WELCOME to CSL – OK!

okcsl — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:45:11 +0000

Welcome to our Oklahoma BLOG for Common Sense Living. We hope you enjoy having the opportunity to share and encourage other believers within our internet community.

INSPIRATIONAL

DEDICATED TO MY BOYS

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida,
a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and
closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him.

From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligatorsnatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.
His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal.
And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug

into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma,
asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs.

And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, ‘But look at my arms.
I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn’t let go.’

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God

has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He’s been there holding on to you.

The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril – and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack.

That’s when the tug-of-war begins – and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.

Love you men, Dad

PRAISE REPORTS

This is a small sample of the highlights from our Mexico Mission Trip to Monterrey. We thought it would be nice to share. The experiences reflect one-on-one conversions and healings…to God be the Glory!

Sunday

We are finally thru the border and interior 14 mile checkpoint. We will be unable to hold service tonight because of the delay we had at the border, but God knows.

We were able to focus on the dramas, spend time with the host family and I spent about 3 hours working on their computer and hooking up their TV/DVD and recorder system that they had had for some time and could not get to work. We got their system going and I was able to help create DVD’s of their other photos and soup kitchen ministries so they can share with donors.

Tuesday

Things are great here in Mexico. We had an awesome service last night. The drama team did a great job. Two of the youth shared testimonies and Mike preached. The service was short and powerful. The people there had no problem believing The Word. They accepted and were ready to be prayed for…so, the gospel was taken to heart. The photo below is actually at a WNBA game the last night in San Antonio. We stopped over there, with comp tickets from Ruth Riley, the center for the Stars. She is a devout Christian and brought us back to the tunnel (AT & T Center) so we could get photos and share about our trip. She brought another player and they both encourage us. Our devotion that final morning was on an article about Ruth Riley, born in Ransom, KS…an Olympic gold medal winner and very strong in her walk with Christ…the game was a surprise to the team and this shot of me and Brett is a good summary of it all.

http://jcsuperstars.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/wnbas-ruth-riley-talks-about-her-faith/

Wednesday

It has rained every day. Today we went on a side trip, hiking up a mountain to some of the most beautiful falls perhaps anywhere. http://www.craigsteiner.us/coladecaballo.php

The host family took us to a local Mexican restaurant to eat today and it was wonderful. You will have to ask me or Brett about the Bean Soup..that was “utterly different”

Tonight we will be in another church and Chad will be speaking. The drama team will share again and another two of our kids will give their testimonies. Each night following the service we come back to the house and discuss all the things we each felt and experienced during the service. It has been a growing time for everyone. The plan is to get nachos when we return from the service tonight. The cleaning lady, Maria, who helps during the day is planning on going with us to church tonight. Finally, the drama team is wanting to share in the central park tomorrow if the mayor will give us permission. He lives across the street from where we are staying.

We were unable to catch the Mayor at home. The kids ended up in a couple of local shops instead b/c nobody was out…must have been siesta time. I was able to pick Lori up a real nice little purse with peppers. She liked it

We went to a soup kitchen today in the red light district of Monterrery.

We went expecting only to serve in the food line. Instead we were asked to do a drama and minister from the word. We were not prepared for this.

The drama team had no music or props and we had no Bible on us for a message. Again we were thinking serving food. The heart drama was performed by Sammie, Demontra and Liz. I shared a message from a borrowed New Testament in English (the only one in the place) with an Interpreter whom I had only met a few minutes before. Romans 10:13 was the focus and away we went. Actually 6 men came to Christ during this time. I prayed for 18 out of 20 people present…1 at a time…using the interpreter for every prayer….needless to say, we were late the rest of the day on our schedule but God was fine with it all.

Our service tonight was in another area at the Church of Living water.

The drama team performed two dramas including The Cure to a full house of about 55 people. Melody, Keston and Brett shared their testimonies. I brought the message on the fishing on the other side of the boat based solely on what Jesus had said…it is a good message for all of us…just take Him at His Word… We had 8 different people come forward for prayer not counting the pastor and his wife. One lady came down, being assisted by Justin, who had a terrible limp. She walked back on her own accord and with no limp. This was a real easy to see miracle for everyone. Wow, what a God we serve!

Following service we walked to the pastor’s house right behind the church for a meal the ladies had prepared. They sat us down to bottled Coke and Joya, along with chicken, beef, fish, salad with fresh avocados, french fries, beans, cactus and of course homemade tortillas. The cactus was fantastic! It was served cold, freshly cut in small squares and served alongside of guacamole, pico de galo and sour cream.Theyeven serve this fresh in Wal-Mart at Monterrey.

There was more than enough and the final touch was fresh watermelon and cantaloupe.

We blessed the pastor with gifts for he and his wife, clothes and Bibles.

Finally…one last blessing before turning in.. earlier in the day we discovered that God had multiplied our money. We had exchanged 1100.00 for 11,000 pesos. In preparation for The Mercado, we counted the pesos bc we had spent additional tolls, parking and border fees that we had not allowed for. Chad and I knew we were short but did not know how much. Not only did we have enough pesos, we had an increase of 1,100 pesos or 110.00. Wow, what a God we serve. God seemed to do this with our luggage too. We took many suitcases with clothes to give out and we did…so how we ended up with the same amount of room in the trailer is beyond me. Of course, I was the one packing the trailer and would notice such a thing. Their dirty clothes expanded.

Thursday

This is the final day of ministry here.

We went back to the Red Light district tonight. We blocked off the street with our van and sat up seats in the street. We had approx.75 people in the street service. The team had 3 dramas. The Bondage drama was the most powerful ever. The team was literally in the street, dirty and held nothing back. Sajeeve, Jordan and Liz gave awesome testimonies.

In fact, Liz was the last testimony and she went directly into an altar call. The team lined the stage praying in groups. We had 14 saved, 9 of these were children, and 6 healings. We ended the night with an awesome Mexican meal at the home of Luci, the widow of the founding pastor. Be sure to ask about the hot peppers event from a few of our brave, tearful eyes and sweating brow team

We leave for the border in the morning so please continue to pray. We will let you know when we get on the other side.

The border crossing was another challenge. They had an unplanned check-point between the normal 14 mile and bridge. Then I got stopped for “speeding” and thought they were going to take me to the jail to pay a fine. After much dialogue between me and the Federali Policia gentleman all dressed up with no place to go…I ended up with a verbal warning and then a handshake thanking me for coming to Mexico and helping his people out with the gospel. Wow. God is good!

Again, thank you for your prayers, financial support and of course…there are more stories that will be shared as time goes on.

Mike

PRAYER NEEDS

I want to ask you, to Pray for my family, my Dad has just been diagnosed with cancer and we see the surgeon tomorrow..and Aaron, our oldest, has blood work done today, he has just not been feeling well…please remember him. I know that God is in control, but I need that Peace that passes all understanding right now! Blessings!

From Chuck & Robin in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Just now catching up with all my correspondence and paperwork. A fresh
group of 30 bible institute students are in orientation and the returning
2nd and 3rd level students there will be about 50 living on campus. Last
week was the annual planning meeting to coordinate all the ministry
activities ie, school, church, outreach, crusade, evangelism, bible
institute, the list goes on. On Friday evening Robin and I evangelize “a
centro” think inner-city. There people exist in the fringes of society
almost invisible until dark, we start out at 8:00pm. These families and
individuals are even invisible to the poor that are out and about scavenging
to subsist during the day, these are the poorest of the poor, infirmed, old,
and the very young who rely on handouts from the less poor.

We arm ourselves with the prayer and 9 thermos of strong, sweet, coffee. Us
and another missionary lady pool our monies to buy and prepare as many
sandwiches as possible. With hot drink and food we minister the Gospel to
all we encounter in the dark allies and deserted streets. We will reach
more as resources are added to us. For now, the scripture Isaiah 52:7 rings
true, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good
news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who
proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

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Pray for our Pastors! They have long hours, usually minimal pay, considerable (not in the good sense) and constant criticism. Paul admonishes us to serve one another in love. This should encourage us to remember our pastors and pray for them daily.

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I went to the eye doctor and I can’t wear contacts in that eye for 10 days or more – he said the hemorrhage will take that long to clear. My cornea has 2 tears in it so pray they heal up. I go back in one week to see what he thinks. He said the contact could have caused the tear, and the hemorrhage could have been caused my blood pressure medication which has a diuretic in it, and the diuretic could have caused it because it also has a blood thinner in it…please pray for healing in my eyes. – Tulsa, OK

AREA EVENTS

SPECIAL OCCASIONS

IN NEED OF…

NEW PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION

The following has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA.. This guy should run for President one day…

‘We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, and delusional. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights.’

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV,
or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone — not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion,etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes. This one is my pet peeve…get an education and go to work..don’t expect everyone else to take care of you!

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but if it would turn out the same way as current public housing, we’re not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people..If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don’t be surprised if the rest of us want to see you put away for the rest of your sorry life.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don’t be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won’t have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times,but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an America means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don’t care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (Some of us do not mind learning your language so we can communicate with you in your country)my edit here

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country’s history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one God. You are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all, with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, you are free to leave! Tolerance is a two-way street and, if we must tolerate you, then you must also tolerate us.