Catching up...

I'm just praising God for His goodness. We were able to have Mandy and Andy up for Thanksgiving weekend. Andy lost his grandmother. She was 100 years old and one of God's children. On Sunday, we had Andy's parents and brother over to celebrate Thanksgiving with all of us. After our meal, Mandy handed Cathy and Debbie (Andy's mom) a card. Inside was a sonogram of our newest grandchild. Laughter and tears accompany our joy and congratulations to Mandy and Andy.

On Wednesday, Jon called and talked with Cathy. He and Kristine were able to lead a young lady to Christ at church. I'm so bowled over by God's grace and awesome kindness. We are truly blessed!

Things at church are going well. I'm praying for revival and souls saved in our church. There have been lost people coming to the church so it's only a matter of time that there are decisions... I'm just needing to be patient. Pray for us.

Update

It's been quiet awhile since my last blog. Since then, God has truly blessed. We have started Indiana Baptist Indiana with a total of 17 students this year. The faculty is in place and we are thankful for the four men who have stepped up to help this year. The courses I'm teaching have pushed me, but I'm enjoying the interaction and opportunity. Our church also called one of the students, Alan Schoeff, as our missionary to Sheridan. This too is an answer to prayer. He began in September and is excited to be used of God in His Kingdom work.

On the family front, Cathy is leaving for Romania with Eyes on Christ. She and Julie Schoeff, Alan's wife, will be ministering to the people there with the gift of eye glasses. This also gives opportunity for them to present the gospel message. They will be working with Mike and Julie Rogers. During their absence, Tim and I will be busy working on updating and remodeling our kitchen. (Yes, Cathy knows and has helped pick out the upgrades).

We were able to enjoy time with all our children. Jonathan, Kristine and Niah came up for a visit. We enjoyed our time with them and went to the Children's Museum where we were entertained by our granddaughter Niah. On Friday night, unbeknown to us, Mandy and Andy travelled up and went to do some work at Landmark. The next day, after enlisting the aid of our new missionary, they got us to the church for a surprise anniversary celebration. Cathy and I celebrate 30 years of marriage. What a joy to have all the children, Niah and friends come to commemorate the milestone. Cathy is such a blessing and God send to me. I love her deeply.

Millions of souls

This picture was taken on top of the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai, Thailand. A Buddhist temple sits on top of that mountain and just a bit further, the Northern Palace where the royal family stay in the winter months. This is one of three pictures that don't begin to take in the panorama of the city nor of the humanity present here. The people of Thailand are indeed a people of smiles. Yet it saddens me to think of the many who don't embrace Christ. In this age of tolerance, I must take a stand to the exclusivity of Christ. He Himself stated that He was the way, the truth and the life. No man can come to the Father but by me. Christians today seem to embrace the fact that faith is faith. So long as you are faithful to your system of faith, you'll somehow make it. That isn't Biblical in any way. Faith in Christ alone saves us from our sins. Faith in Christ alone presents us faultless before the Heavenly Father. The message of God is one of love... for all people groups. He came and died as payment for their sin. And only by placing our faith in Christ can we find Peace with God. It may not be politically correct or proper, but it is biblical. May the millions who live in Thailand and other parts of the world have opportunity to know and experience God's love. May those of us who know Him faithfully live out our faith before them and be willing to share it regardless of the costs.

My Two Beautiful Girls

What can I say... they are both beautiful inside and out. This is at a function at the church in Bentonville where Niah and her mom and dad will live.

Proud Parents!

The family smiling at Jonathan's graduation from the Missionary Baptist Seminary at Little Rock. Andy didn't get to make the trip, and we missed him.

We are very proud of Jonathan who began his ministry at First Landmark MBC in Bentonville, Arkansas as their youth pastor. My prayer is that God richly bless his ministry and that souls are saved and God glorified through Jonathan, Kristine and Niah.

Is it morning?

This is a picture of Niah early on the morning they were getting ready to go back to Little Rock. It's just goofy. The look says it all!

Catching Up...

Just thought that I would write a quick note to get everyone up to speed. We're praying for Jonathan, Kristine and Niah as they get closer to the close of their experience at the Missionary Baptist Seminary at Little Rock. We've consistently prayed for them and for God to help them to know His will for their lives. We'll be excited to see them as they come back to Indiana during their Spring Break. We all get to celebrate Niah's first birthday. It hardly seems like a year is past.

Things at church are going well. I want to see more happening. I pray for our church, that we will fight against apathy and complacency and firm our resolve and commitment to Christ. I'm asking for our LBC family to fast and pray for revival.

Pray for our missions and missionaries. Each have things that they are facing or dealing with. Our school continues to go forward and I'm thankful for the students and faculty. I'm praying that we can continue to see growth in our students as well as in our student body. Please keep us in your prayers!

Blessings

Jonathan, Kristine and Niah said that they would be coming up in March during Spring break. It will be good to celebrate Niah's birthday in person! Cathy can't wait to hold her again. I know she'll give me a turn and share!

Those who have had major medical issues are all doing well. God is good all the time, and we praise that He has answered our prayers as He has in these situations.

Tonight, we had two young ladies surrender their lives to Christ. The Awana workers led them to the Lord and I did the follow up with the girls and the workers in my office. I praise the Lord for these two young lives as well as for the faithfulness of the workers who invest their time and energies. All the glory goes to Christ our Savior, but as a pastor, I appreciate the work our volunteers put in to making the ministries of our church work toward our purpose and goals.

Just Blessings...

Just Checking In...

Well I thought I'd try to do a better job of keeping up to date on my blog. I've also added a new twist to our church website and included a blog report on Indiana Baptist Institute under News and Updates. I'm curious to see if this will be simple and viable for those busy in the various facets of ministry.

School has started up again and we have one new full time student. There are two others who have expressed an interest in beginning next school year. Pray that we will see an increase in our student body as well as in our faculty. I am so thankful for the supporters of this work and the good churches who allow their pastor to be on faculty to teach. We couldn't do it without either one.

We're praying that 2008 will find us growing stronger and more dedicated for the Lord and His kingdom work. Our desire is to see souls saved and on the road to Heaven. We want to see our church grow disciples who will in turn go out and win and mentor others.

Here's another of my favorite pictures of Niah. It makes you wonder what she's thinking. Tim had the priviledge of preaching Sunday morning. Cathy's family and most of my family were there to hear him.

It was great for Cathy and me to have all of our children and their families together for Christmas even if we had travel all the way to Arkansas in order to get it done. Of course we all enjoyed watching Niah open gifts for her first Christmas.