"Water School"

How do you start a ministry to help the lost and forgotten in third world countries, when you have little or no knowledge of cultures, needs, logistics, etc? Do you throw money at World Vision, Compassion International or Samaritan’s Purse? There are so many large mission outreaches doing what needs to be done, so why start another small, home-grown ministry?

Starting a ministry isn’t about saving humanity; it’s about people helping people in the name of Jesus Christ. Putting names and faces with stories and starting relationships with people whose lives you can empower for change. We are learning to look at each statistic to the right as a person. Each with a story. Every mother, son, daughter, brother or father who has hope for a better future. Some who just hope to be alive tomorrow. By learning how to serve, who to serve and what needs need to be met, we can not only equip ourselves to make a difference, but can teach thousands to do the same. So how do we learn to teach others?

This week Kevin and I began training with Edge Outreach. EDGE is a local mission organization that trains other mission organizations, churches and individuals how to construct mini water treatment plants anywhere in the world with equipment so small it fits in your suitcase! They are the only organization in the world that I know of that has a training program designed specifically to teach others how to repair three of the most frequently used hand pumps in the third world. (Hundreds of thousands of hand pumps sit on top of viable wells in India, Africa and elsewhere that require simple repairs to return clean water back to a community.)

EDGE’s “water school” located at 1500 Arlington Avenue in Louisville is prepared to take in your team of short or long term mission workers and train them to tackle the water crisis in the areas where they serve. Choose a program to fit your needs, so that in one to three days, you can learn how to assess a community’s health needs and solve any water problem you may encounter on the mission field. I hope to take my new education to those who wish to learn, and lead trips with those who wish to help. I pray that if you are not called to missions that you will support those who are. Not everyone can put their lives on hold to go and serve in a “hands-on” capacity, but you can help in many other ways. Support a missionary. Donate a water system or part of one to our next trip. Help a native missionary come to the United States for training conferences. There are opportunities around every corner. WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. God Bless and have a great day! Mj

Follow a Missionary into the Field

Our friends Aaron and Nichole Marshall will be leaving for South Africa in January 2009. They are joining One Nation, a church planting organization for a 3 1/2 year commitment. Kevin and I met them on our Emmaus Walk in February and March, 2008. I personally know a handful of people who are totally committed to serving God. These two are the real deal. Praise God. We feel blessed that Aaron and Nikki are in our lives. For us to be able to know them, support them, and follow their journey is going to be a very cool experience for us. Aaron is gifted in communications. Through their web sites we will be able to experience their lives as they plant simple house churches all over Africa. Please follow them, pray for them and support them at http://aaronichole.com/

Search me...

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24


A couple of years ago, Steve Idle preached a sermon, suggesting that if you pray this Psalm, God would reveal our weakness to us. Steve said, “If you don’t want to know, don’t pray it!” I took his advice seriously…I didn’t pray it. I thought that if I just stayed on cruise control, reading the bible each day, being a good steward of what was given to us and generally just being a “good Christian” that all was good. For the last six months, Kevin has been saying that he feels uncomfortable being so comfortable. It was something that didn’t make a lot of sense to him but a feeling that he couldn’t shake. During the same period of time, I have been plagued with the notion that I have not been doing as much as I can to build the kingdom. Parables such as "the parable of the talents" and "the rich young ruler" were bringing me to tears. Something has been brewing in us, and we didn't know what. What I didn't know is that for the last several months Kevin had been praying Psalm 139 and asking God to search his heart.

God has been brutally honest with us and has revealed that we have been living our lives for ourselves.We have been using the resources He has given us to further our comfort, not His kingdom. You have to love God for how direct he can be. The question is, what do we do with this information?

I will keep you posted on where this leads, but for now, we know that some changes are necessary if we are to live the second half of our lives “on purpose” for Him. We will continue to lean on Him for all the answers. If anyone reading this has had a similar experience, I would love to hear from you. PLEASE click on comments.

Okay, if you know me, you know that I'm a huge Christian music fan. Not the sappy sweet stuff, but the harder hitting rock stuff. Try incorporating Christian Music into your small group studies along with videos to keep things interesting.

A couple of months ago, I was sitting at my computer burning some CD's. As I was going through the music, listening to lyrics, I began to jot down lines from a few favorites songs. When I realized what I had done, I had tears running down my face! It was the neatest poem, written by some very talented artists (as well as Psalmists, Gospel and Epistle writers) and compiled by me.

I realized that I had a whole new way to worship. If I feel stale in my prayer life or not sure what to study, I have "Music Night." Here's an example. Try it. It's really fun.


April 3, 2008

I’m stumbling

Take the world up out of me

My every breath belongs to you

So high above me, Yahweh

Take me and pull me through I can’t move without you

Even when the earth crumbles under my feet

Jesus you are my king

I won’t ever let you down

This is the one thing I know

You didn’t die for nothing

Even when the rain comes

I believe in this love

I’m not who I was

The Best Easter Gift...ever

The best Easter gift I have ever received was given to me about 2000 years ago. Only in the last four years of my life have I begun to thank Him for it. Although I know I will never begin to repay the debt, I will live out this life trying.

I never really got to know our neighbors, Jan and George Karpin. Jan and I would run into each other in the neighborhood walking our dogs, have a quick conversation and move on. George began walking and would go 8-10 miles a day. He lost an absolute ton of weight and became the talk of the neighborhood. They moved to Virginia last year when George took a promotion with the US Postal Service. Not long after they moved, I heard that George was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). They managed to sell their home in VA, packed up, and move back to LaGrange to be closer to family, in a neighborhood that they knew. The week I got that news, our small group began to pray for them. I stood out on my deck one night and looked at the back of their house. I prayed and asked God to intervene. Just come and cover them and heal him. I heard, "I am with them, through you." Great, no pressure there.

Over the last few months, we have brought them some meals, called and checked up on them, walked their dog and built a ramp to their front door. Kevin started weight training with Jan so that she would be stronger when lifting and moving George. Some of the guys went over on Sunday afternoons during football season and just hung out with George. Every week in small group we would add them back onto our prayer list and someone would ask, "Do we know yet if he has given his life to Christ? - Has anyone said anything to him?" We were showing them what Christ’s love looked like, but were not doing a great job of sharing His hope. For Christmas we gave them an audio copy of 3:16 by Max Lucado. Up to this point George had been pretty angry with God. Kevin told him it was okay to be mad. God had big shoulders, He could take it. In February I suggested that if they haven't listened to 3:16 yet, maybe now would be a good time. Last week Jan called and asked if our small group would come over and pray with George. She said he had listened to the CD a couple of times and that he seemed to be a bit more accepting of some things and was a bit less angry. I asked them to come with us to church this weekend for Easter service and they agreed to come on Friday. I am praying that they feel up to it. I want George to be the first person I see in heaven.

Why would God make snow?

Saturday am: We woke up to 10 inches of snow this morning and it's still falling. Having a blizzard heading in your direction on Friday is a gift. Yesterday Alan (one of our small group members) called in the morning suggesting that since the kids are off school and everyone just hung out inside all day, why don't we all grab whatever we have on the stove and get together for dinner. Great suggestion! There was homemade beef vegi soup, lasagna, a crock pot of pork chops in mushrooms, baskets of bread, a huge salad and a pot of rice. After ten kids and seven adults decimated the food, most went out sledding until midnight. What a wonderful thing to spend time sharing food, fun, laughter and our lives.

This morning at breakfast, Brock and I said grace and thanked God for providing a warm breakfast on such a cold day. Out of nowhere, I said to Brock “I think that God invented snow simply to delight us.” Ohmygosh! There is that word; delight. A couple of days ago I ran into Mike Mack, minister of small groups at NECC who told me that he got stuck on a scripture verse that morning. Not stuck in a sense that he didn't understand it, but he found that he could not leave it. It was Psalm 37:4 which reads, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." It was cool to think about it over the last couple of days, but the true meaning hit home this morning. "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." When Mike and I stood and talked about it, I immediately thought that all the desires of my heart would be tangible, monetary things. This morning I realized that all the desires of my heart were family, friends, sharing a meal, having fun and loving God for all He does for us. Thank you God for making us slow down. Thank you for helping me see clearly what you mean when you speak and thank you for the snow. It is delightful.

This Week's Study - The Passover Seder

As leaders, Kevin and I feel that the more we dig back to Jesus' Jewish roots and the culture of the 1st Century in general, the deeper the meaning or our studies. Although half of our group loves history, and the other half doesn't, this has been an effective tool to really bring out the meanings of the scripture we're studying. Last week, we went deep into what it meant to be a Rabbi in Israel during the time of Jesus. It was fascinating to discover that Jesus' disciples were the "not good enoughs" and went on to follow their trade instead of continuing their life-long work of attempting to become a Rabbi. A comforting thought for those of us who think we're not good enough to do His work with our hands. This week, we are going to be studying the Passover Seder. We are anxious to learn more about the significance of the 4 cups of wine, and the bread as Jesus fulfilled another prophesy at the last supper. With Easter just 3 weeks away, this should be really cool. Shalom.

The Shack, a new novel by William P. Young

Ohmygosh! Please read this book. If you have anyone in your life who is going through a difficult time, this book would be a great gift.

(This BLOG is NOT intended to be a book review site, but I have books on my mind this week).

Young's poetic and artistic license in fleshing out the 3 persons of the trinity was remarkable. I find myself thinging of Sarayu several times a day (read the book). Immediately after finishing it, I realized that I will NEVER understand the depth of the love God has for us. I have a better understanding of why bad things happen to good people, and that He will never leave us in times of trouble. Yes, these points and 10,000 more can be found in scripture, I just felt like God's hand was on this author. I can't help but feel closer to Jesus and have a better understanding of the nature of God by reading Christian fiction. (Yes, Marti and Kevin, I always return to scripture to verify details of any writings) If God wanted me to understand Him a little better by reading this little book, mission accomplished. I can't wait for the movie. Tell your friends.

The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross

I heard an amazing interview with Nabeel Jabbour the author of The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross. He helped me see what I look like to a Muslim living in America.

“A war is raging for the minds and souls of Muslims today,” writes Nabeel Jabbour. “The eternal welfare of 1.4 billion people is at stake. They are being pulled in two directions—fanaticism on the one hand and moderation and open-mindedness on the other. How we deal with this window of opportunity will determine our relations with Muslims for generations to come.” At the same time, the Christian church must realize Jesus died for Muslims. In this book, Dr. Jabbour aims to help Western Christians go beyond mere tolerance to a passion for Muslims. He explains how that can be done in ways that are sensitive to Islamic culture, and he presents suggestions on how to build vital relationships with Muslims.From the Preface:Although I am a Christian writing to Christians, the focal pointof this book is the fictional story line about an Egyptian Muslim, an international student in the United States with the name Ahmad. I know Ahmad well because I have met him in hundreds of Muslims over the past five decades.