Baseball Season!

Wow! It's hard to believe that the Worland baseball season is starting to wind down. Jacob is playing a few more Babe Ruth games, but Joshua's little minor league team plays their last game tonight. It was a tough season for their team, but I hope that he wants to continue playing next year. We really enjoyed watching the kids play! The league is a lot different being pitched to by another kid instead of by the coach or by using a tee. If these kids really enjoy the sport, they have to get the experience. So, Sandra and I will go out tonight and cheer on our youngest boy.

Once thing is for certain....we really want baseball to stay alive in Worland, Wyoming. Unfortunately, we are seeing the trend that baseball is not drawing the youth like it once did. It broke my heart to see that Worland didn't have a Legion team for my oldest son Caleb to play on this year, and Worland has had a Legion team in this town for almost a hundred years!

I pray that baseball will continue in this town and that there would not be a loss of interest.......I just can't spit sunflower seeds at any other event!

Thanks for your prayers!

I just wanted to tell everyone, thank you very much for all of your prayers for the Wyoming Boys' School ministry. The ministry has been very fruitful for the Lord. God has blessed this ministry very very much. In the last months, with changes in policies that came from Cheyenne, we were having some difficulty with our clearance paperwork to even get in to present the gospel message.

We praise God that He was faithful, and our paperwork has finally been processed and cleared. Yesterday we had no concerns about going in to minister! The Holy Spirit was moving, the boys really were a part of the worship, and Ben McMillan preached a great sermon on creation and the presence of God. A invitation was given by Ben to accept Jesus. We were thrilled to see about 10 of the boys raising their hands to accept Him as their personal Savior!

Again, thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and of course prayers. God is moving at the boys' school. Remember, when ever good things are happening for the Lord, the devil is on the prowl. Pray for the protection of this ministry. I pray that the door will continue to be kicked wide open!

Pray for these boys....please.

As I sit here writing while my students at the boys' school are reading....the thought came to mind that I need to continually pray for these young men. They come from all over the state with all kinds of backgrounds and "baggage". I am thankful that they are allowed to read their Bibles in their rooms at night, but I often wonder if they are actually understanding the Word of God.

We have the opportunity to present the Gospel to these boys again this Sunday with our team from First Baptist. Please pray that the worship would go unhindered, that the message would be clear, and that the boys would be receptive to the Gospel truth. Pray that the Holy Spirit would really work on the hearts of these young men. I pray that they would accept Jesus as their Savior and that their lives would be changed.

Pray that we will be good witnesses as we enter into the Wyoming Boys' School this next Sunday. Acts 5:32 "And we are His witnesses to these things, and [so] also [is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

I Love Fishing!

One of the best creatures that God created was the trout! I love fishing for them, and they taste good too! I had a great time with my family up a Meadowlark Lake in the Big Horn Mountains this last Saturday. I just can't wait to go fishing again! Thank you Lord for the quiet relaxing time. I sure needed it!

Fishing is the greatest relaxing outdoor sport.

Into the water sails my hook with bait, ready to grab some trout attention!

Shimmering water hides the fish as I wait to feel a bite!

Heaven......is going to be better than this? Wow! I can't wait!

In God's creation is where I love to be... under the blue sky....fishing!

No other feeling like catching that trout on the hook and reeling it in!

God knows I'm hooked on fishing.....better yet...I'm hooked on Jesus!

Weekend Reflection Again!

Hello everyone. I hope all had a great weekend. Here we go for another round. Can you believe that we are halfway done with June? I can't believe that time is passing by so quickly. Well, here is what the Garza family did over the weekend.....

1) Friday...yard work after work....still dodging rain drops.

2) The boys, Sandra, and I took the puppies for walks a few times over the weekend. The Corgi puppies and 2 year old Hank-n-stein did great on our 2 mile course.

3) We enjoyed talking with people as we visited a few local yard sales in Worland. We enjoy, not only the deals, but getting out and seeing bunches of people that we know doing the same thing.

4) We drove to the "big" town of Otto, Wyoming to watch our son Jacob play baseball. The weather cooperated with us...Thank you Lord.

5) When we got home from the baseball game...I thought..."Hmmm. Weather looks nice...guess I'll finish mowing our yard." While I was finishing up, the wind picked up...black clouds were next...and the downpour came. I was completely drenched finishing up our yard!

6) We wrapped up Saturday relaxing and watching movies together. I like that on a rainy day. Wow what a light show God put on! The lightning storm was incredible!

7) Sunday was great worshiping our Lord. Down at the church at 7:30 a.m...I was excited to worship. The 8:30 service went very well. Shaun's message was fantastic as usual, speaking on how we are to lift the Lord's name in prayer! Great teaching time! The 9:30 Sunday School time was great. Dan Hart is teaching from the book of 1st John. He taught on the assurance of salvation. At the 11:00 service...worship really broke loose! I pray that the Lord was pleased with our worship because we really enjoyed singing and praising! Days of Elijah! Pass Me Not! Shout to the Lord! Open the Eyes of My Heart! Of course we got a great second dose of Shaun's message. Praise the Lord! We serve a risen Savior!

8) The rest of the day.......I just got some needed rest.....enjoyed it too. It's great to get some ZZZZZs on a nice cool Sunday afternoon.

Have a great week! I hope that the Lord blesses you!

God's Winning Team!

I love everything there is about the game of baseball. I love the strategy to force a runner from first to second. It's not about hitting the home run every single time. I love watching the runner ready to steal a base while the pitcher tries to hold him on the base, and at the same time, the pitcher's trying to let his pitches do their work against the batter up at the plate. Of course....you're always looking for the double play! Oh yes...don't get me wrong....it's always good to see someone hit the "long" ball. And of course...there's always the foul balls one after the other and the "three strikes" you're out!

Watching the game with my sons playing is great. It brings back memories of the days when I played as a kid....the dirty floored dugouts....spitting sunflower seeds and eating rope licorice in anticipation for it to be your "ups".... the disappointment that 3 outs happened right before your turn up at bat, and that you want your team to make quick work of playing defense out on the field. I can remember the tie games in a late inning knowing that anything could happen, and you could either be the winning team or the losing team.

One thing is for certain, when you are on God's team and you have made a commitment to Him...you are always on the winning team. Oh, being a Christian is not always perfect. Life in this world isn't always great....as a matter of fact, it can get down right tough and even painful at times. But...we as Christians have a hope and truth that has set us free from the pains of this world. Ultimately in the end, when Christ returns, our Champion of Champions will prevail over Satan and his demons. He has already paid the penalty on the cross for our sins.....but at the end of our Holy Bible...we are told..He wins and we win with HIM!

Revelation 22: 3-5 "And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever."

Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Believe that He is God's only Son. Believe that he died on the cross and was raised from the dead on the third day after being crucified for our sins. Believe in Jesus....I believe, and I am on God's winning team.....please be on this winning team too. Accept Him today...right now. He's our only hope. We will reign with Him forever and ever in His light for eternity. In heaven there is not pain, suffering, death, or destruction.

John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

The Lord is everything!

Psalm 34:10
"The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."

I am blessed by today's verse that came up automatically on my blog. There is nothing that the Lord lacks. He is strength. He is power. He is comfort. He is healing. He is truth. If we seek the Lord...He lacks nothing!!!!

Lead me to the cross, Lord. Lead me to my knees. You are always faithful. Help us not to forget that. I am so thankful that we can call you Father. In our weakness you are strong. We worship You! Strengthen our hearts of worship.... Amen.

God is Good!

Psalm 147:1
"Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!"

Wow! God is good. We have been blessed with many things over the course of the last four days.

1) The Lord allowed our family to have some overdue and much needed time together away from home. We were able to get away and visit Yellowstone. It was a beautiful time to be in God's creation, the lake...the trees...the mountains. I was amazed with how He created geysers, wildlife, and the amazing scenery full of rich color. We enjoyed hiking around and taking in everything. We camped near Cody, Wyoming Friday evening, and then enjoyed each others company all day in Cody. We were refreshed and ready for worship Sunday morning.

2) Worship was great Sunday morning the Student Ministries worship team did a fantastic job leading the congregation once again on a "5th" Sunday. Then Pastor Jess taught from the Word about being content in the Lord...and being happy with what the Lord has given us.

3) Baptism happened. More people joined our church. We are so thankful at First "B"! "To God be the glory...great things He hath done!"

4) Sandra, the boys, and I were able to get our house cleaned up and ready for some friends that we haven't seen in about 15 years. Steve Spalding, friend, old college roommate, and my best man, and his family came to visit and stay at or place yesterday and evening. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, a barbeque, and a time of worship together. Steve, his boys, my boys, and I set up the music room for a great evening of praise and worship. It was great singing new and old songs to the Lord together....just like old times. The last time that we worshipped together was at a youth camp years ago. I am happy to announce that he is now an associate pastor to the seniors at Calvary Chapel, Fresno, in California. He is a good teacher! Pray for him and his family as they make their way back to California by way of Yellowstone National Park.

5) It was back to work at the Wyoming Boys' School early this morning starting the summer session with the students. They were ready for school. Keep praying for these boys and their salvation.

6) Thank you Lord for the many blessings! Please use us according to your plans and will. In all things, help us to continue to sing praises to you, for it is pleasant and fitting to you. Amen.