Merry Christmas!

Wow, I can't believe Christmas has again come and gone so quickly. I really wanted to slow down some today and remember that Jesus really did come down to earth, the same earth we stand on right now, and was born as a baby, leaving the comforts of Heaven just to come down to earth and provide us a way of salvation. So He left His home so that we could have a home, one day with Him. I enjoyed being with family today and enjoyed eating some nice food and I get to do the same thing tomorrow, but I really do want to tell others about Jesus and I thought so much about my neighbors today, especially those who live alone, and want to share with them so much about what Jesus offers us, if we will just accept it. Maybe the new year will provide us with the opportunity to share the love of Christ more and more with those around us, both neighbors and friends, and family, so "Happy Birthday Jesus" and I pray that we will continue to celebrate your birth and your life all year long!

Monthly Movie Madness Night!

Last night was encouraging in that we had 45 folks show up for our Monthly Movie Madness Night. We have been showing movies since June and have showed one every 3rd Saturday of the month but last night also added a "dinner" to the festivities by giving everyone Pizza and a Salad, so it was a very busy night but a good one hopefully to make more contacts for the future. It was a little bit frustrating in that I want so much to just share Jesus with folks and tell them about Him and His free gift of life to us, but sometimes with children and comotion I wonder if the message is as clear as I would like it to be or in short, if anyone is really listening, but I just have to remember to Plant & Plow, and God will do the harvesting. So let's press on and look forward to the new year and hopefully some New Lives that are formed because of Jesus!

God Provides!

It has been a good day and God blessed us with a good Bible study tonight! Not only did we have 16 people but it was just a good reminder when we watched the Andy Griffith Episode entitled "Quiet Sam" which is about a man who seems a little strange acting to Barney but it's because he is about to become a father. And just the thought of a baby at Christmas time reminded us that another baby entered the world about 2,000 years ago, and it too may have seemed strange to some folks, but brought salvation to others. God blessed my heart too even as I taught, He is just so good when He is the Master teacher and teaches us while we teach others. He is so good! And I was indeed blessed yesterday when I received a package from Johnny Karls the man who made the movie JUSTSTOPANDTHINK which I think is a great witnessing tool. After contacting him several times and asking about the movie, he very graciously sent me about 60 copies of the movie yesterday and even paid the postage because he said he wanted to help with my church plant. That was great and very giving of a person that I have not even met face to face. God is indeed Jehovah Jireh in that HE provides us with exactly what we need. With a community outreach this coming Saturday, the movies came just in time and will be very useful to me in sharing God's grace and goodness with others. God continues to be awesome and show Himself mighty as we plant the church He's called us to plant for His glory!

God Is At Work!

It's obvious that God is always working on our behalf and preparing things for us that are just great, exciting, and most definitely for our benefit. But when we can witness first hand or just see some things from time to time that we just know that God is doing, it's exciting and we are again reminded of His faithfulness and blessings to us. Everytime I contact someone, especially some of my former students that I've had years ago, I can see God maybe working to put us together again, so that I might again teach Bible to them, just like I did years ago. Or when I see someone who doesn't really want to go to the church they use to or just haven't attended in such a long time, but yet are open to maybe coming to a Movie Night that we are hosting, or attending a Bible study the we are doing, then again I just see God putting things in place for BIG things to happen in the future. So I'm exciting, God is working, and the best is yet to come! Praise Him!

A Christmas Story!

Well tonight was a good time at Bible Study as we watched the Christmas episode of Andy Griffith entitled "The Christmas Story" which features the mean old store owner named Ben Weaver who plays the part of a scrooge until the spirit of giving takes over and gives him a new heart. We then found it very easy to compare the story to what Jesus does with us. He changes us and gives us a new heart as we place our faith in Him, and then we find that we are so grateful for what He has given to us that we in turn want to give to others. From a manger to the cross, He couldn't have shown us any more love than He did. May the spirit of that first Christmas capture us and our hearts as we continue to learn how to love and give just like Jesus did for us.

Morals From Mayberry

Well here it is the first Tuesday after our Thanksgiving Holiday and while we had 14 folks for our Bible Study tonight (which was great!) we were missing a few people and so I was reminded that I am very thankful when everyone is there, especially Ginny who was absent tonight so she could attend a church function with her Mom. I know Ginny is valuable but it's nothing like her being gone to remind me of that. But we did alright and we had a good time studying what King David, Samson, and Barney Fife had in common. I know it may sound crazy but you would have had to be there to get the full comparrison of all these guys but the episode was Barney buying a car and how we often ignore good advice from God and our good friends and instead get suckered in to a bad deal, so maybe that will give you some good hints on what our study was about. But now with the new month, we will turn our attention to Christmas and so next week will be the Christmas episode of Andy Griffith, so hopefully it will be a blessing and another opportunity for God to teach us all.