Wednesday, July 30, 2008

We're off to see the Wizard

Well, actually we are off to see the Women of Faith in Indy...at the 2008 Conference called Infinite Grace...now that's a Yellow Brick Road we can't wait to click our heels over and dance down...we will blog about our Adventures at WOF on Monday when we just might be overheard saying....There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...no...probably more like...there's no place like ones own bed...

Monday, July 28, 2008

Opposites

So you may ask yourselves....I wonder what those two are doing today??? Well, if it's the early morning (dawn)...this is what Lois is doing...and if its the late night (dusk and beyond) this is what Char is doing...because after all there couldn't be two more opposite people in the whole wide world...like hot and cold, sweet and sour, fast and slow, quiet and loud, tight and loose...Zack and Cody...
Felix
and Oscar....Florence and Olive....you get the picture...if it hadn't been for the Lord and some accidentally holey Squirt cans at Cub Foods in Lansing...we would not be friends, neighbors or ministry partners...as we would not have deliberately chosen one another...but one thing we are not polar opposites on is our total agreement that the Word of God should be read frequently and not occasionally...either at dawn or dusk..... if you feel your life is a little disheveled in this area....join with us on the completely organized daily Bible reading schedule from our church, Faith in Dyer...click the link below to see where we have been reading in the past and where we are going for the future....and please nobody ask which one is Olive...but where did I leave my Message Bible???

www.FaithChurchonline.org/BibleReadingSchedule

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

...and DANCE...she does!!!

She was a teacher with a Master's degree...She was passionate about knitting, cooking and attending TOPS meetings...She loved to dance with her husband every chance she got...She also came to the doctor's office regularly...As a younger woman she did not take the time for things like Bible study, to attend church or pray...Then, she became close to us after her husband died and agreed to try our "support meetings"...She was diligent in attending and often brought a friend or two along for the ride, which they supplied...She never missed an opportunity to pray for someone or herself...She always wanted the latest prayer updates...On June 13th, 2006 she met the Man we introduced her to...She dances now with a new partner, her Savior!!!

This is what James 5:16 Ministries offers to medical patients worldwide...Hope, Help and Healing through Faith Filled Encouragement, the Teaching of God's Word, and Praying the Scriptures...Thank you for partnering with us in this mission...

Our prayer is that if you get the chance...You'll Dance!!!

CLICK HERE: www.youtube.com/I hope you dance

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

...Standing on the Shoulders of Giants...

As the leadership of a Praying Ministry...we have decided that it is imperatively important to continually, tenaciously, and expectantly be on the look out for Spirit filled authors and books on the topic of Prayer...The five books that we have had the privilege of partaking of in the last few years that have really rung our bell and helped us in standing on the shoulders of giants are listed below in the order that we partook of them:

PRAYER...Finding the Heart's True Home
by Richard J. Foster
The PRAYER That Changes Everything by Stormie Omartian
I Told the Mountain to Move by Patricia Raybon
The Threshing Floor by Juanita Bynum
Get off your knees and PRAY by Sheila Walsh

Now we know what you are saying...these are completely different authors, from different backgrounds, different perspectives, different races, and different (Lord help us) denominations...here is how we handle this...we PRAY...before we read and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth (John 16:12&13)...now that should ring a bell or two...oh never mind it's just the door...gotta go!!

Phrase: Standing on the shoulders of giants...using the understanding gained by major thinkers who have gone before in order to make intellectual progress.

Monday, July 21, 2008

HOWDY!!! Partners in Prayer

They number 31...come from 5 states...7 counties...and 17 towns...who are they you ask??? Those folks who faithfully committed to partner in prayer for us and the future of this ministry...In turn we return the blessing and pray for them and theirs... monthly...want to join???
Simply print off the form in this blog entry and snail mail (or pony express if available in your area) it to: James 5:16 Ministries...P.O. Box 186, Crete, IL 60417...

YeeHaw Y'All...Let the Prayin' Begin

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Jump for Joy!!!


"And he who receives the Lord will Jump for Joy!"
Malachi 4:2

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Younger Girls


The 2nd set of mentee's are lovingly referred to as "The Younger Girls"...The first picture was taken on Sept. 11, 2004 when Jackie, Lois' Granddaughter was 5 and Valencia, my God-Daughter was 3 1/2. This picture is entitled...The Secret!! and was actually entered into a contest that the Picture People were having for their cutest kids contest...we voted them the winners!!!...and guess what the secret was??? Mama Char has stinky feet!!

Can't wait until Saturday, July 19, 2008...now Jackie is almost 9 and Valencia is 7 1/2...we will post the remake of The Secret!! as soon as we can...!!!

OH!! WHAT A FUN DAY!!! It is good to have mentee's 3 and 4 with us for the day....As you can see the remake of The Secret!! is here...Thanks Jenny from the Picture People for your creative care for customers and meeting their photography desires...........and putting up with the Older Ladies when we wanted to Jump for Joy too!!
Then we headed to the nearest theater and saw the American Girl Doll movie...Kit Kittredge (Farrah and Sarah enjoyed it too) , rode the carrousel at the mall (sorry about all that spinning), and acquired red punching balls (sorry about the one that EXPLODED!!!) Who knew it would be a "good thing" that your mentor's are medical people...Younger Girls!!!

To my children in the common faith: Grace and Peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior...for this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains...Older ladies are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored...Titus 1:4-5A; 2:3-5

Mentee's of our own...The Older Girls

Lois and I have had the privilege of pouring ourselves into two sets of girls...The first set which we now refer to as "The Older Girls" started when Karissa, my daughter was 10 and Rachel, Lois' niece was 8 1/2...The first picture of us is at an all day adventure to the American Girl Doll Tea Room/Chicago on July 10, 1999...The second picture was taken on June 6, 2008 at the Family Christian Center in honor of Rachel's graduation from Illiana Christian High School...As you can see the first set is "grown"...so mentorship with them is basically done....the only thing left are all the wacky stories for the wedding receptions....and tell them we will...We love you older girls...time to ship off and pour yourselves into "little girls" lives of your own...we wish you well... and we will always be available in case you have any questions...tea in the Team Room anyone??? There's always a table for six!!!

20/20 till 2012

Where there is no vision...the people perish!! Proverbs 29:18a...not desiring to have that experience...we prayed, covered one eye, asked and believed for four 20/20 eyes of understanding...then seeing clearly compiled our 5-Year Visionary Plan...this was handed or sent out in Fall "2007" to all those who "Partner in Prayer" for this ministry...In case any of you in Bloggy-land are "looking to see" in which direction we are going for the next five years...examine it with your own eyes...no seeing eye dog necessary!!!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Mentwo's...Rox and Mrs. "C"


I know...I know...I made up a new word...isn't it great???...It's mentor times two...we want to take a blog minute to honor those two mentors in our lives who over the years helped us be...who we be...or who we are today because of them....In his book, Finding a Spiritual Friend, Timothy Jones writes, "a companion who tells us, "I'm here, I'll stay--even if you do not have all of your life put together" frees us to grow. Such a friend helps us not grow weary and lose hope that keeps us trying."

He
artfelt Gratefulness to God for Rox, Lois' mentor and Mrs. "C" my mentor...we can't thank-you enough for handing us hope enough to "keep on trying" at every visit and staying
with us when our lives were disconnected...like the ankle bone is not connected to the leg bone...we love you from the bottom of our hearts...well, actually with all four chambers...
Every time I say your name in prayer--which is practically all the time--I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. 2Tim1:3 MESSAGE

Monday, July 14, 2008

Tenacious PrayerBook...One


For those of you who are ...wandering...no excuse me....wondering.....or is it...wandering in your wonder?....or wondering while you wander?...oh...never mind....what medical condition prayers are contained in Tenacious PrayerBook!! One....here is the answer to that question...these are available with a donation of 10 bucks (+ $2 shipping) to this ministry...or available at the Vine Bookstore in Faith Church/Dyer and Cedar Lake locations.........and we are so overwhelmingly joy-filled to report that Thelma Wells and Sheila Walsh from the Women of Faith speaker team think that this book is DaBomb!! (def: used as an interjection to convey emotion of excitement of the speaker, which usually has no grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence and simply demonstrates the explosive feeling of a particular experience)

A Time to Gather


Our Ladies Support Group/Medical Mini-Church Meetings are held in the Ringering Room of the Park Forest Library at 400 Lakewood Blvd. Park Forest, Illinois...this is a little town apx. 17 miles south of Chicago. We are currently studying from a book by Marilyn Meberg called Overcoming Difficulties...a light-hearted look at Joshua...These are available from Lois for any size donation into this ministry...We hope that you can join us for these meetings to be encouraged in your walk, help in digging deeper into God's Word, and partner with us in scriptural praying for healing of mind, body, soul and spirit...Blessings!!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

BREAKING NEWS...TheCall....logo

Okay...so two days ago we asked for prayer for the completion of the logo for TheCall!! and the breaking news is...we have an answer to that prayer...HOUSTON...we have a logo....and one that we outrageously love...searing hot chili-pepper hugs to Sue from www.artdeptgraphics.com...we are so totally convinced that Sue is from the family line of Speedy Gonzalez...or that she spends sleepless nights working and praying for her clients...

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

A darling of this ministry...Mrs. Ron Mitchell

Congrats to Nicole Brown on becoming Mrs. Ron Mitchell on June 7, 2008. Nickey, a darling of this ministry...has been the medical assistant in our doctor's office for the past 3 1/2 years. Through her excellent job performance, she has demonstrated the love of Jesus to both staff and our patients...God's Blessings....Ron and Nickey for many years of happiness together!!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

TheCall

The ginormous project that we are in the process of launching is the teaching seminar of James 5:16 Ministries....TheCall!! We are in the final stages of writing, typing, tweaking, and fussing over this cutting edge facet of this growing new ministry. We will be taking "the show on the road" Lord willing the Fall of 2008 to a church near you. The seminar will consist of Why?? minister to the hospitalized, shut in, nursing home, and house bound patient...according to the scriptures in Matt 25:35-40. And also How?? to minister to these folks based on our 10 years experience in the field with patients. The main focus of this seminar will be the attendees role playing...as characters named Isaiah Prayer, Dee Hydration, or Grammie Hitmyhead... Each paying seminar attendee will receive a Tenacious PrayerBook!! volume one...a CallBook!! which is the official name for the workbook with all the "Helps" in it...and a three hour teaching time with....us....Char and Lois...now how much fun is that going to be??????
So here is what we need: PRAYER!!

~completion of the logo for TheCall!!
~completion of all the typing jobs
~completion of the power point presentation
~a projector to play the power point presentation on
~health, strength, quiet time with the Lord, time in general for Char & Lois to continue to lead this ministry into 2012 according to our 5 year Visionary Plan

Thanks for taking the time to invest in the Lord's work by praying for us...it makes all the difference in the world...!!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Twas the Night Before Purse Packing!!


It was Wednesday, July 2, 2008...and as I went to bed I had the packing of 50 purses on my mind for the next day. So here we were, Lois and I....at the United Center in Chicago...yes the same one the Bulls and Blackhawks play at. Lois was sitting at a little table (just like the one I bought my daughter, Karissa for doing manicures at) checking all the people in who came to pack purses. Only problem...we only had 50 purses to pack and only items for 50 purses.
All the people (
12,000 of them) who were showing up had nothing to pack or pack in...they all came empty-handed. I kept going over by happy Lois at her little table ...covering up my microphone (one of those big plastic ones my kids had when they were little) so no one could hear and saying "How did we advertise for this event since so many are showing up?" She ignored me and smiling from ear to ear just kept on registering more people. I took the first 50 people into one section on the floor of the United Center for purse packing. The rest I took to section 111 which is a section I know from going to the Women of Faith Conferences every year as good seats to see from. With my plastic microphone in hand I told the 11,950 of them that their job was to pray!! And that they had the most important job in all of this purse packing event. I woke up in a scare and sweat...Thanking God that it was only a dream...come back tomorrow for the details of actual exciting event!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Our First Post


Today is our first posting on this new blog. We have decided to try a new way to keep everyone informed of the happenings of the ministry and our lives as the leaders of it . Bear with us as we make changes and adjust to the new concept. Our website will also be improved in the near future.