210 Franklin

Our home for the past 8 1/2 years is for sale. It is shiny and clean even though she is over 120 years old. We are thankful for the shelter and warmth our home has provided us. It is crazy how much "stuff" a family can accumulate! Much has been sold or given away. Yes, we will certainly miss our bungalow, however God is also certainly leading us onward! His trusting hands are supporting our mortal bodies as we take one step at a time to follow after Him. There are moments when the "what ifs" stop by to visit, but we quickly usher them out the door, calmly telling them they are not welcome today - or any day!

Chris and I want to again thank all of you who have given us words of encouragement over the past year. God has grown us and stretched us in ways we thought were not possible. We know we will never stop learning and experiencing what God has to teach us. Each day as we step out of bed let us all remember -  This is the day that the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it! Amen

Where are you now?

At our small group bible study last night we had a very interesting point brought to our attention. God is like your father who, if you are lost in traffic and you call him, will give you directions to set you on your given path again. But… he will first ask you “where are you now?” If you don’t know where you are, if you are stuck at the side of the road with no landmarks, how can your father give you directions? We have to be truthful with ourselves and not make excuses about our situations, etc. We have to figure out where we are before our father can set us on the right path again. Otherwise, how will we make it to our destination? We are a lot like the man who refuses to ask for directions when he is lost and ends up becoming very frustrated and wasting a lot of time along the way. This man not only frustrates himself but the people who are with him. So the question is, are we being truthful and do we know where we are? John 8:32 says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Old Glenn Highway - Fall 2011 -near Victory Bible Camp

Leaning

I opened my Bible to Proverbs today and my eyes fell on Proverbs 3:5

      Trust in the LORD with all your heart
          and lean not on your own understanding;
      in all your ways acknowledge him,
          and he will keep your paths straight.

Leaning is putting your weight on something, resting on and trusting in that person or thing. If "it" didn't support our weight we would most likely fall. But God really truly knows what is best for us, always! So go on and start leaning. Bring your concerns to God in prayers, use the Bible as your guide, and then follow God's leading. To receive God's guidance we must acknowledge Him in all our ways. In every area of our life. What are your values and priorities? What is important to you? Make God a vital part of everything you do; then He will guide you because you will be working to accomplish His purpose!


God's Promise. This rainbow is over Victory Bible Camp.

Got Rocks?

I hope you have given your heavy load over to the Lord! When Chris and I where teaching Sunday school we once had a lesson where we had the kids put a lot of rocks in a backpack and lug it around. Then we emptied it and had them put it on again. Instant smiles! We must know that He wants to bear our burdens for us. He wants to be our source of JOY! He wants to work through us so others believe in Him! So just give it to Him and always in all things give Him the glory! Amen!

It will soon be March and many of you want to know how we are "doing". As much as we would like to be in control and push all the buttons, we are not and never will be. God has shown us that it is His way and in His timing and we must know He has got this all under His control! We are joyfully anticipating God's plan for us. We have reached about 85% of our support needed. We again humbly thank many of you who are on this mission with us. Our bodies have many parts and we need all of them! Especially our control center - the head or brain. Our control center is God.

Many of you ask where will you live? What is the closest city? How will you deal with the dark days of winter? To answer those questions and more, I have to insert this post from Oswald's devotional today:
It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others. So we ask that you help support/pray for us so our lives can be the proof of His love. I have many post-it notes around my desk at work and this is one of them: Once we totally surrender to God, He will work through us all the time.

Please pray for us that God continues to prepare us for His good works in Alaska. Please pray for others to join us through prayer and financial support on this journey.

Arise, let us go from here

Taking the Initiative Against Daydreaming

February 20, 2013

Arise, let us go from here —John 14:31

Daydreaming about something in order to do it properly is right, but daydreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. In this passage, after having said these wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected our Lord to tell them to go away and meditate over them all. But Jesus never allowed idle daydreaming. When our purpose is to seek God and to discover His will for us, daydreaming is right and acceptable. But when our inclination is to spend time daydreaming over what we have already been told to do, it is unacceptable and God’s blessing is never on it. God will take the initiative against this kind of daydreaming by prodding us to action. His instructions to us will be along the lines of this: “Don’t sit or stand there, just go!”
If we are quietly waiting before God after He has said to us, “Come aside by yourselves . . .” then that is meditation before Him to seek His will (Mark 6:31). Beware, however, of giving in to mere daydreaming once God has spoken. Allow Him to be the source of all your dreams, joys, and delights, and be careful to go and obey what He has said. If you are in love with someone, you don’t sit and daydream about that person all the time— you go and do something for him. That is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Daydreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.




Oswald Chambers daily devotionals

Faith

 

This is an amazing devotion for today – just what I needed. But it isn’t what I need… it is what I can do for God today! This life has never been about me or you but always about His devotion and everlasting love for us. We only have to follow Him. Seems easy but so hard! He uses us to do His work and we must give Him the credit. This is how we can bring others to know God. This is how we can change the world one person at a time. Stay true… trust and obey

Without Faith

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Whenever God reveals something, He expects us to believe Him and adjust our lives accordingly. What does this mean? It means we trust Him implicitly for all of our needs because He says He will provide (Phil. 4:19). It means we approach crises with the assurance that God will bring good from them (Rom. 8:28). It means we overcome anxiety during stressful situations because God instructs us to bring our requests to Him (Phil. 4:6). It means that we never worry that we are alone because God said He would never leave us or forsake us (Deut. 31:6). It means that, despite what happens in our lives, we will never doubt God’s love because He has told us that He loves us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). At times we try to justify our lack of faith! We know what God has promised, but we doubt that He will make a practical difference in our life. We are filled with anxiety and excuse ourselves by saying: “I am just a worrier!” We become bitter during a crisis and reason that “God could not possibly bring anything good out of this pain!” We appeal for help from everyone around us when we have a need; then we explain: “I know God can provide for my needs, but I think I should do everything I can, just in case.” God calls this faithlessness. Faithlessness is sin. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6).

http://www.blackaby.org/devarchive.asp                                          


                                                                                               

The Promise of New Life

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Paul tells us this in II Corinthians 5:17. That kind of news deserves a celebration that lasts and lasts. With the promise of a fresh start, how do you want to begin it? Every New Year people make resolutions - from exercising to journaling and everything in between, but what about what Christ has already provided for us each new day?
How about beginning your new year with the good news of Jesus. He is the firstborn over all creation. Our Christmas celebration includes awareness and acknowledgment that our spiritual birth comes through Jesus. In him was life and light for the world! So take time today to welcome Jesus into your life, you will never regret it! Happy New Year!

January 5th finds us warm in our cozy house in Pella. We are continuing to raise support for Victory Ministries in Alaska and think we are at 60-70%. Praise God from whom all blessing flow! In the last several months we have been preparing to move to our new home and mission location. Here is what we have been up to:

 * Sold 3 vehicles and bought a F250 Super Duty crewcab.
* Bought a topper from Craig's list for the truck, and no, it does not match and no, we are not going to have
   it painted. Silly us!
* Had a big sale and got rid of tons of stuff!
* Bought a 16 foot V nose trailer to haul our belongings to AK. It it doesn't fit it is not going!
* Given furniture to our kids in Wisconsin and Nebraska.
* Taken things to store at my mom's house.

We hope to be fully supported by the end of Liam's school year and be on the road by June 1st.
Our oldest son is getting married March 23rd in Nebraska and we are looking forward to that celebration of love and unity.

Let us tell you how Victory Ministries is everywhere!

* Debbie's minister (from the church she grew up in) spent time at Victory during his military stay at
   Elmendorf during the Korean War.
* Cody's fiancee's family's church in Scotts Bluff, NE supports the McAlary family who are already at
   Victory.
* Chris' mom, Carolyn went to her ladies group (which she hadn't been to in a year) and was sharing about
   our family and where we are going and one of the ladies said she had spoken at a conference at Victory.
   Carolyn said she wasn't going to go that day but felt she was suppose to!

The Lord is surely impressive upon us and we give Him all the praise and thanksgiving!

Blessing to all - Chris and Debbie

Morgan, Liam, Cody, Brian, Aurelie, and Caitlin