Financially-Strained-No-Money-In-The-Pocketbook-Times

During financially- strained-no-money-in-the-pocketbook-times like these right now, there are many people who are struggling. It makes one think about what they NEED rather than what they want. There are many cases I've heard of where the family is going through tough times because of money. Can't pay the rent, have to move from a foreclosed house, all the retirement funds are depleted or gone, homeless,... there are many situations out there right now. It seems every times we turn around there is another store or restaurant closing it doors and having clearance.

Some might say, "How can we survive? Why is God allowing this to happen?" Well, I choose to look at is as something that is created by God, but for a good purpose. God may have created this all to happen to bring many to him who would not get there otherwise. He is allowing this to happen to grow us. Think about this:

Ecclesiastes 7:14- When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider; God has made the one as well as the other...

That verse really says alot to me, because God DID make this day, and the last, and even when WE feel that the times are bad for everyone, we need to realize that He made it for a reason and He calls it GOOD!

It's a time for me to really think about what kinds of things that I NEED rather than things that I WANT! There is a big difference. I am so thankful to God for everything that happens. He always takes care of me. It makes me wonder if I lost everything, Would I still praise Him for everything? It could be a test, such as Job, would I have the insight to know that when everything going on around me was "Bad", know that God was still there and cared for me. I hope that I would pass that test. Would you pass that test?


This is also a time in which we need to reach out to others to help them as much as possible. This is a time where we can put our faith into ACTIONS and really show the world (or at least our community) the unfailing, unchanging, unbreakable, undeniable, uninhibited, unwarranted, love of the gracious God of all!

Stuck at Home

It's a weird feeling for me to know that I will not be heading to First Baptist Church tomorrow for the service. It's is a good thing for me to have a change in churches at this time, and I am totally fine with it, because I am excited about the possibilities and where I will be going from now on, But it still is a weird feeling. Yes, I will be going to FBC for the Sunday School hour this week because we are having a Latvia training meeting, but I will not be staying for the Sermon.

I am however, very excited about our College group Barbecue. I am excited to try out my Tatter Salad. (Blue Comedy Tour Reference there, in case you missed it) I have never made this Tatter Salad and I must say, it tastes pretty darn good, thanks to All Recipes.com
This is a celebration for the end of our study in Ecclesiastes. We will be hangin out from 5-9 with lots of good food, and a great worship time. I am so grateful to the Toomies for consistantly opening up their house (and their LIVES) to 10-20 Young Adults.

I have been having a hard time lately with my working situation. As a substitute teacher, I am not getting many jobs each month. I had a total of 4 full days in March, but not only money-wise, its tough being stuck at home with nothing to do when I know I should be working 4-5 days a week and only get 1-2. Its hard to know what I should be doing with my "OFF" time. Should I read all day?, stay in bed and sleep?, go for a really, really, really long walk?, clean the house?, surf the net all day?, watch hours upon hours of Television?, what should I do??? I'd love comments on this if you feel led? I need to find something that I can do on my off time that is worthwhile, something that gives back to the community or God but is not a consistant time commitment (the reason behind this is that I do not have a steady day that I never have a job, so I don't feel as though I can take up SMART reading because it is a commitment during the day and I cannot set aside one day out of the week to do things such as these, I need to take jobs when they arise. Got all that??) Maybe I just need a good hobby! I don't know.

Well, thats all for tonight. I hope the thousands upon thousands of people that read this blog (Sarcastically, of course) comment on my questions. (NOT Sarcastically)

So, it's official. I am off to Latvia on July 7th. First Baptist Church has had a relationship with a Latvia church for a while and are embarking on new extensions with Eagles Wings Camp.
I and 10 other people will be heading on our way to Latvia on July 7th and returning July 22nd.

The plane tickets were confirmed today. As of right now, I am doing alright with my fund raising. We are all asked to raise $1000. on our own, and then our group will be raising further funds together. Of the $1000 to raise, my family and friends have been very supportive and I have raised $850. I really appreciate the prayers and support from all of my supporters.

I am very excited to go from Redmond to Portland, then Portland to Frankfurt Germany, then Frankfurt to Riga Latvia.

We will have a great layover in Frankfurt Germany on our way back- a whole day to explore the city.

This is when the missions trip gets real for me. When we havent bought anything yet, there is still backout time and theoretical, but now, we are at the point of no return. We are on our way.
I thank the Lord that I am ready for this trip. It will be such a growing experience for me.

For I know the Plans I have for you Declares the Lord

So I am in the middle of some changes that most people know about. Originally, my timeline for change was going to start in June or July of this year, but things don't always go as planned and so my family will be moving away from First Baptist Church of Bend starting next Sunday. We have been a part of this church for more than three years and so it is hard not to have feelings for this church and the congregation, but I do know that it is all God's will and his plan for us to be moving on and that is why I am so okay with it all.
When I found out about the possibility of our moving on, a few months ago, I decided to check out some new churches but because I couldn't leave FBC on Sundays (due to all the involvement I was in) I decided to check out churches via Saturday Night services. I started with New Hope Church in Bend. I stopped looking when I saw New Hope. It is a great church and I felt at home there and that I did not need to look any further. That first night, they had a great sermon, the worship was awesome and uplifted to God, and they even asked for volunteers for helping out with their Middle School program. I love that because I would like to get involved as much as possible at my new church. Then a few weeks later, there was a pitch for asking for volunteers for the Video Production team at New Hope. I also wanted to be involved in that team as well.
Anyways, I have pretty much made up my mind that New Hope is the way to go when I move on, and that is happening soon. I am still planning on going to Latvia with FBC Bend in July, but other than that and the okay for occasionally teaching Middle School on Mondays at FBC, I will have no other contact with that.
Please pray for my father and mother and sister. Its been tough for dad and mom, but especially Kelli; She is really having a tough time with this change in her life.

As for me, I am so excited to start a new chapter of my Church life. It will be nice to get to know new people and have the opportunity to be in volunteering roles at this church. It will be nice not to be known as Tim, Pastor Mikes son, but just as Tim. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me in the future, not just in churches but also in every facet of my life, where I will be in a few years, who I will marry, What I will be doing this time next year- a full-time job, going back to school, or subbing still. There are many aspects of my life that are libel to change, and normally I don't like change or surprises (and still don't in some sense) but this time I'm okay with it and just want the patience to wait for His "plans to prosper me and give me a hope."

New Apple MacBook Pro

So last monday was a great day. For one, I got my new computer; for the past 6 months or so, I have had a computer that was around 5 years old and was very unpredictable. It would work sometimes and then not start up for a few days. I decided to pretty much leave it on standby for the past few months because of the unreliabilty of it starting up. So I got just recently, an Apple MacBook Pro and it showed up last monday.

I have been saving up for this upgrade, and finally, I had enough money to get a new computer.
Its got lots of great features; did lots of downloads of software and installations today. I've had fun setting up the computer and finding all the new things I can do.