Clouds

Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.

Luke 1:7
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

Mark 9:7-8
Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

Today's "My Utmost for His Highest" is about clouds.
In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. "The clouds are the dust of His feet" They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God!

In the clouds, where we can't see anything else, we have the opportunity to see our Jesus. What a sweet thing!

Some TSTL hypeness :o)

The video is a little blurry, but it gives you the idea.

Not ourselves, but CHRIST

2 Cor 4:5-7,13
For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves...Having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written 'I believed therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore we speak.

Isn't this awesome! What much needed confidence it brings to me!

Hudson Taylor

I have lately been listening to a reading of the book "Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret" - the title is a bit misleading, because the book isn't really about a secret of any sort. It is simply a biography of Taylor's life and calling as a missionary to China. It is awesome to hear of this man's faith and God's work through him to draw many to Christ.

If you want, you can download the mp3 files at the link below. I would highly recommend it.

http://lampfordarktimes.blogspot.com/2007/10/audio-book-hudson-taylors-spiritual.html

Lookout Bryan, Texas - here I come

Here it is: the official announcement. No more maybe or might or possibly.
I will, Lord willing, be moving back to Bryan, Texas in September after I finish LeadTime. Yay! I have known this for quite some time, but have just been a little afraid to say it as a certainty - and although still a little crazy to say for sure, it is exciting to share this news with you. I will definitely miss Colorado but am excited to once again be near many dear friends. There are many things the Lord is stirring in my heart that are bringing me back to Bryan, and so although LeadTime is not finished, whenever you remember me please also pray for my preparation to return to Bryan.

"Enlarge the place of your tent; stretch out the curtains of your dwelling, spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs. For you will spread broad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations, And they will resettle the desolate cities....And all your sons will be taught by the Lord, and the well-being of your sons will be great. In righteousness you will be established...No weapon that is formed against you will prosper...This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord." Isaiah 54

Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

G-1 girls on parents day


The first term (2 weeks) of camp just finished. There are a lot of fun moments and the Lord definitely worked in mighty ways - 3 girls in G1 became Christians and the transforming love of Christ had a huge impact on all of the kids at camp. One of my favorite moments from camp occurred during a "SKIT-SKIT-SKIT" one morning. The skit was a game show and the host was giving all these great prizes away to the contestants - trips and shopping sprees and cars...but as he offered them he mumbled that they could choose the prize or...mumble,mumble, mumble. The first 2 excited contestants chose the prize offered, only for the host to reveal that they got to take these with them straight to hell - and then these huge scary dudes came in and took away the contestant. The last contestant however wanted to know what the host was mumbling about and after much questioning found out that she had to either choose the incredible prize or her walk with Jesus Christ. At this point, when she realized what 2 things were being offered and was deciding which to take, the whole room exploded with little children chanting "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!".... I can't describe what a beautiful sound this was. It brought tears to my eyes. There truly is no sweeter name than the name of Jesus and what a testament to him that these simple children, whose lives offer little opportunity to know much of Christ, know His goodness and that he really is better than anything else this world could offer.

Retreat

We had a 3 day LeadTime retreat this week out at a cabin by the Poudre River. What a refreshing time to just be alive, rest in God's presence, and reflect on who He is. Our wonderful directors cooked great food for us and provided neat opportunities to be alone, play together, and share together God's work in us. It was sweet.

-I just remembered a funny story and wanted to add it to this post. While hiking, I spent about 20 minutes walking at the end of the line behind Jason, and during this time, filled up his whole backpack with rocks- one at a time - without him noticing. He carried them to the end of the hike where he finally found them and was quite bewildered. It was funny :o) -

Fourth of July

Katie dunking one of the Littles at our pool party/BBQ with the girls



Pam and one of the Littles dancing while we wait for the fireworks



While laying outside on this beautiful 4th of July evening watching these fireworks, the song "What a Wonderful World" played in the background. I know this world is fallen, full of hurt and sin, and I am ready for Jesus to come back - but there are moments where in the midst of all that God is so wonderful to me and I wonder how on earth I am so incredibly blessed.

New Friends! (TSTL)

The Sky's The Limit (TSTL) is a ministry of Doulos that provides a christian summer camp for urban youth and at the same time trains young adults by giving them an opportunity to be leaders at the camp. Since I really love children and urban ministry I have been given the great opportunity of working with TSTL (which is not the LeadTime norm).
I have lots of new friends - fellow counselors at camp as well as these precious kids. They are so much fun! Our theme for the summer is "Transformed" - all the 1st graders in G-1 (my group this week) learned Romans 12:2 really well and are super cute saying it. Camp is physically exhausting- especially when followed by an evening with the Littles, but I love it. It is challenging being in an environment that is not my norm and being an "outsider", but I want to learn from this, and overall the staff have done a great job of helping me be a part and feel welcomed.It's crazy to see teens many younger than our Shelterwood kids and many with even rougher pasts working hard, serving, and sharing the love of Christ with these little kids - what a blessing!