RUTH'S RAINBOW

This beautiful poem was contributed by Ruth who is a friend of ours. I'd like to share how Ruth and her husband Konrad were used by God as a ministry into the life of my husband and I.

Several years ago, due to some poor choices we made in our lives we found ourselves suffering a financial consequence which left us with no way to secure any sort of loan from the banking system. We had an old Ford Tempo car which was failing - as our Dad would say it was "nickel and diming" us to death. As we love to camp we were drooling all the summers long any time we would see a VW Van and think that's EXACTLY what we would get IF we could get one. But thinking is about all we could do.

After limping home in our Tempo one vacation we just happened to see an ad in the newspaper for... *insert drumroll here* - a VW Camper, right in our own town. With a reasonable price. My husband was very sceptical as to why I might even want to go look at it for there really was no hope for us to dream we would be able to own it.

But we DID go look, and that's how we met Ruth and Konrad and their CUTE little dog Bobbie. We visited their home and got to know them a bit and had a good long LONGING look at the van. Then we visited some more. We soon discovered we were all Christians and so were able to share. We told them we would see what we could do in the way of arranging financing and would let them know. We were not truly believing we could swing it.

Well, we did approach the banks and even with a signature from our parents we could not make it happen. So, we prayed on it and then we re-visited Ruth and Konrad and we were completely honest with them. Well, it was not but a few days when they called us and said they had been praying on this and thinking about it and they felt led to write up a private document for us to pay them directly.

You honestly cannot know what this felt like for us. We were so completely humbled and grateful. We had that van for MANY years, and it took us on some wonderful vacations. But it was the blessing of GETTING that van that was the best part. Since then, we've been blessed in this way a few more times.

Maybe you're reading this and you have never had to be in a position where you had to rely on someone else for something. I'll tell you - if that's the case you may be missing out on something very special. What Ruth and Konrad did for us has given us a heart (and eyes to see) others who might need a helping hand. Even though we are now financially 'stable' (definitely not well-to-do) we still LIVE like we are not. We don't take our financial situation lightly and we ALWAYS try to help someone else who could use a hand. I feel confident to say that until you have been the recipient of any sort of handout or help, then you can't have the same perspective of how someone's generosity ministers.

But even more so, the joy that I've found is in the GIVING. I always say that I get back FAR MORE than I could ever give. I'm not talking in any way about the $$$ here - no, its a condition of the heart. God gives to us to give it away. Everything He's blessed us with can be used for His Glory... so hold on loosely, be willing to help those who need it and look for a need you can fill today. I'll tell you what, you might not remember what you had for breakfast today, you might not remember things you DID today, but if you GAVE today, I'll bet THAT will stick in your mind.

And so, today I will leave you with the poem that Ruth wrote. She gave us a copy the very first time we met.

What Is In A Rainbow

Gods Token Of Promise

Because I asked to See Jesus , Even a Finger , a toe or a head,

God Showed Me His beautiful Rainbow , To learn of Himself instead.

Behold the Beautiful Colors , There is meaning in them to see,

He Said , Find the Secret of My Token, then My Child you may learn of Me.

Red Is the Highest of Colors , Before My Gaze became Love ,

Red is the Color of His Blood shed, Reconciling me to God above

Orange as the flames of a candle,as Light for all to see,

Jesus is the Way , Truth and the Light, and His Truth shall set you free

Yellow So Bright and so Cheerful, Speaks Of Peace, and Joy found in Thee

But as I looked , I almost overlooked it , Theres Strength , Might , and Power too , see

White is the Color of Holy , Holy Holy Holy the Angels still sing

Sinless and Pure , and as white as Snow , are the garments of Jesus our King

Green is the Color of Pastures, Where ever My Shepherd does lead,

Jehovah Jirah is My Provider, And I know he supplies every need .

Blue is the Color showing Mercy, The Grace of God shed so Grand,

There's Forgiveness, Deliverance , and Healing , From Our Saviours outstretched Hand

Purple , The Color of Royalty , Oh this Color should stir us to Sing

For Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords, and He is My soon coming King

Purple , The Base Color of the Rainbow ,Jesus Is the Christians Foundation

Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone, He's the Rock of My Salvation

A Star did herald the Christ Childs Birth , Shinning Bright on the Night He was Given,

But a Rainbow May Herald His Glorious Return , The Sign of the Son of Man In Heaven

When Jesus Comes in His Glory, and Shows us That city so Bold

Look close at the Lovely Foundations , Twelve Colors like Rainbows, set in Pure Gold

As we Enter Gods Heavenly Mansion, And Look at His Royal Throne

Once again is the Beautiful Rainbow, Sapphire circles around His Great Throne

So When you again view the Rainbow, and Look at the Colors so True

Remember ,As God Looks on His Token , My Friend He is looking at You.

So If Jesus tarries His Coming , till My eyes age and grow dim ,

I Still have My Rainbow vision , Its My Precious Token from Him

by Ruth Robic

A CONCERT WITH PENNY BUHR JOHNSON

Our church was blessed on June 24th by a visit from 5 time CGMA award winner recording artist Penny Buhr Johnson. Penny shared an evening of beautiful music and fellowship with us. She played a set of about an hour's music (with three encores) and took us on a lyrical journey through her ministry in music. With a blend of country, gospel, jazz and just plain fun at times we were all treated to an hour of pure joy for the ears.

I had recorded a personal message from Penny for this blog but ... oops! I'm just too quick with the finger on the delete button. Ah well, we DO have video footage of Penny performing a sweet little love song. Just click on the (triangle) play button on the following video to watch!

Thanks to Amalia Sommer for recording the video for us. And here are some photos of the concert:

What talent God blessed Penny with in her hands and voice!

Penny takes a moment to share her personal stories behind her songs and ministry

Taking a small break in between songs

One young member in our audience brought some friends along to enjoy!

Good food was had by all

This amazing and delicious fruit platter was made by Italia Grasso! The white berries are fresh locally grown mulberries. This platter was a hit with everyone.

The OCC women baked 100's of cupcakes for the event!

I created this original recipe for the icing in honour of Penny's concert. Its an easy recipe which we women of the Osoyoos Christian Centre would like to share with you. This recipe is great for large functions because you can mix it up (double, triple or quadruple the recipe) the day before and store the icing in ziplock bags. To ice, simply cut a small corner in the ziplock bag and pipe it on!

PENNY'S RAINBOW ICING

1/2 litre whipping cream

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Whip these ingredients together until the whip cream is solid - JUST about stiff. Add:

2 tbsp softened cream cheese

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 small pkg of Jello Jelly powder (or to taste)

Gently fold these items in, then whip on high again for 15 seconds! Whatever Jelly powder flavour you choose will determine the color you will get. You could substitute Jelly powder for Kool-Aid, but then add more sugar. The Kool-Aid would punch the flavor and color up and would probably be a hit with youth! Open a regular sandwich size Ziploc bag and put it inside a cup or any upright container which will allow you to roll the rim back. Scoop icing into the Ziploc bag.

I've stored the icing in my fridge (because I was experimenting) for a week and its still fine! I'm betting this might even be freezable, though I've not tried it.

You can also download the recipe in a Microsoft Word format by clicking on the scribd file below:

Penny Buhr's Rainbow Icing

An additional special thank you goes out to Melanie Olsen for making the pretty beeswax candles which we presented to Penny as a thank you gift!

Thank you to our Pastor, Jim for all the hard work he did to prepare the church so nicely - including an entire repaint of a few walls.

Thanks go to Elaine for your hard work cleaning and organizing.

Florence and Dale (and your sister Kathy and brother in law Ray) for your tireless and ENTHUSIASTIC help - I could not have pulled this off without you.

An especial thanks to Nathan and Leila who made sure to be present (even though they had some big plans) and for backing up the introduction music and for sitting the CD table.

And of course, a kiss goes to my sweet husband who also MC'eed and accompanied Penny for a very moving song. I'm so proud of you!

And of course none of this would be possible if Penny had not come to bless our community with her talent. She made a special detour to join us as she had attended the marriage of her daughter Candyce in Victoria (congrats!) and then had another concert in Oliver the very next evening. (Tired a bit, Penny, seeing how we sat up until 1 a.m. playing on the keyboards and making up silly songs together?)

*****

I'm (Barb) officially on vacation starting the coming week but I have scheduled regular posts for the weeks I will be away. I hope you will come visit while I'm gone. There will be some lovely posts available. I will try to get an email reminder out each week (from the road) as wifi connections allow. If you're travelling this summer and find yourself in our corner of God's beautiful planet won't you drop in and say hello to us at the Osoyoos Christian Centre? We are located at 42 Finch Crescent, Osoyoos.

I apologise that I am postponing our blog entry of Ruth Robic's Rainbow poem for one more week - simply could not fit it in here today. I've scheduled it for publishing for the first week of July.

FATHER'S DAY, CONCERT AND VISITORS!

If I had been thinking clearer I should have taken a picture of our Pastor's family to post here but I got sidetracked. How wonderful that their son and daughter in law and children were able to come to celebrate this past Father's Day. Even more special to hear another grandchild on the way!

Pastor Jim spoke on "The Father's Hand" today, sharing thoughts and scripture regarding the hand of God and the many ways that our Heavenly Father uses His holy hands. His sermon caused us to think about the many ways hands tend to almost all our needs. A few lingering thoughts remain in my mind - a father's hands are gentle yet firm, they direct us, protect us and provide for us. A father's hand is the hand of a husband, as he offers himself to his bride.

Scripture shared today included:

Psalm 8:6 (New King James Version)

⁶ You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,

Ephesians 5:25-27 (New King James Version)

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Luke 23:33-34 (New King James Version)

³³ And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. ³⁴ Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”^[a]
And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Isaiah 49:16 (New Living Translation)

¹⁶ See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

*****

Quick on the 'Draw'

Hmmmm, us women were blessed with roses for Mother's Day - and we are not complaining at all. We are truly impressed that the men not only REMEMBER to honour us, but that they go the extra mile by preparing the flowers and giving them out to us. {can we safely assume that Jim's wife Elaine has some gentle reminders as well? LOL!} Anyways, I must admit a twinge of something seeing this way nice gift the men raffled off. What - do you think that all them roses might compute into something like a fancy waffle iron or some such thing for the kitchen? And how do they not think we women might fancy ourselves something like this saw. It DOES look fun and useful.

At any rate, what a wonderful way to celebrate - by raffling off this highly useful tool to the Dads - and the lucky winner was Ken Johnson. I think his wife Rose is thinking trimming shrubbery and such but only God knows what Ken is thinking. He he!

*****

Penny Buhr Johnson

This is the week of our concert featuring Penny Buhr Johnson! We are truly looking forward to joining her as she uses her musical talent to bring glory to the Lord. Penny has a rich style which blends country and gospel. She's also a recorded artist and has reaped rewards in the industry. Her concert starts at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, June 24th at Osoyoos Christian Centre. We will provide dessert and beverages. There is no charge for the concert though there will be a free will offering.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed their time and funds to make this concert happen.

*****

We had many visitors this past Sunday, so nice to see the sanctuary filled with new faces. I always love finding out where folks are coming from and going to, and ask them to share a little bit about themselves.

This week I spent a few minutes getting to know these lovely ladies - Melodie, Sarah and Emilie, sisters visiting here from Quebec. Their father was certainly blessed with three lovely and charming daughters. The girls have left a message for YOU to listen to - just click the following picture below of them to be taken to an MP3 audio file which you can listen to by simply clicking on the file!

Thank you for visiting our Church and we will be praying for you as you travel and that you find jobs soon. We have many people come to our area to find jobs picking produce. Won't you pray for a hand of protection on them as they are in our area, and that they would find they are welcomed here!

*****

PRAISE REPORT:

Paula: God has done a miracle healing on her life!

Turns out our church parking lot does not require quite as much of an overhaul as we originally projected so now some of the funds collected have already been applied to a fund for a new roof.

Cost of roof: $6000

Collected to date: $1550

Feel free to contribute if you have a windfall *wink*

*****

PRAYER REQUESTS

Dave & his family - unnamed prayer request

Nathan - healing for his back injury

Keremeos Church - new Pastor, Jason Weibe.

Florence's brother Dave - healing from his cancer

Judy's mom - double mastectomy

RCMP, border security, ambulance peremedics and soldiers. Shirley's son is in the forces abroad, expected home in the near future. Please pray he is brought home safe, and for safety for the soldiers still out there protecting the innocent and fighting for our freedom.

marriages - pray for families under attack by the devil.

District leadership - the people God has allowed to represent our area.

Government - pray for level heads to prevail, that the parties will work for the good of the public and avoid a general election over the summer.

Global poverty. 1 in 6. Thats the number of how many people are starving on our earth. Pretty humbling. So many of us are trying to LOSE weight. Please for God to open the doors to our nations to be able to provide food and THE GOSPEL to those in need.

*****

Please email me at lalalime {at} hotmail [dot} com if you have a poem, photo, scripture or something you would like to share here on our Women's blog!

Next week I'll be posting a beautiful poem called "The Rainbow" submitted by guest Ruth Robic. We will also have photos of Penny's concert as well as some possible music clips of the fun event.

The women of OCC meet on Wednesday evenings on MSN messenger for a 'chat' and prayer time from 7 to 8 pm. If you would like to join in please send me an email with your msn username and I'll add you!

HAVING VISITORS - BEING VISITORS!

This past Sunday our church was blessed with several guests. Our family tends to be somewhat transient - sometimes it might even appear we have two different church groups because people come and go, people are busy. I find it fascinating when we have new people come. I'm always curious to where they came from, what brought them to our church - and where they are heading to.

One thing which is strange and wonderful is that quite often while meeting and greeting one can invariably draw some string of 'connection' between them and somebody in our congregation. Sometimes its a loose thread - but once in a while there is something immediate and powerful revealed.

And its always in my mind, the scripture:

Hebrews 13:1-2 says, "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

For we cannot know what we might have for a thirsty soul - and what they might have for us too. As a church family {body} we are one, so guests bring in variation, challenge, fresh thought - and they remind us that our mission is not simply to minister among ourselves, rather these people who we are blessed to have worship with us carry a part of us with them when they go out the doors after a service.

This past Sunday, among the several guests we had come were Steve and Eve DeSort, visiting from Bend, Oregon. They had wound up 'by chance' at our church - but they both blessed our congregation with an uplifting testimony and also gifted us with a small interview after the service. While Eve graciously spoke with me I began to realize that she was sharing some thoughts which are right in line with our dear sister Kaye. If you like, you might like to visit back to our March 5, 2009 blog post where I spoke about Kaye - she is a Prayer Warrior for CANADA. And here was Eve, who has never been to our church before, delivering a word about Canada. And I was led to capture Eve's thoughts in sound. And Kaye was NOT able to be with us last Sunday due to a bad back... but how today I was able to play Eve's words to Kaye. Ahhh - chance? I think NOT!

To hear the sound clip interview with Eve just click on the picture of our Canadian Flag. Click on the MP 3 file to play it - and you might consider turning your volume WAY up on the computer as I guess I recorded it on a quiet setting.

Thank you Eve and Steve and to your friends for blessing our congregation. We will lift your journey and ministry in prayer as you follow the bidding of the Holy Spirit on your journey to Alaska. We look forward to another visit on your way home if you are encouraged to visit upon your return. We are looking forward to finding out your adventures and testimony of what the Lord had you do along the route! Thank you for being obedient to the ministry the Lord has called you too. Osoyoos Christian Centre is praying a prayer of safety and protection upon you as you venture forth.

All this is a reminder to us that 'church' is not simply the building, rather it's the blessing of the Holy Spirit within each one of us, within each one of our guests... that we would leave a favourable impression with each visitor - that the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour would be glorified from the mouths and hearts of those who have spent time within our family.

Another way to look at this theme is to know that at some point each of US of the OCC will be a visitor to someone else's church - or even a church TO others {without the building} It comes to mind right away of two of our members - Dale and Florence Archibald.

Dale and Florence are long time members of our church and are very active in our church body. One ministry in particular is Florence's passionate pursuit of making and organizing the drive for the Operation Shoebox ministry. She often has dozens of beautifully decorated and thoughtfully and carefully assembled boxes ready in mid-summer!

But besides this ministry, Dale and Florence are RV'ers and travel out where they minister to others. We are so very proud of the calling they fulfill - so glad they call our church 'Home' when they return from the mission field. Here is some information which they provided me to share with you:

We have spent our tenth season out of the snow and cold of Canadian winters, feeling very blessed to have the opportunity to travel and thanking God for His guidance over our lives.

Dale and I are long time members of the Escapees RV Club, a huge American and Canadian organization. Though secular in nature, the club does have within its boundaries a Christian Fellowship segment that focuses on developing and nurturing strong Christ-centered bonds and relationships among its travelling members. One effective and popular method to do this has been to have regular rallies in Arizona and California. Last winter we were involved with the planning and leadership of four such rallies, the first being a “Put Christ Back Into Christmas” event. In a somewhat remote area in south Arizona we brought our trailers and motor homes together and celebrated the birth of Christ, enjoying the refreshment of Bible study, shared meals, and the uninterrupted fellowship of other believers, making it a true old fashioned Christmas. We plan to meet again this year for our fourth Season.

Each of the four rallies had a different emphasis and was held in different localities, so we move about from place to place, enjoying some of our favorite places in the south. The March Rally was unique in that some of our single Christian Fellowship members brought along a number of their single friends, all being at different levels of belief and un-belief. It was wonderful to see how they were drawn into the circle of love and caring and ministered to by their fellow campers.

The last event we were involved with this winter was held at a very vibrant community church in a tiny town just north of the California/Mexico border. The pastor, a dear friend of ours, who left the travelling lifestyle to become their pastor, invited us to use their parking lot and Church facilities. What a super time we both had with the RV’ers , who were there from all over the USA, and the church congregation who opened their arms to us. We hope to join them again next April.

Between rallies we have time to relax and take in the rugged and sometimes stark beauty of the Sonoran Desert. It really grows on you. A particularly nice time was three weeks spent at Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge near the Mexican border in Arizona. I was able to identify 95 bird species which pleased me well.

Our lengthly stays in Arizona increasingly attract family and friends. In fact, we are getting to see more of my numerous cousins in the south than we do in Canada. It was also nice to have two sisters and one brother-in-law share our dry-camping desert experience for a while. Neither of our two children made it south this winter, but Joy and family have been down 3 times and Rick four times, planning to come again this Christmas.

God bless you all,

Florence Archibald

*****

PRAISE REPORT:

For Peter - who went for an interview this past week and has been hired at a

Luxury Resort in Salmon Arm, BC.  As he told us he'd made a list of three

essential requirements he'd prayed for, a job at the resort, a place to live

and a church where he would feel at home in.  Every one of his wishes were

fulfilled.  You've been a positive and encouragement to our church and we will

miss you here.  We will pray for you that you shine the LIGHT in your new home! 

A few of us gathered at Kaye's home to pray for Kaye a week ago when she

was unable to attend due to severe back pain.  I spoke to Kaye on Monday and

she was feeling much better!  Please continue to pray for a bond of protection

and healing upon her. 

An anonymous donation was received in our church post office box and it

contained funds enough to cover the needed cost to go ahead with our parking lot

curb project.  Thank you to whomever was led to help.  May God Bless you! 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Cecil: health issues

Nathan: for a back injury which has required him to be off work.

Keremeos church: as they search for a new pastor

Tony Essex, Princeton: healing

Paula: cancer
RCMP - ambulance - firemen

*****

It's close to one week away from our concert with Penny Buhr Johnson.  This is a

free-will concert and we will provide the desserts and beverages.  It will be held

at our Church - Osoyoos Christian Centre {beside McDonald's} 42 Finch Crescent

at 7:00 pm. 

If you are able help setting up, tearing down tables etc.  Please let us know if

you can help.  You can reach our church by calling 250-495-2550.

*****

As always, if you like to chat you are welcome to join our OCC Women's

chat-night on MSN messenger to join us for an hour of fellowship, sharing and

prayer time.  We begin at 7:00 sharp!   Just send me a request - my username

is lalalime.