Glidden update 1-30-09

I was just thinking how even though the holidays are past, we NEVER stop celebrating and rejoicing that Jesus our Savior and Redeemer has come to us!!!

We made a trip to Alamogordo at Christmas to be with family this year. Mary thought she would get to warm up for a few days. :>) I guess the cold weather and snow followed us down there.

Then on the 7th of January we headed to Phoenix. on the way we stopped in Bosque Farms,N.M. to visit a friend of mine from grade school and his family. (there is quite a story behind this) This is our annual trip to Phx. as we for the last 9 years have attended the Cross Style Conference there. But this year we were also blessed to get to celebrate my parents 60th wedding anniversary!

We detoured to Alamogordo on the way back as Mary's grandmother was getting very close to passing from this life to the best life. Mary,sister Kathy, brothers John & Jim, & mom left for Texas to be with family & attend the funeral.

Bill's sister Jan, Husband Dave, Mom and Dad and us at 60th

Between trips I made sure I was here for 1 Wednesday Bible study at the prison since I would be gone the next 2 Wednesdays. Last week the question came up "can we really live as Jesus did and taught us to live, as Paul lived and the disciples lived?" There are 2 ways to respond here. I can answer a resounding YES when it is "Christ in you". Or we can look at and talk about what the Bible says & let you come to a conclusion. Both responses seemed appropriate here as I never know whether I will ever see some of these guys again on this earth. But my main emphasis was on let's look at the Bible and you tell me what the answer is. YOU take the words of Jesus, Peter & Paul & let the Holy Spirit kneed those into your heart & then YOU conclude the answer. My prayer is that God will use me as a catalyst to stimulate the discovery of the TRUTH.

Aguilar Coffee and Chat Time

Continue to pray with us for the town of Aguilar. More and more the conversation over a cup of coffee turns to Jesus. Last week I was privileged to talk to a woman, who has been reading "Da Vinci Code" type stuff, about Jesus. This week another man expressed interest in a Bible study. We are hoping to start a study very soon!


Thanks to the Myers, Mary made it back home. Joe stayed with us for several days. We only got We only got to give him a small glimpse of what God is up to here as we kept him busy helping me blow in 12" of much needed insulation in our home. I can't thank him enough for his generosity of time, & servants heart in this help.

To show our appreciation we took him to a "Chile Cook Off" at a church in Pueblo. He left here still breathing fire.


While at the Chili cookoff we got to spend a little time with our Regional director and wife Stan and Jan Spiess. Please continue to pray for Stan as he deals with chemo treatments and an upcoming PET Scan.

Sunday we had a dinner and invited all the pastors and those in ministry plus their spouses for a time of food, fellowship, and prayer. It ended up being a small gathering of 7 but we are trusting that it will be a beginning of living out the call "that they will know we are His disciples by our love for one another" John 13:35

We pray for you that you will be blessed & a huge blessing to those God puts in your path!

Come see!

Bill & Mary

PS - for those of you not familiar with blogging you can click on the little tab right below here that says comments and leave us a comment, prayer request, question or just say hi and let us know you were here! Would love to hear from you!

PICTURE TOUR -White Rock, CO

We live in a beautiful state! It is fun to take pictures of the different places we travel and I thought it would be fun for you to travel along with us via pictures! We won't say alot along the way just let you soak in God's beauty and some funny or interesting things we see along the way.

You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Our first stop is White Rock, Colorado

Old Coal Mining Town

THis is one of many old coal mining towns that you can see in the area. This particular one is about 5 miles south of Walsenburg- click on photos to enlarge

Christmas Letter

And He said to them, “Follow Me (or come here after Me), and I will make you fishers of men.” Matt. 4:19. I think an amplified paraphrase might say it like this- Run hard after Me in a singular, passionate pursuit. Come close in proximity and intimacy with Me, so that ALL of your choices, thoughts, and responses in life come from Me. Then you will catch men. You will catch them off guard, you will catch them by surprise, you will catch them wanting this for themselves.

As Phillip and I walked toward the last locked gate, that on that night only I could go through, he told me good night and goodbye as he was to be released on Tuesday. I challenged him to seek Him, desperately seek Him. Seek Him for your every breath, your every decision, your every choice, your every response. Let Jesus BE your every thought and movement. Oh how I wished for more time with Phillip. You see a few weeks before, Phillip had asked me, “So are you trying to tell me that my physical life and my spiritual life intersect, that they overlap?” I stepped up close and looked him in the eye and asked. “Can you take even a breath on your own?” “Can you make it to work on time without Him?” “Can you make the right choices all the time unless it is Jesus flowing through you?” Pray for Phillip and pray that he will find a man to continue mentoring him and hold him accountable. Pray for those in the prison Bible study.

On Dec. 7 we had 17 graduate from another Financial Peace University class. What a joy it is to see people begin finding the joy and peace of handling our finances as stewards and following the plan and design of the Father.

Mary and I recently spent 16 hours over 2 Fridays going through Hospice training to be spiritual care volunteers. This area has had one volunteer and at times run him pretty thin. We are looking forward to having the opportunities to talk to some of the clients and sometimes their families about God’s plan for them and His desire to redeem them; with others it will be a time of rejoicing with them.

In Aguilar we have been pleased with the “Coffee & Chat Time”. It is a good time of getting to know some in the community & about the community. We have also been able to meet some as we go around handing out surplus bread. Mary has taken some meals to the elderly that are having a hard time caring for themselves. We want the people of this little town to know we care and by that to see that Jesus cares.

Thanksgiving found us sharing our table with (from l-r) Gilbert, from Aguilar, Ray who has been living with us for about 6weeks, Bill Biss, Bill, and Wendy our neighbor. Mary treated us to a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixins and a lot of love mixed into every part of this day. She has a special way of making everyone feel welcome and special in our home.

In the past couple of days our home has taken on the appearance of celebrating! Thanks to Mary’s wonderful decorating gift, we have a heightened level for celebrating “the Gift”, His Son, our provision for salvation and the power living in us.
“And when they saw the star, they REJOICED exceedingly with great joy.” Matt.2:10

SNOW!

Dear praying friends,
I can’t believe it has been a month since my last update to you. Winter is showing itself here lately. This means it is back to shoveling snow for several elderly and a friend who had knee surgery recently. We are enjoying our wood burning stove after gagging on $500+ gas bills last winter and not being warm. In working on cutting our wood supply for the winter, I have had opportunity to spend time with a couple other guys as we work on getting them some wood too.

Our Tuesday last week found us surprising many, in Aguilar, that we would plow through the snow to bring them bread and other commodities. We so desire them to see Jesus and to know that He desires to give them the bread of life.
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Wednesday night, as I was unloading my pockets so that I could pass through security without setting off the bells and sirens, the lady correction officer at the front desk asked me “so what makes your Bible study different than the other Bible studies”? The opportunities God gives us sometimes just amaze me! My answer- “I don’t really know what is taught in the other studies, but in ours we look at what the Bible teaches about and then life application of Jesus living in us. We talk about such intimacy with Jesus that when I am faced with choices He and He alone is my source. We learn to identify our pride, self-centeredness, and idolatry in order to run from them and to Jesus our hope.” I shared this with the guys in the study and there were many smiles and praise God as they told me “you know she’s not a believer”.

The attendance has been down the last couple of weeks as about a ½ dozen have been released. Would you join us in praying for these men as they go back home and around the environment that influenced them? Pray that they will constantly and desperately seek Jesus for all their answers and choices.

Building relationships is a big step here to getting to talk to people about Jesus. I have been building relationship with Simon this last year. Sometimes I wouldn’t see him for awhile.. But the week before Thanksgiving he found me to ask me to feed his horses for about 2 ½ weeks. The guy who was supposed to left town, and Simon remembered that I have told him numerous times that any time he needs help to please give me a call. :^)

Mary had a Christmas dinner for some ladies last Wednesday while I was in Prison. She is having another dinner this Wednesday with the desire to start up a Bible Study with those who have interest after the 1st of the year.

We look with great anticipation to the work that God is beginning, knowing that He will continue to completion what He starts.

REJOICING in HIM,
Bill & Mary

Steam Locomotive

Steam locomotive that comes through the town of La Veta, Colorado

This week will end with us celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary. Mary must be the most patient and tolerating person on this earth.

Last Friday & this Friday have been spent in training as Hospice spiritual care volunteers. There has been 1 pastor covering many square miles of southern Colorado by himself in this ministry. So we hope to give him some relief. Here we find ourselves again in something totally new to us. What an exciting thought to have the opportunity to bring Jesus and his desire to redeem, to people in their final days on this earth. With others it will be a time of rejoicing with them as they journey towards that long awaited homecoming.

Wednesday I received a long awaited call telling me I could go back into the prison, as they had been on lock down for 2 weeks. We had some great learning and praise time in both the morning & evening. During the Bible study we focused on the prodigal (wasteful, lavish, extravagant) love of the Father for us, Luke 15:11-32. This is very difficult for many of these guysto wrap their hearts around. Their backgrounds give them little to relate this to.

The evening ended with very mixed emotions as one of my “brothers” told me goodbye & thanked me for coming & giving to him. He will be released on Tuesday. Pray for Phillip & his wife. I know a great Pastor where Phillip lives & have contacted him, praying they will get together.

Continue to pray for the family staying with us, that God will provide the right job & also reveal His great design & desire for their lives,compelling them to seek Him in every area of their lives.

Update on our regional director; Stan was diagnosed with colon cancer & is going through chemotherapy treatments. Pray for Stan & Jan & for the new people God has brought into their lives as they share the truth of Jesus with them.

At the Cross,
Bill & Mary

Psalms 42:1