Help Needed. And Appreciated. Thanks!

You might be thinking to yourself, "Hmm, what am I going to do this week?" Well, I have an idea! How about e-mailing me at nharris@csiministries.org or give me a call at 765-286-0711 and set up an appointment to volunteer some of your time!

CSI Ministries will be sending out 12,000 letters this week. By offering some of your time to help with the printing, folding, stuffing, sealing, and stamping of these letters, you will be playing an important role in our ministry to support the men and women who have answered God's call to long-term mission work and sharing the saving gospel of Jesus Christ with the world!

We will begin this process tomorrow and the letters must be completed Friday. I am accepting volunteers any day, any time, for however long you'd like to help.

What? Printing, folding, stuffing, sealing, and stamping letters doesn't sound completely awesome?

You're right.
Its not.

But supporting the mission of God's call to share the gospel with the world by offering just a couple hours of your time?

Totally awesome!

For When I am Weak

I've been thinking about reliance the past few days.
Reliance is a wonderful thing.
Trust and confidence are sure to follow.
And faith grows in dependence.

The more effort I put forth to be consciously aware of my reliance on God for everything, the more joyful and at peace I feel.

By worldly terms it's senseless, but with God it doesn't have to make sense.
It just is.

The Lord said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 7, 9-10

Spirit Song 2009

Good peeps.

Good bands.

Good times.

A Few Quotes from Mother Teresa

-Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

-I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.

-Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

-I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Illuminate

This was the second year Kimberly and I participated in the Relay for Life.
My favorite thing about the Relay is the luminaries. One of the ways Relay raises funds to fight cancer is by selling these paper bags.
You pay $10 to be able to write on one or decorate it, then have it placed along the path of the walking track where the event is being held.

From a distance its beautiful, seeing all the lights together forming a path, and sometimes words of encouragement.

But up close they are even better, being able to read the
bags, looking at the pictures on them.
Sometimes they are in memory of a loved one who has died from cancer, while others are in honor of survivors.
Occasionally you'll come across one representing a child's life that has been lost.
It's very sad, but what a beautiful way to remember a loved one!

Summer of Doom

Beach ball volleyball with the Youth Group.

Good times.

Life's a Buzz

Spring has sprung and summer seems to be reaching its peak early this year. There is a buzz of excitement in the air. God is doing many wonderful things, and although much is left unseen, it is undoubtedly all part of His master plan.

So often I've prayed that God's will for my life would be evident, hoping that someday He'd guide me to that one place to do that one thing He has called me to do to serve Him.

But as my understanding of God begins to grow, I'm considering that perhaps this one place, or that one thing doesn't exist. For me, at least.

I'm noticing people of God all around who's purpose in life remain constant, but the means to meet that purpose are shifting, serving to grow the Kingdom, where and how God leads.

I somehow always expected my servitude to God to be stationary, that one day He'd plant me in the ground like a tree and I'd set roots. This is where I'd grow, this is what I'd do.

Fixed.
Forever.

For some reason I used to find this idea comforting, the hope of one day being a tree. But now I'm beginning to see that serving the Lord is more like being a bee.

From flower to flower.
Wherever I'm led. But always for one purpose.
And it's a peaceful thing, not always fretting about finding that one thing.

Buzz. Buzz.

Happy Father's Day!

Dad, you rock!!!

Bonsai

A couple weeks ago Kimberly surprised me with a Bonsai tree for my new office. Well, the other day a co-worker kindly pointed out to me how badly it needs pruned, so today I googled how to do it appropriately without killing it, and learned that Bonsai is not actually a tree, but the art of planting a tree or bush in a shallow pot and pruning its roots to dwarf it growth. Who knew!?!?