Shoebox Missionaries

by admin | Feb 27, 2019 | Jesus, Faith and Prayer

Organizing a Shoebox Collection

A family of our small congregation became missionaries and never left their home. They began in January by spearheading an Operation Christmas Child monthly collection of items to include in shoeboxes that would be assembled during a shoe box packing party at church in November.Each month the collection box features a suggested item to purchase.

• January—washcloths
• February—soap
• March—toothbrushes
• April—combs and hairbrushes
• May—games and puzzles
• June—backpacks, soccer balls & pumps
• July—t-shirts, flip-flops, sunglasses, summer stuff
• August—school supplies go on sale
• September—toys
• October—toys

Recycling for Operation Christmas Child

My favorite project is to recycle prescription bottles as sewing kits. I fill the bottles with buttons, needles & needle-threaders, thread, and safety pins and apply an Operation Christmas Child sticker label on the bottle.

History of Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child was started in the United Kingdom in 1990 by Dave and Jill Cooke. Three years after this beginning, the Wales-based shoebox gift project merged in a partnership with Samaritan’s Purse. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered gift-filled shoeboxes to over 146 million children in more than 100 countries.

From children to seniors, people pack shoebox gifts each year to bless children in need around the world. Parents often use the project to teach their kids about giving. It is better to give than to receive!CollageCancelPublish Changes

Samaritan’s Purse provides local partners around the world with shoeboxes filled with small toys, hygiene items, and school supplies as a means of reaching out to children in their own communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ. These simple gifts go to children affected by war, poverty, natural disaster, famine, and disease; and to children living on Native American reservations in the U.S.

Evangelistic Program

After receiving shoe box gifts, many boys and girls are invited to enroll in The Greatest Journey, a 12-lesson discipleship program. Local ministry partners are able to establish long-term, caring relationships with children and families by sharing the love of Jesus Christ. This Gospel booklet available in more than 75 languages is given out with shoebox gifts around the world. With the Apostle John as narrator, the booklet shares 11 Scripture stories and invites children to follow Christ.

Packing Party

Our missionary family, who are the youth group leaders, store the collection of gifts in a room at their home, and in the garage, and sometimes the overflow goes to the barn. In November all the items show up at church to be assembled in the shoeboxes during our annual “Packing Party.” We have a pot-bless breakfast, and everyone, young and old, starts packing boxes for boys and girls around the world. Pastor says it’s his favorite Missionary Sunday. Last year our small church sent 752 boxes. Our goal this year is a thousand.

Electronic Journaling

by admin | Feb 26, 2019 | Jesus, Faith and Prayer

I started journaling late in life in 2010.  I had spent years writing in notebooks that were stashed in various desks, cupboards and filing cabinets. Then a mentor (one who shares insights, best practices, and their talent) taught me the brilliance of storing all my wandering fancies in one place.

Each morning presents a new adventure to explore this wonderful world and its people, and I love to capture the fleeting “now” in an ongoing chronicle of life neatly contained in a computer file simply titled 2018 Journal.

I sit first thing in the morning before a computer screen drinking my morning coffee. As I read the day’s scripture reading, I write as I am inspired.

My journals are color coded and red is the color of answered prayers.  For instance, my brother Pete  called one afternoon with a Praise Report!!! Screenings had detected that he had 50% blockages in both of is carotid arteries. He had gone for more tests. The results stated that there were no blockages and very little narrowing of his arteries. Praise, God, that prayer thing works. Hopefully my journals will provide a written legacy of faith for future generations.

Journaling Benefits

• I rejoice over life’s beauty
• My journal causes me to adjust my heart so that I live a life with no regrets.
• Spiritually, my writing stimulates me to develop a listening attitude and communication with the Lord.
• Rereading entries encourages gratitude and faith as I revisit the blessings, testimonies and God incidents throughout the pages
• I also record the dreams that I feel are God-directed in my journal.  I have a notebook by my bed that I use to write down dreams given in the middle of the night. Dream sequences are colored purple which causes them to stand out for future re-reading.

Dreams

Dreams are important instructions and insights from the Lord that I do not want to overlook. Psalm 16:7 instructs on the importance of dreams when David writes, ” I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.” Journaling has led me into learning more about dream interpretation and listening to the Lord as He speaks to me through the words and pictures of dreams.

Education

Mentally, my journal provides education on subjects and interests I am pursuing.    Presently I’m investigating topics like blogging, marketing, and publishing online.  I insert tips, techniques and good ideas for future use into my journal pages.  My journal has also become an exercise book for writing prose and poetry, my creative outlet about life.

Daily Record

The journal is organized chronologically and gives a daily record of activities.  Quarterly, I list the goals that I have for the next three months.  A study of Harvard graduates found that after two years, the 3 percent who had written goals achieved more financially than the other 97 percent combined!” Extrapolating from this, only 3 percent of people set written goals and those who do earn on average more than 30x as much as those who don’t.And throughout the year it becomes my weight diary.  Each quarter I determine to lose 10 pounds.  This quarter I’ve only got 15 to go.

Letter Writing

One of my goals has always been to be a better letter writer. The journal makes it easy to cut and paste a letter diary that my mother loves to read.  Since she is affected by short-term memory loss, a printed letter can be re-read while a phone conversation is forgotten in minutes.  It’s easy to attach the journal letter with snapshots included to an email and let it wing through the ether to friends and family far away.

As the year draws to its close, I anticipate printing the year’s memoir and taking it to the local FedEx Kinkos or UPS Store to be spiral bound.

An unexpected outcome of journaling was a book. I was challenged to study the words of Jesus for 150 days. Each day for 150 days I journaled about the words in red in my Bible. After the first month I decided to share my study in book format and so published The Jesus Quest: Meditations on the Words of Jesus,

You never know where you might end up on your journal adventure.  Let me encourage you to begin.  It will be a breakthrough to many avenues in your life.

Dr. Mary Ellen Schoonover

Prayerwalking Your Zip Code

by admin | Feb 26, 2019 | Jesus, Faith and Prayer

Sometimes the world’s needs seem overwhelming when swallowed whole. Where does a Christian start to change the world’s wayward charge? I decided to take a bite out of my locale by joining the prayer line to see what God would supply in answer to prayer.

A simple strategy for your region is to pray for those families, churches, city governments, schools, businesses, police stations, fire departments, and courts in your zip code. Having a definite target for prayer encourages those praying because they often see the answers to their prayers in the headlines of local newspapers. One time we were praying for our city council to line up with God’s directives. We laughed and rejoiced at the local newspaper’s headline later which read, “No SOB’s Allowed.” An SOB in this case was a Sexually Oriented Business. The town lawyers had written, and the town council passed, an ordinance banning sexually oriented businesses in the city.

As Christians we can appeal to heaven in Jesus name to change the spiritual climate of our zip codes and nation. One plan is to prayer walk (or drive) every street and every zip code. It will take an army of believers who will strap on their walking shoes and cry out to heaven as they journey past the streets, houses, businesses, schools, and police and fire stations of the nation.

Every journey begins with a first step. Begin to pray on your morning walk or commute. Enlist prayer buddies to walk with you in agreement. The best prayer guides I have found are in the word of God. I often pray in agreement with His word, so I have no doubt that I am praying His will. I’ve listed a few scriptures as examples to get started.

For families: Pray that they prosper and be in health as their souls prosper. 3 John 1:2·

For salvation as The Lord is ….not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2Peter 3:9·

For work pray that they will eat the labor of their hands, that they shall be happy, and it shall be well with them. Psalms 128:2·

For their emotional well being pray that the fruit of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness will be formed in them, Galatians 5:22·

Pray that they would love their neighbor as themselves. Mark 12:31· That their hearts would be open to receive from God. Forbygrace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

For government:· By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth Proverbs 8:16· Pray for righteous office holders to be elected. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

Pray for the churches:· And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matt 16:18 · God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Eph 3:10

Pray for businesses: [Be] kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Pray for schools: And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. Is 54:13

Pray for yourself and others praying:· That we be equipped … till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; Ephesians 4:13

Be blessed as you are a blessing.

To Forgive or Not to Forgive, that is the Question

by admin | Feb 20, 2019 | Jesus, Faith and Prayer

Question: Where does unforgiveness lead?
The kingdom of heaven’s requirement of walking in forgiveness toward all who offend us is linked to two keys to living a transformed life, prayer and our own freedom.

The King of kings assures us that whenever we pray, He is there to hear and to grant our petitions. As disciples our agreement in prayer invites His presence into the circumstance and releases the power to forbid, prohibit and declare illegal the works of the enemy on the earth.

The prayer of agreement binds death, disease, lack, and destruction. That same prayer of agreement looses, melts and dissolves the assignments of the enemy for death and destruction and sets the captives free.

God’s requirements to answer prayer 

However, for our prayers to be heard we must live in forgiveness. The same measure of forgiveness that has been meted out to us, we must in turn give to others. To whom much is given much is required, and to whom much is forgiven much compassion is expected.
… if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Our sin, which was forgiven at the expense of Christ’s death in our place, was the greatest debt ever paid. We were granted access to the kingdom of God and life eternal, a treasure we could never have paid for due to our indebtedness to sin. God chose to forgive us of that debt of sin, and He provided the currency for that transaction in the blood of His only Son.

What limits forgiveness?

Likewise, Jesus instructs his disciples that forgiveness is limitless. There are no limits on the forgiveness for our sins. Though our sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow. And likewise there is no limit on the number of times we forgive others’ offenses against ourselves.

Satan’s hook

If we harbor unforgiveness, satan has a hook into our souls that he can use to torment our lives. Unforgiveness builds a bridge to hell and grants evil access to your life. Tormentors of fear, anger, bitterness, hatred, anguish and more are loosed into our lives when we bind unforgiveness to our hearts. We have granted legal access to the enemy of our soul to torment us when we don’t forgive.

Let us burn any bridges of unforgiveness and forgive every brother that our hearts be the throne for the presence of the King.

I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Prayer: Lord reveal any unforgiveness in my heart that I might freely forgive as I have been forgiven. Be enthroned in my heart and in my life today that I might see your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. In the Name above every name, Jesus, Amen.

Except from The Jesus Quest: Meditations on the Words of Jesus by Dr. Mary Ellen Schoonover

Matt.15 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying,
Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?

And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.