daddy4ms

Blessings to you and your family in 2019 from the Martin Family.  May the words of Ephesians 1:15-23 be evident in the year ahead. 15  For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16  I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19  and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every na...

I would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving from the Martin Family.  I hope you have a great time with friends and family.  Enjoy your time together.  We have much to be thankful for.  Praise God for His many blessings!

Here is a portion of a prayer by Scotty Smith from Everyday Prayers from January 2nd: Heavenly Father, while many clamor about and try to “claim” more blessings from you, may this be a year in which we come alive to the multiplied blessings you’ve already lavished upon us in the gospel. Already you have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and have placed us in the kingdom of your beloved Son, Jesus (Col. 1:13). Already you have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3). Already we are completely loved by you because of Jesus’ completed work on our behalf. As the year progresses, open the eyes of our hearts to see all these glorious riches more clearly and enjoy them more fully (Eph. 1:18–19).

Pictured here is a thankful tree made by Richelle Arrasmith and her family.  They were decorations during our Operation Christmas Child Night at Hesston MB last Wednesday.  The purpose behind the tree is to write on the leaves things you are thankful for.  As you celebrate Thanksgiving today, tomorrow or this weekend, make a thankful tree and remember to thank God for the many blessings in your life.  34 "Oh give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (1 Chronicles 16:34)

I am looking forward to a great year in 2013.  Blessings from my family to yours in the coming year!

No, I am not having an identity crisis.  This question was asked in Sticky Faith by Powell and Clark.  The chapter was focusing on our children's identity.  They shared that Henri J. M. Nouwen during a retreat asked the question above and then explained that we seek to answer the question in 3 ways. They are: "I am what I do." "I am what I control." "I am what others say about me." If we believe any of these three, they can be destructive to us and our lives.  Instead, we need to find our identity in Christ.  What does that mean?  For me, it is blessing my children every night with a reminder of who they are based on Ephesians 1.  They are blessed, chosen, holy, blameless,adopted son (or daughter),  loved, redeemed by Jesus, forgiven, sealed by the Holy Spirit, an inheritance.  I then add a few more statements of identity from other passages of Scripture: they are fearfully and wonderfully made, they are gifted, they are empowered by t...

Today is my youngest daughters birthday. She turns 4 years old today. I can vividly remember the day I found out that we were going to be having another baby. To say I was shocked or surprised would be an understatement. I thought our family was complete with 3. I found out on my birthday. Fast forward to July 20, 2007, when beautiful Molly entered the world. She was born c-section and did not immediately start crying like all the rest of our kids did. Those were a few, scary minutes as the nurses sucked fluid out of her lungs which eventually allowed her to let out a scream. From Day 1, the word that can best describe Molly is joy. She was our easiest baby by far. When she would go into stores, she would catch someone's eye and smile real big. People always would comment on her smile and the joy she brings. She knows how to light up a room. She makes me laugh on a daily basis. Even though she was my surprise baby, I cannot imagine life without her. Thank you God for ...

Today has been one packed today. But even though it was very busy, it has been a blessed day too. This morning, I had a meeting at Tabor College to discuss Junior Camp activities. I went to my closet and the only long sleeve shirt I had was a Sterling College shirt. I proudly wore my Sterling shirt to my meeting and laughed to myself while on campus. It was a good meeting and a good reminder about how the Body of Christ must work together and use the gifts God has given us. We made a lot of progress and I left blessed. Another part of the blessing is the prayers that I was able to pray as I drive. I must focus better as I drive because I have some of my best conversations with God while in the car. I was able to get back to Hesston in time to get some exercise to play noon basketball. Busy day, but so far so good. Then I had the opportunity to head to the elementary school to see Mackenzie's Shop. For those not from Hesston , the 3rd graders do a unit on money and get to...

I have experienced wonderful blessings the last several weeks. They were all related to being the church rather than just going to church. Now, do not misquote me and say that I have given you permission to not got to church. Church is important and is God's plan for saving the world. We have the privilege to hear God's Word taught and preached and to use our gifts in service and to encourage fellow believers. But if all you do is show up on Sunday and go on with the rest of your life the rest of the week, you are missing the blessing of being the church. Remember the activity in Sunday School where you hold your hands together and say, "this is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors and see all of the people." Thanks Aunt Kay Jean! But this simple children's activity reveals that the church is not a building, but the people. We are the church! I cannot tell you how many ways I have seen God use people in the last few weeks.We have the great opportu...

As many of you know, we still have not sold our house in Iola . We have had a renter in it most of the past 2o months, but no contract to buy. God has provided in so many ways. We only have a had a few months of double house payments. Bethany and I have been at peace (sometimes going back and forth between the two of us) over these 20 months which is again an answer to prayer. First, we had a renter who paid rent on time. Unfortunately, that did not end well. Sometime ask Bethany about her time as a cleaning lady. : ) Lately, we have had a great family the past few months. They will be moving out at the end of June to go into ministry in Alaska. We are trusting God for a buyer by the end of the month. Nothing is impossible for Him! I know His Will is best and He will sell the home in his timing. It is His Home and we just have not found the right family yet. As we were beginning to consider listing with a realtor, we again had two serious inquiries about the house. One wi...

Today, I was so excited to start the day by taking Easter pictures of my kids (which by the way didn't turn out well because the sun must have been in the kids' eyes). They were so excited to do the yearly routine of pictures in their Easter outfits. We then headed to church where I had to get a few things ready for Children's Church. It is fun to watch the older three watch and take care of Molly. Mackenzie usually turns out to be the best caregiver. We had a wonderful breakfast at church and I was able to supervise the fuzion kids as they hid the Easter eggs. Then we had a very powerful worship service for Easter. The music was great and full of joy. What a great way to celebrate that Jesus is risen! We also had a slide show which showed the story of four people from our church who experienced victory through Jesus. I was moved by their stories! As we sang the final song, I turned my joy and excitement to Jesus as I sang with lifted hands. I believe God was gl...

Today, I received a wonderful surprise and blessing. I had written previously that two families in our church has blessed us with surprises in November and December. I was at a loss for words then and can just say, "Praise the Lord." These families' generosity reveals a picture of what Jesus wants the church to be. Back to today-I left for lunch and got in my van and found an envelope taped to my steering wheel. I thought "this is strange." I opened the envelope and it contained a note and cash that was to be used to help us pay double mortgages this month. I truly don't know why our house in Iola has not sold, but what I do know is that God has provided for us in amazing ways over the last 14 months. I want to say thanks to my anonymous donor and to give praise to God. I laugh to myself as I think that I will be preaching this Sunday and one of my points is that we need to "get giving". Here is my testimony today: life does not always wo...

As you gather around your table this Thanksgiving, I hope you cherish your time with family. This is a great time of year to think back on the last year and remember God's faithfulness and provision. Take some time to share with your spouse why you are thankful for them. Have your kids share about what they are thankful for. Share with a friend how they have blessed your life this year. Call or talk with a family member (grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc.) and share how God has blessed you this year. Let's not forget to thank our awesome, holy, almighty, loving, forgiving, providing, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, just God for who He is and what He has done and will continue to do. Make sure Thanksgiving is a day to say "thank you" to God for all your blessings! Check back on Black Friday for a post about ideas for Christmas devotions with your family!

As many of you know, we are still working to sell our home in Iola . We have had a renter for the past 9 months and that has ended. We are getting the home ready to sell. Please pray with us for a quick sale as we don't want to continue leasing any longer. As I began thinking about the Iola house, I began to worry a little about finances. I began to be concerned with Christmas approaching and wondering how we are going to make it with double payments. Then God made it very clear to me that He was in control and He provides. Here are the 3 special blessings that God used in my life. I am reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and the following quote challenged my worry over the sale of our home. "Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, o...

Well, I have officially been in Hesston for a year now. As I think back over the last year, I am blessed by what God has done for me and in and through me. I cannot believe it has already been a year. As I ponder those times of provision and learning, I am reminded that God is always faithful. He has been with us every step of the way. I wanted to share a few ways God has worked in the last year: Richard & Rosemary Prieb opening their house to my family. I stayed with them during the week and Bethany and the kids joined on the weekends. Thanks to the generosity of the Priebs ! Moving the whole family into our current home which was a complete God thing in how we found out about the house and how patient the Holmes were with us as we tried to sell our house in Iola . Around 30 visits with individuals and couples to get to know them better and to share about the family ministry at Hesston MB. I have loved each of these visits! Closing on our home in Hesston in March. A ren...

As I was reading the Bible this morning, I came across the following verses from Psalm 145: 1-4. "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts." As we get ready for football season, I am reminded how we are quick to scream and shout and clap and jump up and down for our favorite team. I am convicted that I sometimes show more excitement on my favorite roller coaster, concert, or sporting event than I do for worshipping God. So, today I want to give God a standing ovation for the many great things He has done throughout history and in my life. Here is my list: He created the world! It is not evolution, it not by chance. It was our awesome and creative God who did it all. Think about it as you look at the sky,...