Celebrating the 4th of July!!!

Our liberty was bought with the dedication and determination of godly men and women. I do not take lightly the privilege of being an American where I live in freedom and blessing. With a heart full of gratitude, I remember today the many sacrifices which have kept this country the land sought by many from all nations because of its hope and promise. It is the nation I'm proud to call my motherland.

Enjoy this link to a moving GOD BLESS AMERICA tribute!

Honoring My Closest Soldiers...

My brother enlisted in the Air Force in 1966 and went to Officer's Training School. His wife enlisted at the same time and served as an Air Force nurse for a number of years. Jim made the Air Force his career for the next 23 years.

Thanks, Jim and Carolyn, for serving our country so faithfully for those years and for continuing to support the military by serving as Officer's Christian Fellowship personnel at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. Your personal commitment to God and to our country are an inspiration to me and to many others. I am proud to have you both in my family.

My brother's son, Bryan, was appointed to the United States Academy at West Point in 1994. He continues to serve in the Army and currently teaches at West Point. This assignment follows deployments to Bosnia and Iraq plus months of rigorous training for Special Forces etc. Bryan, you have also served God and your country with honorable faithfulness through many challenges. I am very grateful to have you as a nephew.

This photo shows my nephew receiving his appointment to West Point from Senator John McCain. With Bryan are his parents - James and Carolyn Groves - and grandparents - James and Edna Groves.

There are so many Americans who have served and are serving courageously to defend our great nation. I am extremely grateful to each of those men and women but I am especially proud of these two men who are so close to me and our family. Your quiet bravery, disciplined preparedness and sustaining commitment to the One who goes into battle with you and decides all outcomes - these are testimony to your training and willingness to serve with integrity and humility. You make me proud and are cause for our country to have faith in those who willingly defend our constitution and our people. May you know that there are many Americans who are grateful for your service.

With Pride,
Your Sister and Aunt,
Linda

Tribute to Mom...

You were such a cute baby nearly 90 years ago -
child #5 in a family of 7 children.






Your life story has some pain - your mother's death when you were only 5 years old, losses during The Great Depression and having to leave home at age 15. But your future held much joy and blessing also! I think you would say that learning about and receiving the gift of salvation offered through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing in your life.






But right after that would be the 65 years of marriage to the handsome "man of your dreams" which remained vibrant and compatible until his death 2 1/2 years ago.

The next blessings God heaped on your life were your children!



I'm quite sure your first daughter was your favorite but that may be just how I viewed it!





And now nearly 90 years have flown by! Your days of hard work, the demands of raising five children and the ups and downs of dairy farming are all part of the moments that shaped the memories your children now treasure as they remember you this Mother's Day.

What a blessed woman I am to have you as my mother. Your feisty spirit helped provide your children with visions of futures rich with potential and promise. You modeled the importance of doing work with excellence. You encouraged our opportunities and cheered our achievements. You rejoiced that our lives included more education and accomplishment than you were able to experience. You were our most faithful cheerleader - giving good advice and being a sympathetic listener when we experienced pain and struggles.

Your lifetime of faithfulness to your Lord is also a model to me
of how to live as a maturing Christian.

Thanks, Mom, for being steadfast throughout your life.
You have shared your love selflessly and
I am blessed because of that.

Thanks, Mom, for giving life to me physically and for making sure I learned about the gift of salvation so
I could receive that life through you also.

Psalm 19:14 describes you:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Happy Mother's Day
from a daughter who's proud to be in your lineage.

Open Letter to my Church…

Dear Church Family,

The Master Plan Task Force has just presented their proposal for the future of our church campus. They have worked with a professional planning firm and the Pastoral Staff to formulate a master plan to be implemented in four phases over the next 15 – 20 years. The congregation will vote on this proposal in a special called meeting on Sunday, May 3, 2009 during the two morning services.

Materials presenting the master plan were mailed to the entire membership. There have been three open meetings for people to discuss this proposal and have their questions answered. I attended those meetings. They were attended by about 150 people, or approximately 15% of our residential church membership.

I have decided to express my personal response to this proposal in a blog post. It is because of my love for this local fellowship and the important ministries in which it is active that I give voice to my perspective.

If the proposed Master Plan is adopted and implemented, within 15-20 years, our congregation will:

1. Raise approximately $15-$20 million dollars
   
2. Upgrade sound, lights and projection in the worship center
   
3. Do needed maintenance to existing facilities
   
4. Add an education wing
   
5. Add office space
   
6. Add a welcome area inside a new circle drop-off at the front entrance
   
7. Remove all existing homes on our site currently used for:
   
   • Education space
   • Youth Ministry
     
   • 24 hour Prayer Ministry
     
   • Missionary residence while on home assignment
     
   • Transitional Living for families temporarily homeless due to disaster or misfortune
     
   • Storage for Mexico Mission Ministry plus other storage purposes
     
   • Missionary or Transitional Living residence
     
8. Replace most of the area where homes were removed with parking lot
   
9. Build a new Youth Center
   
10. Add a building for vehicle and maintenance materials storage
    
11. Build a new 800 seat worship center
    

The stated reason for the addition of the educational wing is so that our Sunday morning Bible classes will have adequate room for growth. Currently Bible classes for all ages meet during one hour between the two morning services.

The stated reason for the new 800 seat worship center is so that our two services will be able to combine into one. Surveys have shown that the congregation would prefer to be together in one Sunday morning service.

When asked if other solutions to accommodate growth had been considered such as multiple Sunday class times, a Saturday evening worship service, developing a mission church outreach etc., the answer was "No" because the congregation had spoken in the past and was opposed to those concepts.

What are some of my responses to this proposal?

I support parts of this proposal such as maintenance of existing facilities and upgrades in the existing worship center and office space.

But the huge commitment of time, energy and money which will be required in order for this proposal to be implemented is something which I think needs careful consideration. If we focus on the needs of a lost world, we could provide for growth in our present space as we adjust scheduling of services and classes. This would free up money, time and energy to more strategically respond to the vast needs of an unreached world.

In the past few days I have been searching for information about the world –

• how much of the world has been reached with the message of Jesus Christ,
  
• how evenly are personnel and resources distributed,
  
• how are believers responding to needs, etc.
  

What I found are statistics that are enlightening, disturbing and challenging.

World Mission Statistics documents comparisons between Worlds A, B and C. Here are some of the things I learned:

1. World A – the Unevangelized World has:
   
   • 20,500 full-time Christian workers
     
   • 0.1% of all Christian literature
     
   • 0.1% of all Christian radio/TV
     
   • 29.6% of global population
     
   • 12.1% of global income
     
2. World B – the Evangelized Non-Christian World has:
   
   • 1.31 million full-time Christian workers
     
   • 8.9% of all Christian literature
     
   • 3.9% of all Christian radio/TV
     
   • 40.1% of global population
     
   • 35.3% of global income
     
3. World C – the Christian World has:
   
   • 4.19 million full-time Christian workers (95%)
     
   • 91% of all Christian literature is consumed by World C
     
   • 96% of all Christian radio/TV output is directed at World C
     
   • 33% of global population
     
   • 52.6% of global income
     
   • 99.9% of Christian Income spent on themselves
     
   • .09% on evangelized Non-Christian World
     
   • .01% on Unevangelized World
     

Other things I found in my research:

• 40% of the church's entire global foreign mission resources are being deployed to just 10 over-saturated countries already possessing strong citizen-run home ministries.
  
• Christians spend more on the annual audits of their churches and agencies ($180 million) than on all their workers in the non-Christian world.
  
• Total number of Christians since AD 33 is just 23% of the human race
  

Much more can be learned about the disparity in the world related to personnel and resources. I recommend further research in order to see what awaits the serious follower of Christ.

The world needs to hear about and come to know Jesus in a personal way. He commanded us to Go and make disciples of all nations. We must be about our Father's business which is to be fishers of men. There is so much waiting to be done in order for the lost to hear the good news of forgiveness and salvation. We may need to make some sacrifices and accommodate inconvenience in order that more souls will be added to the kingdom. It is a small price to pay when viewed from God's perspective.

I do pray for us as we decide whether or not to approve this proposal. I desire for God to be honored and glorified in all that our fellowship embarks on. We have a history of being mission-minded. The homes we have which provide for missionaries and individuals with needs are a wonderful way to share God's love with those needing rest and restoration.

What is the Father's will for the future of our local church? I'm praying that we will discern and do that will as a godly, selfless, loving, caring and faithful people. May our passionate impact on the world continue to be strong, disciplined and effective. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. How grateful and fortunate I am to be part of this fellowship where we all can worship, serve and grow.

A Fellow Servant of Jesus Christ,

Linda Worden

Update : The church voted on May 3rd to approve the proposal with a 91% majority. I am not surprised but I am saddened.

Easter “Letter to Jesus” Monologue – John #7

(Note: Please see Easter Monologue #1
for introduction to this series of posts.)

JOHN, BELOVED DISCIPLE, BROTHER OF JAMES

The tomb IS empty! It IS true! I was here earlier this morning after the women brought us the news of the resurrection, but I wanted to come back - to spend some time alone to contemplate the wonder of this day. You see, I am John, the beloved friend of Jesus and brother of James. After being here earlier today, I decided to put some of my thoughts into a letter to Jesus. There are so many things I've always wanted to say to Him.

Dear Jesus, my friend,
I recall so clearly that day three years ago as James and I were fishing with our dad and you came by and called us to follow you. We never hesitated a moment - we were eager to join you, Peter and Andrew in whatever adventure was about to take place. I remember how exciting those first days were - we never seemed to mind that we had no home, no food - you somehow seemed to meet all of our physical needs. It wasn't so bad to sleep on the ground and eat raw grain twice a day. I seemed to immediately sense that I was beginning a very unique and special time of my life. I had always assumed I would continue the family fishing business with my brother, but after traveling for awhile with you, I knew I could never comfortably go back to that life. You were showing me something different - you were using your time to talk with people - people of all walks of life. There were poor people, rich people, government people, common laborers, old people, young children, women, men, people with problems - physical, mental, spiritual, relational, financial, emotional, - people with weaknesses, people with fears, people with stress. Everywhere you went, you would be surrounded by people. I loved being part of that. I was energized by all that relational activity. I became your closest friend. I planned our itineraries; I arranged our large group sessions and the smaller break-out groups. I found community service opportunities for new converts. I negotiated for open air meeting sites and picnic basket lunches. I set up transportation. I mobilized the masses. It was awesome. I knew we were destined for the "Fishers of Men" Hall of Fame.

But then one day, something truly remarkable happened to you which changed my life and helped me see how to rearrange the priorities in my life. You asked Peter, James and me to go to the top of a mountain with you. There you were transfigured. At the time I didn't know what was happening. I just knew we were in the holy presence of God and I was privileged to be part of this phenomenon. A bright cloud enveloped us and a voice spoke which said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" I had always known there was something special about you but I had not really grasped that you were the Son of God - the Messiah we had been waiting for. From that moment on, I knew that it was more important for me to listen to you than to get caught up in all the logistics of our operation. As I learned to listen, I realized that you were sharing with us a way to have eternal life. You said that God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only Son and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. And then you also taught that we are to love each other as you loved us. You said that the greatest love anyone can show another is to lay down his life for that friend. When I heard those words, I thought they were just the unrealistic, utopian thoughts of an idealist. Little did I know that I was about to witness the enactment of that message before my very eyes.

During our three years together, I grew to love you deeply and care about the things you cared about. All the while, however, I was secretly hoping that you would somehow infiltrate the government of our land and bring about your kingdom in a peaceful manner. I thought it would be wonderful if our team could be put into leadership positions and we could then promote our humanitarian program. Of course, I (and my mother) wanted James and me to have the most prominence in such a regime but that was not your plan.

As I stood with your mother at the foot of the cross on Friday, I grieved for her loss, my loss and the loss to the world. I still felt your love and compassion, but I wondered why this had to be how your life ended. And then I remembered your recent words to me, "The greatest love anyone can show another, is to lay down his life for that friend." Oh, how could I have been so short sighted? How could I have missed it? You were about to show me and the world the greatest love of all time. I am not worthy to be chosen as your friend. I have failed you. Please forgive me. I give you my allegiance and will always be,
Your loving friend and devoted follower,
JOHN

(Remove costume and continue speaking.) I, too, have a letter I've written to Jesus.

Dear Jesus,
I can easily relate to John. I feel so honored that you have called me to be one of your followers. There were times as a child that I thought my parents forced me to commit my life to you but that was not true. I have willingly chosen to become one of your children. But like John, I have sometimes gotten my priorities out of whack and have cared more about my own agenda than yours. That's why this Easter is so important to me. It is a time for me to refocus my eyes on your perfection - on your sacrifice - on your love and to ask your forgiveness. Your love for me took you to the cross. Thank you for being the worthy lamb who was sacrificed for my sin. I give you my allegiance and with your help, I will always be your faithful friend and follower.

Easter “Letter to Jesus” Monologue – Eva #6

(Note: Please see Easter Monologue #1
for introduction to this series of posts.)

EVA, WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY

The tomb IS empty! It IS true! As I was hanging out my laundry this morning, Maria from across the street came to tell me the good news that Jesus had come back to life. A number of people had seen and talked to him. I was so excited when I heard it. I just knew something miraculous like that would happen to him. But I really wanted to see for myself - to make sure this was not just someone's hallucination. What Jesus did for me, was so remarkable that words hardly begin to express my gratitude. You see, I am Eva, the woman caught in the act of adultery and brought before Jesus. I have always wanted an opportunity to thank him for what he did for me that day so I've written him a letter.

Dear Jesus, my rescuer,
This letter in many ways is not going to be easy for me to write. I am now a changed person but I am a woman with a shameful past. I cannot defend my former behavior but I do want to explain some things and let you know what a tremendous difference you have made in my life.

As I grew into womanhood, I became aware of my attractiveness to men. I was so flattered by their attention. Their words made me feel so loved and confident. I enjoyed their fascination with me - I loved the elation I felt in their presence. But one day everything changed. Someone I had come to trust took advantage of me and violated my body. It was so painful, so shameful, so degrading. I felt I had somehow caused this to happen. I thought I became a worthless woman - of no value to anyone other than to be further abused and violated. I could no longer be part of society. I could only remain locked in secret behind closed doors. My only contact was with men who would momentarily desire my presence in order to satiate their unrestrained passion. Those encounters provided me with a bit of human contact and attention but always left me saddened and lonely. I felt completely isolated and hopeless. Then one morning, in the midst of one of my encounters, a group of men stormed into my residence, grabbed my arm and dragged me into the street. The man with me fled through the back window and escaped. I only barely caught the corner of my robe as I was pulled out. I managed to get it around my shoulders as we proceeded through the street to the temple court. I could only imagine what fate I was facing. I knew the law called for my death by stoning. At that time, I almost began to feel relief. My life was so miserable, I wasn't sure it was worth living anyway. These men brought me to you. I had no idea who you were. No one had ever told me about you. I could only think that you must be a judge, called to decide my fate. There was so much confusion, so much noise, so many shouts and cries. I could only stand with my head bowed in utter shame and fear. As I stood there, however, I began to realize that you were not answering the questions hurled at you. You had bent down and were writing something on the ground with your finger. They kept demanding an answer of you as to what should be done with me and as you stood up, I heard you say, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." You kept on writing after that and even though I didn't dare look around, I realized the crowd was becoming quiet and seemed to be dispersing. I could hardly believe it. Your words had been that a person without sin should cast the first stone - you hadn't said, "a person without this sin". Is it possible that this sin is no worse than any other sin? Within my heart I began to feel a ray of hope - a flicker of expectation. When you straightened up the second time, you spoke to me. By then there was no one else present other than the two of us. You asked, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" I answered, "No one, sir." And then I heard the most wonderful words I had ever heard in my life - words I still have a hard time comprehending but which gave me the strength to believe that a different life for me was possible. You said, "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." At that moment my life changed. I knew I was a sinner who needed to repent but you gave me hope - a reason to live and the confidence that I was worthy of your care. I knew immediately that your concern for me was different from any other man I had known. I left your presence that day with the determination to leave my life of sin and follow you.

I was so saddened when I heard of your death on Friday. I knew evil men had carried out their wicked plan but today is another day for me to rejoice. You willingly chose to die. Thank you for being the worthy sacrificial lamb. I give you my allegiance and will always be,
Your faithful friend and follower,
Eva

(Remove costume and continue speaking.) I, too, have a letter I've written to Jesus.

Dear Jesus,
I can relate to Eva. I, too, have suffered the humiliation, shame and agony of a man's violation of my body. I have felt so isolated and lonely. I wish I could be perfect but I am not. That's why Easter is so important to me today. I can only come to the foot of your cross with brokenness and anguish. Thank you for forgiving me and washing clean my being with your blood. Your love for me took you to the cross. I can never again be the same. You are the worthy lamb who was sacrificed for my sin. I give you my allegiance and want to always be, your faithful friend and follower.

Easter “Letter to Jesus” Monologue – Josephine #5

(Note: Please see Easter Monologue #1
for introduction to this series of posts.)

JOSEPHINE, WOMAN WHO HAD BLED FOR 12 YEARS

The tomb IS empty! It IS true! On my way to the temple this morning, I learned that something has happened which has created great excitement in Jerusalem today. It is being reported that there's been a resurrection from the dead - Jesus of Nazareth has risen from the dead! I decided I just had to come here for myself and make sure Jesus' grave really was empty. You see, I am Josephine, the woman who was ill for 12 years with hemorrhaging. He miraculously healed me one day and I just knew he really was the Messiah, the Anointed One of Israel. There have been many things I wanted to tell him, so I have written him a letter. Let me read it to you.

Dear Jesus, my healer,
Until I met you that day as you walked through my neighborhood, my life was miserable. For twelve long years I had been bleeding abnormally. I had been to so many different doctors. I know they tried their best to find a cure for my problem. They experimented with any new theory they heard or read about, but for me there was no answer. My money was gone, my suffering continued and worst of all, I was shunned by society as continually unclean. I felt so abandoned and forlorn. There were many days when I thought God must be punishing me for something evil I had done or thought. I was brokenhearted because I would never know the love of a man or be able to give birth to a child. I questioned whether or not I was really a normal woman. I felt so different and rejected. How I ached to be able to one day hold my own flesh and blood - to have that wonderful experience of motherhood which so many women are privileged to have. I knew in my present condition, I was without hope. But then, I heard about you.

I had heard of great miracles which you had performed - blind were given sight, paralyzed were made to walk, deaf were made to hear - why couldn't my bleeding be stopped? But for me, it seemed impossible. I was not allowed to be amongst other people for fear of making them unclean. Then I heard that you were nearby.

There was a very large crowd following you, pressing about you and I thought maybe I could slip unnoticed into that crowd and get close enough to just touch just the edge of your garment. I was able - I touched your clothes and as I did, I was immediately healed. I felt it - I knew the miracle I had been praying for had happened. I wanted to just slip out of sight and return home to quietly meditate on what had happened, but you stopped and asked who had touched you. I saw there was no escape so I fell at your feet in fear and told you the whole story. You then said to me, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." How elated I felt. You recognized me - you blessed me - you healed me physically and spiritually.

That day I went home a changed person. You said my faith had healed me. Yes, it is true. I had great faith. I know you honored that and gave me the greatest desire of my heart - a cure for all my problems. I can't thank you enough. I knew I needed physical healing and you knew I also needed spiritual healing. I now know that your death on the cross makes that healing possible and your resurrection makes it certain. I am most grateful for all that you have done for me. I give you my allegiance and will always be,
Your faithful friend and follower,
JOSEPHINE

(Remove costume and continue speaking.) I, too, have a letter I've written to Jesus.

Dear Jesus,
I can relate to Josephine. I, too, have experienced being different from most other women. My womb is barren. I have not yet been able to conceive a child. I long to one day become a mother and hold my own flesh and blood in my arms. And I don't know if you will heal my physical problem and make that dream of mine come true or not.

But this one thing I know for sure. My love for you does not depend on your response to my deep desire to conceive and give birth to a child. Easter is so important to me today because I know that it really shows me again that you will do what's best for me. Your death wasn't what you wanted, but it was best for all humanity. Your love for me took you to the cross. And I love you for being the worthy sacrificial lamb for my sin. Whether or not you chose to bless my husband and me with our own biological child, I give you my allegiance and aspire to always be, your faithful friend and follower.