Love is in the air...

(And you get to hear about it firsthand!)

...

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousnesss: and all these things shall be added unto you."  
~ Matthew 6:33

Martin: Well, um..... it all began back in June when the Lord showed me that Deborah was the one He'd chosen for me. I struggled a lot and fought at first but knew it was God's will. The moment I accepted His will and said yes to God, an overwhelming peace and joy filled my heart such as I have never felt before!

So, after much prayer, many confirmations, discussions with parents, I received permission from Deborah's dad, Morris, and as of August 7, 2011, we are now officially in a courtship. The Lord has been so wonderful in blessing us and He is always faithful! May God be Glorified!

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will 

and to do of His good pleasure." 

~ Philippians 2:13

Deborah: I guess I have known, as much as a girl can know, that Marty was the one for quite a few months. I just kept giving it to the Lord over and over and tried my hardest not to think on it much. I wasn't expecting that anything would happen for a good long time yet so I was completely shocked when he asked. I just had to take a couple days to process before I really had anything to say. Those next few days, and still since, I was just so overwhelmed with how AWESOME our GOD really is and how much HE really does care about us and our happiness. Jeremiah 29:11 is so true. I had no idea that I would feel the way I did and the happiness, joy, and peace that came with it all surpassed my highest expectations. There was also such a blessing with how it was so open before our parents and the Lord, and just letting God work out all the details in His perfect time before we let anyone else in on 'our secret'. Our Father truly is so good.

...

It has been an adjustment but oh, so good. We wouldn't trade it for anything! 

If you think about it, pray for us. We would appreciate it greatly!

"Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done,

and Thy thoughts which are to-us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in

order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, 

they are more than can be numbered." 

~ Psalms 40:5

The Power of Prayer

   In each day of a Christian's life, a battle rages. The heavenly realms are filled with the armies of God and of Satan, each doing the will of their master. Most of those battles are being fought over the souls of people on earth. God's angels fight to win a precious soul for the Kingdom; Satan's demons fight to gain a valuable soul to take with them to their destruction.

   We as believers face many choices every day. Choices of right or wrong, good or evil. If you stop to consider ALL the choices you make in your life every day, you will be overwhelmed. Little choices - what to wear, what to eat, where to sleep, what to drink - the list is endless. Medium choices - what to read, what to watch, where to go, how to act - the list goes on. Big choices - what to say, how to listen, what to spend your money on, who to spend your time with - you can think of many more! Huge choices - where to live, what church to attend, what mission field to pursue, who to marry - and many, many more. Some of these choices are far more important than others. Yet often we take more time thinking about the things of less importance than doing the things of greater importance. The thing is that we do it without realizing it. So, how do we as Christ's followers make choices that honor and glorify Him the most? We pray!

   When we pray, we establish a direct communion with God. When we pray, we tune into God's Spirit and He directs our steps in the way that is most honoring and glorifying to Himself. When we pray, a floodgate in heaven is opened for God to make the choices. When we pray for God to have His way, for His will to be done and not our own, the angels are given more power over the demons! When we pray, the power is yanked out of Satan's hands and put into God's hands where it belongs!! When we pray, the forces of heaven fight!!! So, pray, brothers and sisters, pray! Pray for God to take the reigns of life!! Pray for His will to be done!!! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!! 

THEN, be willing to do.                                         

Photo Shoot

This afternoon the Team had the opportunity to get some pictures together. 

We had limited time between events, but the results are positive! 

                                                                                   photography by Patti Zimmerman

We'll reveal more in future posts, but here's one to whet your appetite.

Doesn't it look good?

P.S. Check out the new picture on "The Team" page up above!

Gospel Barn

On Sunday, August 7th, about 250-275 people headed out to Henry and Ida’s Gospel Barn for a fun-filled night of music and food. Along with several local bands, and the featured Jack Clarkson Band, guess who was there? None other than the Shepardsville Team!

Twice a year, on the first Sunday of June and August, Henry and Ida Bontrager open up their 60x80 pole-barn for a fundraiser to benefit various missions projects in Central America and other third-world countries. Several of their children play with the Team, so every year we have the opportunity to help with this outreach.


These bi-annual concerts are ones we always look forward to, and this August it was no different. In fact, we had even more reason to be excited than ever before, because it was the first concert that we could wear our new Team t-shirts!

   

We waited until right before we were ready to walk on stage to change into our shirts, so we could surprise the crowd. Many people return to these concerts every year, and they were as excited as we were about our new “look”! We also had our new business cards to give out, and we told them about the blog-spot and our Facebook fan page. 
So many changes have happened this summer!!

The last song we sang that night was “God is Good”, and it stood as a reminder of how truly good He is. This summer has been proof of that in our lives as a Team and individually. 

                                                                                     -Rose

Carson City

Come visit us in Carson City! The Team will be playing there Tuesday, August 9th, at 7:00 pm. The evening will consist of music as well as a message to encourage you in your walk with Christ. All are welcome!

Please pray for us as only about half the Team will be able to go on stage.

Upcoming Concert

The Shepardsville Team will be singing/playing, along with several other small, local bands at Henry and Ida's Gospel Barn on Sunday, August 7. The event will be held inside a 60X80 polebarn. It's an informal event starting at 6:00 pm. Be sure to bring your own chairs and an appetite. Food stands will be on the grounds, including Koegels hotdogs and soft serve ice-cream! All donations go to support God's Little Children Ministries (godslittlechildren.org).

Christmas in July

After music practice last Saturday, Esther, Rebekah, and Seth 

surprised the team with a Christmas in July celebration. 

The rest of the Team was waiting to dig into the pizza that was sitting 

on the table when they came in armed with gifts and cookies. 

The loot was handed out, each person wondering what could be in their package?

Unable to bear it much longer, they opened the gifts very quickly.

And the contents were revealed....

The new Team t-shirts! Most everyone knew they were coming, 

but somehow didn't realize the time had finally arrived.

Don't they look good?