Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We continue in prayer as to what the Lord wants us to do. There are many workers in the park.  Many are pipeline welders. Pray for us as we meet and that we will be an example for them. 

I have met one of the park owners and she seems very interested in us having Bible study and a Sunday worship service here. Several things must come together to have a worship service, so we appreciate your prayers.

I’ve learned as a pastor that there is a heartache every where we go.. We all have storms and trials, if not now, later.

How do you find peace in the midst of your storm? Peace is not the subtraction of problems from life; peace is the addition of power to meet those problems. That’s God’s peace.

This week, commit to memory John 14:27: 

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and finances.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.

Don

Sunday's Coming - Valentine's Day Edition

Good Morning,

We are settling in here in Magnolia, Texas. We continue in prayer as to what the Lord wants us to do. The weather is finally turning around so next step is to meet people and see if we can stir an interest in a Bible Study.

This is the Love week when we celebrate with that someone who is special to us. In my reading I had to share this from The Simple Truth:

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
—1 Corinthians 13:13

Some scripture is so clear it needs no interpretation or comment! Enjoy the famous "love chapter" from the Apostle Paul:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

—1 Corinthians 13:1-7

Dear God, thank You for all the talents and gifts You have given me. But thank You most of all for love. Help love to grow in me every day. Amen.

“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone—we find it with another.” —Thomas Merton

There's an old saying that "love makes the world go around." But, as most of us know, sometimes, that road can be a bumpy one. We have the best intentions of being a loving spouse, parent and friend, but our actions often get in the way of our intentions.

 We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and finances.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We have made it to Magnolia, Texas. We continue in prayer as to what the Lord wants us to do. I asked the manager if we could do a Bible Study in the club house and he was very supportive. So next step is to meet the people and see if we can stir an interest.
I know the weather is bad in many places and we have heard from several who are hurting one way or another, but as I always say we have a choice.

My reading today:

Grumbling or Grateful? by Adrian Rogers

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” - Psalm 100:4

One day a preacher was riding on a train. He saw a well-dressed man and magnificently dressed woman with expensive jewelry. The woman was complaining about everything – the train ride, the weather, the news, the food, the service.
The preacher decided to engage this couple in a conversation. He asked the man what kind of business he was in and the man told him. Then he asked, “And what does your wife do?”
The man replied, “Oh, she’s in the manufacturing business. She manufactures her own unhappiness.”
You know, there are a lot of people like that today. They manufacture their own misery because they fail to be grateful. Only Christ can turn our lives around and stir up a grateful heart within us.

Action for today:
Go through the alphabet and thank the Lord for something beginning with each letter and choose to be grateful.

We to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and finances. 

Winston Churchill wisely said, "We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We are leaving Waco Texas this Friday then on to Magnolia, Texas and be close to Leslie and the family. We continue in prayer as to what the Lord wants us to do when we get there and we urge you to be in prayer with us.

We have heard from many of you who are facing trials and hurts we want you to know we are praying fervently for you.

From my today:

Down but Not Out by Dennis and Barbara Rainey 

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing. - 2 Corinthians 4:8 

Have you been through a period of life when everything looked bleak? When it seemed everything around you was coming unraveled? When you hoped the phone wouldn't ring for fear it would be more bad news?During seasons like that, I'm often reminded of this story:Karl, a Norwegian fisherman, had taken his two teenage sons out for a day of fishing. The morning had been beautiful when they started out, but the afternoon turned nasty--in a hurry--catching them too far at sea to beat the incoming storm to shore. The wind-whipped ocean began to work into a frenzy, until he and his sons were battling for their lives. As darkness fell on their frantic efforts, even the steady beacon of the seaside lighthouse was suddenly extinguished by a terrific bolt of lightning. Hope seemed lost.But things were actually worse than Karl knew. Lightning had also struck his home and the structure quickly erupted into a fireball. So when Karl and his sons finally staggered ashore, exhausted, he was met by his wife with the bad news.Strangely, Karl seemed unfazed, much to his wife's frustration. As he stroked her tear-lined face with his tough, leathery hands, he said, "Don't you understand, sweetheart? When the lighthouse went out, the glow on the horizon became my compass. The fire that destroyed our house guided us home."

LaVon and I have certainly gone through times when there were "fires" burning. But we've also discovered that during these times, these crises have guided us "home," because they've forced us to hunker down in faith, crying out in absolute dependence upon God. "Lord God, You know what You are doing! We don't know what You are up to, but we trust in You."

Discuss:
What is an example of a trial you've experienced that turned out to have a good consequence from an eternal perspective?

Pray:
Pray that you will face the fires together and that your faith in Christ will grow stronger as you go through them.

As we thank you for your prayerful and financial partnership with this ministry, we want to encourage your personal ministry as well. When you use your influence for the Kingdom, your witness in works and words touches people for eternity.  David Livingstone, famed missionary doctor said it well: "If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We are in Waco, Texas for the next week then on to Magnolia, Texas and be close to Leslie and the family. We continue in prayer as to what the Lord wants us to do and we urge you to be in prayer with us.

My reading today from David Jeremiah.

Sunlight Through Glass
This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

Writer F. W. Boreham told of taking lodgings in the home of Old Bessie, the widow of a local pastor. One morning he noticed some words etched into one of the windows: "This is the day!" At breakfast he asked Bessie about it.
"I have had a lot of trouble in my time," she explained. "Each morning when I woke up I felt as though I had the weight of the world upon me. Then one day when I was very upset about things, I sat down and read ... the 118th Psalm. When I came to the 24th verse, I stopped. ... It flashed upon me like a burst of sunshine on a gloomy day." With a glass-cutting tool from the kitchen, Bessie etched the words on the windowpane --This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

"There!" she thought. "Now I shall see that little bit of Bible there every morning when I draw up the blind."¹

Even biblical characters as courageous as Joshua needed to learn to keep a good attitude despite circumstances. So did Old Bessie. So do we! Today rejoice! Be glad in Him.

As we thank you for your prayerful and financial partnership with this ministry, we want to encourage your personal ministry as well. When you use your influence for the Kingdom, your witness in works and words touches people for eternity.  David Livingstone, famed missionary doctor said it well: "If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.

Don

Sunday Is Coming!

Good Morning,

We have taken some time to warm up. We are in Waco, Texas for the next month then on to Magnolia, Texas and be close to Leslie and the family. We continue in prayer as to what the Lord wants us to do and we urge you to be in prayer with us. I also want to thank you for praying for us during our illness we are getting better.  PTL.

During my reading today, I really liked this from the Sower.

PRAYER: FORCE OR FOOLISHNESS

Prayer, for some, is a force that enables them to approach God in worship and wonder or in times of need for the necessities of life. For others, prayer is utter and complete foolishness because they believe it is foolish and a waste of time.
In the life of David, it was a powerful force. Whenever he was hurt by harmful words, received a wound from a battle or had a need that was beyond his limitations he turned to God in prayer. Listen carefully to his words: “I am a man of prayer.”
It is always interesting to listen carefully to someone introduce themselves: “I am a doctor...I am the CEO of...I am a sales representative at...I work for...I am the one who...I set a record by...I am the owner of.” We seem to want others to recognize us for what we have done not who we are.
But with all his power and prestige, wealth and wisdom, David wanted others to recognize him as someone who was completely dependent on God: “I am a man of prayer.”
Prayer was a force in the life of David. As we read his prayer in the Psalms we discover that he had no definite time of prayer, no specific place to pray, no particular position he assumed when he prayed and it seems as though most of the time when he prayed he was alone.
David realized that prayer was a force in his life. It brought forgiveness when he sinned, peace when he was anxious, and victory when he was embattled and constant joy.

Prayer: Father, may we see the need for prayer in our lives when we see the results of prayer in the life of others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 109:4 In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.

As we thank you for your prayerful and financial partnership with this ministry, we want to encourage your personal ministry as well. When you use your influence for the Kingdom, your witness in works and words touches people for eternity.  David Livingstone, famed missionary doctor said it well: "If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"


Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Post script:
Here is the main reason we are in the Waco area for a month.  Pop Wink Winklemann and I have been friends since the mid-70's. Recently, Pop's sweet wife, Dovie, went home to be with the Lord quite suddenly. Due to illness, we were not able to make it to her funeral and that grieved me greatly, so now God has allowed me to spend some quality time with Pop. His heart hurts, so a prayer for him would be greatly appreciated.

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We continue in prayer and outreach and we ask you to HELP us by prayer and gifts. We gave out 23 food baskets Saturday in the park and neighborhood. Please be in prayer that God will use these to bring people to Him.
We want to thank all of you who pray for us for the Lord answered yesterday when I took LaVon to the hospital with symptons of a heart attack. She didn't have a heart attack, P.T.L. She is still sick so continue praying, thanks.

In my reading I want to share this:

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.Colossians 3:17

Life is a celebration. Don't postpone it. Grasp the hour! Today is the first day of the rest of your life. I came across a list of possibilities to make your day a brighter one:

Seek out a forgotten friend.
Write a love letter.
Share a treasure.
Encourage someone with a kind word.
Keep a promise.
Give to a needy cause.
Forgive an enemy.
Listen.
Apologize if you were wrong.
Try to understand.
Read your Bible.
Pray for your family.
Examine your demands on others.
Appreciate a friend.
Be kind, be gentle.
Laugh a little.
Laugh a little more.
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.

We appreciate so much your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial gifts of love.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

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