It is another beautiful day in Arizona. God continues to strenghen me and today's men's Bible study was great.
I want to thank you again for all your emails and phone calls informing us you are in prayer for us. Today, as I was reading I came upon the following. I pray you enjoy it as much as I did.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so, I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you."
"God is good all the time and all the time God is good".
I just watched a beautiful and powerful presentation that really touched me, and I want to share it with you. I'm sure you'll enjoy the breath-
taking images and the inspiring message.
You can check it out here: http://www.movieofhope.com
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunday Is Coming
Good morning,
I pray all is well with you today.
Repeat after me “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it” Ps 118:24 I do pray you are rejoicing and glad today no matter what you are going through. The Lord is with you and is looking out for you.
This morning I want to thank each of you for your prayers, e-mails and phone calls during my surgery. If you have not read LaVon's blog, please read it now and see why I continue to Praise the Lord every day of my life.
We know God has a plan for us here and on down the road when we leave here. When the Lord puts us on your heart we thank you in advance for listening to Him and praying for us, contacting us by phone or e-mail, or giving to our ministry so we can continue what we know He has called us to do. May God Bless you today.
The story below is just a thought that maybe will encourage us to say "thank you" often to those around us and especially to God for all He does for us.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
NOT ONE THANKED HIM
Edward Spencer was a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, and also a member of a life-saving squad during his school years. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue seventeen passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever bothered to thank him.
Worse than being merely discourteous, these people displayed a gross lack of gratitude. Especially as believers, we need to be aware that gratitude opens up our lives for God’s will to be done in and through us.
I pray all is well with you today.
Repeat after me “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it” Ps 118:24 I do pray you are rejoicing and glad today no matter what you are going through. The Lord is with you and is looking out for you.
This morning I want to thank each of you for your prayers, e-mails and phone calls during my surgery. If you have not read LaVon's blog, please read it now and see why I continue to Praise the Lord every day of my life.
We know God has a plan for us here and on down the road when we leave here. When the Lord puts us on your heart we thank you in advance for listening to Him and praying for us, contacting us by phone or e-mail, or giving to our ministry so we can continue what we know He has called us to do. May God Bless you today.
The story below is just a thought that maybe will encourage us to say "thank you" often to those around us and especially to God for all He does for us.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
NOT ONE THANKED HIM
Edward Spencer was a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, and also a member of a life-saving squad during his school years. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue seventeen passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever bothered to thank him.
Worse than being merely discourteous, these people displayed a gross lack of gratitude. Especially as believers, we need to be aware that gratitude opens up our lives for God’s will to be done in and through us.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday's Coming
Good morning,
I pray all is well with you. I want to thank you for all your prayers, e-mails, phone calls and concern for my upcoming surgery. I know God is listening.
My sermon last week was on "Listening to God" I would like to continue that thought this morning.
“A four-year-old girl was overheard whispering into her baby brother’s ear, ‘Baby,' she whispers, 'tell me what God sounds like. I am starting to forget.'"
Seeking God requires listening, and listening is hard work. It takes energy, patience, time, effort, and most of all, silence. And, while most of us are okay with the energy, patience, time and effort, we shudder at the thought of being silent and quickly find ways of filling the widening void.
In silence, the hurts, pains, rejections and failures we have pushed away come rushing back. In silence, the voices of those who have authority over us can seem to overpower us. In silence, worry and fear linger strangely near us. But consider the paradox offered by Mother Teresa, “God is the friend of silence.” Elijah learned this while hiding away in a cave. Expecting God to show Himself in loud and magnificent ways, Elijah was offered instead the still, small whisper of God. Psalm 46:10 reads, “Be still and know that I am God.” The truth is, things are born in quiet that cannot be heard in the din of our overly verbal days.
Consider your day. Is it full of noise? Do radio, TV, Internet, iPods and other fillers clutter your mind with excess noise? Even good things can become clutter if they distract us from times of quiet.
Today, I challenge you to “unplug. Leave the cell phone and iPod at home and take a walk. Resist the temptation to speak. Walk in silence and ask God to speak to you. Become aware of the small joys you may have forgotten, like the sound of children playing in the distance, the sound of a bird or squirrel chattering in a tree, or even listen to your own heartbeat.
If you’re in need of a little more encouragement today, click here for a reminder about the power of purpose.
I continue to stand in awe of God and how He leads and provides for us. Thank you for your support in prayers and finances; without you we couldn't afford to go on.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
I pray all is well with you. I want to thank you for all your prayers, e-mails, phone calls and concern for my upcoming surgery. I know God is listening.
My sermon last week was on "Listening to God" I would like to continue that thought this morning.
“A four-year-old girl was overheard whispering into her baby brother’s ear, ‘Baby,' she whispers, 'tell me what God sounds like. I am starting to forget.'"
Seeking God requires listening, and listening is hard work. It takes energy, patience, time, effort, and most of all, silence. And, while most of us are okay with the energy, patience, time and effort, we shudder at the thought of being silent and quickly find ways of filling the widening void.
In silence, the hurts, pains, rejections and failures we have pushed away come rushing back. In silence, the voices of those who have authority over us can seem to overpower us. In silence, worry and fear linger strangely near us. But consider the paradox offered by Mother Teresa, “God is the friend of silence.” Elijah learned this while hiding away in a cave. Expecting God to show Himself in loud and magnificent ways, Elijah was offered instead the still, small whisper of God. Psalm 46:10 reads, “Be still and know that I am God.” The truth is, things are born in quiet that cannot be heard in the din of our overly verbal days.
Consider your day. Is it full of noise? Do radio, TV, Internet, iPods and other fillers clutter your mind with excess noise? Even good things can become clutter if they distract us from times of quiet.
Today, I challenge you to “unplug. Leave the cell phone and iPod at home and take a walk. Resist the temptation to speak. Walk in silence and ask God to speak to you. Become aware of the small joys you may have forgotten, like the sound of children playing in the distance, the sound of a bird or squirrel chattering in a tree, or even listen to your own heartbeat.
If you’re in need of a little more encouragement today, click here for a reminder about the power of purpose.
I continue to stand in awe of God and how He leads and provides for us. Thank you for your support in prayers and finances; without you we couldn't afford to go on.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Sunday's Coming
Good morning once again.
I pray you are well this morning and for those that sent us emails for prayer, know we are lifting you up. May the Lord bless and keep you.
I count all of you my friend and love you very much.
The last several weeks, God has put on my heart the subject of anger. I have to admit, at times, it still hinders me, just ask LaVon. I know what and how I'm supposed to act but as Paul says, in Romans 7, I don't do it. I am sure we all have this problem, so this morning, let's all agree to pray for each other and ask God to take this away.
I read the following again today:
Friendship
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next frew weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.
He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But it won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry,' the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.
Remember that friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed; they lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us. I thank you for being my friend.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
I pray you are well this morning and for those that sent us emails for prayer, know we are lifting you up. May the Lord bless and keep you.
I count all of you my friend and love you very much.
The last several weeks, God has put on my heart the subject of anger. I have to admit, at times, it still hinders me, just ask LaVon. I know what and how I'm supposed to act but as Paul says, in Romans 7, I don't do it. I am sure we all have this problem, so this morning, let's all agree to pray for each other and ask God to take this away.
I read the following again today:
Friendship
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next frew weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.
He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But it won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry,' the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.
Remember that friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed; they lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us. I thank you for being my friend.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
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