“It’s gonna be a long day. I’ve got a ton to do today. I have to feed the chickens, slop the hogs, throw out hay and water the horses, pick the beans, wash the clothes and churn the butter. That’s not to mention my daily chores of cooking and cleaning
A cowboy’s wife’s job is never done. Living in the west is no picnic. Work is hard but I can’t imagine being anywhere else. The air is clean, there are wide-open spaces for the cattle to graze, the water is pure, the neighbors are mighty friendly and at night you can see millions of stars because the sky is so clear. Only complaint is there never seems to be enough time to get everything done.
Oh no, the hens are out again. They get out almost every day and I need to gather them up and put them back in the hen house.”
That’s how the evening started out at this year’s Stars Retreat as I portrayed the wife of a cowboy. As the evening progressed the girls participated and discovered how quickly tasks are completed when you have people that are kind enough to help. What can be a boring and not so enjoyable task can become fun. When we all take an active part, we can do amazing things. Through our kindness we show good deeds to others. We are like lights that shine, we become STARS of EXCELLENCE that give praise to our father in heaven.
Focusing on the scripture, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16,
I challenged the girls to let their light shine in such a way that people would see their lives and wonder what made them different and special. It is through their good deeds that people would see that they are different and discover that it is because of their relationship with Jesus.
Jesus changes our lives and gives us joy and hope. There were ~200 girls there that weekend, 10 made first time decisions to follow Jesus and 35 renewed their commitment to let their light shine for Him.
It is God’s desire that all come to know Him personally. We read in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” It is my desire that each of the girls that attended this weekend will be a light that shines for Jesus so that others may come to know Jesus personally.
The crisp morning air ushered in the day as the sun rose over the mountain. Leaves of gold, crimson red, and orange colored the trees that lined the road. As I traveled I looked across the fields of pumpkins, gourds, soybean and corn. I passed through orchards filled with yellow and red apples hanging thick on the trees. The harvest is plentiful and there’s much work to be done before the weather turns cold.
Jesus knew that the work was bigger than any one of us could handle. Similarly, when Jesus sent out the seventy-two to go before Him, He is also sending us. Jesus is sending us to actively bring in the harvest by telling others about Him. He also knows that we need help so Jesus is telling us to pray for others that would come along side and help. The Calvary church family made a conscious decision to do their part that day to bring in the harvest. When I was asked to deliver the salvation message to the children that day I was humbled yet excited to be part of those that Jesus had sent out. I knew that this was my opportunity to reach not only the children, but entire families with the message of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. And yes, we did see a harvest of over 30 decisions to follow Christ.
“Thanks so much for all you guys do.  I just wanted to let you know that my nephew Eric accepted Jesus Christ as his savior today in kids church.  He was able to tell us the whole story of Easter.  The day before we had asked Eric what happened 3 days after Jesus died on the cross and he said they had a funeral.  He now knows that after three days Jesus rose from the grave and that he now lives in his heart.”
The summer started in Appalachia where I partnered with Pastor TJ Wolfe from Warwick AG. We trained and prepared a team to go into Oak Hill West Virginia where we did street ministry and then held a three day evangelistic outreach for the children in that area. Over 26 children invited Jesus into their lives that week.
Next I headed to Dallas Pennsylvania where I spent a week at Camp Orchard Hill as the guest speaker. Using “Deeply Rooted” as the theme, I challenged the campers to evaluate their personal relationship with Jesus and to grow deeper in their faith. 76 children gave their hearts to Jesus and many others fell deeper in love with Him. When testimonies were shared one girl stood up and said, “Before coming to camp I really didn’t know Jesus and didn’t care but today I want everyone to know that I know Him and want to live for Him forever.” One of the boys stood and shared, “Now I know that Jesus will provide for me and I don‚Äôt need to worry about things.” The most touching was a girl that said, “I’ve learned that I can still have happiness even though my dad just died.” There are children here in the United States that are hurting and need the hope and love that only Jesus gives.
The summer was rounded off with five more weeks of kids camp and then I headed to Keyser WV with a team from 1st AG in Harrisonburg VA led by Trevor Whetzel. We had been invited to participate in a city wide outreach and minister to the children. All of our efforts were rewarded with 24 children making decisions to follow Jesus.
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