Uncategorized - It’s All About Jesus

IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
SHEPHERDING MK’S/TCK’S

Definitely one of God’s saintliest servants, Nancy Carriger, spent over thirty years serving MK’s and TCK’s in Nigeria and Niger.

I Peter 5: 2-3 ESV

. . . shepherd the flock of God
that is among you, exercising oversight,
not under compulsion, but willingly,
as God would have you.
not for shameful gain, but eagerly,
not domineering over those in your charge,
but being examples to the flock.

How Can I Say Thank You?

My Father in Heaven,
how do I begin to say
“Thank You!”
to Your Heroes
who laughed with
our children and
took time when
they cried,
who hugged them
when needed
and listened
to their tales
and fed them
and did all those
things they so
needed when
we couldn’t be
there with them,
when they prayed for
them and helped
them to pray
with faith in our
Savior who loves
them and shepherds
them even as You do.

Nancy Carriger and Sahel Academy students loved playing softball together.

Some of the finest Christians I have ever been privileged to know as friends and as brothers and sisters in the Lord, have been those missionaries who lovingly and yet firmly shepherded the MK’s and TCK’s entrusted into their care. Now, you well be asking, who in the world are MK’s and TCK’S and what do you mean when you say, “shepherding” them? Well MK’s are Missionary Kids, the children of missionaries. TCK’s are Third Culture Kids, a more widely applied label—applying to the children of missionaries, international business people, military personnel, and others who work away from their home country and take their children with them. So, for our understanding, the children of our missionaries serving outside United States are both MK’S and TCK’S. For our missionary children, belonging to these particular population groups, brings both unique opportunities, but also unparalleled challenges which follow them throughout their lives.

Nancy began her service serving as a dorm parent to younger children at Kent Academy outside of Jos, Nigeria.

The truth is, MK’s and TCK’S enjoy rare privileges as they experience other cultures from the inside of them, so to speak. Our own children, having been born and raised in Nigeria, know what it means to live in Africa. They understand well the nature of Africans, their traditions and their strengths, along with their challenges. However, MK’s and TCK’s also have to tackle the reality of not feeling completely at home in their parents’ home culture nor in their own adopted culture. They do not fully belong to either. So, they are a Third Culture, a culture betwixt and between, without being fully at home in either the first (the parents’ culture) or the second, (the adopted culture) where they live as a family.

I know, it’s complicated. Here’s the issue: MK’s and TCK’s are God’s beautiful children. They are loved by Him and need to be loved by His people sensitively and prayerfully. It takes God-called and very much Spirit-dominated women and men to shepherd them through school and prepare them for what will always be a different path into and throughout adulthood. Thank God, Becky and I have counted as dear friends, and our children have known as aunts and uncles, missionary colleagues who have met this challenge with Christ-like love and humor and toughness. We have known godly and (in our humble opinion) sainted house parents, teachers, coaches, principals and chaplains who have blessed hundreds of MK’s and TCK’s along their way in both Nigeria and Niger.

Nancy finds time to meet one-one with one of the MK’s at Sahel Academy in Niger.

In this post I want to focus on just one lady, Nancy Carriger, born in the U.S. on May 8, 1958. Nancy was adopted at five months, and according to her biological mother’s wishes, into a Christian family. In that loving Christian family, she accepted Jesus as her Savior at five. At seven she heard a missionary from Japan speaking, and told her Mom she wanted someday to be a missionary. The family moved with Nancy to Canada when she was nine. Nancy says she made a significant rededication of her life to the Lord when she was fourteen, as she realized she needed to choose a path moving more completely toward Jesus and a lifestyle which would please HIm.

Nancy attended Prairie High School on the campus of Prairie Bible College in Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. While there she was trying to figure out how missions could fit in her life. She struggled with math, science, and French. In the eleventh grade Nancy met an MK from Ethiopia. This friend explained to Nancy how MK’s needed folks who fully love them and are willing to get to know them not just as MK’s but as individuals loved by God. This conversation set Nancy’s course toward her life work in missions—loving and serving MK’s and TCK’s.

Nancy delighted students every Christmas as a purple elf delivering candy canes.

After high school, Nancy earned a Bible College degree in Missions and Bible Religious Education. She got her first job on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, where she got involved with a small church plant, which actually grew and became her original sending church. Even today this church carries some of her support.

In 1984 Nancy joined SIM (Serving In Missions) and in August, 1985 headed to Nigeria to work at Kent Academy outside Jos. At this school for MK’s Nancy served as a dormitory parent for five years, and she loved it. She returned to Canada for a home assignment in 1990, and returned to school to add to her education, earning a Teacher Aide’s certificate. Then when was ready to return, she learned there was no available position in Nigeria; but she was needed at Sahel Academy in Niger. So, in mid-January of 1998 she arrived in Niamey to begin teaching at Sahel Academy. Her first struggle came in trying to learn French, even though the language had been so tough back in high school. She testifies that throughout her career she has worked hard to do her best in French, and Nigeriens have been patient with her efforts. Her second struggle came as she had to adjust to living in the capital city, Niamey.

Nancy always loved teaching Bible classes as she shared the Gospel in every single lesson.

Still, Nancy quickly learned that this was the place God wanted to place her to bless the MK’s and TCK’s always, in the Love of Jesus. Even when it came time for her home assignments, she always felt sad because she was truly leaving her home, the place God had designed for her. Through the years Nancy did anything and everything to share the Love and Knowledge of God with her students. She taught Bible, at one time, to every student in the school. And as she taught, she created one of the most inviting and intriguing classrooms I ever encountered in all of my own years of teaching. She coached softball—a sport she dearly loved. She worked with drama—she was known as a “ham” inside and outside the classroom—always ready to have some fun. Then, in her desire to truly serve the students more and more, she became the School Registrar, keeping student records and making sure their transcripts with all of the pertinent details made their often complicated college application process from Niger as simple as it could be.

Basically, Nancy said to God; “Here I am. Show me everything I can do to love these beautiful students in the name of Jesus. I will do it in the power of the Holy Spirit. I am here for You, then for them. I want by all means, to help them find Jesus as their Savior.” Nancy faithfully fulfilled this commitment for almost twenty-seven years at Sahel, even through floods and relocations, her faith in God and her calling to be among His children and her students, never wavered.

Nancy may be quite short, but her faith in Jesus is as tall as they come.

And, believe me Nancy’s remarkable dedication to MK’s and TCK’s does not stand alone. In the lives of our own children I would mention just a few names of heroes we will always honor with deep, deep gratitude to folks like Ward and Lou Ann Nicholson, Jay and Heidi Tolar, Jimmy and Sylvia Huey, Andy and Judy Norman, Larry and Linda Taylor, Dennis and May Clermont, and Sherry Woods—there are way too many more to mention—talking about a “great cloud of witnesses.” Praise God. They made it ALL ABOUT JESUS.

Nancy’s Pitch? Pray for MK’s and TCK’s today.

I just have to make this appeal directly to your hearts: As you pray, lift up our heroic, our courageous, our truly wonderful MK’s and TCK’s who throughout their lives bear the honor and the burden of following their parents’ calling into different cultures all over the world. It is a beautiful life. It is a difficult life. AND pray, now that you know her, for Nancy and so many others just like her who have given their whole selves into loving and caring for MK’s and TCK’s.

We all have stories to tell, in all our stories—IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS.

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Posted on August 2, 2024 by Mike Stonecypher

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IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
PROCLAIMING THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD

Together, God uses Joe and Nalda Childs to uphold the power and beauty of God’s Word as the foundation for victorious Christian living.

Jeremiah 23:29
Is not my word like fire,
declares the LORD,
like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Father, Forgive Our Empty Promises

Father, forgive us;
though You have given us
the truth of Your Living
and Your Written Word,
we too quickly rise
on our own two feet
and proudly proclaim
“Truth” in Jesus’ Name—
we too often shape and
we frame our own
opinions and
interpretations
based on our own
experiences and
some other person’s
lofty opinions
when Your Word is
absolute Truth,
and Your Word is
the foundation
for life as we know
it and beyond—
we are commanded
by You to search
and to listen to
and to obey Your Word—
no wonder we face
such confusion
in this world, while
we ignore Your Truth.

Joe and Nalda so effectively make their lives ALL ABOUT JESUS, folks around them want to join them and do so also.

There are plenty of prophets in this modern world, eager to please your ears, and tickle you heart and amaze your mind with pretty words which literally build castles in the air. There are more than enough “Get Rich Quick” books, “Be Happy” books, and “Leave Behind Your Old Life” books. There are podcasts which can teach you 1001 ways to rise above the natural to the supernatural. There are reality shows on TV, movies in the theater, songs to dance to, to sing along with, to be inspired by, and there are on-line and printed magazines to explain answers to every question you can imagine. Yet, too much of it amounts to so much babel. No one seems to have a clue as they keep searching in all the wrong places. That’s the bad news, and always has been.

Here’s the Good News: Really Good News! Read it: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105 KJV)

God actually called Joe into a life of ministry as a young boy, and His Call never went away, and Joe fully responded with obedience many years later.

When I think about the centrality and the power of the Word of God these days, I thank God for the life of Joe Childs. More than any other person in my life, he has consistently, insistently upheld the power and authority of God’s Word. I first got to know Joe as our Sunday School teacher while we were on Stateside Assignment as missionaries in Nigeria, then Niger. I found His Sunday School lessons challenging in the best kind of way. I found that his teaching took me beyond the surface, beyond taking God’s Word as if it were no more than children’s stories or inspiring tales. Rather Joe’s inspired teaching always moved both my heart and mind into the depth of God’s Word as it presented His Holiness, His Righteousness, and His Love.

In one lesson He could start out in a New Testament Gospel or Letter and take us back through time and through Scripture to establish the links which pointed to God’s Eternal Message of God’s Redemption for sinful men through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I was constantly amazed at how diligently Joe traced out the relationships between Scriptures throughout the Bible to firmly establish the unchanging message of the Gospel. My mind was challenged, my heart was uplifted and my soul was assured in the reality and the glory of the God of the Bible.

Joe and Nalda have for many years gathered teams to powerfully share the Love of Christ in Mexico.

What I did not know about Joe is that he had for a long, long time been a man who lived and practiced and stood on the truth of the Word of God he so powerfully taught. He had been born during World War II in Adele, Georgia. His Dad, John Childs, had been away in the War, and did not actually see Joe until he was three years old. After the war, Joe’s Dad became the superintendent in a construction company, which required the family to move often. Joe learned to make friends quickly. He found friends readily in the school bands where they moved, as he played the trumpet and the French horn. After high school Joe attended Georgia Tech and Jacksonville State. He married young and was blessed with three sons; Joe Junior, Stephen and Jason. In the meantime His Dad established Childs Construction Company; so Joe partnered with his Dad in the family business.

Out among people Joe has used every possible means to demonstrate the Love of God.

After spending some years as a single, Joe met and married Nalda Sealey, a deeply committed Christian. Not long after they were married, during a morning devotion Joe was leading, God reminded him of the Call HE had placed on Joe’s life when he was quite young. In his obedient response to the new sense of God’s Call, he began the process of shutting down the family business, and began to more diligently study the Bible. He studied through Liberty University and earned a degree in Biblical Studies. God opened up opportunities for Joe to teach Sunday School and to preach in various churches. He began Bible studies in several apartment complexes, one retirement center and at the Etowah County Jail. He also took the Gospel message to Indonesia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Russia and Mexico. For several years Joe traveled with his dear missionary friend, Contardo Covarrubias. Then they met a young couple in Saltillo, Mexico; Alejandro and Angeles Castro, and began to focus their ministry through the Castro’s work in their church, their ministries in jails and prisons, in food distribution and other outreach activities among the poor. Once Joe and Nalda joined Glencoe First Baptist Church, he enlisted Joe Brothers and David Webster to join him in mission trips to Saltillo. That small group has grown to include many others for the last thirteen years, including Glencoe church members and friends from other churches.This ministry has provided eyeglasses, clothes, medical care and medication. Through it all Joe and Nalda have focused all efforts on sharing the Gospel.

Joe and Nalda have discovered that the most satisfying way to travel and see the world is with God in His Word and deep in your heart to share with others.

Speaking of Joe and Nalda: God has given them together a deep and abiding love for other people which expresses itself in all manner of ways, serving in so many ministries of the Church, and perhaps, most beautifully, in upholding individuals and families in prayer. Becky and I know the blessing of this concerted and consistent and powerful prayer personally. They know some of our deepest prayer needs, and they faithfully seek updates and continue to pray—and of course, God honors such faithful prayer.

Joe Child’s life clearly stands strong on the statement: IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS. I praise God for such mentors and such inspiring examples as Joe and Nalda. With our Good God and friends like them, we definitely have more blessings that you could ever name. Praise the Lord!

(I have to salute Nalda for comprehensive info which forms the basis of much of this post. Thanks!)

Every story in this blog is intended to lift up the Name of Jesus for the way He does His work so powerfully through the lives of His People.

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Posted on July 26, 2024 by Mike Stonecypher

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IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
God’s Power In Praying For Missionaries

1 Corinthians 1:8-11 ESV

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,
of the affliction we experienced in Asia.
For we were so utterly burdened
beyond our strength
that we despaired of life itself.
Indeed, we felt that we had receIved the sentence of death.
But that was to make us rely not on ourselves
but on God who raises the dead.
He delivered us from such deadly peril,
and he will deliver us again.
You must also help us by prayer
so that many will give thanks on our behalf
for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Every story in this blog is intended to lift up the Name of Jesus for the way He does His work so powerfully through the lives of His People.

Oh, How My Heart Wants To Hug Their Necks

Oh, Father in Heaven,
Oh, how my heart wants to hug their necks,
those faithful sisters and brothers
who from the depths of their hearts
in obedience to the Holy Spirit
bow their heads in their chairs
or in the pews in their church
or in Sunday School rooms
or kneel on the carpet
and pour out their prayers
on behalf of your servants
facing the foe for Your Name
in places these prayer warriors
might never go except
in their words so fervent
taken as tools in Your Holy Hands
to stir up the hearts
of those who might never
hear the sweet
Name of Jesus
who came to be Savior
for all of the girls and the boys
and the women and the men
in Your world so beloved—
Of Father, I praise you for each one of these
who hears Your Holy Call
and they pray
and You hear and You answer
and strengthen
and empower
Your messengers—
now look at all those
people won by Your using
all of those prayers,
bowing and praying,
offering up
for others
their concern,
waiting to hear
the sweet name of Jesus.

My beloved Aunt Betty, certainly one of these prayer warriors Paul was talking about, kept up with those she prayed for by phone, updating information and offering assurance and encouragement, and of course, regularly and faithfully praying.

Paul, the one time extremist Pharisee, and a chief persecutor of Christ’s Church, met Jesus face-to-face on the road to Damascus, and ultimately became both an Apostle and a Missionary. In fact, the Holy Spirit, used him in many ways to establish the missionary movement of the early Church. So, it is noteworthy to read his plea above. Notice he talks about the deadly perils he faced over again in the midst of his missionary work. This should be no surprise. We know our Enemy will raise every obstacle he can to keep God’s missionaries from completing their task of taking the Gospel to the very ends of the Earth. So Paul says, “You must also help us by prayer . . .” We are begged to help our missionaries by prayer so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the miraculous acts of God through our missionaries, and the miraculous protection of God in the daily lives of our missionaries. When God calls a missionary and they respond in obedience, and when His people support them with their prayers, then mighty miracles happen and God’s Kingdom is built. Count on it!

We know this because the Scripture above says so, and because we experienced it over and over again in Nigeria and then, in Niger. Praise God, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being among those who joined God in His mighty work as you prayed for us and other missionaries. In my own church in my D-Life group I have a Christian brother who down through the years has faithfully prayed for individuals and people groups we mentioned—and God has proven Himself ever faithful. I cannot wait until we get to Heaven so I can introduce him to those who will be there because of the faithfulness of His many, many prayers. Thank you and God bless you, Tim.

I could write about so many, many like him—brothers and sisters in Christ, who from the time I went to Nigeria in 1982, and continuing as Becky joined me in 1988, until we returned to the U.S. in 2018. They prayed for us and our Nigerian and Nigerien brothers and sisters daily, and often more than daily—God kept His promise (Of course, He did!) and we had the blessing of seeing so many come to Jesus, grow in Jesus, serve Jesus, and bless us in Jesus. We had the further blessing of seeing people groups and tribes hear the Gospel for the first time. Because people prayed, doors were opened and people were called and obeyed and went among them to tell them of Jesus who loves them and has a plan to save them and change them and free them and empower them to share the Gospel, themselves. It’s true! Prayer and prayer warriors are definitely all about Jesus.

Aunt Betty and Uncle James, Gayle, Sheila and Kristy

I want to share with you the story of my Aunt Betty, (Bless her heart! I mean it! Really! Bless her heart because she never, ever stopped praying for us during our time as missionaries and beyond.) She exemplifies the faithful, humble, yet powerful, Prayer Warrior God uses to accomplish His Will in His servants, here in the U.S. and throughout the world. God’s Kingdom is coming because of prayerful hearts like Aunt Betty’s.

Aunt Betty, Uncle Billy (My Mother’s Youngest Brother), and My Mother

Aunt Betty was born to John Bradley Mosley and Minne Lee Nelson Mosley in Jamestown, Cherokee County, Alabama. (My Mother was also born in Jamestown.) Aunt Betty attended Gaylesville School for eleven years, but earned her G.E.D. In 1982. (That’s the same year I first went to Nigeria.) She lived as a faithful, hard-working housewife to my Uncle James, (from whom my parents took my first name), until his sudden, untimely death. Then she went to work in accounting for B&C Tire, Noland Plumbing, and the Hokes Bluff Ciity Hall. Next she worked as a librarian at the Hokes Bluff City Library until she was 82. She loved reading and talking about reading, and in addition to pumping me for prayer requests over the years, she always wanted to know what I was reading. I never named an author she didn’t know.

Aunt Betty and Uncle James were baptized together at Louis Street Baptist Church in East Gadsden, Alabama.

Having grown up in the Methodist Church, Aunt Betty and her Baptist Husband, Uncle James, as young marrieds, both professed Christ as Savior and were baptized at Louis Street Baptist Church, the very church where I was also baptized. Later, in the Baptist Women’s Missionary Union at Immanuel Baptist Church in Hokes Bluff, she met Ada Belle Nail, who became her prayer warrior mentor. She grew over the years to carry that blessed heritage forward, as she encouraged the lives of many, including my family and me, with her prayers. I remember her keen interest and her faithful, focused, specific prayers throughout the years of our missionary service; but it was when I was diagnosed with cancer that she really “got down on her knees and got down to business with the Lord” for me in a way that deepened my appreciation for the effectiveness of faithful, caring, loving, trusting prayer. As I underwent surgery and as I recovered I often answered the phone to hear her teasing, encouraging voice asking pertinent questions, and assuring me that she would be praying for every single concern or challenge I was facing at that particular time. And she did. And God answered. And not only was I healed, but I was convinced, once and for all of the unimaginable power of prayer. Praise God for my Aunt Betty.

I never think of Aunt Betty and Uncle James without remembering their antique cars, which received the same kind of devoted and careful attention, as did her faithful prayers on behalf of so many blessed people.

Not long before she went on to glory, I called Aunt Betty and asked if Becky and I could come for a short visit. She was not feeling well, but graciously invited us to come on over to her house. When we got there, she was so weak, we had to wait several minutes for her to make it to the living room where she would greet us. Even though her body was growing weak, her mind was still focused on the God to whom she had prayed so often, and her questions still came, searching for our concerns. Then, my cousin Sheila, came to help Aunt Betty hear us as we conversed, and we had a fine visit. And as we got ready to leave, I went and sat right in from of my godly, sainted aunt and prayed my heart out for her and hers, with deep gratitude for all the times she had prayed her heart out for me—and as I did, I was reminded of countless others in First Baptist Glencoe and in other churches in many places, who had lifted our names in prayer. I praise God for how He particularly and overwhelmingly cares enough for His servants to enlist prayer warriors who stand with them in the gap as He continues the building of His Kingdom to His glory among every tribe, people, language and nation. Amen and amen!

You can read stories like this one about people who have made their lives ALL ABOUT JESUS in the book.

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Posted on July 19, 2024 by Mike Stonecypher

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IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
PRIASE THE LORD!

PSALM 111 ESV
Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!

At seventy-two it is time to stop and take stock—and praise God for such a lifetime of blessings!

A Lifetime Of Blessings

From before we were born
to live on this earth
until forever and ever
worshipping and serving
our Lord God in Heaven
He has blessed us
remarkably as
our Father in Heaven,
creating us
and placing us
according to His
perfect purpose
to live in His glory,
to find joy in His Presence,
to be redeemed by the Son,
to be reborn in the Spirit—
to discover the wonder
of becoming
as one with His own
in His Kingdom
as he builds
His Holy Church
toward the
establishment
of His mighty Kingdom
towards the
coming of His
New Heaven
and New Earth—
all our hearts praise to Him,
all our souls saved by Him,
every mind new in Him,
every tongue praising Him.

The sunflower always causes my heart to turn heavenward in praise for the power of His creative glory.

WHERE DO I BEGIN? How could anyone ever count all God’s blessings? I must confess, I just turned one year older. I have been enjoying the wonders, exploring the boundaries, and tackling the challenges of this earth all these years; so, I have reached my seventy-second birthday. Praise the Lord!!! As I do so I cannot help but feel embarrassed by how freely He has filled up my life to overflowing with His rich gifts, while I have so seldom taken the time to really thank Him adequately. In appreciation, then, for this brand new year to live, I will at least make a beginning. (I must confess that while I had thought it would be a worthy undertaking to choose seventy-two blessings in respect to having been blessed with seventy-two years; I quickly realized how ridiculously small that number would be. Just think about it! Every day our good God blesses us in too many ways to count. And yet, I will list seventy-two just to get my mind engaged and my heart committed to do better at praising Him this next year.) My challenge to you is to take an opportunity (IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS, AFTER ALL) to spend some time counting your blessings. So, here goes . . .

Butterflies do make my heart sing to praise our Creator’s beautiful and delicate touch.

GOD AND HIS GOODNESS

1. I praise God the Almighty, the Eternal, the All-Knowing, the Perfect, Loving One.
2. I praise God the Father and the Creator.
3. I praise God the Son, our Savior and our Redeemer.
4. I praise God the Holy Spirit who indwells, empowers and sets me free.
5. I praise God for the Paradise which was Eden.
6. I praise God for the privilege of walking with Him.
7. I praise God for being made in His image.
8. I praise God for the glory of His Creation, from the most enormous star to the tiniest of butterflies.
9. I praise God for His plan for our Redemption.
10. I praise God for the miracle of His Perfect Love.
11. I praise God for Jesus who willingly gave His life for me.
12. I praise God for Jesus and His Resurrection which destroys sin and death in me.

Imagine the purity and the symmetry and the silkiness of the Easter Lily. Incredibly designed!

GODLY FAMILY HERITAGE

13. I praise God for a godly mother and father who lived and loved and sacrificed so much for me—pointing me to Jesus over and over again.
14. I praise God for godly grandparents who faithfully passed down a heritage of God-first, hard-working, deeply-caring people.
15. I praise God for my wife who has loved God first and sets a daily example for me of unselfish, deeply caring Christ-filled living.
16. I praise God for a daughter and a son who fill our lives with wonder as they continue to discover God’s amazing plan for them and their families.
17. I praise God for a brother and sisters, who throughout my life, have exemplified godly faithfulness and overwhelming love
18. I praise God for my aunts and uncles and cousins who have loved and prayed for and encouraged and inspired me in the direction of following Jesus.

GODLY MENTORS AND FRIENDS

Looking down on calla lilies reveals the clarity of their delightful color. Praise God for how He uses such a kaleidoscope of colors.

19. I praise God for local church (faith) families who have taught and corrected and grown me in God’s Way.
20. I praise God for Louis Street Baptist, East Gadsden, Alabama, where I was saved.
21. I praise God for First Baptist Glencoe, Alabama, where I have grown in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout most of my lifetime.
22. I praise God for University Baptist, Montevallo, Alabama, where I discovered the force for good of the Gospel in action.
23. I praise God for Calvary Baptist, Ludowici, Georgia, where I was loved like family, and where I received my call into missions.
24. I praise God for First Baptist Church, St. Marys, Georgia, where I was taught the beauty and the power of Scripture.
25. I praise God for Hartsville Baptist Church, Hartsville, Indiana, where I was loved on and encouraged as I made the transition into missionary service.
26. I praise God for First Baptist Church, Naraguta, Nigeria, where I and my family were nurtured by our Nigerian brothers and sisters in the midst of our missionary service.
27. I praise God for Goudel Baptist Church, Niamey, Niger, where we were patiently and lovingly welcomed in spite of our cultural and language limitations.
28. I praise God for teachers in two states and three countries who lovingly taught me as they lived out their Christian witness in the classroom.
29. I praise God for Pastors who served us in the local church by preaching the Word, loving the people and pointing us always to Jesus.

Shasta daisies sleep through winter and then wake up to glory their Maker who gives them such vivid beauty.

30. I praise God for dedicated prayer warriors who join together to uphold God’s Glory and God’s People.
31. I praise God for Sunday School classes (Life Groups) who love God, love each other and serve those around them in the Love of God.
32. I praise God for Church Training classes who taught me the practices of following Jesus as I was growing up.
33. I praise God for Sunbeams (now Mission Friends) where I first heard stories about missionaries.
34. I praise God for Royal Ambassadors where godly men captured my heart for a life of missions in service to God.
35. I praise God for Vacation Bible School where tireless Moms taught us about God’s Word and His Love as expressed in His Word.
36. I praise God for the Nigerian Baptist Mission which welcomed me, and then Becky and me, as co-laborers for the Gospel in Nigeria.
37. I praise God for the Nigerian Baptist Convention which also welcomed us and worked along-side us in sharing the Gospel across Nigeria.
38. I praise God for the Baptist High School Discipleship Groups with which I was able to work in feeding hungry hearts and minds the Good News as they grew in their faith.
39. I praise God for the Torchhbearer Drama Group, Baptist High School, in which I delighted to see students use their talent to share the Gospel with others.
40. I praise God for the opportunity to work with a Hillcrest School Discipleship Group, composed of Nigerian young men desiring growth in their walk with Jesus.
41. I praise God for Sahel Academy Discipleship Groups, and their dedication to growing in their Christian lives and witness.
42. I praise God for the gift of Master Life as I saw it deepen the Christian lives of so many Nigerians.
43. I praise God for Experiencing God and the way it transformed our lives as missionaries, while it also helped Nigerian Christians understand how God works to bring people into relationship with Him.
44. I praise God for The Mind of Christ and how it became such an effective tool for deepening the spiritual lives of Baptist High Shool teachers.
45. I praise God for Fresh Encounter as it helped Baptist High School teachers explore Scripture in deepening their relationship with Jesus.
46. I praise God for D-Life Groups which help us live out our faith day-to-day together.

I particularly love camellias for braving winter to remind us of God’s eternal love.

47. I praise God for our Nigerian electrician, James, an outstanding Christian, who kept our house running, and still works enthusiastically among unreached people groups.
48. I praise God for our our Nigerian mechanic, Dayo, who somehow kept our mission cars on the road in Nigeria, and actively participated in one of the larger Baptist Churches in Jos.
49. I praise God for our Nigerian Gardner/Cook/Buyer, Gideon, man-of-all-trades, who freed us up to concentrate on ministry tasks, while caring for our yard, our flowers, and shopping for and preparing for us delicious meals.
50. I praise God for our Nigerian Housekeeper, Esther, who kept our house clean in spite of all the dust and mud and bugs and spiders and occasional snakes which invaded.
51. I praise God for our Nigerian Nanny, Mrs. Elkanah, who saw after Rachel and John David when they were very young, while Becky wrestled with chores and did ministry, besides.

Pansies also brave cold days to remind us that God’s Love never hides.

GODLY DIRECTED CAREER

52. I praise God for Long County High School, Ludowici, Georgia, where I began my teaching career.
53. I praise God for His grace through His constant Presence as I adjusted to living far away from home, securing for me a room with an older Christian lady in the midst of Ludowici.
54. I praise God for Mrs. Howard, who among other things, taught me to use her pistol, should there be unwanted visitors in the night.
55. I praise God for St. Marys Elementary School, St. Marys, Georgia, where I continued my teaching career, after being put on hold by the International Mission Board.
56. I praise God for my godly principal, Mr. Charles Estes, and his wife, who assisted me in every way as I settled down to teach and minister in St. Marys.
57. I praise God for lively yet wonderful seventh graders who responded so positively to my work as an English teacher at the school.
57. I praise God for the Heaven Bound Youth Group, which focused my out-of-the-classroom ministry on wonderfully enthusiastic youth who gave their all to our wide range of activities, focused on youth Bible Study and our youth choir.
58. I praise God for their parents who gave huge amounts of time to work with the youth, to travel with us a a group, and to keep our youth on track in their hectic lives, always keeping the focus on Jesus.
59. I praise God for Baptist High School, Jos, Nigeria, where God began to teach me missionary service for Him.
60. I praise God for the Principal and the other teachers who welcomed me and gave me such freedom to serve among our wonderful students there.
61. I praise God for those spiritually hungry students as they sought to be challenged and changed by God’s Word.
62. I praise God for boys and girls, young men and women, who did the hard work to seriously study the Bible, and to let the Word search out and change their hearts.

Then comes the Spring with the daffodils so beautifully pointing us toward the Resurrection of our Lord.

63. I praise God for the joyful, Chapel roof-lifting worship five hundred students could offer up when they sang and clapped and often danced in praise to the Lord.
64. I praise God for Baptist High School Nigerian Colleagues who rejoiced with us, wept with us, prayed with us, stood steadfast with us in the good times and the hard times.
65. I praise God for the years we spent in People Group Work in the Plateau (Central) Region of Nigeria.
66. I praise God for Nigerian and missionary colleagues who worked with us as we researched, prayed for, developed strategies, and encouraged engagement so that more and more of the people groups of that region were able to hear the Good News of Jesus.
67. I praise God for the time we spent at Hillcrest School, Jos, Nigeria, where we were able to teach and lead in that cooperative effort of multiple mission agencies, to provide Christian education for third culture kids (missionary kids and others who were living as internationals whose parents had come from another country.)
68. I praise God specifically for keeping Hillcrest School students and staff safe through cultural riots in Jos.
69. I praise God for Sahel Academy, Niamey, Niger, where we again served among other missionaries in a school dedicated to providing a Christian education to international students and MK’s in West Africa.
70. I praise God for the Directors and other staff members, who so lovingly and faithfully served Jesus while we were there.
71. I praise God for the privilege of teaching at Westbrook Christian School, Rainbow City, Alabama, where I had the blessing of working in a school here in the U.S. where Jesus is Lord above all among administrators, teachers and students.

*******

O.K. Now, I’m cheating. There’s no way to just list seventy-two blessings. I mean, it would literally take eternity to adequately praise our good and loving God. Praise God for the promise of Heaven.

DISCLAIMER: Your list will reflect God’s blessings in your life, not mine. Each of us is a unique child of God. Together, our special blessings from Him, make up an awesome Psalm of Worship to Him.

72. I praise God for daily delights which remind me of His ever-real love for me; including flowers, butterflies, birds, trees, mountains, water falls, beaches, Christian Radio, Christian Music, Christian movies ,Christian books, cheeseburgers, pizza, grilled salmon, catfish, chicken, lasagna, and ANYTHING CHOCOLATE . . , et cetera, et cetera, et cetera . . .

And roses . . . such color, such beauty expressed in every single petal, and in their sweet scent that gives so inviting a taste of Heaven to come.

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Posted on July 12, 2024 by Mike Stonecypher

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IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
“Let the little children come to me . . .”

In Niger children with physical and developmental challenges, need Jesus’ people to love and care for them.

Matthew 19:13-15

Then children were brought to him
that he might lay his hands on them and pray.
The disciples rebuked the people,
BUT Jesus said,
”Let the little children come to me
and do not hinder them,
for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
And he laid his hands
on them and went away.

IN THE EYES OF JESUS

In the eyes of Jesus
there is nothing more blessed
than a child
among His disciples,
those who love children
and give them the best God puts
in their hearts and in their hands
to bring them to Him,
and especially those children

Hadiza (In The Center) finds great joy in welcoming disadvantaged children in Niger into the arms of Jesus.

who need His special strength
in the midst of their weakness—
for as He takes them and
breathes on them His blessing,
He looks to each of us
and challenges our hearts all
filled up with His Love
to open our arms
and welcome His children
and take them to Jesus
who gives them His best.

You know, in this world I can never thank God enough for His Love and Redemption, for His provision of so much more than I will ever need. I can never ever praise Him enough. In my life I have recognized how deeply I have been blessed when I have had the opportunity to live among those who have so little. I can hardly imagine how they live. Every child I saw during my years in Niger became a resounding reminder of how very, very much God has always blessed me—and blessed me for His reason. All those blessings He has placed in my heart and in my hands, have come because He wants those who have so much less, to be blessed by Him. So, I open my heart and my hands and share joyfully and freely with those who have so little. He intends to bless them, and He intends to accomplish His blessing through bringing me to see them as He sees them; beautiful children created by Him to discover His Love and His Redemption through my active obedience to Him in serving them and their needs. He gave the very best He had in Jesus. I have His calling as His child to give the very best He gives me through Jesus.

I want to tell you about Hadiza in Niamey, Niger, who has powerfully practiced such obedient giving with her whole heart and her open hands. While Becky and I served together at Sahel Academy in Niamey, Niger we met Hadiza as the cook for the hostel which housed the children of missionaries from other parts of that country, as well as from other countries in West Africa. We loved it when we got invitations to

Workers share with each child the Love of Jesus, who makes all the difference.

lead devotions for those teens, because that meant we got to eat with them—and to enjoy another delicious meal prepared in Hadiza’s kitchen. She had quite the reputation among the missionary community for cooking a wide variety of delicious dishes which kept her busy, in addition to her “day job” work, preparing and selling things missionaries ordered: flour tortillas, cinnamon rolls, small meat pies (samosas) and pigs-in-a-blanket—and other tasty items. Missionary Kids clamored for these even in Niger where they were very difficult to prepare—and so, were very, very scarce. Needless to say, Hadiza was considered a huge blessing by many missionary families, including the two of us.

Now, that’s not even close to the best part of her story. You see, Hadiza did all of this extra, this difficult work, in order to bless others. During the time we were there she was raising funds to establish a ministry to children with special needs. In Niger every family faces constant challenges—finding and paying for housing, working long, hard hours to provide the most basic foods

Teach a young girl to sew, and give her the power to be blessed and to bless her entire family.

to nourish their children, while dealing constantly with limited water and power supplies. Life in Niger is tough. The people are strong and resilient. They work hard in often incredible heat. Hot days would daily earn emergency heat warnings here in the U.S.; not just for a few days, nor for a few weeks, but for several months out of every year. So, as families work to survive; there is little energy nor time to care for children who are malnourished or are facing developmental challenges.

With a faith which God had nurtured through years of ministry, Hadiza felt called to do something special in the name of Jesus for these children. Through years of constant work, and putting aside funds, she was able to establish the New Life Center for such children. She began by hosting these children on her front porch. Now the Center has three large rooms; a play room, a physical therapy room and a classroom. The Center has a teacher so these children can begin to benefit from going to school. Three of these children have excelled, and now attend a nearby Christian School. The Center also features a dining room and sewing center. Some of the older girls are taught sewing, including several who are deaf and mute. Some of the boys are learning to weave string chairs which can be rented for family or community gatherings, or sold.

Boys can be taught skills that help them get an education and also help their families.

A missionary friend, Shannon Maxwell, testifies that she delights in visiting the Center, because it is such a clean and peaceful place for these children to be nurtured physically, educationally and spiritually. She says she usually finds them happily participating in school or playing on mats or swing sets. Shannon explains, “You can feel the spirit of the Lord in that place.” Some families ask about how they keep the children so calm in the center because they seem to play more peacefully and sleep more readily than they do at home. The answer comes clearly and beautifully—IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS in that place and in the hearts of Hadiza and those who serve alongside her.

As Hadiza looks to the future for the New Life Center, there are prayer needs: (1) Because a physical therapist has returned to her home country, there is a need for someone to fill that need. (2) Hadiza also hopes to raise funds to purchase more land, so she can add a school for the deaf and further job training programs. Let us join together as God’s people to pray for His provision for the Center’s ongoing needs, and for these two exceptional needs. We also want to praise God for such a servant as this—Hadiza, who has so very, very little, in the midst of a land which demands so very very much, daily serving our Lord and Savior with all of her heart, soul mind and strength. What an example! Hadiza is one of those special, special people whose life is gloriously dedicated to being ALL ABOUT JESUS, and children and parents in great need, are tremendously blessed as a result.

New Life Center
With hard work, caring hearts, and most especially, the Love of Jesus, Hadiza and her workers change the lives of children in need.

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Posted on July 5, 2024 by Mike Stonecypher

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LOUISE BRADDY GRAY

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem
and in all Judea
and In Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.

I Have Been Blessed To Know
Beautiful People

Louise served Jesus faithfully as a wife, a mother, a SS teacher, a Sunbeam leader, a personal witness to the saving power of her Savior in everything she did.

I have been richly blessed
to know godly, and so
beautiful people
who walk quietly
among us, yet in their
joy in sharing the Gospel
inspire us who notice
just how faithfully
they tell others
constantly
about Jesus who

Louise enjoyed witnessing for Jesus throughout her very beautiful life.

who longs to become
their Lord and their Savior
as He redeems them
by the power
of His blood
and by His death on the Cross
and through His
glorious resurrection power.

It has always fascinated me in this life how we talk so much about those who so proudly speak about themselves and their accomplishments. Yet, we talk so little about what they do, but rather point to Jesus who is their Savior. How odd! It seems like we have our priorities upside-down. Still, I have known beautiful people who lived out their lives wonderfully caught up in doing everything they could and in speaking every word of praise for Jesus whenever they did something noteworthy. For them witnessing to Jesus and His power to save seemed as natural as breathing every breath they took. For them it was truly ALL ABOUT JESUS.

Louise Gray lived a marvelous life, pretty much unknown to the greater world (much to their pity). She was born on December 23, 1921 to Lonnie and Jessie Braddy. Her father served as a Baptist Pastor, as had his own father. Louise finished school at Gadsden High in 1938. As a seventeen year-old she went to work as a

Billy and Louise married in New Orleans as he was returning from World War II.

telephone operator. She met Billy Gray, her husband-to-be during this time. He had grown up on a farm in Whorton’s Bend outside Gadsden. Billy served in World War II, and they married in New Orleans after he returned from overseas. They attended North Gadsden Baptist Church where her father served as the Pastor. They had two children, Rodney and Sherry.

When they moved to Glencoe, they joined the First Baptist Church. Louise soon got involved as a children’s Sunday School teacher and also as a Sunbeam leader. During these years, as she raised her children, Louise became one of those beautiful people, who so love the Lord Jesus, they find great joy in telling everyone around them the Good News about how He came to save everyone of us. Louise never hesitated to share her witness about His love and His power to transform lives. At the time I really got to know her, as I prepared to go to Nigeria as a missionary, she seemed busy every day going out and witnessing and distributing Gospel tracts to businesses in Glencoe and in Gadsden. Sometimes I caught myself thinking she would make a wonderful missionary; but then, the Holy Spirit would correct me—Louise Gray already was a very effective missionary.

I know how deeply she loved teaching children the Bible in Sunday School,

making the Word of God come alive with her enthusiasm and her contagious delight in the stories of Jesus, His teaching, His healing, His miracles, His deathand His resurrection, and His promise to come again. I also know how she made missionaries and their stories of sharing the Gospel all over the world, come alive for her Sunbeam groups. And I certainly know how fervently and persistently she took her witness for Jesus into the world around her—and I wonder just how many folks in Heaven found their way as Jesus led them to Himself through Louise’s words and actions.

Louis delighted children at First Baptist Glencoe in Sunday School and in Sunbeams as she creatively shared how deeply Jesus loved them.

During the summers Louise became a member of a team of mostly women and youth who staged Backyard Bible Clubs, which went into neighborhoods and trailer parks and set up for games, crafts, songs, Bible Stories—all to introduce children in the area to Jesus and His Love for them. Louise also worked hard and long to collect used Vacation Bible School and Sunday School books, posters and pictures. Not only did she collect these items which were desperately needed in countries around the world, where they were almost impossible to find; but she sorted, packed and addressed them. Then she saw that they got to those who mailed them internationally so that local pastors and missionaries there could use them as tools to enrich their witness. Louise was one busy woman, for she never, ever neglected her own family or church while she did all these things joyfully to share her faithful witness for our Lord.

Billy, Louise and their children, Rodney and Sherry always kept Jesus at the heart of their family life.

You know, it occurs to me—too many times less enthusiastic witnesses in our churches think of people like Louise as a bit eccentric. Many might have thought of Louise as having a one-track mind. I say, “Praise the Lord for her life focused so beautifully on obeying our Lord’s command; ‘Be my witnesses!’” No, Louise was not eccentric. Rather, she was exceptional—yes, exceptional in each part of her lovely life which was in every way, ALL ABOUT JESUS.

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If you enjoy reading stories about folks like Louise, visit this site: mikestonecypheritsallaboutjesus.com. Tell others about the website, because it really is ALL ABOUT JESUS.

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Posted on June 28, 2024 by Mike Stonecypher

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Joyfully Sharing Your Gifts And Talents:
Making Sure It’s All About Jesus

Matthew 5:16-ESV

In the same way,
let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father
who is in heaven.

Mike and Becky with the 2018 Torchbearer group.

Psalm 37:4 ESV

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you
the desires of your heart.

There is a Joy in Taking the Stage

There is a joy in taking the stage
and becoming as one
with your character
in the play
which sets free your heart and your soul

A Torchbearer enthusiastically
playing a part.

for praising the Lord as
free as a bird singing
his song in
God’s garden as natural and grand and as
beautiful as a tall tree
pointing to Heaven for
all to see—
for you are rejoicing before everyone
in the might and the power
of our Heavenly
Good Father.

You Are The Star In My Life

Finding our true
Identity in Christ.

You are the star in my life, dear Lord,
You are star in my life, dear Lord.
You are the main attraction
and I just play a part.
The loud applause I get sometimes
is because of who You are.
You are the star—Your are the
Star in my life!

Positive I.D.
Nan Allen, Tom Fetkke, and Dennis Alllen

When we have God as our Father, Jesus as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter; there is no limit to the joy we experience in our lives. There are such mighty moments of triumph, such astounding miracles of insight and understanding, such overwhelming strength for living. This week I wish to bear testimony to a particular type of joy God grants each of us as His children, when he takes some ability He has given us, which brings gladness to our hearts, and allows us to offer that ability to Him in worship and in service. It may surprise some when I say I have experienced this joyful reality in the area of drama. In my years of teaching in Africa no single activity resonated so fully with enjoyment in my heart, as did working with students in staging gospel dramas. This entertained and challenged the hearts and minds of audiences made up of fellow students, families, friends, members of churches, and even, on occasion, prisoners. I so loved seeing student actors get caught up in the fun, the power and the glory of the stories they acted out on stage, presenting the glory of the Gospel.

God began to prepare me for this delightful task, when as a summer

Torchbearers in the midst of a Gospel-proclaiming drama.

missionary, I had the opportunity to participate in a traveling variety show, Parables, under the direction of Marsha Eichenberg. She trained us in the basics of drama, and then turned us loose to have fun and share our skits and songs enthusiastically with folks gathered under summer nighttime skies. We sang and danced and mimed our way through lots of silly songs and short bits of drama as a way to earn a hearing for the gospel in inner city neighborhoods, state parks, and church parking lots. Our seriously dilapidated, brightly painted, converted bread van, allowed us to haul stages, lights and sound equipment, so that we could set up just about anywhere. While we never knew for sure if our worn-out van would get us there and back, we had more fun than you can imagine, and our audiences seemed to enjoy our crazy antics almost as much as we did; and most importantly, hundreds of people heard God’s eternal message of salvation and love. I absolutely loved it!

After that summer, when I went to St. Marys, Georgia, the First Baptist Church already had a youth choir. The youth group proved eager to get involved in sharing the Gospel. So, we became the group, Heaven Bound. A mom, Patty Ross, led the choir, and I led the drama group, as we produced popular youth musicals.

A powerful dramatic and musical presentation of Jesus’ life, death and
His resurrection.

These included The Clown, Celebrate Life, Bright New Wings, etc., and we traveled as far away as Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and to other parts of Georgia. The youth and their parents worked hard all year long so that we could take off in the summer and share the Gospel through these musicals. We traveled on old, but pampered buses the dads somehow managed to keep running. The church youth director, Barbara Lundin, kept all of us under control, so to speak, and we all had tons of fun as God touched countless lives over those years.

Well, when God fulfilled his missions call on my life, and I arrived at Baptist High School in Jos, Nigeria, I discovered enthusiastic students more than eager to also share their musical and acting talent to present the Gospel. In fact, at Baptist High, there were already student choirs singing in Hausa, Yoruba, and in English. So, the students responded quickly to a new opportunity to join music and drama together when we began the Torchbearers’ ministry which continues to this very day, thanks to the long-time commitment and directorship of Mr. Emmanuel Adeshina.

I have to admit that drama for me was recreation. At Baptist High School on

The Torchbearers always enjoy sharing their talent
for the Glory of God.

Wednesday afternoons I so anticipated getting together with the Torchbearers when we prepared skits, dramas and musicals for sharing the Gospel. The students refreshed me with their delight as they took the gifts God had given them and worked together to present powerfully entertaining productions which entertained and inspired our school community, other nearby churches, schools, and sometimes, even the inmates in the Jos prison. The students were so creative, I could just toss out a scripture challenge which dealt with an issue Nigerians faced. Then, as a team we would craft one or two or three skits, which did as Jesus’ parables did—caught up the audience in the truth they needed to face and the Gospel they needed to accept. We prayed a lot. We laughed a lot. We worked a lot. We had so much fun. And in all of that, we felt God’s pleasure. This is what God graciously accomplishes when we individually and together surrender to Him our gifts and talents. Praise God, the performers and the audiences are all tremendously blessed.

One of the most enjoyable shows the Torchbearers presented every year at Baptist High School featured the students impersonating various teachers and personalities from the school community. The first time they did this I heartily laughed along with the students and staff as I easily recognized our

For the students
and for me, Torchbearer
rehearsals were filled with lots of hard work
and fun—
all for God’s glory.

Principal,Vice-Principal and various teachers and workers exaggerating the walk, the gestures, the voice and the mannerisms—everything that made that person special and unforgettable to us all. But when not one, but several stepped out on stage dressed just like me, walking just like me, talking just like me, using their hands just like me—even using catch phrase I would use; I was truly amazed, and laughed so hard I just couldn’t stop. What fun to celebrate the uniqueness of each one of us, and to do so in such a hilarious way. You never know yourself until others mirror for you all of your eccentricities. I don’t believe I have ever had so much fun.

And through it all, God was preparing each of us for trusting Him more. He was preparing each of us for serving Him more. He was preparing each of us for overcoming boundaries more often in His Name and for His Purpose. He was demonstrating to us how He lovingly has made us for His Purpose and His glory, and that as we respond to His challenge, we find the deepest joy in serving Him.

Have you noticed how God works through our life experiences, our abilities, our acquaintances, and even our moves from place to place? He purposefully does it all. In fact, He so majestically puts it all together that He is glorified, so the Gospel is spread, and so we are deeply, completely filled with abundant joy in serving and being loved by Him? We are a blessed people, indeed.

People DO
need the Lord!
For after all,
LIFE IS ALL ABOUT JESUS!

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