A Vote Not Lost

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams

In light of yesterday’s Democratic win for office, I’m so thankful that my family did not shrink to compromise and vote the Republican ticket this election. We didn’t want to see either Obama or McCain in office, so we’re grateful that we had a better choice…those in my family who were eligible to vote all cast our votes for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitutionalist party--the only Biblically qualified candidate for office. In supporting Baldwin, many have told us that we were wasting our vote, but that is not at all so… With the understanding that we will be held accountable for every vote we cast, we voted in obedience to the Lord, knowing that our pronouncement revealed the essence of our faith in Him. We are called to live out the principles of God’s law--yes, even in the area of politics--so we shouldn’t be afraid of voting on principle…we should be afraid to vote any other way.

We do not fear the future. We firmly believe that even when Obama is President, that God will still be on the throne, He will still be the one who sets up and brings down our authorities, the principles of Scripture will still be our standard of action, and God will still work everything together for the good of His people. As Americans we are not in need of a "perfect" leader...what we need is to realize our absolute dependance upon God, kneel in brokenness before Him, cry out to Him and seek His face with all of our hearts. May the name of the Lord be recognized and blessed!

Embracing a New Moment

As of tomorrow we will all be here at the Indy Training Center. The entire family (11 of us anyway)...for a time at least! And why will we be here? We'll be here, simply, to serve. And not so simply, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:12. We'll be here to pursue with a passion the advancement of the kingdom of Christ. Of course, that was our purpose back in our lil' home in Pennsylvania too, but the Lord has directed us elsewhere...for a time at least!

I asked the Lord for a rhema to hold to as my family prepared their hearts for the new challenges and excitement of living and serving at the ITC, and He gave me Jeremiah 32:37-41,

Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them...and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

Of course, this was intended as a promise of the Lord for the children of Israel, but I know that the Lord is going to gather my family together, give us one heart and vision, do us good, and plant us in this land with all of the love and passion of His heart and His soul. That is so beautiful to meditate on--when the Lord does something with ALL of His heart we can be absolutely certain that it will be incredible and beyond anything that we can imagine!

And so we're embracing a new moment and living to the hilt this situation that we believe to be the will of God for our family...

Here are a few pictures of Shiloh... yep, he looks like the rest of us! =)

The Heagy children. Adorable!

Rebecca Joy...she looks so big now compared to her lil' brother!

Benjamin Joshua-- 2 months old already!

Anna Elizabeth

O Sing a Sweet Song of Coffee

Lately the debate over coffee and everything that word implies has sprung up again at the ITC... Only this time the discussion has been somewhat more, well, poetical than in times past! For your amusement, here's a slice of what's been penned thus far:

"The Coffee Song That Never Ends"
You are the song we love to sing!
Coffee your are our EVERYTHING!
Though Matt will try to wizen us,
We know it will not do--
Because you are the one we love,
To you we will be true... Repeat forever!

"I Must Have Coffee" (Written by FDiP, to the tune of "I Must Have Jesus)
Oh how my brain is starting to wander;
See how my eyes are starting to close!
I hear the sand-man coming to claim me;
I need some caffeine before I am gone!
Chorus:
I need some coffee, I need some coffee!
Can't you see my eyes starting to close?
I must have coffee, I must have coffee!
Caffeine can help me, Caffeine alone!

Mr. Stewart's response--In memoriam of coffee's many casualties
"The Fix" (to the tune of "Higher Ground")
My alarm clock rings, it's time to rise,
I open my bleary, crusty eyes;
But still I struggle to get out of bed,
Legally I could be called dead.

Chorus:
Coffee, lift me up to face these days,,
And I will ever sing your praise.
No matter what Matt may inflict,
I blissfully choose to be an addict.

There's only one reason to get myself up,
And that's for a steaming, stinking cup.
My vision is blurry, I'm starting to shake,
It's time for my ritual intake.
(Chorus)
So I rise up, against all odds,
Drawn to this sweet nectar of the gods;
At the first sip, my taste buds sing,
Coffee, you are my EVERYTHING.
(Chorus)
After the first cup, the world slows down,
At troubles I'll laugh, my sorrows I'll drown;;
I now rejoice in every deed,
My system just hit hyper-speed.
(Chorus)
In a short time, the buzz is gone,
This drug had used me as its pawn;
I gnash my teeth, mourn, wail, and weep,
It's 3 a.m. and I can't sleep.
(Chorus)

Lil' Shiloh

"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." -- Isaiah 58:12

Bringer of Peace

The Lord is My God
Champion

Introducing Shiloh Elijah Nelson, the newest member of the Nelson Clan, born on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008. He is quite the big boy, weighing 9 lbs. 3oz. at birth, and measuring about 22in. in length! There are so many eager hands to hold him, and mine are as eager as everyone else's...Unfortunately mine will have to wait a few more weeks to be able to do that! God's faithfulness is amazing and overwhelming... Only by the grace and goodness of God is lil' Shiloh here and healthy and absolutely perfect! To Him be the glory.

Something like forever

Wow. Nothing like waiting forever and a year to let people know that we still exist somewhere! Of course, when I (Sara) am the only one who usually writes anything at all, and I've been in Indy for exactly a year and a day now... I guess you have to expect updates to be relatively few and far between! I have lots of good pictures to post someday, but for now, you'll have to be content with just a brief synopsis of my past couple of months at the grand ole' ITC...
I worked this summer with a Leader-In-Training, making many good memories and learning more than I'll ever have time to write about here. God challenged my heart in so many amazing ways...I'm sure I couldn't write a book like some others leaders may be able to do, but the things that I learned regarding my own heart and in relating to other people have been such that I'll never be the same, I think.
I think the biggest two lessons God was consistently teaching me during my EQUIP training and service times (if I could possibly narrow it down to only two) have been learning to love as Christ loves, and coming to know just how big and real and near God really is to me--such simple concepts that you would think I would have learned years and years ago, but I've barely begun to learn them, I'm sure!
Since I graduated from EQUIP in the middle of August, I've continued working here at the Training Center, mostly keeping up with "behind the scenes" work. I'm helping with the Hispanic ministry on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and that has provided a lot of diversity in working with different people--from babies and children to young ladies and mothers... I'm even teaching some of the ladies how to quilt! I find it incredible the way that God uses gifts and talents to provide openings to minister to deeper needs of the heart...
I'm not sure where God is leading me at the moment. All I know is that I'm here now as an extension of my family, expanding my dad's vision for serving at the ITC, doing whatever I'm able to do. People ask how long I'll be here and I usually reply "forever, I think." ;-) I honestly love it here, even though it's hard to be away from my family and I miss my home-life like crazy sometimes (it helps to have my sister Stef here with me though!).
Not too much has changed in our family since June. The biggest thing (and best thing possible, I think) is the birth of my little nephew Benjamin Joshua Heagy last July (he's two months old already...hard to believe!). I've included a few pictures of him and Josh and Suzi's family for you all to see...Enjoy!