"Why Doesn't God Answer our Prayers?"

We had all prayed that God would grant us favor in relation to the weather so that the Escape Concert would go as we had planned. We had all worked so hard: planning, soliciting prizes, water, gifts, preparing meals, coordinating, handing out fliers, etc., etc. Now, it was the day of the concert and the projection units weren't working. Six of our team had stayed up all night working on the projection operation. It was cloudy, with some thunderstorms looming off to the west. We, once again, huddled in prayer and asked that the Lord would allow the rains to go around us so that we could have a successful concert.

Looking onto the crowd and the band as the Escape Concert Started


The concert started and a decent crowd had shown up. Sonlit had finished their set and the Butler Brothers were about halfway through theirs. Then it hit. The wind changed to the north, blowing information tables and their paraphernalia everywhere. Rain started and people scattered. The Escape team made a dash for the equipment, holding down tarps and carrying sensitive instruments and amplifiers under the protection of the amphitheater roof. Our audience, our precious audience was running for their cars and leaving before our headliner band DOWNHERE had even had a chance to play. We hadn't even had a chance to allow for the testimonies that we had planned or the alter call that was to be given. Why hadn't God answered our prayer? We had it all planned out to the smallest detail! Didn't God want what was best for us and His Kingdom? We were doing all of this for Him. Or so we thought.


Little did we know that had our projection units been working, instead of already being packed away when the storm hit, the strong winds would have ripped back the protective covers and the projection units and equipment would have been destroyed by rain. Little did we know that because of the weather circumstances, the Dove award winning group DOWNHERE would perform an intimate, worshipful service/concert using an inexpensive sound system from our church and a tom-tom, bucket and wastebasket for drums. Little did we know that a group of around one-hundred people would see and hear one of the most rewarding Spirit-filled concerts that some of us might ever attend.

The High School members of the FBC Youth Group performed a skit during the concert

The group Downhere sings to the crowd under the shelter of the backstage & roof of the amphitheater.

Why didn't God answer our prayer? He did. In more ways than we will ever know. You see, our prayer was our plan, not His. Our prayer was what we thought was best. Our prayer was what we wanted for us and what we wanted for God.

God's answer was better than we could have ever imagined. Praise be to God!!

Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. Romans 12:12

A week of VBS at FBC in ELD

Wow! What an exciting week for both my church family and my personal family. We had Vacation Bible School this past M-F and what a week it was. Our (my) whole family was involved in VBS: Collin attend for his last year; Adam was one of the actors in the skits; Tamra was an assistant in the fifth grade class; and I assisted in the Middle school class and drove a church van to pick up kids each day. The best thing about the whole week was seeing the kids, on Thursday, make first time decisions to bring Christ into their lives - I believe there were 29 total decisions made to follow Christ. Now that is awesome!! The kids also had a mission project and collected enough money to purchase two motorcycles for Pastors in Liberia so they can make better use of their time, instead of spending so much time walking from place to place for their ministry. Again, an awesome deal. As a result, both of our associate pastors will be losing some hair - Pastor Dave shaves his head and Pastor Jim shaves his goatee. (I'll include photos of that in my next posting after I take them Sunday.)

I may have good news! I cleaned my Bluebird nest out and have been noticing that a pair of Blues have been hanging around the house again. This morning I saw the mail enter the house several times, so I'm hoping another nest is pending. I'm taking no chances and am covering the post with plastic guards and taking some other "precautions" against the sparrows.

Have you noticed the moon lately? Talk about a creation miracle. There have been some beautiful moon rises the last few nights. I've been working nights at the Lake this past week, so I've really been able to enjoy them. I also experimented with a different setting on my camera and caught a neat sunset - something different anyway (See photo).

Adam also finished his latest summer art project (See photo). It's his rendition of a life sized LeBron James. Adam spent about a week on it and I think it turned out pretty good. I'm probably a bit biased though.

Collin's latest endeavour is turning the house into a drum rehearsal hall. He is borrowing a trap set from a friend so he can improve his drumming skills for the youth praise band at church. He's kind of a natural at it. I still think it comes from "Uncle" Ernest.

Continue to pray for the VBS kids who just committed their lives to Christ. We'll be following up with them and covet your prayers. Also pray for our Escape concert, featuring DOWNHERE, Sonlit, and the Butler Brothers. It's this coming Saturday, 7/26, at 7 p.m. at the Walnut River Amphitheater at El Dorado Lake. It's free, so bring your kids and prepare to be blessed!!

Again, to blessed to be stressed!

Randy

The Way of the World

It's been a while since I posted a new blog page. Lots has happened in the meantime. The most significant event from my point of view, was the newly hatched Bluebird chicks that I discovered on the morning of July 4th. I was so thrilled that there was actually life that had formed out of those blue eggs. My excitement turned to disappointment, though, as I found that that the nest had been robbed of it's new life on the morning of the fifth. I wanted to be angry at the villain, but then I remembered that nature has a sometimes cruel way of assuring that all creatures may carry on in life.... I am suspecting that a snake crawled up the post where the house was secure; I haven't seen any raccoons around, or any other small mammals that could make the climb. Next year, I'll snake-proof the post.

I survived the Tuttle Creek State Park Country Stampede. It rained all of Thursday night when we worked, so that kept the drunkards pretty much at bay. One word of advice. Don't ever let your children go there without you. (Take my word for it!)

Harvest came and went this year with a few showers, but we still managed to roll on the combines. I'm the designated truck driver/wheat hauler/unloader. This year my niece, Erika, helped me haul and move trucks. We had a lot of fun and got to catch up on middle school stuff! Rod and Dad kept the combines running, holding the record for at least one breakdown every day. (The Lord didn't want us to get too overconfident in our harvesting ability.) Anyway, the wheat is in the bin and we're all the better for it.

The 4th of July at the State Park was very quiet - almost erie this year. We had a pretty good recreational crowd for the holiday weekend, although - about 59,000 visitors. There were no major injuries or issues to deal with, so we were all thrilled. Tamra and I spent the evening of the 4th watching the fireworks with some friends from Church inside Bluestem Point this year. Tamra came away with the conclusion that it's too crowded for her at the Park. We had a good time, though.(We even had a parade in the Bluestem Point Area.)

We also got a chance to attend the annual July 4th celebration at Aulne this year. It was great to see old friends and, of course, sample everyone's ice cream. Bob and the Boys entertained and put on a good show, as usual. The Fruechting brothers shot up a great booming sky show for us. I was fortunate to work days this year so I could be a part of it all.

I've had a few people tell me that they would be leaving comments, but they didn't want to go through the hassle of signing in and all. Does anyone know why my blog requires you to do this, or how to get it changed? If so, let me know.

Have a great week and remember - we're too blessed to be stressed!

Randy

Forgotten

I thought you might enjoy seeing the latest new residents at the Windy Knob Ranch of rural El Dorado. We now have a pair of Eastern Bluebirds nesting in a very modest nesting box in our backyard. I got this box (bird nest) free with an order that I received from an outdoor catalogue, and I really didn't think much about it. Then I saw this Bluebird messing around an old wren house that I have up, so I decided to put the new house up and see what happened. Amazingly enough, the Bluebird immediately started using the house and now has a nest in it.

What is interesting about this new house is the fact that it is mounted somewhat haphazardly (sorry, I was in a hurry) and isn't even level, as the floor slants to the south. The entrance hole is somewhat low in relationship to the rest of the structure - making me think that the Bluebirds wouldn't consider it for a nesting box. And the bird house is fairly small, again making me think that it wouldn't be used.

So what does this have to do with life in general? Well, I got to thinking about the verse that says that even the "sparrows" are not forgotten by God: "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6,7

Pretty cool, eh? At times, we think that we are having a tough time (and we probably are) and our day is going pretty lousy. If you're like me, you may be even thinking that God has kind of forgotten about about you for the day. But did you get it from the verses above? God even watches over the birds of the land. He provides for them and they take advantage of His provisions. There's been times when God's provisions have been right there in front of my face, and I have overlooked it. Evidently, I was thinking I needed a "fancier nesting box." Again, it wasn't because God hadn't provided. It was because I was blind to what he had provided for me.

I'll keep you posted on our new family in our backyard. Maybe they'll keep me reminded each day of the real provisions from God.

Have a good week!

Prayer requests: 1) The Liberia mission team as they return. 2) Jr Campers. 3) Those in the church family who have lost loved ones this past week.4) The Escape Concert. 5) Jim & Cathy S. as they travel to Disney World. 6) Chris C's Cousin Carrie dying of cancer.

Empty Me

I try to go out and walk each morning before I start my day. As I sat down to put on my shoes in the garage, I heard the song, Empty Me on the radio. If you listen to the words, you hear the writer speaking of being emptied, or flushed out, of all fleshly and worldly desires, selfishness, and pride and being filled with Christ and His Spirit.

A circle of moisture around the morning sun.

As I walked, I meditated and prayed the prayer for Christ to do just that - empty me of my selfish desires and pride. It's so hard to live like this in today's society. The world believes that it's all about me and we see it displayed far too much. Can a Christian live in today's world and live as Christ wants him to? To be emptied of the world and filled with Christ?

Can we as Christians support and encourage one another to do this? I urge you (as well as myself) to empty yourself/die to self each day as you start your day. Galations 2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. A full moon moving over the morning sky.

Baby Killdeer chick at the end of our driveway.

Searching

Well, I told you that I would let you know how the Wakarusa Music Festival (Hippie Fest) at Clinton State Park went, so here's a couple observations:
1) To be a new age guy hippie you must have have dreadlocks and not wash your hair (matted mop) but once a month. See Exhibit 1 below.

2) To be an old fashioned hippie, you must still own a VW mini-van (with custom paint job).

3) To attend the festival, you are required to dress totally weird in the outfit of your choice.

4) To make things easy to find, you may want to store your botanical substances in easy to locate, compact storage devices.

5) And lastly, all festival goers must be adorned with some sort of tattoo.

Now, if you noticed, the tattoo displayed is that of Jesus holding a cross. How ironic! The guy was with his buddies, all of them participating in consuming adult beverages. Doing my best not to judge them, but their fruits (language, etc.) didn't appear to be that of a Christian witness. The point is, most of the attendees at the festival appeared to be searching for something. Maybe this guy above had found it - only the Father knows. One thing I am certain of: we are promised a real peace and joy in our Savior, Jesus Christ. The search is over. We can fill our souls with a "new wine." Isn't it great that our God offers the peace, love, and contentment that no "Wakarusa" can ever fulfill?

This weeks prayer requests are many: Please, first of all, uphold our mission team leaving this week for Liberia, West Africa. (Don't forget about Pastor Wade's hand, which the enemy works on every time he goes on a mission trip.) Also, please lift up the following: 1)Thad W's first appointment concerning his disability; 2) Peggy W's dad/Peggy; 3) Darla S's travel and Mara & McKinna staying away from home; 4) Middle schoolers at camp; 5) Shannon B's family challenges; 6) Judy & Paige S as they go to N.Y.; 7) Jim S's sister Karen as she mourns and deals with life's challenges; 8) Trish F's comfort as Logan's covering as he goes on the team to Liberia; 9) Dale & Jeanna S as they travel; 10) Randy & Chris C's house plans/move...... Please let me know if we need to add to the list. Also, inform us of answered prayers, if you wish. Oh, also please cover Pastors Dave & Jim while Pastor Wade is away.

Have a great week! Remember we're too blessed to be stressed!

Remember the Hippies

Funny title to a blog, eh? Well, I'll let you know what it's like, but on Thursday and Friday of this week I go to Clinton State Park at Lawrence to work the Wakarusa Festival. It's kind of a modern day Woodstock, or so I'm told. It could be interesting. Emmylou Harris and The Flaming Lips are on the top of the lineup if that gives you any indication. Wow!

I thought I'd show you our pets here at the Windy Knob Ranch. The pictures are those taken out back. Pretty "wild", huh? The deer were taken right before sunrise with the night vision setting on my camera. The pesky "goats" were in our yard fetching themselves a free meal! And how about that long haired, long snouted "kitty cat" by the rose bush? Actually that's an opossum - not known for it's intelligence. It has the smallest brain, proportionally to it's body size, compared to any other mammal. So don't feel bad if you can't remember something.
Tamra found a pet box turtle in the driveway. It didn't stick around too long. Then there's those little hummingbirds. They have taken to the feeders that we have up and are they fast. We enjoy watching them.

So enjoy the rest of the week and say an extra prayer for me and the "hippies". Again, we're too blessed to be stressed!
Randy