Please listen to this sermon if you get a chance. wow.
http://www.ottercreek.org/ministers_sermons.php

No time for a post tonight, just got in from out of town! But if all possible, check out this funny thing I got off Clarissa's blog. http://www.mothergooserocks.com/headandshoulders.html
It is hilarious!

I am exhausted. It was that day that happens once a year. Water park with the kids from church. I will write more soon-I just want to say have you told your friends how much they mean to you lately? I have some awesome friends, or let's just say I have an awesome God who has chosen to bless me with amazing friends. I want to give a big I love you to M, M, J, V, J, M, D, a BIG one to AP, and another big one to K. One to S, C, , E, , M, especially today. There are many more-but these today are in the front of my mind because of their acts of kindness recently. I am truly honored to be your friend-I love you gals. ( I did not realize how many friends I had that started with the letter M!) I am keeping your identies private incase you do not want your names publised across the world... But you know who you are.

Vicki H., are you sure you are ready for the tennis whopin' I am gonna put on you Wed.? Ha! Big joke! You are going to cream me aren't you, you home schoolin' tiger you!

I will post more later. Good night.

My darling daughter, Savannah, told me my teeth looked like chicklets(the gum) You gotta to love honesty. So, to all the Chicklet gum lovers, this photo goes out to you.
Hope everyone has a restful nights sleep. My eyes are weary. Class was good tonight at church. I cried happy tears for about an hour. Praise God for Happy Tears.

Melissa Royster said...
"Strong faith will never be realized until one leans heavily upon it. We seldom lean heavily upon faith until we have no other choice" Amazing how God answers my pleas. Time and time I have cried out, and he has led me to some amazing revelation through anothers experience. Tonight, my life just seemed to be in absolute turmoil. I came across your blog by just fooling around on some of the other blogs I read ocassionaly, specifically Meredith's. I don't even know who you are, but seeing this specific post on your blog has blessed me beyond measure. You see, it was tonight I had some serious prayer time and reflection, but it came on the heels of desparation. I "had no other choice" as you would say. As I was crying, searching for answers, pleading with God to clear things up for me (and not really one minute thinking he was certainly capable or even wanted to), my answer to my present agony is so elementary-FAITH. Even if it comes when we "have no other choice". Thank you, sir, for letting the words and insight pressed upon your heart and your family's past and present experiences flow freely on to the computer. I know you truly seek our father, and I thankyou for reminding me to lean heavily on his mighty arm. I know your insight is God-given and I look forward to reading your blog again to keep that thought fresh in my heart. God bless you, your family and especially your son. Your sister in Christ, Melissa
I just had to post Mr. Mastons blog on my blog. It blessed me tremendously. I hope you are blessed as well.

Monday, June 05, 2006

The Price of Strong Faith
In 1990 my wife, our three children, and I moved one thousand miles away from home and extended family for the simple reason that I knew God was calling me to do so. Having answered the call to ministry, I now followed His direction to prepare educationally in a seminary setting. We packed everything we owned into a twenty-eight foot Ryder truck, attached a tow dolly to the hitch and dragged ourselves and our Ford Escort station wagon to a land we had never even seen.Looking back, I realize that God gave unusually strong faith to accomplish this transition. I also realize that there is a sense in which we were a bit naive. Imagine showing up in Dallas, Texas on a Monday morning with everything you own and having no residence secured wherein to unload any of it. It never even occurred to us that God would fail us. Never once in our young lives had He ever let us down. He still has not. So why am I struggling now?Our youngest son leaves in two days to begin basic training in the U.S. Army. When he detonated the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) that he had enlisted, fear shot through me in a fashion that I have never experienced. I must admit that panic set in for the next few hours. I love both of my sons dearly. Somehow nineteen years just does not seem qualification enough to make such a weighty decision.I began questioning him, trying to understand his rationale. I asked all of the usual dad-type questions: Are you nuts?! There is a war on!; Are you trying to give your mother and I a heart attack!?; Did you really pray about this!? Did you!!!??? He assured us that he had sought God's guidance and that he did know that there was a war in progress. Those answers did not make it all better.In my prayer time this morning, God burst a bombshell in my heart.
Strong faith will never be realized until one leans heavily upon it. We seldom lean heavily upon faith until we have no other choice.Just as Donna and I left home and family to prepare for service many years ago, our son leaves home to prepare for service. He will travel to a place he has never been. He will endure rigorous training and much hardship. I am sure that just as his mother and I wept together in the dark of the night, so will he. In reality, we have taken paths not as opposite as I first thought.Therefore, my prayer is that God give my son the faith of Paul, the courage of Stephen, and the dedication of Luke. As for his mother and I, we pray for the faith to trust God in ways we have not before; not for our own journey, but for the journey our son will take to lands unknown. May we each lean heavily upon His mighty arm.
posted by Maston E. Jackson 6:56 AM 3 comments links to this post
Saturday, June 03, 2006

Taking the plunge
For some time I have been reading blogs of varying types. Some are merely bored students with nothing else to do. Some are journal-aholics looking for a new way to account for every breath of the day. However the blogs that intrigue me have great purpose in intent and content. To that end, I begin this attempt to leave something worthy of finding.
posted by Maston E. Jackson 11:14 PM 2 comments links to this post








Dear Mrs. Royster,I just wanted to thank you for the kind post. Donna and I will be liftingyou to the Father in the coming days. Maston E. JacksonKnoxville, TN

God, teach me the lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me-my whole life long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgram way. Affirm your promises to me-promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics-but what you say is always good. See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through YOUR righteous ways!

Pray for me and my family today. We need stronger faith to lean on HIS mighty arm as we travel through this muddy road called life.

We are reading a new book called GOD WILL MAKE A WAY what to do when you don't know what to do by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. We are beginning this study with about thirty other people from our church. We are supposed to read a chapter a week and then discuss it as a group on Wednesday nights.

The devil is in full attack. He knows we are about to discover new truths. He knows bounderies are about to be softened as we start this journey together. Please pray that we will continue to recognize his ugly face and be able to withstand his strongholds.

Could not go to sleep without posting a picture of Peyton. I love that boy! He makes me so proud. You know, he's just a good kid. He's a good Christian. I love you Peyton. You are going to be a wonderful husband and father one day. That is, if I let you leave me!

YOU'RE STILL THE ONE!

okay, I am going to be a little mushy today. I just got finished reading Mike Cope's blog and he was telling about his men's meeting at 6:30 this morning. He challenged all the men to leave the meeting and tell their wives that they are "still the one" after all these years. He went on to share several of the comments posted on his blog, many of which were beatiful tributes to their wives. Since Scott did not read Mike's blog or attend the mens meeting at Mike's church early this morning...I will be the one to say it. YOU'RE STILL THE ONE, SCOTT, AND I LOVE YOU-I ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL. You cracked me up tonight at Donald and Nicoles', you were talking ninety to nothing, the life of the party-so unlike you! You seemed happy tonight for the first time ever. I mean truly happy in the sense you were not bogged down with work stuff, you were just "free"tonight. I like you like that. Aren't we blessed to have good friends like the Walkers? It was also a blessing to be with Emily and Alan, but they are a given. Can't wait to spend more time with the Hoovers. He is hiarious! But back to you...I love you...still!

IT'S FINALLY
OVER!!!

BALL SEASON
OFFICIALLY ENDED TODAY! I am the only excited one. Savannah played her tournament game today and they lost. Scott is sad-he was the assistant coach and has really enjoyed coaching Savannah. She cried at the end of the game. I did feel bad for her, but I am ready to have our lives back. It was good to see Bethany and little precious Allie Grace. Marla brought them to the game to watch Savannah play.

She's a good first base player. I have to brag a llittle.



We are leaving for the beach in three weeks! This will be the longest we have ever stayed! We are staying for a record 10 days! I absolutely cannot wait. We have some good friends going with us and they are staying 5 days with us. The rest is just family time for us.

For those of you who keep trying to blog me and they are not coming through, keep trying! I don't know what the problem is.

Here is my scripture for the day summed up from 119:34-51 of Psalm.

Let your love, God, shape my life with salvation, exactly as you promised; Don't ever deprive me of truth, not ever-your commandments are what I depend on. Oh, I 'll guard with my life what you've revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; and I will stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; Then I will tell the world what I find, speak out bodly in public, unembarrassed. I cherish your commandments-oh, how I love them!- relishing every fragment of your counsel.

These words hold me up in bad times; yes, your promises rejuvenate me.

ahh... such a blessing after a long a long 6 months of fruitful discipline from our father. Praise God for discipline.

I LOVE BIRDS!!!

Do you see this precious bird? He comes to my deck every morning and eats the seeds I set out for him, and he has a little bath. He started coming a few weeks ago when I started having a cup of coffee and reading my scriptures for the day each morning after Scott and the kids left. God is good. Does anyone know what kind of bird this is?

I have had several people tell me they have been trying to blog me. For some reason, they are not coming through. I am working on trying to get this fixed.

Tommorrow is the last day of school for the kids. Bye Bye quiet peaceful life. I will miss you!

Okay, here is my message from God this morning:

But as for me, I shall sing of YOUR strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of your loving kindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to YOU; for GOD is my stonghold, the GOD who shows me lovingkindness. Psalm 59:16, 17