How do you sign, “Here I am, Send Me”?

Arrow down to last Friday’s blog just below this and you will see a group of kids praying. Olivia Taylor, 6 years old, was part of that group.

She is Pastor Aaron Taylor’s daughter. She was excited to tell her parents Friday night that, while she was praying, God spoke to her down in her heart and said that she was called to minister using sign language. Apparently she had no previous indication of this. She is a sweet and very serious child and is already talking about where she can learn to sign.

It’s the “Who Knows?” factor in ministry. Who knows what the Holy Spirit is doing down deep inside a little child when he or she is kneeling face to face with God?

How do you sign, “Here I am, Send Me”?

Ralph

PS. Pastor Taylor read this blog and just now wrote: Wow! I am still amazed by God. In fact, we found on Sunday that her Sunday School teacher, Elisabeth, teaches in Cleveland using sign language. She was so touched by Olivia telling her what Jesus said Friday night that she has offered to teach her to sign her memory verse each week. Olivia came home Sunday knowing several new signs.

Thanks again for being obedient to the Lord and having an impact on my children!

God Bless,
Aaron

Young Saints with Visible Haloes

Painesville, Ohio: I woke up this morning to this awesome view from the front door of the home where I am staying.

Why am I so far from home? It's a great idea that every AG church should capture! Tonight, Friday, Children's Pastor Carrie Garland put on a super deluxe BGMC Kid's Missions Convention and Banquet, all in a single night. The ticket to the banquet was the kids had to bring their parents... or at least one parent.

A BGMC Packet was given to every kid, complete with a "Buddy Barrel Box", a "Just Fill It" halo-frisbee and a BGMC Faith Promise card.

A first class, delicious international dinner was served.

I had the young saints come up for Felipe wearing their haloes for their picture.

Of course Perfume, the skunk, got well petted. Felipe told a Bible story and sang "Everybody doesn't know who Jesus is."

After a brief time of ministry I asked how many kids would say "Yes" to God if He should call them as a missionary. Then I invited them to come, kneel and pray. Good stuff can happen when kids really seek God.

Afterward we took up Faith Promises. One little girl came up with her card to explain how she had scratched out one figure and made a change... I think for a larger figure.

The cards added up to $3,600 for the year from about 35 kids! But the even greater value may be that these kids are beginning to feel the intense joy of helping missionaries around the world reaching out to needy children with the love of Jesus. And I fully expect at least one missionary to develop from this group!

Ralph

Tall Candles

I have never thought of myself as a children's evangelist. I know there are some that dedicate themselves totally to this worthy ministry. But I do love little kids and the Lord never ceases to give me opportunities to minister to them.

Last Thursday I enjoyed ministering once again to K through 5th grades at Sacramento's great Capital Christian School. (Above) What a blessing to touch these little lives!

Yesterday and today I ministered in Sanctuary Christian Fellowship AG in Salinas at the invitation of my friend, Rev. Jim Wallace, who is directing their elementary school. Yesterday's Sunday morning services was mostly directed to the youth and adults.

This morning, Monday, I ministered to the beautiful group of kids at the Salinas Christian School, preschool to 5th grade.

They loved Perfume and Felipe and were highly responsive to the message.

In both Sacramento and Salinas, the best possible pictures were lost because they happened after the service was over and after the photographer handed the camera back to me. In both cases the littlest kids spontaneously gathered around me to hug my legs and ask questions. And this morning in Salinas, after almost all the children had gone back to their classrooms, the 3rd graders came rushing to me and showered me with love. The hugging scene was missed, but I handed the camera to Jim and they posed along with Gary Sawyer, their teacher.

Years ago, when I was teaching teachers, I placed two candles on the table and lit them. One was a tall candle and the other a little short one. Then I told the students, "One of these candles represents the little children we are teaching and other one the adults." And I asked them, "Which of these two candles represents the little kids?" Someone immediately pointed to the little one, but they were wrong. That little one represents my life which very soon will be all burned out. These little children are the tall candles that have their whole lives ahead of them to light up their world with the love of Jesus.

Ralph

"Let's go for a hike!"

Tim and the grandkids had the day off since it is Martin Luther King Day.

At first we talked about going to Tioga Pass at the 9,900 foot level above Yosemite to take advantage of the fact that the snow has not blocked the roads yet and we could hike up to a lake.

That would have been fun, but it is an all-day trip. Anyway I talked to Jesus about it and, although I feel great, I decided not to push it that far after my light stroke Christmas Day and 3 days in the hospital.

So we drove up into the foothills to the Redhill area, near Chinese Camp,

parked the car and followed a trail to the top of a hill.
No big deal, just lots of fun. From the top we had a 360 degree view and could see all the way to the San Pedro Reservoir in the distance.

Check out how I can hold Evan in the palm of my hand.

Then we visited the "ghost town" section of Chinese Camp. Didn't find any ghosts, only a cute 16 year old blonde named Michelle.

One of the buildings had totally collapsed and others were locked up tight.

From there we enjoyed checking out antiques at Jamestown, plus a tasty lunch which included a wonderful peach-raspberry pie alamode. I should have taken of picture of that, but at the moment I could only think of devouring it!

Tomorrow I am scheduled to see the surgeon who may perform the surgery to clear out the 80 to 90% blockage in my right carotid artery. The Lord miraculously allowed this serious situation to be discovered, although I never could have imagined it. God is good! And he still may have a few things on His list for me to do... and for you, too. So hang in there. There is nothing like walking with God!

Ralph

Tim Tebow Doing the "George Washington Bow"

I had heard of Tim Tebow, but never seen him in action until watching the Broncos play the Steelers last Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow we will see if he can come up with another win over the Patriots. But win or lose, Tim Tebow has got a lot of people either admiring his stand for Christ or hating it.

I was pleased to see his famous T-bow at the end of that game. I have heard that some players have mocked him when scoring against him or when he lost a game by making a similar gesture as a sarcastic joke.

One has to wonder how different it would have been if Tim Tebow were a Muslim and after each victory had bowed down Islam-style facing Mecca. Who would be mocking him or making snide comments on public media? No one would dare! It would be considered politically incorrect. And could even put the offender's life in jeopardy.

Someone posted a comparison of two pictures with these subtitles:

Tim Tebow’s “Te-bow” immediately reminded me of the almost exact position shown in the famous painting of General George Washington who was not ashamed to be a Christian when he knelt in the snow and prayed for his troops during the revolutionary war… while his ragged, tired men fought for freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom from undue taxation under the rule of the king of England. Years ago almost every school child used to see that painting displayed in his school room or in his school books.

Today our history books are being rewritten. It seems that atheism has become the official religion of the publishers of educational material placed in the hands of our children in public school. America, where are we headed? An obvious effort is being made to destroy the Christian foundation upon which this nation has been built.

So let's take a look back at our first president doing the T-Bow... or as my friend, Tim Weeks, suggested... "Tim Tebow doing the George Washington bow" since he became famous for his Christian bow first.

Ralph