Blinded by the light?

We, as Christians, are to be a light to this world (Matt 5:14). So we should be shining in the darkness as beacons of hope and love... but are we?  As I thought about it, I realized Christians (myself included) easily get caught up in Christian circles; which is great for building up one another (as the main point of church is to encourage each other for the following week), but ineffective for reaching those in the darkness.  Have you ever driven down a dark road and met another car going the opposite way?  What do you see in those moments before they pass you?  The light blinds you, and the objects in the dark are very hard to see.  I think we as Christians are like those two cars... we are shining our lights toward each other, and blind ourselves to those outside of the light  who really need help.  What we really should be doing is going out into the darkness side-by-side so that we can even more clearly see those who are hurting.  The main questions I want you to ask are:  Am I being blind to the world?  and What can I do to let my light shine in the darkness?

Isaiah

Youth Group Bowling...

Last night, Sara and I took the Youth Group to the Star-Lite Lanes here in Riverton, WY. We had a blast, apart from the ridiculous amount of smoke in the air. Everyone did well too! It was crazy. Almost everyone had at least 1 strike or spare, and most had 2 or 3. Garrett bowled an extra game and ended up with 231! It really was a great night, but I do want to apologize for all of the parents of the youth who had to smell and wash those smoky clothes ;).

Right now our home phone (an internet phone) isn't working (again). They're out working on it, so hopefully it will end up working by the end of the day. Our cell phones are taking a hit on minutes again, and I'm hoping that we don't go over again... haha.

Life is good for me right now, I have no complaints at all. God has been blessing us both, and we are ever grateful for it!

Isaiah

Day offs are great

Had the day off from Lights On today, which was great. I just hung out and played games all morning, then cleaned house a little in the afternoon. Then I was able to pick up Sara (instead of the other way around). A great day.

We had a Servant Evangelism Class (the first one) tonight. It went well, just kind of introducing us to the idea of Servant Evangelism. I'll write more about it later... But for now... it is time for bed...

In Christ,

Isaiah

A wonderful day

Sara, Jade and I just went on a walk through scenic Riverton. Although it is only 19*, it was really nice to get out, and just walk and talk with my wife. Jade still needs to learn to heel... but she's always learning. I think Sara and I will make the walks a daily ritual (as long as the weather permits).

Church went really well today, and Dave's sermon was spot-on. He talked about Solomon, how he started off with a bang... but finished with a sizzle... It was called Finish Life Well... and its a lesson for all of us. We need to make sure that we're always doing what we are doing for God, not for ourselves.

Well, no Lights On tomorrow (woo-hoo!) So, I'll definitely post tomorrow...

In Him,

Isaiah

Youth Group and Lights On... keepin me busy!!

Between the Youth Ministry and Lights On after-school program... I am a busy guy. Yesterday and today I felt like I had the whole world on my shoulders... I felt like I was so busy and didn't have time to do anything I wanted. But, this morning after I drove Sara to work I decided that I would just do the next thing. Just work on the next thing on my plate, not worrying about the other stuff that was ahead... and you know what? I was done with time to spare, and had a little time to sit down and read some of an ebook on my Palm. Man that felt good. So from now on... I only am going to do the next thing that's ahead of me... and not worry about the rest... We had youth group tonight, and it went well. Had a lesson on the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Really hit home for me, because it describes how bad of a place hell is... the story that went along with it talked about how it was similar to being buried alive... forever. Without hope, without joy... only the knowledge of those you know that are going to come join you for the rest of eternity... That's a place I don't want anybody to be... Which is why I am a minister... To seek and save the lost through the Gospel of Jesus Christ... Isaiah

Just another day of ministry...

Yesterday morning, Sara and her family were getting ready to drive to Cody, while Daniel stayed back with me. Just as they were getting ready to leave, a young girl came walking up to our house. All 3 of the dogs (Abbie and Amos, the Stelzner's dogs, and Jade) were barking at this poor girl, but she kept coming toward the house. I leaned out the window (still not out of my pajamas yet), and asked her what she needed. She said, "I need to talk to someone." So I said that Dave is over there in the Church basement (100 ft away) and said that I would change and be right over. Dave ended up talking to the girl for most of the morning. Turns out she has hitch-hiked from South Dakota, fleeing from a house where her brothers beat her and her mom. Along the way she had gotten piercings and tatoo's and gotten pregnant. While she was talking with Dave, she told him all of this and asked if he thought God would forgive her... of course, he said that God would forgive her, then showed her the parable of the Prodigal son. Well, she's still unsure what to do, so we took her to the Good Samaritan here in town. Dave asked that she come to see him in a few days if she wants to turn around, and I'm praying that she does... That was most of my morning... Please pray for this girl (I won't say her name, but God knows...) In His Service, Isaiah

Dream

I had a dream last night, it was kind of weird. I was riding along in a car with some friends, and was getting nervous about how the driver was driving. It was a horrible road, and the driver was (sometimes literally) flying down it. Several times we nearly hit poles that were, for some reason unknown to me, in the middle of the road. I was so nervous I ended up strapping myself into a seat belt that faced to the rear of the car, so I couldn't see what I thought was our impending doom. Then the guy in the passenger seat said, "You're missing the great view! Don't you want to know what's ahead of us?" Then I woke up. After I woke up, I started to think about what the guy said... and how it fits into my spiritual life. I've been letting God drive the car, but I'm not looking ahead to see what's coming... I'm only focusing on what has already gone by. The application for all of this is that we need to be focusing on the future, and not be afraid of the road ahead... Even if it is full of potholes and jumps... just make sure you're letting Him drive... God bless, Isaiah

Jade and Oscar... Aw...

This photo is of Jade and Oscar... just chilling and enjoying each others company. Most of the time they're play-fighting, and Oscar (the cat) used to have the upper hand, but Jade is on to him now (and grown substantially since she arrived). Jade usually wins now, with Oscar meowing for help as she has her jaws around his neck. Aw... Lights On has been off/on crazy this week. Today I taught the 2nd grade class, and I decided that we'd do a little mystery day... well, the mysteries ended up being too advanced for them... sigh... so mostly they were bored and being crazy. It was fun though. The picture of the 3 kids is from when I taught Board Games this week... That was a lot of fun... and the kids are always quiet during it... b/c they're playing! Tonight was Youth Group... and it was a blast. The kids were talking, relating, sharing... and we learned about having an "attitude of gratitude" and being thankful for what we have. We played pictionary (and I even read the mysteries to the Youth Group members... they figured out each one (thankfully!) Well, I'm off to bed... it has been a crazy week thus far... and tomorrow's Friday the 13th!!! In His Service, Isaiah

January 9th... already!!

It seems like 2005 had just started a few days ago, and now its 9 days into 2006... funny how people always said that time moves faster as you get older... but I never believed them. It snowed 4 or 5 inches here yesterday. The weather forecasts said there was a 30% chance of snow yesterday... 5 inches is 30% huh? I'd hate to see what 100% was... haha. Jade is continuing to grow both in size and intelligence. She's doing very well with going to the bathroom where she's supposed to... outside! We had to block the stairs to downstairs (since she used to go down there... "go"... ehem) and she hasn't messed up once since (woohoo!) Sara's at work right now (today's my day off from Church stuff, but not from Lights On), and I'll be busy doing stuff around the house (dishes, scooping the walk, etc.) Fun, fun... Yesterday's Children's Church was pretty fun... there were quite a few visitors in Church and we had several new kids in CC. We learned about Sheep and the Good Shepherd (see Psalm 23)... and we sang "I just wanna be a sheep... BAAAA!" I love that song. On that note... hope you have a great day, God bless, Isaiah

Something about this week...

The kids from Lights On have been utterly crazy. There was much violence... and by that I mean lots of kids hitting each other. 3 or 4 kids were sent to the office for hitting, and several more were sent to the nurse's office with "owies." It was a crazy day... to say the least. We had youth group tonight, and I think it went well... We had fun, anyway, and learned (well, probably re-learned for most) about the good Samaritan, and the probably very new parable of the Good Skinhead (basically the former brought up to modern day terms and culture). Then we played the hands game and hangman... it was nice to start again... I've been writing quite a bit on my palm lately. I found a program that makes doing journaling very easy, so I have been journaling my prayers whenever I get a chance... its odd to me how little I really seemed to pray before... and rather disconcerting to know that I could have been praying so much more this whole time... Ah, the best thing I know is that I can never be satisified in the growth of my walk with Christ. The closer I draw to him... the more I will notice the little things that drag me down... I am comforted to know that God knows every one of those faults... but loves me anyway... In His Service, Isaiah p.s. Quote of the Week: Coming from Dave (the Senior Minister) after watching a video in preparation for the Small Group's Purpose Driven Life study tonight: "Folks, I've watched this video, and I can tell you one thing... I am cuter than Rick Warren" Oh that made me laugh...

Crazy Days

I'm here at Lights On... writing while the kids are playing BrainQuest. They've been crazy all week... must be because this is the first week back from Christmas Break. We had the Minister's Prayer Breakfast today, and it went really well. Dave shared his heart to us all, and we were all blessed by the fellowship. A new minister was there, John... he's the new minister at the Neighborhood Alliance Church here in Riverton. He seems really laid back and sincere, so I hope he does well here... Well, I better get going... God bless, Isaiah written on my Zire 72

New Year...

Sara, Jade and I took a trip down to Julesburg to see my family for New Years. It was, mostly, a fun time and it was good to get away. I started Lights On again yesterday, and I don't think I was quite ready for it. Going from just being around my wife and dog and cat to being around 100 kids again was a shock, but I guess I'm over it by now. I just feel oddly disconnected tonight... but it is probably mostly exhaustion. Nobody ever said life was easy... but I am very glad to know that God is always there to listen when I talk, and there to encourage me through his word. Sara has been amazing to me also... I really don't know how I got along without her being there, encouraging me, and loving me. Thank you God... Jade has been doing well, she is getting close to being truly trained to go only outside (of course, I think you know what I mean by "go"). She and Oscar (our cat) get along very well... they play fight and all of that, but they really do get along. Dogs and Cats together... how ironic... God bless, Isaiah