NTM

                      Dear praying friends,

Life can sometimes be like a canoe trip down a river.  There are times that are calm as you drift lazily along.  Sometimes you can see or hear rapids up ahead and you tense a little as you begin to imagine what may lay in store for you around the bend.  There are still other times when you are caught in the grip of the rapids.  During these times it seems that all you can do is concentrate on the moment at hand and try to make your way safely through the obstacles.

As we continue through our year of home assignments we seem to be facing a variety of obstacles and challenges.  We know that all of these serve the purpose of directing our vision toward Christ and away from ourselves.  Thank you for praying with us and for us through these times. 

Here are some of the areas that you can praying about on our behalf.

1. Gina has a herniated disk in her lower back.  We will be meeting with the spinal specialist on November 12 to determine what we should.  Please pray that we can get this resolved and that Gina will no longer have to live in pain.

2. Please pray that our boys will be an effective witness in the public schools.  It is easy to get discouraged when they are surrounded by bad language and immorality.  We trust that their faith will become more real to them over the course of this year.

3.  Please pray for us as we continue to trust the Lord to raise up additional financial and prayer partners prior to leaving for Thailand in July.  We praise the Lord for the individuals who have already expressed an interest in getting involved in the ministry of MK discipleship.  We are in the process of contacting local churches and asking for an opportunity to share this ministry with them.

Thanks for praying for us.  You are an extremely important part of our lives and the ministry we are involved in.

When its all been said and done

there is just one thing that matters.

Did I do my best to live for truth,

did I live my life for you

   And when its all been said and done,

  all my treasure will mean nothing.

 Only what I’ve done for love’s reward

will stand the test of time.

Lord your mercy is so great

that you look beyond our weakness.

And find purest gold in miry clay,

Turning sinners into saints

And I will always praise your name,

here on earth and ever after.

For you’ve shown me heaven is my true home,

when its all been said and done.

When its all been said and done,

there is just one thing that matters

Did I do my best to live for truth

did I live my life for You?

*song lyrics by Robin Mark

If you are a parent with children who are old enough to talk you can identify with what I am going to say next.  Have you ever disciplined your child for an attitude, mannerism or way of speech and later realized that they probably picked that habit up from you?

This summer we visited my brother and his family in North Carolina and spent a day at the lake.  We had a lot of time to play with our kids, watch our boys play with their smaller cousins and watch other people interact with their kids. 

As I paddled around in the canoe with my boys I got to thinking that it was a pretty good illustration of the 18 years or so that we have with our children.  We spend time with our kids.  We live side-by-side and like it or not our kids are observing us all the time.  From us, they learn how to react to certain situations, how to treat other people, how to view the Lord, how to deal with challenges and disappointments.  At the end of those 18 years they will “get out of the canoe” and be on their own.  They will put into practice all the things they have learned from us during our time together and will begin making their own disciples.

It was a good reminder that though we are commanded to go into all the world and make disciples, our first disciples are generally our own children.  How are your disciples turning out?  Are my boys disciples of Christ as a result of being my disciples?  Are my daily interactions with my boys strengthening their relationship with Christ or causing them to be frustrated in their spiritual walk.

As you go through this day remember that you are creating disciples.

Thanks for partnering with us through prayer and finances.  You play a crucial role in the discipleship of MK’s and other students at Grace International School in Thailand.