I cannot believe tomorrow is July already! I'm in a sort of slump due to having gained back almost all of the 20lbs I had lost. But am determined and with the help of God will have victory over this battle.
Today is quiet. The complex has been relatively quiet. No children around and most of the missionaries appear to be out of town. We will be heading north to New Port Richey for the 4th of July as we will be house sitting for friends of ours until the 11th. I will make the most of the time there and enjoy my grandbabies and family there along with being able to visit some friends at CCWC.
My EKG came back normal so I am waiting to hear from Dr Mike as to what my next step should be. MVI has a cardiologist who I may go see if I don't hear from Dr. Mike soon. He is on vacation. We should hear news of Angel's biopsy in another 2 weeks or so.
Waiting! Waiting! Waiting! Waiting!
Seems to be all we are doing lately. We are both anxious to be serving and returning to the field but our Lord has us in a holding pattern of Waiting.
Our supporters have been wonderful in continuing to support us while we are here. I must get out thank you cards this week for sure.
Not sure what I'm doing today except for reading and trying design a new prayer card.
Maybe some reading and working on a women's teaching.
Going to rest some. Will note more later
Prayers needed for: 1. Michael Allessandro - dear friends of mine. He has been released from the hospital and at home with hospice care. Pray for his wife Barbara as she just recently had her mother pass on to be with our Lord and now her dear husband will be leaving her as well.
2. Karen's son Peter - Deliverance from all that binds him...
Restoration of his marriage and for his wife Amy to return to our Lord and do what is right under His eyes. Also pray for their children: Trevor, Micah and Derek who are being greatly affected by all the turmoil that separation brings.
3. Angel & I - that all our reports come back great and we will be able to return to Peru with a clean bill of health.
For all who have asked for prayer know you are in our hearts, minds and prayers. We love and appreciate you all.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
June 8, 2008
We have spent such a wonderful time with my son and friends this weekend. A great lunch on Thursday spent with Pastor Strayer from CCWC. We are now back in St Petersburg. Angel left for church while I decided to spend some quiet time alone in prayer and reading of the Bible.
I have been so challenged to reflect on my walk with God.
Psalm 71:17-18 "O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous words. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come."
Open our eyes dear Lord to see you...there is an awakening of Your presence stirring around the world. Help us Lord to keep revival pure and holy. So often our human nature is to step in to help you out as if you could not be magnified in Your doing. Draw us back to You my Lord, in Your mercy, Lord. Let the revival be that of a true conviction of sin in our lives and a hunger and desire for Your mercy to flow. In that true conviction let their be deep repentance which brings on an awakening of the depth of Your love, forgiveness, mercy and love. In this repentance,Lord, let a burning firery flame rise up within us, setting us ablaze to run and tell all who are before us of the Truth we find in Christ and the call for all men to rise up and worship Him, that He alone be Lord of our lives, of His great mercy and love which through our surrender to Him brings the promise of eternal life forever with Him. As Your Spirit is poured out on all men and women, may those of us who are sealed by the blood seek not after miracles but be so abiding in Christ that the power of His majesty manifested through us as His sanctified vessels bring salvation, healing, and wonders to those who have yet to know Truth. This is the revival my heart cries out after. That as Your Spirit causes a commotion in the normality of our daily lives, may the world not be pulled away for the absurdity of it all but be drawn to the Father for the magnitude of the manifestation His presence.
"Whatever you shall ask in My name that will I do." John 14:13
Am I taking time to realize what is the central point of power?
"If you abide in Me - You shall ask what you will and it will be given you."
Am I abiding? Am I taking the time out of each day to abide? Oswald Chambers tells us that the disciple who abided in Jesus is the will of God, and his apparently free choices are God's fore-ordained decrees. How often we miss the simple work of God manifested in our daily lives for the craving of some great showcase working. In the midst of any great revival we must remember that His greatest works were done one on one in the middle of relationship.
For me this is the glorious truth. Abide--Rest--Be Still--Wait--Hold on--Trust--Believe--Know
In the quietness of your soul--He speaks! And in Him, His fruit you shall bear.
I have been so challenged to reflect on my walk with God.
Psalm 71:17-18 "O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous words. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come."
Open our eyes dear Lord to see you...there is an awakening of Your presence stirring around the world. Help us Lord to keep revival pure and holy. So often our human nature is to step in to help you out as if you could not be magnified in Your doing. Draw us back to You my Lord, in Your mercy, Lord. Let the revival be that of a true conviction of sin in our lives and a hunger and desire for Your mercy to flow. In that true conviction let their be deep repentance which brings on an awakening of the depth of Your love, forgiveness, mercy and love. In this repentance,Lord, let a burning firery flame rise up within us, setting us ablaze to run and tell all who are before us of the Truth we find in Christ and the call for all men to rise up and worship Him, that He alone be Lord of our lives, of His great mercy and love which through our surrender to Him brings the promise of eternal life forever with Him. As Your Spirit is poured out on all men and women, may those of us who are sealed by the blood seek not after miracles but be so abiding in Christ that the power of His majesty manifested through us as His sanctified vessels bring salvation, healing, and wonders to those who have yet to know Truth. This is the revival my heart cries out after. That as Your Spirit causes a commotion in the normality of our daily lives, may the world not be pulled away for the absurdity of it all but be drawn to the Father for the magnitude of the manifestation His presence.
"Whatever you shall ask in My name that will I do." John 14:13
Am I taking time to realize what is the central point of power?
"If you abide in Me - You shall ask what you will and it will be given you."
Am I abiding? Am I taking the time out of each day to abide? Oswald Chambers tells us that the disciple who abided in Jesus is the will of God, and his apparently free choices are God's fore-ordained decrees. How often we miss the simple work of God manifested in our daily lives for the craving of some great showcase working. In the midst of any great revival we must remember that His greatest works were done one on one in the middle of relationship.
For me this is the glorious truth. Abide--Rest--Be Still--Wait--Hold on--Trust--Believe--Know
In the quietness of your soul--He speaks! And in Him, His fruit you shall bear.
Friday, June 6, 2008
June 6th,2008
I would ask that you keep my son, Peter, in your prayers. He is in the middle of a storm and for him it is raging. I believe I shared before how his wife decided to have a life of her own and has separated herself not only from her husband but also from her God. On top of the emotions of having your family life disrupted by the decision of another, Peter recently lost his job due to employee reduction. He is seeking God, attending church, counseling and men's groups, what he desperately needs is employment. So I ask that you press in as we believe God is preparing exactly what he needs when he needs it. Pray that he continue to draw off the strength of our Lord during the high waves of the storm and that soon he will be resting on calm seas.
My grandson, Trevor, last friday, the 30th of May,graduated preschool. We were blessed to be able to be a part of it.
My granddaughter, Karynne, is going to be in Florida the end of June and I cannot tell you how excited I am to be seeing her. It has been 6-7 years since I have laid eyes on her and at least 5 years since we have even spoken due to outside influences but I can say, Praise God, all is restored and she is back in our lives. She is a beautiful young lady now and we have a lot of catching up to do. Can't wait!
This weekend we are visiting friends in the New Port Richey area. We are truly blessed to have such a loving family of believers surrounding us.
In the weeks to come I want to share some things I have been learning about the Christian walk. I just finished a book on the life of Hudson Taylor and the Inland China Mission. Our Lord spoke to me in a powerful way through Hudson Taylor's life and I trust the message will inspire you as well.
We are at our friend's Rusty and Linda Boles' home with the intent of going through the boxes we left here before going to the field. After Angel & Rusty took down several of the boxes, Rusty asked why we wanted to go through them. Our main reason was because we felt we should see if any could be gotten rid of to free up space in their attack. Rusty let us know that unless he dies or they sell the house the boxes were fine there and not bothering anyone. So I decided not to go through them and at this very moment they are attempting to get the boxes back in the crawl space. Not as easy as taking them down. I feel so bad!
Anyway I do want to mention what appears to be a move of the Spirit of God around the Eastern side of the States. I am always excited when God moves and we experience the power of His presence. I refuse to debate as to whether this move in Lakeland, Florida or North Carolina is of God or not. What I will say is this: Red flags go up in my spirit anytime someone begins to speak anything other than what is in the Word of God. And when I begin to hear someone sharing that they went to heaven and interviewed the Apostle Paul or that they have angels they speak to and who guide them these are clear warning signs to me that something is amiss.
Aside from all the obvious there is an underlying concern which has to do with the divisions between those who are engulfed in the signs and wonders and those who are taking the more cautious approach choosing to discern spiritually that which is before them. This is absolutely what satan desires. To take what may have started out as a true move of the Spirit and now has become a tool to set a division amongst the believers of Jesus Christ.
I have experienced it myself as I shared with a brother my concern of what I am seeing. The division comes when those who choose to run after the signs and wonders take on the attitude of being more highly spiritual or attuned then those who choose to thank God for what He is doing continuing to move forward in their Christian walk. I'm sorry but I don't ever remember reading in the bible where the disciples ran after signs and wonders. Quite the contrary, after Christ's death and the Spirit fell upon them, signs and wonders followed them. These signs and wonders are not for us believers but for the unbeliever pointing them to the greatnesss of God and for His glory. Call me hard headed but I refuse to run after miracles, angels or anything that sets itself up before God. One brother told me I needed to get myself to Lakeland to receive my healing. Odd! I thought I get to God for my healing! You see I believe that if God who is all Sovereign, willed to heal me I would be healed no matter where I am. Sometimes he may use one of His servants to bring healing and other times it is through the faith of the individual and other times it is through death of the earthly body being transformed to a new glorious body.
My thinking is that while all these leaders, believers, and thrill seekers are spending their days encamped around these so called movements how many neighbors, family members, co-workers etc are dying without the knowledge of the great love of Christ and His saving grace. Should we not spend our time exemplifying the heart of Jesus, preaching His gospel and having the signs and wonders of His power follow us? My question is if they are not following you....why not?
The power of Christ is not just for certain gifted chosen few. The moment you surrender your life to Christ, His Spirit dwells in you and as you trust Him, you will see miracles more than you ever imagined. Listen! I may not see miracles of limbs growing, or tumors falling off but I have seen miracles of lives on the path to ruin radically changed and on fire for the gospel of Christ.
This is the greatest miracle we should be seeking after.
As I get off my bandstand, I just want to say that I do believe in a miracle working God and I do believe that He heals even today. I know that it is His will that I be healed. But I also know that He is Sovereign God and while I await His timing for my healing He is free to use this vessel as a testimony of His glory even in the midst of pain. I hear people now saying that they are commanding angels and talking to angels and their angels even have names. Oh my beloved, read your bible. Not once in Scripture did any of the great prophets, diciples and men of God ever command an angel. The only angels with names that we know of were Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer any other reading of an angel was always mentioned as the Angel of the Lord, which many times referred to Jesus. The only one who ever gave directions to angels in Scripture was God, Himself. Even Jesus could have called down legions of angels to rescue Him from the dreaded walk down Calvary and yet He did not. I believe this is a strong example for us. If Christ as the Son of Man refused to call down angels who are we to think we have power to command those which were created to serve God alone?
Well, these are my thoughts for today. I pray that for those of you who read this before you get offended please seek God on these matters. Ask Him for His discernment and wisdom. Test the spirits as we are commanded to do in His Word. While we run after signs and wonders so many are on their way to hell. Let's use our resources to hit the pavement running with a message of a God who loves and whose mercy and grace is calling all sinners home. Of a God who loves so immensely that His Son was sent to take on a debt we could never repay. That in Christ alone we find the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we look for the miracles of Salvation and allow the power of God to fill this earth through His humble people.
May God richly bless you today , may His face shine upon you, may He be gracious toward you and make His countenance be on you and may He give you peace.
In His Most Precious Love....karen
My grandson, Trevor, last friday, the 30th of May,graduated preschool. We were blessed to be able to be a part of it.
My granddaughter, Karynne, is going to be in Florida the end of June and I cannot tell you how excited I am to be seeing her. It has been 6-7 years since I have laid eyes on her and at least 5 years since we have even spoken due to outside influences but I can say, Praise God, all is restored and she is back in our lives. She is a beautiful young lady now and we have a lot of catching up to do. Can't wait!
This weekend we are visiting friends in the New Port Richey area. We are truly blessed to have such a loving family of believers surrounding us.
In the weeks to come I want to share some things I have been learning about the Christian walk. I just finished a book on the life of Hudson Taylor and the Inland China Mission. Our Lord spoke to me in a powerful way through Hudson Taylor's life and I trust the message will inspire you as well.
We are at our friend's Rusty and Linda Boles' home with the intent of going through the boxes we left here before going to the field. After Angel & Rusty took down several of the boxes, Rusty asked why we wanted to go through them. Our main reason was because we felt we should see if any could be gotten rid of to free up space in their attack. Rusty let us know that unless he dies or they sell the house the boxes were fine there and not bothering anyone. So I decided not to go through them and at this very moment they are attempting to get the boxes back in the crawl space. Not as easy as taking them down. I feel so bad!
Anyway I do want to mention what appears to be a move of the Spirit of God around the Eastern side of the States. I am always excited when God moves and we experience the power of His presence. I refuse to debate as to whether this move in Lakeland, Florida or North Carolina is of God or not. What I will say is this: Red flags go up in my spirit anytime someone begins to speak anything other than what is in the Word of God. And when I begin to hear someone sharing that they went to heaven and interviewed the Apostle Paul or that they have angels they speak to and who guide them these are clear warning signs to me that something is amiss.
Aside from all the obvious there is an underlying concern which has to do with the divisions between those who are engulfed in the signs and wonders and those who are taking the more cautious approach choosing to discern spiritually that which is before them. This is absolutely what satan desires. To take what may have started out as a true move of the Spirit and now has become a tool to set a division amongst the believers of Jesus Christ.
I have experienced it myself as I shared with a brother my concern of what I am seeing. The division comes when those who choose to run after the signs and wonders take on the attitude of being more highly spiritual or attuned then those who choose to thank God for what He is doing continuing to move forward in their Christian walk. I'm sorry but I don't ever remember reading in the bible where the disciples ran after signs and wonders. Quite the contrary, after Christ's death and the Spirit fell upon them, signs and wonders followed them. These signs and wonders are not for us believers but for the unbeliever pointing them to the greatnesss of God and for His glory. Call me hard headed but I refuse to run after miracles, angels or anything that sets itself up before God. One brother told me I needed to get myself to Lakeland to receive my healing. Odd! I thought I get to God for my healing! You see I believe that if God who is all Sovereign, willed to heal me I would be healed no matter where I am. Sometimes he may use one of His servants to bring healing and other times it is through the faith of the individual and other times it is through death of the earthly body being transformed to a new glorious body.
My thinking is that while all these leaders, believers, and thrill seekers are spending their days encamped around these so called movements how many neighbors, family members, co-workers etc are dying without the knowledge of the great love of Christ and His saving grace. Should we not spend our time exemplifying the heart of Jesus, preaching His gospel and having the signs and wonders of His power follow us? My question is if they are not following you....why not?
The power of Christ is not just for certain gifted chosen few. The moment you surrender your life to Christ, His Spirit dwells in you and as you trust Him, you will see miracles more than you ever imagined. Listen! I may not see miracles of limbs growing, or tumors falling off but I have seen miracles of lives on the path to ruin radically changed and on fire for the gospel of Christ.
This is the greatest miracle we should be seeking after.
As I get off my bandstand, I just want to say that I do believe in a miracle working God and I do believe that He heals even today. I know that it is His will that I be healed. But I also know that He is Sovereign God and while I await His timing for my healing He is free to use this vessel as a testimony of His glory even in the midst of pain. I hear people now saying that they are commanding angels and talking to angels and their angels even have names. Oh my beloved, read your bible. Not once in Scripture did any of the great prophets, diciples and men of God ever command an angel. The only angels with names that we know of were Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer any other reading of an angel was always mentioned as the Angel of the Lord, which many times referred to Jesus. The only one who ever gave directions to angels in Scripture was God, Himself. Even Jesus could have called down legions of angels to rescue Him from the dreaded walk down Calvary and yet He did not. I believe this is a strong example for us. If Christ as the Son of Man refused to call down angels who are we to think we have power to command those which were created to serve God alone?
Well, these are my thoughts for today. I pray that for those of you who read this before you get offended please seek God on these matters. Ask Him for His discernment and wisdom. Test the spirits as we are commanded to do in His Word. While we run after signs and wonders so many are on their way to hell. Let's use our resources to hit the pavement running with a message of a God who loves and whose mercy and grace is calling all sinners home. Of a God who loves so immensely that His Son was sent to take on a debt we could never repay. That in Christ alone we find the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we look for the miracles of Salvation and allow the power of God to fill this earth through His humble people.
May God richly bless you today , may His face shine upon you, may He be gracious toward you and make His countenance be on you and may He give you peace.
In His Most Precious Love....karen
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