1 Kings 19:11-12 Wycliffe Version

…And the Lord said [to Elijah,] “Go thou out, and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And lo! the Lord then passed by, and there was a great strong wind, that turned the mountains upside-down, and broke up the stones before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was a great shaking; but the Lord was not in that shaking. And after the stirring, or the shaking, there was a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a hissing of the wind, as if softly breathing; and the Lord was there.

Karen and I went to a restaurant for breakfast. We sat down and our waitress brought us coffee. She returned and took our orders. Nothing special. Then as we talked, I felt a breeze go across my back from left to right. This breeze startled me–it was different than anything I had ever felt. The breeze was Gentle, the breeze was Sweet, the Breeze was Mighty and Powerful! I looked to my right and our waitress had just walked past behind me to the booth on my right. I looked at her and immediately I heard the Lord say, “Tell her I said her life is not a waste!” Suddenly I was undone! I realized that the Lord was IN the breeze following her. The Lord was running, literally chasing after her! Usually when the Lord gives me a word for someone, I confirm it with Him before I give it. Not this time! I knew that I knew. The King of the Universe, The Lord of all heaven and earth, The Lord of all creation of was chasing after this young waitress. She hadn’t yet made Him Lord of her life. She hadn’t yet asked Him into her heart. Yet Here was The Lord pursuing her! I gave her the Word of the Lord as He unfolded His life’s plan for her. She accepted Jesus into her heart and was filled with the Holy Spirit! Not because of anything I did, BUT because Jesus wanted her for His own! Tht morning He became her Father and she became His Daughter!

Maybe you have been thinking about accepting Jesus into your heart as your Lord and your Savior but just haven’t done it yet. OR maybe you are not in right standing with the Jesus and it is bothering you to make things right again. I can assure you, IF you are thinking about either one of these, it is because you are being pursued by the Lord Himself. Make the time to stop and turn around and say YES to Him. He isn’t judging you, He is loving you to Himself!

We got home two weeks ago from our 18-day 4700-mile trip that took in six states! It was wonderful meeting with our partners, friends and family whom we hadn’t seen in six years! We encountered quite a bit of spiritual warfare on our travels but of course, God gave us the victory every time!

It’s coming up fast! We are finally able to visit our partners and friends in Arizona next month. It has been a six-year dry period of keeping in touch through newsletters, texts, emails and an occasional phone call!

We are blessed that Evident Life Church in Gilbert is again making their Fellowship Hall available to us for an update/interest coffee get-together! The date is Wednesday, September 17th, 5-8pm, and the address is 415 N Gilbert Rd.

Here’s the evening’s schedule:

5pm Casual Meet & Greet

6pm Ministry Update

Stay and Mingle until 8pm!

If you are in the area, we would love to have you come and bring your friends! We are so looking forward to this time together!

We spent 3 days in retreat with the Lord the first part of this month, and it was wonderful. Even when it’s just the two of us at home, we need to go away and be with Him without all the common day-to-day distractions of life. In fact, He told us years ago to go away with Him once a quarter–we got out of the habit when we began to feel it was a luxury more than a necessity and felt guilty for spending the money on it. However, we found out during this time away it is a necessity. We have felt somewhat lost the last six months, continuing to minister as usual while feeling a bit unsettled. We would spend hours asking the Lord why. Finally we scheduled the much-needed time away. Revelation regarding some smaller questions and needs came quickly over the first two days, and then His direction for us came on the third day: “Devote yourselves 100% to the roadside and to the roadside alone. A shift is coming, and I need you out there 5-6 days a week!” Although this was not at all what we expected, immediately a great peace and knowing came over us — this was the Lord and our spirits witnessed to it! We have gone through many emotions–peace, joy, excitement–since we received His word two weeks ago. The hard emotions come as we prepare for tomorrow night’s last gathering of our home group which we have led for over 4 years, since we moved back to Iowa. It’s a bittersweet time of anticipation for the new promise, “Watch what I will do,” and of sorrow as we let go of this major piece of our life which we know will leave a great void. We love these people. This wasn’t a surprise to God, so we know He has plans for each of them and ways unknown to us now to keep us all connected. We are family.

Thank you for your prayers! Here is a follow-up to our last post regarding dreaming bigger about owning a building in Sioux Rapids: After touring the building, the Lord showed us the answer is NO to that possibility! Lots of interior work would need to be done, much more than anticipated. Other issues were the heating sources, the wiring, no a/c, the location of the bathroom, whether the new trailer would fit due to other things that had not been removed from the bay. The main point was that it would be better to put the money into our own property by returning to our original January 2024 vision of a multi-purpose building on our own acreage. During the summer, we had even buried the plans of it in the place where it would be built as an act of faith! The Lord knew my (Karen) concern about the townspeople coming to our property for events or Bible Study because I heard Him say clearly, “If you build it, they will come!” I chuckled at that and got peace! We are now wholeheartedly pursuing that vision. Emil will be gathering bids for the cost and we are looking to the Lord for His provision of the resources to make it happen!

Emil got his Bible out and it opened to Psalm 107:35-38. We see our home and property spelled out: oasis of water, springs making fertile ground, feeding all who are hungry, reaping a bumper crop, fruitful harvest, blessed with multiplication and prosperity! We receive it, Lord!