Welcome!!! We are so glad you are visiting our family ministry blog!!!
We are leaving Niles this morning for the final leg of our 2008-2009 travel year. We are headed to Upper Marlboro, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. for a 4-day Life Action THIRST conference. You can view our family schedule further down this page. We have just three more locations this travel year, then we will be back in Mihcigan for the summer. Have a super day!!
We praise God that He is still in the business of redeeming and changing lives. It is our prayer that His work will never become commonplace to us. We don't want to lose the wonder of seeing His mercy poured out on undeserving sinners. Rejoice with us as you read about more trophies of His grace!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
WHAT A WEEKEND!!
I (Maryann) have just returned home from Harvest Bible Chapel in Davenport, Iowa, where I had the wonderful privilege of participating in the first Pure in Heart conference, hosted by Revive our Hearts, an outreach of Life Action Ministries.
Just 8 hours ago, I was with 500 women who came together with their precious daughters (1,150 attendees in all) to learn how to live a life of purity in our futile, immoral culture. As a ministry, we desire to help young girls stay morally pure, and many times, moms feel inadequate for the task. This is a day-long conference to help mothers captivate the heart of their daughters before the world does. Our goal is to ignite a passion for purity in young girls as they explore their identity in Christ as a beloved princess, a daughter of the King!! The cool thing is that 300 miles away, our daughter Margo was teaching a purity session to the church's youth girls during our team's Wabash, Indiana conference. The joy of knowing that I had the privilege of taking her through the Princess and the Kiss study 6 years ago, and now God is using her commitment to purity to touch the lives of other young girls is a thrill to me!!! There truly is no greater joy than to know that our children are walking with the Lord!! We serve an awesome God!!! To learn more about the Pure in Heart conference, you can visit the REVIVE OUR HEARTS website. In addition to that, you can view the live blog from the weekend at the TRUE WOMAN website. Ryan and 5 of the children are still in Wabash, Indiana where they are finishing up the 8-day conference at Emmanuel Freewill Baptist Church. They will be departing there tomorrow evening after the final service to drive home to Niles. We've had a cancellation in our schedule, so we will actually be home here in Niles for the next 10 days. We thank you for your prayers and encouragement. We serve an awesome God who is worthy to be praised and our family is praising Him today!!
Just 8 hours ago, I was with 500 women who came together with their precious daughters (1,150 attendees in all) to learn how to live a life of purity in our futile, immoral culture. As a ministry, we desire to help young girls stay morally pure, and many times, moms feel inadequate for the task. This is a day-long conference to help mothers captivate the heart of their daughters before the world does. Our goal is to ignite a passion for purity in young girls as they explore their identity in Christ as a beloved princess, a daughter of the King!! The cool thing is that 300 miles away, our daughter Margo was teaching a purity session to the church's youth girls during our team's Wabash, Indiana conference. The joy of knowing that I had the privilege of taking her through the Princess and the Kiss study 6 years ago, and now God is using her commitment to purity to touch the lives of other young girls is a thrill to me!!! There truly is no greater joy than to know that our children are walking with the Lord!! We serve an awesome God!!! To learn more about the Pure in Heart conference, you can visit the REVIVE OUR HEARTS website. In addition to that, you can view the live blog from the weekend at the TRUE WOMAN website. Ryan and 5 of the children are still in Wabash, Indiana where they are finishing up the 8-day conference at Emmanuel Freewill Baptist Church. They will be departing there tomorrow evening after the final service to drive home to Niles. We've had a cancellation in our schedule, so we will actually be home here in Niles for the next 10 days. We thank you for your prayers and encouragement. We serve an awesome God who is worthy to be praised and our family is praising Him today!!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Graham, Texas testimonies
We had testimony night last Sunday evening, in Graham, Texas, and we thought you'd enjoy hearing what the Lord did at Oak Street Baptist...
"I began this conference not understanding brokenness. As a husband and father, God found me disregarding my family for the sake of my work. I have desired the praises of men more than the praises of God. The Lord has drawn my heart back to Him and I've sought forgiveness from my wife and children for not leading them as I should."
"I was content to be a "good guy". The Lord has shown me this week that I'm to be a godly man. I have not been praying with my wife, and that is something we have begun to do together this week. We are choosing to live completely for God."
"I began this conference sad, angry, and overwhelmed. My mother and I have had a broken relationship for over 18 years. After the message on hurt and forgiveness, I contacted my mother and our relationship has been restored. We are restored!!! Praise the Lord!!!"
"I was raised in this church, and three years ago, I got my girlfriend pregnant. She aborted that child, and I have been so angry with God. I thought He had left me abandoned. I have been involved in drugs and alcohol these past 3 years. I just couldn't handle things or hold down a job. The Lord has shown me this week that He never left me or abandoned me. I'm 2 weeks sober today, and I want to be a godly man."
These testimonies are just a small glimpse of what the Lord did during our time in Graham. Our God is a faithful God that meets us at our point of need when we cry out for Him, and many were brought back into a deep love relationship with Jesus!! We are driving to Illinois just thrilled that we get to be a part of His gracious work!!
"I began this conference not understanding brokenness. As a husband and father, God found me disregarding my family for the sake of my work. I have desired the praises of men more than the praises of God. The Lord has drawn my heart back to Him and I've sought forgiveness from my wife and children for not leading them as I should."
"I was content to be a "good guy". The Lord has shown me this week that I'm to be a godly man. I have not been praying with my wife, and that is something we have begun to do together this week. We are choosing to live completely for God."
"I began this conference sad, angry, and overwhelmed. My mother and I have had a broken relationship for over 18 years. After the message on hurt and forgiveness, I contacted my mother and our relationship has been restored. We are restored!!! Praise the Lord!!!"
"I was raised in this church, and three years ago, I got my girlfriend pregnant. She aborted that child, and I have been so angry with God. I thought He had left me abandoned. I have been involved in drugs and alcohol these past 3 years. I just couldn't handle things or hold down a job. The Lord has shown me this week that He never left me or abandoned me. I'm 2 weeks sober today, and I want to be a godly man."
These testimonies are just a small glimpse of what the Lord did during our time in Graham. Our God is a faithful God that meets us at our point of need when we cry out for Him, and many were brought back into a deep love relationship with Jesus!! We are driving to Illinois just thrilled that we get to be a part of His gracious work!!
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