Appendix Adventure and Thanks!

Wow! What a month of September and into October! What am I talking about? Who would have thought that after worship team practice, on a Thursday night in early September, I would have to go to the emergency room to get my appendix taken out? Not a very pleasant experience.

I knew that I felt really tired that day. So much so that I wasn't sure if I had the energy to conduct worship team practice. I went anyway and set up everything for the rehearsal. After prayer time with the team, I made my way home, had a late dinner...relaxed with my family for a little while and then went to bed.

At about 10:00 pm I started to have pain in the lower right abdominal area. I thought... maybe I just ate my enchilada dinner too late? At 1:00 am in the morning when I was trying to alleviate the pain by taking a hot bath...I had a feeling it wasn't the enchiladas. At about 2:00 am I found myself trying to crawl back to bed in pain. After going through the medical books with my wife...I finally had to tell her, "Take me into the hospital!"

The Worland Hospital's staff was incredible and very helpful, and by 8:00 am, Friday, I was having surgery. It was a very long process in the recovery afterward. I'm thankful to Dr. Weaver that he caught the appendix right before it burst. He told me that I was one sick boy.

So...what did God teach me this time? To be thankful to Him. To be thankful for a wonderful caring wife. To be thankful that we have loving and caring people in our church that are willing to step up when you are in need. To slow down....in my time of need.

Thanks goes out to the following: My God for being my strength and Healer. My wife and family for helping with everything until I recovered.....Roger Pomeroy for taking care of worship along with the rest of the worship team in my absence....The youth in worship ministries on Wednesdays covering for me....My boss, Steve Wake, for helping me to get coverage during my absence at the Wyoming Boys' School....all the prayers, visitations, and cards from all of the people, especially from First Baptist Church.

God bless you for all of your help, patience, and prayers. We serve a Mighty God, and I am so glad to be back.

Great Chamber Barbecue! Go Warriors!

We had a wonderful time as a family, getting out of the house, and going down to the Worland Community Complex for the annual Chamber Customer Appreciation Barbecue- 2010. This is something I look forward to each and every year! Instead of being on the grass in front of the Washakie County Courthouse this year, it was held at the WCC for the first time. There was a lot more room for Worland citizens to sit and enjoy a hot served meal by chamber members which included, juicy hot roast beef sandwiches, great hot dogs, tasty potato salad, thirst quenching Pepsi products (of course!), and sweet desserts.

As we enjoyed laughing and visiting with family and friends, and eating our meals on the sidelines of the youth football field, the athletic directors, coaches, and teachers, introduced our student athletes and band members from Worland High School. Of course, the Worland High School Marching Band played a few tunes for us too. It is always a proud moment for us parents as our Worland kids are introduced to the community. I was also thankful that the sound system was adequate for all to hear the announcements; it is usually difficult to hear when you have over half of the town present. I was also thankful that most of the little kids, including my youngest son, had plenty of room to run around and play, especially in the playground area across the street at Sander's Park.

Thanks Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber for having this event each year. I look forward to meeting and greeting our friends and family each year at this event, kicking off the new school year, including all the athletic events. Thanks for supporting our kids! Thanks for the good food! Thanks for making our community a safe place to raise kids!.....and GO WORLAND WARRIORS!

Lord, please direct the paths of our children!

Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

This is the first day of school for our children in Worland, Wyoming, and not just my children, but the children of our community. Let us, as Christian parents, pray for the well being and direction of our kids. Let us pray that our kids will acknowledge the Lord in all that they do in worship, because we want to see the Lord direct their paths. My prayer is that they will make good godly choices in every activity in class, in sports, and in travel; before, during, and after school. My they be the "salt of the earth" before their peers!

I pray that people who see them will see a glimpse of Jesus Christ Himself by the Holy Spirit. We all know the worldly influences that are out there. I pray that our children will stand firm in their faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul writes in Philippians 1:27-28a, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you."

Our kids do face opposition to their faith, whether we realize it or not. My prayer is that they too will have opportunities to share their faith in Jesus Christ and invite fellow classmates to church. I also pray that our youth ministries will continue to grow, discipling our young people. I pray that God will bless Pastor Jess Rollema, his wife Heather, and the rest of the First Baptist Student Ministries Team in this new school year, 2010-2011.

Kids, have a great year at school and all the activities that are involved with it. Parents, may God give you peace as you send them off. Be actively involved in their education...remember the TRUTH has been revealed to us! It is our responsibility as Christian parents to raise our kids, not the schools.

Have a safe and blessed school year!

Shout to the Lord!

Psalm 98:4 "Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises."

Thank you for allowing my family and I to lead singing and praises in worship at the Nowoodstock Music Festival in Ten Sleep, Wyoming yesterday morning. I was approached by Frank and Vicki Ley earlier this summer and asked if I would be willing to lead a short worship service at the festival. We are so glad that we did. My sons Caleb Garza and Jacob Garza, and also, Hannah Compton joined me as we drove to the festival, getting there at 8:00 am.

After an extensive setup and practice, we started singing worship music and sharing scripture at 10:00 to 10:30 am. Thank you Lord for allowing us to lift up your Name! You are the Creator of music, and how fitting it was to lift You up at the beginning of the day on Sunday at the festival! I was blessed to see many folks clapping and singing to the music about our Lord Jesus Christ. All glory goes to the Lord! I was also able to speak to several of the people afterward. We hope to partner with them and start an outreach using praise music in the future.

A big thank you goes to Roger Pomeroy for leading worship yesterday at 1st Baptist, filling in in my absence. We are blessed to have Roger on our worship team. He is a good man of God!

Thank you Frank and Vicki (Shaffer) Ley for providing the invitation and clearance to be able to lead the worship service. Congratulations on your new marriage! May God richly bless you!

A special thank you to Hannah Compton for all of your extra help setting up equipment, tearing down, taking pictures, and your sense of humor!

Finally and getting all of the credit, once again. Thanks again Lord for this event. We were truly blessed by it. We pray that you were also blessed and glorified.

I pray that You will continue to allow us to "shout joyfully to the Lord"! Amen.

Husbands Love Your Wives!

Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her"

This is so important, men. Do we really understand the importance of this in marriage? Do we really understand how much we are to love our wives? Christ demonstrated his love towards us even by giving His life. Here in Ephesians we are to love our wives by Christ's example. This verse tells me that I need to give 100% in my marriage. It's not a 50/50 compromise. Marriage is not for just what "I" get out of it.

Marriage is not something that we do one time in a ceremony and then put it on a shelf somewhere. We need to build our marriages and nurture them in the Lord each and every day. No matter how busy our schedules get, it is important to spend time with our spouses.

Lord, thank you so much for my beautiful wife, Sandra. She means so much to me. Life would be pretty tough without her. I thank you that she is also a believer in Christ. How special that is! Help me never to forget our vows that we took so many years ago. I thank you for the 20 years of marriage that we will celebrate this Thursday, August 5, 2010. Wow! August 5, 1990 seems just like yesterday!

I was so glad that we could spend some time together over the weekend. It was great being able to take her and the family to Mexican food over the weekend in Thermopolis, Wyoming to Las Fuentas. We were also able to do some shopping, which she enjoys, even if we don't spend any money. After church on Sunday, it was nice to just be able to talk and then watch a movie together later. Although, I need to work on talking and communicating a whole lot more.

Lord, please bless our marriage and the other marriages of your people. Protect our marriages, dear God. Grant us the ability to follow and listen to the Holy Spirit as we work on our marriages. You are a Holy and just God. Please grant us peace, love, and safe keeping. In Jesus' name, Amen.

A Dark Dreadful Place!

Psalm 119:105 "Your word [is] a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."

I will never forget, back in 1981, my father took us on a road trip to visit our family in southern Texas. On our way back home, we went by way of Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, seeing one of the largest underground caverns in the world. I enjoyed the underground hiking trails and the automated speaker phones, explaining the various limestone formations. "Stalactites" and "stalagmites" quickly became a part of my vocabulary as I gazed at the wonders of it all.

We decided to follow a guided tour by a National Park Ranger who led us down elevators, twists and turns, pointing out scenic passageways,etc. At one point, the ranger gathered us all around in a group and warned us that it was soon going to get very dark in the underground, man-made lit cavern. He then proceeded to turn out the lights while continuing to speak to us. The lights went out.....and I've never been in such a physical darkened place in all of my life. He asked us to put our very own hands in front of our faces and asked if we could see anything. It was so dark that I could NOT see a thing, even with my hand right in front of my nose, total darkness! Without any light, the cavern could be a very dangerous, dark, dreadful place, with not a chance of escaping.

I think of how non-Christians are in a very dangerous, dark, and dreadful place.......but with only ONE chance of escaping sin and death. That one and only chance of escape is not chance at all, but the submitting of one's heart to the one and true God, Jesus Christ. As Christians, we were once in sin's grasp, in total darkness, and destined to total darkness and destruction, being eternally separated from the LIGHT, God's presence. Pray that we would be able to tell others, by His Spirit, and speak of His truths.

If you are not a Christian, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that He is God's one and only Son, that he was raised from the grave on the third day after dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus is alive and well! Do this and you will be saved and live eternally with Him when you die.

I thank God that He allowed me to escape total darkness and that I am walking in the light. I am a believer of Jesus Christ, God's one and only Son! I also thank Him for His word, that it is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path! I read His word ,and He reveals our lives to us much like when the ranger finally led us along the path with a flashlight after being in such intense darkness. I want to live my life step by step in Him...in the light!

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Random Thoughts Ending the Week!

Wow! What a week. It all seems to be a blur. I am sure that a lot of you can relate. Here are the top 10 things that come to my mind randomly at this time.

1) Lord, thank you for a good productive week in the ministry. We had a good rehearsal Thursday night, and we can't wait to sing praises to you with the rest of the congregation this Sunday.

2) We are gearing up to hear what Pastor Shaun Matako and his wife Jodi have to say to our congregation at First Baptist, via Skype this Sunday morning. We are looking for a quorum for July 25th, for a vote to see if they will be called to pastor our church. Please keep this in prayer.

3) I have enjoyed a time of Bible study with our friends and church members, Vicki and Frank.

4) Thank you for what you have been teaching me, Lord, about living and worshiping you in obedience. Thank you for showing me from the book of Ecclesiastes, that life without you is meaningless!

5) I love my wife, Sandra, with all of my heart. When I was really sick with vertigo, Wednesday night, she really helped me get through it. The Lord shows me more and more how much she cares for me. I love and care for her too.

6) Worland Babe Ruth Baseball is winding down this summer. My son, Jacob, has played catcher and pitches for the All-Star team playing in this weekend's district tournament. Good luck to all of our ball players. Play hard, and may the best team win!

7) Our Pembroke Welsh Corgi (dog) had puppies, six of them, a week ago. We are receiving so many phone calls about them already. We hope to sell them, when they are old enough, to help Jacob get his braces.

8) Hopefully my wife and I will be able to get some yard work and gardening done over the weekend. Being gone a lot can take a toll on us trying to catch up on "whacking down the jungle"! At least I don't need to use a machete.

9) It was great having some of our family from California staying with us and visiting. I enjoyed the walks, talks, barbecues, and laughter around the house. I especially enjoyed the visit to the mountains, picnicking and fishing!

10) The Wyoming Boys' School ministry team was invited by the WBS superintendent for an appreciation barbecue for all of those involved in connection with this institution. It is an honor to be a part of it. Thank you, Lord, for allowing this open door of ministry throughout the year for the boys that are incarcerated.

I hope that you all have a great weekend. I hope to see some of you soon. God bless you!

Jeff