Shaun's 27th anniversary "card" to Betsy 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKenanbhCgY

Lesson From a Son 5-28-13

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." Rev. 21:4

Have you ever wrestled with God over the death of a loved one? (Person or pet?)

"How come God makes people die?”… A question posed to one of our sons recently. Below is our son’s abbreviated answer:

“I'm very sorry to hear your aunt died. I can't tell you all the reasons why it happened. I do know that God promises that He is near to those who are hurting (Ps. 34:8). He cares very much about your pain. He knows all about what you are going through; it hurts Him, too….

The world is broken, and it's our fault, not God's:  God is good.

…The Bible says that God made people in His image and told them to take care of the world and each other. …God is life. He gives life to everything, and apart from Him, there is no life.

~What would happen if I decided that a rose bush didn't need water, tore it up by the roots, and left it to grow on the sidewalk? It would die.

And why should I be surprised?

 I took away the things it needed to live.

 That's what sin does to us; it separates us from God. …The Bible says we all have sinned, that we've all gone our own way, either actively rebelling against God or simply not caring (Rom. 3:23). We don't want God to be our King; we want to rule ourselves.

In reality, sin rules us, and sin always leads to death (Rom. 6:23). ~And it's not just death here; after we die, we either go to live with God forever, or are separated from Him forever. (“Hell”: a place we are totally isolated, cut off from God and everything that makes life good.)

God wants to give us life:

But God doesn't leave us in this desperate state. Even though we all turned against Him, He still loves us, and He doesn’t want us to die. He knows that no matter how hard we try to be good, it isn’t enough. …Jn. 3:16 says, "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

God sent His own Son, Jesus, down to Earth to die and save us from sin and death.

~Jesus lived the perfect life that none of us could, then took the punishment that we deserved. He died on the cross so that sin wouldn't stand between the Father and us anymore.

He showed us once and for all how much He dearly loves us,

and willingly paid the highest price to save us, His own blood.

And here's the really good news. Jesus didn't stay dead. After being dead for three days, Jesus rose again. And He offers His life to anyone who wants it. …Now, everybody has to make a choice. Do we accept Jesus' free gift, or choose to live life our own way?

But remember, even though Jesus came to save us from our sins, the world is still broken, and we lose loved ones to death … However, the Bible says that in the end, God will come to set things right, and there won't be anymore death or mourning or crying or pain for those who belong to Jesus. Rev. 21:4”

We pray this message of hope and life speaks to your heart. Death is tough; we just put down one of our pets last week and are still feeling the sting.

Living in Him; come Lord Jesus!   Much love this week,  ~Shaun and Betsy

Tutored by the Kids 5-20-13

“Fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds… Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”    Deut. 8:18-20

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old,

he will not depart from it.” Prv. 22:6

These days, what joy and blessing we (as parents) repeatedly receive from our adult sons as they personally experience the truth of God’s promise in Ps. 24:14:  

“The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.”

One profound yet brief example we’re honored to share with you is the finding from one of our son’s recent discoveries. (Although he’s not the only researcher to have mined this treasure, the Spirit revealed Truth to him as if he were the first. ~The same assurance God promises all who wholeheartedly search for Truth.)

• Utilizing research from 4 sources, our son studied the names of men cited in Genesis 5 and Lk. 3: 34-38         
• Next, he recorded these name definitions in sequential order.
•  His discovery: the names themselves tell the Gospel message.  What a God!

We thought we’d share this Genesis 5 Gospel message with you:

“Man (Adam) acquires (Cain) breath (Abel), and is appointed (Seth) mortality and sickness (Enosh). The Possessor, Purchaser, Blessed God (Cainan/Mahalalel), will descend (Jared), being dedicated to bring His death (Enoch and Methuselah). He will be made poor and low (Lamech). He will bring comfort, repose and consolation (Noah) to His people. His name will be renown (Shem), a “Healer, a Releaser” (Aphaxad) and “Purchaser” (Cainan). With outstretched arms (Shelah), He will pass across the great two parts (Eber). He will divide (Peleg) ‘the friends of the Shepherd’ (Reu 1) from ‘the evil and miserable’ (Reu 2), who will be bound as branches (Serug) to be burned (Nahor). The Spirit (Terah: dove, wind, breath, spirit) will rest on the father of many nations  (Abraham) – all those who are a part of the covenant of God.” (Abraham: the center of the name meaning ‘to cut covenant’; Abram was changed to Abraham in Gen. 17:5)

Our son’s exciting conclusion: These texts, written over thousands of years, is a divine message of love and redemption, written by the hand of God Himself (mere man could not have arranged this), to both a people living long before Jesus came to earth through our present day.

~What a humble privilege it has been to raise and launch 2 of our 3 kids into independent adulthood. …And what blessing God is now giving us by allowing these young adults to profoundly minister back to us.

He is coming soon, may we all be found faithful and ready!  ~Shaun and Betsy

Surprise! Prepared In and Out of Season 5-13-13

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." 
1 Chr. 1:19

Less than 14 hours after touching down from a week-long honeymoon in Puerto Rico celebrating Shaun’s 50 b-day, God afforded Betsy the opportunity of a “5 min. 1 on 1” with the renowned David Gergen.

“Be prepared in season and out of season; preach the word, correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Tim. 4:2

Gergen was a guest speaker at a Hospital CEO event in So Cal, addressing a myriad of “hot D.C. topics”, The Affordable Healthcare Act being a primary subject matter. (FYI: He was visibly taken-back by this well informed audience’s “reality check”).

With commanding authority and knowledge obtained through a half century of Beltway politics, Gergen, although remarkably informed, shocked us. -- It was as if he’d chosen to look at world events through the circumference of a straw instead of viewing events through a much larger, readily available, lens.

“The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

Ps. 119:130

Minutes after his talk, in a brief encounter, God allowed Betsy and Mr. Gergen to quickly established common ground, where from Betsy was then able to share current “classified intelligence”. Gergen inquired where she got her information and Betsy gently responded, “the Bible”.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have… do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Pet. 3:15

Then, responding to his look of confusion, she humbly answered,

“Sir, (pointing upward) He is batting a thousand. ~Start with Is. 17 and Ps. 83…the Middle Eastern countries you spoke of this morning are all mentioned.”

“I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you.” Lk. 21:15

~With this, their time together was up.

Jesus is coming for us soon. When given divine opportunity, oh, may we be diligent in and out of season.  Much love this week, ~Shaun and Betsy

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.” Is. 64:4