SEASONS OF LIFE

It's been a few months since our last blog update. We celebrated ONE YEAR as Operation Managers @ The Springs on March 5. We've seen all 4 seasons and yes we made it through our first winter in the 'woods'. Lucky for us, it was a relatively mild winter. Each season has been more beautiful than the previous. 

Our ministry work here remained busy even through less active outside work. Jim spent the winter proactively doing maintenance on all the equipment - having more time to research (you-tube) the how to's on some of the machines he wasn't as familiar with. The slower pace was nice. The snowy hikes were amazing. You can follow us individually or The Springs on Facebook to see all of the amazing pictures. Cabin occupancy didn't slow down one bit. We started off  the very first week of January with a large group of men from all over the country gathering for their yearly retreat. The Springs is a place to come no matter the season outside - a place to find rest, quiet and solitude with God around every corner. 

Cabin occupancy continues to amaze us.  We currently book 8 months out and find ourselves with very few cabins open primarily on weekends until December of this year. Weekends book faster than weekdays, as we still have some opening during the week. Men and women come alone, married couples, men's and women's ministry groups, missionaries home for furlough, Pastor's on sabbatical, Church Elders, or lay leaders in the church or area ministries, come and find rest here. 

The Springs now has an on-site generator for when we lose power. As one of our 3 core values being guest centered, we want to honor our guests with one less distraction. Jim and another on-site team member Chris, worked hard on this project and now it's here and done. We are thankful. 

Spring is here again and mowing season has begun. Daffodils, hyacinth and crocus flowers are sprouting up all over as we not so patiently await warmer temps. Stepping outside our door to sprouting flowers is such a breath of fresh air. I bent over just this morning and stuck my nose in a hyacinth flower and breathed it in, such a beautiful scent. The scent of spring and all things new, again!  

We have found a new church family. It took most of our first year in Indiana visiting several churches. We will always be a part of Faith Fellowship Church in Cincinnati, but need a local family too.  We are now attending Church on Fire, Batesville. We have become good friends with Pastor Terry Allen and his wife Rhea along with many others there. Jim spoke there a few months ago promoting the new Celebrate Recovery meeting which launched in January. Many became involved and friendships grew. The community of Batesville is amazing, as all churches came together to support Celebrate Recovery. They have a community board of Pastors that meet to unite the community for Jesus. That's amazing!  We are thankful for the contagious spirit that Church on Fire has for the lost, the hurting, our community and each other. We look forward to getting involved and building new relationships. This campus of Church of Fire will be becoming it's own stand alone church this year and it's new name will be Ignite Church. They continue to have a great relationship with Church on Fire-Harrison, but they have both decided being stand alone churches is where God is leading. Here's a link to COF/Batesville's Facebook page. FB Church on Fire Batesville

2023 started hard as Mom (Karen's) started to decline more rapidly, suffering another or more strokes. She became more unresponsive as we got into February and passed away so peacefully on March 3, 2023.  We have found this 'season' of life so hard watching our precious parents suffer their last months and even years. It's been 3 years since we began this journey with them. Dad continues to decline as well. The hardest part of all of this is dad's unawareness of all that has happened in the last month. It breaks our heart but at the same time, he isn't grieving the loss of his wife. Dementia is the most horrific disease I've ever known. 

So many of our friends have lost their parents in this last year - it's a hard season. 

BUT....we have hope!  Real true hope in a secure future with Jesus for all those who believe. There is so much going on in this world, that I cannot fathom life with the Hope of Jesus. If you have any questions about this hope, please reach out!  We would love to talk with you and share the hope we have. 

Every season of life has a purpose by Pastor Rick Warren

This is a good article I found while searching for our blogs theme. "Life is a combination of contrasting seasons. All sunshine and no rain make a desert. If you’re following God’s will, seeking to live your life according to the way God wants you to live, then you’ll eventually see that these experiences can have purpose and value in your life.

A daily prayer for your seasons of life, to acknowledge the purpose of this season and to hold onto hope that this is only a season.

Prayer for Your Seasons of Life

https://www.prayerandpossibilities.com/daily-prayer-for-your-seasons-of-life/

Lord, remind me this is only a season. For every time there is a purpose and I will not be in this storm forever. This storm will pass and the sun will shine again. For there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to be silent and a time to speak. Though this may be a time of difficulty, a time of peace and joy may be around the corner. I will trust in your time and your plans. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace. 

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, friendship and visits. 

We continue to raise support for our personal needs as we live on-site here in Oldenburg, IN. If you would like information on how you can donate to us we would love to talk with you. We would love you to take the nice country drive to visit us and let us show you around here at The Springs.

Visit our website: The Springs 

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME!

 

JOY TO THE WORLD....

THE LORD HAS COME!

He rules the world with truth and grace. 

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders of His love

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

There are SO many wonders to see, feel, know.

* The wonder of a new born baby. YES - we have a new grandson, born in November. He is precious and wonderfully loved so much already. 

* The wonder of the fog and mist over the lake early in the cool crisp cold mornings. 

* The wonder of life itself - even in memory loss and failing health.

* The wonder of death - the hope we can have in it.

* And the wonders of God's love. That one is hard to put words, thoughts or feelings around because it's so much undeserved, unearned love that we cannot comprehend, but as believers - we trust in it, accept it, live in it - the wonder and mystery of it all. 

I ran across this advent devotional about The Wonders of God's love. Check it out...

https://inspired-motherhood.com/wonders-of-his-love/#:~:text=In%20Psalm%2017%3A7%20(NIV,Your%20right%20hand...%E2%80%9D

Seasons...

Seasons come and seasons go. We have been at The Springs through 2 seasons. Spring & Summer. 

I was recently at a memorial service where this song was sung. The words of this verse touched me...

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Spring was amazing as we were able to see new growth come from the dirt and turn into beautiful flowers. New mercies I see. Summer was hot and full. Both seasons we welcomed many new and many returning guests, all coming to be quiet and rest in His creation. We welcomed our friends and families here as we are learning more what hospitality looks and feels like. We continue to grow in the Lord, learn new and deeper meanings and love life in Indiana. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided...

We now find ourselves in the throws of fall and cooler weather and can't wait to see the leaves change. Each season has brought such a beauty all it's own. 

Opportunities: a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

Gratefulness. Thankfulness. Two words that are 'in the air' this time of year more than the rest. The changing seasons bring so many thoughts of what we are grateful for. We are grateful for the many opportunities we are given on a daily basis as we live and serve at The Springs.

First, we are most grateful for the quiet and peaceful surroundings we have here to connect deeply with God. The noises of nature are incredibly soothing and beautiful. This place is truly God ordained for such a time as this.  Other opportunities we are given on a daily basis are to prepare a place for guests who come, through preparing clean sheets, towels & cabins, to freshly cut grass & cared for landscapes. Allowing guests to come & rest, with little to no distractions.  We have great opportunities to meet new people and share stories, to work with and develop new friends as they come to volunteer in our work with us and to host them in our home for a meal and a chat. We have opportunities to learn and grow in our walks with Jesus with the other couples we share life and work with and learn a deeper meaning of hospitality as we offer our space with family & friends, sharing meals and overnight stays together.

The Springs is a place to come, seek God, be quiet and get rest for your souls for sure – our opportunity to live in that, to minister to, is a true gift from God Almighty.

Galatians 6:10, so then as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Psalm 100:3, Know that the Lord, His is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

The Scriptures tell us to make the most of every opportunity literally means “redeem the time.” We are given an equal amount of time each day. How we use it determines its value. When we ‘redeem’ the time for Christ, we place the utmost value upon it.  quote by Dan Rhodes, www.spectrum.com

Summer @ The Springs

Hi friends and family! We hope you all are enjoying this H.O.T. summer!!! We are so thankful for air-conditioning. July of course makes us think about the freedoms we have as American's, and again we are thankful and hopeful because we know where our future will be, so why worry what this world holds? What does God says about freedom?  "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1  

On Friday's, one of Jim's 'duties' is to clean the chapel. He and Skip would spend time in prayer, song and devotion, then clean it.  Skip and his wife Linda, who were one of the original couples who started this ministry, sadly have recently transitioned away from living on-site, so I joined Jim last Friday. We sat and pondered this verse and talked about the yokes of slavery we are all burdened with and how the freedom we have in Christ is so literally freeing. We are so thankful we serve the God of creation who gives us such hope. Here's a picture of the chapel early one morning with the fog in and around. Heaven on earth! 

What have you done fun this summer? For us,  when we have time away from our work here at The Springs, we enjoy traveling to watch our grandsons baseball games, visiting our kids and our friends. We look forward to our plans for a week away in September. We are not going far, just a little jaunt to French Lick, Indiana. We like to travel to places we've never visited and with the gas prices, a relatively close drive works!   

BIG NEWS for the Green family - we are adding a grandson to the clan. We are super excited for Andy and Sarah, their first child,  and our 5th grand! It's been 10 years since we had a little one so needless to say, he will be spoiled and so loved! Here's a fun picture of the baby reveal when they found out it will be a boy! Andy hit a golf ball which exploded with blue powder. SO FUN!  

Relaxing. Living in community has it perks. It's like having neighbors but better! Living life literally together.  We live on-site with 2 other couples. We work side by side, share meals often and have some fun competition. Dick Towner and Jim have a running competition happening with horse shoes. So far Jim is up 4 to 1. Here is a couple of pictures of a game in action and a picture of Sibyl Towner and I cheering our guys on!

This picture is of our on-site staff enjoying a pleasant dinner outside overlooking the lake. Pictured: (left to right) Chris & Debbie Ehrhard, Dick & Sibyl Towner and us! This was Chris and Debbie's first official night to be on-site and we are so excited to have them here.  You can read more about them in The Springs newsletter at the bottom of this post. 

UNEXPECTED TRANSITION ...

Hi friends and family!  We have made it a month as Indiana residents! We are in our 4th week at our new ministry location and are settling in nicely. Most of our boxes are unpacked and pictures hung. We are still overwhelmed by God's goodness in this move. We arrived on Saturday March 5 and took on our positions on Monday March 7. With cabins already reserved there had to be a seamless transition. We are learning as we go and are thankful for the great training we received from our predecessors Jerry and Nancy Smith and current staff, Dick, Sibyl, Skip and Linda.  We were welcomed by this sign (picture) on the door to our new home, which made me smile in remembering when we "welcome home" ladies as they come to Redeemed Home, we place a sign much like this on the back door. It certainly was humbling. We truly loved our years in Price Hill working with the men and women who just need to be loved, as well as the amazing staff and friends we met through and with BLOC. We could not do what we do know without having that time there. We are thankful. 

We have met some amazing guests already. They are coming from all types of ministry life and come seeking quiet rest. We love to hear their stories as they love to hear how God led us here to The Springs. We look forward to meeting them and helping in any way we can. 

In the last month we have welcomed approximately 36 guests. For me; Karen, that means around 20 cabin flips and mounds of laundry. I have made countless reservations through November of this year already as I learn a new system. We book 8 months out so if you are thinking of coming for a stay, get your request in soon! Who can come? Anyone who is in ministry, which means anyone serving in any compacity for the Lord. Pastors, group leaders, ministry leaders and workers, lay leaders. Ministry is hard mental, emotional, physical work. We offer rest, quiet, peace and nature which is at The Springs a place to be. You can also come and be our guests. We have a guest suite in our home that can be a quiet get away with a separate entrance, bed and bath that can be yours all to yourself! …just know Teddy will want to say hello from time to time :).  Another option would be to come for the day, do some fishing or sit by the lake and walk the trails. Visit The Springs website to see all we offer and to put in a reservation request. To be our personal guest - just call or text us! Our home is open. 

Jim's work has been gearing up to begin mowing season by checking mowers, filling gas cans and making sure all the equipment is ready to roll. He takes care of 2 horses, Bailey and April who are so sweet. He is walking trails making lists of upkeep and repairs needed....

We have had THREE power outages so far and a tornado WARNING! So Jim fires up our generator and we alert the guests and invite them into our space if they wish to come. The guests are our #1 priority. So - you could say we are in the people business :) The tornado storm didn't reach us and we are thankful for that. 

NEW YEAR 2022

Happy New Year! 

Reflection. [def] serious thought or consideration. 

"As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart." Proverbs 27:19.  The Good News: Your life is a reflection of the ideals and faith you hold in your heart. The areas where you spend time and energy reveal what's really important to you. 

"Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor." Proverbs 21:21

"Be very careful, then how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."     Ephesians  5:15-17

As we reflect on 2021, it's been a good but hard year, it's been a year of many stories with joyful overcoming's, some sorrow, great accomplishments, change and so much more. We said hello to new men and women who want to change their life. We live life with them. Sometimes they don't stay, most often they do. What we do know is that we have sown seeds of hope. Hope that we have for eternal life. 

2021 also brought us to a place of seeking God for direction for our lives. What we learned through seeking Him, was to press on, not to give up, continue to serve Him. What we didn't know was that the way we would do all that would look a little different. We will ministry to those who need the rest we have needed. We know how important it is for ministry workers, missionaries etc. to find and have rest. 

2022 will bring much change! After much prayer and seeking wise council, we are moving to Oldenburg, IN to serve God at "The Springs", as their Operation Managers. As we finish strong with BLOC's Redeemed Home and Men's / Jail Ministry, we covet your prayers. Change is hard. We will be leaving a life we have cherished, friendships and co-workers we love, yet we know God is directing us in all of this. Check out The Springs. www.thespringsindiana.org.  Jim will be caring for the 150 acres of overwhelming beauty, Karen will be back to serving in administration, taking reservations, along with cleaning the cabins and doing lots of laundry, along with some gardening that I'm very excited about!  God has aligned this with our past jobs and gifts, it's truly a dream come true. You will have to come visit! 

Update on Men's and Jail Ministry

We are living in a time that literally EVERYONE you meet (anywhere) knows someone that is either in jail, has overdosed or is in active addiction!  It seriously is an epidemic!  When I talk to someone I know they ask if I could visit someone they know that is in the Justice Center.  It's especially hard because families can't visit their loved ones because of covid restrictions.  God has put me on the phone, opposite someone through a window, (in a lot of cases, someone I've never met) to share the Hope of Jesus.  I share what I do with Bloc Ministries/LIT Movement.  We are getting more referrals from sources that we weren't expecting from including  judges, prosecutors and lawyers. They are hearing what we're doing and contacting us to reach out to their clients thinking they may be a good fit for our houses. So, I do my best with the Team of men that God has put together (3 of us now!) to advocate with these men through the justice system as best we can to hopefully get them into a treatment facility (30-90days) and then into our programs when their terms are up.

This whole journey is something that only an Omniscient God could have orchestrated! To serve in this community (culture shock), living and growing with men and women that have lifestyles that we can't often personally relate to like sex trafficking and active addiction in drugs.  God used our gifts to serve in ways we had no idea what would be demanded of us.  God knew the desires of our hearts but was saying "press on" or just "wait", I'm going to be put you in a "war zone" for 5-6 yrs so you know what it is to need rest.  Then unexpectedly to us,  giving us a new opportunity, putting us out in a "pasture" (new season) where He has equipped us to minister to those who will need rest. 

The timing for all this has been INCREDIBLE! God already had in mind the man who would be replacing me and taking this men's ministry to levels I couldn't have because I haven't experienced a lot of the things these guys are dealing with, but, Steve has!  That's how God works right??  Just like what He did when I started the screen printing shop.  He brought someone to take that over to take it to new levels I couldn't.  That way I can't possibly take any credit for it!!  It's ALWAYS been about shining the Light and point them to our Father who is in Heaven!!  Matt 5:16  The verse He gave me when I had my heart attack!!  ONLY GOD... Thank you Lord!!  

#Thankful

 

2 Corinthians 9:11 - "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - 'Give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.'

What does Thanksgiving mean biblically?

Thanksgiving in the Bible means to respond to God's goodness and grace with gratitude. The word for giving thanks in the Old Testament means to raise hands to God in gratitude. 

Psalm 100:4 (KJV) - Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. 

God alone is worthy of our praise...When we come before God with a thankful heart, acknowledge Him for all we have, then we are entering His gates with thanksgiving. When we testify to others with our words and actions of God's provision, then we are entering His courts with praise.