Over half way!

We are almost 1/2 way to 15.

Two more days to try for 15 new partners in January - but we will carry on!

Two Words

 

  This past Monday evening Howard and I ventured out of our normal world of existence - we attended a High School CRU - CityWide event in Chattanooga.  We spent the evening praising God with 75+ high-schoolers.

 
           What is Cru? - It is the high school and junior high ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.

CRU-High School has the goal of:

  WINNING students to Christ

  BUILDING them up in their faith

  SENDING them out to reach others for Christ

       We reached out to Jill Finley who attends our church and who we had met last year when our church had its Missions Conference. She is a Missionary with Cru at Brainerd High School in Chattanooga and encouraged us to join her as she helps grow the Gospel in these students lives.    

   
   While Howard and I are in our Support Raising portion of Ministry we want to involve ourselves in others lives, we want to learn and absorb as much as we can that will help us when we arrive in Lethbridge.  Spending time with High School youth is a way we can minister to others, share our testimony and SHOW THEM JESUS, right here in Chattanooga.  We hope to spend Mondays nights for the next few months with Jill and the students from Brainerd High School.

       In addition to Praising God through song, enjoying a bit of YouTube fun and prayers, we heard about the recent event that many of them had attended.  The event they attended was called FAST BREAK. It was a 3 day event for youth that have been attending CRU meetings, it is a time of fun, training, and worship for the kids who attend.

       One of the young men who attended shared something really great that I wanted to share with you  - something I have been thinking about and want you to think about.

      The high school seniors who attended where challenged to come up with their TWO WORDS.

 Two words that would describe their before Christ and after Christ lives.

   

 Two words that they could share when they left high school and would lead into their testimony.  

 Two words that no one could dispute because the words belong to them and are true for them.

      I didn't have a paper to write down his TWO WORDS, and I don't remember all of his testimony to share with you, but it was good, really good. 

  So, the challenge was there for me, what would be my two words?  I have been thinking about how I would get two words. I mean, I was raised in a Christian home and it seems as if I have had Jesus in my heart from my earliest memories.  How could I have a before and an after when I was never "away" from Jesus.  I happened to be reading John chapter 3 today and read about Nicodemus' question to Jesus about being born again. Nicodemus had "always" followed God and obeyed the commands, sounded just like me. Jesus's answer is the key: "being born of the water and the Spirit" (vs. 5).
I had been baptized and educated in the church, prayed to Jesus as a child and learned all the stories about Him.  But then I recalled the time when I was 12 years old and was attending catechism classes.  Through what we were learning I was convicted that I needed to make my relationship with Jesus more than just head knowledge and my parents faith.  I was convicted to move from being Happy in my home, church and belief in Jesus, to being Content in Jesus no matter what was going to happen in my life in the future.  A maturity process was begin, one that is still being worked out day to day as I remind myself I can be Content in all things because I have a relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ.


So here are my two words:

   Happy - Content

  And you can see where my testimony started and where it is going.  After all, isn't a testimony all about what you have seen happen?  And I have seen Jesus moving me from being Happy to being Content, my TWO WORDS that I can share with others whether they are family, friends, students, adults, little children, believers and unbelievers.

   Challenge - What are your TWO WORDS?

*All photos THROW-BACK-THURSDAY proof that Howard and I were high-schooler's a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
           


 

God is Good.

Amazing Kids Online Auction!

In conjunction with the Amazing Kids Gala fundraiser this weekend,

 they are holding an Online Auction on Facebook

(This is such a cool idea!)

Here are the links to check it out:

Amazing Kids 48-Hour Auction

Auction Details/Instructions

This is such a great idea -

 I am hoping that I will be able to bid on something that can either be mailed to me or I can pick up later.

Please check this out and share with others!

PTL

Parties and Celebrations!

  

There is a party going on - or two -  this weekend.

1.

 


Amazing Kids Gala Evening and Fundraiser

Amazing Kids

Saturday, 24 January 2015 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (MST)

Lethbridge, AB

Galt Museum - where the event is being held

    This Saturday night, Amazing Kids is having a fund-raising event - the goal is $200,000.00 to help support the renovation of the building which is being purchased to house the Amazing Kids Ministry. Dinner, entertainment and a silent auction event. 

     We would like you to be in prayer for the new building.  We are still in the zoning phase of the purchase of the building and there have been a couple of delays in finishing this up.  We are now looking at the end of March for final approval.  

       It is someone's birthday on Sunday  - someone who will again be the same age as the older of the two of us....                                                                ... Howard will be turning 54!

     You can learn more about the building here: New Building    

                   

 2.

       

              We are almost to the next group of Senior discounts - ha!

                           Drop him a note or give him a call!!!!!

Bonfire and family is the event being planned!

  

Thank you!

Today is January 15 - we are 1/5th of the way to 15 new supporters in January 2015

Exciting news! 

Yes, we have 3 new monthly support partners and that number should grow by the end of this week.

 Instead of being just short of 50% of our support - we have passed 50%!!!  

   
     Howard and I are really pushing for 15 new partners (or more) by the end of January - which will give us the momentum to get 15 or more new partners every month.
  We have been emailing, messaging, or calling many of you and will continue to do so until we get to 100% of our support. If you know someone who would like to hear about our calling and ministry, please give us a call or drop us an email - or share this blog on Facebook!

    For those of you who have committed to join the team this month - your name is now on our "Chalkboard of Fame"

Thank You!

Watch for updates to the "Chalkboard of Fame" as they come in 

 it will only be a photo, but we are excited! 

It is amazing to see how God is working to grow His Kingdom!

I hit the wall . . . adventures while swimming, part 2

Yep,
   Believe it or not. I couldn't believe it when it happened, I hit the wall of the pool with my head, first lap this morning.  Whack! Didn't slow down or anything, and of course, there was someone standing in the next lane while it occurred. Tears would have come to my eyes if they weren't already wet.

  How do you explain that one? I was actually day-dreaming - planning what I was going to do today and at the same time, trying not to hit the person I was sharing the lane with.

  Oh well, keeps you humble.

   So that got me to thinking (30 minutes of laps ahead, remember - lots of time to think).

   That "Hitting a Wall" idom is found in many different places in life:

If you are a writer.
If you can't get better from your illness.
If you rely on creativeness for your employment.
If you are trying to reach the unreachable.
If your students just don't get it.
If the money is not in the checking account no matter how hard you work.
If the car just won't work no matter what you have fixed.
If _________________________ (you fill in the blank)

  Last night our ladies Bible study started a new study, we will be going through the book of Nehemiah - you know him - the guy with the "wall" problem.

  So far we haven't learned much about the wall - instead we looked at the God who made a promise to a whole bunch of people - a covenant with chosen people - us.  The God who promised to be with us no matter when or where we hit our "wall".  The God who promised in Genesis, Exodus, Samuel, Isaiah, Chronicles, Romans, and the entire written word of God:

  The God who sent Jesus, who handled all of our "walls" for us.


  My wall today was just part of a cement pond, but other days my wall will be things I have to do, people I have to live with, phone calls I have to make.  I am thankful each day for my Lord and Savior Jesus who has tackled the same walls and for the Holy Spirit who gives me the strength to tackle the new walls I encounter.
 



 What is your wall today, this week, this month?

  (my way of asking if there is anyone out there?)

Are you ready... to discuss the weather?

   I can't believe we haven't talked about weather here on the Vander Griend's  musing spot.  Is it too hot, too cold, too dry, too rainy, too windy...Today is the day - it is deserving of it since a good portion of the U.S. and Canada are in a deep freeze.   I talked with my mom who said even Florida had a "feels like" temperature of 35° this morning and she had her sweat pants on with a sweatshirt.  

   Here is our official temperatures at 10:00 am from our kitchen and the front porch - and the front porch is in the sun right now. (It was 11° at 8 am)

(ignore the time stamp - haven't figured out how to correct that)

   Which brings up the topic that is always mentioned when we tell people we are heading to Alberta, Canada for missions work.  

Weather - particularly temperature. 

There are lots of jokes, 

Lots of "are you ready for this",

 Lots of "you shouldn't be cold".

   Yes, its going to be cold outside there, and really windy a lot of the time.  Today the temperature in Lethbridge is going to be a balmy 12° for the high and a -10° for the low.

   But hey, it is January, and the temperature in Wisconsin Rapids were we lived for a year is projected to be a high of 9° and a low of -2°.

Are we ready for the colder temperatures and the longer winters?

Are we ready for the long nights and endless wind?

Are we ready to think in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit?

Are we ready for no pennies? (did you even know that?)

Are we ready for Showing Them Jesus?

How do you answer them?  How about defining the word ready?

read·y

ˈredē/

adjective

1. 

   1.

   in a suitable state for an activity, action, or situation; fully prepared.

   "are you ready, Carrie?"

   synonyms:

   prepared, set, all set, organized, primed;
2. 2.

   easily available or obtained; within reach.

   "there was a ready supply of drink"

noun

BRITISHinformal

1. 1.

   available money; cash.

verb

1. 1.

   prepare (someone or something) for an activity or purpose.

   "the spare transformer was readied for shipment"

   synonyms:

   prepare, get/make ready, organize;

I like that definition: in a suitable state for an activity, action, or situation: fully prepared.

1 Peter 3:15

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

1 Corinthians 16:13

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

In light of those verses, we are working on getting ready.  We are preparing to give a defense to the Blackfoot people and other people we meet about How Great is Our God! We are relying on Him who strengthens us. And we are standing firm in our faith that God will provide the resources we need to get to Canada and provide the strength we need to serve Him there.

And, we are prepared for the weather - plugging in our humidifier when the heat runs all night, and packing up our electric mattress pad that has served us well from Illinois to Tennessee and on to Canada!