The Johnsons' Journeys

2 Months Old!

2012-02-08T20:44:00.005-05:00

Happy 2 Months, Malachi! You are more precious to us each day.

Yesterday we took him to the doctor's because he had a bad diaper rash and he weighed 10lbs! He gained 11oz since Friday. Growth spurt? It has been a long few nights of him getting up every 2.5hrs instead or his normal 3.5 -4 which is making mom and dad pretty tired. However, we are thankful for his growth over the past two months- over 5.5 pounds. Praise God!

Grammy Johnson is here visiting and Aunt Patty is coming tomorrow. So nice to have our family meet and enjoy Malachi with us.

January Pictures

2012-02-06T09:55:00.001-05:00

I posted several new albums from January on our photo site. Click here to see them http://thejohnsonsjourneys.shutterfly.com/

1st Shots and Check Up

2012-02-03T21:51:00.004-05:00

The first picture above was taken on December 18- Malachi was 10 days old. The picture under it was taken today and he is 8 weeks old. I think it might be time to retire those PJs! I thought it would be fun to compare as we mention how much this little guy has grown. He is now 9lbs 5oz and 20.5 inches long. The last time we were at the doctor's office, 4 weeks ago he was 6lbs 2oz and 19 inches long- he did lots of growing this month. I think he even had a growth spurt a few days ago as he was eating just about every 2-2.5hrs.

Malachi got his first set of shots today. He got- Dtap, Hib, PCV and Polio. We refused Hep B and Rotavirus. He will get his next round of the given shots in two months. We don't have to see any more specialists or make any more doctors appoints, just normal check ups from here on out, Lord willing. The doctor was very please with Malachi's growth and said that he thinks he is going to be a ''big boy". No more Mr. Premature.

Though he is 8 weeks his 'corrected age' is 1 week so he is certainly acting more like a normal newborn. He wakes up more often on his own during the day and does consistently and night. He has a strong cry and has fussy moments- though not too bad. He has been eating 8 times per day- 2.5-3hrs during the day and 4hrs at night, sometimes a little longer but 4 seems to be his regular. He is up twice at night, usually 2am and 5am, though last night he only woke up at 2 and then slept until 7- I could get used to that! So although it doesn't quiet do all that a normal 2 month old would he is very alert, observant and strong. He is holding his head up well and likes looking all around at what's going on. We are so thankful for our growing boy and all that the joy that comes with caring for him each day.

Ready for Church

2012-01-29T13:27:00.002-05:00

Happy Due Date Day, Malachi Owen 1.27.12

2012-01-28T22:11:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was Malachi's due date! Wow, I can't even imagine still being pregnant for the past 7 weeks. Looking at how big he is now I am enjoying him being here on the outside. We weighed Malachi for fun yesterday to see around about what he would have been if I carried him full term. He weighed in at 8lbs 5oz! He is filling out really well and really looks like a newborn now! I think he will be out of his newborn size clothing soon and into 0-3 months. Malachi has been consistently waking up on

his own at night. I usually feed him around 10/10:30pm and he is up between 1:30-2am and then again at 5/5:30. I have been trying to make his first feeding of the day at 7:30 but I think I am going to start pushing it back to 8/8:30 because he isn't really ready to eat again that close together. Hopefully I will try to get two closer feedings in at night, 8pm and then again at 10/10:30 to keep his schedule pretty much the same everyday and load him up for the night instead of heavy in the morning. Maybe that will help him sleep a little longer than 3-4hrs. During the day he usually eats every 3hrs, sometimes 2.5. I mostly have to wake him to eat but lately I can hear him starting to wake up around the time to eat so that has been good to see him getting to know his eating times. Malachi seems to be a pretty easy baby. For the most part he eats, stays awake for a while and is very alert and observant and then I put him down and he goes to sleep for 1.5-2hrs during the day and stays asleep until I wake him to eat again. 4/5pm seems to be a time he can get a little unsettled. He isn't terribly fussing or crying a lot or but he sometimes likes to skip this nap and just can't get settled. Malachi continues to show us how strong his will is and his strength. He can hold his head up pretty well and will let you know if he doesn't want to be doing something like getting changed for example. Malachi is a good eater. He eats a lot and sometimes very quickly. We think he is a little guzzler. We have really enjoyed the past 7 weeks with him and are thankful that God has grown him so much. Looking forward to experiencing all of the little milestones ahead as we journey on with a "full term" baby.

Cute Pictures

2012-01-20T12:53:00.004-05:00

Here are a few cute pictures, at least I think they are cute! :-)

Dedication

2012-01-20T12:46:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday at Church we had a baby dedication for Malachi Owen. One of our pastors, Andy Najera gave us a calling and commitment as husband, wife and parents. We dedicated Malachi to the Lord to use as he wishes and asked the congregation to join us in raising him up in the ways of God. We picked Malachi because it means "messenger of God" and that is what we hope he will be. Owen we picked after John Owen.

6 Weeks

2012-01-20T12:35:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Malachi turned 6 weeks old. He weighed in at 7lbs 8oz! He is really starting to look like a normal new born and seems to be doing everything he should be at this point and more. On January 9, almost 2 weeks ago, we went cold turkey with trying to get him to fully breast feed. It only took 3o min of screaming the first time and working through a couple little kinks and he has been good! So thankful for God's mercy in allowing him to catch on so quickly because I was really DONE with all the pumping and extra work going on just trying to get the boy fed. He has been steadily gaining weight as you can see from the weight gain and eating well. He usually has 7 feedings a day and goes 3hrs feeding to feeding during the day. I try to make his first feeding around 7am and last at 10. He is waking up on his own at night around the 4hr mark to eat again. Malachi has been lifting his head up and holding it there for over a week now and is very alert when awake. He is a very content baby and doesn't cry much, just when hungry. We are looking forward to some smiles in the near future!

2012-01-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

Malachi Dec'11

2012-01-12T22:44:00.001-05:00

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Christmas Day

2012-01-12T22:43:00.005-05:00

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Christmas Eve

2012-01-12T22:43:00.003-05:00

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Christmas Decorating

2012-01-12T22:43:00.001-05:00

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December 2011

2012-01-12T22:42:00.001-05:00

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1 Month Old

2012-01-08T22:50:00.000-05:00

Happy 1 Month Malachi! We are surprised by how strong this little guy his. He has been starting to hold his head up a bit on his own. I am not sure how much he can focus his eyes. He seems to stare at us when we are holding him but doesn't follow an object at all. I've been trying to research what other developmental milestones there are for 1 month knowing he will likely be more like a 1 month old according to his actual due date. We took him to the doctors on Friday and he weighed 6lbs 2 ounces and was 19 inches long! He was circumcised on Friday too so he has been a sore little boy the past two days but doing better today. He is officially out of all preemie clothes and now starting to grow into the newborn. During the day I have Malachi on a 2.5 hr feeding schedule which I have to wake him for to eat every time. Maybe one time a day does he stay up and make it to the next feeding. He is eating 3oz by bottle. He is up to 4 feedings by bottle and 4 feedings nursing each day. At night I try to let him sleep longer and he wakes up himself usually between 4-5hrs one stretch. We love this little guy and are thankful to have him with us though it has been challenging!

4 Weeks

2012-01-05T14:44:00.002-05:00

Today Malachi is 4 weeks old and tomorrow will be 3 weeks until his due date! I can not believe how fast the past four weeks have gone even though it seems like we are living the same day over and over. I don't feel like I get anything done really. It has been such a humbling experience having my schedule and control of things stripped away from me. Selfishness is being exposed too and I am forced to do what needs to be done to care for him. Of course I do this gladly but I also wish at times that other things were getting done as well. I guess I am learning what is important and what can wait.

Malachi is doing well and continues to grow. He is 1lb heavier than he was 2 weeks ago according to the scale we are using at home. Today he weighed in at 5lb 11oz. Tomorrow we take him to the doctor to get circumcised and to get his first shot- Hep. B. I think he will probably weigh around 6lbs on their scale. I am excited to see if he has grown in length as well as he seems longer to me.

Malachi is up to 3 feedings a day with the nipple shield and 5 with the bottle. He has been pretty consistently waking up on his own at night between 3-4hrs feeding to feeding. He doesn't really cry yet just fusses and starts sucking on his fingers. I am surprised this is enough to wake me up! He does not wake up during the day on his own to eat, I still have to wake him. He takes 3oz now at each bottle feeding and I am guessing around 2 to 2.5, maybe more when breast feeding. Big thank you to Shannon Ferraby and Lisa Giordano for helping me through this process of trying to get him to nurse.

We continue to see that Malachi is a little fighter and has a strong stubborn will like his mommy. Right now we are thankful or that as he is doing well growing but will be interesting when he gets older!

Where is your hope?

2012-01-02T12:42:00.000-05:00

3 Weeks Old

2011-12-29T18:15:00.004-05:00

Malachi is 3 weeks old today! Time is flying but I do feel like I am reliving the same day over and over in some ways! Malachi weighs roughly 5lbs 3ozs. He still isn't a big cry-er and has been overall just very sleepy. We are still working on transitioning him to breastfeeding. Right now I am working on getting him to breastfeed twice a day an then giving him the bottle after to make sure he is getting enough to eat. Usually we do this around 11am and 5pm. During the day he is on a 3hr feeding schedule and at night I let him go two 4hr stretches. We are still trying to iron out what is best for him with the feeding/eating schedules. I might keep him on the current one which gives him 7 feedings a day or move him back to 3hrs round the clock to get the 8 back in. God is using Malachi to bring me to the end of myself each day. I thought I would be pretty comfortable having a baby but having a preemie is a whole other world. All and all things are good!

First Walk & Friend

2011-12-29T14:08:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we took Malachi for his first walk outside. It was in the 70s here and I think we all needed a little time out of the house. He slept the whole time but it was nice to get some fresh air. It wasn't a long walk as Mommy is still recovering from the C-section. Chico enjoyed some time walking outside as well! Later last night our friends the Taylors, Gabe, Sarah & Baby Paul brought us some dinner and hung out and played cards. Gabe & Chris introduced their sons and baby Paul held Malachi! :-)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T10:33:00.001-05:00

2 Weeks Old & 1st Check Up

2011-12-23T21:13:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Malachi turned 2 weeks old. Wow, time is flying. I gave him his first bath with the help of Tommi Sitton. He seemed to really enjoy it. We had a space heater in the bathroom to keep him nice and warm! I tried to take a few pictures to show Malachi's size and growth, not sure which of these will work better, maybe the bear?

Today we took Malachi to his first check up with his pediatrician. This was the first time we met the doctor but he is actually my midwife's husband. A friend of ours takes her son to him also and she really likes him. We were happy with him and the visit. He is a nice, calm older man-sort of old fashioned. Chris really liked his style of practice and advice. Malachi weighed in at 5lbs! I can't believe it but am very pleased with his growth. Other than that everything went fine with the visit!

We have had a good 3 nights and days here with our boy. He seems to be a very content and easy going baby. We haven't really heard him cry at all. I wake him every 3 hrs, day and night, to feed him. He eats and is usually pretty wide awake when I put him down and then he quietly goes back to sleep until I wake him again. The doctor said we can let him go a longer stretch at night (3hrs is what the hospital recommended) so we are going to give that a try tonight and see if he wakes us up with a cry!

Thanks for your prayers and love!

12.20.11

2011-12-21T00:51:00.001-05:00

Today Malachi saw the eye doctor and had a hearing test. He passed both exams! After he successfully completed two feedings after his eye exam they said we could take him home! We left the hospital around 6pm and headed home. We are rejoicing in God's goodness towards us and Malachi over the past 12 days. He has been so good and done far abundantly more than we could ask or think! Thank you for praying with us and for us during this time. We are happy that God delighted to answer our prayer to bring our boy home for Christmas, and even more so, 5 days before that. We are all home and doing well and looking forward to spending some time resting together over the next few days...or weeks! :-) Last night Malachi weighed in at 4lbs 8.8oz. I will try to keep you posted as much as possible in the days to come but probably not daily any more. Malachi has a doctors appointment with his pediatrician on Friday. Thanks again for all your prayers and support. God is good!

12.19.11

2011-12-20T00:33:00.000-05:00

Malachi is still doing well. He is keeping his temperature up and is up to his full amount of feedings which is a little over an ounce every 3hrs. They are no longer measuring his input and output. Today I was able to try to breast feed him for the first time, it was a difficult task. We both have some learning to do. He was very sleepy and was not really interested in working for his milk. I tried for a while and then we gave him a bottle and he sucked that down very quickly. When he comes home I will have to work with him a lot to get him used to nursing. Overall he seems to be doing good. The nurse told us today to have his things ready in case he comes home tomorrow. We will see what the doctor says after he seems him in the morning but we are expecting him to come home any day now. Hopefully it is sooner than later as Chris and I are both very tired and weary of the day to day schedule. We can't wait to have our little boy home. Last night Malachi weighed 4lbs 7.8oz. Chris is at the hospital now and he just got weighed tonight and he is up to 4lbs 8.8oz.

12.18.11

2011-12-18T20:58:00.002-05:00

Malachi is now in a regular crib! He held his body temperature well yesterday and got moved this morning into his new bed. As long as he keeps it up and continues to do well with his feedings he will probably come home on Wednesday. They discontinued his IV fluids today as well. He is no longer hooked up to anything except the monitors. He is eating a little over an ounce at each feeding and should reach his target feeding amount later tonight or tomorrow. The nurse said I can probably try to breast feed him tomorrow. It is so nice seeing him in his cute little clothes and blankets even though they are a bit big. The carters new born stuff seems to fit him ok but obviously a little big. Last night Malachi weighed in at 4lbs 6.9 ounces, a little over his birth weight!Thanks for praying and please continue to pray that he will maintain his body temperature and that he will be able to come home later on this week.

12.17.11

2011-12-17T19:33:00.001-05:00

Last night they changed Malachi to a new bed. He is now in an incubator working on keep his own body temperature. The nurse has been lower the temp. of the incubator all day and we are hopeful in the next day or two he will be in a regular crib. He seems to be keeping his body temperature well when we are holding him also. He loves snuggling with mom and dad. They discontinued one of his IV fluids, the one giving him extra fat and calories as he has been picking up more milk each feeding. He is still on regular IV fluids. His last feeding he was up to 23mLs. Please pray that Malachi learns to suck, swallow and breathe. He is doing well with his feedings but at times he guzzles the milk too quickly. He is learning how to pace himself. Also he seems a little too happy with the extra milk he has been getting and we are having a hard time waking him up enough for his feedings which makes it difficult to feed him. We did have a chance to talk with the doctor today and he said that if all continues to go well with Malachi that he can come home sometime between Wednesday and Friday! Praise God! Please continue to pray with us to this end. Praying we will have him home for Christmas! :-) Malachi's weight as of last night: 4lbs 5.9oz.

12.16.11

2011-12-16T22:40:00.002-05:00

Today was a great day! Malachi was taken off all extra oxygen. He is breathing completely on his own. They removed the feeding tube and the arterial line. He will be bottle fed at every feeding now. Currently he is eating about 1/3 of an ounce each feeding, every 3 hours. They will increase each feeding by 1 mL as long as he keeps doing well. He is still on IV Fluids until he is receiving enough calories from bottle feeding with my milk. Today I was able to feed him for the first time and hold him for the first time. Chris and I were so excited to finally hold him and kiss him. It was amazing! They also changed him from the open bed under the heater to an incubator. This is the next step toward being in a regular crib. Hopefully he will be able to maintain his own body temperature soon and be moved into a regular crib. Malachi weighed in at 4lbs 5oz last night. Thank you for your prayers, God seems to be progressing this little boy pretty quickly and we are very grateful. Can't wait to get him home. Hoping he bulks up soon!

1 Week Old- First Bottle Feeding 12.15.11

2011-12-15T16:34:00.003-05:00

Today Malachi is 1 week old! While we were visiting this morning they decided to give him his first bottle feeding. He seemed to really like it! They are giving him about 1/3 of an ounce every 3 hours. As he tolerates, they will now be increasing every 6hrs. He seems to be a hungry boy! They decreased his oxygen from 3 to 2L today and he is doing well with that. The nurse told me that they would probably remove his feeding tube this afternoon and that I could go feed him the next time. We plan to go up soon so I can give it a try. They weighed him again last night and he is now 4lbs 4oz! Please keep praying that he will be able to come off the oxygen soon and that he would do well with the feedings and gain weight. :-)

12.14.11

2011-12-14T16:31:00.003-05:00

Today Malachi was changed from the CPAP to the regular Nasal Canuli. He is currently only on 21% oxygen (which is regular room air) at 3L. They will be testing his blood gas every 12 hours to see how he is tolerating this change and if all is well will slowly decrease the amount of Liters he is on. He seems to be doing very well with this change as he is keeping his oxygen saturation in the upper 90s. He is off all meds except IV fluids from which he receives his nutritional needs and a feeding tube which they use to fed my breast milk through to him. He is currently getting a small amount of milk every 3 hrs and is increased every 12 hrs as long as he tolerates it. They weighed him last night and he is 4lbs 2 oz.

Malachi Update 12/13

2011-12-13T21:56:00.005-05:00

Thank you for praying for Malachi. He is doing well. He has been taken off his blood pressure medication and antibiotics. He received a blood transfusion yesterday because his blood was a little low from all the tests they have been doing. He is no longer intubated but on a pressured nasal canuli. He is breathing on his own on 21% oxygen, which is room air- no extra oxygen needed, just the pressure of the air being pushed into his lungs. They are hopeful that tomorrow he will be changed to a regular nasal canuli. He started being fed my breast milk through the feeding tube and seems to be tolerating that well. They are slowly increasing the amount each feeding. Right now he is receiving a little less than an ounce every 3 hours. He seems much more content since getting the milk. He is also still on IV fluids until he is able to tolerate enough milk for nutritional needs.

I, Michele, am also doing better. We have been monitoring my blood pressure and it was back in normal range tonight. I have a follow up doctor's appointment on Friday morning.

Welcome Malachi Owen Johnson

2011-12-12T20:48:00.015-05:00

Grace and Peace!

God found it good for Malachi Owen Johnson to be born on December 8, 2011! He ended up coming 7 weeks early. He was 4 lbs 6 oz and 17.5 inches.

Michele was diagnosed with Preeclampsia with HELLP Syndrome and she had an emergency C-secion. Basically, her blood pressure was 179/110 and her blood was becoming toxic from the liver releasing it into the blood. We are thankful that she was quickly and correctly diagnosed and that both their lives were saved! Our God is so gracious and loving through these hard times!

Michele was discharged from the hospital on Saturday and is now at home. We will continue to travel up to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NBICU) each day to visit and see Malachi. Pray that Michele will rest and get better through this. I (chris) will be traveling up to see Malachi more right now. We may try to get a room at the Ronald McDonald house by the hospital.

Pray for Malachi. His is hooked up to a ventilator to help his breathing. Pray that his little lungs grow stronger each day and his blood oxygen levels grow and stay up each day! Pray overall that God gives him strength and he gets better soon! Michele and I are praying that God will grant him to join us at home before Christmas. It will be a very hard one without him if that happens.

Pray for us to keep our eyes on Jesus through this all, the one who holds little Malachi in the palm of His hand. Jesus created him and gives him life! Pray for strength for us and a faith that trusts in our Sovereign Lord and Savior!

We thank you all for your prayers and support! We are so excited to have Malachi join us!

For Gods Glory!

Chris & Michele Johnson

November 2011

2011-11-30T12:46:00.001-05:00

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EZ Trip Oct'11

2011-11-18T13:43:00.000-05:00

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"Q" Trip Update

2011-11-15T09:21:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I received a phone call from Chris from the village. At first I was worried because I didn't expect to hear from him while he was there. In fact, I wasn't even sure if he had access to a phone. However, what I was anticipating to be bad news turned out to be really great news! Chris called to share how great the trip is going and how God is working in wonderful ways through this medical/dental clinic. The people in the village have received the team really well and it seems many friendships have been made. Yesterday morning the team was given a written invitation to come back and do another clinic! Praise God! The leaders seem to be open to us coming back there again and working in this village. Chris and I are very excited for the door that seems to be opening up for our future work there. We thought it would take a lot longer to gain their trust and acceptance but it seems that God chose to do this in just a few short days. Please continue to pray for a team to go with us!

Chris and the team are packing up their stuff today and will head back to Oaxaca City to spend the night. I hope to hear more details from Chris tonight. They have a three day drive back to the states and we expect them to arrive home on Saturday. Please pray for safe travels.

Blessings,
Michele

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.-Ephesians 3:20-21

Trip to the Village of "Q"

2011-11-09T00:16:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone!

Chris left yesterday morning with the team here at To Every Tribe for Oaxaca, Mexico. He will be co leading a team to the new group we have been scouting this year, the "Q" People. They will be having a Medical and Dental Clinic for three days in the village.

Please pray for:

-Safety on the roads and easy passing through checkpoints
-Team Unity
-Freedom from Satan's attacks
-No troubles with vehicles
-A Welcome into the village and long term invite to live in village
-Rapport with the village leaders
-Strength for the clinic workers
-Opportunities to minister personally to people
-Grace when our plans don't work out to lean on God's perfect plans

Please pray for Michele as she will be staying behind. She will be staying at the Apartments over the nights, where all the other wives and families live. Please pray for strength for her as she enters into her third trimester and to be able to help out the wives that are staying behind.

Our prayer is that this trip will begin to open the doors for us to move in one day soon to live and work and plant a church in this people group who have no Evangelical Christian churches and no presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Thank you for your prayers and support!

For His Glory!

Chris & Michele

Psalm 96:3 - "Declare his glory among the nations,his marvelous works among all the peoples!"

Oct 11

2011-11-09T00:00:00.003-05:00

I just added many new albums. Click on the Photos tab and follow the link to view the other albums! May through October!

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Francis Chan - Erasing Hell

2011-07-22T18:54:00.001-04:00

I am Horrified - Matt Chandler

2011-07-20T16:00:00.002-04:00

Our New House May'11

2011-05-30T20:51:00.001-04:00

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April 11

2011-05-02T22:28:00.001-04:00

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Our Texas Apartment

2011-05-02T22:27:00.001-04:00

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March 11 Misc

2011-03-31T16:18:00.001-04:00

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New Photos

2011-03-18T18:11:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone,

I uploaded 12 new albums onto our photo site today. You can access them by clicking on the photo tab on the top of this page and then clicking on the albums to view. The most recent is our latest Oaxaca & Scouting Trips and to our Medical/Dental Clinic in Oaxaca back in November. Finally getting rested and caught up on things back here in Texas. Hope you enjoy or photos! I tried to post a link directly to this page of the album from our last trip in February but it was not allowing me, sorry!

Blessings,
Michele

Consider the Cost - Then GO! Jesus us Worth It!!!!

2011-02-08T00:36:00.000-05:00

Do you really want to be like Jesus?

2011-02-04T18:21:00.001-05:00

Whats the world's greatest need?

2011-02-04T18:19:00.001-05:00

“The greatest need in the world today is the gospel. It is the greatest need of the world because men, women, and children are perishing without a vital knowledge of God through the good news of our Savior and his Son, Jesus. The greatest need in the church today is the gospel. The gospel is not only news for a perishing world, it is the message that forms, sustains, and animates the church. Apart from the gospel, the church has nothing to say–that is, nothing to say that cannot be said by some other human agency. The gospel distinguishes the church from the world, defines her message and mission in the world, and steels her people against the fiery darts of the evil one and the false allurements of sin. The gospel is absolutely vital to a vibrant, joyous, persevering, hopeful, and healthy Christian and Christian church. So essential is the gospel to the Christian life that we need to be saturated in it in order to be healthy church members.”
- Thabiti Anyabwile

Living Eternally - Francis Chan

2011-02-01T22:53:00.000-05:00

We're loosing it - Paul Washer

2011-01-26T00:43:00.001-05:00

Heading to Oaxaca

2010-12-27T10:24:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone!

We are taking a bus today, Dec 27th, out of northern Mexico to Oaxaca, Mexico. We will be down in the area for a week and a half or so. Please pray for the time we are down there visiting believers, encouraging them, finding housing for February visit and connecting with some pastors to find some unreached people groups in southern Oaxaca.

Please pray for our safety. We trust our sovereign God in everything. Nothing comes our way unless it is from His hand and what is best for us. ALSO, He hears and uses the prayers of His saints, His children in much of His work. So, I ask, please pray much for safety and for great work to be done in this small trip for Kingdom purposes!

“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” - Samuel Chadwick

"The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God's standing challenge, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!'"
- J. Hudson Taylor

May our great God and King be glorified in our lives and in this trip!

Thank you for all your prayers and support!

For His Glory!

Chris & Michele

1 Peter 1:3-5
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time"

The American Dream

2010-12-27T10:21:00.002-05:00

David Platt is senior pastor of the 4,000-member Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.

My take: Why my church rebelled against the American Dream

We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with.

A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts.

A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream.

But lately I’ve begun to have hope that the situation is changing.

The 20th-century historian who coined the term “American Dream,” James Truslow Adams, defined it as “a dream… in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”

But many of us are realizing that Jesus has different priorities. Instead of congratulating us on our self-fulfillment, he confronts us with our inability to accomplish anything of value apart from God. Instead of wanting us to be recognized by others, he beckons us to die to ourselves and seek above all the glory of God.

In my own faith family, the Church at Brook Hills, we have tried to get out from under the American Dream mindset and start living and serving differently.

Like many other large American churches, we had a multimillion-dollar campus and plans to make it even larger to house programs that would cater to our own desires. But then we started looking at the world we live in.

It’s a world where 26,000 children die every day of starvation or a preventable disease. A world where billions live in situations of such grinding poverty that an American middle-class neighborhood looks like Beverly Hills by comparison. A world where more than a billion people have never even heard the name Jesus. So we asked ourselves, “What are we spending our time and money on that is less important than meeting these needs?” And that’s when things started to change.

First we gave away our entire surplus fund - $500,000 - through partnerships with churches in India, where 41 percent of the world’s poor live. Then we trimmed another $1.5 million from our budget and used the savings to build wells, improve education, provide medical care and share the gospel in impoverished places around the world. Literally hundreds of church members have gone overseas temporarily or permanently to serve in such places.

And it’s not just distant needs we’re trying to meet. It’s also needs near at hand.

One day I called up the Department of Human Resources in Shelby County, Alabama, where our church is located, and asked, “How many families would you need in order to take care of all the foster and adoption needs that we have in our county?”

The woman I was talking to laughed.

I said, “No, really, if a miracle were to take place, how many families would be sufficient to cover all the different needs you have?”

She replied, “It would be a miracle if we had 150 more families.”

When I shared this conversation with our church, over 160 families signed up to help with foster care and adoption. We don’t want even one child in our county to be without a loving home. It’s not the way of the American Dream. It doesn’t add to our comfort, prosperity, or ease. But we are discovering the indescribable joy of sacrificial love for others, and along the way we are learning more about the inexpressible wonder of God’s sacrificial love for us.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my country and I couldn’t be more grateful for its hard-won freedoms. The challenge before we American Christians, as I see it, is to use the freedoms, resources, and opportunities at our disposal while making sure not to embrace values and assumptions that contradict what God has said in the Bible.

I believe God has a dream for people today. It’s just not the same as the American Dream.

I believe God is saying to us that real success is found in radical sacrifice. That ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of him. That the purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. That meaning is found in community, not individualism. That joy is found in generosity, not materialism. And that Jesus is a reward worth risking everything for.

Indeed, the gospel compels us to live for the glory of God in a world of urgent spiritual and physical need, and this is a dream worth giving our lives to pursue.

By: David Platt.
Author of "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream"

Be Radical!

2010-12-07T08:39:00.000-05:00

California Nov 10

2010-12-02T12:06:00.001-05:00

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God is Good!

2010-11-26T11:46:00.002-05:00

2010-11-21T18:50:00.000-05:00

LOVED BEFORE THE DAWN OF TIME,
Chosen by my Maker,
Hidden in my Saviour:
I am His and He is mine,
Cherished for eternity.

When I'm stained with guilt and sin,
He is there to lift me,
Heal me and forgive me;
Gives me strength to stand again,
Stronger than I was before.

So with every breath that I am given
I will sing salvation's song;
And I'll join the chorus of creation
Giving praise to Christ alone.

All the chains of Satan's curse
Lifted through His offering,
Satisfied through suffering;
All the blessings He deserves
Poured on my unworthy soul.

So with every breath that I am given
I will sing salvation's song;
And I'll join the chorus of creation
Giving praise to Christ alone.

Singing glory, honour, wisdom, power
To the Lamb upon the throne.
Hallelujah, I will lift Him high.
Singing glory, honour, wisdom, power
To the Lamb upon the throne.
Hallelujah I will sing with every breath that I am given
I will sing salvation's song;
And I'll join the chorus of creation
Giving praise to Christ alone.

Stars will fade and mountains fall;
Christ will shine forever,
Love's unfading splendour.
Earth and heaven will bow in awe,
Joining in salvation's song.

Back from Mexico

2010-11-20T18:00:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone!

Thank you so much for all your prayers and love! We returned yesterday, Friday, from our two weeks in Oaxaca, Mexico. We went into the mountains in Western Oaxaca where our team is at. We brought in two doctors and a nurse and well as a dentist and all of the students this year that learned how to find, clean and fill cavities. It was a VERY busy time! We saw over 500 people from 6 villages in this area. I was able to help the dentist with training the students and assisting them as they did their first hands on dental work on the people. Gerry, the dentist, spent most of the time extracting teeth. Michele helped at the sign in table with writing down information and helping to send the people to the doctor or to the dental area. It was busy seeing those 500 + people and hearing what they needed.

Please pray for the team that is down in that area (Chris Berger, Jim Blomstrand and Reuben & Debbie Ibanez and their two kids). They are hoping to get into this village to live regularly and help teach English as well as live and preach the Gospel to this dark area! Pray they get in soon. The village leader and President has given the team an invitation to come live and teach English to the village. This is the first step!

Please continue to pray for us. Michele and I really enjoyed the time in the village and being back in Mexico. Please pray for a team to be formed with us to go down to Oaxaca and for wisdom and direction and how to work in the village in that area as well as looking for another area that is unreached to begin working with. We will be heading down for a week Dec 27-Jan 7 as well as 4-5 weeks in February - March.

Thank you again for all your love and prayers and support!

Seeking His Face

Chris

Its All about the Gospel!

2010-11-20T17:59:00.000-05:00

Going to Oaxaca

2010-11-04T11:05:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for keeping up with us and reading what we are able to put on this post. I am sorry that I do not write as much as I should. I need to be more disciplined on this!

I just wanted to let you know about a trip we will be taking from this Monday, 11/8 to 11/19 into southern Mexico. We will be going to the state of Oaxaca, Mexico to a group of people called the C-O-I-C-O-Y-A-N. I write it with the marks between letters for the safety of the people in that area not searching and finding this post about themselves. It helps keep the team we have on the ground there from being confronted about them being a "work" or any other danger.

Michele and I will be helping to lead the school down to this area to help the team on the ground already. We will be having 4 days of Medical and dental clinics. Please pray for the doctors and nurses as well as the students using their skills learned in the dental training. Please pray for safety on the roads as well as unity in our team!

Pray for the salvation of the people in the village we will be going and the surrounding villages. May God be Glorified in this area. He WILL be great among the nations and in this village, God promises that!

Malachi 1:11 "For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts"

We go to the unreached people because they have no understanding of the Gospel and ability to know of our one true God. We Go for God's Glory and for the people. If we have this great hope of salvation, this great gift from God, how can we keep it to ourselves? If we truly are Christians, we can't! We do this for God's Glory and so that the people can find joy in our great God and praise Him and worship Him as they were created to do! Jesus came to serve and make known to the people about the way to the Father and we are called to follow and do the same. God has people in every Nation and we go to be used by Him.

John 10:16 - "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd"

Please keep praying for the work in Mexico and specifically for this trip into Oaxaca to help this team and help the people!

For His Glory!

Chris

Emiliano Zapata Oct 10

2010-11-01T18:32:00.001-04:00

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I did not choose you

2010-10-29T11:58:00.001-04:00

Weeping for North Korea

2010-10-20T09:32:00.002-04:00

I just read this and wanted to share it with ya'll. Do we weep for the lost? Do we count Jesus as worth it to go and tell them? Or to be financial martyrs to send many to go and tell them?

JESUS IS WORTH IT!

Here is the article by Michael Oh:

Tonight for the first time in my life I wept for North Korea.

On the second night of the Third Lausanne Congress taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, an 18 year-old girl from North Korea shared her story.

She was born into a wealthy family, her father an assistant to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong II. Eventually her father’s political fortunes shifted, and after being politically persecuted by the North Korean government, he, his wife, and his daughter escaped to China.

In China a relative brought her family to church where her parents came to know Jesus Christ. A few months later, however, her pregnant mother died from Leukemia. Her father started to study the Bible with missionaries and eventually the Lord gave him a strong desire to become a missionary to North Korea. But in 2001 he was reported as a Christian, was arrested by the Chinese police, and was returned to North Korea. Forced to leave his daughter behind in China, he spent three years in prison. During this time the girl shared that it only "made my father’s faith stronger” and that he “cried out to God more desperately rather than complain or blame Him.

After three years he was able to return to China where he was briefly reunited with his daughter. Soon after, however, he gathered Bibles having resolved to return to North Korea to share Christ among that hopeless people. He was given the opportunity to go to South Korea, but he turned them down.

In 2006 he was discovered by the North Korean government and was arrested. There has since been no word from him. In all probability he has been shot to death publicly for treason.

In 2007 this girl, who at the time was not a Christian, was given the opportunity to go to South Korea. While still in China waiting at the Korean Consulate in Beijing to go to South Korea, she saw Jesus in a dream. Jesus, with tears in his eyes, called her by name and said, How much longer are you going to keep me waiting? Walk with me. Yes, you lost your earthly father, but I am your heavenly Father and whatever has happened to you is because I love you.

She knelt and prayed to God for the first time and realized that “God my Father loves and cares for me so very much that he sent his Son Jesus to die for me.” She prayed, “God here I am. I just lay down everything and give you my heart, my soul, my mind, and my strength. Please use me as you will.”

Now God has given her a great love for North Korea. She shared that, Just as my father was used there for God’s kingdom, I now desire to be obedient to God. I want to bring the love of Jesus to North Korea.

She closed with the following words:

I look back over my short life and see God’s hand everywhere. Six years in North Korea, 11 years in China, and a time of being in South Korea. Everything that I experienced and love, I want to give it all to God and use my life for His kingdom. I hope to honor my father and bring glory to my heavenly Father by serving God with my whole heart.

I believe God’s heart cries out for the lost people of North Korea. I humbly ask you, my brothers and sisters, to have the same heart of God. Please pray that the same light of God’s grace and mercy that reached my father and my mother and now me will one day come down upon the people of North Korea… my people.

How many of us so easily choose the path of comfort and safety. The path that is our answer to the question, “What is best for me?” But so many of those whom God has used to make some of the greatest Kingdom impact have been those who have not made decisions based on "what is best for me?" (at least “best” in a worldly sense). They made decisions, or perhaps for some it seemed like there was really no decision to make at all, based on an undeniable, unshakable, "illogical", "foolish" passion for Jesus Christ and for His kingdom glory among the lost.

For this girl's father there was a “safe” path before him. The door was open for him to go to South Korea where there was political freedom and religious freedom, where he and his family could have been safe. No prison, no persecution, no pain. Instead he chose the path of danger that led him, Bibles in hand, back to North Korea, the homeland that he loved.

And now his daughter has determined to follow that same path.

Paul wrote the following words in 2 Corinthians 5:13-21.

If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

May God grant us the grace to serve with undeniable, unshakable, illogical, and foolish passion for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom glory among the lost. And may we discover the joy in knowing that such a life is a part of the glorious answer to the question of what is truly best for me.

Dr. Michael Oh is president of CBI Japan and serves on the board of the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization. Dr. Oh spoke at the 2009 Desiring God Pastor’s Conference on “Missions as Fasting.”

Know the culture and language!

2010-10-15T00:11:00.002-04:00

This week there has been a couple speaking about church planting in different cultures. They worked in Chiapas, the state next to Oaxaca in Mexico, for 40 years. It has been a great week so far listening to them and having some time to speak to them alone.

Something To Every Tribe Ministries teaches much on is learning the culture and language before you can go into an area and speak into the lives of the people. If we want to convey the message of the Gospel so they understand, we need to know them well. Michele and I have been growing in understanding of the Spanish language and culture.

The following video is a joke about what it is like to speak in American phrases and how other cultures don't really have translations of our ideas. Enjoy this video but also please pray more and more for Michele and me as we are learning and growing in understanding of the Spanish language and Mexican culture!

Enjoy!

Chris

Live Dangerously

2010-10-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

New Additons

2010-10-05T12:47:00.002-04:00

Check out our new Prayer Requests for October and new photos from September that have been added!

All I Have Is Christ

2010-09-22T09:51:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to share a song with you that has grown on me more and more. The words are so true and so humbling, while still giving such a great hope in Christ! The song is called "All I have is Christ" and here are the lyrics:

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

I hope the video of this song attaches below this so you can hear the song and SING WITH IT! Praise Our God and King and Savior for their work. We once did HATE God and was running from Him and running to Hell, BUT GOD, with His loving grace and mercy, showed us Himself and brought us to the cross! We saw our sins and His holiness and we fell to our knees and wept....and repented and we now live by grace in giving Him Glory in all of our lives!

Ephesians 2:1-10
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them"

Let us praise God and thank Him for His Great Mercy! Sing this song with me, praise our Savior with me and let us go out and tell all of this great mercy that He has shown us so that they too may know Him and praise Him with us!

For His Glory!

Chris

Our Apartment

2010-09-06T15:00:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone-

For those of you who are interested, I just posted pictures of our apartment. To view them, click on the "Photos" tab at the top of this page, then the link that says "Click Here" and then choose the album "Our Texas Apartment". Enjoy!

Happy Labor Day!
Michele

They blood was shed for me

2010-09-03T13:21:00.003-04:00

Desiring to be with Jesus!

2010-09-01T09:50:00.003-04:00

I was just reading this morning in Mark chapter 5 and I came across the story of the demon possessed man that was living in the tombs. Two things jumped out at me. The first being why I wrote this post.

The first thing I saw was after Jesus had healed the man and cast out the demons, the man wanted to go and leave with Jesus to be with Him. I just struck me so hard. Jesus had healed this man of being demon possessed and given him life! This man did not want for anything but to be with Jesus and go where He goes.

My thought is....... do we live this way? Do we desire to follow Jesus and be with Him daily? Do we take time to be in His Word and grow in knowledge of Him? Do we pray much to commune with our God who saved us and raised us to life from death?

I think of the story of Peter in Matthew 14 where Jesus was walking on the water and Peter asked to go out and be with Him. YES, Peter did not have alot of faith to continue walking.....but he was the only one who wanted to go and be WITH Jesus.

We were just like this man, dead and overcome by the world. Jesus comes to His people and raises them to life from death and shows us Himself. When we truly see Him, do we act like this man and run to Him and live by Him each day? Or do we start to live life and forget of the great work He has done in us?

2 Corinthians 5:17: " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come"

John 20:31: "But these are written (the book of John) so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have LIFE in His name"

The other thought is looking at what Jesus told him to do. Jesus told the man he could not go with Him but that he should go and tell his friends "how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you". You know what the guy did? HE OBEYED and he did that exact thing! But even more, he went farther then just his home town. The Bible says "he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled". The Decapolis is a big region around his hometown. He went home and did as Jesus had commanded....then because of his joy inexpressible, he went further and kept going out more and more and telling of Jesus and His great works!

Do we find this Joy in Jesus and His great mercy He has shown us in our salvation? Do we go out and tell our family and friends about Jesus and His great mercy? Do we then go further and tell more and more people in our town.....state.....country about His great love, mercy, grace? Even further.......do we give it all up, if God gives us the desire, to go to the Nations, the world, and proclaim of His excellencies to those who don't know about Him?

Psalm 66:16 - "Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my
soul"

Matthew 28:19-20 - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age"

Please pray with me that we will grow in knowledge of our Great God and His Great Mercy and what the Gospel and the Cross is all about. Pray that we will be so consumed with His Glory and with joy inexpressible from His mercy in saving us that we GO and tell all around us of Him. Pray for God to send workers into His field and pray that you would be open to BE one of those workers!

Be encourage this wonderful day that the Lord has made! Praise Him and GO and BE a disciple for our great King and God and Lord!

For His Glory!

Chris

Arrived in Texas

2010-08-28T16:25:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone!

Well, its a week late but just wanted to let you know that we arrived back to Texas last Saturday! Its been a busy week of getting unpacked, settled in the apartment and doing some work around the property here.

Thank you very much for all your prayers and support! We did have a crazy ride down here with a trailer breaking down on us, having to buy a new one and the car thermostat going bad and having to fix that. We may write some more on that and post some pictures as well.

Remember to keep your eyes on our hope, Jesus Christ! Do not let this world entangle you! Be a good soldier of Christ Jesus!

1 Timothy 2:4 - "No soldier gets entangles in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him"

All Glory to our great Savior!

For His Glory!

Chris

Jesus is Worth it

2010-08-10T08:32:00.003-04:00

2010-08-07T15:07:00.004-04:00

Bringing to life a quote from CS Lewis

Are we too easily pleased?

For His Glory

Chris

Packing

2010-08-05T19:20:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to give a short update on what we have been up to. For the past few weeks we have been doing a lot of traveling visiting a few different churches and saying goodbye to family before we move back to Texas. We started our trip in North Jersey to visit my (Michele) family. We were able to celebrate my grandmother's 70th birthday. Next was a trip to the Adirondack Mountains where Chris' brother and family lives. Chris had the opportunity to preach up there at one of our supporting churches, Adirondack Bible Chapel. We enjoyed fellowship with our brothers and sisters there but also some sad goodbyes. The last leg was to central Jersey, Chris' parents house and home church, Fellowship Bible Church. Chris and I were able to share about To Every Tribe during Sunday School and then Chris preached during Sunday Service there on July 25.

This past weekend we made a trip to York, PA to speak at a new church we met, Springwood Chapel. We enjoyed meeting new people and having the opportunity to share about To Every Tribe, the misson's work we do and Chris again was able to preach there Sunday morning. Since we were sort of in the area we stopped to spend a few days with Chris' grandmother up near State College. It was nice to spend a few days with her and learn some more about Chris' family roots. This was especially interesting to me as I am beginning to work on a family tree for both of our families. I was grateful for his grandmother's good memory!

We are currently busy packing up our apartment. We will be leaving to drive back to Texas on August 19th. Just two short weeks from today. We hope to drive straight from New Jersey to Alabama and then there to Los Fresnos, TX. This will make for two VERY VERY long days in the car but we are excited to get back into the swing of things in Texas and Mexico. We should arrive in Texas on Aug 20th.

Blessings,
Michele

The Cup - CJ Mahaney

2010-07-28T09:12:00.003-04:00

Just a video to make up think of the cup, to think what it cost our Lord Jesus Christ.

Take a few minutes to watch and meditate and praise our Great God!

What will it cost?

2010-07-13T17:43:00.004-04:00

What will it cost you?

I guess the question is "Is Jesus worth it?"......... even unto death?

I read a lot of blogs and the magazines that talk about Christians around the world, forsaking all, living for the Glory of God and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even though it might, and in many cases does, cost them their lives.

I look at my life and i have not been there. I have had rocks thrown at my feet, threatened to be thrown in jail and kicked out of a village because of preaching the Gospel, but not unto death, not where I felt like I was "persecuted".

Most of us would say "bring it on" to persecution if God wants it. But the thought for today is, would you really be ready? Would I really be ready?

The answer to "Is Jesus worth it?" is YES, He is more than worth it! We need to feed ourselves on the word of God and remember His great promises. Jesus promises He will never leave us nor forsake us in Joshua 1:5 / Hebrews 13:5 "I will not leave you or forsake you"and that He is always with us in Matthew 28:20 "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Jesus also promises hardship and suffering.
Philippians 1:29 "For it has been granted unto you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake"
Not only is it promised for Christians, it is a blessed thing!
Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
Matthew 5:11-12 " "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Now I am not out looking for persecution, I am not trying to get persecuted. That is not what the Bible teaches us. We should not go out looking for or desiring persecution, just to be ready for it, cause it WILL come.

If you do not have "small" persecutions like being made fun of, or family struggles for being a believer, for living it out......you might want to ask "why don't I?"

I ask myself that when things get quiet. There are times I realize I have "settled" a bit and I am not living out a Christian life where people will see it and ask questions, and make fun.

Are we stepping out of our worlds and reaching to the community, to our neighborhoods, to our work places? We have to be living out the Bible as well as being in the community to make a difference, to show a changed life, to live the Gospel out for people to see.

May we be encouraged when hardships come, praise God in persecution and and suffering! Remember what happened in Acts 5?

Acts 5:40-41 " and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council,rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name."

They REJOICED after getting beat! How did they do that? They did it because JESUS IS WORTH IT and they knew that Jesus was glorified in that moment. Those doing the beating saw something different as they beat them and saw them rejoicing. That is living a life ready for suffering when it comes and knowing that this breath of a life is to be lived out loud for our great God!

God is working all things together for good and for His Glory! The sufferings and persecutions are meant to make us more like Him as well as proving our faith "so that the tested genuineness of our faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7) 1 Peter is a great book to read about suffering.

Above all, read the Word daily and go to your closet and cry out to God to show you more of Him and to conform you more like Him. Our number one goal in life is to grow more and more like Jesus and in love with Jesus. Sanctification is a awesome thing!

Be encouraged!

For His Glory!

Chris

Hey everyone!

2010-07-05T11:07:00.006-04:00

Thanks so much for checking out our blog and following us! Michele and I both had blogs before this and we are merging them together now that we are married! Michele and I will take times where we write what God has been teaching us or leading us through, or just what God showed us in His Word or a book for that moment.

Today I read the news of Sono Sato Harris passing away. If you do not know who she is, she is the mother of Alex and Brett Harris. They are the founders of "The Rebelution", a organization to spur on teenagers and young people to "Do Hard Things" and not live up to the expectation of the generation that young people should not and can not do great things. Especially in their organization, the center of it all is to do hard things for the Glory of God! I met them through connections with To Every Tribe. Their father was on the board of Directors.

First of all, my heart mourns for them, breaks for them and prays for them as a family. Loosing a wife or mother is never an easy thing. Please, join me in prayer for the comfort of God to be with them and carry them through and that they would stay at the foot of the cross as all times.
As I was reading a song written by Sono's oldest son, Joel, I could hear the hurt of his mother passing but the joy of her passing to Jesus. How do people make it through these hard times without Jesus?

In the book I am now reading, "The good news We Almost forgot" by Kevin DeYoung, I can across a chapter on death and dying. There was a question there: If Christ's death meant the death of death and paid in full the penality for our own sins, why do all Christians still die? His answer was, death is our entrance into eternal life. Something he wrote opened my eyes about the idea of death. We struggle EVERYDAY, ALL DAY with sin. By the power of God we can overcome it since we are a new creature in Christ. What he wrote was: when we do die one day, just think, that struggle, that battle will be gone forever! Sin will not ever be again a struggle or ever a part of our lives!

Please don's think I am promoting dying so to be away from sin. I am promoting to live your life for the Glory of God in ALL things, pray for His strength and wisdom and grace to battle sin, and when He calls you home, know you will be in His presence and the battle with sin is DONE!

Sono Sato Harris finished well last night and the battle with sin is over for her. She is in the presence of perfection with our wonderful Savior! May we all live with the hope of being with our God one day, in His timing, yearning to see His wonderful face, finishing well this race God has given us.

May we all say one day with Paul, "I have fought the fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing" 2 Timothy 4:7-8

This life is a vapor, may we make the best use of our time and live for His Glory!

Because of the Cross,

Chris
Here is a picture of Sono and you can visit the Rebelution blog here:
http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2010/07/goodbye-mama/

Getting Settled

2010-06-28T11:26:00.002-04:00

Hey!

We have been busy trying to get settled in our apartment here in Pitman, NJ. Getting things done each day but still a lot to do. We have spent the last week working mostly on getting a new prayer card made, changing my name over to Johnson, writing up a new newsletter, and updating our information on the To Every Tribe website. You can check out our new page there at www.toeverytribe.com and clicking on the missionaries tab. The newsletter is just about finished so I might have it up here on our updates section either today or tomorrow.

I am enjoying being married and learning how to be a good, godly wife. This week is the first week I've had to start cooking every night. If any of you ladies out there have some recipes please email them to me. I am a beginner so the more details the better! I can see how your day can go quickly with just trying to get simple things done such as laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. I was encouraged and challenged at a Ladies Gathering at my church last Saturday about being productive with our time.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:15-17

Chris and I are trying to develop a schedule that will help us maintain different disciplines in our lives. The days are evil and they go by oh so quickly, walk wisely and make them of worth for Christ.

Welcome

2010-06-23T23:21:00.005-04:00

Hi All!

Welcome to our new blog! We are excited to get back into the swing of things after celebrating our blessed wedding on June 12. Both Chris and I will be posting various posts on here to keep you all updated on what is going on in our lives and hopefully share a few encouraging words as well. We are still in the process, as you probably can tell, of creating this website. Some of the pages have been created but not finished. Hopefully we will have it all up and running soon. Hope this is a good way to keep y'all involved in our lives.

Much Love and Blessings,
Chris & Michele