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Archive for December, 2008
24
Dec
08
New Blog Address
Happy Christmas Week Friends!
Church was so much fun yesterday! Then all afternoon Heaven, Emily and I googled our little fingers off, searching for Heavens one and only Christmas present this year. She’s been practicing her Bible College “Principles of Faith” skills all year… and once again, I am powerless under the influence of her amazing faith!
Just like the time she wanted her porky little pug and we told her no way… she prayed and confessed Ming-Me right into our home! No matter how hard we tried to keep our palace nice and quite with one tiny chihuahua guard dog, Heaven would not settle. She was polite and happy and absolutely irresistible!
I even remember one night about a year before Ming Me became a Balsamo… we were at a late night prayer meeting. To spruce things up that night, I purchased a big beach ball and had people come write their prayer requests on the ball with a sharpy marker. Then, after all the requests were written down, we threw the ball to each other. Every person who caught the ball had to look at the request they first noticed. Heaven was in that meeting and longing for one thing! My turn was up… and out of nowhere the ball was thrown to me! Guess what request my eyes first fell upon? Heaven had snuck up and written, “God, please tell my daddy to give me a Pug!” That put me in a real predicament! I must admit today, how happy I am that God answered Heavens prayer! Ming-Me Balsamo is an amazing young lady!
So, here we go again… Heaven has worked her magic once more! We are on our way to Kentucky to meet the pig lady… and if all goes well, we will add another creature to our family this afternoon!
Luke 18:1-8 says this, “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man[a] returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
Faith moves mountains! Who knows how many good things in life are right now well within our reach… if we will learn to have the persistent faith of our teenage daughter?
That’s it for today… I will post pictures tomorrow. Oh God be with us! LOL
Happy Sunday Friends!
As I drove into my office this morning, guess what I found? Yup… a REAL SNOWMAN… MADE WITH REAL SNOW! Who knows how they did it… must have gone to a ski resort… this gift is off the charts for CREATIVITY!
He’s got a carrot nose, beautiful red eyes and lips, and a straw hat! Very handsome Frosty! He even came with a great big gift tag, hanging from his big round belly!
Thanks the the Ferrell and Hewitt Family… I have a lovely winter wonderland right outside my office door!
Come to church at Destiny Family Center this morning and you can see the little fellow for yourself! We don’t start until 10am… so come 15 minutes early and meet our Christmas service mascot!
UPDATE: After posting this blog, I found a note on my desk that said, “Did you like our gift to you we left outside? It was the best gift for UNDER $100!!” Thus the title of my Christmas Message Series for the past three weeks! Very witty you gals!
What shall we name our new born frosty???
20
Dec
08
If Everyone Cared :)
Happy Saturday My Beloved Friends!
One of our blog buddies commented about this video from Nickelback yesterday and it moved me… so I’m posting it as my message for the day. Pay special attention to the inspirational text and images that pop up from time to time. When it’s over… go back and re-read my blog from yesterday.
Three quick announcements:
1. If you’re nearby… we are carpooling to the Bethlehem Project tonight, leaving Destiny Family Center @ 5:30pm.
2. Second announcement… wake up around 8am tomorrow morning, take a nice clean shower, put on something FUN, and come to DESTINY FAMILY CENTER @ 10:00am for the final service of our Christmas series… its gonna be AMAZING! If you can’t be here in the flesh, watch on-line.
3. Then tomorrow night, go Christmas caroling with a group of us from DFC. Not sure what time we’re leaving… will post it tomorrow morning.
What a weekend!!! Yippppeeeeeeee!!! Waaahhhooooooeeeeee!! I just finished praying for you guys to have an outstanding day! So HAVE ONE… on me! And hey, act on the blogs from this week… hurry up before Christmas passes.
Emily teaching orphans to color with their first set of crayons... on our trip to India a few years ago.
Happy Friday Friends… TGIF Again!
Jeremiah 31:1 “Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”
Last night I had a very sad dream about a close friend. I woke up in such pain, my eyes were misting over as I contemplated its meaning. It was so real… so sad.
Oh how God cares about us! While reading in Jeremiah, this verse about Gods love came to life… I felt it swelling inside my heart. My eyes glazed over as I began to think about all the people I know who are suffering right now. The dream came back to me, now awake… it became like a vision… an outer body experience. I left my family room and started flying back over all my travels of the past few weeks. I could see myself talking to people at parties, running into people at the mall, interacting with people at church, chatting on the phone. I noticed all the pain coming from peoples hearts. I saw some of them holding back the tears. They were under so much pressure… feeling like nobody in all the world understood what they were enduring!
Throughout the course of the dream and the vision that followed, and the prayers I made to God afterwards… I came up with this message for you guys. I suppose that God is allowing me to experience HIS HEART this morning. He’s lending me his FEELINGS. For a brief moment, I’m seeing this world through his mind… and its overwhelming me! I can feel the pains of so many people right now… I’m hearing some of their prayers. And even though they each rise in the mornings to beautify their faces and cover over their feelings… I can see into their souls.
God says that he loves us with an everlasting love… and he draw us to himself with unfailing love. How does he do this? How does God reach out to people? How does he wrap his loving arms around hurting humans? He uses us as his representatives. He gives us his heart so that we can express his love! As long as we are self absorbed, we cant see the pains of others. And when our self obsessions are interrupted, we are freed to live a God kind of life! We are privileged to become Gods representatives to the people who need him right now!
This Christmas… break the trance of self obsession. Look around… look very carefully. See into the souls of your friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, enemies, and everyone you bump into. Think about the lonely elders in your local nursing homes. Think about all the struggling people in your personal circle. Pray for them until a tear squeezes through the surface of your eyes and gently rolls down your compassionate cheeks. And then from this overwhelming sensation… ACT extravagantly! Make a very big difference for someone or a bunch of someones between now and the new year! Lend your ear, your time, your money, your baking skills, and anything else you can muster up to hand deliver a beautiful expression of Gods unfailing love. They are waiting for it… hoping for it… yearning for it! And you are the one to bring it to them right now, today or tomorrow… you will bring them new hope and a second wind!
Love you guys… have fun with this and please post your comments! See you here tomorrow! And hey… dont forget about church this Sunday at Destiny Family Center! Hope you can make it!
Bethlehem Project- Afton VA
Happy Thursday Friends!
I have a recommendation for all my local blog pals. Go to the Bethlehem Project in Afton, VA. We go every year… it’s beyond words! Jesus is born every hour on the hour! No charge, donations accepted. Check out the website and make it a family date!
I have just a simple thought for all you guys today… slow down and smell your Christmas tree! For me, things have been spinning out of control over the past few weeks. I have so much going on, I cant seem to catch my breath. And I know that if I am not careful… Christmas will come and go without me. Oh yes, my body will be there consuming all the festive foods… but my mind will be a million miles away missing all the real beauties of the moment!
Christmas is the “most wonderful time of the year!” At least it should be.
The holiday season kicks off with Thanksgiving where we thank God for all the blessings in our lives. Thanksgiving calls upon us to stop the complaining and start appreciating. Truly, for every one thing going wrong, there are a hundred things going right in our lives! If we celebrated Thanksgiving properly, then the tone for a phenomenal December has been set! If not, then consider making TODAY your Thanksgiving MAKE UP DAY! Come on… break the curse of depression and take charge of your environment! Ti’s the season to be jolly… fallaaa laaalaaa laaa laaalaaa laaa laaa!
From Thanksgiving we head towards the celebration of our Saviors birth! Wow… all the JOY in the Christmas message! The excitement of decorations and gift exchanging… and Christmas parties… and quality time with the people we love the most! Don’t be a scrooge or a Grinch… love this season… and take in every last ounce of it! Sing Christmas songs… do random acts of kindness for hurting people. Get out your Bibles and read the Christmas story a hundred times… go to church with your family! Give a gigantic special Christmas offering! Spend more time praying to God, asking him to work in your life like never before! Let your friends and family know how much they mean to you! Call up your Grandparents… or go visit if you can! And just maybe, after you do some of this… your own problems will fade away into nothingness!
Then… after celebrating a great Thanksgiving and Christmas, we will all be ready for a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let’s not let the horrors of our economy get into our minds and ruin our holidays. For us who trust our future to God, we have nothing to fear. So celebrate like there is no tomorrow… trust me you need it more than you know! Slow down… and smell your Christmas tree before its gone.
Love you guys… have a super day!!
17
Dec
08
A Letter to Iraq
The Internet Hackers: Chica & Ming-Me (yes she is pink!)
It’s Wednesday Friends… Good Morning!
Sorry for the late blogging… my dogs unplugged the cable and I had to wait for Emily to wake up and troubleshoot the crises! She’s the hero and she wanted lots of applause, so here it is baby! You are my hero… you saved the day, my sexy tech savvy chick!
Yesterday, we mailed a letter to Iraq… to our dear friend, Charlie Mister. He is serving in the United States Army… and we miss him pretty badly. Charlie is an amazing young man! I’m so thankful for his sacrifice… for his love expressed toward my family and my fatherland! I believe that the greatest men and women of our land are serving in our military! I suppose that’s why I get so disgusted tolerating all the cowardice left wingest political chatter in our country. Me and my family support our military with passionate prayers several times a day! :)
Here’s a fact… our troops hang on the memories of the people they are protecting. They LIVE for letters and pictures… funny stories and announcements. They stream with tears of joy when new mail arrives!
So… sometime before Christmas, gather your family together and write a moving letter to one of our brave defenders! Believe me, this will make such a big difference!
Have a super day… I’ve already prayed you through to victory! Love you guys!
We distributed 75,000 pounds of food that day! (Heather Floyd blessing a homeless man)
Happy Tuesday Everyone!
Today, I want to make the blog about the unfortunate people in our society. As you know, this Christmas more than any other in my lifetime, our nation is running over with weeping citizens. Every day, I see more and more people gasping for air under the weight of financial oppression. For some reason, my compassion is off the charts so much more than usual this Christmas… and I just know that we can make a difference one family at a time.
Yeah, there are some cruel people out there in our society who scorn at the thought of reaching down a helping hand. I have heard my share of scornful comments throughout the years. Whenever we do our homeless outreaches, there are always those heartless souls who herald out the common phrase, “I don’t give to the poor… because they are just going to use it to buy alcohol or drugs.”
The only reason people think like this, is because they have never walked in the shoes of a homeless person. I believe that Compassion is the ability to experience life through other peoples eyes… to be able to FEEL their pain… so much of their pain that it BREAKS OUR HEART TO PIECES! Sure, quite a few of these unfortunate folks are in their predicaments because of poor decisions. Yet, we must always remember that each of us are just a few poor decisions away from their same demise.
Isaiah 58:7,9-11 says this: “I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from your relatives who need your help… Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out of darkness and the darkness around you will be as bright as day!”
Notice that helping the helpless is a very big key to our own personal wellness. There is a distinguishable blessing promised for all who look after the unfortunate people of their societies. So, this Christmas… this WEEK, look around and find a few people you and your family can reach with Gods love! Consider doing something over the top to say, “God cares and we care!” Be discrete off course, not announcing your gifts with trumpets… protect the pride of a father and mother in front of their children. Give the gift they really NEED… whether its food… or presents for a parent to give their toddlers… or a drivable car. Do the best you can, and watch how this enhances your Christmas! If you want to give through our ministry, call the office at 540-337-2216 and we will bless a family in your honor!
Have another amazing day! You guys are a city set up on a hill for all the world to see! Leave your comments… see you tomorrow morning!
Special Note: the outreach depicted in the photo was carried out in Washington DC in partnership with Convoy Of Hope and Gerald Mayhan Ministries. Check out their websites!
15
Dec
08
When Life Seems So Useless…
My Daughter: 16 Years of Progress!
Rise and Shine Blog Friends… It’s Another MONDAY!
Church at Destiny Family Center was amazing yesterday… as always! People were on fire! I hope you were there…
I’m reading again in Isaiah today… got stuck on a couple of VERY COOL verses! Isaiah 49:3-4
He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory.”
I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;
I will trust God for my reward.”
Isaiah gets this glorious message from God, “YOU ARE MY SERVANT… YOU’RE GONNA BRING ME SO MUCH GLORY!!” And he replies, “But my work SEEMS so USELESS!”
I too have felt like this so many times before. Have you… ever felt like this before? Ever felt like your life was taking one baby step forward followed with two giant steps backward? Ever felt like no matter how much you aimed for PROGRESS, it all seemed so useless?
Progress is so difficult to assess with a casual glance. There are always good things happening that we cannot see with our human eyes. That’s why we have to learn to trust God for the outcomes of our lives. Our part is to believe him when he says, “YOU ARE MY SERVANT AND YOU WILL BRING ME GLORY!” And then, even when our work seems so to be turning out useless, we must LEAVE IT ALL IN THE LORDS HAND… and TRUST GOD FOR OUR REWARD!
I’ve met and known most of you blog pals… and I can say that you are beautiful people! You are amazing servants of God and your lives are bringing him more glory than you may feel like right now. So smile big today… it’s Christmas time… the season to be JOLLY! Leave the results in Gods hands… trust him to work everything out… and he will do just that!
Have another most outstanding day! Love you guys!!
14
Dec
08
The Cure For Loneliness! :)
Happy Sunday Morning Friends!
Over the next few hours, good people will be coming from all over the state to Destiny Family Center. You know why? Because it’s SUNDAY!! And EVERY Sunday at 10AM, we gather to worship God! It’s fun and refreshing… so try it sometime! Either drive your beautiful self here to the DFC auditorium… or watch on-line. Come on… everyone is doin it!
I’ve been preaching a Christmas series titled, “A Merry Christmas 4 Under $100!” Today, I’m going to be talking about Immanuel, which means, “GOD WITH US.” It’s the gift of Gods presence. This Christmas I want to be more thankful for Gods presence than any other time of my life! In a world of petrified people, we can have great peace and joy… because God is NEAR! This is the cure for lonliness! Its gonna be good… so don’t miss out.
I just finished praying for you guys and gals… so have a super Sunday. Cya tomorrow!
