The Wilkes Team

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Mt 18:20 

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand…”

Psalm 95:1-7 

What joy there is when the body of Christ can come together around Christ and spend a day of delighting in Him and in what he has given us!

Here’s are some shots from the day with our church at Cacapon Park in West Virginia back in April!

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It all depends upon your out look!

You can make something enjoyable or a real bore.

You can choose to focus on the good or the bad.

You can encourage those around you by your positive attitude or discourage them by your negative one.

It really depends on your out look! Remember who is in control of all things. He is working all things together for your good! What a wonderful promise.

Sarah, Kenan, Adam, and I had been given a job to go and clean this huge house which was going to settlement that following week.

We decided to make it a day we would never forget!

It all started at Wal-Mart. We went to buy the necessary supplies for doing this job with excellence, yet not wanting to eat into our profits to much. With so many wise shoppers along the cleaners, and scrub brushes, a mop, a broom, paper towels, and snacks to keep the crew at their best were gathered in record time.

Dad met us there at the home to open the door and away we went!

Scrub, scrub, scrub, squeak, squeak, squeak. YES, it’s clean!!

As the job came to a close we were a bit tired yet rejoicing in how the day unfolded.  I was so encouraged by the diligence and joy that everyone portrayed. Each person that day decided to choose to view this task from the Lord and use all their energies to accomplish it! ~

The joy of the Lord truly can be your strength. It is through Him and by Him that your out look on life can be changed.

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Where does one begin??? Being with the Neely Team is always so refreshing and inspiring.

We had many things to accomplish this past weekend. One being lots of planning for the up and coming “Family Encouragement Weekend.” God truly blessed our time of preparation. And we had a lot of fun doing it too!

There was one event that happened that surprised us all!  Daniel noticed something in one of the Neely’s live traps out back. He thought he saw a house cat in their cage.  But upon closer observation he realized it was no domestic cat. It was a bobcat!! Everyone scurried up to get a closer look at this wild cat. My was she angry!!! We were glad she was in a cage!

Neely Team thank you for making our stay so special! From the meals, music times, games, skits and time around the table reading the word of God together. We are forever grateful to God for each and everyone of you!

Meal times:

Family singing and playing:

Children’s choir and skits:

Other special moments:

It is so important for like minded families to come together. We all need encouragement to continue on in the course that God has called us to.

In this day and age the family is attacked and bombarded tremendously. It’s only by the grace of God that we will be able to hold the tide and to stand for what is right when others are compromising. May you be encouraged that you are not alone in standing for the truth.

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Mark 16:15 says, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Josh and myself have had the joy of watching and encouraging a new club get started in our local area.

It never ceases to amaze me how white the harvest truly is!

God has brought together a team of people who love the Lord with all of their hearts and desire to reach out to this community. Praise the Lord!

Over the last couple of months Josh and I have been coming along side them and supporting them in their vision to reach the lost for Christ. 

We are so excited to see others become burdened for the lost in our world. There are so many ways to reach out to those that God has placed around you. May I encourage you to seek the Lord and ask Him how He would have you be a light to this world. 

Be on the look out for those ‘Divine appointments’ that God will send your way. Don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord! We have been called by a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now we can boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (2Tim1:9, Heb.13:6)

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While down in Texas for a couple days with some dear friends one of the things we did together was paint!!

We were the Red painting crew!

Not only did we get the kitchen and mud room painted but we had a blast while doing it!

One of our goals was to get more paint on the walls than on us and everyone did a great job at that!!!

Everyone worked so diligently.

Everyone was so helpful and wanted to see it be a success!

And we did not dump the paint buckets.

It never ceases to amaze me how much fun you can have while doing work!

Once the painting was done we were all delighted at how beautiful, warm and inviting the room was! You wanted to be in there and enjoy it!

Is that not what Christ wants to do in and through our lives? Have we not been created to live our lives in such a way that other are drawn to Christ and God is glorified?

Christ desires to mold you and form you into a vessel of righteousness, that radiates the joy and peace of the Lord. If you are lacking this joy and peace, may that cause you to fall on your knees before the Lord and seek his face till you find Him. He promises to be an ever present help in trouble.

Your life is like a painting in the works. The hand of God is forming you into a beautiful piece of art. Let him have his way! Let him choose the colors! Receive the dark colors of sorrow, hardship, and pain with joy. Why? Because He who has started a good work in you is FAITHFUL to complete till the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Rejoice in the bright colors that God chooses to give you. There is not one painting that is the same. How often we look to see what so and so is doing. Our flesh so often desires what we don’t have!

Unless we are content in what we have been given we will never truly rest in the joy of the Lord.

Colossians 3:15-17 says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

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Here are some more pictures of our day of painting!!

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The Christmas music was playing, Sarah was making some special cookies, and the rest of us were unwrapping Christmas decorations and decorating the house!

We love this time of year! A time specially set aside to remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

And this year is no exception…….. Merry Christmas!!

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We heard of Him at the well outside of Bethlehem! The star was pointed out to us travelers by some towns people.

We walked through the streets of this bustling town. The venders were out displaying their wares and the inns were past capacity. But there in a lowly manger laid the babe who would be the Savior of the World!

I wonder, how many heard of him that night yet did not come to see him? What was their reaction to the news? What would have been yours? Here they had the chance to see the Savior! Were they to busy with their daily lives to take the time? Or did they follow the shepherds example and go and see him?

Let me encouraged you to not get so wrapped up in the festivities of this wonderful time of year that you don’t take the time to “Go and see the Savior!”

Let this time of year draw you all the closer to Christ as you take the time to read the very letter that He wrote to us. Delight yourself in the Lord! Take the time to pray and hear from the Lord.

He promises to be one that sticketh closer than a brother. He says the thoughts I have towards you are not of evil but of GOOD to bring you to an expected end. Will you trust me with you life? Will you take my promises as truth?.. And believe them?

Christ was given to us that night to bring us these promised gifts of hope, joy, peace and eternal life! Once we receive Him as our personal Lord and Savior, will we believe that we truly have these promised gifts? By faith we must! Once a child of the King we must choose to believe God and His promises even when our feelings say something different.

May the Lord truly bless each one of you as you pursue your Savior during this Christmas Season and for the rest of your life!

2009 Bethlehem Walk

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!!!!NEWS FLASH:

It was a wonderful evening yet someone was missing! Matthew’s absence has been noticed in more ways than one. But we wait with great anticipation to his arrival home and we can’t wait to hear about his trip and tell you all about it too!!

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