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Thank you to all of you from the Kramer-Baker flock from Henderson Hills Baptist Church. You made Christmas a very special time for the boys at the McClendon House. Below are a few pictures from their Christmas celebration. Thank you for making this a special time. "A picture is worth a thousand words", so here goes....
A friend sent me this radio interview by a boy named Logan. Logan is a 13 year old boy from a small town in Nebraska and wise beyond his years. This young man is wise beyond his years.
My button to create a link has disappeared. Copy and paste the link below to your web browser.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCdZwitrNoY
II thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord... .
Jeremiah 4:1
The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before
God, never first in the external world. The Spirit of God apprehends
me and I am obliged to get alone with God and fight the battle out
before Him. Until this is done, I lose every time. The battle may
take one minute or a year, that will depend on me, not on God; but it
must be wrestled out alone before God, and I must resolutely go
through the hell of a renunciation before God. Nothing has any power
over the man who has fought out the battle before God and won there.
If I say, "I will wait till I get into the circumstances and then put
God to the test," I shall find I cannot. I must get the thing settled
between my self and God in the secret places of my soul where no
stranger intermeddles, and then I can go forth with the certainty
that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity and disaster and
upset are as sure as God's decree. The reason the battle is not won
is because I try to win it in the external world first. Get alone
with God, fight it out before Him, settle the matter there once and
for all.
In dealing with other people, the line to take is to push them to an
issue of will. That is the way abandonment begins. Every now and
again, not often, but sometimes, God brings us to a point of climax.
That is the Great Divide in the life; from that point we either go
towards a more and more dilatory and useless type of Christian life,
or we become more and more ablaze for the glory of God
- My Utmost for His Highest.
Wonderful friends and family helped make Christmas at the Liddell House a special time for our boys.
Jeff Wood lead us in Christmas carols and reminded us "what live's all about."
Thank you Liddells, Lancasters, Harrisons, Jeff Wood and Tammy Payne for all you did to make Christmas special for our guys. They were quiet and reserved during the party, but when you left, the guys said, "Wow! That was the best! And that guy, Jeff, he's really good!" Thank you guys for all the smiles you brought and the heart you have for the Liddell House.
The McClendon House celebrates Christmas with their guys Friday night. I can't wait to post some pictures. Thank you to all of you from Henderson HIlls Baptist Church who made Christmas a special time for our boys. We talked about the message of Christmas and the gift that God has given to us. What a gift. That message has not been missed by our boys or the ranch. Thank you all for loving on our boys. They see God at work in their lives. They amaze me as I see them pay it forward.
Rick and Marcia brought their house church out to the ranch and threw an amazing Christmas Party for the entire house. The food, desserts, and hospitality was unbelievable! So was the gifts that were given to the house! Gifts replacing worn-out items in the home. Gifts and games for the boys. Gifts that showered our houseparents and their family. Gifts of love and prayers for the ranch.
Rick and Marcia, Valerie, Sarah, Maria, Rebecca, Steve and Donna, Cheryl, Larry and Logan, Emily and Zane, Dena, Peter, Josiah, Micha, and Aleysia, Katrece, Jody, and anyone I may have missed: Thank you for the love that your House Church shown to the McClendon Home!
Mr. Spurgeon once preached what in his judgment was one of his poorest sermons. He stammered and floundered, and when he got through he felt that it had been a complete failure. He was greatly humiliated, and when he got home he fell on his knees and said, "Lord, God, Thou canst do something with nothing. Bless that poor sermon."
And all through the week he uttered that prayer. He woke up in the night and prayed about it. He determined that the next Sunday he would redeem himself by preaching a great sermon. Sure enough, the next Sunday the sermon went off beautifully. At the close the people crowded about him and covered him with praise. Spurgeon went home pleased with himself, and that night he slept like a baby. But he said to himself, "I'll watch the results of those two sermons." What were they?
From the one that has seemed a failure he was able to trace forty-one conversions. And from that magnificent sermon he was unable to discover that a single soul was saved. The Spirit of God used the one and did not use the other. We can do nothing without the Spirit who helps our infirmities.
--Christian Digest
This fall, Jeannie and I began leading our girls in a short Bible study at dinner. In this study, there was also a message for parents from Pastor Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church. Just like the old commercials for cereals, Tommy said that there are Eight Essential Vitamins for a Child: Peace, Time, Truth, Example, Esteem, Acceptance, Affection, and Discipline.
These qualities are essential in a child's life. I also think that each builds on the former as the child matures and develops. These eight qualities are virtues that we strive to impart in the lives of our four children, as well as the boys at the ranch.
This has been a year of growth and transition at the ranch. WSBR has had two boys graduate. Both are working. Both are learning to live on their own. One resides in the Nichols Graduate House where he is working, going to his second year at Gordon Cooper Technical School, volunteers at Faith Works of the Inner City, and mentors a younger boy at the ranch. WSBR has taken three new boys this fall. We have been blessed with excellent house-parents who pour their lives into these boys.
This has also been a year where three of our boys have had to deal with the death of a parent in their life. Though not always on a conscious level, they too are experiencing the need and importance of these eight vitamins in their lives. It is in times like this where we see the importance of our mission. We strive to provide a loving structured environment as we "train up" (Proverbs 22:6) these boys to become healthy young men. The past nine years have shown the power of your partnership as we invest in young men.
You receive the post because you have some level of connection to the ranch either through volunteering, sending cards and gifts to the boys, providing clothes, medical care, helping with boys' scholarships, investing in capital campaigns, or are faithfully committed to praying for our boys and our staff. Thank you for your continued support to this mission. You are the reason that WSBR "happens" everyday!
Words cannot adequately convey the gratitude that I have for you and the difference that you make in lives at the ranch. As Derin Carr, WSBR Program Director has repeatedly said, "God does not need me to accomplish His work at Willow Springs Boys Ranch. However, I am thankful that He continues to let me serve in this role." That is my sentiment as well! It is amazing to look back each year and see the growth in our boys' lives and our program. All these things occur through God working through friends like you. If you have not been out for a visit lately, please give me a call. I would love to drink a cup of coffee with you and let you see firsthand the impact that you have at Willow Springs. Thanks again to all of you who help make WSBR and JL Camps happen for kids everyday!