Hmmmmm...

This past week Jan, our editor, forwarded me some thought provoking information. At least I felt like it was thought provoking. The following scenario is just one of the humorous comments in the article. "The second mouse gets the cheese.” Now I don't have a clue who thought of that truth, but that is funny. I don't care who you are! (Unless you were the first mouse. Ha, ha!) Why? Because the first mouse is dead in the trap by his neck!!!!

Seriously, I have asked myself how many times in my life have I been the first mouse. Over the years I think I have probably developed a little bit more patience than I had in the past, and of course I want to believe I am not that first mouse so much of the time anymore. God's word has a lot to say about not being the first mouse, but He uses the term "wait" instead of being the first mouse.

Psalm 27:14 (ESV)
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Psalm 31:24 (ESV)
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!

Psalm 33:20 (ESV)
Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 37:7 (ESV)
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Psalm 38:15 (ESV)
But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 40:1 (ESV)
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 62:1 (ESV)
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

Psalm 62:5 (ESV)
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Proverbs 8:34 (ESV)
Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

Isaiah 30:18 (ESV)
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Belize update: Missionary women are signing up and finances are coming in! Yeah, God. We have ten missionary women sponsored as of this writing so, there are only 40 more women to go! Keep that support coming! Also, continue to pray as the team works out all the details of what God has in store for the missionary women, the team, and the local churches that are journeying with us!

Love you all.

His,
Vickie

Excitement in My Heart...

We opened up registration for our Belize trip Tuesday of this week. We already have four missionary women signed up as I write this blog. As my ministry staff would say, I am getting in retreat mode! I love watching the registrations come in for me to learn about the ladies and their ministries. Also, I love knowing that God is answering our prayers to bring each missionary woman, for He knows their needs, and the team members to minister to those needs.

The team is also coming together as well. Those of us on the team in the Conway, Arkansas area had a sweet prayer time this past Monday night as we prayed for the Belize retreat and all the different aspects of the trip. I want to encourage you to continue to pray for the trip and to continue to give towards the trip. Pray, as well, for how God would have you be involved in other ways that maybe we haven't even thought of.

Well, Patty and I continue our Perspectives Class, which is totally changing our perspective on how we read God's Word. So far, we have learned from the following topics: Our God is a Missionary God, the Story of His Glory, His Kingdom Come, and a Mandate for the Nations. I cannot emphasize enough what a great class this is. Find one near you and sign up!

My mom just got back from Houston where she spent a couple of weeks with my brother and sister-in-law. When she is there, she gets to see and catch up on all the grandchildren and great grandchildren. These two stories are worth sharing for a good laugh. My niece (her granddaughter Krystal) lives in Andrews, Texas and has five boys ages 8 months to 10 years old (pray for her . . . ha, ha!). She has home schooled the three oldest up until this year. Because they are going to a school now, some interesting entertainment has been provided with some of the things the boys bring home to share. Recently, Brice the oldest (10 years) came home telling his mom that a girl at school had asked him if they could be boyfriend and girlfriend. His mom explained to him that he was too young to have a girlfriend and that being girlfriend and boyfriend was a serious thing. She suggested he write the girl a note and tell her. He informed his mom that he would just talk to her. This was what he told the little girl. "We are too young to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Being girlfriend and boyfriend is serious and for people that are going to get married and I'm too young to get married.” The little girl asked, “Then can we just be friends?" You’ve got to love that story and know that made a momma proud. However, her delight was probably x'ed out when Sam (the middle child) accompanied his momma to lunch recently, and a pretty girl walked by the table. Sam looked at his mom and said, “She is sooooooooooooooo pretty.” “What did you say?” his mom asked? He said, “I said, ‘she is soooooooooooooo pretty.’” His mom asked him, “Where did you learn that?” “Tom and Jerry!” he said and went on to say, “It makes me feel so remantic.” “Do you mean, ‘romantic’?” his mom asked. “Yes, that's it!” he said. Yes, kids do say the darnedest things!

Love you all! Keep praying.

His,
Vickie

Belize here we come...

We have located our hotel and are now in the negotiating stages. Our dates for the retreat will be April 24 - 27, 2013. Our theme is from Matthew 5:16, “Let Your Light Shine Before Others."

We are only 2 1/2 months out, so there is a lot of prayer and preparation necessary to take place before we leave the states. Please pray for the following:

• that the negotiations would go well with the hotel so we can provide the best place for the missionary women to come, rest, and be refreshed,
• for the missionary women God would have come to this retreat. I am personally asking God to make a way for missionary women from Mexico and Central America to attend as well as those in Belize,
• for the team that God would have to minister to this particular group of women specifically,
• that financial support would start coming in to sponsor the missionary women. We already have 7 1/2 sponsored. The exciting part is that a couple of those missionary women have been sponsored by missionaries who attended our Prague Retreat in October  2012,
• that women in local churches will begin to pray about the opportunity to make gifts for the missionary women,
• that God will give me the opportunity to speak to several women's ministries about this opportunity, and
• for our flights, luggage, messages, worship, hospitality, etc.

If you believe God is leading you to join us on this trip please contact me at vickie@purejoyinternational.com.

His,

Vickie

God's Mountain...

This past weekend the Ministry Staff, Board of Directors, and Board Advisors made our way to a place we lovingly have named God's Mountain. We gather one time a year for an annual retreat weekend to work, relax, fellowship, and to hear from God regarding our personal lives and the life of Pure Joy International.

This year's time together was wonderful and much was accomplished to continue the momentum of where we believe God is taking us in the years ahead. I want to encourage all of you who read this blog to prayerfully consider giving to this ministry monthly. Don't miss out on the opportunity to help us keep our missionary families on their field of service to reach the world for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God is putting more missionaries on the field daily. They may even be your own family members. This I can promise you: At some point, they will desire an oasis and need one! A place to get away from their daily life circumstances. A place to regroup, get refreshed, be poured into spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. A place where it is safe to seek counsel and empty out their hearts. Help us to increase our time on the field ministering to them by supporting us on a monthly basis.

We are zeroing in on our location and dates sometime late in April for Belize. There is still room for team members so please let me know if you sense that God is pricking your heart about this trip. Thank you to those who are already contacting me.

Patty and I attended our 2nd week of the Perspectives class. Lesson #2 was on exploring God's Purpose for Himself, which is to bring about His greater glory by drawing to Himself the worship of every tribe, language, people, and nation. You realize this doesn't take place unless we who are blessed (saved) become a blessing (instruments of salvation) to others! I love watching these lessons build because God is a God of order!!

And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. Revelation 5:9

When is the last time you really just worshiped Him for His name’s sake . . . because He alone is God and He is worthy to be praised!! Not just on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, or I have to worship Him but I get to worship Him! He is worthy to be praised and worshiped from our heart and spirit!! Wow! Just think of the last time you really were in a place of worship that was filled with the Spirit, and people really were worshiping Him from the heart and spirit.

This week, today, this minute, take time to worship Him! He is worthy no matter our circumstance! He is worthy for His name’s sake alone!!

His,

Vickie

Perspectives...On the World Christian Movement

Last night Patty and I began attending “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement”, a semester long course based on God's global purposes from Biblical, historical, cultural and strategic perspectives.

One of the things the instructor encouraged us to take away from the time together was the following:

"I have been blessed to be a blessing to others." We spent much time looking at Genesis 12:1-3.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

As I pondered this last night after arriving home, I thought to myself, "How many of us really see ourselves as blessed?" Last night the instructor asked us to identify some ways we are blessed. When is the last time you REALLY looked at how you are blessed, if ever? I want to challenge you as we were challenged to look at your blessings. Seriously say them out loud. Write them down on paper. Then ask yourself, “Am I passing them on?” Are you blessing others? If you are blessed to have a roof over your head, how do you bless others with that? If you are blessed in the area of teaching, how do you bless others with that? If you are blessed financially, how are you blessing others with that? If you are blessed with a car, how are you blessing others with that? If you are blessed with great joy, how are you blessing others with that? You get the picture.

"I have been blessed to be a blessing to others." When is the last time someone told you that you were a blessing? Hmmmm?

Ok, we are still working with contact people concerning our Belize, Ghana and Mongolia trips. We need lots of prayer for details, for we are not sure what God is up to regarding locations and dates, but we’re willing to wait and see. Please keep praying.

His,
Vickie

I wonder...

This past weekend I had the great joy of watching my great nephew's first tooth finally burst forth from his baby gums. Seriously, we have been waiting on that tooth to show itself for over three weeks now. It is like, you know it's there, you can see the white spot under the gum, but no cigar! Then poof, there it is!

And yes, his little disposition was just a little fussier at times, even though I suspect from the stories I have heard about teething, we got off easy! But, let us be reminded that was only one tooth and there are 31 more to go! Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Truthfully, I am watching the poor little guy like a hawk for signs of normal development just like all parents do, I'm sure. (He and his mom, my niece, live with us.) Every month I look on line at what he should be doing now, whether it is eating baby food, rolling over, sitting up, etc., etc. And his precious nurse practitioner probably wishes she were not in the Sunday School class I attend!

I share all of that with you this morning because I wonder if we have this kind of excitement about new believers as they begin to develop. I seriously question these days if we in the body of Christ truly care about each other enough to look for signs of normal development in each other. And if we do see something that just isn't right, do we care enough to say something, or do we use the traditional Christian cop out of "Well, I don't want to be judgmental." I'm not talking about judging; I'm talking about loving each other enough to let someone be mad or angry with you for loving them enough to speak truth over them.

Are you getting this? We wouldn't dare let our little ones go on developing abnormally if we have a clue something is wrong and dangerous to their development. We wouldn't let them develop wrongly or die if we could do ANYTHING about it. But, many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are developing wrongly and living as though they were spiritually dead, and we never blink an eye.

Can I encourage you to look to the left and right and ask yourself this question: Are my brothers and sisters in Christ developing normally? Are they growing as a believer? If not, can you encourage them in anything? Are you growing? If not, do you know who to go to for encouragement on the issue?

Jesus wants us to share the Good News of the Gospel so that man might be saved. He also wants us to be followers of His ways and truths. It is not an either/or choice.

I like this quote from Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World: Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.

Jesus however says it best in Luke 9:23-25, ²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵ For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

Only when we are growing in our walk with the LORD according to His Word and Spirit will we be able to recognize when a brother or sister in Christ is in trouble! If you are a new believer, please find someone to walk beside you in discipleship. If you are a more seasoned believer, then please disciple someone, and if you are an older believer who has never been discipled, then please find someone to disciple you. Seriously, it is time for the body of Christ to grow up!

Please be in prayer as we are trying to work out details for the Belize trip in April. We need your prayers regarding God's best location for us to do the retreat in Belize. We already have the team coming together, several missionary women already sponsored, a contact person, etc. We just need God's direction on the perfect place to house the women.

Love you all so much,

His,

Vickie 

Mom's Day of Prayer...

Today I want to make you aware of an opportunity to get involved in praying for our children. Kathy Coleman, Founder of Mom's Day of Prayer (MDOP), is headed to Washington, D.C. to hold a MDOP on the Capital Grounds 1/19/2013 from 10:00 am to Noon.

It is Kathy's prayer that every state will host a MDOP on the same day. Please visit www.momsdayofprayer.com to see which states are already on board as of this date. If your state or country is not on board follow the instructions on the web site to see what to do to become a part of this important ministry of intercession for our children. What an incredible thing to know that our children all over this world are being prayed for very specifically for a two hour period of time by millions of people. Wow!!! Block off your calendar for 1/19/2013 from 10:00 am to Noon! Share the web site with others!

www.momsdayofprayer.com

His,

Vickie

P.S. I will blog again this week but first please take to heart the information I have shared with you today. You can also follow MDOP on Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/301836596595232/?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/momsdayofprayer