THANKSGIVING TIME

Happy Thanksgiving to all!
1 thes 5:17-19 says pray with out ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. do not quence the spirit.

this is a time of thanksgiving. this year things look alittle scary but keep the spirit of being thankful alive in your heart, spirit, and in all those around you. give thanks!!!!!! amen

Next Service and a prayer request.

Our next service will be on Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 8:30 in the morning at Luckenbach.
Any questions give me a call at 830/456-3450.

My prayer request is for the wife of one of the men i work with. Her name is Lori Baker and she has been battling cancer for several years. She is going through some real tough times and I would ask for you to keep her and her family in your prayers.

thanks, Joe

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

This has been a real interesting and testing month for me and I imagine for a lot of people. Around the first part of the month Kit Patterson sent out an email to several of his employees and one of them forwarded it to me. I would like to share it with you.
We’ve heard some discouraging financial news recently. Scripture says that when we face trials, God will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart (Psalm 91:4).
I’d like to encourage you today by reminding you:
- Don’t lose perspective.- Don’t get discouraged.- Don’t quit. - Remember the Lord.
Let’s look at some comparisons between the perspective of the world versus God’s perspective as revealed in the Bible.
The world says...
But God says…

We have one trillion dollars of debt.
I will supply all your needs according to My riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19 NASB)

We have a slowdown.
My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled. (John 14:27 NASB)

It looks like a meltdown.
I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deut. 31:6 NIV)

We’re on the verge of financial ruin.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom. 8:37 NIV)

We’re facing a financial Pearl Harbor.
Neither the present nor the future, nor any powers… will be able to separate us from the love of God. (Rom. 8:38 NIV)

We could see another crash like 1929.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. (Isa. 43:5 NIV)

There’s panic on the street.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. (Isa. 43:2 NIV)

I stand to lose everything.
I am your refuge, your portion in the land of the living. (Ps. 142:5 NIV)

My retirement has been wiped out.
There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. (Prov. 23:18 NIV)

My portfolio is down 70%.
I gave and I have taken away. Blessed be My name. (Job 1:21 NASB)

My situation looks bleak.
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:35 NASB)

Keep your hope in the Lord that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love is everlasting, His mercies new every day, and His faithfulness to you eternal. Walk by faith, not by sight.

My pastor has been sharing about John 16:33 the last couple of weeks and that has been one of my favorite verses for a number of years.
John 16:33 says “I have told you these things, so that IN ME you may have peace. In THIS WORLD you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world.”
The weekend of October 10-12 we had a real neat conference at Journey church it was called “Establishing His Name in the Earth” and that is exactly what the scripture in John is telling us to do. You see it says that we have the choice to live IN HIM or in the world. You can impact your life, your family, your job, your marriage…just about anything you wish to touch if you do it in him. If you choose the other route in this world you get what you get…trouble, fear, doubt, distrust, lies….which place would you rather live in right now….IN HIM you have truth, security, trust, assurance and life….I will let you read this and make your own choice…..choose wisely for it can impact your life for a long time
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1) Pray for our leaders, our candidates running for office, for our banking and securities sectors. Things are being shaken right now and we need to pray for these areas.
2) Pray for our pastors and their families. October is pastor appreciation month but you need to continually lift these folks up in prayer. They need a constant covering of prayer and intercession for them and their families. They are constantly under attack from the enemy and they need for us to remember them daily in our prayers.
3) I have a friend at work who just lost his mother last week and I know he would appreciate us lifting his family up in prayer. Pray for David and Janet Brown and his family in the passing of his mother.
4) In our body there are several ladies who are expecting babies and are on bed rest please remember them in prayer Shelley Stephens and Alexis Whitaker are the ones I know of.
5) Remember to lift up all the folks who were in the middle of the hurricanes this year. My wife and daughters have been talking to a lady here in Fredericksburg who lost it all and is living in a tent now. So please remember these folks as they are still in need of so many things as well as just friends to help them out.

Earlier I mentioned that October is pastor appreciation month and I would like to encourage you to tell your pastor and his wife just how precious they are to you and to give them a word of encouragement. They do a job that is very hard to do. They minister to hurting people, they touch so many people whose lives seem to be falling apart, they touch families when love ones have been lost…and most of the time we as their congregations have no idea what is hurting or falling apart in their lives…..BE INVOVLED in their lives and keep them in your prayers as often as the Father brings them to mind. I am not telling you to be nosey about their business but be there if they need someone to confide in and above all honor their confidence and trust if they share things with you. I would like to say thank you to my pastor and his wife for all that they are and all that they do for Journey Church. Michael and Lori we honor today and thanks for all the great years. Outriders for Christ is an outreach of Journey Church here in Fredericksburg.

LIVE BY FAITH NOT BY SIGHT

THINGS WE NEED TO REMEMBER!!!!!

A friend from Luckenbach sent this real neat thing to me. The blessing was that her boss sent it out to them. In these trying times we MUST remember who is in control. Please read the following and remember HE IS IN CONTROL!!!!!

Let’s look at some comparisons between the perspective of the world versus God’s perspective as revealed in the Bible.

The world says...
But God says…

We have one trillion dollars of debt.
I will supply all your needs according to My riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19 NASB)

We have a slowdown.
My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled. (John 14:27 NASB)

It looks like a meltdown.
I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deut. 31:6 NIV)

We’re on the verge of financial ruin.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom. 8:37 NIV)

We’re facing a financial Pearl Harbor.
Neither the present nor the future, nor any powers… will be able to separate us from the love of God. (Rom. 8:38 NIV)

We could see another crash like 1929.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. (Isa. 43:5 NIV)

There’s panic on the street.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. (Isa. 43:2 NIV)

I stand to lose everything.
I am your refuge, your portion in the land of the living. (Ps. 142:5 NIV)

My retirement has been wiped out.
There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. (Prov. 23:18 NIV)

My portfolio is down 70%.
I gave and I have taken away. Blessed be My name. (Job 1:21 NASB)

My situation looks bleak.
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:35 NASB)
Keep your hope in the Lord that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love is everlasting, His mercies new every day, and His faithfulness to you eternal. Walk by faith, not by sight.

a special thanks to Bobbi and Kit for this great word. love and blessings to you both.
Joe

THOUGHTS FROM MY HEART

Well this morning as I sit here and ponder the events of the weekend I am amazed at the things God can do when we allow him to. My pastor was in Washington state for a conference and was dearly missed but things must still go on while he is away....church, memorial services and just taking care of business if you know what I mean. Steven K. the other elder at Journey church and I got to divide up a couple of things in Pastor Mike's absence but things went well. Scott Windrum from San Antonio came up to Fredericksburg and blessed us with his music and a wonderful word from the Lord that set somethings off in my heart. Sott shared about our words are they good reports or bad reports...you all know what i mean...you get up on Monday and say oh God do I have to go to work today or do you say Thank you God that I get to go to work this morning. Well yesterday afternoon I had agreed to do a memorial service for the friend of one of our church's members. After I left church I really didn't want to go back and have to be spiritual this afternoon...as my wife and I were eating lunch I made some comment along the lines well i guess I have to go home and go back to church. well I got back to the house and the Lord just nudged me and about things....thankfully I didn't have to go to the woodshed. I went to church and I was still working on things in my heart and my mind but i was still in a funky place. just after I went in the door i was met by one of the ladies helping set up and she could tell that things were in turmoil....she asked are you ok...quickly followed by no your not I can tell then she asks me like Scott had said that he had started asking people that he really wanted an answer and he asks "how are you being"? So being faced with that question i had to say my being is in a struggle right now but it is going to be alright. Well I got ready for the service and it was a very laid back memorial service but God was there. now my heart at the start was still kind of down but as I got to start things my spirit started to get pretty fired up. it was a real neat service and as all preachers I was blessed to get to share about God's word and his grace and salvation. people shared great stories and we had a good time....so I had to say to the Father on the way home....Thank You for allowing me to do Gene's service....are there things in your life where you need to say thanks. A frined of mine made me some really neat stickers for my truck window with the cowboy neeling at the cross and underneath the picture the line says "don't forget to say Thank you" right there in my face, rear view mirror hang out there for all to see...DUH!!!!!!!... Thank You Lord, Amen

A COUPLE OF WEEKS

The last couple of weeks have been very busy for me and the family. two weeks ago the girls went to camp for one more time this summer. then we picked them up and went to a fifty year wedding celebration for Dan and Joann Davis at Hope Chapel in Austin. Dan was the pastor of Hope Chapel several years ago and he married Sally and me way back in 1982. It was great to see lots of old friends that we hadn't seen in a long, long time. Then we loaded up and went on vacation to Cancun Mexico. It was great to be gone but getting home was nice to. the girls have started school now.
the service the Sunday before we left Kit Patterson and his son Kit Russell and daughter Emma made pancakes for us at Luckenbach. It was an awesome time and we had a real neat service after the great breakfast. Want to say thanks to the Patterson family for such a great blessing.

A Phone Call

Last week on Thursday morning I was sitting at my desk at work and my phone rang...that is not an odd thing to happen. the person on the other end of the phone asked if this was Joe Brown and i said that yes it was. Then they asked if I knew who this was....i said that this sounds like my Aunt Teen....i guessed correctly...now she doesn't usually call me at work so I was concerned. she and my uncle have gone through some tough heath problems the last couple of years but God has answered so many prayers for them....i asked what was wrong....you know the feeling..take a deep breath....heart sinking to the floor,...beating much faster than it was a minute ago. She said all was ok and that they got a good rain and my uncle shut down his wells and they came down to Fredericksburg for a couple of days....had a real good visit with them that evening. I got to thinking which can be a real dangerous thing in my case and I was wandering why when we get an unexpected call we immediately think the worst...she could have just been calling to say hi, she loved me and my family or something special. As believers in Christ we can often get the same feelings when a preacher or friend starts to read our mail...the idea is that this has to hurt for me to grow in him....well to that i want to say...BULL...you see even God can send us his children words of encouragement, words of love, words of caring and he never goes back on those words. You see God can also give us words of correction but he never does it with loud embarassing yells, screams, and temper tantrums. he might take us out to the wood shed but we are the only ones who know about it unless we tell others around us you know folks that we trust to keep our words in confidence but to also hold our feet to the fire if we start acting goofy again. Must we always look at the dark side of what is going on in our lives....there is usually a brighter side if we just poke around alittle bit.
Another quick thought about things we hear. Last week on Sunday morning during praise and worship one of the men at church walked up to me and asked me to pray for him. He told me that the week before he had some cancer removed and he was waiting to get the biopsy report back. Well we prayed for him and then before my pastor got up to share we prayed again. well this last Sunday morning I went up to him and asked if he got his report back. he said yes and grinned great big and said it was a GOOD REPORT.....FREE OF CANCER.....NOW THAT IS A REASON TO SHOUT!!!!!!!!! I read from the Psalms Sunday morning about the Lord's SHOUT but we to need to shout every once in awhile....SO SHOUT UNTO GOD WITH A VOICE OF TRIUMPH,,,,LETS GIVE IT A TRY AND SEE IF WE SEE THE GOOD SIDE MORE OFTEN THAT THE BAD SIDE.......BLESSINGS JOE

KIND WORDS

My pastor's daughter has one of the funniest blogs that I have ever read. She is also probably one of the few people who read my ramblings or at least leave a comment about my ramblings. If you ever get a chance go to http://blogglingbrooks.blogspot.com/ and read her great stuff. Sarah is a wonderful young lady I guess that I have had the pleasure of knowing her for 20 years of her life....now as she shares about Bella, Buddy and Hoss and N (her husband) I am blessed by them. Sarah, just want to say thanks for the "kind words" you are truly a gift from God. Thanks, Joe

FEW WORDS

Well it has been almost a month since I last put some thoughts down here it just seems that everything that has taken place is just for my family and me. I pray that if you read this blog you can understand. My wife has told me that a couple of times lately when I have shared at church that I might have shared some to close to the family stuff. As i think about it I am sure that she was correct. Well we had our service at Luckenbach yesterday morning and we were blessed by having Debbie Hadaway there to share some music with us. In a short note I want to say thanks to the wonderful people that have been such a blessing to this preacher over the last five or six years. I am truly a blessed man. blessed by my wonderful family, my friends at Luckenbach, friends from all over the place that I have been honored to meet and walk beside, pastors who have seen things in me that i have never seen....just sort of a introsepective look from my heart today.....BLESSINGS

NEXT SERVICE

OUR NEXT OUTRIDER SERVICE WILL BE THIS NEXT SUNDAY MORNING JULY 13, 2008 AT 8:30 A.M. AT LUCKENBACH. ANY QUESTIONS CALL 830/456-3450. BLESSINGS, JOE

FATHER'S DAY

This last Sunday was Father's day and mine was very special. one of our daughters got hme Saturday night from a work project in Pittsburgh, PA. Our other daughter is working as a Team Servant at a camp on Lake Travis for a couple of weeks. After church we picked her up and we went to Austin and had lunch and did some shopping....you say that isn't such a great Father's day...i would have to disagree...I got to spend some wonderful time with my girls and see them blessed by the things we did....that was what I wanted to do on Father's day. I pray that all you dads had a wonderful day. Several years ago i wrote a poem about my biological father and the fact that I never knew him...he left before I was born. years later I got a box of his things from my Aunt and i was blown away by the things in the box. He was a man who had served in WW 2 and served in Germany and had won a purple heart and a Silver Star....maybe as I was growing up I didn't think much of the man but I found out that there was some real neat things that had happened in his life and at times I wish I had been one of those neat things. Dads I encourage you to be there for your kids. I would also like to let you read what I wrote the first Father's day after I got the box of things.

The Father I never knew

The man who gave me life is a father I never knew,
As the day of birth came close away he flew.
Not sure of the reason of why or when,
What had I done to him?
Another man stepped in to his place
When I think of dad I see his face,
Things might not have been all fixed and right,
But he tried to be my dad with all his might,
As I got older from that man I rebelled,
Almost made his life a living hell,
In beer and pride we grew far apart,
Later God gave us a brand new start,
As my twenty first birthday drew near
The voice of another father I started to hear,
God the father started to speak to my heart,
Told me that he had been there from the start,
He also swore he would never depart,
Well now as I close in on my fiftieth year,
He is still so very close and so near,
In a box of things I will hold dear,
I also found out something of the father I never knew
Not a whole lot just a few,
His mom and dad thought I was pretty neat,
In heaven I pray we will get to meet,
The man that gave me life wasn’t as bad as I thought,
Medals proved that for his country he valiantly fought,
A smart man he was from his army record I learned,
New feelings in my heart grew for the man to know I yearned
He is gone to heaven I pray,

Now there was a man who came into my life and married my mom and adopted me and was my Dad that I knew and was a good man and I probably will never know what I owe to him till I get to heaven and Share with him.
Keep the Faith,
Joe

Passed Out or Prayed Up!!!!!

This last weekend I was blessed to make a crazy trip into Mexico with a friend. Going in was not to bad we had a load of lumber for one of his building projects at one of the villages but after that was dropped off.......it was like the Baja 1000 with a one ton truck and a 16 foot trailer behind. I know curtis knows these roads and drives them often but i only ride with him every year or two....I was not prepared for the trip home....Sunday morning as I was preparing to pray over our service at Journey church I said that if you go to Mexico with Curtis be prepared to either pass out or pray up....Sara got a great laugh out of that statement. you can either pass out and miss the blessings that the Father has to show you or allow you to share or you just pray and watch a truck and trailer go places they shouldn't...but you are safe and sound and back home. I don't have to think real hard about which of these paths Jesus would take. Are you willing to take a chance when the Father calls you into the desert to minister to a needy people. It may not be Mexico....it could be Fredericksburg, Tx......Austin, TX...or some far away place. will you say YES or pass out. Since I got back from Mexico Saturday night I have been a bundle of emotions...I was the one that was blessed by these wonderful people and all I had to do was to ride along with Curtis. THANK YOU FATHER FOR A BLESSING IN DISGUISE!!!!!!

DRINK, STEAL, SWEAR & LIE

Walt Perryman is a gifted poet from the Luckenbach area and he sent me a really neat email over the weekend that I just have to post here:


DRINK, STEAL, SWEAR & LIE

I met this guy while I was in Albuquerque and he has a motto he lives by everyday. He said listen carefully and live by these 4 rules : Drink, Steal, Swear, & Lie.I was shaking my head 'no', but he then told me to listen while he explained his four rules. So here they are :
1. 'Drink' from the 'everlasting cup' every day.
2. 'Steal' a moment to help someone that is in worse shape than you are.
3. 'Swear' that you will be a better person today than yesterday.
4. And last, but not least, when you 'lie' down at night thank God you live in America and have freedom.I am not as good as I should be, I am not as good as I could be .
; but THANK GOD I am better than I used to be!
Amen!_________________________________________________________________

GOD KNOWS ALL ABOUT YOU!!!!!

Yesterday was a very interesting day as we had a small service at Luckenbach, it was a blessed time. The Father had laid the scripture of Jeremiah 1:4-5 it says "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations that's what I had in mind for you."(The Message)

Just a short note about this mind blowing idea. each one of us is a unique one of a kind person and God the creator of all things knew you before you were even a gleem in your daddy's eye. he had to create you, so you could be here to touch the lives of folks that you interact with right now!!!!! later on in Jeremiah the bible also says that the Lord knows the plans that he has for us plans for good and not for bad.....what an awesome idea.....chew on that for a couple of days.
blessings, Joe

JUNE SERVICE

OUR NEXT SERVICE IS THIS COMING SUNDAY MORNIG AT 8:30 A.M. AT THE GREAT PLACE OF LUCKENBACH TEXAS.

Strength

I love you, Lord; you are my strength.--Psalm 18:1, NLT

This was my daily bible verse on the computer this morning...don't really need to say much more than that.blessings, joe

MY HOW THEY GROW UP!!!!!!

My, my, my it seems like they were just a baby last week. My oldest daughter went to her first prom this last weekend with one of her friends as a proud dad i just had to brag. yes for those of you who know i cried...not to much couldn't embarass her to much.

UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS & HEARTBREAKS

Having just worked two real long days due to the bad weather here in central Texas I am finally getting to sit down and put some thoughts on here again...you know we all have our real jobs and then we have things that we play at. i guess being a minister and church is one of the greatest things i could ever do but just taking care of the coops business and outages is my "real" job. I think that tonight is hopefully going to be a quite one around the Brown household. When things have been real busy you know how just a small thing can really make your day. This morning i checked my email and i had an email from Jeff Davis. his dad is the pastor that married Sally and me back 26 years ago. Jeff was letting us know about his folks 50th wedding anniversary in August....but you talk about bringing back memories from so many years ago...before marriage, before kids, before Fredericksburg.....wow. It was such a great blessing to hear from him. if you have somebody on your heart and they may need something to lift them out of the tough place...CALL...EMAIL....TEXT....THEM....you may be a lifeline sent from heaven. Thanks
Jeff.
A couple of years ago our church lost one of our elders and one of our dearest friends in this world in a motorcycle accident. Michael was a person that was always there for friends and family and right after we lost him I wrote a poem about being loyal and I would like to add it here just in honor of my friend...Michael we bless you
Fiercely Loyal

They stood around the table that day and their allegiance did swear,
This is where we belong and we will not leave, not even on a dare.
The first left with in a week I believe,
Most of the rest moved away or sort of floated out to sea.
But there were a group of men, who stood their ground,
When the battle came they could still be found,
From the fray they would not run or stray,
They stood beside their leader each and every day,
He led them into places most would fear to tread,
Places of trouble, danger and dread.
For many years they had walked stride for stride,
Their love and care for each other they could not hide,
Then came the time one of the best was gone
In the blink of an eye his life was done,
Now with the Father above he stands,
One of the heavenly warrior band,
The leader spoke of a man, who was loyal and true,
Walked a path that would put most to shame.
Now as we bid our friend a final adieu,
I wander if the same could be said of me and you,
Will we be the one who stands beside our leader through thick and thin,
Will we be one of the mighty men,
Will the leader speak of us as a faithful friend,
Will we be fiercely loyal to the very end,
You have a choice in covenant to stay,
No matter what men might say,
Yes no matter how hard the work and toil,
May we always be found like Michael, fiercely loyal!!!!!!!!!
Amen


Written 5/22/06
AMEN, JOE

Stand Strong

Hudson Taylor was probably one of the greatest missionaries of his time and i read one of his quotes the other day that made me think real hard. he said "At the timberline where storms strike with the most fury, the sturdiest trees are found. as i sat there and pondered that awesome quote i thought of several men that i know are on the front lines of what the Father is doing in this world. They have touched and are touching lives around the world and sending out followers who are just as fired up over the gospel as these men have been for years...there however are men who are not known world wide that are doing just as great a job on the front lines as these great Apostles....think about the Pastors that oversee the churches that we attend or the folks who lead the Friday night bible study in their apartment building, the young mother and father who are raising their kids in the way of the Lord. i think on these things and i know that we all think that we can do it just as well as the next guy...but where are we standing....have we been tried by the storms or are we just getting drizzled on. i think back a couple of weeks ago and my pastor and his wife were out of town and i was blessed to try to fill his shoes that morning....that will never happen,...why...because he is who he is and i am what's i am as Popeye would say. Michael is a great teacher..he loves to dig and search the word for all of its special meanings, he studies the Greek and Hebrew to find out exactly how a verse should be translated, he takes meticulous notes....i have tried to copy him...but in my case that just doesn't work...my notes are sloppy, short and given to just a couple of thoughts and verses that i want to bring out. i have seen my pastor standing on the top of the mountain and being pressured by some pretty tough storms over the last twenty years and i see him standing stronger, more solid but maybe alittle more weathered over the years...he has show me the heart of a great warrior. Many men would love to be a John Hagee, Bishop T. D. Jakes...you can fill in the names that come to your heart but you are you and they are who they are. we all have to take up roots somewhere during the storms that rage in our lives...are we going to be the stable tree or the weeping willow. there is a scripture in Ephesians that talks about when have done all....stand.
it is talking about having on the armor of God and when the storms come having done all you can do STAND...to stand firmly in your place, to hold your ground...if you happen to read this and you are going through some tough times i encourage you to stand.
Blessings, Joe

NEXT SERVICE

OUR NEXT SERVICE WILL BE ON SUNDAY MAY 18, 2008 AT 8:30 A.M.
ANY QUESTIONS CALL 830/456-3450

Writing Stuff

This seems to be a busy week as it goes by and really nothing has been accomplished this week as far as I am concerned. I spent one evening visitng out at Luckenbach and that was a really laid back time. Somefolks know that I like to write poems every once in a while...i try but I am not near as good as Walt Perryman from Luckenbach or Pete Davis from Junction but I try. thought i might just share one with you to see what you think about them...well here goes.

THE COST
BY JOE BROWN

GOD’S LOVE IS AN AWESOME THING,
KIND OF MAKES US ALL WANT TO SING,
YET IN THE BACK OF OUR MIND,
THERE ‘S A GNAWING QUESTION, AN ANSWER TO FIND
JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS FOR ALL OF US,
HE REALLY DIDN’T MAKE A GREAT BIG FUSS,
THE SINLESS ONE CAME FROM GLORY AND GRACE,
TOOK ON ALL OUR SIN DIED IN OUR PLACE,
HIS FATHER ABOVE HAD TO TURN HIS FACE AWAY,
SO THAT CHRIST COULD GO TO HELL FOR US THAT DAY,
HE WENT THERE THE FINAL SACRIFICE TO MAKE,
SO THAT THE DEVIL OUR SOUL WON’T TAKE,
WELL CHRIST BEAT THE DEVIL AT HIS OWN GAME,
SAVED OUR BUTTS FROM THE FLAME
HE TOOK AWAY THE STING OF DEATH THAT DAY,
KICKED WIDE THE GATES AND LED THE SAINTS OUT HORAY!
NO MORE SACRIFICES NOW NEED TO BE MADE,
BUT HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF THE PRICE HE PAID,
HE GAVE HIS ALL THAT IS SO EASY TO SEE,
AND YET WE DARE ASK WHAT DID HE DO FOR ME,
WELL FOR SIN DEATH IS PRICE PAID FOR THE LOST,
YES HE PAID FOR US THE ULTIMATE COST!
AMEN

Blessings, Joe

FITTING IN

It seems that one of our goals in life is to "fit in". Over the last few years as I have gone to Luckenbach to minister I have wanted to fit in...not by drinking too much or doing things that would make people ask is this man really a minister. Well one thing that always sticks out is that I usually have a soda water usually a coke in the can in my hand instead of something stronger....the other day one of my friends out there took care of that for me...you see they now have a bottled root beer out there and it looks just like a long neck bottle...in fact unless you read the label you wouldn't know the difference. Danny got me one of those designer root beers and brought it over to the table. i thought one person was going to have a fit cause i had a bottle sitting in front of me...he laughed so hard when he found out it was a beer....root beer that is....so i fit in....is it a good thing or a bad thing i am not sure of yet...would hate to steer somebody into a wrong thought of who i am. I have been blessed to be able to go to Luckenbach and meet and make friends of so many people...you see ole' Hondo had it right...everybody can be a special somebody at Luckenbach, Tx. To show how neat it can be the same day i am talking about there was a couple from Lousiana there and they were talking to Danny Terry one of the pickers at Luckenbach and they wound up knowing lots of the same people...you see Danny is from Mississippi and not far from where these folks are from. Well there was another couple there who had ridden their bike in to town and were sitting at a table....the guy wound up working at a motor cycle shop with the lady's brother....this is somthing that happens out there all the time.
AIN'T IT AMAZING. Be Blessed, Joe

Another Thought

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. --Psalm 37:23, NLT. So many times we in our minds think does the God that created all of this that we know, live in and see really care about me. the bible says that the Father above knows how many hairs are on your head...as i get older they are easier to count but think about it....the hairs on your head. if he didn't care what shape would we really be in? i know that as we look at the world around us and the gas prices going through the roof, wars, police actions, you can fill the next couple of ideas in but the God that made it all is still in controll. we must come to the true reality of how awesome our God really is...without him and his controll i believe this world, universe etc. as we know it would have spun out into space along time ago with out him...the word also says in everything give thanks for this is the will of the Father concerning you in Christ Jesus...i ask you to breath a special word of thanks to God today and just say thanks for all we really have and what he protects us from. Blessings, Joe

THOUGHTS FOR A DAY

This seems to be one of those days that I regret getting out of the sack....eyes are watering, head not feeling to great and the phone at work seems to be ringing off the wall with all sorts of crazy questions and people. This last Sunday at church I asked folks about what kind of a report would they be...good...bad..or indifferent...well today I am having to ask myself that question not just once but several times and it is only 10:30 in the morning. I encouraged folks to have a good report in things and i am working real hard to make my report today a good one. You see no matter what you go through there is always...ALWAYS....A BRIGHTER SIDE TO THE STORY!
I have allergy medicine that is starting to kick in, the phone calls have all been able to be managed or sent to the correct people to take care of the question. So things are not as bad as they seemed at first...sometimes we go through a short storm to get to the quiet safe waters that the Father leads us to and by. so may our reports be good and our hope in the Father above.
Blessings, Joe

First Baptism at Luckenbach, Texas

On Sunday morning April 13, 2008 we had a first take place at one of our services at Luckenbach. We had the honor of baptising one of our dear friends Terry. It was an honor that will go into my memory files for a long time.

Next Service

Our Sunday service will be this coming Sunday morning April 13, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. We will have a short message, some praise and worship and communion. All are welcome.

What we are about

Outriders for Christ is an outreach of Journey Church in Fredericksburg, Texas. We meet at Luckenbach, Texas about once a month. That is the same great place that Waylon and Willie made famous in song. We are there to minister some wonderful people that make this there home away from home. As I was sitting out there last night talking to a friend she pointed out that we were in the perfect place because the fields are so ripe. I realized just how true that statement is. would ask you to pray for us as we continue touching lives for the Father.
Blessings, Joe