February 2013

It is rightly said that we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.  Each of us owe a lot of who we our today to those God has put in our lives.  We have been shaped by their loving and affirming words and by watching the kind of lives they lived.  Take a moment to give thanks for those He has placed in your life.		I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  -Psalm 27:13
My Grandma Willo   Last Wednesday my Granmda Willo, whom Keilah Willo is named after, went to be with the Lord.  She was 97 and lived a full life.  She left a legacy of deep and abiding faith in Jesus and was used powerfully by God to shape the faith of my parents and thus my own faith, which is now being passed down to our children.   When I was 24 years old I spent three months living with her in a small town in Michigan.  It was at a key crossroad in my journey where I was trying to reconcile my divided heart that wanted to love and serve Jesus but was deeply wounded and fragmented.  God used my time with her to begin a process of deep healing that has allowed me open up my heart and home and offer this same love to many others through the work of A2J.  (Keilah Willo sitting on her Grandma Willo's lap) Remembering Steve Malakowsky I returned home on Sunday from my grandma's funeral in Michigan for an A2J meeting. During the meeting Danny received a call that his father lost consciousness and was on the way to the hospital, he passed away and went to be with the Lord very soon afterwards.  Steve's life touched many as he had a powerful ministry to the broken, outcast, and unloved. A2J has & will continue to be blessed by his ministry Hope thru Art.      This is one of the many signs Steve posted around Arizona.  He used art to communicate to a dark and dying world that there is Hope and it is found in Jesus   The Work of A2J When Jesus left to be with his Father he told his followers, 'just as my Father sent me into this world I am sending you to complete this work'.  We, as God's people, have been entrusted with this task, it is assuring to know that He promises to be with us and empower us every step of the way.       Please pray for our neighbor Pat, she is 79, her house and car burned in a fire this past Sunday.  We have had the privilege of demonstrating the love of Jesus to her in many ways over the past 4 years.  John and Aleta have taken Pat into their home and have been helping her through this tough time.  She recently asked for a Bible and another neighbor gave her one, pray she chooses to trust and follow Jesus the rest of her days.         Please also pray for our next door neighbor, who is really sick for a couple months now and is afraid that she might be dying; doctors are unsure as to what is wrong.  She does not know Jesus, but our family has been able to show the love and care of Jesus to her.  This morning I actually was able to pray over her.  She is also considering coming to morning prayer this Monday. Please pray for healing of her body and even more so that she will be reconciled to her Creator and the Lover of her soul.