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Wednesday, June 11, 2014
June 11, 2014. Eureka Springs, AR. Work hard, Play hard...always ministering
Today was a work day, and work we did. On non-performance days we catch up on all the housekeeping chores on the Passion Play grounds, things which can only be done when there are no visitors to the Holy Land Tour, the Bible Museum, the Sacred Arts Gallery, or the Passion Play. We fix broken machinery, do groundskeeping chores, repair damaged structures, take advantage of a day without rain and visit with people who wander onto the grounds thinking they can see the play or visit the other attractions, when this is a non-play day, so we drop what we're doing and visit with them, take them on a mini-tour, tell them what they would see if they had been here yesterday or stay until tomorrow, and hope they will come back in the next three days or later in the season to have the "total experience". Whether we work or Play, the ministering goes on. People are hungry for conversation, someone who will take time from what they are doing to meet their present need.
Those of us who are working or volunteering here are really in full-time ministry, whether it be TGPP, Campers on Mission, Team Effort, Gospel Station Network, Ministry of Miles or a host of other affiliations. We are preachers and doers of The Word, In God's service, and seeking to spread The Good News through our words and our actions. Sometimes it's harder work than the physical chores we undertake, or the dramatic efforts of the cast and crew of the Play, but in all our efforts we seek to be Jesus to the believer, the non-believer and the unbeliever and also realize that they may be ministering to us as much as we are ministering to them. We've heard some amazing testimonies and been witness to some miracles only God could have orchestrated.
It feels good to be where we are. It feels good to be able to meet Vietnam (and other) veterans who visit TGPP, to work with some of them here, to share our experiences and help each other through some of the physical and emotional issues which still affect and plague us all these years later. Thank You, Lord for calling us to this time and place, for the peace we have and the grace You heap on us every moment of every day. Our life has been transformed. Tomorrow we Play.
Sent from my iPad
Those of us who are working or volunteering here are really in full-time ministry, whether it be TGPP, Campers on Mission, Team Effort, Gospel Station Network, Ministry of Miles or a host of other affiliations. We are preachers and doers of The Word, In God's service, and seeking to spread The Good News through our words and our actions. Sometimes it's harder work than the physical chores we undertake, or the dramatic efforts of the cast and crew of the Play, but in all our efforts we seek to be Jesus to the believer, the non-believer and the unbeliever and also realize that they may be ministering to us as much as we are ministering to them. We've heard some amazing testimonies and been witness to some miracles only God could have orchestrated.
It feels good to be where we are. It feels good to be able to meet Vietnam (and other) veterans who visit TGPP, to work with some of them here, to share our experiences and help each other through some of the physical and emotional issues which still affect and plague us all these years later. Thank You, Lord for calling us to this time and place, for the peace we have and the grace You heap on us every moment of every day. Our life has been transformed. Tomorrow we Play.
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, June 8, 2014
June 8, 2014. Eureka Springs, AR. Critters and chiggers and ticks, OH MY...
We've been in Eureka Springs, AR on the grounds of The Great Passion Play for 42 days. That eclipses the length of our "reunion" trip last summer by 2 days and almost gives us resident status in Arkansas. This is a different environment from Colorado, for sure, and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the Passion Play ministry, to be able to minister to Vietnam vets through our Ministry of Miles as we meet them here on site or on our forays to Berryville or Branson or the other towns in the area and to visit with others who are ministering as God has called them. God is at work in so many ways and has "recruited" an army of workers to His harvest. Keep them coming and keep them strong, Lord.
When I say this is a different environment, let me throw out some examples. I'm a city boy married to a small town girl and we are now living in what might lovingly be called "the sticks". We are continually seeing and feeling new bumps, welts, and itches in places on our body where no respectful critter should ever dare to go. We have heat rash on top of insect bites. We have red bumps between toes, under waistbands, behind ears and in places we would be embarrassed to show a doctor. We fidget and twitch, we scratch and swat. You'd think we were a third base coach giving signals, the way we jump around and react to all the gnats, biting flies, chiggers, no-see-ums, spiders, mosquitoes, beetles, bugs, ticks, creepy-crawlers, lizards, snakes, ants and a multitude of other critters I wonder why God created and Adam gave unusual names to. We have more lotions, creams, medications, and home remedies at our disposal and suggestions from the locals than you can shake a stick at and yet we still squirm and squawk and can't find relief. I've made friends with donkeys, camels, Jacob sheep, baby lambs, a Nubian wild-ass named CrossAnna, miniature horses, Earl the cat and have even made some new human friends too. But in spite of all the "gripes",,,...we love it here and feel so blessed to be where we are. No we're not in Colorado anymore, and like most places, if you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes and it will change, but we are adapting. There is beauty in the rolling hills, the lushness of the trees and the coolness of this morning after a few days of high humidity and intermittent period of pelting rain and threats of violent weather. We are blessed to be where we are and thank God for bringing us to this place, this ministry and this community of believers. Resist the urge to scratch, pass the calamine lotion and Praise The Lord.
Sent from my iPad
When I say this is a different environment, let me throw out some examples. I'm a city boy married to a small town girl and we are now living in what might lovingly be called "the sticks". We are continually seeing and feeling new bumps, welts, and itches in places on our body where no respectful critter should ever dare to go. We have heat rash on top of insect bites. We have red bumps between toes, under waistbands, behind ears and in places we would be embarrassed to show a doctor. We fidget and twitch, we scratch and swat. You'd think we were a third base coach giving signals, the way we jump around and react to all the gnats, biting flies, chiggers, no-see-ums, spiders, mosquitoes, beetles, bugs, ticks, creepy-crawlers, lizards, snakes, ants and a multitude of other critters I wonder why God created and Adam gave unusual names to. We have more lotions, creams, medications, and home remedies at our disposal and suggestions from the locals than you can shake a stick at and yet we still squirm and squawk and can't find relief. I've made friends with donkeys, camels, Jacob sheep, baby lambs, a Nubian wild-ass named CrossAnna, miniature horses, Earl the cat and have even made some new human friends too. But in spite of all the "gripes",,,...we love it here and feel so blessed to be where we are. No we're not in Colorado anymore, and like most places, if you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes and it will change, but we are adapting. There is beauty in the rolling hills, the lushness of the trees and the coolness of this morning after a few days of high humidity and intermittent period of pelting rain and threats of violent weather. We are blessed to be where we are and thank God for bringing us to this place, this ministry and this community of believers. Resist the urge to scratch, pass the calamine lotion and Praise The Lord.
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
June 4, 2014. Eureka Springs, AR. If this were easy...........
Each of us is called to The Lord at different times of life for different purposes and to different ministry opportunities. The metaphor of "the play" is appropriate. For some the calling is in the limelight, on the stage, called to big things and public recognition and acclaim. For others the calling is behind the scenes, washing costumes, tending the animals, picking up their offerings, doing the mundane, dirty jobs. But each job is crucial to the advancement of God's jigsaw puzzle, and without every one, the play would not go on and the audiences would soon stop coming. Yet, sometimes we get tired and yearn for something different; a new role or a chance to branch out. Sometimes we get sidetracked by personal issues, worldly lures for material things or we just get physically or spiritually worn out. How we respond says a lot about our walk with The Lord and our faith, trust and belief in Him.
Jesus told us that following Him would not always be easy. His life and death, the lives and deaths of the first Disciples, the lives and deaths of the millions of martyrs of the faith and our own lives bear witness to the reality that being a devoted and committed Christian is not always easy. We just get plain tuckered out and need a time to recoup and recover. We all have occasional Gardens of Eden before the fall, but we also face Gardens of Gethsemane and need to know that each one is part of the journey and a place we can rely on God to be with us and uplift us. Press on, fellow ministers. My prayers are for each of you, for the strength to walk the walk, the strength to rest in The Lord when the burden seems too much to bear, and the strength to know that our weakness is the starting point of His power to work in us and sustain us. Be of good cheer, I am up to $61.33 and God is still on His Throne, and today Karen and I plan to start slow and slow down from there. Blessings and peace.
Sent from my iPad
Jesus told us that following Him would not always be easy. His life and death, the lives and deaths of the first Disciples, the lives and deaths of the millions of martyrs of the faith and our own lives bear witness to the reality that being a devoted and committed Christian is not always easy. We just get plain tuckered out and need a time to recoup and recover. We all have occasional Gardens of Eden before the fall, but we also face Gardens of Gethsemane and need to know that each one is part of the journey and a place we can rely on God to be with us and uplift us. Press on, fellow ministers. My prayers are for each of you, for the strength to walk the walk, the strength to rest in The Lord when the burden seems too much to bear, and the strength to know that our weakness is the starting point of His power to work in us and sustain us. Be of good cheer, I am up to $61.33 and God is still on His Throne, and today Karen and I plan to start slow and slow down from there. Blessings and peace.
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, June 1, 2014
June 1, 2014. Eureka Springs, AR. God provides
It's the start of a new week and a new month. Karen and I have spent the past month volunteering at The Great Passion Play and have had a variety of ministry and personal experiences which have impacted us tremendously. The past week was a tough one for all of us. There have been a host of health issues, accidents, broken equipment, and other challenges, three volunteer couples leaving for other obligations and a four-performance week with less than encouraging attendance. I'm sitting in the Emmaus house on TGPP set looking out at the empty 4000 seat amphitheater after returning from church in Cassville, MO. The other day while walking the amphitheater to sweep it for the next performance I found $21 on the ground. The next day on the same sweep, I found $.07 and yesterday while picking up a bruised body after having an accident on the Zubota riding mower, I found $.26. Today while walking to open the gate to come down on the set I found a $20 bill lying on the ground. "Found money" has always gone into a jar at home to be donated to The Alpha Center, a Christian Pro-life counseling agency. The money I find now goes to this Passion Play outreach ministry. Every cent counts and I praise God for how He gives to us, that we may give to others. It may only be $41.33, but we serve a God who provides and multiplies, and can, and does, provide beyond anything we can pray for or imagine.
Karen and I have been drawn to this ministry and we pray continuously that people will fill the seats, support the vision to reach this area for Jesus Christ and encourage donors and sponsors to step forward with the funds and materials needed to prosper TGPP and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to northwest Arkansas, southwest Missouri and beyond that to this whole country and even the world. We serve a Great God and when we ask, seek and knock with expectant faith, we will see our prayers answered and indeed know that are prayers are already answered. $41.33 tells me so. Praise The Lord.
Sent from my iPad
Karen and I have been drawn to this ministry and we pray continuously that people will fill the seats, support the vision to reach this area for Jesus Christ and encourage donors and sponsors to step forward with the funds and materials needed to prosper TGPP and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to northwest Arkansas, southwest Missouri and beyond that to this whole country and even the world. We serve a Great God and when we ask, seek and knock with expectant faith, we will see our prayers answered and indeed know that are prayers are already answered. $41.33 tells me so. Praise The Lord.
Sent from my iPad
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