River Group
Posted by: D. Mortimer on 11/30/2010

Mike and Jen, I just saw Marie's testimonial for the River Group. I want to add to that because I also struggle with boldly telling people about Jesus. I was watching a webcast from the Tampa Bay River Church and the pastors were interviewing a worship leader who was part of their Great Awakening revival teams that go into the Tampa communities and bring the message of the Lord. They asked her how she was able to speak to people about Jesus and her response just blew me away! She said she has to envision herself with one hand stretched up to the sky holding the hand of God the Father, she then pictures herself standing there as an EMPTY VESSEL (very important for me to hear) and her other hand stretched across the communities. It isn't about her connection to the people in the community, it's about her connection to God Himself. He pours His love into her and it flows through her emptiness and into the hearts of others. This was a powerful visual for me. Many people from our group encourage me verbally and show me scripture that supports this but I am typically a visual learner so being able to picture exactly what my mind already knows was incredible. God knows what we need to hear, when and how we need to hear it! It's not about me! It's not about me! Connect with God and let Him do the rest! Our new group has really helped me to seek and desire a more "meat and potatoes" relationship with God. I feel so blessed to be a part of it. Love in Christ, Donna Mortimer

 

River Group
Posted by: M. Porter on 11/17/10

MIKE, I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU HOW POWERFUL TONIGHT'S BIBLE STUDY WAS IT WAS AWESOME AND I WANTED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING ELSE 2 WKS AGO YOU SAID SOMETHING THAT TOUCH MY HEART YOU SAID THAT WE SHOULD SPEAK UP AND TELL PEOPLE HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THE LORD EVEN IF IT WAS TO SAY HAVE A BLESSED DAY I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND YOU KNOW ME I'M ONE WHO TRULY BELIEVES IN THE LORD BUT I'M QUIET BECAUSE I NEVER FEEL I HAVE THE RIGHT WORDS BUT I DECIDED THAT WHEN I CASHED AT TARGET I COULD AND WOULD STEP OUT IN FAITH AND START SAYING "HAVE A BLESSED DAY" WELL IT TOOK ME A FEW GUESTS TO GO THOUGH MY LINE BEFORE I HAD THE COURAGE TO SAY IT WHEN I FINALLY DID NOT ONLY DID I FEEL BETTER BUT I NOTICED THAT PEOPLE RESPONDED "YOU TOO" IT MADE ME FEEL GOOD AND I THINK IT MADE THE GUESTS FEEL GOOD TOO BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME THERE WAS A SMILE ATTACHED TO THE "YOU TOO". NOW EACH TIME THAT I CASH A GUEST OUT I INTEND TO SAY "HAVE A BLESSED DAY" BECAUSE THE LORD IS TELLING MY HEART TO DO IT! I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME THAT A SMALL THING LIKE THAT CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD TO THE GIVER OF THE WORD AND THE RECEIVER. LOVE, MARIE

 

Riding Into Revival
Posted by: James & Nancy on July 11, 2010

Dear Jen & Mike, Nancy & I want to Thank You for the wonderful week end of revival. Sunday brought 5 more souls into the Kingdom. Jake(The barn-helper) Allison (The barn helper) Ryan (Tina's son) Tom Elliott I forgot the last one. This is to add to the Fridays couple of people baptised in the Holy Ghost. Jen's beautiful growth which was very noticable/ w/ speaking in tongues. Marilyn blog on Facebook of the excellent time she had. Annette's dancing with her cane in the air Carmen feeling the touch of God in her body from long time pain. Patty's testimony of healing, and financial wall broken. I am still trying to hear from the others... to which I will add what I hear. God Bless You! We Love You.

 

Riding Into Revival
Posted by: Pastor Mike on July 20, 2010

Mike, welcome back. I just want to thank you for the opportunity to be a volunteer at SWH. I just love it! I enjoyed every moment of saturday and sunday this past week and can't wait to come back again(yes, even the 'pit'). Lisa and Maury (and everybody, really) were just great, and I am learning very quickly. I will be at the safety class on thursday, Lord willing. I am reading Colin Vogel's book, the complete horse care manual(good stuff). When i got back to work monday, at my desk job, i had no idea how much my mind would be drifting to the ranch, I could still smell the hay. But seriously, I enjoy the physical labor,as it is a labor of love for God's splendid gift of equines. I am looking forward to being there to help in any way I can, thank you

 

Riding Into Revival
Posted by: Lou Lou on July 16, 2010

What an honor to be a part of last week-end......I went to the altar Friday nite for healing from nicotine.....I have been sober for 17 years and this substance has continued to rule me...I haven't smoked in a long time but I was addicted to the gum.....Praise the Lord ...It has been a week since I have had any substance in my body....Thank you Lord......I also asked to be on fire for the Lord and had an opportunity at work, to profess that " Roswell Institute is not God and the Great Healer is our Lord and Savior" By the way , it was to my boss......Amazing how the Holy Spirit works through us.....I am standing on faith that I will be going to Israel in March ....Right now obtaining my passport......I am praying for "Hope House" and that the funds will be released in the next 24 hours.....God Bless You....LouLou

 

Riding Into Revival
Posted by: Bob Tharnish on Jul 14, 2010

I guess the one thing I would share has to do with Saturday afternoon when The Jesus Band was playing. Rob, who is their lead singer/fiddle player/harmonica player and my brother, Rich, their drummer, toured together all around the country and Canada (even up into the Yukon and NW Territories) years ago in a secular band, The Buffalo Zew Review. To see them now playing for the Lord really touched me and brought tears to my eyes (as I think it did Rob, who was breaking up a bit in the beginning). The fact that Pastor Fred's daughter, Nancy, was also up there rounded things out for me. Pastor Fred and my Dad were tight in Pastor Fred's "BC" days. My Dad was a well-known cowboy in the WNY area and Pastor Fred told me on more than one occasion that he idolized my Dad (who was a few years older than Fred (or "Fritzy," as he was known back then), because he wanted to emulate him as a cowboy. This part of the weekend was very emotional for me and shows how the Lord works all things together for good for those that love Him and are called by His name.

 

Riding Into Revival
Posted by: Dave and Donna Mortimer on Jul 14, 2010

Guys, we could write a book about this week-end! We just want to share with you what this week-end meant to us. We, like Jenn, had an expectation about this week-end that we would just be used in a mighty way to lead "hundreds" of new souls to the Lord. What we received instead was a touch from God ourselves that will change us forever. We thought our transformation was done, our refining complete - we thought we were as far as we were going to go in serving, changing, surrendering - we thought we were already there. After all, what else is there? We're saved, we are involved in serving ministries, etc. We're done - right? We drew our line. We dug our heels in, pawed the floor and tossed our heads around too (we all have a little "Kalo" in us) I can't speak for Dave but for me the resistance comes when I'm led to serve in a capacity out of my comfort zone. But God had an answer for that too - He BOLDLY but lovingly reminded us . . . .that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST JESUS. (Phil. 1:6) God is not finished with us. We are still a work in progress and we still need to be willing and obedient to whatever God calls us to do whenever He calls us to do it. We cannot run, we cannot "escape" the hand of God. Revival isn't just for winning new souls, it's also for RE-lighting old ones. GOT JESUS? - We did!!! All over again! Thank you, thank you, thank you for being gracious and welcoming and opening up your lives and visions to share with all of us. God Bless SWHTGM! What do we have planned for next year's revival????????????????????????? Love in Christ