Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Remember Mr. Rogers? I know, I am dating myself. He was such a friendly guy. He always wore such nice cardigan sweaters and was so good at tossing his loafers from one hand to the other while changing into his sneakers for the show. I am not sure why that couldn't be done off camera. His shoes never had an impact on the show...Anywho, Mr. Rogers was one of the friendliest people I ever saw on TV. He loved everyone and always treated others well. I do not encounter a lot of people today that share that gift.

I think it is because we find ourselves caught up in our own little worlds, our own struggles, and we often forget to care about others much less share a heartfelt greeting. I am so guilty of this. Who has time to worry about other people? HELLO! Have you taken notice of all the things going on in my life? Cut me some slack. Wow. Seems pretty selfish. As I am studying through Romans, this is an (Just one of many) area that I am really being pressed to look at in my life. We have to keep in perspective what our purpose is on Earth. It is not to create wealth, it is not to amass material possessions, it is not to lavish ourselves with luxury. We are here to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ and to tell others about Him. The bible tells us that the greatest commandment is to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Jesus goes on to say that the next greatest commandment is similar, love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:29-31)


Will you take some time this week to pray about how you can love your neighbor. This does not literally mean the people who live next door, (Although they are included). It means to love all of those you encounter. People at work, at school, at Wal-Mart, etc. See, Jesus loves them and you and me so much, He died for us. Don't you want others to know the great joy that comes from knowing Him? In the passage below from Romans, Paul makes it clear that he understood this principle.

Romans 15:4-7
4For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Waiting on Him,
ML

In other words...nothing

What a week!  My girls went back to school.  Hard to imagine I am old enough to have two daughters in high school.  Funny, I don't feel old!

This has been a hard week... There are several people I am close with that have experienced tragedies in their lives this week.  I am talking about things that just rocked their world.  I have a good friend who has an employee in his company who lost his mother to a violent act by his step-father.  Another dear friends parents were involved in a severe car accident and spent several days in the trauma unit. (God has already begun miraculously healing them).  For me, the thing that I am struggling with the most this week is the death of a child.

This family came into our lives about 12 years ago.  Through circumstances, Ame and I had a chance to minister to the dad and the two kids, a son and daughter who were probably about 6 and 9 or so.  They essentially became part of our family and it was that way for several years. About 6 or 7 years ago the dad and daughter moved to Indiana.  Monday night his daughter, a little girl who I watched grow up for several year died peacefully in her sleep.  I have wondered all of the standard things... Why, How, Really?  How selfish.  I cannot imagine losing a child at 18, just after graduating, already moved into her dorm room for her first year in college.  It breaks my heart.

But see, God is bigger than all of these tragedies.  God is in control, and for those of us that have a relationship with the king of kings, we know that "we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." As I have prayed for all of these families and others this week I am reminded about the suffering of Christ on the cross.  He suffered and died as an atonement for our sin and arose on the 3rd day.  What an incredible act of love!  He continues to love each of us today.  Even (and especially) during difficult times.  He desires for us to run hard and fast to Him!  Will you?

I am reading in Romans this week and I read through one of my favorite passages. It says this in Romans 8:

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


In other words... NOTHING can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus... NOTHING.  Are you living under this promise today?


Waiting on Him,
ML

Shipwrecked?

Is your faith shipwrecked?  Have you lost control and run aground?  Maybe you have lost the ability to control the direction you are heading and you are headed for a disaster.  As I am reading in Acts about Paul's journey to Rome, I cannot help but think about how easy it is to take things into our own hands and ignore the leading of those who may know more than us.  This type of prideful behavior is the equivalent of taking a ship out to sea when your only experience comes from playing a sailing game on your Wii or Nintendo.  I like to do things my own way and at times I struggle with taking direction and leadership from others, even when I know they have more knowledge, wisdom and experience than I do.  Can you relate to this type of thinking?

In Acts chapter 27 we read about this trip that Paul is taking aboard Alexandrian ship headed for Italy.  Paul warned the captain that things were not going to end well and yet they pressed on.  In the end, they ended up throwing everything overboard even as Paul promised them that God would not harm even a hair on their head.  As usual, God kept His promise.  Go read the rest of the story.

How about you?  Do you have some baggage and cargo that you need to throw overboard?  Are there things in your life that are contributing to your impending shipwreck?  Get rid of them!  God desires to bring you gently to a place of peace in your life.  If you are willing to surrender all to Him, He will do just that.  Don't resist, give it up.  Paul told his fellow sailors in Acts 27:25- "So keep up your courage men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me"  God, the creator of the universe keeps His promises, I have faith that He will rescue YOU from whatever storm you are in.  Do you have that same faith?

Waiting on Him,
ML

Another Satisfied Customer

Thursday was a pretty cool day here at Snowbird.  We got to finish the project we began at the beginning of the week.  The weather was wonderful as we finished the last run of the ramp and put on the last coat of paint.  I cannot tell you what a blessing it was when Mrs. Dockery and her daughter came out to take a group picture with us.  Our kids as well as adults were so touched by her sweet spirit.  She was a little emotional herself at the act of kindness and she fully understood our motive of serving Christ by serving her.  We took a few moments to gather around her and pray God's blessing over her.  Just as we were getting ready to load up on the bus and leave, she took a walk down the ramp and proclaimed, "It works perfectly".  Isn't it just like Christ to use a sweet little old widow to bless a group of folks that were there for the sole purpose of blessing her!

Since we finished early we had some free time and went to visit a local hangout called Party Time.  It is an ice cream shop that we all rather enjoyed.  Many of our kids participated in some of the on campus activities when we returned such as the climbing tower, a couple of "extreme" swings and other things.

Our worship service last night was outdoors and included a very powerful skit that depicted the return of Christ.  The use of the horses, costumes and other effects made this a very powerful and compelling drama.  We ended the night by spending some time in the Prayer Chapel.  This was so far my favorite part of the trip. (except for the climb to get there, we are in the mountains!)  It was a chance to pray at specific "stations" fro everything from missionaries to family members.  Words will not do justice in describing this.

Needless to say it was very late when we went to bed but God's continues to provide sufficient rest and restoration.  Many of our guys got up early this morning to go on a 2 hour hike with one of our counselors before breakfast. After breakfast we will depart for our rafting trip which everyone is very excited about.

I had an opportunity to spend some one on one time with a couple of our kids yesterday and hear from them how God is moving in their heart on this trip.  I would ask that you continue to pray for each of us. I do believe that there is still some work to be done.  Please pray that some barriers that still exist with a couple of our students will be broken down.  Pray for healing in the hearts of a couple of others.  Pray for energy and strength for us old people as we strive to lead our students.  Thanks for interceding for us.

Waiting on Him,
ML

The Little Mission Team that Could!

I cannot imagine that it is already Thursday.  This week is flying by.  Yesterday was a great and very productive work day.  It was hotter than Tuesday but our kids kept right on working.  I am amazed at the work ethic they have.  Several of them took an opportunity to go inside to visit with Mrs. Dockery, the widow we are serving.  She is so sweet and the kids have enjoyed talking with her and hearing about her life.
Last night was so full of Jesus!  The guys and the girls were separated for our teaching and worship time.  I am not sure what the girls talked about but the guys were given some very hard truths and some very practical tools to live a life in pursuit of holiness.  Some of the information and statistics that were shared were very difficult to hear.  We were challenged to continue to wage war on our sin and on our flesh. We were challenged to guard our eyes from things cause men to stumble.  We were challenged to be in accountability relationships so that we can have help in this battle.  We ended our night in our small groups and had an opportunity to hear from one of our counselors about how he is helping a close friend win this battle.  We also agreed to take steps in order to minimize our exposure to anything that can challenge our integrity.

Today is our last work day and it will be a very challenging and fulfilling day.  Everyone is tired and some are very sore.  I am so proud of our kids and am excited to be a part of their lives and a part of this trip. Tomorrow we play!  White Water rafting trip begins at 10:00am.

Would you pray for us today?  Pray that we would be strengthened.  Pray that God will grant an extra measure of endurance and energy today.  Please also pray for the health of our team.  We have a couple of girls who have not felt well.  I am praying God would have them healed this morning.  Pray that we will continue to have opportunities to reflect Christ in all that we do.  Pray that any of our team who is holding back or waiting for the right time to surrender to Jesus would trust Him with their whole life today!  Thanks for your prayers this week.  They are certainly being felt.  Thanks for keeping up with the blog.

Waiting on Him,
ML

Hammers, Nails, Paintbrushes and the Gospel

Good morning from Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters in the mountains of Andrews NC.  This morning it is about 70 degrees with tolerable humidity.  What an awesome day we had yesterday.  After breakfast we had a very insightful time of teaching regarding Philippians Chapter 2 and we were all challenged to live a life of integrity.  We were reminded in Verse 13 of Chapter 2 that God works in each of us for His good pleasure.  We also were reminded that groaning and complaining does not honor God but that we should do all things as unto the Lord.

After our devotion we went to serve a sweet little lady name Mrs. Gwayne.  She is 88 years old and a widow and is just about as sweet as she can be.  She lives alone and has a hard time getting up the steps into her house.  So, one of the projects we are working on is a ramp.  We are also cleaning up and painting the exterior of her home.  Our kids worked for about 7 hours yesterday and we really made some good progress.  It is exciting to see them working together, learning new skills, enjoying the act of serving others.  

We ended our night with another powerful worship service and skit as well as another challenging message.  We were challenged to wage war on the sin in our lives.  To launch an all out assault on the temptations of the world that trip us up and compromise our walk with Christ.  We were encouraged to be aggressive in our defense of our integrity and to hold nothing back.  This was followed by a time of small group sharing and prayer.

Please continue to pray for us as we avail ourselves to what God desires to accomplish during the rest of our week.  I am really beginning to see the deepening of relationships within our team and a trust and transparency when sharing.  Thanks for the prayers that have already gone up on our behalf.  Jesus is at work here in NC!

Waiting on Him,

ML

Good Morning from Snowbird Mission Outreach Day 2

We have already been so blessed.  We arrived safely yesterday afternoon around 3:00.  As soon as we pulled on campus there were staff (all dressed in red SWO t-shirts) that invaded our bus and started introducing themselves sitting in our seats etc.  It was a very high energy welcome that everyone enjoyed.  They are very intentional about serving us, it is incredible.  They have a staff to student ratio of about 1:4.  So, for our group we have 3 young ladies and two young men who are dedicated to just our team for the week.  We eat together, sit in worship together, do small groups together and they will accompany us to our job site.

We begin our outreach this morning after breakfast and morning worship.  We will be serving an older lady (late 80's for all of you 50's and 60's out there reading).  We will be building her a ramp that will enable easy entrance into her home and we will also be painting inside of her home.   The kids are excited and ready to serve.  I can already see the relationships forming and the intimacy being developed as we spend this time together.

The tents we are in are... um... nice as tents go and the mattress on the bunk bed (Which I am thankful for) could stand to be a little more therapeutic.  Dinner was very good considering that they fed over 600 people in less than 2 hours.  We had a great time of praise and worship as well as a couple of very compelling skits followed by a message about living a life free from the bondage of sin.

Would you please pray for:
Continued relationship building in our team
Effectiveness as we minister to this lady this week
Opportunities for our kids to share about Jesus
Our Support Team- Tim & Jordan-Married and 5 weeks pregnant, Lucy- being pursued by a Godly young man for marriage, Hannah- A sweet young lady who loves the Lord, John- a 29 yr old guy who gave up "the good life" of multiple successful businesses to pursue his relationship with Jesus.
Our adults on our team as we pour into our students.

Thank you for praying for us and for telling others about how Jesus is using the young people of Grace Community Church to impact the kingdom for Christ!

Waiting on Him,
ML