Thanksgiving 2013

Colossians 3:15-17

¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I am thankful for each of you who have been a part of this ministry in any shape or form.  Some of you have attended classes or retreats over the past 18 years.  Some use the EGP Prayer Journal to give guidance in letting the "word of Christ dwell in you richly." Others have helped edit and wrtie.  Some have used the princilple to "admonishih one another."  Many have helped monetarily over the years.  I give thanks to God the Father through Christ for you!

I am encouragaed that many of you have shared how thankful you are that this ministry has taught you to "let the peace of Christ rule in your heart."  I would love to include the story of your journey to intimacy with Christ and how EGP played a part on the website so that we can give thanks for what God is doing in the body of Christ.  Please take time to write me back if you want to participate in this ventrue.

And be thankful with me,
Verna

Becoming Like Him...

           Our two-year-old grandson, George, adores his grandpa. Every time my husband, Dick, comes into the room his eyes light up and he starts calling his name.  When I try to talk to George on the phone, he only wants to hear “Ganpa.”  He chatters on and on about “Ganpa” and his boat. As you can guess, this makes Dick’s heart really full.  A little incident that happened a few months ago when they came for a visit reveals how much George’s devotion means to Dick.  He still gets that husky voice from choking back tears when he tells the story to others.

            Dick had already spent at least a month with his little 40 year old British sports car up on jack stands, working on it when he had a free evening or weekend.  He was just about finished with this particular project and our daughter was on her way to visit for the weekend with her daughter and three boys. Dick announced to me that he was going to leave the car on the stands until after the boys arrived just in case any of them wanted to “help” him under the car.  I questioned him about that decision but he assured me that it would be perfectly safe.  Of course, later the evening after dinner it was George who wondered where grandpa was and discovered him under the car. When Dick tells this story it reminds me of our Father’s heart for us.

“I was putting the final turns on a new front-right shock absorber assembly, lying flat on my back, reaching up into the suspension with the typical amounts of grunting and sighing and reaching in and out for different tools. After a few minutes, along comes George on his hands and knees, carrying one of my un-used wrenches. ‘Bam-ba, I hep you! Bam-ba, I hep you!’ Sure, George, come on under... So under the car he crawls, right across my legs, trying unsuccessfully to reach up to where I was wrenching. Realizing he needed to change positions, he bonked his head on the frame as he tried to twist himself into a sitting position, but still couldn't reach. Finally, he pulled back out from under the car, and after looking carefully at the situation, laid down on his back and slithered right alongside my torso, stopping just under my armpit (in a snuggle position). Once he was settled, he then reached up in perfect parallel with my arm into the recesses of the lower shock support and anti-sway bar. ‘I hep you Bam-ba! I hepping you Bam-ba!’

“I almost cried. It was a perfect inter-generational moment: a kind of Dad-thing you just can't plan. It just happens and you grab it while it lasts...one of those little glimpses of eternity...”

Isn’t this what your heart longs for?  To be under the car with the One who loves you, the one designed to be so close to Him that your hands are intertwined with His?  He is inviting you to snuggle up in the crook of His arm. 

Do you see the heart of Jesus in this? When you follow Him closely, you become like Him.

The reason the ministry of Establishing God's Peace exists is to help you get under the car with your “Daddy.”  We want to encourage you past the fear of “bonking your head.”  We desire to keep reminding you of that comfort of being in crook of the Father’s arm.

Update:

We have someone considering ghost writing a companion book for our EGP study.  Many of you have asked for a book that you can give to others that would expose them to the principles and tools of Establishing God's Peace. We are hoping we can make it available by November 2012. You can be a part of that project by sending your stories about how  God is working in your life to: vernamccrillis at gmail dot com.  You can also donate on this website to help bring this to fruition.

This summer and  fall I am working on a Leader's Training Manual.  We feel this needs to be the next step to make this shepherding study available to more people.

Grace and Peace to you through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Verna