What I Learned About God From A Ministry In Arizona
One of my favorite places on this earth is the White Mountains of Arizona. It’s arid. It’s dry. But it’s beautiful, because of both the scenery and the people who live there.
For almost two decades, I have been connected with a ministry that exists in that area of Arizona. That ministry reaches out to the White Mountain Apaches and, to a lesser degree, the Navajo people who live in the area.
In the summer of 2001 or 2002 — I can’t even remember what year — I took a group of teens and adults from our church in Indiana to American Indian Christian Mission. That was the beginning of what would become a long relationship, although I didn’t know it then. Our group had an incredible time, and the impact we made was big, no doubt. But the impact on our own lives was far, far greater.
Since that trip, I have been able to take multiple groups to AICM, both teens and adults, over the years. And each time, it left an indelible mark upon my life. One community in particular, the small town of Cibicue, is especially dear to me. I visited that town on that very first trip, and have managed to make it back there almost every time since.
Cibicue is a small town, and it suffers from the same sense of hopelessness and despair as much of the rest of the White Mountain Reservation. Drugs, alcohol, abuse, and suicide are rampant, and a ministry such as AICM offers hope that otherwise might not be found there.
Time for a Coffee Break! Enjoy this selection of interesting posts and articles from around the web that I found intriguing!
On this day in history: In 1692, in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Bridget Bishop, the first colonist to be tried in the Salem witch trials, is hanged after being found guilty of the practice of witchcraft. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin flied a kite during a thunderstorm and collected ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar, enabling him to demonstrate the connection between lightning and electricity. And in 1903, Binney & Smith Company began developing a product line of wax crayons. The product was named Crayola.
Today Is National Ballpoint Pen Day! Grab your ballpoint pen and write this on your calendar!
Top 10 Summer Style Hacks Every Man Must Know – I want to look as good as I can, but in the summer, that can be difficult. Here are some summer style hacks that can help you stay cool.
11 Smells That Are Slowly Disappearing – I found this to be quite intriguing. Although there are many people who still burn their leaves, especially in the Midwest, some of the rest have faded from use, but still linger in memory. Remember the smell of those old purple copies of worksheets from elementary school? In a related vein, here’s another link to some sounds that are disappearing as well.
The Ultimate Paper Airplane – Have you ever built a paper airplane? If I had to guess, you probably have. But not like this one.
The first half of this stanza identified two ways we can focus intentionally on God’s Word. This passage reveals yet a third way that we can do so. You can read it for yourself in Psalm 119:117-120:
In the first half of this strophe, we saw that being intentional about being in God’s Word is the only way that we can maintain a relationship with the Scriptures that helps us grow. It won’t happen by accident; we must choose to stay on the right path, and be strategically deliberate in staying there.
The first way listed here is through a simple determination to obey God’s Word. The second way listed is found in verses 116 and 117, and shows us that we must seek God’s grace and help to stay connected to him.
The third way that we can stay focused in our relationship with God and his Word is by simply recognizing and standing in awe of who God is. When we realize that it is only by the grace of God that we can stay connected to God, we realize just how helpless we are, and how much need we have of him. That realization should bring us to our knees in awe and wonder.
And it is when we see God for who he fully is, that’s when we can begin to see just how bad the world’s way is. It is only as we tremble in awe before a holy God that we will ever see the distorted values of this world. Those things that this world entices us with are empty, and they cannot give us what we need. That can only come from the Creator of everything.
The weakest faith gets the same strong Christ as does the strongest faith.
I have read and enjoyed several of the novels written by James Markert over the last few years. His writing style is fun and engaging, and his ability to capture my attention and hold it is pretty steady. With this novel, however, I had a harder time staying connected to it for some reason.
For the life of me, I cannot point to anything I didn’t like about Midnight At The Tuscany Hotel. It just didn’t grab my attention like his other novels have. Don’t get me wrong, the story line was great, and it was an intriguing plot, set in a time period I love, and had an air of the mystical with an emphasis on Greek mythology. I loved that part of it.
All in all, it was a great book. I just had a difficult time staying engaged for whatever reason. I may come back to this book in a year or two and read it again, and probably enjoy it immensely. At that point, I will probably be able to enjoy it more fully.
A Broken Arm
Last weekend, our church went on a Men’s Retreat to Discovery Ministries, in Eminence, MO. It was an excellent weekend together, with some great relationships, fun times, a strong challenge to be the men God wants us to be…. And a broken arm.
I fell. I’d like to have a good story to explain what happened, like rescuing a kitten from a raging torrent at the river, or saving a peanut butter sandwich before it hit the mud, or something. But I don’t. I slipped on some wet moss and went down – hard – on my elbow.
So after the weekend, I went to the ER to confirm the injury I suspected had happened, and then to an orthopedic specialist. Needless to say, the simple things are now hard to accomplish, like tying my shoes and buttoning my shirt. And typing.
For the next few weeks, I will have to simplify my life in order to let this heal. I’ll be pausing most of the activity here for a few days as well. I apologize for that, and wish I could write more, and post more, and create more. But this elbow needs to heal.
Stick around though. Things will pick back up soon, I promise. Thanks for understanding. And thanks for any prayers you might send my way. I appreciate them.
To know that God knows everything about me and yet loves me is indeed my ultimate consolation.
