Saturday, November 08, 2003
This special update was sent at a few minutes before midnight last night.
My self set deadline was at midnight,
BIRTHED
11-7-03
THANKS again for your prayers.
I could really feel God answering your prayers during the last few days and nights.
It was far more difficult making this site than I expected.
There were mental, emotional and physical challenges along the way.
My spirit was willing but my flesh was weak.
I have consumed much caffeine this week.
My nerves got frayed.
THANKFULLY God provided a dear friend to help with the short fall on the rent.
That had been troubling me.
If we continue with the image of birthing, then the baby has been delivered.
The infant is not pretty but it is fully functional.
You might say that it is a little premature.
There are some pages that still need basic work.
But then I will be working on this and related web sites for may years to come.
I am not proud of the way it looks right now.
Frankly it is incomplete.
But I am pleased that there is now something instead of nothing.
Every hour that I work with this web editing software I get a little better.
Like with most things practice makes for improvements.
More and more I am aware that I have come to kingdom for such a time as this.
The web is an extremely effective way to communicate.
Much education and information can go forth effortlessly.
Yet some person needs to be at the center designing the information flow.
Designing systems is one of my passions.
After this platform is functional you will witness some of my other passions.
During the missions lunch this week
I was touched by what God is doing among the youth.
The teens and 20s have grown up with the Internet.
Many of them are ready and willing to learn and apply the Word of God daily.
I talked with a seminary student today.
He said that the most activity on his ministry web site is from teens.
They meet from all over the globe in his chat rooms.
They learn to relate the Bible and Jesus to their daily life.
On Tuesday I plan to return to the same businessman’s lunch.
I hope to make a brief announcement about the new web site.
I hope to pass out new business cards and a small flyer.
Sooner than later I need to gather more advisors and that group has great candidates.
Likewise this distribution list has lots of candidates.
What we need to deal with right away is fund raising.
I have studied the how to raise money for years.
I have dozens of ideas.
But I can only focus on a few at first.
Lastly the web site is currently silent.
All my time and energy has gone into the overall design and initial pages.
Samples of the audio messages will be added soon.
SO without any further delay here is the link.
www.OSUonline.org
Kindly go there and then let me know what you think and how you feel.
Also report back to me about any technical troubles that you encountered.
John 8:20 PM
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
TUESDAY BRIEFING
11-4-03
Sorry this update is more than two pages.
After this crisis has past I will keep them within that limit again.
ALL glory to God in Jesus Name!
May you yield the most intimate parts of your heart and mind to Jesus Christ.
May you live your life with a clear conscience.
May you step out of isolation and into the fellowship of maturing believers.
Amen?
COMPLETED
1. THANKS to answered prayers I announced the new web site address at the Christian businessmen and women’s lunch. What I did not expect was that God would also open the door for me to testify about how Jesus had recently delivered me from Internet pornography. This struck a cord with them. Several shared their sad tales privately after the meal.
2. For MANY hours after sending out the recent email on Changing Gears God blessed and guided me in special ways. Many complicated things got much simpler. When you see them next week, they may seem complex to you, but it was much worse last week.
3. There were technical issues like registering a web site THIS week registering new sites that ends in ORG has been delayed. A new organization is going to oversee that part of the web. So instead of taking one day it will take six days. God willing the new URL is www.OSUonline.org You and others will hopefully have access to it by this short address on by Monday of next week. I still am aiming to send you a link by midnight on Friday, but it will be a long address.
4. Homestead improved their web editing software that I downloaded to my computer. It is faster and easier. Again I found that I greatly enjoy building web sites. Creating web sites is working with my favorite medium. The web can reflect the complex ways I think. The visitor only needs to see one page at a time. But these are hyperlinked to various places within the site and all over the Internet.
5. Last Sunday I visited Watermark Community Church. It was inspiring to hear the testimonies of those who were about to become immersed in the swimming pool at SMU. Some were recent converts and others had come to faith long ago. It was wonderful to hear what God has done to change lives from the inside out. Again I was motivated to do what it takes so that such testimonies can be heard all over cyberspace. God gets all the glory as the personal stories of grace and faith are told.
CURRENT
A. During the coming weeks I will need to get on the road to show and tell what God has been revealing to me for many years. This will impact all believers because we are all accountable to God for the stewardship of our time, talent and treasure. Our Stewardship University will have information and education to help with temporal and eternal issues. As I go out to enroll intercessors, donors and volunteers then I will be pointing back to the web site that I have begun this week. So currently nearly ALL my time and energy are FOCUSED on getting this site created. Pray for God to continue to guide me. May He grant me wisdom and insight in the key design choices along the way. May I Keep It Simple.
UPCOMING
i. A good friend said that sometimes life does not give us all the preparation time we want so we need to forge ahead with the motto of Ready, Fire Aim. Thus corrections will follow the launch and continue for years.
ii. First session with the professional Christian counselor went well last week. The next session is on this Thursday 11/6. His focus is on the long-term challenge of addressing my inner issues related to my muscularity. This will make pornography less and less appealing. It will also help me to better minister to men and boys. His initials are WW.
iii. Also next week I have a session on 11/11 with two men that are trained in Theophostic prayer ministry. This will also address the sexual fantasy issues that have plagued me since my teens. Their initials are DW and BR.
iv. God serendipitously led me to a set of tapes at the seminary library. These 14 tapes speak to exactly where I am. A seasoned missionary is teaching a class of new missionaries at Fuller. He is leading them to develop their own theology of missions. From that core many complex questions can be answered. This is not just a matter of listening but interacting with the materials. May God use those tapes and homework in my life during the coming weeks and beyond. For those who may want to borrow these after me the DTS number is 4373. During the coming months and years I will be used of God to gather and connect missions-minded people from all over the web and DFW.
v. As I have testified to you many times before, God has provided the funds for my rent each month right on time. This has occurred every month for more than three years. God has done it differently every time. Again I am not sure how God will do it for November. But then there is still a little while left before the grace period expires. May God guide and provide. Some very earnest prayers about my short term cash flow would be appreciated. I am more extended than EVER. God is guiding so I expect that He too will provide right on time.
IMAGES
All I need to do is get the football over the goal line.
It does not need to be fancy or dramatic.
Just create the technical bridge to cast the vision for the ministry over the web.
Then a different set of challenges will emerge.
This feels like finals week.
It is like cramming for final exams and papers
One image that occurs often is the blinders that race horses use.
May the distractions around me be minimized.
Another image is that of a guided missile.
May I hit the target.
May I know and stay FOCUSED on the bull’s eye.
Another image is that of the egg tooth.
God provides baby chicks a special tooth on their beak.
They use this to break the shell of the egg then were born into.
It feels like I have pecking on this silly shell that is all around me.
RESOURCES
If you are seeking a very affordable place to host your web site, then look into Homestead www.homestead.com They have web editing tools both online and that you download. They offer access to thousands of pictures and clipart. They have a new way to share your pictures that I have not explored yet.
Here is a nifty Christmas gift idea. Webshots is offering amazing posters www.webshots.com
How would you like to create your own Christmas gifts online at Zazzle www.zazzle.com You can create greeting cards, note cards, posters and clothes. You can keep these in your private gallery or share them in your public gallery. Then others can buy your designs. You are paid 10 percent and if you send them to your gallery or anywhere at Zazzle then you are paid another 7 percent. Here is my new public gallery at Zazzle just click on the Products button in the top menu http://www.zazzle.com/contributors/home/default.asp?cid=238711677860308643
This has been a fun way to take a break from the other activities. And some day it may pay some bills too.
If you are interested in meeting with an amazing group of believers – then attend the lunch meeting at Smokey John Bar-B-Q 1820 West Mockingbird every Tuesday from noon to one thirty.
If you are seeking a place to register a URL then try Register Fly www.registerfly.com
For parents that are concerned about protecting your children for trash on the web I learned about Knight’s Quest Ministries www.knights-quest-ministries.org They offer a work book and here are some sample pages of Sex, Kids and the Internet http://www.knights-quest-ministries.org/Downloads/SKI%20WORKBOOK%202ND%20ED%20SAMPLES.doc They also offer seminars for your church group.
There has been one book that has been frequently recommended Every Man’s Battle by Stephen Arterburn. It is on Amazon www.amazon.com and at your local Christian bookstore.
John 8:26 PM
Monday, November 03, 2003
CHANGING GEARS
11-3-03
The next 24 hours are critical in terms of a new FOCUS.
As I woke this morning I was convicted that if I continued as I had been last week it could be another month before I launched the initial web site.
Several factors came together to prompt this shift.
1. I was going to volunteer at a retreat for pastors in Granbury this week. But I reluctantly canceled due to the terrible condition of my finances.
2. A friend invited me to a lunch tomorrow where there will be various Christian businessmen. This is a great opportunity to announce the launch of the initial web site.
3. Yesterday I told a man, that I had just met, the vision for the ministry. It was just a conversation and not a linear Power Point slide show. I rambled. But he got the jest of it.
There are other factors at play.
· Internally I have high standards.
· I recognize that I do not get a second chance at a first impression.
· I have seen thousands of web sites over the years.
· My impression of them ranged from WOW to yuck.
· I seek to have a web site that presents what God has put on my heart over these many years – while reflecting well upon Jesus Christ.
What I will present to you and others within a few days is NOT the real thing but a rough sketch. It is a cost effective way for me to communicate with many people. These include intercessors, friends, advisors, donors and the curious.
This is not even the beta version or prototype. That will come later. It will be far more interactive.
I MUST begin where I am, with what I have and tell of where God is leading. I can do that by
· casting the vision
· enrolling prayer
· presenting some samples
· requesting feed back
· asking for funds
A chunk of the funds that shall be raised before the end of this year will go to pay professional web designers. Then NEXT year there will be a web site that I can gladly promote to the general public. It will serve the many purposes of Our Stewardship University and it will pave the way to future growth.
This brings me back to the image of giving birth. The ministry is inside of me today. There is has been developing for decades. It needs to come out soon. I have come close to giving birth on many occasions, but it never happened.
Right now my goal is to do what it takes to be ready before noon tomorrow to announce the web site at the luncheon. That is a self-imposed deadline to get me moving in the right direction.
There is another important lunch on Thursday where I hope to give the web address to missions oriented people in DFW.
I know that you love and accept me. But like a sculptor that is not eager to reveal his work-in-progress to his dearest friends, I feel hesitant. In this moment I cannot to promise to send you the link on the first day. Each day I will make improvements. However, today I can promise to send you the link before midnight on Friday 11/7.
In terms of changing gears for today and this week, here is what you can pray about.
· Planning and organizing needs to move from the front to the back burner
· On the front burner needs to be practical actions that will lead to the initial web site
· FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS of time and energy
· PUSH like a woman giving birth
· Victory over technical challenges along the way
THANKS again for your love and prayers
John 10:48 AM
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