sealed lips

I remember a time when our little nice Anna would chatter nonstop. We were driving, and all of a sudden she was quiet.  My friend Larisa laughed and said:  “We found a way to keep Anna quiet for a little while.”  I turned around and asked little Anna a question.  Hardly moving her lips she said: “I can not talk now, I have lipstick on my lips.”

I have been speaking for a while now.  I have been doing seminars for a decade.  Different audiences, different topics.  For the last 5 years I have been speaking about Gods design for Sex.  That is one hard subject to undress.   

I have begun to come in terms with how God created me, the personality He gave me, the love for people, the boldness in sharing, the desire to spread His truth, the confidence on stage, the compassion for others hurts, the intercession on peoples behalf…

All these things He has instilled, and has been slowly unveiling.  As I have finally consented, as I have humbly accepted that what God wants from me is courage.   Courage to stand against the tide.  Courage to speak His truth and Might, to point to Him against all odds.  In all of this excitement and final acceptance of my design, He has simply, peacefully, firmly, all of a sudden asked me to STOP SPEAKING.

How can this be? I am a speaker, and to stop speaking, is to really stop all I’ve been doing.  He has asked me to STOP DOING, and learn to Just BE. And thus I must quietly, concede.   

I have complied.  With difficulty, I denied an opportunity to serve. To minister to parents, youth, to speak to people His Mighty Truth.  It’s hard to do Gods will because it often doesn’t make sense at first, yet in the end, obedience is better than sacrifice, to our Lord.  

Recently as I have regretted some of the things I said. I have realized that my consent to Gods request has put me on His terms of Rest.  

There is no more authority in my words.

That was humbling to realize that the strength and impact of speaking comes from the One within, and at His choosing.

For a season, He wants me to listen, and not to speak, to remain silent, to seal my lips.

Oh Lord, please forgive me, that I am a slow learner.  I hear your words, I want to obey, but at the first opportunity to practice silence, I speak and fail your request.    

My lips are sealed!!

Maybe I shall wear lipstick, and like my little niece, be reminded that I CAN NOT SPEAK!!

off radar

As I embraced Gods call to silence and Real Rest, I was washed over with a longing to hide. 

To really escape.  To run away. To be alone.  To be without a phone!

My phone is such a link for me. It keeps me connected not only with friends and family, but with teens, and people in general.  There is no distance or time or space with an internet in my hand.

When I travel I feel like I always have a crowd with me through the facebook app.  My camera and instagram have replaced my big Nikon and digital Cannon.  I do more work on my phone than I do on my comp. 

And so, as I began to accept Gods call and my need to really rest, I realized that I wont be able to unless I completely abandon my computer and iphone too. 

I was dreaming to escape to the coast where there is no service. That’s always easiest instead of putting your own will to the test. 

The circumstances seem to forbid such escape.  Yet my heart still longs to seclude itself.  To cut off all communication with the rest.  No emails, or facebook, no talking and No Texts.  To go completely ‘under the radar,’ for a Real Rest.

Don’t know when or how that will be.  But I want this cut off from the world and full serenity!

 I want my SEARCH to be for the Father above, oh how I long to be RECONNECTED with His great Love.  I want to HIBERNATE in His sweet embrace. I want to CHARGE up with His power, His Word and to just seek His face. 

In this seasons lesson of “just be” I want to run away into His SECURITY.  There seems to be some VIRUSES that I picked up along the way.  I want Him to INSTALL His will and purpose, to SAVE His Truths deep within my system, REBOOT me completely, so I can RUN like new.

So, if you will not receive any answers to my texts, if you wont see any posts, or pictures on facebook, than know that I have finally DISCONNECTED and went completely Undetected – off radar!!!

just BE

I make plans, but the Lord has His own.

Lately I have had several major changes in what ‘I’ thought I should be doing.  As a year mark hit of my ‘quitting my job, selling possessions and living on the go’, I thought surely the time has come for me to get busy. 

God has been teaching me about Sabbath rest, and so after a year, I thought: “Ok Lord, I Rested – check, lets get this show on the road.” But apparently the Lord had other plans. As I was challenged by Him to pause and analyze my path, it was the Lords response “Whenever you will be done resting Actively Your Way, we will begin rest My Way!”

So during the 'year of Sabbath,' I thought I rested I actually didn’t rest at all.  Well I did rest, because I didn’t have a daily full time job, and was able to travel and see people, which always energizes me, but I was not being STILL, like God wanted me to.  Although I did not ‘promote myself’ I still did speaking engagements, little home groups, girls sleepovers, and private meetings.  Although it was all fun for me to do, it is as if the Lord is now saying: “Are you ready for REAL REST now?”

As a pastor clarified for me, that doing ministry full time and getting a pay check, and then quitting my job and trusting God to provide, and continuing to do ministry is NOT REST. 

I feel like I must completely withdraw into the desert.  That means to actually NOT take ANY speaking gigs, and actually say NO to those that do come up, and that is so extremely Hard!!

This seems so odd because there is so much need.  But God is saying, we will now “rest My way!” not your ‘busy way.’  I am not the one to meet people’s needs, GOD IS and for Him to do so, I must step out of the way. 

As I was offered to have my way paid to “just come and BE” I realized how useless and wasteful I think that is.  I just do not understand my worth aside from DOING, and MINISTERING, LISTENING, PRAYING, CARING, LOVING, SPEAKING, LEADING.. anything, except JUST BEING. 

Thru all this I realized that truly with all this doing, I am trying to earn Gods approval, to prove to Him that His making me is not useless in this world.  It feels so unnatural for me not to DO anything, but that is precisely what God wants me to do (or Not to Do) J. 

My Sabbath is suppose to only Start when I choose to STOP. 

Stop DOING, and start BEING.

I don’t know what that is all about, do you?

Perhaps, I shall learn from a baby, peacefully sleeping in my arms, what that is like?!

in a haze

Do you ever have a day or days when you just feel like you’re in a haze?

You regret the things you’ve said.. getting down on yourself.. nothing seems to make much sense.. thoughts are jumbled.. all a mess.  Is it hormones? State of being? Thoughts? Reality? Deceptive feeling?

Moments when I want to simply disappear.  Confusion.  Apathy.  Nothingness.  Sickness. Illness.  Boredom. Purpose.

Training. Waiting…. Anticipating.

Trusting.

Thinking.

Praying.

Sleeping.  Reading. Eating.

Spinning endlessly in this cycle of Living.

Where is the pause button? Where is the Stop?

Who is whirling – me, or the world around me?

missed my flight

So there is a “first time for everything” as my sister commented on facebook status that stated: “NEVER HAS THIS HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE, I MISSED MY PLANE THIS MORNING!”

Now, for the first time, I officially missed my flight.   I overslept!

My friends in Seattle have relentlessly talked me into coming to their kids camp.  They have graciously pitched in funds to purchase me a ticket, and the time has come for me to actually fly out of New York into Seattle. 

My very responsible friend that I was staying with asked me the night before if she should set her alarm, to take me to La Guardia for my 6:30am flight.  Not wanting to burden her with yet another task I said: “Oh no, don’t worry I’ll wake you up!”  That night as I ‘almost finished’ packing, I set TWO alarms.  ‘Just in case’ I thought.  Never the less as I squinted my eyes in the morning noticing that its already LIGHT in the room, I have grabbed by phone, only to see 6:02 on the clock.    

As I was brushing my teeth I had a wave of panic coming on but I said to myself: “Nope! I Choose to TRUST!!”  We were in the car in minute and began our drive thru New York City traffic.

We pulled up to the terminal at about 6:47.  I couldn’t believe this was happening and just kept praying that God will go before me and direct everything.   As I stood in line to speak to an agent for over an hour I read the Prime Time devotions that I get daily thru email and it said "God has a specific plan for the people who fully trust in Him.”
I had many thoughts running thru my mind.  I kept thinking how crazy it is that all these people pitched in for my ticket and now it's gone.  I didn't pitch in anything for it, and now paying a fee to change my ticket is probably what I have to do, but that I don't have any money to pay for it and that I don't even have a job to "just charge it" which I always felt free to do before because I could always pay it off later.  But this is a different stage in my life now that I am still getting used to.   This “not relying on self” and not being so “self sufficient” business is NOT EASY!

I kept thinking about all this, and just praying calmly. What am I going to say when I get up to the counter?   I couldn’t text anyone on the west coast because it was 4am their time, so  I opted out for sending prayer request messages to my friend in Portugal, and my friend in Texas, whom I figured would probably be up feeding her newborn.  I especially couldn’t text my friend in Seattle who arranged my whole flight because I felt terrible and just didn’t know what to say.   

My turn to step up to the counter, I looked in the eyes of the lady before me and said: "I missed my flight this morning" and gave her my ID.  She started clicking away on her computer .   I quietly said: "I'll take anything - even if it will take me 3 days to get there" (‘even if I have to go thru Alaska,’ I thought).   She kept clicking on the computer, and then printed the tickets.  Handing them to me she said: I put you on standby.. And there HAS to be a seat!  Do you have any bags to check in?”   I said No, because I usually try and take all my stuff as carry on to save on paying for baggage check in.

I started heading to security still stunned that I didn’t have to pay for anything.  I only had one experience in Russia, where I missed my flight because of weather conditions in the North Pole, and I HAD to purchase another ticket for $1000 then, and it was NOT MY FAULT.  Here it WAS MY FAULT and I didn't have to pay at all! (no logic in this whatsoever).   
As I got to security the lady checked my ID and pointed for me to get thru only to notice my bulging suitcase.  She said: "You HAVE to check this in, it's too big!  Go back up to any counter and check it in."
I walked back thinking I have to pull out my credit card to pay for checking in my bag. I thought - well paying $30 is good enough when I didn't have to pay any fee for a missed flight!  The lady just looked at my ticket and printed out the sticker and with a smile said: "Enjoy your flight!"

In complete shock I headed to the security check line.  At this point I was not worried AT ALL any more, because OBVIOUSLY God has got my back!! What was interesting to me, was how CHOOSING to TRUST has kept me calm throughout the whole thing. 

Finally, I have decided to text my friends in Seattle. I have realized that I had so much fear of disappointing them.   Because I had a resolution already to the whole dilemma, I had nothing to fear now.  They put effort and money into getting me over there, and I just couldn’t call them with such a news until there was a solution.  What fascinated me most, was the response I got to my text stating that I missed my flight.  I don’t know what I expected but I did NOT expect back a simple “It’s ok. Let’s get you another flight.”   That blew me away.  Here I was thinking up apologies and just feeling horrible for such a big mistake, and I get in response: “We’ll just get you another flight here.”   As in ‘we will pay AGAIN for your mistake.’

I was so glad they didn’t have to.  I was so thankful for God taking care of it all.  But I also know that my friend has no idea how deep his response hit something in my heart.  Jesus Himself was showing me His mercy, grace, and forgiveness thru a simple text message.  How often am I afraid to go to Jesus because I messed up? How often do I feel like I am disappointing God, yet again? I try and figure out a solution, something to show for my behavior, actions, thoughts, and He simply states, “It is done!”  He has already paid the price.  It is finished.  It has all been covered by the precious blood of Jesus.  I think I still have to ponder deeper on this amazing truth…...

I was first on the standby list, and I surprisingly got an emergency exit row, which means extra leg room! Yippie!!

In Chicago, I caught up to my original plane.  Walking up to the gate only to see it already closed after boarding, the plane stood there long enough for me to take a picture of it and that's it.  In an hour I was on the next one heading to Seattle.  It seemed like weeks have passed, but it was only that morning that I was in New York and here I was on the opposite coast driving with another sweet friend thru Seattle traffic, processing out loud the events of the day, finding deeper meanings in the whole adventure. 

This made me think, how amazingly God uses people as His instruments to work in other peoples lives, and how these instruments have no idea what incredible healing work the Father is doing in His children, thru them ‘Just being’ who they are.  As God continues His “Just Be” lesson with me, I have to believe, that He is also using me as a tool in His hand, regardless of His command for me to STOP DOING and serving, and speaking, and leading, and simply BEING.     

For all this and more. I am truly thankful. 

(“ ‘JUST BE’ LESSON” blog– coming soon!)

invisible me

Feeling invisible or like “no one understand” or “no one really knows me,” "no one sees."

Those feelings are true BECAUSE we are unwilling to share of ourselves.

The wounds that are received in childhood and throughout life – cover us up.

There is pain, then there is shame.  And to cover that up there are layers and layers of control, success, perfection, achievement, or depression, addiction..

Just like Adam and Eve we go deeper and deeper into the bushes.  Hiding from ourselves, each other and God.

We make excuses just like they did. We point fingers. We plainly play weak.  But all God wants is for us, His kids, to take off the layers and show the root of our pain. 

The wound.

The hurt.

Whomever caused it.  Whatever circumstances. 

In order for us to be free who we are, one thing is needed – Exposure.

Yet we ourselves are often deceived. 

I think I am genuine, but when I start praying “God search my heart – set me on the right path.” The work begins.  I turn back and realize how fake I was, and all I’ve done to cover ‘me’ up.

Oh no more!

Lord, No More, do I want to live covered up.  Invisible. Not showing my heart. 

I want to be who You made me to be. 

 Help me see the wounds in me, You want to mend.

 I don’t want to try and make my own remedies.  I run to the cross – set me free.

Please expose ME!

oops... a father of another

We were sitting at a friend’s house having tea. 

The kids were playing upstairs, periodically running down to check on their parents.

A little girl came to whisper something into her daddy’s ear and ran upstairs again to play.  As we mingled, her dad moved to the couch and his chair was occupied by another.  Another father. 

The little girl ran up to the chair in which her father sat, where she left him.  Without looking up she stood, oh so close, to a father of another.  Noticing our persistent looks, she grew timid and leaned into the safety of her ‘fathers’ shoulder.  Only to make us laugh, embarrassed, she at last recovered from her mistake and entered her real fathers open arms, she melted into his embrace. 

Oh how this sweet little scene reminded me of one within.  Within my heart I often too, come up to things familiar, to where I think my Father is.  Without realizing the hard truth that God has moved, and in His place another occupies His space. 

Oh how often do I too lean into something that once I knew was where my Father dwelt.

 If I am not careful to check, if I don’t raise my eyes to see, I too could easily be deceived. 

And when I try to find comfort here, all of a sudden I realize, He is no longer there. 

 

1 year on Gods salary...

It’s been a year since I have quit my job, sold my stuff and followed Jesus.

And it has been an incredible year!  Being in several states and in Russia for 4 months has taught me to

TRUST GOD for Direction & TRUST GOD for Finances!

I have realized that working with hearts of people it is impossible to measure results of your work.  People do not tend to say very clearly how your presence, presentations and prayers have impacted them.  Often they might not even know themselves, because it’s the Holy Spirit Who teaches and touches their hearts, I am only available for Him to use me if He wishes. 

So I can’t tell you how many lives I have changed, because I am actually incapable of changing or impacting anything, it’s all JESUS Who is in me when it’s no longer I who live but He!! I can however share with you a quote that an 18 year old young man wrote to me after one of the seminars: “I want to thank you for coming and teaching us about this topic.  I grew up without my dad, and my mom never taught me about this topic.  I had sexual activity with a lot of girls and I thought that it was natural.  But after you taught us I learned that all the world has to offer is a lie.  Thanks to you for coming here and teaching us, and thanks for saving my marriage life.”

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

I want to THANK YOU for your prayers, your encouragement and support because without it I would not be able to continue and walk this wild path.  I cannot tell you enough how much your text messages, emails and face book messages inspire and encourage me.  You are a tool in Gods hand and for this I am so thankful!  

I would like to share with you what God has placed on my heart for year number 2. 

First of all I have been encouraged and see a great need to centralize information and resources into a WEBSITE.  This would be available in both languages and target both youth and parents if they wish to access available resources and support.  I also want to create a mentorship network, available for teens and young people to get support via email or text.  This would require finding adequate mentors who have walked their own path of healing as well as share the passion for seeing people overcome addictions and struggles in their sexuality and relationships.  Please pray for God to prepare many workers for this field of work. 

Besides the website I am going to continue to travel and speak in whatever churches God will open the doors. I am praying about visiting several churches on the East Coast with a message of Gods Original Design for Sex.  I am also praying about going back to Russia with Oasis Chamber Choir during the Christmas season to help plant a new local church in a mega polis of Ekaterinburg, the third largest city in Russia.

The more time I spent listening to peoples stories the more my heart is broken for how much struggle and pain people are in.  Young people in our community are struggling with issues of addictions to pornography, dealing with distorted perception of self, God and others because of childhood sexual abuse, and are dealing with identity confusion due to same sex attractions that they might be experiencing.  I am praying that God will not only give me a glimpse into the heart of His people but direct me to help them return back to the only One who can really help!

Will you please consider partnering with me and supporting this work prayerfully as well as financially?  As God is teaching me to rely on Him for Finances, I want to challenge you to DO THE SAME!  Please pray and seek His will on how much you can donate at this time.  As I do not charge for any of the seminars or ministry involvement that I do, I rely solely on Gods provision thru HIS faithful servants, like You! 

You can now sign up and become a monthly supporter with Automatic Withdrawal available on line.  Consider signing up monthly for a small amount of $40. I need regular monthly supporters so I can sustain my monthly phone bill which is my main way of staying connected with teens and churches.   Also your support will insure that I will be able to visit more churches that are unable to cover my flight expense, whose youth also needs to hear the message of Truth. 

I pray for God to reward you as you step out and trust His impact in something that is Unseen, which is eternal.

With MUCH LOVE and THANKFULNESS, Natasha                                                                                             

for more details of my trips go to my previous blogs :)

  

sexy deception

Pre-marital sex is based on deception. 

There is a pretty steamy story in the bible of a prince named Amnon who raped his half-sister Tamar.  Found in 2 Samuel 13:10-19.  He had to pretend to be sick and needy to have her come and serve him.  He played on her compassion and took advantage of her.  She did say “NO!” but he disregarded her unwillingness.

Deception. 

Weather two people consent to the act or not, any pre-marital sex is deceiving.  They believe it will bring them closer, they will satisfy their inner hunger for love and burning passion.  But neither their love nor their lust gets satisfied. 

It is such a deception, because it is Not Gods Design.

People are left empty and broken emotionally and with a deeper cave sexually.  So their need on both ends is not satisfied but widened.  Thus they are deceived when they engage in it. 

Sad.

I am saddened that so many buy into the lie. 

Even though the culture changes, Gods moral code never alters.

"Creator Knows Best what He Made."

When will THAT truth prevail?

DESERTS

You want hot? Then visit a desert.  In their most sizzling months, earth’s deserts may average from 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit.  Not scorching enough for you? Then plan a trip to the Sahara, which holds the record at a blistering 136 degrees.  And don’t worry about finding a place to enjoy the heat; the vast Sahara sprawls over 3.5 million square miles, an area roughly the size of the United States.

How about dry?

Chile’s Atacama Desert holds the planetary record for aridity: not a single drop of rain has fallen there in more than 40 years.  Many deserts rely on less than 10 inches of rain per year, with an evaporation rate 20 times the annual precipitation rate. 

Still, lack of moisture does have its benefits.  Antarctica’s dry polar deserts dip in temperature to an annual mean of about 1.5 degrees.  In the Gobi desert of central Asia, inhabitants can expect as much as a six-month break from the heat; of course, they also have to contend with severe blizzards caused by ferocious winter winds. 

Speaking of winds, gale force storms have been known to throw millions of tons of sand hundreds of miles across the earth’s deserts.  Africa’s Namib Desert has built dunes as high as 800 feet (only a little shorter than New York’s Rockefeller Center, standing at 850 feet).  While deserts cover 25 percent of the earth’s surface, sand accumulates on less than 20 percent of their domain.  For the real king of sand, consider Mars.  With an atmospheric pressure of about one-hundredths that of Earth, our red neighbor boasts three million square miles of sand – an area greater than the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia, the largest sand sea on our planet. 

AND YET…

When God wants water, He can produce it even in the desert.  “They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts,” marvels Isaiah.  “He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock and water gushed out” (48:21).  Nor is God dismayed by the heat or sand, for when He wants arid Israel to bloom, “He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord” (Isaiah 51:3).  He spreads a table in the desert for His people (Psalm 78:19) and promises,

“I WILL PUT IN THE DESERT THE CEDAR AND THE ACACIA, THE MYRTLE AND THE OLIVE.  I WILL SET PINES IN THE WASTELAND, THE FIR AND THE CYPRESS TOGETHER, SO THAT PEOPLE MAY SEE AND KNOW, MAY CONSIDER AND UNDERSTAND, THAT THE HAND OF THE LORD HAS DONE THIS, THAT THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL HAS CREATED IT.”

(Isaiah 41:19-20)

“How Majestic is Thy Name”, 2001.  www.newleafpress.net

MOUNTAINS

Only a few things in this world deserve to be called mountains.  Towering at least 2,000 feet above sea level, mountains cover a fifth of earth’s land area, while submarine ranges spread over most of the sea floor. 

These natural elevations in the earth’s crust generally form by folding, faulting or volcanic activity.  At an elevation of 19,347 feet, Ecuador’s Cotopaxi dwarfs all other active volcanos.  The highest peak in North America is Alaska’s Mt Mckinley (20,320 feet), while at 29,028 feet, the highest  mountain in the world remains Mt.Everest in the Himalayas. 

As friction from subducting plates begins to build, some mountains crack wide open, spewing lava, steam, ash and poisonous gases.  Before May 1980, Mt. Saint Helens rose to 9,677 feet above sea level.  Her explosion blasted more than 1,000 feet off her peak and triggered a series of disasters: flash floods and mudslides, clouds of ash spreading all over the world, over 100 square miles of denuded forests.  More than 150 miles of trout and salmon streams were destroyed, along with 26 lakes.  Sixty-six persons and an estimated 2 million animals died in the blast.  Yet the Mt.Saint Helens disaster pales in comparison to others.  A late-night eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Columbia in 1985 sent a wave of mud across the town of Armero, killing 23,000 sleeping citizens.  And a 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee on Martinique released a blast of hot gases that killed all but two of the town’s 30,000 residents.  Who can grasp the power of an angry mountain?

AND YET…

God has merely to look at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smo,e (Psalm 104:32).  Massive as mountains are, He moves them without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger (Job 9:5).  By His infinite wisdom and power He created the world’s peaks (Psalm 65:6) as a picture of His righteousness (Psalm 36:6).  When we gaze at them we should think of Him, and along with the Psalmist declare to our Lord,

“YOU ARE RESPELNDENT WITH LIGHT, MORE MAJESTIC THAN MOUNTAINS RICH WITH GAME.”

(Psalm 76:4)

“How Majestic is Thy Name”, 2001.  www.newleafpress.net

SEA

Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface, to an average depth of 2.3 miles – a volume of water estimated at 329 million cubic miles (11 times the volume of dry land).  The Mariana Trench, halfway between the Pacific islands of Guam and Yap, plunges to a depth of 36,200 feet, more than six and a half miles straight down.  If the world’s tallest mountain, Everest, were to be thrown into this watery hole, you’d still have to take a submarine down over 1.3 miles to reach the summit (and at those depths, the hull pressure on your submarine would amount to over 1,000 atmospheres).

Of course, the ocean contains a lot more than water.  If you were to remove all of its salt, you would harvest 50,000,000,000,000,000 tons of the stuff –enough to cover the entire planet in a layer 150 feet thick.  Sea water also holds more gold than exists on land, 100 times as much as humans have mined throughout the world history.

The size and power of the sea awes us, and rightly so.  Tsunamis, or tidal waves, may reach heights in excess of 150 feet, and travel as fast as 450 miles per hour.  In 1946, an earthquake in the Aleutian Trench in the north Pacific triggered a tsunami that, four and a half hours later killed 178 people in Honolulu, Hawaii – 2,000 miles away.  Even average waves the width of freighter carry ten times more power than is needed to drive the ship.  If you could somehow harness the energy potential between the differing temperatures (about 27 degrees Farenheit) of the upper levels of the sea and its frigid depths, we could supply all the world’s current energy needs. 

AND YET…

At a mere blast from the nostrils of God, the deep valley s of the sea lie exposed (Psalm 18:15).  We may think the sea vast, but He can pour it all into little jars (Psalm 33:7).  He quiets the raging sea with a single word (Psalm89:9; Mark4:39) and though the waves may roll and roar, they cannot cross the boundaries He has set for them (Job 38:10-11; Proverbs 8:29; Jeremiah 5:22).  The oceans can only hint at the power of God:

“THE SEAS HAVE LIFTED UP, O LORD, THE SEAS HAVE LIFTED UP THEIR VOICE; THE SEAS HAVE LIFTED UP THEIR POUNDING WAVES.  MIGHTIER THAN THE THUNDER OF THE GREAT WATERS, MIGHTIER THAN THE BREAKERS OF THE SEA – THE LORD ON HIGH IS MIGHTY.” 

(Psalm 93:3-4)

“How Majestic is Thy Name”, 2001.  www.newleafpress.net

church planting in RUSSIA this summer

“The days are coming,” declares the SovereignLord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.”  Amos 8:11

This is the verse that the last tsar of Russia received before being executed by communists.

When Russia lost its King, it lost GOD also.  That was almost 100 years ago. Although it has been 20 years since the fall of communism in Russia, yet the nation is still in famine for God’s Word.

Ekaterinburg, is the third largest city in this great nation, with over 2 million people and only about 2,000 believers in the whole region.  Because this is the city is where the tsar and his family were assassinated, it is the center of Russian Orthodoxy. Yet people are on a search for a true meaning of life, and are hungry for a relationship with their Creator.   

Several missionary families from Chukotka, Moldova and the U.S have recently relocated to this city, and beginning a church planting project in an area that has no church. 

We have a great opportunity this summer to come along aside the very beginning of a church plant.  Oasis Chamber Choir is planning a trip to Ekaterinbrug July 15-30^th, 2012.   We are hoping that Oasis coming to the city, putting on concerts and bringing awareness to this newly founded church, will draw people and help the missionaries gather individuals to begin studying the word of God. 

It takes a lot of energy, time, money and preparation to put on a project like this, and we can not do this alone.  As the choir is sacrificing its resources, will you consider helping us in this cause?  Please consider helping us raise the $25,000 needed for the trip (flight prices are not included in the budget for they are covered by each member individually). 

We Believe that TOGETHER we can plant yet another church, a house of prayer where people can begin to feed on the truth of Gods word.

Please consider supporting us in following ways:

*  PRAY FOR THIS PROJECT, for miracles of provision, safety and direction. 

*  PURCHASE GIFTS for the Missonary Families (email me @ natalkavich@hotmail.com for specific needs)

*  SUPPORT THIS PROJECT FINANCIALLY (all donations are tax deductible) 

o   Make checks out to Connect International (memo: Oasis) mail to:

Connect Internationl 4366 Auburn Blvd, St3, Sacramento, CA  95841

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ASTEROIDS

Millions of them silently fly around above you, and you’d better hope that one doesn’t fall on your head.  Asteroids may be the stuff of science fiction, but they’re terribly real – as a visit to Canyon Diablo west of Winslow, Arizona, will attest. 

Meteor Crater measures about 4,000 feet in diameter, with an interior depth of 600 feet and a rim rising 200 feet above the surrounding plain.  A fallen asteroid created the crate at least 5000 years ago.  The resulting explosion scattered fragments of nickel-iron (ranging in size from pebbles to 1,400 pounds) over 100 square miles. 

The largest known asteroid in the Solar System, Ceres, measures 584 miles across.  Astronomers have identified more than 250 asteroids with diameters of at least 62 miles, and believe more than a million rocks with diameters, greater than half a mile orbit between Jupiter and Mars.  Photographic evidence suggests our Moon is pockmarked with some 3 trillion asteroid-caused crates greater than three feet in diameter.

So is earth in danger from these space visitors?  Judge for yourself.  In 1992, a three-mile-long asteroid named Toutatis passed less than nine lunar distances from earth – and astronomers believe that in 2004 it will whiz by within 930,000 miles (less than four lunar distances).  And that’s just one asteroid we know about.  Many such flying rocks don’t reflect much light, so we can’t see them until they’re almost on top of us. 

Scientists believe that asteroids with diameters of at least .6 miles periodically collide with earth, each with an explosive yield greater than several hydrogen bombs.  Each collision would leave a crate 8 miles across and would cause short-term climatic changes worldwide.  That’s a lot of power just from a falling rock!

AND YET…

God knows the exact number of asteroids in the universe (Psalm 147:4).  IN fact, He personally set them in their proper places (Psalm 8:3).  It is He who seals off their light (Job 9:7) and calls them “wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 1:13).  God says that in the day of His wrath “men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken” (Luke 21:26), and He paints a starling picture of a future celestial judgment:

“THE STARS IN THE SKY FELL TO EARTH, AS LATE FIGS DROP FROM A FIG TREE WHEN SHAKEN BY A STRONG WIND.  THE SKY RECEDED LIKE A SCROLL, ROLLING UP, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND ISLAND WAS REMOVED FROM ITS PLACE… SOMETHING LIKE A HUGE MOUNTAIN, ALL ABLAZE, WAS THROWN INTO THE SEA… AND A GREAT STAR, BLAZING LIKE A TORCH, FELL FROM THE SKY ON A THIRD OF THE RIVERS AND ON THE SPRINGS OF WATER.”

(Revelation 6:13, 14; 8:8, 10)

“How Majestic is Thy Name”, 2001.  www.newleafpress.net