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Did you make a face shine brighter,
Make some heart a little lighter?
Did you cause just one to smile,
Stop and chat with them a while?

Did you give some heart a lift,
Did you bear some simple gift?
Did you do your best to make
A brighter world for someone's sake?

Did you do just one kind deed
To help someone who stood in need?
Tomorrow's still too far away,
Just count the deeds you did today!

If no kind deed we can recall,
What matters if we lived at all?
When day is done and time for rest,
May we say, "Dear Lord, we did our best."

~ L. L. Weatherly
1887-1981

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SLEDDING AT CARTER PARK

Who knew they had coffee at the top of the hill?

Nate and Jamie

The view back to the slopes

Jade, Angie, and Dax

Team Vinson ready for tubing

Bottom of the Hill

LUNCH IN TOWN WITH THE FAMILY

Columbine Cafe may have the best breakfast burrito in Breckenridge.
This is a picture of my girls, not the Breakfast Burrito. Would have taken a picture, but it would have embarrassed the family.

However, they would not have been as embarressed as I was the day before. We ate lunch up on the mountain. I walked up to Jade while he and Angie were in line at the cashier. I grabbed one of Angie's cheese-fries. They sure looked good. Funny thing was...it was not Angie! Cheese-fries taken from a stranger are not near as good.

The girls had to make a Chocolate Chip Cookie Run
to Mary's Mountain Cookies.

SNOW-SHOEING AT SPRUCE VALLEY RANCH

Skip, this picture is for you. Thanks for the snow-shoes! Can't wait to take a trip with you!

Watch that step to the left. It's a doosey!

The view south of Breckenridge

Tom & Todd

My friends, Tom and Bobble Roe, took me down a beautiful 1.5 mile trail in Spruce Valley Ranch.

Today was Jeannie and my day to get words of encouragement from everyone on the trip. It sure feels different when you sit in the other chair. Ellie told me she knew what encourage meant. "That is when you tell someone something that you love about them!" From the mouths of babes.... She is right on. It is amazing what power encouragement has on a person. I am blessed to have friends and family who encourage me daily! What a way to spend a Friday!

"I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers." 2 Timothy 1:3 (NIV)

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During my time alone with God today, I asked for a tangible picture of what it meant to be His child. God delivered today in a major way.

Mattie and Ellie had their first day of ski lessons yesterday. So what do their parents do today? We put them on the Quick Silver lift going up what seemed to be 13,000 feet at the top of Peak 9. After an hour in the lift line, the girls were cold, tired, hungry, and need to go to the bathroom. Being sensitive, I tell both of my girls to "Suck it up" and let's practice what you learned the day before in ski school." Ellie immediately falls and is in tears. Mattie is still recovering from yesterday's altitude sickness. Jeannie and Mattie go on ahead of us.

I get out in front of them and and going to "show" them how to ski. I go about twenty yards when I realize how ludicrous this is. I have just taken my 6 and 9 year old girls on their first ski lift on their first day of skiing up to 10,000 feet in blowing snow and I am frustrated because they are not skiing!

I had an ephany. It was like someone whispered in my ear, "Don't tell her, show her." I stop and ask Ellie to pizza (snow plow to you and me) in front of me. I get behind her, put my skiis outside hers, put my hands under her arms and begin to guide her down the slope. When I turned, she turned. When I stopped, she stopped. With the wind and snow blowing all around, I would whisper instructions in her ear and we traveled. She gained confidence with each moment. She did exactly what was asked of her. She did exactly what her father was doing, when he asked her to do it. With Dau surrounding her, Ellie proclaims, "Look, I'm skiing!" I laugh and say, "Yes, YOU are!" I look ahead. Jeannie sees what we are doing. She and Mattie begin doing the same.

When we reached the last 100 yards, Ellie said," Daddy, I want to do it on my own now." I let go of her arms as she ventured out in front of me. She was skiing. Ellie skied all the way to the bottom and never fell down. Ellie did not need to told how to ski. She needed to be shown. She needed to be led.

In that moment, I realized that God had just answerd my morning prayer. He had given me an excellent picture through my time with Ellie on what it means to be His child.

God does not shout instructions from down the slope and tell me to "Suck it up." He leads me. He surrounds me just like Ellie's Dad did on the slopes, whispering instructions, guiding and directing all along the way.

And He too must laugh when I proclaim, "Look, I am skiing!" God says, "Yes, Todd, you are." For He is leading me. What a picture of what it means to be His child.

Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

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I am on a family ski trip to Breckenridge. The scenery, weather, and skiing have been phenomonal!

Nate encouraged us to make this more than just a "ski trip." At the beginning and end of each day before we hit the slopes, we've taken some time to have some "intentional " time with God. I can't think of a landscape where I feel like I enjoy the presence of God more as I marvel at His creation. My favorite season in Rocky Mountains is the one that I am there in. It gives a great perspective of how big God is and how small I am.

We've taken this time together each day to also marvel at things we admire in one another and encourage each other. Many times in life many things go unsaid to people that we care about the most. For a few minutes at breakfast and dinner we have taken one person and encouraged them about things that we have seen in that person's life. It is powerful to have those words spoken to that person. It is important for us to say them. It is important for that person to hear them.

It shouldn't take time away on a trip to make those things happen. However, like Nate said, we have to be intentional. If we are not intentional in our lives, many important opportunities pass us by.

Take the time today to tell an important person in your life about how much they encourage you. Don't let the opportunity pass you by.

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It is said that "without vision, a people perish." I want vision. The alternative doesn't sound too inviting. One of the boys at the ranch keeps calling me Todd Vision. I first thought he was just making fun of me. I have since taken it as a compiment. He says, "you told us for years that we would one day have a gym, well now it is here! You said the McClendon house will one day will set here and there it is. We need something at the ranch and it shows up." Imagine that! When God gives us a vision and the faith for something, He delivers.

We walk by faith,...not by sight. There is no crystal ball. No cashing in on a lotto ticket. It is trusting God for His provision for His purposes in His timing. I feel like I spend most of my day looking five about years out. When you plan that long and work that hard for something you shouldn't be surprised, but I am.

It takes a change of posture. I started out working hard. Not always smart, but hard. Then I remembered my dad's phrase to "work smarter instead of harder." There have been days when the harder I worked the less I got done. That pride of self-suffiency continually brings me to my knees. However, God was not through. He moves me to another even more uncomfortable position, face down. It is when I am face down that things start looking up.

When I remain in this posture in my heart and in my attitude, amazing things happen. It amazes me to watch God show up and provide. It amazes me how He provides, when He provides, and who He uses to provide! I have a vision for what is needed, but I do not have the supply. The Lord is the supply. It is walking by faith, not by sight.

Just this past week, concrete work on the Nichols House was donated by a local contractor and good friend of the ranch. The next day tile work in the house was donated. Materials were donated by a tile company in Oklahoma City. A challenge grant was sent out by a foundation for $7500. In 4 days it was matched. These funds will cover scholarships for boys. It will also provide desparately needed work on a quarter mile of interior roads at the ranch. Two churches provided all the Christmas Gifts for all the boys on the ranch this past week. I could go on and on. These stories are just the highlights.

We pray in faith, not by sight. But what is going on at WSBR is quite a sight. God is moving physically, emotionally, and spiritually in the lives of people at the ranch. I am thankful for the vision that He gave in 1985. I am excited to see vision become reality. When we walk by faith it changes our perspective. Read the following quote by Warren W. Wiersbe. Start walking by faith, not by sight. You will be amazed what you see!

When we pray by faith, we start seeing things from the divine perspective. Faith enables us to see the invisible. Faith treats as present and accomplished that which God will do in the future. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
In my own prayer life, God is constantly seeking to bring me back to these fundamentals. It is easy for me to get detoured by some external thing, and my Father has to remind me that effective praying must come from the heart. I must repeatedly examine my relationship to the Father to make sure I am in His will, and that I want to be in His will. ("Doing the will of God from the heart," Ephesians 6:6.) I must examine my motives: Am I praying so that the Father will be glorified or so that I might have my own comfortable way? Am I praying by faith, basing my requests on His Word?
Perhaps all of this seems to make praying appear very complex and difficult. Really, it is not. True prayer is the by-product of our personal "love relationship" with the Father. "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him" (John 14:21).

Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.

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WE are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.” The dispensation that heralded and prepared the way for Christ was bound up in that man John. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The world’s salvation comes out of that cradled Son. When Paul appeals to the personal character of the men who rooted the gospel in the world, he solves the mystery of their success. The glory and efficiency of the gospel is staked on the men who proclaim it. When God declares that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him,” he declares the necessity of men and his dependence on them as a channel through which to exert his power upon the world. This vital, urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to forget. The forgetting of it is as baneful on the work of God as would be the striking of the sun from his sphere. Darkness, confusion, and death would ensue.
What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use — men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer.

Bounds, E. M. (1999). Power through prayer. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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"Study universal holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. If Satan can only make a covetous minister a lover of praise, of pleasure, of good eating, he has ruined your ministry. Give yourself to prayer, and get your texts, your thoughts, your words from God. Luther spent his best three hours in prayer."

~Robert Murray McCheyne

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"The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord."
~Proverbs 16:33

If the disposal of the lot is the Lord's whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by him, how much more the events of our entire life-especially when we are told by our blessed Saviour: "The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father." It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, his thoughts are serving himself. If you would "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," all things would then be added unto you. You are meddling with Christ's business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying "providing" work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father's storehouse, and ask whether he will let you starve while he has laid up so great an abundance in his garner? Look at his heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at his inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while he pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If he remembers even sparrows, will he forget one of the least of his poor children? "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Spurgeon, C. H. (1995). Morning and evening : Daily readings (December 19 AM). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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My Upmost For His Highest

December 18th

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. Romans 8:28.

It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberties with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realization comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognizing that He had organized them. We never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses.
Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the thing that we ‘stick at’ to-day. We will be loyal to work, to service, to anything, but do not ask us to be loyal to Jesus Christ. Many Christians are intensely impatient of talking about loyalty to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more emphatic-ally by Christian workers than by the world. God is made a machine for blessing men, and Jesus Christ is made a Worker among workers.
The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us—‘I reckon on you for extreme service, with no complaining on your part and no explanation on Mine.’ God wants to use us as He used His own Son.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (December 18). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

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"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance."

Amen!

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program The Rest of the Story and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

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A storm passed over the Florida coast and left a great deal of wreckage behind. The next day, as the men were cleaning up their little town, one man said, "I’m not ashamed to admit that I prayed during that storm last night." One of his friends replied, "Yes, I’m sure the Lord heard many new voices last night."
Prayer is not like those little red boxes we see in buildings and occasionally on street corners, marked USE ONLY IN EMERGENCY. I enjoy sharing good things with my children, but if they only spoke to me when they were in trouble or in need of something, our relationship would quickly deteriorate. Unless we do the will of God, our living will negate our praying.
"Father, the hour has come...." What hour? The hour for which He had come into the world. The hour when He would die on the cross, be buried, rise again, and finish the great work of redemption. You may trace this "hour" in John’s Gospel.

John 2:4 Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour has not yet come.
John 7:30 They were seeking therefore to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 8:20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified."
John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
John 17:1 "Father, the hour has come...."

I think it was Phillips Brooks who said, "The purpose of prayer is not to get man’s will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done on earth." If we want to pray in the will of God, then we must live in the will of God. Prayer is not something that we do; it is something that we are. It is the highest and deepest expression of the inner person.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.

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"The biblical pattern for prayer is to the Father, in the name of the Son, in the power of the Spirit. Jesus addressed His Father six times in this prayer. (Some people say "Father" or "Lord" with every sentence that they pray. This is a bad habit that should be cured.) Four times He simply said "Father"; the other two times, He called Him "Holy Father" and "righteous Father" (verses 11 and 25). From this, I gather that it is not wrong for us to use suitable adjectives when we address our Father in heaven. However, we must be careful to mean what we say and not overdo it.
We address the Father, of course, because prayer is based on sonship. In what we traditionally call "The Lord’s Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-13), Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Our Father...." Jesus never prayed "Our Father." We noted in chapter 1 that Jesus had a different relationship to the Father because He is the eternal Son of God. He said, "I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God" (John 20:17).
We hear people addressing their prayers to the Son and even to the Holy Spirit. Is this wrong? When Stephen gave his life for Christ, he saw Jesus in heaven and addressed his prayer to him: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" (Acts 7:59). I know of no prayer in the Bible addressed to the Holy Spirit. Since our prayers are addressed to God, and since Father and Son and Holy Spirit are all in the Godhead, technically we can address our prayers to each of them. However, the biblical pattern seems to be that we pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, and through the power of the Spirit.
Nowhere in this prayer does our Lord mention the Holy Spirit. He had in His Upper Room discourse taught the disciples about the Holy Spirit (John 14:16,17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-13). Jude 20 instructs us to pray "in the Holy Spirit," which seems to relate to Romans 8:26, 27, verses that every serious prayer warrior should ponder. We cannot expect God to answer unless we pray in His will (1 John 5:14, 15). We discover the will of God primarily through the Word of God (Colossians 1:9, 10), and it is one of the ministries of the Spirit to teach us from the Word (John 16:13, 14).
The fact that prayer is based on sonship suggests that the Father is obligated to listen when His children call. In fact, it is more than an obligation: it is the Father’s delight when His children fellowship with Him and share their needs. "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11). The Father’s heart reaches out in love to His own, and He longs to share good things with them. And the better we know our Father, the easier it is to pray in His will."

Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.

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These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said. ’’Father. the hour has come; glorify Thy Son. that the Son may glorify Thee."-John 17:1

"Lord, teach us to pray!"
This request from one of the disciples (Luke 11:1) gave evidence of real spiritual insight. We must learn how to pray. While praying is as natural to the Christian as breathing is to a mammal, even breathing must be studied and practiced if it is to be correct. Singers and public speakers work on their breathing so that they get the most out of their voice and don’t injure it. The fact that we have been praying since childhood is no guarantee that we really know how to pray effectively.
John 17:1 gives us some guidelines to follow for effective praying.

Posture is not important.
Was our Lord kneeling or standing when he offered this prayer? We don’t know. All we do know is that He lifted up His eyes to heaven (see John 11:41). Most people bow their heads and close their eyes when they pray, but Jesus lifted His head and focused His eyes on heaven. Many people fold their hands when they pray, but I don’t find this practice anywhere in Scripture. In fact, the Jews were accustomed to lifting up their hands, open to God, expecting to receive something! (Note 1 Kings 8:22; Nehemiah 8:6; Psalm 28:2; and 1 Timothy 2:8.)
Many different prayer postures are recorded in the Bible, and all of them are acceptable. Some people bowed their knees when they prayed (Genesis 24:52; 2 Chronicles 20:18; Ephesians 3:14). When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, He began by bowing His knees (Luke 22:41); He then fell on His face as He talked to the Father (Matthew 26:39). It was Daniel’s practice to kneel when he prayed (Daniel 6:10), but King David sat when he talked to God about the promised kingdom (2 Samuel 7:18). Abraham stood when he interceded for Sodom (Genesis 18:22). So there are many postures for prayer.
The important thing is the posture of the heart. It is much easier to bow the knees than to bow the heart in submission to God. While the outward posture can be evidence of the inward spiritual attitude, it is not always so. Again, the important thing is the posture of the heart.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.

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Anyone who knows me very well knows that I love coffee. One of my favorites is some smooth Dutch coffee that my dad brings back home on his way through the Netherlands. I received this the following story from someone today. Enjoy your coffee!

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress at work and in life.

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

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THE FIRST NOEL
English carol, before 1823

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (Luke 2:8)
Although no Christmas season would be complete without the melodious singing of this tuneful carol, very little is known about its origin. It is believed to have had its rise in France during the 15th century. Noel is a French word originating from Latin meaning “birthday.” The song is thought to have been brought across the channel to England by the wandering troubadours. The carol under the English form, “Nowell,” became a great favorite for Christmas Eve, especially in the west of England. This was when the entire village gathered for singing and celebrating the bringing in of the Yule log. At this time carols were thought of as popular religious songs meant to be sung outside the church rather than within.

“The First Noel” portrays in vivid narrative style the story of the birth of Christ. All six verses are needed to complete the entire event when the hymn is sung. The sixth stanza urges us to join together to sing praises to God for the marvels of His creation and for the salvation provided through Christ’s shed blood. The repetition of the joyous “noel” in the refrain is equivalent to our singing out “happy birthday” to someone.
It is interesting to observe that the “King of Israel” was first announced to “certain poor shepherds” only, but in the final stanza the phrases “let us all” and “mankind hath brought” remind us that Christ came to redeem the whole world.

The first noel the angel did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay—in fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
They looked up and saw a star shining in the east, beyond them far; and to the earth it gave great light, and so it continued both day and night.
And by the light of that same star, three wise men came from country far; to seek for a king was their intent, and to follow the star wherever it went.
This star drew nigh to the northwest; o’er Bethlehem it took its rest; and there it did both stop and stay, right over the place where Jesus lay.
Then entered in those wise men three, full rev’rently upon their knee, and offered there, in His presence, their gold and myrrh and frankincense.
Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our heav’nly Lord, that hath made heav’n and earth of naught, and with His blood mankind hath bought.
Refrain: Noel, noel! Noel, noel! Born is the King of Israel!

For Today: Matthew 2:1–12; Luke 2:8–20
Let’s allow the joy of Christ’s birth to be reflected on our faces and heard in our glad singing of praises to Him all through this Christmas season.

[Page 376]
Osbeck, K. W. (1990). Amazing grace : 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions. Includes indexes. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications.

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I find myself burning my candle at both ends many more times than I would like to admit. I wonder why I find myself tired and lean in those times. The quote below was written somewhere between the 1700-1800's. It could have been written in my journal this past year. The cure is simple. I just have to take the medicine.

"This perpetual hurry of business and company ruins me in soul if not in body. More solitude and earlier hours! I suspect I have been allotting habitually too little time to religious exercises, as private devotion and religious meditation, Scripture-reading, etc. Hence I am lean and cold, and hard. I had better allot two hours or an hour and a half daily. I have been keeping too late hours, and hence have had but a hurried half hour in a morning to myself. Surely the experience of all good men confirms the proposition that without a due measure of private devotions the soul will grow lean. But all may be through prayer-almighty prayer, I am ready to say-and why not? For that it is almighty is only through the gracious ordination of the God of love and truth. O then, pray, pray, pray!"

~William Wilberforce 1780-1825

"Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and none who waters will himself be watered."

~Proverbs 11:25

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"The Word of God is living and active." ~Hebrews 4:12

"Prayer is like fire. The fire can only burn brightly if it is supplied with good fuel. That fuel is God's Word, which must not only be studied carefully and prayerfully, but must be taken into the heart and lived out in the life. The inspiration and powerful working of the Holy Spirit alone can do this.

By thoughts such as these we gain a deeper insight into the value and power of God's Word, as a seed of eternal life. We are all familiar with the characteristics of a seed-a small grain in which the life-power of the whole tree slumbers. If placed in the soil it will grow and increase and become a large tree."

~Andrew Murray

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"The pricipal cause of my leanness and unfruitfulness is owing to an uncomfortable backwardness to prayer. I can write or read or converse or hear with ready heart; but prayer is more spiritual and inward than any of these, and the more spiritual any duty is the more my carnel heart is apt to start from it. Prayer and patience and faith are never dissappointed. I have long since learned that if ever I was to be a minister, faith and prayer must make me one. When I can find my heart in frame and liberty for prayer, everything else is comparatively easy."

~Richard Newton

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My mother-in-law always says the most valuable thing you can give someone is your time. Who or what are you giving your time to?

"What, could you not watch with Me one hour?' ~ Matthew 26:40

"One who wishes to pray ...might say: 'I think I could do all that in ten minutes time.' Very well; if ten minutes is all the time that you can give, see what you can do in that time. Most people can spare more time. If they will only persevere from day to day, with their hearts set on prayer, time will come of its own accord.

Dear child of God, let us never say, 'I ave no time for God.' Let the Holy Spirit teach us that the most important, the most blessed, the most profitable time of the whole day is the time we spend alone with God. Pray to the Lord Jesus, who in His earthly life experienced the need of prayer; pray to the Holy Spirit, who will impress upon us this divine truth. As indispensable to me as the bread I eat, and the air I breathe, is communion with God through His Word and prayer. Whatever else is left undone, God has the first and chief right to my time. Then only will my surrender to God's will be full and unreserved."

Passage from "The Secret of Power from on HIgh" by Andrew Murray

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"Every day will I bless Thee." ~Psalms 145:2

You thought A. D. was a nick-name coined by Adrian Peterson. Andrew Murray used it first years ago. A. D. It's not just for football anymore! Try it out in your daily life!

"It is a step forward in the Christian life when one definitely decides to seek to have fellowship with God in His Word each day without fail. His perserverance will be crowned with success, if he is really in earnest. His experience may be somewhat as follows"

All the day! Christian, the Holy Spirit says: 'Today.' 'Behold, now is the accepted time!' A man who had undergone a serious operation asked his doctor, 'How long will I have to lie here?' And the answer came: 'Only a day at a time.' And that is the law of the Christian life. God gave the manna daily, the morning and evening sacrifice on the alter-by these God showed that His children should live by the day. Seek this day to trust to the leading of the Holy Spirit the whole day. You need not care for the morrow, but rest in the assurance that He who has led you today will draw still nearer tomorrow."

From the Secret Power from on High
~Andrew Murray

Posted by Todd Vinson at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays are a great waypoint on the map as I blaze down the trail of life. This time of year causes me to slow down and take a look around where I am at, where I have come from, and where I am headed. It is amazing to recount all that has happened along our journey at the ranch and camp this past year. At times, I confess, I feel like I am sometimes on this trip alone. Then I look back and can see how God has sent so many people on this journey with me.

“The Lord has supplied all our needs” at the ranch according to “His riches and glory in Heaven.” He has done that with amazing House Parents, and Staff. He has done it with financial donations that have come in at just the right time. He has supplied our needs with so many of you who have showed up rolling up your sleeves and hopping in the trenches with us to keep us out of the ditch and moving up the trail.

We have an amazing group of boys that God is raising up to be men of character. As we come to our eighth year, the ranches’ influence has moved outside the borders of our ranch and into the community. Our guys asked if we could open our Sunday night Ranch Life up to the Chandler High School. Ranch Life is a Young Life-style outreach to students. We have consistently had 30-50 students and adults come to this event. The ranch also has two women’s Bible Studies led by our ladies from the ranch that serves 20-25 women in the community.

WSBR will open up the Nichols Graduate House in the spring of 2007. This house will be home to our graduates who are transitioning into independent living as they further their schooling, begin first full time jobs, become mentored, and become a “Big-Brother” to younger boys on the ranch.

Jacob’s Ladder Camps and Retreats is now approaching it’s sixth year. With the Rob Liddell Memorial Gym’s completion this year we were able to serve 86 groups ranging from youth groups, missions team, Division I athletic groups, men’s and women’s retreats, and a few corporate retreats. JL Camps has also had the opportunity to employ many of the older boys from the ranch. This has been a great opportunity to teach work ethic, responsibility, and leadership.

The growth and out-reach that has occurred this past year is astonishing. It has occurred because we have some very special people on this journey making a lasting impact on young men. Thank you for your commitment and investment in the missions of Willow Springs Boys Ranch and Jacob’s Ladder Camps and Retreats. What a blessing it is to serve with you as we make a difference in people’s lives.

Posted by Todd Vinson at 12:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I finished reading, The Seeking Heart by Fenelon today. I finished the book, but not the Seeking. One of the final letters is titled, Knowing God. Many of us have intellectual knowledge about God. Many know about Him. The question is do you know Him personally?

KNOWING GOD

Most people don't really know God. They know what they have read, or been told, but it is an intellectual knowledge that lacks true spiritual experience. Most of us grow up being told there is a God, but I'm not sure how much we believe it. We don't act like we believe in God. And those who believe in God, have a relationship based on fear rather than love.

Oh God, we don't understand You. We don't know that we exist through You. Help me to see You everywhere. You allow an amazing thing: a mixture of good and evil in the hearts of even those who are most given to You. These weaknessess keep us humble and close to You. So choke back in my heart all that rises up to question Your goodness. Let me sit in silence before You, and then I will begin to understand. Nothing pressess You to overwhelm Your enemies. "You are patient," says Augustine, "because You are eternal." Oh God, love Yourself in me. The more I love You, the more You pursue me with Your relentless love. Oh God, I adore You. You have made me for Yourself alone. I exist for You.

~Fenelon

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TRUST YOUR SELF-LOVE TO GOD

I have no doubt that God treats you as one of His friends by giving you the cross. God's way accomplishes His purpose quicker than anything you could think of. God is able to seek out and destroy the roots of self-love. You, on your own, could never find those hidden roots. God can see the entire path of self-love within your heart. Let Him attack self-love at its strongest point.

I know you want to see the road ahead rather than trusting God. If you continue this way, the road will get longer and your spiritual progress will slow down. Give yourself as completely as you can to God. Do so until your final breath, and He will never desert you."

Passage from The Seeking Heart
~Fenelon

This is an convicting letter for me. I like me. I like me alot. I like what I want, when I want, and how I want. I think that is what Fenelon calls Self-Love. That is a nicer way of saying Selfishness.

With 3 days of "Snow Days" at the Vinson House, Self-Love has raised it's ugly head on several occasions. It wasn't limited to my three girls. I was also caught in the trap.

Selfishness does not have many redeeming qualities. There is not much happiness either. Fulfillment comes when our focus is on something other than and Some One greater than ourselves. The paradox is that when my focus is turned off of me and placed on God, my life changes dramatically.

In the words of Fenelon, "Pray for strength and faith enough to trust yourself completely to God. Follow Him simply and wherever He may lead you and you will not have to think up big plans to bring about your perfection." he has our perfection, our peace, and our path worked out when we place our focus on HIm and not ourselves

Posted by Todd Vinson at 05:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

We all dispense Good Will and Cheer,
When Christmas time is drawing near.
To friends that we have 'most forgot,
We send a card, just like as not.

Are the gifts we place beneth the tree,
The kind of gifts Christ likes to see?
Faith, Hope, and Love, all three,
This Christ expects, from you and me.

If Christ, by chance, dropped in to dine,
To drink the cup of hallowed wine.
Would we make him feel at home,
Or be relieved when he was gone?

~L.L. Weatherly 1887-1981

Posted by Todd Vinson at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"It may be put down as a spiritual axiom that in every truly successful minister prayer is an evident and controlling force-evident and controlling in the life of the preacher, evident and controlling in the deep spirituality of his work. A minister may be a thoughtful minister without prayer; the preacher may secure fame and popularity without prayer; the whole machinery of the preacher's life and work may run without the oil of prayer or with scarcely enough to grease one cog; but no minister can be a spiritual one, securing holiness in the preacher and in his people, without prayer being made an evident and controlling force."

Quote taken from Power Throught Prayer by E.M. Bounds

Posted by Todd Vinson at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Oklahoma had it's first winter storm of the season. We had 12 inches at the ranch. It is the biggest snow we have ever seen at the ranch. I got my first ever snow-shoeing. Didn't have to wait for that Colorado trip. It was great walk around the camp. Here are a few pictures.

Posted by Todd Vinson at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)