JP: Pants on the Ground, Dad's View

JP Writes:

Seems like the latest craze to hit America comes to us via American Idol. Now, I never have been a fan of the show. Two reasons: 1) the title - might as well be America's Next God by the way people hang on every vote, and 2) the way the hosts degrade these poor people who cannot sing. I too cannot sing, but thankfully God made it quite obvious to me a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, I am not judging those who watch the show. This blog is coming from someone who loves to watch overgrown men attempt to tackle, maim, and injure one another, while trash talking each other, all in an effort to move an oblong pumpkin across a white line.

But, I digress. Back to the latest craze. Seems like this wise gentlemen auditioned recently with a self written tune called "Pants on the Ground" (worth the google). This little diddy became an instant hit among those of us whose momma taught us how to properly wear our clothes and to make sure that we didn't have anything in our teeth when we went out in public. One of the lines goes, "Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground." Did I just hear a chorus of amens!! Somebody get me the nail gun, I'll fix the problem! Nobody should look like a fool! Or should we?

Were there any people in the Bible that looked like a fool? Absolutely!! Let's start with Noah. This man built a boat nowhere near water because God said it was going to rain. Rain, what's that? It had never rained before the flood. "Oh, and by the way We're going to put two of every animal (some of which eat each other) on the boat with you. It'll be ok, trust Me!" Pretty foolish looking.

Next up, Joshua. I can hear it now, "Joshua what's the plan for capturing Jericho?" "Uh, God said to have everyone get in single file line.... army, then 7 priests with trumpets, then the ark, and then the rest of the army. Next we're going to walk around Jericho once and then come back to camp and rest. We'll do this for 6 days and then on the 7th day we'll do 7 laps and then blow the trumpets and yell. Got it!?!" Great gameplan, don't you think? Can't you hear them now..."Do what??"

David. King of Israel. Mighty warrior. Anointed of God. Dancer extraordinaire. Just look at him as the ark of the Lord is being brought into Jerusalem. All the news outlets catch him leaping and dancing in his undies (albeit fancy, high dollar linen ones) in front of his adoring fans. Looking foolish? Just ask his wife, Michal.

How about John the Baptist? Talk about looking foolish. In the wilderness, wearing clothes made out of camel's hair, eating honey covered grasshoppers, yelling "Prepare the way for the Lord", and wanting to dunk me under water. I don't think so!

And that's just barely scratching the surface. The Bible is loaded with similar stories. So, lookin' the fool isn't a bad thing if your doing it for the right reason. Noah, Joshua, David, and John the Baptist all had their eyes focused on God. They all trusted in Him and relied on Him to deliver them. None of them cared what man thought. They didn't fear man's opinion, only God. They all shared David's heart when he told Michal , "It was before the Lord......I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes."

What about you? When was the last time you were willing to look like a fool for the Lord? You might not have to actually look like one, just be willing.

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the the heart" - 1 Samuel 16:7

Jeff

MP: Pants on the Ground

MP writes:

Aloha Y'all,

How are you????? If some of this sounds a little strange its because I'm having to use some vocabulary words in this blog.

A couple days after Grandma and Papa left :'( Miss Kelly Smith came out here from Redding, CA, to see us. Long story short, because of the frozen fog in KC (whatever that might be) her flight was changed and she got to be in GA for one hour. Wahoo!!!!!

Just for you, Miss Kelly, I'm going to write a little song! "PANTS ON THE GROUND, LOOKING LIKE A F**L WHICH YA PANTS ON THE GROUND, GOLD IN THE MOUTH, HAT TURNED SIDEWAYS, LOOKING LIKE A F**L WHICH YA PANTS ON THE GROUND." Haha, when you sing it, you have to say it with a lisp. (Miss Kelly, it might behoove us not to sing that in public because some people might think were a little zany. We also shouldn't do our creepy smile and psycho laugh:)

On Monday I will be babysitting Olivia Prior. Yeah! I'm soo excited. This also might be a weekly thing.

I love dance so much!!! We have started that back!!! I missed it a bunch. Although the other day we had to do prances in jazz and we all looked so hilarious. Sunday after I had danced quite a bit on Saturday, my back was so sore that I wanted to wail! But I soon got over it.

As much as enjoyed the snow I'm thankful that most all of it is gone and only the big clumps are left. It has been above 32 degrees for about a week even if the highest was only 40 something degrees. Haha!!! But the one downer on all the snow going away is that black dirty slush is taking over. YUCK!!!!!!! It really is disgusting. You roll your pants up to about mid calf and freeze till you get inside so that you don't get that nasty mixture of dirty snow and salt on your pants. Ewwe! Because if you don't roll your pants then your pants get all crusty and hard. Blah! Also , if you step onto a ice blob you will drench your pants because it's really a puddle underneath the thin sheet of ice. So many useful things that you learn in the frozen tundra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Tuesday, Peter and Masha are coming to our house and their tentative plans are to stay with us till Saturday. We're so excited. If you want to come visit us give us a call.

School is going hard and strong again. Ahh. \Also the awakening meetings are back into the flow of things too!!! Thank you Jesus!!! Uncle Mike, you're coming out here soon right?

Love always,
Mallory

MP: Wazz Up??

MP Writes:

Hey All,
How are you? So here is a little quickly update ... if you have already read about some of it then just ignore it ha ha!
Well just before Christmas i got a cell phone and I'm ssssssssssssssooooooooooo excited about that ... thanks! Then we had an amazing Christmas. After that we made the long drive back home to MO. It started snowing somewhere in Illinois.
The OneThing Conference started less than 24 hours after we got back to our house. The conference was so powerful and absolutely fabulous. I personally felt the love of God in a new way and it awakened my heart to love him more.
Not two weeks later was Ashton's birthday!!! She had a great time. Also for her birthday Grandma and Papa came up to visit us. (They surprise Ashton and I. Thank you Grandma and Papa!!)
I am so happy that we have family and friends that loves us enough to come and see us. And to stay in communication with us. I love y'all so very much!!!
Love Always,
Mallory :<)

AP: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

AP Writes:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!! :) Yesterday, January 9th, was my first birthday in Missouri!!! (Well last year was technically the first but we moved on my birthday so I was in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois.) I had a great time at dance taking modern class and they even sang happy birthday to me! Then, a couple of my dance friends came over and we ate pizzas for lunch. Afterwards, we went outside and played in the snow! It was a lot of fun. After that we went inside to warm up and then ate dinner: chicken, rice, and green beans! While we were eating dinner we watched the PHWD's Christmas show from 2008 since they had never seen it before. Then we had cake. It was a yellow cake with butter cream icing and a chocolate moose in-between layer in the cake. It was so yummy!!!! We also got to have frozen fruit: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. It was really good. We played the board game Life and opened presents. Then we talked, laughed, and had a good time until 4 in the morning! I had so much fun! My 18th birthday was amazing!

The best part about my birthday was that Grandma and Papa drove 800 miles just to be here for my 18th birthday! They are awesome!!!! They traveled through rain, sleet, and snow to get here. :) They even blessed me with buying pizza for my party and the delicious cake! I'm so happy they are here! Even though it wasn't too long ago that we saw them at Christmas, it is exciting to have them here in our new home!

I still can't believe I'm an old lady!!!! Now I can buy cigarettes (not that I would ever want to---one puff and I would choke and die!!!!), lottery tickets (Not), and vote! Yeah!!! :) I'm excited about all that the Lord has in store for me this 18th year that He has given me life!!! I'll write more later! TTYL!!!! :)

AP: Day 11-14: Christmas Vacation

AP Writes:

I'm so sorry it took me this long to finish the Christmas vacation but here is a quick review of what happened. On Wednesday, day 11, we didn't do anything but Nana and Moma ran around getting last minute things together for Christmas. Then on Thursday, day 12, we went to Grandma and Papa's house for Christmas Eve. We had a great time being with the family and eating crab bisque! Everything was so yummy and I was so full! On Friday morning, day 13, we spent the night at Grandma and Papa's, we did the Price Christmas. I got a purple ipod from my parents!!! Then we went to Nana and Papa's for Christmas night. It was so much fun and REALLY loud!!! It was so good to see and play with all my little cousins. We even got to have the show! (Wow-wow, Hamburger Hill, and Munchie know what I'm talking about!) Then we got to spend the night with Gabriel and Victoria and be lazy buns all morning day 14! Then we had the joy of packing up everything we brought with us and acquired into a seemed like it would never fit car! All in all we had a fabulous time in Georgia for Christmas.

As soon as we got back in Missouri we got back into the full swing of things for OneThing '09. The conference was incredible!!!! We had the joy of hosting 4 guys from Georgia at our house for the conference. We had so much fun sharing our home so that others could experience KC too!!! Anytime you want to come just give my mom a call! Then school started!!!! YEAH! All in all, our break was a ton of fun! And my birthday is tomorrow!!!!!!!!! I'm super excited! Anyway, I gotta run cause my mom needs me to do something. Have a great day!

KP: Summary of last 2 Months

KP Writes:

We received this email from Daniel Lim, IHOP Kansas City's CEO today. It is such a great testimony to all the Lord is doing in us as missionaries, at IHOP-KC, on many college campuses across America, and all across the globe. Yes, we as a family have been so busy and very tired. But the fruit of our labor is that of eternal significance. Rejoice with us as we rejoice in the Lord. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and with your finances. We could not do what has been done without each other, it truly is a partnership.

Blessings to you,

Kristian

Dear beloved IHOP-KC family,

Greetings. As I reflected upon the last 3 months, I give thanks to the LORD for everyone in the IHOP Missions Base family, i.e., staff, students, interns, etc. Most of you have been laboring in love and excellence with great sacrifice for long hours, in the midst of adverse weather conditions and many spiritual as well as logistical challenges in order to serve the body of Christ and the lost through the almost daily awakening services, Onething’09, and the IHOP-KC Leadership Summit. On behalf of the leadership of IHOP Missions Base, I wish to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to you. The Board of Trustees and the Executive Leadership Team wish to acknowledge and accord our heartfelt gratitude toward everyone who poured heart and strength on these year-end initiatives, while stewarding an ongoing spiritual awakening and 24-hour day and night prayer room. We also take this time to remember our dear brother Derek Loux who has lived and led so excellently and diligently in our midst. Our deepest condolences to Renee and her family as we grieve with them on the calling home of our dear friend Derek.

The fruit of your labor is evident in the following tangible indicators, of which you are partaker of the same inheritance in the various services you performed:

1. An average attendance of 1200 in daily awakening services and 10,000 online viewers from 188 countries at our peak time.

2. Tangible healings with hundreds of testimonies in Kansas City and online audience from around the world.

3. Reports of Holy Spirit presence manifesting in various locations around campuses in America.

4. More than 900 salvations and baptisms since the awakening services started.

5. 20,000 people walking through the doors of Onething’09 (the largest Onething thus far)

6. A conservative estimate of 25,000 online viewers for Onething’09 (not including GodTV viewers)

7. 700 children at CEC during Onething’09

8. 1400 volunteers and staff working at Onething’09

9. 1100 leaders gathered for the IHOP-KC Leadership Summit from January 2-4, 2010

10. IHOPU received 120 new Spring 2010 students (the largest Spring intake thus far).

11. IHOP.org hit record high one day hits of 45,000 users on Dec 28-29, 2009. Our daily average was 10,000 online users.

12. Convergence of movements, i.e., Toronto Vineyard, Bethel Church, YWAM, Urbana, Call2All with IHOPKC solidified in a greater way in the last two months.

Words are not sufficient for me to express the numerous heroic efforts many of our spiritual family members have demonstrated in hidden places and in public. As we can count this blessing and rejoice in the fruit of our labor, let’s continue to press on to an historic revival and another great awakening in America and the nations. As the apostle Paul so charged us, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Let’s take a deep breath, count our blessings, give thanks, rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, and let’s go again unto fullness.

Thank you.

Daniel Lim

Chief Executive Officer

JP: Jury Duty

JP Writes:

Can you believe it? For over 25 years, I was eligible for jury duty in Georgia and was never called. I haven't even been in Kansas City for one year, and I had jury duty starting January 4th! As strange as it may sound, I was kind of looking forward to it. Being a Political Science major, our judicial system has always intrigued me, and I always wanted to see it function firsthand (albeit from the correct side of the jury box!) Or so I thought. What began at 8:00 am as a potential intriguing adventure ended shortly after 8:00 pm as a 12 hour ordeal with me being thankful I was being sent home.

Shortly after 1 pm, the Prosecution and Defense began their "interrogation" process of me and the other 69 potential jurors (now some of my closest friends after being locked up for 12 hours together.) At this time we discovered the charges in our case: Murder of a 6 month old baby and cruelty to a child. After 4 hours of listening to the jurors responses to their questions, it hit me. This man's life was in the hands of 12 of these 70 people. All of us had issues, but quite a few really had some HUGE issues. And I felt that we were a fairly accurate cross section of society. However, it would have been difficult for me to pick out 12 to help me decide on what color to paint my house let alone for my trial. It is so easy for us to judge by a person's outward appearance. I have no idea of this man's guilt or innocence, the longer I sat there the more I prayed for this man and the jurors. Maybe that's why I was there. I began to pray that God would reveal the truth of Samuel 16:7 "the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart." He knows the truth and will bring revelation if we ask.

As I drove home, I was thankful that my life is in the hands of our beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ and not man. For if man can misjudge Him when He was on trial, how much easier would it be to misjudge our fellow man. Again, guilt or innocence, I have no idea. But join me in praying for wisdom and revelation from God for the jury and for salvation for the accused if he does not know Jesus. Even if guilty, he is no worse off than we were in the eyes of the Lord before we received His gift of salvation.

Jeff

KP: Snow for Uncle Tuffy

KP Writes:Unker Tuppy,
We have snow. Lots of snow. We got more snow. We had to work hard because we have so much new snow. We are supposed to get more snow on Wednesday and Thursday.
The trampoline was becoming dangerously heavy with all the snow. It was sagging really badly because of the weight. Part of the Christmas snow had melted in the sunlight and then frozen into an ice block on top with icicles hanging down underneath. The girls were chosen to go and fix the situation. It was very hard work.


When the girls were walking across the back yard the snow was so deep that it was going in the top of their boots.
After they had fun playing in the backyard, which was quick because of the temperature being 8 degrees they cleared the trampoline. Then they started shoveling the driveway. They were exhausted way before they finished and Jeff came to their rescue.
We discovered that the roads are not so great at this point when we went over to the Stevenson's house to visit with Tammy-Ma, our missionary from India. They have even canceled class for some of the local schools. Too cold, and too much snow.

We have not seen the temperature in MO above freezing since the first week of December. And this week they have revised the forecast to include predicted record breaking lows. Thurs. high/low temps: 10/-10, Friday: 6/-4.
Love ya,
Kristian

KP: Brrrrr!

I have just 2 things to say:

Right now for Grandview, MO (64030):
Clear and 3 degrees, feels like -10.


And:


Saturday, Jan. 2 -scattered flurries- high/low= 15/6 degrees
Sunday, Jan. 3 -scattered flurries- 18/3
Monday, Jan. 4 -sun- 18/-1
Tuesday, Jan. 5 - mostly cloudy - 19/14
Wednesday, Jan. 6 - snow- 18/9
Thursday, Jan. 7 - cloudy - 13/3
Friday, Jan. 8 - partly cloudy - 17/12
Saturday, Jan. 9 - mostly sunny 28/13

Looks like a heat wave by Ashton's birthday!!

If you come to visit, I suggest you bring a sweater.

Love ya,
Kristian