volunteer day

These wonderful volunteers of JoyShop Ministries give many hours to putting together our binders, pocket testaments, and bookmarks. Pictured are Gene and Sherilyn Schock, Kay Risser, Jill Shenk, Brenda Longsderff, and Deb Risser.

February 2009 Ministry Update

Ministry Update February 5, 2009

RESTING IN JESUS
II Chronicles 20:15
“…Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

How many of you are facing a huge battle right now? Do you feel like a vast multitude has come against you? Does fear overtake you at times? Do waves of hopelessness sweep over your heart? If you can relate to any of these statements then I encourage you to pick up your Bible and read II Chronicles 20:1-30. There is no greater example of how to face our battles then King Jehoshaphat’s. He was scared out of his mind as a vast army was coming against him yet in his fear he set himself to seek the Lord. At this moment I am fighting the impulse to share with you the action steps he took, but that would rob you of the joy of discovering it for your self! So I want to encourage each of you to look up this passage in scripture and grab a piece of paper. Note what the king and his people did in response to the challenge they were facing. Once you discover this wonderful example you will return to it again and again when you face insurmountable problems or even the small trials of life. It is a fail proof plan! This Old Testament story has taught me how to enter into the rest of Jesus during the most difficult of times. Our flesh just loves to try to fix things and if we can’t fix it then we carry the burden of it on our shoulders. But verse 17 gives an incredible solution, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you…Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” What powerful words of promise!

The reason we have so much stress is that we refuse to rest in Christ with our burdens and concerns. We cry out for help but forget the battle is not ours to fight. The flesh has a hard time of letting go….I should know….it happens to me often! We daily pick up the weight of the problem instead of positioning ourselves to trust God. He asks us to stand still in His peace and watch Him take care of our situation. He is always walking ahead of us in loving care and it pleases Him when we choose to praise him and worship Him in spite of how things look or how we feel. “Oh what needless peace we forfeit. Oh what needless pain we bare all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” May Jehoshaphat’s example give you peace in whatever battle you may be facing at this time.

January was a great month of ministry. We were able to hold 3 full workshop’s in different parts of the state.

Highlights from our time at Riverhill Evangelical Church:
SNOW!!! Lots of it! Paula Frey and I traveled four and a half hours to Clarion, Pa. As we settled into our hotel, it was hard to imagine that anyone would show up for the JoyShop with all the snow. They must be use to that kind of weather or something because the turnout wasn’t bad! Our coldest adventure was Sunday morning on our way to the church service. The temperature was minus 6 degrees. Paula rolled down the car window to help clear off some of the snow. The window mechanism was so cold she could not get the window back up. We drove 4 miles with the freezing air coming in our window. Once in the church parking lot we were able to inch the window up ever so slowly. We were sure not to roll down any more windows that trip! Amidst all the snow however, we were able to serve this precious congregation. As I shared my testimony in the Sunday morning service, I noticed a 10 year old boy snuggled up by his mother. He was very attentive. After church it was so neat to see him back at our table picking up his own 21 Day Challenge Journal. He was all smiles. How I pray that he uses his pocket testament to get to know Jesus Christ better.

I had the unexpected JOY of being ministered to by the people in attendance for the last session Sunday afternoon. At the pastor’s suggestion, they formed a prayer circle around me and prayed for the ministry. I began to cry as I sensed God’s embrace through their prayers. No one had known how emotionally and physically drained I had been going into the JoyShop but the Lord had mercy on me and His strength was made perfect in my weakness. Their prayers were such an encouragement to me.

Our weekend at Heidelberg Church in Slatington went very well. Jan Kamp traveled with me Friday night to get a head start for the all day JoyShop on Saturday. We had a lovely dinner with our host couple and were able to set up in the church that night. Saturday was a full day. Approximately 50 were in attendance. Many people shared with me later that it was just what they had needed. I was thrilled to discover that one person committed their life to Jesus Christ during the workshop!

This was a first….usually I push the time limit to the max. The scheduled time was 9-3:00 p.m. At least that was the time I had on my program. I managed to wrap the workshop up at 3:05 p.m. A lady raised her hand at the end and told me that her church bulletin said it was going to last until 4:00. She wondered if I could share more! I was so dumb founded by this unexpected opportunity that I couldn’t think of anything else to say!!!!

Other areas that have been impacted by JoyShop Ministries:
I received this message from a youth pastor who had invited me to do JoyShop with his youth at a summer retreat:

“We are still holding people to the concept of your 21 day challenge from last summer at Charter Hall! God has truly blessed us from our time spent together.”

Pocket Testament League published this “Story of the Month”:
“A friend of mine invited me to do the 21-Day Challenge and I am truly growing closer to Jesus Christ each and every day. I want to share my experience with others and want to share these 10 copies of the Gospel of John with friends and family during the holiday season so they too can become closer to Jesus Christ through his words of truth. Thank you.”

Praise the Lord! These words just make my heart sing! This is truly what the 21 Day Challenge is all about, growing closer to Jesus Christ!

February is the month that my husband, Paul and I block out for vacation. We enjoy the break from work and ministry and thank the Lord we can get away for a time of refresment. Ministry work gets back into full swing as we head to Texas in March! Thank you for your prayers on behalf of the ministry as we partner together to encourage others! Love, Anita K