Perspectives Course & Strength from God's Word

Perspectives is a course being taught in Bible Schools, Seminaries, and churches around the world and also online. Covering the Biblical, Historical, Cultural, and Strategic Perspectives, this course challenges every believer to understand and commit to fulfilling God's mandate. (http://www.perspectives.org/)

This awesome 15 week course Perspectives Study Program is a ministry of the U.S. Center for World Missions. I am participating in the January 11- May 3 Indialantic, FL (Melbourne area) course on Sunday nights when I'm not traveling to share my missions assignment and raise support. It's a combination of speakers, readings, reviews, and an integrative project. This is a life altering experience to study how God’s call to missions started with Abraham in Genesis and runs through the Bible to Revelation.
I have enjoyed and been blessed by each of our speakers, but the one that has impacted my missionary prep and inspired me the most was Chuck Walton (pic) with Wycliffe Bible Translators, Philadelphia. What pierced my heart was how scripture sustained him during his 23 days of captivity and repeated threats of death after being seized by Muslim extremists in 1993 while working as a language researcher with the Summer Institute of Linguistics in the Philippines. Mr. Walton was translating the New Testament into the Samal language when he was seized by gunmen on the island of Pangutaran.

God gave to both his wife Janice (at that time in the U.S.) and him Psalm 27 - the whole Psalm, but especially verses 1, 12, 13, and 14 helped sustain them.

Walton also referred in class to Psalm 139:7-12, Isa. 26:3, Psalm 23 and Psalm 1, as well as Proverbs 21:1.

In Charles Walton's own words from an email: "What a blessing it is to have these passages hidden in the heart so they can help us in our time of need as well as just for meditation purposes. I also thought my way through whole passages that I was familiar with but had not memorized. It is good to learn to think ones way through a book of the Bible."


For decades I've incorporated memory verses into my Christian Education ministry and that will definitely continue - with all ages. I am reminded of one of the morning devotional times at my October 2007 CE Seminar with Ivorian pastors and church leaders. I read 2 Timothy 3:16, then asked folks to share a favorite scripture and a "brief" story illustrating how it has impacted their life. It took 1 hour 45 minutes for 13 people to share the power of one scripture each...a rich, precious time together.

I must significantly prune my resource collection before going back to Cote d'Ivoire, but I sense God telling me to hold on to many of my Bible memorization resources. I also sense God nudging me to update my old “Scripture Memory Alive” workshop, combine it with the 2007 creative teaching methods training I did Cote d’Ivore to have available to share in the U.S.

Strength via Praying Scriptures

A song many of us learned as a child declares, "Read your Bible, pray everyday...and you'll grow, grow, grow."
How true! We all know that prayer and reading/meditating on God's Word are the foundations of a vital, growing relationship with Christ...the source of spiritual strength and stamina.

Put them together... pray the scripture into your life...now that's real power.

A resource I highly recommend is the book, The Power of Praying Through the Bible by Stormie Omartian to help develop this habit that yields spiritual encouragement and strength.

Omartian journeys with readers from Genesis to Revelation and reveals how God designed prayer so that they can: communicate with Him, embrace the promises of Scripture; release burdens to God’s care; walk with Jesus daily; listen to the Spirit’s leading Stormie brings home the truths and the wonder of God’s promises. In each devotion, Omartian gives lists a scripture passage, gives a focus verse, a brief commentary, and prayer applying the verse to our lives.

This book is a tremendous blessing to me. I often read it on breaks at work, and have given copies as gifts.

Kentucky and Tennessee 3/29 - 4/5/2009

It was my privilege to share my call to missions and progress in the journey back to Cote d’Ivoire as a career missionary between March 29 and April 5 at these churches:

~Sun., 3/29: First Church of God, Morehead KY
~Sun., 3/29: First Church of God, Winchester KY (Home Church)
~Wed., 4/1: First Church of God, Greenville TN
~Thurs., 4/2: Meade Station Church of God WCG, Ashland KY
~Sat., 4/4: No. KY First Church of God WCG, Erlanger KY, Living Link
~Sun., 4/5: Larchmont Church of God, Louisville KY

What a joy to see Christ working through His faithful followers and learn of various ways folks are being His witnesses in their communities...food pantry, clothes closet and other service/outreach efforts, radio program, prep for a big Easter drama, Christian schools, fascinating relevant small group/class topics, dynamic preaching and vision casting...and much more. God is blessing His people and making them a blessing in a multitude of ways. Thank you for your warm welcomes and generous hospitality.

This series of visits was extra special because I got to share my missions story with my home church at Winchester and at other churches with some folks who had known my parents and Grandpa & Grandma Snowden.

It was a special treat to have lunch gathering with some of the Watts family (pic) and visit others. Thanks for your support and hospitality.

I drove 2990 miles in less than 10 1/2 days. It was Lexington, KY to Casselberry FL on Monday, then back to the library Tuesday morning to present a storytime program. I thank God for His traveling mercies and felt the power of prayers during that last tiring stretch.

Bye Bye "Peter Rabbit"

One challenging part of foreign missions preparation is letting go of belongings, but is much easier when you know of the pleasure they bring to others. Rather than a temporary critter sitter for "Peter Rabbit" during 10 1/2 days of recent support raising travel in Kentucky and Tennessee, I opted go ahead and let him go. Library system coworker Gail had offered to adopt Peter Rabbit when I return to Cote D'Ivoire.

My charcoal gray furry little companion of 14 years is beloved by many. In past years Peter assisted me in storytimes, substituting for my greeter puppet before and after programs. Parents even called in to ask when Peter would be there next. This very docile Netherland dwarf was also a regular part my children's ministry nursing home outreach visitation ministry for ten years and also numerous individual nursing home visits when I carried him around in a black hat or old purse. Donna from my church said holding Peter helped her heart slow down. Twila, a former 80+ neighbor would stop by for a dose of Peter (doctor's instructions to get a pet to help lower her blood pressure, but too busy to adopt her own animal).

Thanks Gail for taking great care of my little buddy and giving him the TLC he deserves!

Pruning more than 50 years accumulation of belongings is a humongous task, but one peels an onion one layer at a time or eats an elephant one bite at a time. I thank God for the invitation from a co-worker to participate in her sub-division's community yard sale April 18 and my church's clothing giveaway at auto maintenance service project March 21 - opportunities with deadlines along the way to help peel off layers of my huge onion. Diligence and obedience are key for steady progress in order to be ready when the time comes to go.