Vacation time!

Today I embark on a 5 day journey with nine teenagers, three other staff members and a driver. We will be camping two nights on a beautiful beach, then spending two days in Santo Domingo. First of all I am very excited to go, God has been blessing this trip by allowing all the details to simply fall together in one wonderful trip! The planning has been much work but a good experience. I feel as if my life has been fast-forwarded 15 years or so, planning the family trip. But I never thought I'd be be doing it for a group of nine troubled teens--Ahhh!!!!

Lord bless us and give us strength as we travel together on this journey, may this time open the hearts of each and every one of the guys, growing them closer to you. Pray that staff remain patient and loving as 5 days solid with these guys can be *very* draining. Lord I lift this trip up to you, may you always remain the center of it, in our hearts, our speech, and our actions.

Where do we find our comfort?

I recently started a diet. Not necessarily for weight loss although I could stand to lose 5 pounds, but to cut back on the things I have found comfort in and begin leaning on God for my peace. I am not a firm believer in diets for long term weight loss, but the psychological impact of cutting back food is amazing! A friend is doing this with me and we have both noticed increased levels of irritability, short tempers and feeling anxious. Not to mention the people around us have noticed these changes as well.

It was interesting that I would read Psalm 40 as a devotion for the guys last night. With so many changes in my life, and upcoming events I constantly feel overwhelmed. Sadly through it all I have not been leaning on God much, but trying to make a go of it on my own, and the pressure is increasing. I would encourage you all to read Psalm 40 in your bible, or at http://www.crosswalk.com.

Please pray that I continue to let God be the ruler of my life, and continually give to him the earthly things I cling to instead of resting in him. These areas include: food, computers, reading, pride and self-reliance. I have many great desires in my heart for earthly possessions like a bike, new laptop, etc., but I continue to look away from God for my happiness. Pray that my soul finds rest in him alone.

I will leave you with a quote from Psalm 40:

11 You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. 12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me. 13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; Make haste, O LORD, to help me.

Missions Trip - November 2004

I have been blessed to discover that my family from Kulm is coming on a missions trip over Thanskgiving this year. I will post here a letter that I just wrote to the group, may it be a blessing and encouragement to you on this day:


Dear Friends and Family:

I am writing this letter in eager anticipation of your arrival on Thanksgiving Day. At times, it seems like it was only yesterday that I stepped on a plane early one chilly April morning, leaving the only life I knew for this adventure in the Dominican Republic. There are times when it feels like years have passed since my arrival, as God has taught me so much, growing my heart, my spirit, and my character into something completely new and different.

Several months ago, it looked like this trip was not in God's plan. The details were not coming together, and it was looking like God wanted us to wait on having a missions group from Kulm, ND travel to the DR. Perhaps the Dominican Republic was not ready for a group of hearty, strong-willed farmers to take the island by storm! But as time passed, I put the trip into God's hands and he said yes, they may come. You cannot begin to imagine the joy that filled my heart when I saw what seemed to be an impossibility fall into place in a week!

My work and life down here are very joyful and rewarding, but also extremely challenging and stressful. At times my life feels like it has been fast-forwarded 15 years or so. Imagine me, planning a 5 day trip for 9 or 10 children plus 4 adults, including budget, itinerary, etc! But it is so, as our house will be leaving on a house trip that I have put together in two weeks. Being a house father has brought me to a whole new level of character and accountability.

I used to play a lineman in football, responsible for holding back the defense so our quarterback could complete a pass, or make a way open so a running back could score a touchdown. Now instead of "playing"with my peers, I am God's lineman. The children are faced with temptations and trials every day, and with no self-control to say "No, that is wrong," I am now that wall for them. The pressure is intense, it is constant, and it comes in all areas.

God gives me the courage each day to face the pressure and say no to ungodliness
and worldly passions. You see, to be an example for these teenagers, it is
not enough just to say no for them. I must stand up and say no for myself
to the temptations which I face, including not spending enough time in prayer or
reading the Bible, building my relationship with God.

I miss each and everyone of you more than you will know, and perhaps more than I care to admit. Pretending to be a solid rock, a firm foundation is not always easy, and it is only through God's glory and strength that I can arise each morning and face the challenges of just that day. Paul was correct when he wrote that we should not worry about tomorrow, for today has enough challenges. Each word of encouragement that you give brings me such joy!

Thank you so much for every letter, every prayer, phone call, and also to those words that I never know about yet God hears them. I have been dreaming of this trip for many months, and cannot wait to see your smiling faces on Thanksgiving Day, for I will have much to be thankful for on November 25th, 2004. I love each and every one of you, thank you for taking this cup which God has laid out before you.

What really matters

This is going to be a quick entry, to let everyone know I am taking a week away from my computer. This past week, I spent hours learning about web design, and created a really cool website. There is nothing wrong with learning web design or making a cool site, however it is one part of the distractions that take me away from God. Had I spent a portion of that time praying, reading God's word, or making myself open to growing closer to him, who knows what might have happened? I get down on myself for not spending personal devotions time, but make little effort to do so. Please pray that God teaches me all I need to learn from this experience, and I remain steadfast.

Seek you in one week, I'll let you know how it went.

Titus 2:11-14

Last week's memory verse was Titus 2:11-14, which says:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem him from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
--Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)

The thought came to me that I should do devotions on this verse for the guys, and so I did! We started by saying the verse from memory (having no idea what I was going to talk about after this), after which I began to discuss the meaning of the verse with them. God's wisdom is far beyond our own wisdom and understanding, thus I was able to say something with a bit of purpose and meaning.

The first part of the verse is clearly saying that God's salvation message has appeared to all men through his grace! That means each and everyone of us are presented with a choice in our lives: will we have the humility to accept his gift or reject the grace that can save us from ourselves?

It would be too easy to pass over the next part without questioning "Why?". Why does God's grace teach us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions? Even more importantly, how does it teach us to say no? The answer is in the nature of why we seek ungodliness and worldly passions. We seek them to fill a void in our lives, an emptiness created by the lack of God's grace and mercy. Satan deceives us with passions and pleasures of the world, as the "king of empty promises" he sets to point us on a path of death and destruction. So we pursue the things in our lives that will bring us to ruin.

God's grace, on the other hand, fills us far fuller and greater than we ever knew we needed! Not only that, it brings a focus to our lives that we didn't have before. When the storm of life surrounds us with doubt and temptation, we can look to God's grace, his promise as our anchor and our hope. It gives us the will and the knowledge to say no to temptation, we can say to ourselves that there is something greater we can reach to.

The next part of the verse outlines what is the hope, that the hope is in the coming of Jesus Christ. The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. What a blessed hope, wonderful promise! The next time you are faced with trial and temptation, focus on God's salvation and the return of his Son, it will give you a new perspective and strength in a tough situation.

Two praises in one day, imagine that!

Well, I have one more praise for the day. Julie found her passport! It had been missing for several years and she was about to buy a new passport. While in her house, she prayed that God would provide the money for her to get the new passport, as it is quite expensive. Shortly thereafter she found her old passport in a box! Praise God for providing in ways that we do not expect them to.

You reveal the path of life to me;
in Your presence is abundant joy;
in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.
--PSALM 16:11

Starting today, I will choose to praise him

Greetings everyone. I decided to start this blog today as a result of the spiritual retreat we had on our campus this past week. Working at a school for troubled teenagers can be very intense, draining and trying on one's spiritual life and character. Every day I rise and make a choice on what my attitude will be for that day and how it will be reflected to others. Sadly I make the choice more often than not to have an attitude of disheartenment, hopelessness in God's power to change lives (even my own!).

My hope is that this blog will impact my life by giving me an outlet for my thoughts, and keep me mindful of God's glorious work and the blessings he has for us all.

To start off I will discuss some of the praises I have from this past week:

1. Creative Writing Workshop: I had the opportunity to lead a creative writing workshop this past week, what a blessing! Working with seven enthusiasticly talented men and women not only inspired me to write more, it gave me a glimpse into creativity I had not seen before. More importantly I saw the kids in a different light and gave me hope for them.
2. "The Video": One of the houses on campus did a video skit for their house skit. Their aim was to poke fun at the school and how things are done here. I do not believe their intentions were in sin or rebellion, but a tounge-in-cheek look at the intensity here. Needless to say it did not go over well. Peoples' feelings were hurt, out bursts of emotion gave the room a heavy heart afterwards. Why is this a praise, you ask? It brought a blessing the next day! The outpouring of emotion from the night before made some of the students realize how much they cared for the staff here, specifically the Homelife director who was the focus of the video. Several kids stood in front of the church and publicly proclaimed their gratitude for his influence and love in their lives. It was a touching, emotional moment. Instances like this never cease to amaze me how God takes what could be such an ugly situation and bring joy, peace, and love into our hearts.
3. Hail! Why is hail so special, those who grew up in farms may ask? I know from personal experience that hail has destroyed the hopes and dreams of many farmers, as in an instant their entire crop is destroyed. During our staff devotions yesterday, a rain storm came upon us that I have never seen before in my time here. Sheets of rain burst from the sky onto our mountain side. I sat in the chapel watching the rain literally fly by from the window that is above our stage. Greyish-white sheets caused the palm trees to bend and bow to the wind which carried the sheets of rain across the horizon. The steady downpour fell upon the roof, which along with the darkness that came with the storm brought a sense of peace. Suddenly the sound was interrupted by the occasional knocking on the roof, as if someone were dropping a pebble or two. The sounds became more frequent and we began to look outside, only to see pellets of hail falling from the sky. This would not be so unordinary if we lived further north. However in a Caribbean climate, freezing water in the form of hail is very rare. We all took a moment to enjoy the hand of God moving through our valley.

Well, that will be enough for my first post! I hope I've kept your interest and if I have this far please enjoy this verse before you go on your way:

Train me, God, to walk straight; then I'll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I'll worship in joyful fear.
PSALM 86:11 - The Message