Emil spoke at the American Legion’s Memorial Day service yesterday in Sioux Rapids. His message was very compelling and he had several men come up afterwards to talk with him. The response of all who were there was very positive. We are so thankful for the message the Lord gave Emil as soon as he hung up the phone from accepting the speaking engagement. To all of you who served on our behalf and to all the families who lost a son or daughter, husband or father, we thank you and honor you.

We were blessed with another site yesterday! Emil went to town (Sioux Rapids) to talk to a guy about getting the mower left us by the previous owner of our house tuned up. It turned out the guy and his wife are strong Christians and Emil told him about our ministry. There is an empty driveway right next to this guy’s business, facing Hwy 71, with great visibility. He said they would love to be a part of the ministry by offering us this site! Besides being on Hwy 71, it is right in the middle of town, the place we feel our ministry is greatly needed. We believe word has gotten around about us and people will begin stopping as soon as they see us there. Thank You, Lord!

We have received preliminary approval on a site on which to set up Free Prayer! We are excited! We need to get State Police approval before the owner will give us full approval. Right now, there is a foot or more of snow blocking the pull-out! But that can easily be removed!

Have you been experiencing hopelessness, discouragement, doubt, disillusionment? If so, join us in this prayer by CeCe Sheets. Father, we thank You that You know our hearts even when we can’t see clearly. Your love for us never changes. Even when we seem to lose hope and don’t know what to say to You, we know that You are faithful. You are our peace, the One who heals our hearts, the One Who has power over all, strong, mighty, but full of compassion. I choose to believe Your truths that You watch over me, You are good, faithful, merciful, You cannot lie, You’re my Strong Tower, my Refuge, and my Strength. Lord, I ask You for Your peace and Your strength. I trust that You hold my times and my seasons in Your hands. Today I choose to run into Your loving arms and allow Your wrap-around presence to comfort and sustain me.  Lord, we will not waver in our faith but choose to stand firm, believing Your truths. We hold onto Your promises. We choose to be Your instruments of love and compassion while carrying the torches of truth and justice. Breathe Your hope across our hearts today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We were out of town over the weekend and couldn’t update This Week’s Devotion until today. If you looked for it Saturday, we apologize. We now have the issue fixed so that we can update it when we are out of town!

We just returned from a week in Storm Lake, Iowa, where we caught up with many friends and had several ministry appointments, ministering to around 20 people. God is good! We will be back on the Colorado roadside Monday. We were not able to post a new Saturday devotion from Iowa but watch for a new devotion this Saturday, August 15th.

It’s vitally important to know what God is saying about everything in our lives! When we believe in Jesus and listen to Him, we can live in discernment. Emil and I have learned through the years to always ask, “Lord, what’s the truth about this [situation, person, etc]?” After all, He IS truth! Once we get His heart and direction, we can walk in faith in what He told us and not be influenced by anyone but the Lord. We don’t want the world’s opinion, only His. In fact, when He set out the Free Prayer ministry to us 17 years ago, He said, “People don’t need more opinions, so you are never to give them your opinion. You are only to ask Me what I want to say to them. They will stop with a specific prayer request, but I have something to tell them that will set them free. That’s what I want them to hear.” We have seen incredible things over these many years because God ALWAYS goes directly to the heart matter in EVERY situation and heals it, setting people free to hear Him, believe in Him, be filled with His incredible love for them, receive their healing, whatever He wants to happen in that encounter with Him! He is so good and so awesome! Being led by Him, we walk in freedom!

We were interviewed on the roadside at the end of April and the article came out today in our local newspaper, the Pikes Peak Courier. It will be published May 17th in the Colorado Springs Gazette. We are very happy with the article and grateful that the reporter was able to capture the ministry in a way that gave God the glory while giving the community an accurate description of what we do! Thank You, Lord for the favor! Look in the Photo Gallery section, scroll down to the bottom of the Colorado 2018 – Present section for scans of the article. Or follow this link to view it online: https://gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/florissant-couples-free-roadside-prayer-ministry-more-than-a-passing-attraction/article_260f640a-8bd0-11ea-b7cd-9b509c9ecf9e.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

This verse is debatable for many Christians! Going into our 17th year in roadside ministry, Karen and I have ministered to thousands of people. One thing that sticks out to me are the number of people who went through, or are in the midst of, a difficult situation and have the same question on their lips, “Where WAS God?” or “Where IS God?” The Lord had a long conversation with me about this not long ago!       Friends from out-of-town came to our home for lunch one day. They were staying 40 miles away in a pretty rough area. That night, one block from their motel, a man was shot and killed by a stranger. When Karen and I saw this on the local news that night, we thanked God for His protection over our friends’ family. The Lord said, “This is everyday life to most Christians, but they don’t realize it!” I asked, “Lord, what do you mean?” He explained, “Your friends are enjoying a relaxing evening in their motel room and don’t even know that a life was taken one block away. They were completely unaware of the magnitude of the evil which took place just around the corner from them.” He continued, “This happens so often in the lives of Christians. I protect them tens of thousands of times throughout their lives, but they don’t know how I am watching out for them, keeping them from being at the wrong place at the wrong time, scaring away someone meaning to do them harm!” The Lord said, “I protect My people over and over more times than they could ever count. But then they experience a hard time and they get angry at Me and walk away, saying, ‘Lord, where were you? Why didn’t you stop this? I can’t trust you!’ Yes, trials will come in life. I never promised that once you become a Christian, nothing bad will ever happen again. But you have no idea the number of things that I take you through safely!” The Lord began to show me how many times He was there for me, for me and Karen, times when He told us to leave, times He told us not to go, times we had a check in our spirits that prevented us from being in the wrong place at the wrong time! The Lord is always there, whether we feel Him or not.  If you’re going through a hard time, sit in silence in the loving presence of your Father and, as a child talking to your daddy, say, “Lord, help me understand how you were there through this time in my life!” Then let Him talk! Stop, talk, most of all listen. He will show you how He was always there, loving you through the events in your life, bringing about the plan and the purpose He’s always had for your life.