News and Pics

My Mom came home today after being gone since Monday, helping my sister who had to go to the hospital for food poisoning. My Mom took care of Bonnie's four children while Bonnie was laid up. I took care of the family here and enjoyed myself doing it. How neat it is to know that you are capable of running a household yourself! I thank God for my Mother who has taught me so much and who has been a shining example of servant hood. She truly has a servants heart and I pray the Lord blesses her for it and teaches me to have the same!

Bonnie is much better now and we are glad to have my Momma home!

I thought I would post a few pictures from recent times:

This is part of our yard-isn't it purty?


Here I am with Jesaias-he is so sweet!


Here I am with all my little buddies

Michael and Jesaias!

Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth MN

Praise God for more witnessing opportunities!

On Sunday, my brother and I went out with Steve and Josh to go witnessing at the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth MN. Josh had fixed up his car with a sign holder on top which carries four gospel signs. As we drove around for a while looking for a good place to set up, it was fun to watch peoples heads turn to read the signs. After a while we began to wonder if we would find a good place to park since the area was packed, then we came to a barricaded section of the road where the police were allowing people to park. At the very end, in front of some more barricades and in sight of the race track we found an open parking place all by it's self and in a location which could hardly have been better. It was definitely God picked!

Steve began by preaching out of the car window with a manual bull horn. Soon, two reserve police officers showed up saying that they had received complaints from people who did not want their children to hear the word "hell". (I'm thinking: With all the things people allow their kids to hear on tv, you have got to be kidding me!) The officer said that Steve should be a "good person" and stop doing what he was doing. She said to the effect, that as far as she knew we were not breaking the law but since people were offended we should stop. Of course we could not agree to that! They left and called an in service officer who came and told us that using the bull horn was "disorderly conduct" ! Though this was a bogus claim, we did not want to lose more time and agreed not to use it. The officer then left and Steve got out to preach in the open air while I handed out tracts. The temps were bellow zero, so when we got cold, we switched with Michael and Josh.

It went very well and the gospel was given. This is the first time I have heard Michael preach and it was a great joy to him reasoning with the lost.

Please visit Michael's new blog for a video of the proceedings: Operation Save Duluth : Preaching at Bear Grease Marathon 2009

Seed Sowing

On Thursday last week we had the blessing of getting back on the street with our friends who are street preachers! Because of the cold, our "street" this time was a heated pedestrian over pass. Very nice indeed! We handed out quite a few tracts and had several good conversations. One man who had already been given a tract walked by again and Steve asked if he was going to read it, he said "Yea". Steve said "that didn't sound very convincing", the man turned around and said "oh, then you better give me another one". Steve handed him another one and said "you threw it away didn't you?" The guy laughed a little and said "How did you know?" Steve said "The Bible says that all liars will be cast into the lake of fire." That started a conversation that lasted fifteen minutes with this Jewish man named Kenny. Please pray for him, he said that he was going to think about what Steve had told him.

Yesterday, (Tuesday) we went out again, this time to the University of Minnesota Duluth. We had one gospel sign and two graphic abortion signs. Steve and Michael preached to the crowds of students getting on and off the buses and I handed out tracts. One campus police officer came because of some complaints and told us that we were fine where we were and it was our legal right to be there.

An atheist tried to reason with us and was given the gospel along with some things to think about. A young man came by taking our pictures and talked to us for some time. He was upset by the abortion pictures saying that we were showing them to "play on peoples emotions and to make people angry". Steve told him that we were showing them to let people know the truth of what abortion is and what it does to people. I told him that it is the same as the holocaust and there he interrupted along with two other young men who had joined him. "You are saying that abortion is equal to the holocaust?" He asked incredulously. "Yes, even worse" I answered. "almost fifty million babies have been killed"

"There were millions of Jews"

"Yes, six million Jews, fifty million babies." I compared.

"But they were a specific group of people that were targeted" one of them added.

"Exactly!" I said, "A specific group of people, babies."

They had to concede the point and quickly changed the subject. Steve repeatedly turned the conversation back to the gospel and they kept trying to turn it back towards their anger at the signs. The first guy told us that he did not agree with that type of abortion but there were other types. We told him that either way a person is killed. He said that he did not believe that there was life until birth! I told him that such a statement was only his personal opinion because the scientific research of many doctors, including pro-abortion doctors, showed that life begins at conception. He said that he did not know that! Praise God! Even though he went on to say that it would not change his mind on abortion, at least there was something planted that God can use. He and the others heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and we can pray that God will use it.

At one point God prompted me to go talk with a lady who stood near us. When I offered her a tract she refused and I asked if she had ever read the Bible. Our conversation was short but I pray that God will use that seed planted as well. She even gave me a quick hug before leaving.

It was that conversation that set me to thinking, because I felt like I stumbled around at some points and probably sounded silly to her. But, it is not up to me to save people, my job is to obey. God has told us to preach the gospel and we need to stay true to that command, it is easy to try and embellish it making it look more attractive to the carnal mind. We often want to build up strong arguments to show that we are really not as foolish as we sound, but what if someone believes those arguments? Their faith is then grounded in mans reasoning and not on God Himself. Apologetics is good and we need to know what we believe and why, but God told us to preach the gospel and He said that it would seem foolish to the world. Were you saved because of historical proof for the Bible and it's accuracy? I wasn't, it was the simple message of the gospel through which God led me to repentance and faith on Him.

So, I need to rest knowing that it is God who brings the increase. We obey, sowing the seed and watering the seed and God brings the increase. It is up to Him who will be saved, we need only to obey.

Yeah!

What a blessed rest we can have knowing that!

We stood out there for about three and a half hours and towards the end another young man brought out a home made sign and stood near us. Here is a picture:

His sign says "Love and rejoice for paganism. To be heathen is heavenly"

It was more like a cry for help than anything else. Michael felt prompted to go talk to him and they talked for a long time, then Steve joined in and without having heard what Michael had already said, began to say the exact same things! We pray that God will use the seed planted there as well.

Praise God for a great seed sowing day and we pray for many more to come! May God bring some fruit though our labors, for His glory!

Surprises

Life does take some interesting turns at times!

Saturday the 17th, was my older brothers 40th birthday. His wife, (my dear sister in-law, who is like a sister to me) invited us to a surprise birthday party she was planning for him on the 18th. They live in Indiana, a nine hour drive away. I did not see how we could go, in fact I was making plans for something else and told Michael that "it would just have to be God saying go" if we were to go.

God said go.

So, we packed up and headed out on Saturday morning very happy in the knowledge that this was definitely God's will for us to go.

An hour into our trip we were on a state highway headed South, my Mom was driving and was in the process of passing some slower moving vehicles when to our horror we saw headlights coming towards us in our lane. There was a semi on our right, so my Mom put on the brakes hard, planning to move into the right lane. Instead, our van began to slip on the snowy road and we spun across the right lane into the south bound ditch where we plowed backwards deep into the snow. Everything seemed to go in slow motion for me and I remember turning to see what we would hit and watching as we just missed a post on the side of the road.

My Mom called 911 and they dispatched a wrecker to get us out. Meanwhile the lady who had been driving the wrong way turned onto a road where she could turn into the North bound traffic.

A Sate Police officer stopped to see if we were OK and my Mom told him what had happened. He told us that just down the road on the North bound side, a lady had just rolled over her car and that it happened to be the same lady who three months earlier he had given a ticket to for driving the wrong way in the very same spot where we were. He showed us a picture of her car and it looked like the same one!

A wrecker came and pulled us out and soon we were on our way. Then the van began to jiggle hard and we stopped to knock out some snow around the tires. Back on the road it continued to jiggle so we stopped at a nearby town to look for a mechanic. All we found was an auto parts store where my Mom told them our story and asked for a mechanic, they called a guy who was willing to take down from his lift the car he was working on and put our van up to have a look. One of the auto parts people led us the several miles to this mechanics shop. It turned out that our left rear tire was shot, the tread was all twisted with wires hanging out of it. We had a spare tire with us which actually was a full sized tire and he put that on for us. Then we found out that he is a newly saved Christian!

God's was with us all the way. There are so many things that could have happened that didn't and we know that God was protecting us. We are so thankful to even be alive and unhurt, Praise the Lord!

The party went very well on Sunday, my brother had no idea that we would be there and was totally surprised! Shocked, is a better word. He had never even guessed it! We all had a fun time and we thank the Lord again for tightening family ties.

My brother Dan

My Mom and Kristofer (my nephew)

Dan and his son Kristofer

Myself and Noah (my nephew)


Michael and Noah

My brother and "sister"

Praise God for a safe trip home and for all that He has done!

Winter Days

These last few days have been gloriously beautiful, with the sun shinning brightly over the sparkling snow covered ground, fluffy white clouds floating lazily by in a deep blue sky, while temperatures hover around zero. There is not much that can compare to such wintry days, unless you count these wintry nights. A brilliant full moon casting diamonds over the snow, millions of stars glittering in the dark sky, silence, oh the silence of such nights, with hundreds of trees raising their bare branches to the sky, while beneath them lay the soft light moon shadows on the snow. Moon shadows, I love shadows cast by the moon. I love the soft glow of moon light over field and forest. It makes me grow quite, it makes me think of the Creator of all these things and it makes me wonder in awe of Him, who though immense beyond comprehension, He cares for me. Tiny little me and yet He cares, He sees, He knows. Thank you Lord.

I'm Back!

I stayed for a week at our friends house, helping them with their two little girls and the new baby. To be very truthful, I had a wonderful time. Their two little girls who are three (almost) and 16 months are a delight to be around (most of the time :-) and baby Jesaias is such a treasure. This time has made me look forward even more (if that is possible) to the day when God brings the right man for me to marry and we have our own little ones.

I was able to be with my family on New Year's Day, which was very nice. My sister Bonnie and her four children picked me up and then took me back that night. We all enjoyed visiting with each other.

Monday night my Dad received a call from one of his sisters, saying that my Grandma is not doing well. She lives in Michigan and needs to go to her doctor in Chicago. So yesterday morning (Tuesday) my Dad took off to go stay with her until his two sisters arrive from Illinois, to take her back down with them. We look forward to my Dad coming home this evening.

My Mom, brother and I, went to the abortion clinic, yesterday morning, to plead for the lives of unborn babies. There were ten mothers who went in and we were able to be the voice of their baby to them, crying out for mercy. We don't know if anyone changed their mind. God knows and God sees.

I was reading in Psalms yesterday and chapters 70 and 71 really stuck out to me. They are beautiful psalms that we can make our cry and our prayer. One thing that I remember my Mom saying throughout my life is, "Keep praising the Lord, offer the sacrifice of praise to Him." Now as I look at these Psalms and other verses, this one thing blares out at me, Keep praising the Lord continually.

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. (Psalms 70:4)

By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. (Psalms 71:6)

Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. (Psalms 71:8)

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. (Psalms 71:14-18)

My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt. (Psalms 71:24)

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long. (Psalms 35:28)

Throughout the Bible I see a general theme of praise. We ought to be praising Him! There are many reasons given for praising Him: for His holiness, for the wonderful works He does, etc. But the reason to praise Him which is given 43 times in the Bible is: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 118:1) His mercy endureth forever! Wow! Among so many other things, this one is something that so clearly sets apart God from man. We cannot even come close to this record! He who's anger is furious (Isaiah 13:13), who's power is complete, yet He shows mercy forever? Hosea 11:9 has a statement that is wonderful, "I am God and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee."

Let us therefore praise Him continually and give Him thanks in and for all things. Not just for things we like but for things we do not like as well. He says, "In everything give thanks". When we praise Him, without condition, this is honoring to Him. When we give thanks for things that we see as bad, we are stating that He knows what is best. So, let us "offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually"!

On a side note, here is a recent picture of my kitten, Hope, who is growing and is very sweet. I hope she becomes a good mouser.