Ministry Update August 22, 2008

Ministry Update August 22, 2008

Acts 17:10-11
“…for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed…”

Thank you to all who covered my husband and me in prayer during our recent motorcycle trip out west. We had a wonderful time of relaxation and truly enjoyed God’s beautiful creation as we visited numerous National Parks in the United States and Canada. I flew home on Wednesday and Paul is continuing the trip home by cycle. I basically have had one day to catch up from being away for 3 weeks before heading out today for Franklin, Pa, for a speaking engagement.

The weekend retreat that I will be participating in is sponsored by Todd Agnew, a contemporary Christian musician. His songs are heard all across the nation. He will be giving a concert tonight and teaching tomorrow (Saturday) morning from 9-11. I will have a one hour session from 11:00 to 12:00, and another hour session from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The topic of my workshop that was assigned to me is, “Am I loveable?” Todd will wrap up the afternoon in word and song. Then Sunday I will be speaking at a church in the area during the Sunday school hour as well as in the evening with the youth group. I am thrilled at both of these opportunities and look forward to what God will do in the lives of these teens. I will return home on Monday.

My daughter, Shelly, is making the five hour drive with me and I am really looking forward to having time alone with her over the next four days! Even though she lives next door to us, it is hard to find quality time to be together so we feel this is a bonus to be able to spend time together as we serve the Lord.

This weekend will be busy so please pray in the following ways based on the above verses from Acts 17:
--Pray that the teens will receive the message that I and the other speakers bring with great eagerness.
--Pray that they will be motivated to examine and search the Scriptures daily to learn truth for themselves.
--Pray that many of these precious teens will believe the Word and grow in their knowledge of Jesus and settle the question once and for all, “Am I loveable?”

Ministry Update August 8

Ministry Update August 6, 2008

Message from Anita

Psalm 138:1-2
“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the gods I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

As I was meditating on these verses the other morning, I happened to be on a balcony that has an incredible view of the glorious Rocky Mountains. I thought about how majestic and exalted these mountains are. The word, “exalted” means to be elevated in rank! As I stared at the beauty of these mountains, God reminded me that His name and His Word is more exalted than what my eyes were beholding at that moment! Now to be honest, every time I come to Estes Park, it is hard for me to take my eyes off of the Rockies. I just want to sit and stare at them because I know that soon I will be back home and I never know if I will ever see them again. God gently reminded me that this is how I should view His Name and His Word! My eyes should be glued to the beauty and wonder of these two things. Oh God, capture my heart with the beauty of who you are and the majestic wonder of Your written Word.

Ministry Highlights
I recently had the opportunity to speak at Vision, a gathering of teens and young adults whose heart’s desire is to worship and be taught the Word of God. Arriving a little early, I noticed a young man was there that I was pretty sure did not have a relationship with Jesus. In my mind I knew that this evening was going to be a divine appointment for this young man, at least that was what I was praying for. I talked with him briefly and then went to pray with the worship leader in preparation for the evening. I had decided in advance to speak on John 21 so I handed out Pocket Testaments for them to follow along. I did something that I have never done before….at least on purpose…and that was to just speak from my heart and have no notes to follow, not even an outline. Even though it was scary…I actually enjoyed it! I had to fully rely on the Holy Spirit and trust Him to speak a message that was needed that night. At the end I had them get into small groups to pray for one another. The following day I had the opportunity to talk to a close friend of the young man that had attended who had invited him to the event. He told me that after everyone went home he had the chance to lead his friend to the Lord! He prayed to receive Jesus! Praise God for this young man’s desire to lead his friend to Christ. He had been praying for months for this opportunity.

Rawlinsville Campmeeting:
A man who had strayed from God but had in the past two years come back to a relationship with God, shared with me his desire to grow spiritually and he wanted to learn how to journal! He asked if I could help explain how to journal and wondered what one journal’s about! So I briefly shared with him but told him I would be going into more detail the next day. He came back the following day and what a JOY to encourage him in his journey of growing closer to God.
A young woman came up to me on the last day, and shared how she had been at a JoyShop a year ago. She told me it has changed her life.

Comments recently received through the mail:
--“I am very glad I went to your JoyShop. I shall never forget your story and how you introduced the Bible to us anew. Thankyou!

--“We all needed to hear this so desperately! During the past week—spending each morning with the Lord I realized how I’ve missed so much—but I’m seeing his desire for me! Praise the Lord! I am so excited…!”

-- “Your testimony has changed my relationship with God. I've always craved a devotion time with Him, but relied on study guides to show me through the Bible. I just didn't
know where to start and didn't understand most of what I was reading because
I was reading too much in one sitting. Since hearing your description of the Bible being a letter to ME, I've been up EVERY morning an hour before my 4 kids and loving His word. Taking notes, understanding it, and praying over what He wants from me and for me. The Lord wakes me up faithfully every morning before 6. I treasure this time.”

--“You spoke at my church this past winter and just totally confirmed in my heart what
I know God had been asking me to do. By his Grace I have been more committed
with my morning quiet times than ever before! And I have seen so much fruit.
Obedience is a powerful thing! It’s like when we say yes to Him, it just
gives Him that much more opportunity to bless our cute little socks off! :-)
So thank you for giving me a huge boost in my devotional life and for helping me live more fully for Christ!”

How I praise God for the blessing of seeing fruit from the ministry. Many people serve the Lord without seeing the fruit of their labors so we are extremely bless to see immediate fruit!

Ministry Prayer Requests
--Right now I am speaking at the Women’s Week at Ravencrest Bible School in Estes Park, Co. Please pray for entire families to be impacted through the women that are attending this week. So many things have happened but I will share two highlights. I met a gifted artist on the hiking trail behind the facility here. I knew instantly that this was going to be one of those divine appointments. We had an amazing time of sharing our spiritual passions as we got acquainted. He told me that on his drive out here he asked God how does one really get to know Him. I ended up sharing a mini JoyShop! He so enjoyed the story that he told me he was going to go home and share the story with his five children! I happened to have some of the youth journals on hand that we hand out to youth and sent seven home with him, one for everyone, so they could do the 21 DC!

Later on in the day, a young woman who is serving as an intern here, told me she had heard my story when I spoke at the school in January. She ended up sharing with me how her life had been impacted by it. Her face was so full of joy as she spoke.

Every day, I am seeing fruit from the ministry. These precious women from all over the country have been so impacted that they are trying to figure out ways to get word out about this ministry! I feel like the Lord has given me another support team in the West!

As I wrap up this week and leave Saturday for a 12 day motorcycle trip out West, I would like to ask your prayers for safety in our travels. Numerous women here have expressed concern for me in that they know that Satan can not possibly like the ministry I am doing and they cautioned me to stand guard and be aware. They also have asked me if I have intercessors on behalf of the ministry and myself because they feel the ministry should be covered in prayer 24/7! I assured them that I do, but I guess you can never have too many intercessors. So I would covet your prayers as we travel these next couple of weeks.

May God richly bless your life for partnering with JoyShop Ministries through your prayers, financial gifts, and words encouragement!

Seeking Him Together

Anita