Fish Fry --> Kids in our Pew

Ah... the joys of settling back in after a long road trip.  We always find out that we're more tired than we think we are and we spend the first two weeks (or more) trying to catch up on sleep, catch up on overdue emails and projects, and refresh ourselves emotionally and spiritually.  We love traveling, but it still tends to wear us out.  You can pray for rest in all areas of life for us. :)  And wisdom for planning our next trip. :)

But in the meantime, we're settling back into small town life.  We stopped by a friend's fish fry just after getting back.  We knew only the host, so amused ourselves trying to play horseshoes.  One man was amused by us too, so he stopped us and tried to show us how to do it right.  "Here," he said.  "Hold this."  And he handed us his beer while he demonstrated proper technique for throwing a horseshoe.  No, this wasn't really our usual "church crowd."

As we were feasting on scrumptious fish, we sat down at a picnic table and were introduced to another couple, P. and A.  We started telling them our "how we met" story and they responded by telling us that they met in prison.  P. got out of jail first and got a house ready for A.  14 years and 4 kids later, they're still together.

We asked P. and A. if they had a local church and suddenly ended up in a theological conversation about why people in the Old Testament had to sacrifice animals and why Christ had to die for us.  We talked for an hour and a half with them - sharing the truths of the Gospel and about the wages of sin and the payment of Christ.  By the end of the time, we asked if they wanted us to take their kids to church with us in the morning.  And they said yes!

So - we've got kids in our pew these days!  We pick them up for Sunday School and drop them back off after church!  Go go minivan!  And go go Greg and Dorinda who are not used to overseeing youngsters!  (AHHH!  What is this 4 year old doing in my pew?  Am I supposed to watch him?!?)  Pray that P. and A. will join us as well.  We've invited them, but they're not sure yet.  There's a special series started this Wednesday specifically for people who are asking questions.  Pray that they'll come!

Greg and I went to Pizza Hut this evening and ended up talking to the employee packaging the silverware.  We ended up inviting her to come to church with us too!  "Where do you go?" she asked. "The Assembly of God?"

"Yes!" we answered, a bit startled.

"I've already been invited there several times!  Bobby invited me.  And Travis invited me.  Maybe I'll come tomorrow.  We'll see..."

Pray! :)  and Praise God for these opportunities we've had to share! :)

Right. Thanks, God!

I think God's ornery.  Yesterday, I wrote about sharing our faith with others.  Today, missionaries from the Philippines are in the office.  She's been sharing their stories and stories of Gracia and Martin and their faithfulness to share the Gospel - even with the Abu-Sayyaf.  But she's also talking about us in the US.

As I type, she's sharing, "Start those relationships!  I have friends who are on dialysis.  I have friends who have to get weekly checkups.  Do you know what that means?  They see the same group of faces every week.  You see the same people too.  Your bank teller. Your grocery checkout person.  The person who cuts your hair.  Talk to them. Get to know them.  Find out about their life.  Ask them to lunch.  People are open to hear about God when you sincerely care about their lives.  All of us are missionaries where ever God puts us. Now get out there!"

Yes, God. :)

Sharing Who You Are

Random question: Are you a good person?

Now on to the blog... :)

This evening's activity: enjoying a cookout with the Bethany Church Wilderness Ministry group.  Greg had been involved with the group when he was in Seattle in the past, so we decided to connect up with some old friends and meet new ones.  We had a great time and enjoyed some good conversations and heard about some really cool upcoming hikes!

We conversed with one middle-aged couple for quite some time.  They had a heart for the Lord and for missions and were really good at drawing people out in conversation.  I had been thinking about a particular topic for a while, so I decided to ask this gentleman, thinking he would have a good answer.

"What ways do you find to share your faith with others here in the Seattle area?  I would imagine it being a different sharing environment than in the mid-west.  What have you found to be effective in sharing Christ with others?"

The gentleman pondered for a moment and replied, "If you mean point-by-point sharing my faith with someone, I haven't done that in years.  So I guess I can't answer your question."  I tried making the question a little broader, but the answer was basically the same.

It made me think back to when I was at GFA and the Lord was convicting me for not deliberately sharing my faith with the world around me.  That was a gigantic, scary step.  But should it be?  If our lives as Christians are truly centered around who Christ is and His glory and His greatness and his worthiness to be worshipped, what will it take to share that with the world around us?  We are quick to proudly talk about our spouses and our hobbies and our kids, but do we share that proudly and eagerly about our God?

I don't.  But I want to. Lord, help me to know you and savor you and represent you well.  May your life flow into mine and overflow so naturally that people can't help but see You as I live and share.  Place people in my path with whom I can share your truth.

War Games

The past couple weeks, I've been asking the Lord to break my heart afresh for the lost world.  But I certainly didn't expect Him to use tonight's "fun" movie to bring me to tears.

After an intense day of programming and LightSys work, Greg and I curled up to relax and watch War Games - a 1983 movie release about a boy computer hacker who taps into a government defense computer.  Almost before he realizes what his meddling has done, the US and Russia are preparing for WW III.  With 9 hours (and counting) before the dreaded nuclear warheads launch, the boy ends up on a search to find the one programmer who can help correct the computer program and avert the crisis.

Eventually, with no one who believes him and with this knowledge weighing heavily on him, he exclaims to his girlfriend, "I wish I didn't know about any of this.  I wish I was like everyone else in the world."

Those statements struck me hard.  His knowledge of what was going to happen was not simple knowledge.  It brought with it responsibility.  He knew that time was short and that lives would be lost and he couldn't just go back to his regular life.  He had to do something!

I have the same problem as the boy.  And you likely have the problem too.  We know the truth.  We know the way of salvation.  And we know that people are perishing without Christ.  Every day, 80,000 people die and plunge into hell without ever hearing the name of Jesus.  Time is short.  We can't just live our lives like the world around us.  We have to be deliberate in reaching out to our towns and our country and the world with the message of Christ.

I sat there on the couch with Greg after the movie ended and I couldn't keep from crying.  Crying over the millions that have never heard our Savior's name.  Crying over the wars and famines and genocides that the enemy uses to claim lives.  Crying over the Church that has the knowledge of salvation, but seems to be lulled into forgetting the urgency of the moment.  Where is our heart, Church?  Where is our passion?  Where is our desperation?

We do know the truth.  And we aren't like everyone else in the world.

We have to do something.

Soccer and sharing

Pastor spoke this morning again about evangelism and I had an opportunity to put in into practice after a short soccer game this afternoon. Although it was a bunch of GFA staff that had gathered at a local park to play, we invited Melinda, an interested bystander, to join us.

As the game ended, two of Melinda's friends came by to get her. I introduced myself and then found myself looking around for someone else to share the Gospel with them. But it looked like it was going to be me. I ended up talking to Melinda and Nicki and Jireh for about 30 minutes about their lives as 9th graders and about eternity. I talked to Melinda a little more personally and she'd like to get together and talk with me sometime. Please pray for the Lord to be working in these girls' hearts and for Him to draw them to Himself.

Two of my friends stayed in the background and prayed for me while I was sharing with the girls. That meant a lot to me. Thanks, E & S.

Operation Sleep

We leave from the office tomorrow morning at 7am to help with Operation Care Dallas -- assisting in sharing Christ's love with thousands of homeless people. It should be an exciting (and stretching) day. I think we're scheduled to be a part of the evangelism team. You can pray for our hearts and the hearts of the people we'll be working with. We want to share Christ's love in very deliberate and tangible ways - ministering both physically and spiritually. I really need the Holy Spirit working through me.

Right now Operation Sleep is starting. I'm having a hard time holding back the troops.

"It was the Lord"

There are days when that's all you can say: "It was the Lord, not me." Here's a few recent examples...

• Peace the last several days. Thank you guys for praying! I know that many of you have been reading between the lines (or in the lines) and seen how stretched and overwhelmed I've been. This week has been so much better!
• Striving Lessons from last week. The topic of "the servant of the Lord must not strive" came up in Bible study last week (2 Tim 2), but then it came up again as I was reading chapter 9 of Touching Godliness Through Submission. What timing of the Lord to plan both of those things for the same week!
• Questions for Bible study this week. I was clueless on how to guide discussion for this chapter until we were praying in DT meeting. Then suddenly the questions were there in my head. Whoa - thought I - I didn't even realize that there were three groups of people described in 2 Timothy 3!
• Divine appointment at the post office. Jes and I went to the post office to get my mail this evening. Another lady arrived about the same time to get her mail. She had huge bags under her eyes and was dressed sloppily. My heart was touched and I asked how we could pray for her. She was blown away. She kept muttering, crying, and saying, "Did you plan this? Is this real? Am I dreaming? Who sent you?" Shaken, she left out the door without giving us more than a generic answer of "Of course, I need prayer. Everyone needs prayer." But it was completely evident that God had orchestrated that meeting. You can pray for "Chrissy."
  

Nike shoes and a New believer

Today was another one of those scary days - evangelism outreach. To be quite honest, I'm always a little scared and intimidated when we set aside time to deliberately witness to strangers. Sharing the Gospel is something that I'm learning to do in my everyday life at the gas station, the grocery store, and other places. But anytime, it's very stretching for me.

Several GFA staff and School of Discipleship students went to a large outdoor market today for evangelism. One of the students and I were paired up as a team, handing out tracts and talking to people. We met and prayed with Jori and Georgette (already Christians) and spoke with several others including Brandon, Tony, and the-lady-who-looked-very-sad-and-spoke-no-English. We continue to pray that the Lord will work in their hearts and bring them to know him.

We also spoke with Elizabeth - a young Hispanic lady who was manning a Nike booth. Short version of the story: Elizabeth didn't really know anything about God or Jesus. We shared the Gospel message and she said she wanted to ask God to forgive her of her sins. I told her she could talk to God just like she talked to a friend. And so she did. "Hi God..."

To be honest, I've never shared the Gospel message with someone who wanted to accept Jesus as their Savior at the end. I keep wondering if I explained things right or if it was all real. I do have her phone number and email address and plan on getting her in touch with a local church (she's about 45 minutes away from where I live). She doesn't know any other Christians. Please pray that God will lead me to a church family that will reach out to her. Pray for her to read the Gospel of John we gave her and for the Lord to make himself real to her. And pray for her dad who has recently returned to a drug and alcohol addiction.

Angels in heaven rejoicing...