Keeping Tuned In and Tuned Up

I remember those old TV sets we had when we were kids. It seemed my dad was always fiddling with those knobs in the back to adjust the vertical and horizontal hold for the picture.  When everything was just right I could actually see what was going on with the Lone Ranger! Without it I could only hear the music and the gunshots and had to guess what kind of adventure the Lone Ranger and Tonto were getting into.

Recently, Kathie and I started going to a chiropractor.  No major complaints -- we just knew some things were “out of whack." We learned that the body is an amazing creation and that when everything lines up vertically (spine and head) and horizontally (shoulders and hips) it can heal itself of many of the aches and pains of daily life. So, the doctor is helping to train our bodies to line up the horizontal and vertical hold.

God designed us to also have the proper spiritual relationship of the vertical and the horizontal in our lives.  When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, he answered:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)

In this compact answer is a deep well of wisdom concerning our relationship with God, ourselves and others.

For the next two weeks I am in Pennsylvania receiving training in how to help us in our Proclaim Community keep our relational horizontal and vertical holds in good adjustment. Pray with me that I would be open to anything the Lord cares to show me in this process.


Jim

Ministry Starts Here

We are all about evangelism in Proclaim. We put incredible amounts of time and effort into planning and leading overseas tours completely focused on that goal with all our energy and passion. Our Los Vecinos team has just finished such a tour in Belarus where every event and activity has been planned to maximize opportunities for the gospel.

But what about times when we are not involved in an organized tour. One of the concerns that we have felt is the importance of keeping this priority in focus all the time, in our individual encounters with people and in planned events. During the past year Kim Peterson has headed up regular excursions where Proclaim musicians and even others from our local Christian community can take it to the streets nearby -- playing music and engaging people in conversation. Lately St. Augustine has been the target area. Pray that we will keep finding creative ways to reach people locally.

PROCLAIM! GALA  Another big focus for us right now is planning our April fund raising Gala. This year we are especially praying that God will bring people who have a passion for missions and will catch the vision for partnering with Proclaim in significant ways. We need to have a strong Jacksonville ministry base to provide resources for all that God is doing through Proclaim internationally. We are praying for people who through their partnership will fuel the fire and fan the flame! 

OUR PART  As we're working on addressing the needs in Proclaim, we are not forgetting our own support shortage. In fact, getting our personal support more stable through monthly donors or special gifts would have a positive effect on Proclaim overall. You can help with donations for our ministry through the DONATE link on the right sidebar. Contact us if you would like to find out more about Proclaim or our part in the ministry.

FAMILY  

Jami just celebrated a big birthday. A milestone for all of us! She is busy finishing up a writing project between her church commitments, part-time care giving, and still looking for full-time work. 

Jim has had a lot of playing opportunities -- men's retreat and Sundays at church, street evangelism, in addition to several private events. He has an interesting opportunity next month coordinating music and playing for a wedding where the bride and groom have definite evangelistic goals for the event. 

Kathie's role of coordination and communication in the Proclaim office is challenging and fun as we are adding new members to Proclaim and gearing up for the coming tours this year. A recent project has been helping develop the new website which is up now. See it at www.proclaiminternational.com