Just Between You, Me, & God 11/19/2012

I picked a bad time to start a diet.  This is not the best time of year to start a diet with Thanksgiving this week and Christmas and all the trimmings right behind it.  My timing has not always been the best.  This is a time of reflection and giving God thanks for all He has done for us in the past year.  Growing up, Thanksgiving was generally just our immediate family.  I don’t remember any trips over the river or through the woods to Grandmother’s house.  With three boys sitting around the table a two legged turkey was a little inadequate.   Somehow a wing just doesn’t balance out with a turkey leg.  The best dishes and silver ware would come out and there was more food than even three growing boys and their Dad could put away in one meal.  Everything was homemade, nothing came from the freezer or out of the microwave (nonexistent at that time, yes there were phones and electricity and indoor plumbing).  After I got married and we had kids we would make those trips from Houston to Atlanta, Texas for a big family gathering.  Everyone would get up Thanksgiving morning and check the “chores list” to find out what they were supposed to do.  Bo would deep fry a turkey and have a pork loin smoking on the grill.  Nana and the girls would be busy in the kitchen making a huge tub of the best ever dressing and all the fixings to go with it.  The guys made last minute runs to the store and discussed the games that would be on that day and sneaked taste anywhere they could.  When it was all said and done the blessing was offered, usually with tears of appreciation, and the stuffing began, and I’m not talking about the turkey.  If you went away hungry it was your own fault.  After the meal was done, the living room looked like a battle field with bodies lying everywhere and moans and groans reflecting the pain of overeating.  The guys dozed while the games blared on the TV and the girls would take a walk to work off the meal.  No one could understand how they could eat that much but by the time the evening rolled around we were at it again.  This year I will once again reflect on God’s amazing grace in my life.  He has given me a 5 year experience with Living Hope Fellowship that just a few years before I could have never imagined.  He took a broken vessel, remolded it, and used it to pour out His Gospel to others who were broken.  God truly does use the weak to prove his strength.  Lord I give you thanks for reminding me that I am nothing without you and that you believe that I can do anything that you want me too.  Not to me, but to you goes the glory this year.  Pastor Dean

One Mommy's Confession: Joy, Failure, and Forgiveness

This Sunday morning, during service, since there were few kids in class, we stayed in "big church" for Worship before going to our classroom for our lesson, which we sometimes do (we're a small church and can be flexible that way). As I stood with my daughter, who is five (for one more week), above the music, the Worship Team, the congregation, and my own hardly-tiny alto voice, I heard my daughter, clearly and distinctly, singing along to "Heart of Worship"...a song I didn't even realize she knew the words to. She sang it in her little slightly off-key childish soprano, and occasionally twirled on the spot with her hands up. 

Suddenly, I found myself moved on a level completely unconnected with the words to the song. I thought about this week, which had been chaotic and had held several disappointments and irritations for me. I thought of the rough mornings when I lost my temper getting ready for school, every time I raised my voice or said something unkind to my daughter (or to my spouse while she was present). I considered each time I reacted instead of acted out of love, and I was heartily ashamed. I found myself, though still singing the words to the song, crying out to God for forgiveness and thanking Him that despite it all, despite my failings and shortcomings as a parent and a person, that my daughter still knew God's Love and His Joy and still had a reason to sing about it, raise her hands, and dance.




I am so thankful that even when I fail, God has placed people like our church family and her school friends and teacher, and positive, Godly influence like our local radio station (KVNE Encouragement FM--which is probably where she learned the words to the song) around her, like backup warriors in the battleground, to guide her when I am a poor example. And I am thankful that like my daughter (who informed me this morning that I am "the best mommy in the world"), I have a God who forgives me every time I mess up.

Thank you, God, for giving me "the best daughter in the world."

Melissa McGinnis is the Children's Ministry Director for LHF.

My Morning Coffee

I think if I wake up and don't have the money to buy my grande white chocolate macadamia nut frappecino
I may possibly not be passing any of my college classes. As a student with two jobs I have a quite busy schedule (especially when the Marine Corps sends out surprise study assignments). But for some reason, no matter how bad I feel at 0700 in the morning, everyday I always feel better after making my morning trip to the coffee shop.

In Matthew 6:11 Jesus states "give us this day our daily bread". (They didn't have coffee back then).

But I don't think Jesus was speaking literally here when he says this. Jesus is praying that God will give him his daily "wake up call" to open his eyes to the glory that he has awaken to. One important thing to note is that in order for Jesus to receive his daily bread he had to pray for it, which is one thing that is reflected into our life. We as Christians also have to pray for our daily bread in order to receive it.
Psalm 118:24 says "this is the day that The Lord has made; so rejoice and be glad in it". So ask yourself, how are you treating each day? Is it a blessing? Do you wake up excited, rejoicing, dancing, and overwhelmed with the glory of God? If not take some time out each day to pray for your daily bread (or coffee) and let God give you the "caffeine" boost you need to jump start your day.

Gerald D. Salzarulo is the Worship Leader and Youth Leader for LHF.

Just Between You, Me, & God 9-27-2012

How many of you out there have a dog?  OK, quite a few.  I have a dog, his name is Buster and he is an Irish Setter.  He is currently laying at my feet, fast asleep.  Dogs are like kids, they can sleep just about anywhere and in any position.  They are one of God's great creations.  They are fiercely loyal, they are always glad to see you coming, and hate to see you go.  They love to play and bark and chase and do all of those things that God created them to do.  They can make a mess and have been known to tear up a thing or two, (the cover off of one of my study Bibles).  All in all we really love our dogs and they love us. It is pretty much an unconditional love that they have for us.  You can get mad and yell and they just wag their tales because all they hear is you calling their name.  You can lose them on a cross country trip and they will try their hardest to get back home, no matter how long it takes.  In this relationship, we are known as the Master.  We usually provide their food and shelter with an occasional treat or toy, and they provide companionship, or security, or enjoyment.  It's a pretty good relationship.  How's your relationship with God?  Could you learn a few things from your dog about what your relationship with your Master should be like.  Matthew 22:37 tells us, "...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  Are you always glad to see God?  Do you get excited, do you listen for His car coming up the street and do you wait at the door to welcome Him in.  A lot of us think that twice a year is sufficient, we'll have plenty of time to spend with Him when we get to heaven.  Listen to what Jesus says in John 10: 14-15, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-just as the Father knows me and I know the father-and I lay down my life for the sheep."  Your dog responds to your voice, you commands, because he knows you and he knows your voice.  If you don't have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, how are you going to recognize His voice when He calls you.  That may be the dog catcher or Satan that your answering to because you haven't been around your master enough to know His voice.  Are we loyal to follow Him, are we committed to obey?  Let's try this, take everything that you brought with you into this world and put it in a pile over here.  Hmm, that looks like empty space to me.  Everything that you have or own is a gift from God and when you leave this Earth, you'll have to give it all back.  These are you treats, your provisions from your Master.  So let's face it, we even mess up from time to time and even runaway but our Master is forgiving and loving and wants to welcome us back.  Buster and I have a lot in common, although he has a lot more hair than I do.  He is loyal, he loves me unconditionally, he is always glad to see me and misses me when I'm gone.  In my relationship with God, I try to be loyal, I love Him for first loving me, I am glad to be in His presence and I realize just how much I need Him when I am away from Him.  Have you been away from your Master?  He's waiting for you to come on home.  Embrace Him and show Him that you love and respect Him and that you are willing to obey so that you may walk together from now on.  Good boy!  Pastor Dean 

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF. He truly loves his big lug of a dog. His prissy cat Molly also loves Buster. His Chihuahua mix Red...not so much.

Book Review: Spark by Jason Jaggard

Photo from Waterbrook Multomah site

Publisher/Date: Waterbrook Multnomah/August 21 2012

Spark is a deceptively small book with a very large impact! At 206 pages, less than a third of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it does not seem a heavy read. The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” truly applies here. 

Jaggard has redefined terms that we as Christians have heard to the point of desensitization. “Faith”…”hope”…”love”…”risk”…”change”…words that we are all too familiar with become fresh and relevant in the context of today’s world and bring a message that is timeless. He defines a “spark” as a risk, small or large, that impacts our lives and those around us. He points out that “risk” is a very subjective term, and that what is a risk (in the sense of doing something different than our norm, a real change in our routines, habits, and outlook) for one person is not for another, and that every person can take a risk…create a “spark.”

The founder of Spark Good, Jaggard has created a small group model (which most Christians in today’s church are familiar with), in which Spark groups meet for five weeks. During those weeks, each member agrees to take one small risk per week for 4 of the weeks, and each week the group discusses the impact of the “sparks” created. There is no set curriculum or resources needed (though there is a short guide available) to begin or host a Spark Group.

Jaggard uses multiple anecdotes and stories from his own life and the stories of many others to illustrate his points. We see how small changes created big results, and get a real understanding of what a single “spark” can do.

The writing style is somewhat journalistic, with short paragraphs separated by double-spaced lines, very like a blog (or this review), with few to no long-running sentences. Some reviews I have read since finishing Spark have complained about this style, but personally, it appeals to me. It keeps ideas a bit more organized and concise.

One complaint I have read that I see (limited) merit in is that Jaggard tends to repeat himself often, and uses too many anecdotes and examples to illustrate his point. While I agree that some parts of the book were repetitive, I disagree that it is too much. I find that people absorb more if they hear it more than once. In a fiction piece, a theme or idea is repeated endlessly in example, metaphor, or statement, and while it is not often used in nonfiction writing, it isn’t unheard of, and in this book, I do not find it boring or overdone.

I myself am a risk-taker and have little qualms about trying new things or “thinking outside the box,” so I really identified with the premise of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Spark, and am looking to start a Spark Group at Living Hope Fellowship. I think that anyone can benefit from what Jaggard has to say, and like to imagine what our world would look like if more of us created our own “sparks.”

Spark entry on Waterbrook Multonmah's site  


another bligger's review of Spark

Melissa McGinnis is the Children's Director for LHF, and likes to kick out boxes' walls. Mrs. McGinnis received a review copy of this book at the Catalyst Dallas Leadership Conference, but not as part of Waterbrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books Program. Her opinions are her own.

Just Between You, Me, & God 9/18/2012

We just got back from a long weekend mini vacation on the beach near Galveston. We were the grateful guest of our Port Arthur connection cousins, Jennifer, her husband Ricky, their two adorable kids Amelia and Noah, and Jenn’s dad, Daddy Dave. Daddy Dave has been a spiritual anchor in my life for quite a while. He’s one of those guys whose faith is so strong that he cannot help but put you in a more spiritual frame of mind when you’re around him. I love walking on the beach by myself and just taking in God’s creation all around me. There has been a lot on my mind lately and I really needed to have some alone time with God to talk things over without interruptions. Sunday morning I got up early, fixed a pot of coffee and headed to the beach just as the sun was coming up. I walked and sipped my coffee with my head down and started a rather lengthy conversation with the Lord. The waves constantly rolled in with a calming relaxing rhythm. As I walked and talked on I could feel the presence of someone with me and their desire to join the conversation. He said, “Have you noticed that there is no longer a trace of those who were here before you? Can you see that even the mark that you have left is no longer visible? But the waves of the ocean have continued on since before any man walked on this Earth and they will continue long after you are gone. They are like my love for you and all mankind. I am constantly rolling over you’re self- impression, trying to get you to notice Me. I roll into your life depositing little blessing like the colorful shells that the waves leave behind. Sometimes I have to roll in like a storm, changing your life so that you might come back to me even if it is in a time of need. I am constantly trying to get you to embrace our relationship. I am glad you have taken the time to seek me out this morning and I hope you will do it more often. I am everywhere and in everything so don’t wait till you come to the beach.” I stopped and I watched for a while as the waves rolled over the sand and then rolled out leaving a new collection of little shells. I thought of how God has used little waves and tidal waves in my life to bring me back to Him and I had a clearer understanding of everything I had been praying about when I first started my walk. Take some time alone with God this week and see if you don’t start to see things a little more clearly.

Luke 24:28-32, As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Go in peace and may the God of peace be with you, Pastor Dean

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF.

Just Between You, Me, & God 8/13/2012

I was a middle kid with an older and a younger brother. As three boys often do, we could get in trouble pretty easily. When brought before the judges (Mom or Dad) and asked "Whose fault is this?", I could point in either direction and lay the blame accordingly. Likewise, they could point at each other and I would be caught in the middle. Truth be known, we all usually had some kind of part in the mischief. It seems to be our human nature to want to blame someone else for our troubles. Zig Zigler pointed out that "when you're pointing a finger at someone else that just means that there are three more pointing back at you. In Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus gives a lesson to His disciples on judging, mercy, and protecting what is sacred. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from you brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." Jesus is telling them that they set their own standard of judging on themselves by the way that they judge others. It doesn't mean that some things do not demand judging but if you do, you'd better have your own house in order. If our own lives are in disarray, then we are hypocrites for judging others for their way of life. When we as Christians take the standards that God has given us (pearls) and disregard them ourselves but expect others to live up to those standards, then we are giving them excuse that we don't even live up to God's laws so why should they, how can anybody if we can't. If we as Christians expect to see marriage continue as one man and one woman as God intended, then we need to look at fixing our divorce rates, our unfaithfulness, and our acceptance of living together outside the bonds of marriage. Maybe if our kids could see how God intended marriage to be representative of our relationship with Christ then they would grow up with a better self-image of themselves and how to relate to others. When our image in the mirror becomes more clearly then we can start to show others by God's example through us. Pastor Dean

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Ministries & Outreach Pastor for LHF.

In the Storm

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. (Jeremiah 32:40 NLT)

I found this picture on the internet today (specifically, Facebook, posted by a friend), and feel it to be inspiring. I'd like to share it with you today. ~~ Melissa McGinnis, LHF Children's Ministry Director

On VeggieTales, Leadership, and Wimpy Kids

I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations. -- Jeremiah 1:5 NLT

As the Children's Ministry Director and a mom, I am pretty familiar with the VeggieTales. Most Christian parents, nursery workers, and daycare teachers are. For those who aren't, they are these amazing little computer-animated talking, dancing, singing vegetables and fruits that teach children about God, the Bible, and living a Christian witness. (You can read my Rosaleen's review of one of their latest videos to get some idea.) These little $5-$20 DVDs have been providing wholesome, vitamin-rich entertainment since 1993, and don't seem to be slowing down any time soon. But what comes to mind today for me is that at the end of every video, after the stories have been told, the songs have been sung, and the lesson learned has been repeated, Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber (the main characters) remind the children that "God made you special, and He loves you very much."

And while that seems simple, even infantile, it doesn't make it less true. God DID make each of us special--uniquely talented and tailored by our experiences and choices to fulfill a purpose only we can. The same Creator who took His time pulling each star together out of gases and heat took His time pulling you together out of flesh and bones, and as He placed each star in a specific place to shine, so has He placed you in a unique position and place to shine. And He loves you, even when it seems no one else does.

Many people assume that if they volunteer at church, help out a friend in need, pray for others, or give money to worthy causes, then they are doing what God has for them. And I'm not knocking those things; they are good things, wonderful things, and please God when we do them, but they in and of themselves may not be the specific thing (or things) God created you for. If God wanted people to just give money, we'd all be rich. But because He loves diversity (just watch a documentary of the Galapagos Islands if you don't believe me), and delights in our individuality, He intends each of us to fulfill the one-of-a kind purpose He has for us.

In his book The Church Unique, Will Mancini speaks to leaders about finding their church's "Unique"--the specific purpose God intends for that church, the reason they exist and the ministry/ministries they are meant for. It is a fascinating read, and many of the precepts in the book can be applied on an individual basis. One example Mancini uses is that of a "funnel," which looks roughly like this:

XXXXXXX

\              /

\            /

\         /

\     /

X

The Xs across the top are the many talents and skills we have. They are good things, often useful, sometimes not, but still they are things that we can do. The single X at the bottom represents what God intends for us to do. It is a beautiful and wonderful thing to understand that God has blessed overabundantly with more than we need to accomplish what He has planned for us! How much more can He show us how He loves us?

That's great for others, but not for me, you think. I've messed up a LOT. I've done things I never want to people to know about. I can't possibly be useful to God after what I've been through. I've soiled the gifts, broken the sculpture, torn the painting. Let me share a video with you that we showed our kids yesterday at our summer program:

Again, simple, somewhat childish, but true. No matter what you've done, seen, experienced, or been, God has a special, unique plan and purpose for you. He has crafted you out of messy, smelly ingredients to make something beautiful, useful, and greatly loved. I pray that you accept what God has for you. Find a church, get involved, and pray for Him to reveal your talents and what He designed them for.

Because God made you special, and He loves you very much.

Melissa McGinnis is the Children's Ministry Director for LHF, incredibly flawed, but wonderfully made. As we all are.

Just Between You, Me, & God 7/9/2012

I'm not much of a techy guy. My kids and wife keep trying to drag me into the 21st century but I'm not convinced it's a safe place yet. We recently got Netflix. We run it through the Wii so we can pick and choose our movies to watch whenever Jeannie's at home. I'm not restricted from watching when she's not here, it's just that I haven't learned how to work the thing yet. When we look at a person's lifetime we often associate it with all of the technical advances during that same time period. I remember doing that with my Grandparents. In their lifetimes they went from the horse drawn wagons to traffic jams on super highways, from the Wright brothers to the first man on the moon, from black and white silent movies and radio shows to a color TV in almost every home. They lived through a depression, two World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam war. They raised two sons that raised families that continue to multiply families of their own. There have been a lot of changes in this world and it seems like they just keep coming faster and faster. The latest in high tech devices today is bound to be obsolete and on the clearance aisle in a couple of months. But throughout the ages there has been one constant, one stable that never changes: God. John 1:1-5 explains it all in a Cliff Notes sort of way. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." I am always impressed at night when driving up on a town or city and you look out and see all of the lights shining in the neighborhoods lighting the streets and yards providing security in the night darkness. Our world is dark with sin and I like to think that Jesus looks out and sees all of these little specks of light shining in this dark sin-filled world representing all of those who have seen His light and accepted Jesus as their Savior. Only Jesus offers us the beacon of His salvation, the security light of His mercy, the flood lamp of His forgiveness, and the unchanging floresence of His love. If you find yourself wandering around in the dark in this fast-paced high-tech world, can I offer you a light? The light of the world, Jesus Christ. Pastor Dean

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Ministries & Outreach Pastor for LHF. Eventually, we may even get him to get an iPhone, perhaps even before iPhone 7 is revealed.

Just Between You, Me, & God 6/18/2012

I was blessed to have two Dads. My birth Father was special to me. He had a quirky kind of sense of humor; some people call it a dry sense of humor. When I was headed off to the Boy Scout Jamboree in Idaho back in 1969 it was the farthest I had ever been from home by myself. My Mom was giving me all kinds of advice about what to watch out for, how to act, to be careful, and have fun. All my Dad had to say was, “Make up your mind, do you want to be careful, or to have fun.” My Dad taught me work ethic (although I didn’t realize it at the time). We all had chores to do and we couldn’t do anything else until they were done. We learned that there were consequences for what we did wrong and it wasn’t just time out. He taught us how to be courteous and respectful to women and others by the way that he treated our Mom and other people. He taught us how to mourn when my Grand Father passed away and that things don’t always go as planned when the family’s only car broke down half way along the way to Iowa for the funeral. He worked some long hours to provide for us but he set aside time for all of us also. Now I can’t honestly say that I have always acted according to these lessons and I’m not proud of the way I have always treated people in my life but my Dad’s lessons were still there none the less, and have helped to make me a shadow of my Dad. One other thing that He taught me was that I was blessed with another Father, my Heavenly Father. My Dad and Mom didn’t just drop us off at Church on Sunday mornings, we were all there as a family. My Dad was not a great singer but I remember looking up at him during the hymns while he followed along and sang all the words to hymns that still sing in my heart today. He showed me how to be involved in Church by volunteering and leading and teaching and caring for others. He had a compassion for people. My Dad passed away 5 years ago just a few months before his 90th birthday. I visited him in the nursing home where he no longer lived in our world but in somewhere else in his mind. I would listen to him talk to old navy buddies and teachers and I would try to join in the conversation. On one visit just a few weeks before he died he was rather quiet so I pulled out my Bible and began to read familiar passages and then started to sing to him some of the old hymns. Suddenly he started in on his own, “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’re and o’re! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!” He stopped for a moment with a grin on his face and looked past the empty open door of his room and said, “Oh, you liked that did you.” I’d heard that quip before when we would laugh at his corny jokes. It had become a habit to try and see what invisible person he was talking with so I asked, “Who you talking to Dad?” He answered as if I should have already known, “Jesus.” And I should have. Happy Father’s day to both of my Dads, and to you, Pastor Dean.

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Ministries & Outreach Pastor for LHF.

Review: Johnny Rogers ZuCamp Series

Working in Children’s Ministry, I am always looking for curriculum to engage my audience, which consists of mixed-age children ranging at any point in time from 2- to 10-year-olds. Often I design my own curriculum and “aim for the middle,” where my older kids act as mentors to my younger ones, learning in an applicable way. This works well, but sometimes it would be nice to use something that requires less direct preparation and more spiritual legwork.

Enter Johnny Rogers. Designed for 6-12 years, there are multiple series available. The site where I (or rather, my husband, who loves looking for stuff on the Internet) found it (www.kidmo.com) offers several courses, but allows you to request samples to preview and “try out” with the kids. Forms were filled out and discs were shipped. What I received was Lesson 2 of the ZuCamp series, which teaches about putting God’s Love into action. Lesson 2, “The church cares for people,” focused on teaching kids that God’s Church isn’t in four walls, but within us, and by caring for people, we take the church to them (which lines up directly with our church’s Core Beliefs, Values, and Mission Statement).


I tried it with the kids, and it was a HUGE success! The video lesson DVDs include their own worship songs, which were an especially big hit with the twirling dancer in the class, but also upbeat and engaging enough to encourage our “too big for bouncing” brooding worshipper. The video lesson was quirky, humorous, campy, and cheesy in the very best sense. It was also Scripturally grounded and had a sound point made continuously through the lesson. The characters were over-the-top in a fun way, and the class got a particularly large giggle at the ZuCamp leader trying to resuscitate a rubber chicken. I found it enjoyable to watch and the kids were enthralled. After the lesson, the kids enthusiastically let me know they wanted more like it, and were able to tell me in their own words what they learned, including the youngest class members. To say I am impressed is an understatement, and we will be buying the entire ZuCamp series, and I am looking forward to trying other series as well (a complete listing is available at www.kidmo.com). 


In addition to the great lesson and worship music, the DVD contains “opener” music to be played while kids are coming in, a trivia section, and other reinforcement sections. It is designed to be popped into the DVD player and let run with minimal interference from the teacher. It does have a section menu so that relevant sections can be used, while those that are less applicable can be skipped. There are also resource CD-ROMS that come with the lessons with extra materials, such as worksheets, which are handy, but weren’t directly applicable in my Children’s Church setting because we have such a broad scale of reading levels in our group I generally avoid worksheets in favor of simple hands-on crafts that every child can do with little or no assistance. At $149.00 for the entire series, this is not likely to break most church budgets and can of course be used more than once (it could also be used for a four-day Vacation Bible School with a “camp” theme).


Thank you, Johnny Rogers, for making the lives of Children’s Church and Sunday School teachers just a bit easier!


www.kidmo.com also offers Phil Vischer’s What’s In the Bible? Elementary Program for Churches, and Lil’ K Preschool Program lessons (ages 2-5). I also previewed a Lil’ K video, and while it is not applicable to my Children’s Church situation, it is cute, reminiscent of “Blue’s Clues,” and has a strong Scriptural foundation as well. I have not at this time reviewed the What’s In the Bible? sample disc I received.


Melissa McGinnis is the Children’s Ministry Director for LHF. Her opinions are her own and she was not compensated for this review in any way. 

Just Between You, Me, & God 5/17/2012

There are estimated to be over 6700 different languages in the world today.
Most of those are spoken by less than 1000 people. Of course that doesn’t
include all of the different dialects than can alter a specific language. Here in
East Texas, it is sometimes said that we have a language all our own. You betcha!
(You can bet on that). There are some universal languages that are understood
worldwide by everyone. Laughter is recognized worldwide as the reaction to
something funny, whereas tears, crying, or sobbing bring about an immediate
knowledge that someone is hurting, physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4, tells us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every
activity under heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and
a time to dance.” What time is it in your life right now? What universal language
are you speaking and are you sharing it with others or are you hiding it in your
heart. James 5:13 ask, “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone
happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” Oh, I left out a universal language, prayer.
No matter what language you speak or how you speak it, God always has an open
ear for your prayers. You don’t have to worry about how eloquently you speak
or if you can even speak at all because God listens to your heart. He understands
each and every language because He created all languages. 1 Peter 3:12 tells
us, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to
their prayer…” No matter what is going on in your life today, whether you’re
happy or sad, rejoicing or mourning, God wants to hear from you. He sent His
only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins in order that we might have
a one on one audience with the creator of the universe, the one that hurts when
we hurt, and laughs when we laugh because we were created in His image and He understands the language of our hearts. Take it to the Lord in prayer, He’s waiting and He’s listening. God bless you for all you do, Pastor Dean.


Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF. 

Just Between You, Me, & God 3/19/2012

We just finished our annual inventory at work. It is time consuming and requires a lot of man hours but it is necessary for businesses to stop from time to time and look at what’s come in and what’s gone out and if it balances. It is a measure of our ability to maintain proper controls and to adjust what we are doing in order to do it better. Without these periodic checks our business vision would be clouded, we would spend much more time trying to figure out where we are what we are doing and which direction we need to be headed in. It’s like having a great car ready and waiting at your disposal but if you can’t find the keys it’s not doing you any good and you’re not going anywhere unless you walk. So what about our spiritual life? What would it look like if we took a little spiritual inventory of our own, a little check up from the neck up, a little heart tune up, some soul balancing? First, you would need to consult with someone reputable and honest to guide us on our inventory. How about, oh, let’s say, God. Psalm 139: 23- 24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Who knows us better than our Creator, the one that knows our very thoughts before we speak them? Let’s take a look at the balance sheet. What are the pluses and the minuses? Let’s start with the minuses and make a list of all of our sins. WOAH!! My calculator doesn’t have that many digits. Do I have to count even the little stuff? Any good inventory auditor will tell you that everything counts. OK, that took some time, now let’s move into the pluses; let’s look at our good works. Hmm, something seems to be missing, this can’t be right, I know there was more than this. I must have been robbed. How can I balance this? How can I bring back some control in my life? How did I get so far off and not even know it? I don’t see how I can make this right. I can’t, no one can. We need a loss prevention expert. His name is Jesus. He’s not in the yellow pages. He’s actually been there by your side the whole time just waiting for you to ask Him into your business, to take control, to balance the debt we’ve incurred. Romans 10:13 tells us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Don’t get me wrong here, the guide lines for maintaining our spiritual inventory demand change in our lives so pick up your manual, the Bible, and get together with your loss prevention expert on a more regular basis and start making some changes so that your final inventory will balance. God bless for all you do, Pastor Dean.

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF.

The Lines of My City by Brother Ben

**This writing comes from an assignment for Brother Ben's Master's Program at Fuller Seminary in California. Description of the project remains to assist with context.**

Local Exegesis Project:
1) Spend time touring your community setting, and notice how space is divided, how and where the structures are built, etc. Ask God to reveal insights about the people and the social, physical or psychological environment;
2) eat at a place you normally would not have eaten, noticing the others around you, the “community” the restaurant attracts, etc;
3) educate yourself about the people and/or organizations in your region that are striving to redemptively engage the population of that area;
4) and, consider taking members of your ministry team with you to share the experience.

The Lines of My City: Exegeting a Rural East Texas Community

​Native to my space, the community of Gladewater, Texas is fascinating, and perplexing, even in its dismal, tranquil state of economic depression. It is my space, much of which has not changed over my life span. Once booming from the discovery of oil over 80 years ago, the discovery wells are silent now…for the most part. Ruins of refineries and pipelines transect the surface of my space. The town-center is set apart in neat rows and columns of streets, but approaching a well site, the roads twist and turn to compensate for whatever obstacle. Along the way, progression stopped and the course altered. The lines, held in perpetuity, remain silent reminders of a bygone day of success, increase and generosity.

​It is evident that lines separate and divide this once prideful town. There are barriers such as Union Pacific’s rail line that has for over a century designated economic status and livable space. There is a crossroad intersection of two important federal highways. But there are still places of discrimination forever locked away from public eye but known and not trodden upon. Tranquil family neighborhoods during my lifetime have given way to row houses of irresponsible and addiction-laden tenants. They were built as “soul nurturing” but have fallen into “life denying” structures in my community setting. Hardships bring tension in all areas of town and with stress come friction within the family unit, socially and culturally. No one is homeless at night, for there are far too many unoccupied homes to "squat" in. Families live recklessly in exposed environments of unsanitary and non-forgiving conditions. While these conditions are bleak, something is happening in Gladewater.

Transformation is just beyond the crest of a new horizon. But, where is this hope-filled ingredient today and where is God at work in this city called Gladewater? Do these lines transect the Church or ordinary people?

​My assignment brings me to Don Omar’s taco stand, a downtown eatery that very few people attend. The family-owned, Spanish-speaking diner is a place with great service, complimentary smiles and abundant proportions. A small Hispanic family operates this with their children close to their side. They are pride-filled and always happy, two values they are teaching their children about success. Sadly, few in Gladewater trod their way. Their clientele is mainly the Spanish-speaking working class, to which Gladewater has yet to recognize as a part of their growing and rapidly changing cultural diversity. The wisdom of these two parents is positively colliding with their children’s educational endeavors to pursue equality, equilibrium and excellence within their community.

​I am also fortunate to be aware of Miss Katherine’s and Miss Earnestine’s*, et al, once-a-month free meal prepared solely by their volunteer efforts. Their plan is to feed the community’s hungry people a soulful meal while they serve and pray. Their outreach effort has grown during the current economic crisis. They are unique ladies of distinction helping from their heart and serving with their hands.

​Societal forces and local influences of race and color are still hampering our ability in Gladewater to flourish. Strangely, with all sides at an impasse, heritage and fear are the driving preventative agents. In local political arenas of school and city, a generation of emerging leaders with new ideas and new foundations are squelched by older fear-bearing authoritarians. Long past are the days of the United Way funding these programs, for Gladewater’s propensity to give generously plummets yearly. But God is working through this new leadership in our community in unconventional ways to transform community. They are the unrecognized parents and the adults/youth willing to volunteer their time and resources to make things happen. They are the service-oriented members of the community willing to give with no receipt of award, medal or trophy. They are the bi-vocational pastors and lay people with commitment to serve God beyond salary. They are individuals or common partnerships tired of a system of organization that feeds the egos of the elected politicos and going beyond measure to see that God’s redemptive plan is carried to all including the power hungry. Yet, these are individuals that are in positions of weakness. These heroes of my town allow their hearts to shape their ministry and God to set the agenda of passion for serving others. Their approach to success or failure is regulated by their stamina of volunteerism, provisional resource base and their attitude to conform to drive change forward.

​My excursion is a unique one into the depths of searching for God. My instilled compassion and activism for the unfortunate and weary has always been a driving factor of my service to God’s Kingdom, but I have been weakened in my attempts by arrogant family pride and communal stigma attachment of helping the hurting and denied. My work with this MAGL** program has been an educational eye-opener to what and why I have always been trying to accomplish. This exegesis project will provide me the determination that if “big cities can change then small communities can likewise.” In my context to ministry, envisioning the “what” is often dreaming, but Living Hope Fellowship can begin the faith journey of offering the Word of God to others in their native language. Fortunately, the MAGL program connections with fellow colleagues are linking us with personnel to accomplish these tasks. We will soon be speaking to a Spanish-speaking pastor about coming to LHF. As for me, I find God by crossing the line from ordinary to the uncommon, usually not with the status quo. There is great potential in my environment to seek the exceptional means of finding God. Just seek between the lines!

*Miss Katherine & Miss Earnestine are volunteers with the group Caring Hearts, a local community outreach in Gladewater.

**MAGL refers to the Masters in Global Leadership Program at Fuller Seminiary.

Rev. Ben Bright is the Logistics & Administrative Pastor at LHF, and is currently studying online for his MAGL at Fuller Seminary.

Just Between You, Me, & God 3/6/2012

Time is constantly moving forward. As time moves on it tends to take little pieces of us with it. It slowly erodes our lives until there is eventually nothing left. For some of us the erosion occurs almost instantly as if we were caught in a flash flood while others of us are slowly dissolved in a constant sprinkle. I’ve reached the age in my life where my children are as old as I am; at least in my mind I think that I can’t be any older than that. The only certainty that we have is this moment, the present. No matter how hard we try to relive it, the past is already gone and is not coming back. We are not guaranteed the future on this Earth, not just down the road but even the next few minutes. There’s no promise that I’ll finish writing this or that you’ll even be around to read it when it’s posted. The only one that truly knows the future is God and He’s already laid out His plan to us. A popular theme of movies today is that of immortality but to achieve that you have to give yourself to a desperate evil nature. This is another one of Satan’s lies to pull us away from the truth of God. Jesus Himself reveals the truth to us in John 3:15 when He says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” No secret potions, no necks to bite or magical spells to remember. The work was done for us on the cross, all we have to do is to accept the work that Jesus did for us and then give our lives to Him in order that others may also know the same truth and joy that we know. For those of us who are true believers, there should be no worrying about the future because we know that God is in control and Jesus is not willing to leave us behind. John 14: 1-3 encourages us by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” So I have the comfort of knowing that no matter how much older than me my children become, we will all have an eternity to spend together with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you don’t have that same assurance, you can. Accept Jesus today, right now, as your Savior and 1,000 years from now we will sit and remember this moment together. May God richly bless you, Pastor Dean

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & Ministries Pastor for LHF.

Spiritual Memoirs of a Ninja

Today's post is the first to contain a "guest" blogger. Amy Dodd Peterson is the amazing mind behind the "Amy Goes Ninja on MS." I have known Amy since the fall o f1992, when we were freshmen in high school. She has been a light, a friend, and an inspiration due to her astounding faith. Below is an excerpt from her blog post "God Is In the Details." -- Erin McGinnis

Amy Peterson

I have a habit of always deciding how I am doing currently based on how I was doing when I first became ill. A good many of you who are reading this were in my life 17 years ago when my health took a drastic turn and I became a walking quadriplegic in a span of two weeks. I lost almost a full year of my life when I was 17, spending my time in both physical and occupational rehabilitation. I had to learn how to walk again, how to hold a pencil, how to feed myself and just about anything else you could imagine along the way.

I remember hours spent one afternoon with a stack of fifty sheets of paper and a green marker held loosely between both hands. My fingers dangled uselessly and kept getting tangled together, making me toss the marker often and have to buzz a nurse to retrieve it (I was a youngster in a rehab hospital full of senior citizens. I was every other patient’s surrogate grandkid and the nurses’ pet. If I had to be in rough shape, I was in the best place to get good treatment.) I wanted so badly to will my hands to write my Dad a simple two word note, “Perk Up.” It was an inside joke between us and I meant it to say, “I love you and I know you would fix this in a second if you could.” I sat in my wheelchair in that hospital room and went through the entire stack of nurse procured printer paper before finally managing the words. Pre-schoolers would tease me in the schoolyard if they saw those two short words, written horizontally and filling the page with two lines. It was the neatest my handwriting had been in weeks.

While I worked on that note, the mailman came to my room to bring me my daily stack of 20 plus cards (you all have had my back from day one.) He saw me sitting there with my hands covered in green marker ink and the floor littered with my failed attempts. His kind smile made me think that he was likely some kid’s favorite Grandpa. He invited himself to have a seat across from me. He commented that he had noticed I had a lot of daily mail and then he asked me about the project I was so feverishly working on. Ever proud of a quality comedic, yet tender, jab, I told him all about the story behind, “Perk up.” He laughed (I’d tell you too, but you had to be there) and then sat there and opened each one of those envelopes for me, pulling each card out slightly so I could manage to pull it out myself (which I did with my teeth.) This became a daily visit for me while I was in-patient and he became another one of the countless, and often nameless, cheerleaders I would meet along the way.

Since then, I have felt ill to be sure, but I have never been as disabled as that. How can I complain when I know how much worse it could be? Even as my body has been on this slow seven year decline, I have reasoned that I am still walking (mostly) and at least I am not confined to a wheelchair for my day to day.

I think that, because I can walk generally unassisted (I sometimes use a cane when very fatigued and also use a scooter or wheelchair for most extended outings) and because I can reasonably use my hands (though, my hand sensitivity is much as though I were wearing leather work gloves), I would often rather think that my MS is a good deal better than it could be than to think that it is all that bad today. If there is a flaw to this thinking, it is that I often don’t take the long term implications seriously and likely wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the recent and persistent prodding I have felt from the Holy Spirit.

On this past Monday morning Eric and I went to the imaging center and I had a 2 hour MRI that looked at my brain and complete spinal cord. My kind neurologist asked me to come to his office with the finished scans that very day and he let me sit with him while he gave it a quick going over. He will spend further time looking at it in greater detail on his own and his final thoughts should be available in a few weeks.

Upon looking at the first few views of my brain, he marveled at how low my lesion load was. Indeed, he initiated his perusal of my scans with such marvel at the “mild” lesion load that I have to admit my gut reaction was to worry that he would continue to say, “In fact, this brain is pristine and you have just been a big whiny baby all these years about a little bit of nothing.”

My fears were not realized and to my “relief” he found some evidence of disease. (Am I the only ambulatory MS patient who suffers this regular episode of absurd panic?) The center of my brain showed a moderate amount of Dawson’s fingers (a kind of MS lesion along the ventricle-based brain veins that is so typical of MS that it has a name.) I have some degree of scarring on my brain, though not nearly as significant as I would have thought, or have seen on other patients similarly disabled as I am. He continued to scroll around and he spent a few minutes examining my right side parietal lobe. I have a nickel sized lesion worth being concerned about there, he tells me. (A lesion differs from a scar in that a lesion is nerves that are actively being damaged, while a scar is the aftermath.) He said that we needed to keep a close watch on it and then said to me, “You are in a good place to intervene and prevent further disability.”

He continued to my spine where he commented, “Here’s where we see more activity.” My spine had 3-4 lesions on it during his cursory look, as well as measurable scarring. This explains why a number of my symptoms are in the family of spinal cord injury – my spinal cord is injured and it happened all by its own self. It was at this point that he stressed two more times that I needed to intervene to prevent further disability.

I have to leave this doctor’s office scene for a moment to tell you why my brain’s appearance was so very incredible…

When I was first diagnosed with MS, I had a much larger lesion load on my brain than I do now. On MRI, lesions look like cotton balls and my scan in Feb. 1995 was dotted like the cotton fields in Lubbock, TX. It was, in fact, very easy for the doctor to determine a diagnosis at that time because it was just that clear. A lesion load that large would indicate that the scar load today would likely be significant, and yet my brain was incredibly low on scars.

Two years ago a dear sister in Christ prayed over me that I would be healed. Not even knowing that MS is a disease of the brain, she said while she prayed, “I am seeing a brain with wounds all over it and I see a skillful Artist’s hand with an eraser and He is erasing the wounds.”

Shortly after that prayer time with her and others, I began to feel a good deal better than I had since my initial recovery. I started to go on long walks, going up to three whole miles in one go at it. While I still was very aware that I had MS, I felt better than I ever had with it. This lasted for about three months and then seemed to stop suddenly. Almost over night I was again unable to walk long distances, my hands fumbled, and my pain level, which had gone from a 6 to a 3 on a scale of 1-10, was ramped up to a 7-8.

I believed that God intends to heal me of MS from the very day that I first heard the word mentioned in connection to me and I have not shied away from telling people that over the years. I do not say this because I believe that God intends to heal everyone on this side of eternity, or because I think I am extra special and deserving of something that not everyone gets. I simply feel it and believe just as certainly as you believe that Tuesday comes after Monday. This level of faith is one of many comforts given to me by the Holy Spirit though this journey. Having my body return to its former state of “works okay, but could be substantially better” did not change that understanding in my mind. It simply confirmed to me that He is the Author of my healing and the Permiter of my sickness and that healing is going to come along at His decided upon time and manner. Those three months were tucked away in my heart and felt like a heralding of things to come.

Now, let’s go back to the doctor’s office so we can wrap this up…

My neurologist is aware of my desire to go to Israel to receive chemotherapy and he only seemed concerned with whether I would be able to gather the funds. He finished up our visit with one last admonition that I needed to intervene immediately with “the therapy of my choice.” Based on tone and response, I can only speculate that he understands this to be a viable option, though I would not presume to speak for a man in his position on this public forum. He is a well regarded MS specialist and it is no secret to any of his patients what his thoughts are about what course they should take. If he didn’t think this was viable, I am convinced he would have not only said so, but he would have thrown in a jab at the “quacks who come up with this stuff.” (Important side note: It is extremely rare to find a neurologist willing to be vocally supportive of HSCT for auto-immune dysfunction. Few will argue with the results of FDA approved research into this – all the same, they remain mostly silent.)

So, I left his office with a mixed bag of news. It would appear that the disease is modestly 0active in my brain with only one active spot that immediately stood out. This is not great news, but it could be drastically worse. It also seems that God has protected my brain from the volume of damaging scars that so many experience. This is gloriously great news. My spinal cord is scarred and experiences the disease more actively than my brain. I don’t suppose I have to tell you what kind of news that is.

Here is how I understood that visit: I am at a fork in the road with MS and I am lined up to either continue on with further disability or go the other way and show MS the door once and for all.

The hospital in Israel has accepted me for treatment. In fact, they said I could come as early as January 16. That is nowhere near my timeline, and I told them as much. Though I don’t intend to leave next week, I am in a hurry to stop this disease while I am at this level. Before I saw my MRI results, I believed that God was lining me up for a whole new season of renewed health. The results are not a determiner of that outcome, but I feel they give evidence to His intervention.

For the full entry, or to read more about Amy, go to her blog, Amy Goes Ninja on MS.

Erin McGinnis is the Media Arts & Services Coordinator for LHF.