I’ve been thinking and wondering about something for a while now…

 

I watch my husband nearly daily, working on the vision God gave him over 30 years ago. For years now, he’s been spending most of the money he earns on building The Manger. He does all the work, for the most part, all by himself. Sometimes working all night long without sleep. We rarely have donations or tithes, so it’s all been up to him. He buys all the supplies he needs to build what he feels the Lord has told him to do. He buys all the food that he feels we should have here to feed whomever the Lord sees fit to bring here. Every year, it’s always the same. He’s done it pretty much all by himself. And, without complaint.

Over the 5 years we have been doing this, there have been many people that have come here. Quite a lot have said they loved it here, felt good here, felt the Lord lead them here, felt the peace of the Lord here, and have even said they KNOW this is where GOD wants them.

Some have said they were here for good and will help with building The Manger, in whatever way they can.

But for one reason or another, they always drift away…

What happened? Did they not really hear from the Lord? Did they not like something and rather than open up about it and try to work it out, they just left?

Were they offended about something? Did they not feel the love of the Lord here? Did they not know that we loved them and would work things out one way or another?

If only everyone who ever said they belonged here, would have taken the time to “work it out”, whatever it was, and stayed here and helped to build it up, what a big place this would be now. We are not perfect, none of us. But if we work with each other’s differences and work through the problems, in the end we would build a strong house for the Lord. A place of worship.

I think about the fact that Raymon and I rent a tiny little house, and do not spend much on ourselves. We don’t splurge on anything. We live very simply, looking for bargains on whatever we buy. Our treasure has been in what the Lord has done in and through The Manger. We have seen many people blessed over the years. Watched lives turn towards the Lord. And that has been a blessing for us.

My husband works physically very hard at times. Sometimes out in this heat all day and all night, alone, and at times getting hurt while building. (Last night a huge 2 x 4 fell on his head and left a big bump on his forehead) And he keeps on working because it’s “what the Lord has said to do”. And I’m talking 110 plus degrees at times!

But if we had help, how much easier would this all be? How much faster would The Manger come into being what the Lord has said it would be? How many more people would be helped? And how many more people might be won for the Lord?

It’s been hard for me to not see the vision my husband has. To see money being spent on building something, when there is nobody here but us. I can think of a lot of things we need to be fixed “for us”, or to buy “for us”. Like a house with more than one tiny bathroom, and maybe more than one bedroom, or a living-room that is big enough to have company over. But that’s me being selfish…and I have to have faith… even if I don’t see what he sees.

I guess it’s up to God to bring the increase. We just trust and obey. My husband is very good at that. Me, not so much. I am learning though by example. Raymon’s example. Learning to trust and not to question. I guess Noah’s wife could have given him a really hard time too, huh? When you don’t see with your eyes, all you have to go on is faith. And a husband that is doing what the Lord is calling him to do, without any reward at all, deserves a cheerleader for a wife.

Lord, help me to be the wife my husband deserves because a husband who loves You as much as he does deserves the best. And please, bring some people our way who will run the race with us and be a part of our little family here at The Manger.

Looking for Musicians and Singers for Open Worship at THE MANGER

Musicians & Singers needed! Saturday evenings for Open Worship around the fire pit @ The Manger in Apache Jct. Reopening Oct. 11, 2014.

Call Pastor Raymon 480.593.7777 for directions & details!

6 PM Service 7 PM Worship! Everyone is Welcome!

Bring your instruments and voices and join us! Pot Luck dinner. Bring something to share.

Needing Guidance and Prayer

In need of prayer and guidance from my Christian brothers and sisters.

My husband has written a book which is the Leaders Guide for a Biblically based 12-step program that is totally about God’s deliverance, and not about becoming dependant on a “program”. It’s a wonderful book that I know will help many people to be free of addictions as well as the other things in their lives that are keeping them from living in the freedom that knowing Christ brings. It’s Total Christ Recovery (TCR) and it’s going to be powerfully used by God.

                                                                                                                                                                                        The final pages are being written now and we are not sure what comes next. My husband has never written a book before and we have no idea how to go about getting something published. What is the first step to take? Do we do our own editing? Or does it need to go to a professional editor? How does one find an editor and what can we expect to pay? Do we stay in the Christian market or go elsewhere?

Then, how do we find a publisher?

So many questions… and that’s why I am hoping and praying that God will send the right people to this blog to offer some suggestions and lots of prayer.

 

The Manger

The Lord gave my husband a vision over 30 years ago, and we are believing that the proceeds from the sale of the book will fund the vision of The Manger. See website www.backtothemanger.com for more details on this vision. We’ve been holding services on and off at our home/property for the past couple of years but we are on rented land and need a more permanent place to live.

Tee Shirt Design

My husband has also felt led by the Lord to start a Christian tee shirt company/ministry that will also be used to fund The Manger as well as be used to spread The Word of God. Below are a few samples of designs we’ve created.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s all in His hands and in His timing, and if He is not behind this, it will not happen. We do not have the resources for any of this, only the gifts that God has given to us to use for His glory.

I am skilled in graphic design and all things computer related, and my husband has the heart for spreading the Word to everyone, and I mean everyone! He ministers to everybody, everywhere he goes. His job of doing rock chip repairs on the side of the road opens the door to his being able to witness every day to every type of person that comes by. His love of the Lord comes through to everyone and no matter who he is witnessing too, whether they be Mormon, Muslim, J.W., Catholics, they all go away with something to think about, and they are all told they are loved. He has a way about him that reaches people, even the ones who disagree with his beliefs are comfortable and at least have heard the Truth of Jesus and are told they are loved.

If you have any knowledge to share with us regarding:

• Getting the book published and distributed
• Starting up the tee shirt company, (we know someone who will do the printing but we need the financial resources to get started)
• In finding funds/resources to purchase land to build The Manger

Feel free to contact me…and if you feel led, please pray for us to know God’s will and direction. Comment on this post or email me directly at cheryl@itsreallycheryl.com or my husband via The Manger website. We are located in Apache Junction, Arizona.

Thank you for reading. The Lord bless you and keep you.

 

Respond VS Reacting

It’s been a long time since I blogged as I have been very busy with a new job that began in January 2014.

A lot has been going on with me and at times the emotions have run amuck. Hurtful words from those that are supposed to love you can cause much damage, and so I am led to express myself here as to how we, as Christians, are to be different.

The RESPONSE of someone who feels they have been wronged can make ALL the difference.
If we, as Christians, behave the same way as the WORLD does, and react in an OUTBURST OF ANGER towards those that wrong us, then what makes us CHRISTIAN? We are no different than them.

We are called to a HIGHER standard. We are told to LOVE our enemies and PRAY for those that persecute us. Surely, if one of “our own” wrongs us in some way we are to have AT LEAST the same loving forgiveness and understanding towards them as we do to those who are in the world.

When we REACT in anger with ANGRY WORDS, those words have a long lasting effect. They go very deep and do much damage.
If we say we are “spiritual” and “close to God”, spending much time in prayer and Bible reading & study, then WHERE IS THE FRUIT? It should show in our RESPONSE of kindness, gentleness, peacefulness, patience, etc. Rather than a show of REACTING IN ANGER, which goes against the fruit of the Spirit.
I’m just sayin’….

GOT FRUIT?

Not Enough Modesty

I am always greatly saddened when Christian women dress immodestly. I wish I had the right words to share my heart with them without causing them to feel judged. I usually just keep silent, but end up taking them off my FB list of friends. I still “love” them, but I’m careful about being connected to anyone that is exposing too much flesh. People that know me on FB can see who my “Friends” are. I don’t ever want to give the wrong message by being connected to someone who is showing cleavage. There’s no need for it.

We women all have cleavage, but we don’t need to be showing it to the world in order to look beautiful. In fact, we need to be careful to not cause our “brothers” to stumble. If a guy tells me I look “hot”, I question myself about how I might have allowed myself to be portrayed. I am always very careful about myself, and wish that other women would be as well. I want to look sexy for my husband, but not in the eyes of other men. I want to be pleasing to God. If I would have to pull my shirt up higher because God stepped into the room, then it’s too low cut to begin with.

I have just now “unliked” someone on FB, because of her new profile picture. She is a beautiful woman, and I love her work, but the photo showed too much of her breasts and it made me very uncomfortable. I am surprised her husband didn’t say something to her about wanting her to keep that part of herself for him alone. Why would she want to show any part of her breasts in public? I am sure that it will get some men lusting, and that will be on her as well as them. The photo is not a dirty picture by any means, but it is way too much flesh being exposed.

As far as Facebook goes, I try to be careful about other things too, like people posting profanity, or any crude humor or language. The Word of God says to “put away foul language” and for there to “not be any filthiness or coarse joking”. If we bear the name of Christ, we must be careful what we allow into our lives. The way we talk and dress, as well as what we laugh at. Is there someone telling dirty jokes at work? Someone being foul in their language? Are we laughing right along at their perverted jokes? If so, we need to remember that God is not laughing…

I just had to share this at this time because I really didn’t want to take this person off my list. I will pray that she will change her mind about being so immodest and perhaps I can have her on my list again in the future.

What does the Bible say about modesty?

I Timothy 2:9-10 tells us to dress “in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness — with good works.”

I was just reading an article that hits on this very thing. Here is a bit of it…

When Adam and Eve fell, they made aprons to cover their nakedness. When God confronted them about their sin, He also made clothing for them – tunics to replace their aprons, which indicates that stomachs and backs are not to be on public display, even for guys.

Here they were, a married couple, the only people on earth, and the coverings that they had whipped up for themselves were inadequate. God had to kill an animal in order to cover them, foreshadowing the fulfillment of the promise that Christ would die to cover their naked souls with His own righteousness. So our clothing must reflect the gospel reality of being covered. If we thought more biblically about sin, we would think more biblically about nakedness and clothing. Matthew Henry says, “Clothes came in with sin. We should have no occasion for them…if sin had not made us naked.” Our clothing must cover us, and what we would naturally think is adequate is often not enough.

women have a choice to help or deter the goal and purpose of lust. Sometimes when I see a girl provocatively dressed, I’ll say to myself, “She probably doesn’t even know that 101 guys are going to devour her in their minds today. But then again, maybe she does.” To be honest, I don’t know… All I need to know is that the way she presents herself to the world is bait for my sinful mind to latch onto and I need to avoid it at all costs.”

Anyway, just my thoughts and feelings shared here. Hopefully in LOVE.

Blessings †

Something is really bothering me…

There is an uneasiness in my spirit. A stirring deep within my soul. I can’t just “sit still” and do nothing. So I will write what’s on my heart.

I was blessed this past weekend at a women’s conference called “Women of Faith”. There was a young pastor there who was one of our main speakers. He was a very good speaker. He spoke to our hearts and made us laugh and made us cry. I was impressed with what I heard and felt he might encourage my husband, who is also a pastor. So, I looked him up on Facebook hoping to find some contact information for him. What I did find was very enlightening indeed.

He had just posted an article written by someone from The Huffington Post about his new church opening, and in the article were statements referring to a special place in the church where a large group of gays gathered. I questioned whether this was maybe a church where homosexuality is tolerated and accepted. I began getting messages from both sides; some agreeing with me but more were disagreeing with me, on my stand against any open sin in the Body of Christ. Then I got a message from the pastor who seemed to be careful to not say too much, but just enough to make me think that this is, in fact, one of those “feel good” churches, where they are more concerned about tickling the ears of those in attendance, rather than staying true to the Word of God and calling sin “sin” and calling out those who refuse to repent and turn from their sinful ways. I even read a message from one of the openly gay women that attends this church, talking about her “partner” and her being accepted in this church, making it sound as though it is acceptable in the Body of Christ to be gay. Another point the writer of the article made was referring to there not being any “fire and brimstone” preached, but one of “acceptance”; and that we are not always in control of things in our lives but can be comfortable with them. Where people can “retain their identity” and still go to church. It sure sounds like she thinks they preach it’s OK to be gay because you can’t control it.

This just really bothers me

One thing I don’t care for is a “wishy-washy” pastor. One who doesn’t want conflict, so he avoids it by hiding in the Grace Scriptures, completely forgetting about the ones that say to turn a brother from sin just might save his soul. As a pastor, he has the duty as a Shepherd, to guide his flock and keep them safe. He actually stated that he preaches the Word and then lets the Holy Spirit speak to these people that are living a homosexual lifestyle. Now, of course it is the Holy Spirit who convinces and convicts us of sin. BUT, how can he not speak directly to them about the blatant sin in their lives? Even a shepherd uses his staff to pull the sheep away from falling off the edge of a cliff, and might even give him a smack on the side to keep him from running into danger. How can any pastor do less with the flock the Lord has entrusted to him? And what is “the Word” he is speaking? Does he avoid the verses that say no one practicing such things will enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

I think a lot of new pastors are just being trained wrongly. To keep people happy and keep those numbers up. It’s pretty sad when we can say we are Christians and do not DO what Christ has said to do. We pick and choose what Scriptures to share, and stay away from the “fire and brimstone” ones. The woman that wrote the article about that church actually said that’s something she noticed there. There was no preaching of the wrath of God, but only of His love. Yes, God is Love, for sure. BUT He is also a righteous judge and he can not allow sin in heaven. He even tells us to “be holy, as I am Holy”. How on earth can any pastor ignore that? Hell is a place full of “fire and brimstone”!

I love Grace as much as the next person. Without it I am lost. The wonderful Grace of God has poured all over me and filled me up. God Loves us all. And we are all sinners when we come to Him. But He does not love the sin in us. So when we come to Him we must repent, turn from our sin, and be born again. Jesus said so, and I believe it. Then, being born again, we no longer are slaves to our sin but we have been set free! Then it’s up to us to LIVE like the free people we are and choose to NOT SIN again. Not that we won’t ever fall and make mistakes, but the Grace of God lifts us back up and we go on, moving along the “narrow road”. You know that road, don’t you? The one that “very few find”? That is what the Word says. No wonder!

It’s not a matter of, Grace will cover all sin, so I can keep on sinning; He’s got it covered. That is NOT what the Word says.

Romans 6:1,2 says this….
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

If this pastor, and others like him, refuse to take a Biblical stand against sin, and get the sin out of the camp, they are going to pay a high price as they will have to answer for those who they have led astray. I would not want that on my shoulders.

I know of another pastor who sees sin in his church, and has, so far, ignored it. People who are divorcing and then getting together with someone else in the church. All right in front of the pastor, who apparently doesn’t want to get involved. He thinks it’s “not his business”. Well DUH! If not his business, then whose? Why is he even a pastor if he isn’t going to shepherd his flock? Speak up man! No more Lukewarm! No more “wishy-washy”.  Don’t be afraid of offending someone. Jesus offended people too! So what if you lose some of the people in your congregation? Do you think numbers is what the Lord is looking for? Or, might He be looking for strong leaders that lead the people; shepherds who guide the flock to safety?

I just shared a Francis Chan video on my husband’s page to encourage him. It’s just a short message but it reminds us that if we are doing the will of God, we will NOT be liked. We will not be popular. We will have enemies. If we speak what the Lord says to speak, we will not be “people pleasing”. I know this will encourage my husband because he boldly speaks the truth in Love. He is obedient to God no matter what and no matter how many people may go against him. I’m proud of him for this. He is very obedient to what God has called him to.

Here is the short video…

I pray this speaks to some who have ears to hear. In Jesus name…Amen.

Blessings

I have been busy and have not entered anything for a long time. Busy looking for work again, as well as busy with our ministry. But I am so very blessed with all the Lord has given me, including a husband who Loves God and who is ministering to our church group at The Manger.

We had our Celebrate the Birth of Christ at “The Manger” on December 22, 2012.  Tons of food, fellowship and fun for all.

Thank You Lord for the blessings in my life. I pray I will stay close to you always and be obedient to You.