What God Sees When He Sees You

Your sin has been dealt with. Your Father has removed it from you "as far as the east is from the west" (Ps. 103:12). Your sins have been washed away (1 Cor. 6:11). When God looks at you he does not see your sin. He has not one condemning thought toward you (Rom. 8:1). But that's not all. You have a new heart. That's the promise of the new covenant: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to

Pigeon ?River?

pi·geon [pij-uhn]  noun

1. Any bird of the family Columbidae, having a compact body and short legs, especially the larger species with square or rounded tails.

2.  Slang .  

    a.  young, usually attractive, girl.

    b. a person who is easily fooled or cheated; dupe.

3. A moist depression on land (mistakenly labeled as a river) faithfully serving West Michigan farmers for occasional run-off; where Seven Men of character (I was proud to spend time with); met and accepted their fate with smiles (and pond scum) on their faces.

Brilliant!!! We are like the moon!

Tuesday morning I was listening to Philosopher Noonan, and I heard him say something brilliant:

'We are like the moon, reflecting the sun before it is here . . . . '  Brilliant!!!

But then I started thinking about it, am I reflecting the Son . . . . ?  Or am I more worried about this world and surviving?  'Noonan!'

The Purpose of Prayer

From the man Oswald Chambers . . . 

Aug 28, 2012
. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’ —Luke 11:1

Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.

“Ask, and you will receive . . .” (John 16:24). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic

The Warrior Heart

I have in my files a copy of a letter written by Major Sullivan Ballou, a Union officer in the 2nd Rhode Island. He writes to his wife on the eve of the Battle of Bull Run, a battle he senses will be his last. He speaks tenderly to her of his undying love, of "the memories of blissful moments I have spent with you." Ballou mourns the thought that he must give up "the hope of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood around us." Yet in spite of his love the battle calls and he cannot turn from it. "I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter . . . how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution . . . Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break" and yet a greater cause "comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistably on with all these chains to the battle field."

A man must have a battle to fight, a great mission to his life that involves and yet transcends even home and family. He must have a cause to which he is devoted even unto death, for this is written into the fabric of his being. Listen carefully now: You do. That is why God created you-to be his intimate ally, to join him in the Great Battle. You have a specific place in the line, a mission God made you for.

(Wild at Heart , 141)

GoddoG - Let's give it a try!

Two things I learned tonight:
   1.  You can't talk about hot dogs for an hour at 11pm without making yourself really hungry!
   2.  The guys in this group rock!  A lot!

Oh yeah, we are going to give GoddoG's a try in 2 weekends (assuming the health department rumors pan out.).  Please pray.  The goal is to show God's love in it's true form, with no strings attached.

If you want to join, let me know.  We will probably have 2-3 guys in the field .... And the rest praying at church.

Until then, just remember the GoddoG slogan:  'Nothing says God Loves You like liquified meat stuffed in a skin!'

Why Pabama??? Kids that are 'unwanted' . . .

Name changers: 285 Indian girls no longer 'unwanted'
District hopes renaming ceremony will give girls new dignity, fight discrimination

AP
Girls hold certificates stating their new official names during a renaming ceremony in Satara, India, on Saturday. Almost 300 Indian girls known officially as "Unwanted" have traded their birth names for a fresh start in life.

By CHAYA BABU

updated 10/22/2011 11:54:16 AM ET

MUMBAI, India — Hundreds of Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life.

Following Him into the Unknown

Either we wake to tackle our "to do" list, get things done, guided by our morals and whatever clarity we may at the moment have (both rather lacking to the need, I might add); or we wake in the midst of a dangerous Story, as God's intimate ally, following him into the unknown.

If you're not pursuing a dangerous quest with your life, well, then, you don't need a Guide. If you haven't found yourself in the midst of a ferocious war, then you won't need a seasoned Captain. If you've settled in your mind to live as though this is a fairly neutral world and you are simply trying to live your life as best you can, then you can probably get by with the Christianity of tips and techniques. Maybe. I'll give you about a fifty-fifty chance. But if you intend to live in the Story that God is telling, and if you want the life he offers, then you are going to need more than a handful of principles, however noble they may be. There are too many twists and turns in the road ahead, too many ambushes waiting only God knows where, too much at stake. You cannot possibly prepare yourself for every situation. Narrow is the way, said Jesus. How shall we be sure to find it? We need God intimately, and we need him desperately. 

John Eldredge - (Waking the Dead , 95) 

Wow, do I live my daily life like I need God desperately? I usually try to keep juggling everything on my own . . . .

'Holiness was once a central component of following Christ. But for many today, the Christian life is little more than a celebration of cheap grace and pseudo-liberty, with a high tolerance for sin.' - Randy Alcorn reviewing a book by Kevin DeYoung, wow, do I have the nuts to read this book . . . ?

Last Thursdays run:  2nd trip to DuBois farm in Coopersville, a last push to help them get ready to move in. Ryan lost his job the Tuesday before we came, and found a new job by Friday.  Reminds me of the post championship locker room talk in 'Facing the Giants' - 'I ask you, is there anything that God cannot do?'

Am email from Ryan:  'Can't thank you enough for doing it again, we really appreciate it and can't wait to move in...one week we hope.  I don't know where you keep getting these guys but they're great.'

I am hoping that he is moved in, and can join us for our September run.  Pabama Coopersville!  Go Broncos!

Almost forgot, a picture of a typical Knight, hard at work:

Beek is now a Blogger !

Honduras #1 - "Traveling"

I have been "challenged" by Mr. Dyk to include more pictures / info from my trip to Honduras.  The goal is to show you what we did, but also to pass along God's "Holy nudge".  Please prayerfully consider joining us next August as we complete some basic construction, see God's beautiful creation of LaUnion, Honduras, and reunite with our Honduras family.

This first post is about our traveling down there.  Much safer than I had anticipated, and very "doable", in case you are interested (hint hint).  :)

Meeting at the G.R. airport at 4:15 am was our first big challenge (especially when traveling with about 30 teenagers).  A great group of kids who worked hard and never complained (although motion sickness hit a couple hard on the bus ride, but no puking!).




Getting everyone set with plane tickets wasn't that tough, although you would never know it by looking at Walker's face.

Waiting in line at Customs in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  It was there that I first really did miss my kids as I saw 2 little Honduran girls about the same age as my daughters running around.

Another "Walker, Honduran Ranger" shot.  At the airport, we dropped off the luggage and headed over for our first taste of Honduran cuisine.  (Got to say, eating the food down there did make me nervous).  But believe it or not, the first food we ate was...... Wendy's!  (except no water, ice in your pop, tomatoes or lettuce that may have been washed in the water). Get used to that feeling - no water.  But we always had plenty of clean water brought in to drink.

 Felt very safe, right from the start.  Behind Sam's excited face you can see the 5 or 6 National Police officers that were assigned to escort us from the airport to La Union (a five hour drive).  We likely did not really need it, but it was cool to see the truck behind us the entire way with guys with machine guns in the back.

At a stopping point on our trip.









They even stopped to get gas.

A pretty uneventful bus ride to La Union.  About 2 hours of paved roads, and then 2 1/2 hours on dirt roads through the mountains.  It was on this trip that I first realized I am not in control!  That was a great reminder for me the entire week, and back at home. There are many things that I cannot control, so I should leave it to God.

This picture is a typical village we passed through.

The video is not great, but shows you a little of the 4 1/2 hour trip we took.  It was a little bumpy and crowded to say the least.

Again, the trip down to La Union, Honduras had some great memories, but I was ready to get going.  I will share more about the water filters and the village of La Union next time.

Not entitled to bad days . . .

If you are like me, you have 'bad' days. Reading an interview with Lopez Lomong's mom, I saw the following:

What’s the biggest lesson Lopez has taught you?
I don’t have any bad days, because I see what other people go through in their everyday lives in Africa and so many countries. If I have a flat tire, it’s just part of my adventure of the day. I am not entitled to a bad day. I have people who I know love me and surround me and are good influences on my life.

'I am not entitled to a bad day.' - I think this may have to find it's way into a Pabama creed.

Technology .... is there any benefit?

Most technology is probably actually clouding our worlds instead of being the amazing savior we treat it as . . . and then you find the exception. The smile of Emma in this is priceless.

Some of this...some of you will recognize....

Praying for the guys and gals of tent city.

http://interactives.woodtv.com/photomojo/gallery/3588/1/hidden-homeless-camps-in-west-michigan/west-michigan-homeless-camps/

With all my soul . . . .

Thought of you this morning Chris Walker, you do this very, very well:

I will sing and make music with all my soul. - Psalm 108 v 1b

Chris Walker rocks!