel off foil. Cut into 1-in. squares. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2-3/4 pounds.

Spread the love of Christ with others this season!

Send care packages or Christmas cards to missionaries that are living far away from family & friends. Tell them you're praying for them and their ministry.

"I like your religion...."

I'm so sorry for those of you that read my post on my "www.faith-love-patience.blogspot.com" blog a couple days ago. I signed out of my last post with..."now, I'm going to post something on my missions blog."

Well, to tell you honestly, I did type something up for this blog, but then felt that I wasn't suppose to post it. It's still in my draft folder though and perhaps sometime I'll feel led to post it.

Anyway, after getting home from our evening church service I just had to sit and post something that I find very amusing, yet sad all at the same time.

At one of my chiropractic appointments in the beginning of this year I met a very interesting person. As I was sitting in the waiting room, one of my chiropractor's patients comes walking by me and of course, I give her a smile. The lady stopped, and in a waiting room full of people says to me, "I like your religion!"

I was thinking, What?!?!!? You like my religion?!?!"

I must have given her a confused look (I honestly had NO IDEA what she was talking about), because she then began to explain to me that she used to be part of my religion, wore skirts all the time, etc. I continued to smile but I wasn't able to reply, except for a breif "thank you", before I was called back to my room.

I tried to sum everything up to the best of my knowledge as I tried to figure out the lady who had just talked with me had said. I came up with the following points:
if you smile, have long hair, and/or wear a skirt you are placed in the "religious" category.

OK, I can handle being "different" and I'm pleased to know that I'm a "religious" person. I still wonder what denomination or group she believed I was a part of. I wish I had had the time to ask her why she left her "religion".

That story above was just a side note of what I'm going to share with you, which has to do with my Sunday evening church service.

There is a lady who visits our church once in a blue moon (about 3 or so times a year). Well, as you know, I always enjoy greeting and meeting visitors. During the few times this lady visits we always strike up conversations - ranging from all sorts of topics, and tonight's conversation was no exception.

Before I go on you must realize three things.

1.I was homeschooled all my life.

2. This lady works in a very large city.

3. We attend a smaller church - it's a KJV Bible-believing, Baptist church, and we have about 20-30 families which attend on a regular basis - the majority homeschool.

I suppose that many people out in the world consider homeschoolers, "unsocialized" and see us as those who have never "seen the world", so to speak. Sigh. I don't think we'll ever convince them that we are very social people.

Anyway, the thing that I found very amusing tonight was that the lady I talked with believes that "we children" (hey, I'm in my 20's but I guess that doesn't make much difference) that attend small churches (not to mention we also homeschool) have no idea of what it's like in the "real world"!!!! EXCUSE ME!

She also believes that we don't have any type of relationship with Christ - that we small baptist churches are just a "religion" and that in the next four years, we'll really see a change in the church.

I didn't care to start discussing all that at that moment, plus for the fact I was the pianist for the service and needed to head to the piano, but I could have talked with her for a much longer period if I had had time.

So in case you are wondering....

No, I have not always attended a small, family friendly, KJV Baptist church all my life. We used to attend a large church. I also was involved with the youth group and no our family didn't always sit together for Sunday worship.

No, I have not always worn skirts/dresses.

No, I have not always had long hair.

No, I'm not an unsocialized church goer or homeschool grad.

Yes, I know what the "real world" is like, but I do not care to go join in their secular circles.

Yes, I was homeschooled from K-12 and have never regretted it!

Yes, I'm a happy person, filled with lots of smiles.

Yes, I am a born-again child of the God and I have a personal relationship with HIM.

Yes, I'm proud to be a Baptist.

and yes, I'm off to bed now!

Have a great week everyone!

Remember....

The Gospel According to You


There's a sweet old story translated for men,

But writ in the long, long ago

The Gospel according to Mark, Luke, and John

Of Christ and His mission below.



You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,

By deeds that you do, by words that you say.

Men read what you write, whether faithless or true.

Say, what is the gospel according to you?



Men read and admire the gospel of Christ,

With its love so unfailing and true;

But what do they say, and what do they think

Of the gospel according to you?



'Tis a wonderful story, that gospel of love,

As it shines in the Christ-life divine,

And oh, that its truth might be told again

In the story of your life and mine!



Unselfish mirrors in every scene,

Love blossoms on every sod,

And back from its vision the heart comes to tell

The wonderful goodness of God.



You are writing each day a letter to men;

Take care that the writing is true.

'Til the only gospel some men will read,

That gospel according to you.


--Author Unknown

Depression, Discouraged, and feeling Down

You may wonder why I decided to write a post about 3D's. I have sensed a lot of people around me right now are depressed - health, money, family issues, the changes in our nation, etc.



Here are a few pictures of some things in life that might be depressing right now:

What exactly is depression?

"Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods.
True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for an extended period of time."

• Depression can affect people at any age or of any race, ethnic, or economic group.
  
• Clinical depression will affect more than 19 million Americans this year.
  
  
  You are probably now asking yourself why I'm posting about depression on a missions blog? It's simple - everyone - including missionaries can suffer from depression. It's also possible that you have a friend or a loved one that suffers with some form of depression and you would like to know how you as a friend or family member can help them. Perhaps you personally suffer from bouts of depression and discouragement. I'm in the process of compiling verses on the the subject and will hopefully, be adding to this post within the next couple weeks.

Pray for America

Please prayerfully consider your VOTE on November 4th, 2008.

Here are some quotes:

"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime & pure, [and] which denounces against the wicked eternal misery, and [which] insured to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."
~Charles Carroll of Carrollton -- Signer of the Declaration of Independence

"The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments."
~Benjamin Rush

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that "except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from tis unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one of more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service."

(Source: James Madison, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Max Farrand, editor (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), Vol. I, pp. 450-452, June 28, 1787.)

"No free government now exists in the world, unless where Christianity is acknowledged, and is the religion of the country."
~Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 1824


"The most perfect maxims and examples for regulating your social conduct and domestic economy, as well as the best rules of morality and religion, are to be found in the Bible. . . . The moral principles and precepts found in the scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. These principles and precepts have truth, immutable truth, for their foundation. . . . All the evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible. . . . For instruction then in social, religious and civil duties resort to the scriptures for the best precepts."
~ Noah Webster

"By renouncing the Bible, philosophers swing from their moorings upon all moral subjects. . . . It is the only correct map of the human heart that ever has been published. . . . All systems of religion, morals, and government not founded upon it [the Bible] must perish, and how consoling the thought, it will not only survive the wreck of these systems but the world itself. "The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." [Matthew 1:18]

(Source: Benjamin Rush, Letters of Benjamin Rush, L. H. Butterfield, editor (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1951), p. 936, to John Adams, January 23, 1807.)

"We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible. For this Divine Book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws, and those sober and frugal virtues, which constitute the soul of republicanism."

(Source: Benjamin Rush, Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical (Philadelphia: Printed by Thomas and William Bradford, 1806), pp. 93-94.)

Free Give-Away!

Hi all! A missionary friend of mine serving the Lord in Portugal is hosting a give-away for the readers of her blog. Since this is a mission theme blog I thought you all might enjoy checking out her blog (which is listed on the sidebar under: Missionaries I pray for). There is nothing like reading the every day life of a missionary wife/mother serving her Lord in a foreign country. Click HERE to check out her blog.

Celebrate The Glory

Yes, October is a busy month! Mom says that we really need two Octobers in order to fit in everything there is to attend and I agree! October weather is always so beautiful and the color of the changing leaves is lovely!

Today we left the house at 7:30am this morning to attend a conference called:
Celebrate The Glory which is hosted in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. We attended the conference for the first time last year and met many other wonderful Christian families. We attended their 2nd annual conference again this year and had a great time!

I wanted to share the links with you and invite you to keep this conference in mind for next year.

Here is a list of several of the speakers/ministries that attended Celebrate The Glory:

Bible Drama Pictures

• Unfolding Drama http://www.unfoldingdrama.org/ is a ministry sponsored by http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/ The Rozeboom and Brand families have the passion and gifting to make Bible stories come alive using stories and drama. The Rozeboom’s are from Colorado. The Brand family (daughter and son-in-law of Michael and Debi Pearl) are from Tennessee.Be inspired to read God’s Word more…love God’s Word more…LIVE God’s Word more in this great drama we call life.
  
  
• The Durocher Family (http://www.durocherfamilyministries.com/ ) from Minnesota will be providing the music gospel bluegrass style. They have a great love for God’s Word and family. Ten of their twelve children minister together in music. The parents, Paul and Judy, have done an excellent job discipling their children and winning their hearts. They desire all families to know of the joy of following Jesus together.
  

Naomi Durocher playing madolin with Amber & Curtis.
(Yes, I'm in the background with crutches, wearing 3 layers of clothing & FREEZING - it was so cold today!)

• Ken Jenkins (http://www.kenjenkins.com/) is a nationally known natural history photographer, writer, lecturer, and outdoor adventurer. For more than 30 years his photographs and articles have appeared in publications from National Geographic to Southern Living. Ken's galleries, Beneath the Smoke and Heaven's Eyes, are located at the west entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where he has been exposed to the 12 million visitors that enter the park since 1986.
  
  

October Mission Outreach

I'm sorry it has taken me a week to get this post written and posted, but I plan on doing several new posts today, so hopefully I'll have the time to post them all.

October has been a very busy month for us.

• We started the first weekend of October in West Virginia at a Way of the Master conference with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron.
  



Gospel Illusions...






• Last week we spent our entire Saturday afternoon helping a local church with their October Fall Fest Children's Outreach. It was a lot of fun! Amber and I volunteered to help at the craft table to assist the children in making wordless bracelets. My dad and Curtis did a gospel illusion presentation, which the kids loved!

Our craft table - lots of beads for making wordless bracelets.

Click HERE for instructions for making a wordless bracelet.

Click HERE for step by step instructions "Corn Stalk" gospel illusion that you can do!

Yes, my favorite part of the day was holding the baby!

We decided to put into practice what we learned from the Way of the Master conference a week earlier by using the law to witness to children and their parents. Many of the children I helped were very young and I basically told them what each color stood for and asked them if they had ever disobeyed their mommy or daddy, told a lie, etc. and explained how we sin against God.

The most exciting part of the day was being able to talk to two mothers, who asked if they could sit at our craft table while their children did the various activities at the festive. We had a chance to talk to them about the Lord using the "are you a good person" test from Way of the Master. Amber did most of the talking with the moms and although I would chime in the conversations going on when the traffic at the craft table was slow, I tried to focus on the kids. I could overhear the conversations going on and I didn't want Amber to become sidetracked and not have a chance to talk with the moms about their spiritual condition.

One mom that Amber & I talked with believed that she was "good enough to go to Heaven". This lady told us that when God asks her the question one day of "Why should I let you into Heaven?" that she would say, "I did my best and tried to live a good life".... We explained to her that your best isn't enough and that she needed a Saviour.

As many witnessing conversations go along the 'victim (our unsaved friend)' will begin to feel convicted and you can sense they are starting to squirm inside and often will try to turn the topic another direction. I could see the look in the lady's eyes as Amber talked with her - instead of being the happy carefree person who had just sat down at the table minutes before she was now talking with an uneasy laugh and becoming to turn on her defences. She started getting judgmental (sign of conviction), saying things with a "do you think you're better than me!" tone like: "Why are you wearing skirts?, Why do you have long hair?, etc" - which of course was besides the point.

She also mentioned that she has friends that are Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and Catholics. Personally, I think this is great - - - everyone should have an unsaved friend and witness to them! Sadly, this lady thinks everyone will get to Heaven according to what each religion believes. For example, if her Catholic friend believes differently than her, it's OK....they'll both meet in Heaven-no matter what the belief may be.

Anyway, we had a very interesting afternoon last Saturday, but it was good to have so many opportunities to witness. We're now able to pray for those who we had the chance to witness to and I actually invited a family to come to our church with us that Sunday evening and they came!

They had bounce houses and other activities including puppets, skits, games, food, and music.

Witness Where You Are!

Far-off Fields?

We're concerned for the sinner in China
And the heathen in Mandalay,
But say, do we care, have we offered a prayer
For the lost one just over the way?

We say we would go with the Gospel
To lighten dark Africa's shore--
Have we spoken a word in the Name of the Lord
To people who live just next door?

The person who lives down the way,
Who looks so forbidding and grim;
Do we have a call to witness at all
Or speak of the Saviour to him?

We'd take the Gospel to Savages,
We'd cross the stormy tide;
But will we tell out what the Gospel's about
To the people who work by our side?

We'd tell of our wonderful Saviour
And His love we have found so sweet
To far-off ones, but what about
The folks we will meet on the street?


~Poems taken from Moments With The Book

Quotes...

Here are several quotes that I think you might enjoy reading:


"People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives ... and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."
-- Nate Saint, missionary martyr


"To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map."
-- William Carey, pioneer missionary to India

"Go, send, or disobey." -- John Piper

Sympathy is no substitute for action.-- David Livingstone

"Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face."
-- Ronald Reagan 40th president of the United States of America

"Christians don't tell lies they just go to church and sing them" - A.W. Tozer

"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God; first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done."
-- J. Hudson Taylor

"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."
-- Charles Spurgeon

"We have a God who delights in impossibilities." -- Andrew Murray

"Why do you need a voice when you have a verse." -Jim Elliot

Feel free to post a comment with your favorite quotes about missions. I love to read good quotes from missionaries and other Christians.

Reaching out to loved ones & friends

Did you know that airplanes were made for passing out gospel tracts?

The isle of a plane happens to be a perfect place to pass out tracts,
because there are people on both sides!

Here are some ideas to help you reach out to your unsaved loved ones and friends this week.

* Write a letter to a friend or a love one telling them how you got saved and how Christ has made a difference in your life.

Here is how Diego put it last week during Sunday School:

L-ove...remember to write the note in love - don't criticize or condemn the person whom you are writing to...the Holy Spirit will work on them.

E-mpathize - think about what they are going through in their live right now.

T-iming

T-ruth -remember to include the gospel!

E-nd strong - remember that post people will remember the beginning and ending of your letter.

R-emember to pray for the person receiving the letter (this the "R" I added) and to read and reread your letter over and over again to make sure it says what you want it to and that the gospel is clearly presented.


*You can also send an email using the "LETTER" tips, instead of writing a handwritten note.
Be a witness in all your correspondence - use scripture or quotes from Spurgeon, Bunyan, Wesley, and other great men of God.

*Make a phone call to an unsaved friend or loved one. Invite them to church and tell them about Christ. I created an answering machine message on my cell phone that gave the gospel....I can't remember exactly what I said, but I used the verse:

Romans 10:13: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

and used that to explain salvation....I wish I could remember exactly what I said.

Eight Reasons Why I Don't Share My Faith

In order to hear this video clip more clearly, you may want to click "pause" on the sound player found at the bottom of this page.

On Fire for God!

People waited in LONG lines to have their books signed
by Ray Comfort & Kirk Cameron.

The boys really enjoyed the conference!

Our Group

Getting On for God!

Notes taken from The Way of the Master Conference "Transformed" in

Charleston, West Virginia on October 4th 2008.

" If you get on fire for God people will come to watch you burn." ~C.H. Spurgeon

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn." ~Charles Wesley

Bill Bright with Campus Crusade for Christ once said, that statistics show that only 2% of Christians actively share their faith with others.

The Three Keys to Evanglism

1. Faith = Joy = Physical Energy -Romans 15:13

2. Love for God who redeemed us: We love Him because He 1st loved us. - Acts 20:21

3. Compassion (concern) for the ungodly. - Rev. 20:11

The 5 Signs Of A True Convert (Believer)

1. Fruits of Repentance - Matt.3:8

2. The Fruit of Good Works - Col. 1:103.

3.The Fruit of Thanksgiving - Heb. 13:15

4. The Fruit of the Spirit - Gal. 5:22

5. Fruit of Righteousness - Phil. 1:11

AW Tozer writes. "It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people. if not millions. have been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ and they have not been saved.”

Ten phrases we use which lead to false converts...


1. “Hell fire preaching” - See Romans 2:4

2. “Just believe”

3. “Accept Jesus” - WE don’t accept Jesus, Jesus accepts us.

4. “God shaped hole” - Jeremiah 17:9

5. “Jesus +” …..prosperity . We give the unsaved the idea that if you come to Jesus all will be well - always happy & wealthy, which is not the case.

6. “Come to Jesus and get joy & goodies” … Fruits of the Spirit should not be used as a draw card.

7. “Decisional Regeneration” - a decision does not save you - Jesus saves you.

8. “Make Jesus your Lord & Saviour” - He IS Lord & Saviour

9. “Commit to Jesus” - SURRENDER ALL to Him

10. “It’s easy to believe” - No it’s not!

A great preacher once said, "Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the gospel. To overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope."

"Ask Jesus into your Heart"

-is not found anywhere in the Bible

-leaves out repentance

-leaves out "believe"

-presents Jesus as a beggar, waiting at our heart's door. We are not in control HE is!

Remember: WDJD

W-ould you consider yourself to be a good person?

D-o you think that you have kept the 10 commandments?

J-udgement day. According to God's standard will you be innocent or guilty?

D-ensitiny. Are you going to heaven or hell?

Many people have excuses as to why that can't share their faith with others.

Would you be interested more in sharing your faith if you got $1,000 each time you told someone about Christ? You would probably wake up each day saying, "Give me a sinner! Those that are born-again should be highly motivated to go out and witness without the enticing of money. The souls of men are at sake and their lives are worth more than thousands of dollars!

Way Of The Master Conference - October 4th

Click on the link to find out more about the conference in West Virginia on October 4th. Hope to see you there!

All for HIS GLORY

Lately I've been reading a book by John Piper,"Let The Nations Be Glad!"
It talks about the supremacy of God in missions. There is so much in the book that I would love to share, but I will just give you a little quote written in the book by Charles Spurgeon taken from Twelve Sermons on Prayer for the time being.

Prayer Proves the Supremacy of God in Missions.

Prayer is God's appointed means of bringing grace to us and glory to Himself.
(Read Psalm 50:15 - "And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliever thee, and thou shalt glorify me." )

"God and the praying man take shares...First, here is your share: "Call upon me in the day of trouble." Secondly, here is God's share: "I will deliever thee." Again, you take a share-for youshall be delivered. And then again it is the Lord's turn-"Thou shalt glorify me." Here is a compact, a covenant that God enters into with you who pray to Him, and whom He helps. He says, "You shall have the deliverance, but I must have the glory..." Here is a delightful partnership: we obtain that which we so greatly need, and all that God getteth is the glory which is due unto His name."


We must give God glory for all He has done, is doing, and will continue to do. You see, it is for HIS GLORY missionaries are called and sent out, it is for HIS GLORY we proclaim the gospel to the unsaved, it is for HIS GLORY He has saved us, --- we are on earth to glorify Him.

We must remember when we are witnessing and seeing lost souls come to Christ that we give God the honor and glory. It is easy to become wrapped up in seeking the praise of man. Yes, we might have sown seeds by giving out a gospel tract or talked with a person about the Lord and even perhaps watched that person come to Christ, but it was NOTHING WE DID that brought that person to Christ. The Holy Spirit convicted, God drew them to Himself and He saved them. We must be careful to give God ALL THE GLORY, both in missions and within our own lives for the things He hath done.