Good morning,
I pray all is well with you today. If you have a prayer need let us know and we will pray with you.
We have two more Sunday's and then we are off to points back east to visit our family. As we prepare, we ask you to be in prayer for us, that our travels will be safe and that our finances will be enough.
My sermon this week is on prayer, especially on asking all of you to partner with us and asking God's guidance so we can continue telling about the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. We believe in prayer and know God hears all our request and He also answers.
We thank you for your prayers, emails, phone calls and in your visits as so many have done this season; what a blessing and an encouragement each of you are to us.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on,
Don
Col. 4:2-3 Continue stedfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving; withal praying for us also, that God may open unto us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ,
Late For Class
A little girl, dressed in her "Sunday best," was late and running to her Sunday school class. As she ran, she prayed, "Dear God, please don't let me be late. Dear God, please don't let me be late." Then she fell.
She got up, dusted herself off and saw that her dress was now dirty and had a little tear. She started running again, still praying, "Dear God, please don't let me be late." But this time she added, "But please don't push me, either!"
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Sunday's Coming
Good morning once again.
I pray you had a great Easter. We had a great one, almost 200 in church and as usual several new faces. My prayer is that they heard from the Lord and lives will be changed.
I urge you to continue to pray for us. I know Satan doesn't like what we are preaching and how we are ministering here. He will continue to try to disrupt the work. I also want to thank so many of you not only for praying, but your visits, your phone calls and a special thanks for giving to our ministry. How blessed you make me feel, I can not explain, but to we say "thank you" and "we love you guys soooo." May God continue to bless you and keep you safe.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
The Privilege of Giving
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. -- 2 Corinthians 9:6
I heard the story of a Southern preacher who was speaking to his congregation and said, "We have to crawl before we can walk."
The congregation responded in unison, "Let us crawl, Preacher. Let us crawl."
Then the preacher said, "We have to walk before we can jog."
"We have to walk, preacher, then. Let us walk," came the reply.
The preacher continued, "We have to jog before we can run."
"Let us jog, preacher. Let us jog," they answered.
"But before we can run," he told them, "we have to learn how to give."
There was a moment of silence, followed by these words: "Let us crawl, preacher. Let us crawl."
I pray you had a great Easter. We had a great one, almost 200 in church and as usual several new faces. My prayer is that they heard from the Lord and lives will be changed.
I urge you to continue to pray for us. I know Satan doesn't like what we are preaching and how we are ministering here. He will continue to try to disrupt the work. I also want to thank so many of you not only for praying, but your visits, your phone calls and a special thanks for giving to our ministry. How blessed you make me feel, I can not explain, but to we say "thank you" and "we love you guys soooo." May God continue to bless you and keep you safe.
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
The Privilege of Giving
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. -- 2 Corinthians 9:6
I heard the story of a Southern preacher who was speaking to his congregation and said, "We have to crawl before we can walk."
The congregation responded in unison, "Let us crawl, Preacher. Let us crawl."
Then the preacher said, "We have to walk before we can jog."
"We have to walk, preacher, then. Let us walk," came the reply.
The preacher continued, "We have to jog before we can run."
"Let us jog, preacher. Let us jog," they answered.
"But before we can run," he told them, "we have to learn how to give."
There was a moment of silence, followed by these words: "Let us crawl, preacher. Let us crawl."
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Sunday's Coming
Good morning,
Yesterday was a very busy day so I didn't get to my post but better late than sorry.
I pray all is well with you and if not, that you would share with me. LaVon and I will pray with you.
Yesterday, a brother in Christ went home to be with the Lord. He was my prayer warrior and encourager. I will miss him so but I know he is with Jesus today. I also know he wouldn't want me to be sad but to rejoice with him. The story that follows could be from him. Enjoy!
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
You will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV).
Most of us have heard the song, “It is well with my soul,” and must have sung it a few times. A few of us are, however, aware of the story that is behind the writing of that song. Horatio G. Spafford's life seemed to be on a steep descend but in it all he never gave up on God, he held on! He was a lawyer and had a successful practice in Chicago. He was married to Anna and they were blessed with four girls and a boy, but the boy died when he was very young. Later Horatio invested heavily in real estate but the great Chicago fire caused great devastation in his life and he lost everything.
Booking passage on the luxury steamer S.S. Ville du Havre, the Spaffords planned to sail to England for a break. When Horatio was detained, his family sailed without him. In the middle of the Atlantic, the ship was rammed and sank in 12 minutes. Only 47 people were saved. Anna cabled two heartbreaking words to her husband: "Saved alone." Horatio immediately set out to join her. As he stood at the rail looking down on the billowing waves over the spot where his daughters had drowned, he wrote the words to the hymn that has comforted so many hurting people:
Are you hurting today because of the loss that you have suffered in your life? Has it been so painful you were thinking of ending your life? Just remember it is well with your soul! God loves you so much and His desire is to give you peace even in times of hurting. Jesus spoke and said,
“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,” (John 14 v 27).
Yesterday was a very busy day so I didn't get to my post but better late than sorry.
I pray all is well with you and if not, that you would share with me. LaVon and I will pray with you.
Yesterday, a brother in Christ went home to be with the Lord. He was my prayer warrior and encourager. I will miss him so but I know he is with Jesus today. I also know he wouldn't want me to be sad but to rejoice with him. The story that follows could be from him. Enjoy!
Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don
It Is Well With My Soul
You will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV).
Most of us have heard the song, “It is well with my soul,” and must have sung it a few times. A few of us are, however, aware of the story that is behind the writing of that song. Horatio G. Spafford's life seemed to be on a steep descend but in it all he never gave up on God, he held on! He was a lawyer and had a successful practice in Chicago. He was married to Anna and they were blessed with four girls and a boy, but the boy died when he was very young. Later Horatio invested heavily in real estate but the great Chicago fire caused great devastation in his life and he lost everything.
Booking passage on the luxury steamer S.S. Ville du Havre, the Spaffords planned to sail to England for a break. When Horatio was detained, his family sailed without him. In the middle of the Atlantic, the ship was rammed and sank in 12 minutes. Only 47 people were saved. Anna cabled two heartbreaking words to her husband: "Saved alone." Horatio immediately set out to join her. As he stood at the rail looking down on the billowing waves over the spot where his daughters had drowned, he wrote the words to the hymn that has comforted so many hurting people:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll -
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well; it is well with my soul.
Are you hurting today because of the loss that you have suffered in your life? Has it been so painful you were thinking of ending your life? Just remember it is well with your soul! God loves you so much and His desire is to give you peace even in times of hurting. Jesus spoke and said,
“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,” (John 14 v 27).
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday's Coming
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
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
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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