Pastor Ben Blog

August 19

2009-08-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day
Last night I was reminded again about how answered prayer often works. I know that many people have prayed for rain in the area. I myself have prayed for rain to water my brown patch of yard and turn it green again. But last night, when the rain did come, all I could think about was the thunder and lightning. I turned off my computer in fear before I was able to write this very blog. But as the clouds cleared and I woke up this morning, I realized how our prayers have been answered. Many times we pray, but we are afraid of the answer. The lightning comes, the thunder roars. I am reminded of Elisha, who prayed that God would defeat the priests of Baal. When God did defeat and destroy them, Elisha found himself running for his life, and giving up all hope. In the midst of answered prayer, Elisha found himself scared for his life. I hope we can realize that sometimes God has to flash the lightning and pound the thunder, but in the end, the clouds will part, our prayers will be answered, and God will still be God.

What's Up
Training - training - and more training. School starts on Monday and I am looking forward to getting started. I work until 4pm everyday this week and even later some days as I try to get the room together. It is a busy time - but a blessed time! I am getting more rest, feeling more confident, and feeling more purposed! God is good!

Aug 4th

2009-08-04T20:55:00.001-07:00

Word of the Day
Sometimes it is the little things in life that makes all the difference in the world. I am reminded again this week that little acts of kindness go such a very long way. You never know who is looking or the difference you can make by just doing a simple little act. Sometimes, it is nothing more than your presence that changes everything. Sometimes, it is making the best of a bad situation. We should try to continue to shine our light every chance we get. We are the light of the world. Don't hide your light under a bushel - let it shine!

What's up
This week is all about high school training. I have been working hard to keep up. We had a great men's breakfast last Saturday. We are gearing up for the start of school and are already seeing an increase in children in our ministries! God is Good!

July 28

2009-07-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day
Daniel had to have faith. That we know for sure. He had faith when he went to the lion's dens. But his faith started way before then. He had faith when he knew that the king issued the decree not allowing anyone to bow except to him. Daniel knew what was going on. Daniel knew the consequences. But Daniel knew his God. Daniel, in faith, continued to do what he knew what was right - day by day. Sometimes life is like that. Sometimes faith is just in getting up each morning, and doing what the Lord wants you to do. Day in, day out.

What's up
This week I started ramping up on the school work. I had classes all day Mon and Tues and will work at the lab Wed and Thursday. Next week I will be attending seminars all week long. We have a men's breakfast this Saturday and lots of visiting and ministry on my schedule. Tell every man you know to come and join us for a new study with Tony Dungee. God is moving as I live His Will day in, day out.

July 23

2009-07-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day
Today I ran with the Faith Chasers - well actually I walked more than I ran! I watched my daughter and others who are 10 years my juniors take off down the street as I helplessly tried to keep pace. There was no chance, not even from the start. As I ran, I momentarily thought to myself, oh to be young and in shape again. But, then I realized, would I really go back. Would I really want to start all over again. Nah, probably not. The wisdom, the experience, the way the Lord has looked after me. It is all worth the age. I realized it is not in the speed that you run, but that your out there. Your still on the road, taking it one step at a time. Breathe in, breathe out. God wants us to take life one breathe at a time!

What's up
Today was a long day of work. I am looking forward to taking tomorrow off. I am amazed at how God continues to bless. The ministries at the church are growing - and we are still in July. Ministries usually don't start growing until the end of August. But God is faithful. I have great leaders who are doing awesome jobs. I need to tell them this more.

July 21

2009-07-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day

Sometimes making the right choice in the Lord is very difficult. Many times we are not really sure what the right choice is. It gets even more confusing when our choice affects others. I am reminded of Paul when in 1 Timothy it says that he actually turned two people over to Satan. How difficult a decision that must have been. Somewhere along the line, Paul had to make a choice of allowing the hurts of many people to continue, or to turn over two people over to Satan. What a difficult decision! I guess it would be the same as a military commander would have to make. The choice to lose people in the hope of saving others. Wow! That is tough. Living in an imperfect world sometimes puts us in no-win situations. So what are we to do? Ask God, follow His direction, and know that God will work the rest out. We need to make our decisions based on God, based on what is best for everyone involved, and keep our motives and hearts pure. We don't know what happened to the individuals in Pauls case. We can only hope they found thier way back to Christ before it was too late.

This Week
This week I will be working at the lab all day on Thursday. The rest of the week is pretty normal. All the family is gone and vacations are over, so now it is time to really hunker down and get to work. I went to Amarillo today and bought the next Men's ministries study for the men's breakfast on August 1. I am very excited about it. Things have been going great and I can't wait to see what God is going to do next!

June 25th

2009-06-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

Word of the day
In the Bible, scholars have noted certain passages as watershed passages. These passages are passages that seems very boring or repetitive. But right after these passages, there is usually something very profound or exciting. I belive life can sometimes give us watershed experiences. Times in our life when things are not going well. Times where things are difficult, boring, or seemingly redundant. But then bang! Something exciting is just around the corner. If you are in a difficult time right now - hold on. God may be sending you something you never expected - it is just around the corner.

What's up
Today I was able to spray the parking lot for weeds - talk about a boring and redundant experience! Elena and I will be going on a date to Amarillo tomorrow night! I am looking forward to the weekend as I know God will be answering prayers on Sunday!

June 23

2009-06-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day
Father's day is a great time to reconnect with family and look at what is most important in your life. I hope each of you had a great time on father's day. Your family is so important. Many times we forget the things that are important, and concentrate on the things that aren't. Another very important thing in life is the time we spend with our heavenly Father. Again, it seems as this time is sacrificed for things that seem more important at the time, but in reality, are much less important.

What's up
My house is empty now. Quite a difference from having many people around and going all the way down to two. This has already been a productive week at church and I am looking forward to the week ahead.

June 16th

2009-06-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Word of the day
God has called us and given us the power to have victory. Victory over death, but also victory in life. We are more than conquerers in His name.

What's up
This week has been full of family. We have 13 of us between the two households and it has been a great time for all. It really reminds you what is important when you have a 5 and 8 year old there to remind you! :)

June 4th

2009-06-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Word of the day
It is funny how we seem to think that we can go against the nature of things and not feel the consequences. God's ways are higher than ours. And when we don't listen to the laws God has set for us, we get into trouble. Tonight, I am feeling the effects of that. As we get older, our bodies take longer to recover, and hurt more. Tonight I stressed my body out by playing 3 hours of softball. My body hurts! But this often happens spiritually as well. We stress ourselves out, push ourselves too hard, and wonder why we burn out. Take some time to relax. Allow God to move in your life again. Follow His ways, not your own. And you will feel much better in the end.

What's up
Elena comes home with a niece and nephew on Saturday. I have worked hard this week at the Chem lab. I am learning all kinds of neat things. Sara is getting ready for the SAT on Saturday. I almost have the sprinkler system working at the church. Royal Rangers are going to a campout this weekend. All is well.

June 2

2009-06-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day
This week I have been looking at my life and making sure that I am being flexible before God. David wanted to build a temple for God, but God told him no! Solomon would later build the temple using the plans David set up. Sometimes we have plans, but God wants us to be flexible. I look at my life and say to myself, "Am I flexible enough to allow God's ways to overshadow my own." Examine your own heart, examine your own motives. Are we really living for Him ... or for ourselves.

What's up
This week we worked hard and updated the prayer walk. It is all ready again for the summer. It was great to watch the Pampa Graduation over the weekend. Next Sunday we will have a graduation party at the church for Chris Boren. I took a part-time job as a laboratory chemist. This job will be much more flexible than the school math teacher position I was considering.

Thursday May 28

2009-05-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

Here is Thursdays blog, one day late.

Word of the Day
This week we looked at the first two commandments and realized that God comes first. God is first in our lives. We can have no other gods besides Him, we can have no idols to worship. I have to look at my life and see if there is anything I put to much trust in. Do I care more about my things than I should. Do I care about my pride. Would I be willing to give away my internet? Hmmmm. Food for thought. God needs to be first in our lives, and nothing should be off limits. That seems so easy, but when you really look at it, it can be so hard. Would I give up my TV? Hmmmm. My house? Everyday, I need to look at my life and make sure there is nothing ahead of Him.

What's up
We have our work day on Friday. PHS graduation on Saturday. Church on Sunday. Elena and Allie leave for Reno, NV on Friday. Sara gets her drivers license on Friday. School is out on Friday. Busy, busy weekend.

Tuesday May 26

2009-05-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
This week has been a great week. Hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend.

Word of the day
This Sunday I challenge the congregation to remember those who died for thier freedom, remember the one who died for your sin, and remember those who influenced your lives. I also challenged eveyone to think about how you will be remembered. What memorial will you leave for others to remember you by. I've thought about that over the last few days. I hope that people will remember my creative sermons. But I hope even more that they see the love of Christ in my life. As a Pastor, you have good times and bad times. People love you and they hate you. And you wonder sometimes, which will people remember the most. If it is true what they say that it takes 7 good things to erase 1 bad thing in a persons memory. Boy, do we have a lot of good things to do!!

What's up
God is awesome and took care of the surgery visit I went to today. No problems - no complications. I do not plan to substitute any more this week - and since this is the last week of the year - I do not plan to substitute any more this year! We have Wednesday night service as usual and we have a work day planned to work on the walkway Friday night at 5pm. Elena and Allie leave for Reno, NV on Friday after school so Sara and I will be by ourselves for a week! Saturday I will be at Pampa Graduation - GO CHRIS!

Have a great week.

Thursday May 21st

2009-05-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Today is Thursday May 19th and I am still experimenting with how all this works.

Word for the Day
This Wednesday we talked about Moses and having a mountaintop experience with God. We all need time to get away and just seek Him. I am hoping to have a great experience with the Lord this weekend at the Royal Ranger Frontier Camping Fellowship. I know that whenever I leave my natural surroundings and get away to be with the Lord - God shows up for me. He will show up for you too. Just take some time, take a walk, get by yourself - and let God be God.

What's Up
I am now finished with the last day of substitute teaching for this year. I will be camping Friday and Saturday and will take Monday off to be with the family. Tuesday I will be in Amarillo on work business during the day, but will be back Tuesday Evening. Wednesday everything should get back to normal.

Tuesday May 19th

2009-05-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hi,
This is my sample blog for Tuesday May 19th. I hope to be able to write to all who are interested about New Life Assembly of God. I hope this will work out as a way to keep in communication with you all.