Pastor Appreciation Month

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Therefore, I have decided to post a few ideas to let your pastor know that you appreciate him.

Flood your pastor's mailbox with cards. Choose a week and get the word out quietly...this pastor appreciation idea works best if it's a surprise. You could choose a week that you know will be especially difficult for your pastor. Or, flood his mailbox while he is away on vacation or at a conference so that he is welcomed home by an avalanche of greetings.

Don't forget the pastor's family's birthdays.

Find out what his favourites are. Favourite candy bar, soda, dessert; any of these.

Send he and his family a gift certificate to a nice restaurant.

Just tell him how much he and his family means to you.

These are just to name a few of the many things that you could do for your pastor. Think of some things on your own.

Happy Pastor appreciation month to every single pastor of the church of God out there.

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3: 1-7, "¹This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

²A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

³Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

⁴One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

⁵(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

⁶Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

⁷Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil"

We appreciate all of the pastors in this world. Keep on preaching the Word and pleasing God. You will be blessed.

*SHOUT OUT TO MY PASTOR* I love you, Pastor R, in all of the right ways. I appreciate how much you have served us in these past years and encouraged me every step of the way. I am so proud to call you my pastor and friend. If there is ever any thing that our family can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask.

A Servant That God Has Chosen

In the last 12 years I have been involved in the deaf ministry in our church, I have come to realize what an important role I have as an interpretor. I have been so blessed by seeing the facial expressions on the faces of our deaf friends after I have interpreted a hymn, or the tears in their eyes during prayer. I am thankful that God has allowed me to serve as His messenger as I bring the words of the preacher and our special singers into a language they can understand. I wonder if Anne Sullivan realized the importance of her role in Helen Keller's life?

In 1888, Anne accompanied Helen to the Perkins Institution where they attended together, then New York City's Wright-Humasen School, then the Cambridge School for Young Ladies, and finally to Radcliffe College. Keller graduated from Radcliffe in 1904. What an amazing friend Anne was to Helen. Not only did she teacher her how to communicate, but she also served as her interpretor in college. There weren't many schools that a deaf child, or a blind child could go to, let alone a deaf-blind child. Not many people knew how to effectively communicate with them.

Anne got permission from Keller's father to keep the girl away from the rest of the family in a little house in their garden. Anne loved Helen dearly and loved her like she was her child. Her first task was to instill discipline in Helen. Keller's big breakthrough in communication came one day when she realized that the motions her teacher was making on her palm, while running cool water over her hand, symbolized the idea of "water". She then nearly exhausted Sullivan demanding the names of all the other familiar objects in her world (including her prized doll). *from Wikipedia

What a tremendous breakthrough for Helen! She finally understood what her friend Anne was telling her. Do you ever have a time when you finally understand a concept and then your hunger for more knowledge becomes so overwhelming that you just can't get enough information? This must have been such an exciting moment for Helen AND Anne! Anne was Helen's mediator with the world. Anne showed such determination and compassion to spend so much time by Helen's side through all those years. A true friend and an outstanding teacher.

There are many schools for the deaf and blind now where they can learn sign language and braille. I know I couldn't part with my children in order to send them to a deaf school, and that decision would be easy since I already know sign language. However, I do not know how to teach a child braille. Anne and Helen had something in common, they had to overcome a great challenge in their lives. We each have different challenges and sometimes they seem overwhelming. There are others who face challenges as well. Some people come to America in search of freedom, but they don't know how to speak English. Most schools now offer free ESL(English as a Second Language) classes during the summer for those individuals.

Most of us do quite well with English, have you ever considered volunteering in a class to help teach children how to speak English? You can speak to your Pastor and see if ESL can be offered to help reach those children and adults in your community. Does your church have a deaf ministry that you could be a part of? Maybe your school or homeschool co-op has someone that could teach sign language. Find out how you can be a helper to someone else in need. You could be that one person who makes a difference in another person's life.

Exodus 4:11, " And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? "(KJV) Leviticus 19:14, " Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD."(KJV) Isaiah 43:7-9, "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth."(KJV)

God has made the deaf, the blind, and the mute. We are to NOT put a stumblingblock in front of them and we are COMMANDED to bring them unto the Lord so they may be taught the message of salvation. Verse 10 says, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen:" If the Lord has placed it on your heart to learn sign language, then I invite you to visit me at The HomeSpun Life for articles and resources for the deaf ministry.


Topics of Interest: deaf, ministry, friendship, discipleship, Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller

In Ministry With Mom

I am pleased and honored to be able to introduce you to two wonderful ladies that I know personally. We had the opportunity to get to know Mrs. Lindsay and her family while they were on deputation in the States. They stayed with Miss Rachael (from our first issue of GGM) for two summers. While the Lindsay family stayed we were able to spend some good time together in fellowship and go to ask many questions about their ministry to St. Lucia.

GGM: Miss Kayla,How old were you when your parents told you that you were all going to be a missionary family? Please explain briefly how you felt about that.

Miss Kayla: Well, first of all, I was 15 years old when I found out that we were going to be missionaries. To be perfectly honest, I was somewhat of a rebel at that time. I completely surrendered to it on the outside, but not really in my heart. It took a while for me to see the big picture, but God is so good like that to have shown me what this is really all about.

Mom has always been supportive of Dad's decisions even when they were hard. The Lord dealt with her as well about St. Lucia, so she followed 100%.

GGM: What kinds of things are there to do in St. Lucia together that are different than in the States?

Miss Kayla: Well, me and mom do everything together like the laundry and the cleaning. What I love most is cooking together.

As far as special memories go, well , I think there are too many to count. I love the times when everything seemed to be going all wrong and she would make me laugh so hard that my sides hurt. Laughing the pain away....

We both enjoy having what we call "girls day out". Where we relax and do whatever we want like paint our nails, talk, just be girls.

GGM: What's your favorite thing to eat that you don't have in St. Lucia?

Miss Kayla: Wow, this is the hardest question yet! :) I LOVE Chili's Honey Chipotle Crispers. I guess that would be my favorite!

GGM: I have heard a lot about Chipotle and we have one in our town and I have not even been there yet. You have me convinced that I really must go!
Have you learned any new recipes from women in St. Lucia?

Miss Kayla: No, I have not learned any recipes from the Lucian women, but someday maybe I will.

GGM: Tell us what makes your mom special to you?

Miss Kayla: Well, I love the fact that she is not only my mama, but she is one of my best friends in the whole world. She knows me better than anyone besides God, and she still loves me. AMAZING! We have so much fun together, always laughing, never a dull moment. And more than that, she encourages me to follow the Lord's leading in my life; she has always encouraged me to do my best in everything. I hope I can be half the woman she is.


GGM: Mrs. Lindsey, you have a very sweet daughter! How do you plan for time alone with Kayla with such a busy schedule in the ministry?

Mrs. Lindsey: We really can't "plan". We just grab any opportunities that come our way.

GGM: What kinds of things are there to do in St. Lucia together that are different than in the States?
Mrs. Lindsay: Open markets and local food.

GGM: How well are you doing at learning the language there?

Mrs. Lindsay: That isn't an issue here, they speak English. :)

GGM: How do you educate your children in St. Lucia?

Mrs. Lindsay: We homeschool using Abeka and Alpha Omega.

GGM: Are you able to help educate the children that live there?(other than Bible)
Mrs. Lindsey: Sunday School and Bible School are the only opportunities so far.

GGM: What do you miss most about the States?

Mrs. Lindsey: Food, shopping, selection, quality, prices, conveniences, etc.

GGM: What kinds of things do the mothers and daughters of the people of St. Lucia do together?

Mrs. Lindsey: They walk to school and work.

GGM: That sounds like the earlier years in America. We're so blessed to have automobiles here.
Can you briefly describe some of the cultural differences there?

Mrs. Lindsey: They live a much simpler life. Main goal of Lucians is to obtain necessary things to live daily. No luxuries or nicities usually.

GGM: There are times that I wish we had that simple life again here in the busy state of California. Do you have hobbies from the States that you miss due to it not being available in St. Lucia?

Mrs. Lindsey: Yes; bargain shopping and decorating.

GGM: What other things do you do?

Mrs. Lindsey: We cook and work in the yard.

GGM: Now that sounds like my family. We have limited space and so we need to plant in pots, but we sure love being in the garden together.

Thank you both so much for sharing your relationship with us here at Growing in Grace Magazine. May the Lord bless you richly there in St. Lucia!