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posted by Esther on 05/16/08

There is nothing like knowing that others are taking the time to lift you up in prayer. This was a great encouragement to me as I was teaching this past winter. Thanks to everyone who was praying for me! (Click here to see God’s Power in Prayer! Part 2)

Following are some examples of God’s direct answers to prayer discovered by comparing my journal with Jennifer Wilkes journal of prayers for me.

1/16/08 At Bible Club, a girl eagerly approached me asking about hearing God’s voice, forgiveness, and being sure of her salvation. What a joy to look up Bible verses together that directly related to her need. That day Jennifer had prayed: “May these children seek out the teachers and want to know more.”

2/14/08 My Diary reads: “At Bible Club today an older girl…accepted Christ! She came asking how to have her sins forgiven… I felt like I covered all the points of the wordless book more clearly [than the day before] and she thoroughly understood.” That day Jennifer had prayed: “Give the children a desire to learn your truth. May they ask questions today in order to enlarge their understanding of you.”

2/15/08 “Dear Diary, I have been reading in Lev. 15 and thereabouts about God’s peace and being holy as He is. It has been a very encouraging time with God before starting each busy day.” That day Jennifer had prayed: “Keep her [Esther's] heart at rest all throughout the day. Help her look to you for needed encouragement.”

Praise the Lord for directly answering prayer!

Who could you pray for? Click here to sign up to pray for someone in ministry, or choose a family member or missionary you know. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:15-17

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Michael on 05/13/08

Rosemary is a delightful herb best suited to warm dry climates and sandy soil. Our family has been impressed with the world of difference a little rosemary makes in our stew recipe. I know that there are many people who would like to grow rosemary but their climate is not favorable. Being on the edge of zones 5 and 6 in the mountains of West Virginia, our climate is the opposite: cold and damp with clay soil. Each winter the temperature drops below zero F once or twice. If I had known about others’ failures in attempting to grow rosemary in my kind of environment, I might not have attempted it. But since the family enjoys using rosemary so much, when I heard about a variety that was “hardy to zone 5” named ‘Madeline Hill’ I decided to give it a shot. It is important when trying something new to keep detailed records. Only then can all the factors be considered for helpful conclusions. I hope the details here will be helpful to someone.

I planted it in April ’06 in front of a small south-facing brick wall but the soil was heavy clay that had been amended with peat moss and gypsum. Because neither clay nor peat moss is recommended for Rosemary, I amended it further with sand. The wall is 7 feet from the outside wall of the house so I do not believe it receives any warmth from that source in the coldest days of winter. However, the eave of a porch roof helps keep the soil somewhat dry and that is a good thing for Rosemary.

It seemed to grow happily the first summer. The following winter I insulated the plant if the temperature threatened to go below 15 degrees. I did this by turning a crate over the plant and wrapping it thickly with burlap bags. “Thickly” means about 15 layers. Since a bag is two layers, that means a 7- or 8-bag thickness all the way around. In a 12-day period in February 2007 the temperature fell to single digits seven times, the coldest temperature being -2 degrees F. The temperature rose

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7 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land

posted by James on 05/11/08

Today is a memorable day in Staddon family history. On May 11, two years ago, we were on a a family vacation (all 10 of us packed into our trusty 12 passenger van) to the Southwestern US. Today we drove from Ajo, AZ, down to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (right on the border of Mexico), and then up to Phoenix, where we spent the night at the home of some friends, the Kelley family. Below are a few of the “second best” pictures (ones we never ended up using for anything) that I pulled out of our archives.

Before leaving Ajo, I was able to get up early enough to see and shoot the sunrise. They are absolutely brilliant in the southwest! Jonathan was there too and we think he made the only sighting of a coati on the trip.

As we traveled south, the landscape looked more and more desolate as the sun rose higher in the sky . However, as seen above, the desert has a unique beauty to it, if you just get the right perspective.

I had a ton of fun taking pictures at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. However, I guess for some of us it was more miserable than memorable. A few of us were feeling pretty sick and the heat of the Arizona sun didn’t help any.

We were the only people at the park. It was very desolate. But this is one of few places in the US you can find many rare plants and animals.

One thing I remember about this day was everyone’s flexibility. We had many things planned to do at the park but for lack of time we had to cut a lot of things out. As everyone yielded their expectations, we were able to have fun in what God did allow us to do.

At the Kelley’s we had a tremendous time of fellowship (even though most of our family had never met them before.) They were very hospitable to host our whole family and they even took us for a hike up the mountain to see the city of Phoenix at night.

4 Comments » | posted in Family News, Photography

posted by Esther on 05/10/08

This week Mom and I attended a very nice Mother’s Day dinner with Grandma at her church. It was so good to see friends and neighbors gathering together to honor their mothers. I returned home with a new gratefulness for my Mom and the priceless friendship we share. I thank God for the huge blessing of  a loving mother. (Sorry that the pictures are so blurry! I’ll have to ask James for some photography tips.) 

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by James on 05/9/08

Last week was momentous. I had the privilege of traveling down to the annual ATI Regional Conference in Big Sandy, TX, fully equipped with laptop, camera, lenses, and necessary accessories to document the week-long event. I didn’t go as a student, but rather as a commissioned photographer on assignment. For years, an opportunity like this was something I had only dreamed of doing, because to personally own enough quality equipment to successfully shoot something like this would cost years of savings. However, because God led me to work here at the IBLP Headquarters, I was able to use my department’s equipment for this venture.

I am a Canon shooter, not a Nikon user. I feel a whole lot better shooting with Canon when I’m under pressured situations because I simply know how it works and can make it do what I want without much thought.  However, the equipment I used was Nikon. At the beginning, this concerned me because I knew it would take some time to learn how to use it smoothly. Often, the perfect picture is completely missed for the simple reason that it took too much time to figure out how to capture it. So, with that in mind, I decided to let God take care of those situations and not worry about it because I knew I was where God wanted me to be. Coincidently, God allowed me to shoot Canon for the first few assignments! How? Somehow, another photographer heard that I was not shooting Canon for lack of professional quality lenses, so she offered to let me use her L-series, 70-200mm IS lens! I did learn to use the Nikon system for the rest of the week, but having a Canon to shoot with at the beginning was indeed a blessing.

One event in particular stands out as a highlight of the Conference. On Friday, roughly 120 men assembled in an upper room of a library for the morning Father’s Meeting. This meeting was special in that afterward an anointing service was planned (Hebrews 6:1-3). I did not want to miss this historical event. And it was historical indeed! About midway through the service, we were interrupted by news that two tornados were heading directly toward us. Instead of being deterred, we cried out in one accord as a group for God to redirect the tornados. The thunder was deafening, the rain torrential, and the wind terrific, but we were not effected by any tornado. The service continued as before. To be in an upper room with over 120 dedicated, faith-filled fathers with a rushing, mighty wind outside, was indeed an experience I will not soon forget!

For most of the week, from Tuesday afternoon to Saturday evening, there was almost always the need for a photographer. Choosing carefully what I shot and keeping the needs of the Graphic Arts Department in mind, I shot around 3,000 images. It took all day Monday and Tuesday to process them. As I look back, I can see that there is so much more to learn. The week wasn’t without it’s embarrassing moments, memory lapses, corrupted CF cards, and missed opportunities.  But the effort put into the work was worth the results. In serving the Lord, I gained much needed experience and I feel I was able to fulfil the assignments that were given me.

Look for more pictures of the momentous occasion in the May 2008 IBLP Newsletter.

3 Comments » | posted in Family News, Photography