FAMILY LIFE at Desert Springs - a place where we can share the heart of our church family; prayers, praises and important announcements.  Be sure to check-in often to see what is happening. If you have a prayer request or praise, please submit by contacting me, Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs....760-568-3646 or lkeener@desertspringsfamily.org.

DARE TO CHOOSE GOD'S QUIET LOVE TODAY

It takes practice to change how we’ve been trained to be: planning for tomorrow and getting things done. We have to be intentional to stop and listen to God’s voice.

Love is intentional. Love is quiet. This quieter Voice is calling us to stop — stop worrying and planning for tomorrow as a way of distraction and procrastination — and listen to what He has to say to us today.

This Voice is kinder. More loving than all the voices that push us, rush us, and criticize us. This Voice wants to provide just what we need this very moment. And calls us to trust Him beyond what we can’t see ahead.

This is hard. Because we are used to providing for ourselves. It’s how we’ve been conditioned to do in this world. Being busy instead of beloved.

But, even among our doubts, a Gentle Voice continues whispering —

You were made for more.

Dare to be my beloved. Today.

A Window to the Soul

This Voice is Jesus. Jesus calls us to choose the quiet — where we can stop long enough to hear His whispers of love for you. And me.

Like a window that opens to the soul, quiet is our invitation to God. To welcome Him into our today.

In moments of quiet, we realize how much — we need to rest and feel God’s touch. today.

We miss the voice of a good friend we’ve wanted to call for a while. today.

We may need to let go of something big . . . so we say yes to something small but good for our soul. today.

We may we need to forgive ourselves and begin anew again. today.

Listen

In moments of quiet, Jesus whispers —

You don’t have to be strong. You can be loved.

You don’t have to know the way ahead. I do.

Hold onto Me. I’m holding onto you.

Tomorrow will come and I will be there with you.

I will quiet you by my love.

Like manna falling from My heart into your hands,

My words will always find its way in you.

Today.

Choose Instead

So choose the quiet.

When you come to a fork in the road in the day — between choosing the quiet or filling it up, by performing, pleasing, or disappearing — stop.

Choose what’s harder, but more soul filling.

Enjoy something no one would be able to point at it and say, “Look. She did something.”

Choose instead to be loved.

Let God love you. Choose the quiet.

Stop and Pause

Stop and pause right now. Dare to let God’s One Word fall on your heart, quiet like sweet rain.

Be the Beloved. Listen as He whispers — I love you.

“The Lord your God is in your midst. He will take great delight in you; 

He will quiet you by his love.” {Zephaniah 3:17}

What words of love is God whispering to you today?

How can you choose the quiet today?

by Bonnie Gray, the Faith Barista, author of Finding Spiritual Whitespace, serving up encouragement for your soul and your journey.

PRAYING FOR OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Health, Wisdom, Strength

And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Leta Benefiel
Lucy Brooks
DeVries daughter, Jill
LaReign Hodges - needs wounds to heal

Betty Hyta  
Larry Largent - lung exrays
Patty Marillo - prayers for strength

Doreen Riordan's daughter, Karen
Carol Smoke - continue to pray for energy

Serena Williams - back pain severe

FAMILY LIFE at Desert Springs - a place where we can share the heart of our church family; prayers, praises and important announcements.  Be sure to check-in often to see what is happening. If you have a prayer request or praise, please submit by contacting me, Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs....760-568-3646 or lkeener@desertspringsfamily.org.

What I Believe:

I believe in Jehovah God who created the whirling galaxies, the birds soaring in the sky overhead, the endless crashing waves and all that dances within them. I believe in Father of all who knits together life, made in His very own image, in the secret quiet of our beings.

I believe in Jesus Christ, the One with no earthly Father, with the dust of this earth between His toes, and with our names etched onto the palm of His hands, right beneath the nail scars…Who now sits at the Father’s right hand making endless intercession on our behalf. I believe in the stone rolled away, in the Body being raised, in the first fruits of the dead…and us all following soon, very soon.

I believe in the Cross as our only Hope, our only Claim, our only Savior, and our only Foundation. I believe that in the pounding surf of life we have only one thing to cling to: the feet of our Lord Jesus, hanging on that tree, His lifeblood flowing down, washing us whiter than snow. It’s all by His staggering grace, lest any man should boast.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, moving, whispering, indwelling our very being. I believe in living by the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, and producing fruit in the Spirit…in the Spirit who helps us in our weakness with groanings that can’t be expressed in words.

I believe in the infallibility of the Bible, God’s Word – a sure Word, a pure Word, the only secure Word. I believe the words on those pages are breathed from the very throne room of heaven, are the love letter penned from the heart of God; a beacon of light for stumbling feet to find sure footing on a dark path.

I believe there is more than believing. There is living what I believe.

Thus this journal.

~Ann Voskamp

PRAYING FOR OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Health, Wisdom, Strength

And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Beverly Baughn - strength improving  
Leta Benefiel
Mona Bills - strength improving
Hugh & Lily Boyd
Lucy Brooks
Muriel Burns - heart surgery
Gail Ehler - pain level improving
Michael Gagliardi - dizzy spells

LaReign Hodges - needs wounds to heal
Betty Hyta 
Phyllis Johnson
Mike Kunkle

Patty Marillo - prayers for strength
Dave Metzler - knee problems
Ruth Sixtone-Wells - continual cold

Carol Smoke - continue to pray for energy
Bob Vouga

Serena Williams - back pain severe

FAMILY LIFE at Desert Springs - a place where we can share the heart of our church family; prayers, praises and important announcements.  Be sure to check-in often to see what is happening. If you have a prayer request or praise, please submit by contacting me, Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs....760-568-3646 or lkeener@desertspringsfamily.org.

TRUSTING HIM....

Regardless of what is causing my worry, God has given me some tools to combat it and trust Him with the end results.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” {Matthew 6:26-27}

We are valuable to God.

God is stable and consistent and trustworthy and faithful through it all. He always has been and always will be. He values us more that the birds of the air, more than all creation. He loves us deeply and cares for us greatly.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” {Matthew 6:31-32}

Our needs are known by Him.

I’m learning to rest in the truth that God knows my needs intimately. He knows them better than I know them. He’s known them before they even existed.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” {Matthew 6:33}

Seek first His Kingdom.

Everything of this world is temporary. It really is but a vapor. The things of God are eternal. When I set my gaze on Christ and cultivating closeness with Him, all else fades away. The things we focus on are the things that get our affection and attention. I always want my affection and attention to stay on the Lord. I’m sure you do as well.

When He is our goal and soul’s desire, He steps in and does a work in our lives. He sees that our hearts are pure. Then He can bring blessing, favor, and provision into our lives.

We don’t have to succumb to doubt.

We don’t have to be ruled by fear.

We just have to have confidence in the One whose name is HOPE.

PRAYING FOR OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Health, Wisdom, Strength

And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Beverly Baughn - strength improving  
Leta Benefiel
Mona Bills - strength improving
Hugh & Lily Boyd
Lucy Brooks
Gail Ehler - pain level improving

LaReign Hodges -- needs strength
Betty Hyta
Phyllis Johnson
Mike Kunkle

Patty Marillo - prayers for strength

Walter Rohm
Carol Smoke - pray for energy
Bob Vouga

Serena Williams - back pain severe

FAMILY LIFE at Desert Springs - a place where we can share the heart of our church family; prayers, praises and important announcements.  Be sure to check-in often to see what is happening. If you have a prayer request or praise, please submit by contacting me, Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs....760-568-3646 or lkeener@desertspringsfamily.org.

2016 - Promises

Every new year holds new promise, new potential.

But if all the Januaries prior are any indicator, then all the promises and resolutions we make become fertile soil for disappointment in their wake. Yes, we’ll make good on some. But we’ll fall short on others. There’s only One who can and will and already has fulfilled every promise He ever made.

“None of the good promises the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.” {Joshua 21:45}

If God said it, He will come through on it.

God alone can be counted on, even as we count each day. For He is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow too. God stands by His Word because He is the Word.

So as I think about all the things I want to accomplish this new year, I pause to give thanks to the One who has already fulfilled every promise He made, not only to the Israelites in the past, but to all of His children today.

And what better way to begin a new year than to give thanks and pray?

Excerpts from Denise J. Hughes

PRAYING FOR OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Health, Wisdom, Strength

And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Beverly Baughn - strength improving  
Mona Bills - strength improving
Hugh & Lily Boyd
Lucy Brooks
Gail Ehler - pain level improving

LaReign Hodges -- needs strength
Betty Hyta

Patty Marillo - prayers for strength

Chris Marlow
Carol Smoke - pray for energy
Bob Vouga

Serena Williams - back pain severe

FAMILY LIFE at Desert Springs - a place where we can share the heart of our church family; prayers, praises and important announcements.  Be sure to check-in often to see what is happening. If you have a prayer request or praise, please submit by contacting me, Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs....760-568-3646 or lkeener@desertspringsfamily.org.

SAY YES IN 2016

Yes. Such a simple word. Just three little letters.

Yes. A simple word that can change everything.

I have always been so in awe of Mary’s “yes.” By her humble obedience to trust in what God was asking. What faithfulness. And this wasn’t just some simple request. This wasn’t just some small favor. He was asking for her complete trust. He was asking for her all.

She said yes to the call God had for her life. She embraced His plan and said yes to be part of God’s mission on earth.

I don’t know . . . if I were in her sandals, I probably would have been like, “What? Umm, just a minute here. I have a lot of questions!”

Her beautiful and humble response . . let it be.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” {Luke 1:38}

Wow. That is just so inspiring and encouraging to me. I want to respond to His call with the same willingness that Mary had!

It can be too easy to to come up with excuses or brush things off as being unimportant. But God can do anything with anyone who is willing. He is our strength.

We need to remember the truth is that even one person can change history with one yes.

God is at work right now. His plan in our lives is happening right this very moment. We are part of God’s mission here on earth. We just need to be open to God and put our trust in Him.

Say yes everyday.

We need to let God work in us. Let God work through us. Let Him use us as He needs. No questioning all the details. We don’t need to understand everything. We don’t need to see what He is doing with our lives to know we are part of His plan. No list of excuses. No doubting. No thinking we aren’t important enough to make a difference.

Yes. Yes to His call. Yes the whole way through.

Yes with our weaknesses and flaws. Yes with all the bumps and frustrations that might come along. Yes. Let it be.

Will you say yes to His call? Will you say it again and again?

PRAYING FOR OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Health, Wisdom, Strength

And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Beverly Baughn - strength improving  
Mona Bills - strength improving
Hugh & Lily Boyd
Lucy Brooks
Gail Ehler - pain level is still an issue

LaReign Hodges 
Allen Hurst

Betty Hyta
Mary Ireland

Patty Marillo - prayers for strength
Chris Marlow
Carol Smoke - pray for energy
Bob Vouga

Serena Williams

Thera Breteweg just informed us that her dear husband Bob, passed away Nov. 30th. There will be a memorial service for him on January 4th, here at Desert Springs. More information to follow. They were married 39 years. 

FAMILY LIFE at Desert Springs - a place where we can share the heart of our church family; prayers, praises and important announcements.  Be sure to check-in often to see what is happening. If you have a prayer request or praise, please submit by contacting me, Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs....760-568-3646 or lkeener@desertspringsfamily.org.

Peace is not the absence of storms. Peace is the presence of God.

Friend, behold your Father, in the storm. He is racing you toward shore, and sitting with you, in the rain. He is your peace, when the sky is falling.

You’ll remember a story about another boat, caught in another storm. Once upon a time, Jesus and His friends were on the water. A raging storm dropped from the sky while Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples cried out: “Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” Jesus got up and spoke to the waves:

“‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” {Mark 4:39}

Today, some of you are under the darkening surprise of a storm. Maybe it’s less of a storm, and more of a relentless drizzle, leaving you chilled to the core. It might feel as if Jesus is asleep on the job. But take heart, Jesus is awake, alive in you. Call out to Him, and listen for His voice, speaking to the storm inside of you.

His words have the power to rebuke storms. And when you dare not look to the menacing skies, afraid of what you’ll see, look at the feet of your Father, kneeling beside you.

Peace, he says. Be still.

Thera Breteweg just informed us that her dear husband Bob, passed away Nov. 30th. There will be a memorial service for him on January 4th, here at Desert Springs. More information to follow. They were married 39 years. 

PRAYING FOR OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Health, Wisdom, Strength

And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Beverly Baughn - strength improving  
Mona Bills - strength improving
Hugh & Lily Boyd
Lucy Brooks
Gail Ehler - pain level is still an issue

LaReign Hodges 

Betty Hyta

Patty Marillo - prayers for strength
Carol Smoke - pray for energy

Serena Williams

FAMILY LIFE at Desert Springs - a place where we can share the heart of our church family; prayers, praises and important announcements.  Be sure to check-in often to see what is happening. If you have a prayer request or praise, please submit by contacting me, Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs....760-568-3646 or lkeener@desertspringsfamily.org.

DO NOT BE AFRAID.  Today while over 900 Los Angeles Schools were closed because of a "viable threat" it's hard to NOT be afraid. 

"WHEN I AM AFRAID, I WILL TRUST IN GOD" Psalms 56:3

It doesn’t matter what fear the world’s selling. The only Story that matters keeps repeating it: Do Not Be Afraid.

Do not be afraid of the unknown when you know the One who does the impossible.

Do not be afraid of what could fail when His arms are stronger than any failure & He cannot fail or let you fall.

And do not be afraid of any evil because greater is He who is in the depths of you and breathing the wild courage to love right into your bones.

Do not be afraid to see the face of God in the dark where you did not expect Him.

Do not ever be afraid of suffering because suffering can birth a greater resurrection. Do not be afraid of laying your life down in a thousand ways because this is the only way to ever rise.

Do not be afraid to pack nothing and only pick up your Cross.

"Whoever wants to save his life will lose it.  But whoever loses his life for MY sake will find it." Mathew 16:25

Excerpts from Ann Voskamp

PRAYING FOR OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Health, Wisdom, Strength

And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Beverly Baughn - strength improving  
Mona Bills - strength improving
Hugh & Lily Boyd
Lucy Brooks
Gail Ehler - pain level is still an issue

LaReign Hodges 

Betty Hyta
Mary Ireland

Patty Marillo - prayers for strength
Chris Marlow
Carol Smoke - pray for energy

Serena Williams

Missions Request:

We have received some very heartbreaking news from Heidi & Daniel, the founders and directors of Open Arms Childcare Ministry in La Mision, Baja California Mexico.

In 2014, our mission team helped to build a duplex home for Cindy (whose husband had just been killed by a drunk driver), her daughter Brisa (now 5) and baby Alvaro (now 2). The other part of the duplex was for Rafael (Cindy’s brother) and his three sons, Jesus (now 11), Robert (now 10) and Osbaldo (now 7) and their new step-mom Gladys (now 18) to live in.  Gladys watched the kids, while Cindy & Rafael worked, and she helped us often during the build. On the 2015 mission project, we installed a power line to their home so they could have electricity!  They were using a line from their neighbors, because they could not afford to put a line in and only had electricity a few hours a night. 

The children, as far as we understand, and the moms have given their lives to Jesus but Rafael was still running from Christ. Now, sadly he is in the hospital with 2 types of rare aggressive cancer, he is very ill and unless God touches Rafael he will not live.  His children do not yet know this. Our first request for each of you is to PRAY, pray that Rafael will turn to God and no matter what happens have a sense of peace that passes all understanding knowing he will have eternal life.  Daniel & Heidi are visiting, praying and sharing God’s love and salvation message with him.

Our second request is to ask, if at all possible, to give a financial gift to this family.  We want to be sure they have money for food, and daily necessities.  Gladys will have to look for work in the future, and the children can remain with Open Arms, so they are safe, fed and learning each day about how much God loves them.  But for now, they need help. 

Please pray for Rafael and entire family and if you feel led to give financially, drop a check (made out to Open Arms Childcare Ministry) to me at the church office and we will get it to them.  We will be sure that Daniel & Heidi hold the money in their account and give it to Gladys as needed.  Thank you, my heart is heavy for these families and I know the Lord put them in our lives for a reason.

  

Below is Heidi’s reply to our email to her a few days ago:

“Sorry for the delay on responding. Thank you so much for wanting to help this family. Our hearts are broken over the situation, too- we know your group was very involved and invested in this family, so we can imagine you're also experiencing some of the heartbreak. 

If you would like to make a donation, we would gladly purchase food and make sure they have what they need. Rafael is the main source of income for the family, so any kind of donation would go a long way for them. As far as Christmas commitments go, we have our big Christmas party on Saturday and the kids will receive plenty of gifts that day (shoes, clothes, books, toys, etc.) so that is not a huge need. However, the family will be in need of the basics such as food, filling the propane tank, gas in the car, etc. If you feel led, we think it'd be great to have a fund prepared for them so that when they need these things we can quickly provide them. 

Thank you so much for your care and concern and prayers. We are believing God in this. Please continue to pray with us.

Love and blessings, Heidi”

  

Thank you all for taking time now and praying about how you can help.

Serving Together,

      Laura Keener, Frontline Director at Desert Springs

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” Proverbs 19:17

“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” I John 3:17-18