***Thank You!***

I just wanted to send a THANK YOU to those who joined us in prayer. Our Mighty God is sovereign, faithful, and trustworthy. These are some of the things that the Lord is driving deep into the person that I am. For those who are going through difficult times, please know that God is working, perfecting, and maturing...not wanting to leave us as we are.
1 Peter 1:7 says that "the genuinenes of your faith" is more precious than gold...

Over the course of the past year, I believe God has made some very personal promises to us through His Word. Although we cannot see what we hope for at the moment, we eagerly wait....wait for God.

Again, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for your prayers!!!

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

***Prayer Request***

***Prayer Request***

Hey friends, I have a very important PRAYER REQUEST. In the Old Testament both Esther (Esther 4) and King Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20) in times of great need asked others to PRAY and FAST with them for the need. Here goes nothin......

We have been going through a very difficult time for the past year. We are asking our friends and family to join us in prayer and fasting this Monday thru Wednesday - that God would deliver us from this difficult storm we are in. Some may or may not join us in fasting, but everyone's prayers are so VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!!

Please join us as the Lord would lead you. God bless you!

A Most Unexpected Opportunity / A Most Amazing Blessing!

What an amazing week it has been! What an amazing thing it is that we GET TO serve God and others...and in the process God just blesses us right back!? But this week was that, and sooooo much more.

Every weekday of this week was jam packed with so much stuff to do, with about 95% of that stuff being VBS related. But within this jam packed week, I was able to experience so much joy, refreshment, peace, and flat out FUN! This week was like a prescription...not from the doctor though...straight from God. Despite the fast paced week (at least during the day) I was able to unplug from work and the stresses of everyday life. And it seemed as if God had kicked the doors wide open, allowing me to take part in this amazing opportunity to serve...He knows what He is doing...He is GOOD!

The following is some of the things that stood out to me this week.....

***Serving with my beautiful wife - this is one of the things that blew me away the most. The theme verse for our wedding was Psalm 34:3 Oh magify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. This was the desire of our hearts. We have served together in the years we have been married, but this time it was different....the dynamics of our spiritual gifts working together....its as if there was loads of things for us to do throughout each and every day - and without fail we got through it together...working together...stepping in and stepping up to meet needs and get things done. The cool thing is that we were like spectators throughout the entire week, almost observing as if we were in the background....yet we were the ones right in the middle of the action. By days end we were both just in awe of what happened...and how it happened....day after day. It was amazing to see God using my wife in the giftings He has given her....just amazing!

***The Ninos - Getting to meet with the kids that were in VBS day after day was just awesome! Getting to know them was a really cool and amazing opportunity. We were able to build a foundation for friendship because we saw these kiddos day after day. And the most important thing of all, we got to share God's Word with 100+ kids throughout the entire week....HAAA! So cool!

***God's Provision - One of the other things that I observed throughout the week that was really really cool was God's provision for everything we needed to successfully complete our daily tasks. We had to build a ship, an island, a sea, a temple gate and walls, portals....everyday it was something different...and everyday we came across items and things to not only help build these things, but to be able to build these things in a way that made the entire experience visually stimulating and exciting for the kids. God provided EVERYTHING needed, every step of the way. And it was awesome to be a part of it. Interestingly enough, CARDBOARD is very very handy! Thank you Lord!

***Funny Stuff - while I didnt get to talk to many others about funny stuff that happened, there is one instance that happened in our classroom that I could not help but mention. PLEASE NOTE that I feel this was both heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time...but I am sure the little girl will have forgotten all about this by now. So....we were on day 3 and were acting out Paul's shipwreck on the island of Malta. We were supposed to have jumped ship and swam to the island, when Paul (which I was acting as) had come back from scouting the island to the kids with good news and bad news. Just as the "news" of the island is being shared sound effects come on with snake sounds. As I tell the kids that the island is crawling with snakes I hear this little girl say "I dont want to get bitten by a snake! I want to go home!" As she is saying this a CREW LEADER picks her up. Poor little thing! I felt so bad. What I felt most bad about was that the "show" wasnt even at its most climactic point yet. Within seconds I was supposed to go get some more firewood - at that point I was supposed to pretend like I got bit by a snake....WITH THE SNAKE STILL ATTACHED TO MY HAND! How could I continue....how could I go on...??? But I had to..."I MUST!" I thought....So I did. I threw the snake across the room and then asked all the kids to check my bite...and see if I was ok. I tried to show her that it was a fake snake after we were done...I tried to comfort her . Oh man.....as we replayed this in our minds while we were unwinding for the day, we couldnt help but find the humor in the entire situation.

***Church Fam - It was also very cool to see all the people from our church involved in the entire operation. People young and old....it was awesome to see people serving God and loving these little ninos. It was a great time of getting to know our church family better...God is so good! Thanks to everyone that participated throughout the week!

By the time the week was over, we were pooped, but sad that it was over. God and His Word are the most important thing in our lives. We had the amazing opportunity of sharing the Bible with these little ones....to reach into their lives and hopefully their homes and the lives of their family members. What a most unexpected opportunity...what a most AMAZING blessing!

Psalm 34:3 Oh magify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.

VBS

Haaaa. So we did our first day of VBS today - Vacation Bible School. Tifiny played a character in the Bible....it was great! I had such a blast! God is so amazing...the way He works. Not only do I get the most amazing opportunity to serve God, but to teach children the Bible! On top of all this, we were teaching the children about how "God's Word is TRUE!" Haaaa! Amazing! We are there to teach the little ones, and God in His amazing wisdom and knowledge decides to reinforce what He has been trying to make clear to me for the past few months....He is taking me to school while I am there to teach the children! I had such a blast! Thank you Lord.....thank you......

Faith

Faith and Believing - Ephesians 1:19

Faith and trust in God have taken on a whole new meaning for me....the call of God to faith for BELIEVERS is so much more different than I had ever imagined or even comprehended before the last 14 months of life. Before this, I thought I had faith in God and His Word. Prior to the past 14 months, I dont recall ever having to completely rely on His Word and His promises....not completely....not like today. Right now, I realize that my life ABSOLUTELY depends on God's Word...on His promises.

The need to have this kind of faith has completely reshaped who I am. Depending on God's Word, His promises, and the fulfillment of those promises for complete survival does that to a person. I realize that is part of His plan. Through difficult times I have realized that God means what He says. For instance in Deuteronomy 8:3 and Romans 1:17 - "man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God" and "the just SHALL LIVE BY FAITH".

As we have journeyed through this past year, I have cried out to God like no other time in my life. In crying out, I never expected Him to respond the way He has. Yet His communication to me through His Word was not lacking. God began answering prayers with affirmative responses...I didnt expect that to be honest! WOW....I was seeking and asking, and God began speaking and confirming things over and over through His Word....WOW!

Now comes the most difficult part - FAITH. "Is God really speaking these things to me?" I wondered so many times. "Can I really believe these things and trust God?" These are just some of the many thoughts I have been bombarded with time and time again. In Ephesians 1:19 Paul states "the exceeding greatness of HIS power toward us who BELIEVE." The word BELIEVE there is a PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLE - meaning that this FAITH is ongoing - continually believing God for who He is, what He has done for us, and what He will continue to do for us....believing His Word in general, but also personal promises that He makes.

I realize, or rather God has helped me to realize that I have had serious trust issues all my life. And now, here He has me....in a position where I have to trust...I have to believe....I have to wait....

HEBREWS 11:6
JAMES 1:3
1 PETER 1:7

Now....by God's grace...attempting to trust and wait...wait and trust.......

God is good...God is faithful!

My life is being defined by God's grace and lovingkindness......thats it.........

Philippians 1:19-20

LOVING-KINDNESS (partial definition)

checed OT:2617, "loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion." This word is used 240 times in the Old Testament, and is especially frequent in the Psalter. The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics.

In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: "strength," "steadfastness," and "love." Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. "Love" by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet "strength" or "steadfastness" suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation.


Behind all these uses with man as subject, however, stand the repeated references to God's checed. It is one of His most central characteristics. God's loving-kindness is offered to His people, who need redemption from sin, enemies, and troubles. A recurrent refrain describing God's nature is "abounding plenteous in checed" Ex 34:6; Neh 9:17; Ps 103:8; Jonah 4:2. The entire history of Yahweh's covenantal relationship with Israel can be summarized in terms of checed. It is the one permanent element in the flux of covenantal history. Even the Creation is the result of God's checed Ps 136:5-9. His love lasts for a "thousand generations" Deut 7:9; cf. Deut 5:10 and Ex 20:6, indeed "forever" (especially in the refrains of certain psalms, such as Ps 136).

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)