Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to just say Happy Thanksgiving from the Good News Bus!

I hope that all of you out there have something good to be thankful for.

As I sit here writing this I had no real plan but to just say Happy Thanksgiving....but I must take it a step further and tell you all, just some of the many things that I am personally thankfully for.

Turkey Fresh Baked in Our Gas Stove in the Good News Bus


The Lord has blessed me with a great wife who (makes a great Thanksgiving Dinner) loves and respects me (that is huge), I am thankful for 6 (yes 6) beautiful children.  I can hear what your thinking; "No wonder he needs a bus!" Most of all I am thankful that in 1996 I met the Lord in a very real way.  Allow me to just share briefly about  that experience.

I will try to keep this very abbreviated:

I was raised in a religious home and although we attended church regularly it always felt (without knowing it) that I was going through some kind of religious motion.  I wasn't doing it because I wanted to but because I thought that is just what I was supposed to do.  When I reached my teen years I was a bit tired and bored with church.  When I did read my Bible I noticed that there was always amazing things surrounding God and so much Life when people interacted with Jesus.

One of my favorite parts to read was 1 Kings 19 when Elijah flees for his life.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

So many times we expect God to speak in this loud thundering voice, but so many times He speaks in just a whisper and half the time we don't want to listen to what He is saying. 

I also remember reading the stories about Jesus.  There was always life surrounding Him.  Think about it.  The Blind left seeing, the crippled left walking, the deaf left hearing, the broken hearten left whole, the dead left living.  I remember asking myself as a young 17 year old; "Where is THIS God in my church?"  Where is this kind of life in my church?  When I was 18 an acquaintance of mine invited me to a different church where he had met the Lord in a very real way.  I remember standing out in front of the church before the service started and I prayed a simple prayer; "God if you are here for some reason, please, I want to know you.  I don't just want to read about you, I want to experience you.  I am sick of religion, I want a real relationship with you."  I know that sounds so simple but all I can say is that night my life changed from the inside out because I was willing to allow Him to do it.  God took my heart and made it new.  My desires and focus changed.  After that I was able to attend a mission trip to Germany where I saw the Lord not only do more in my life, but so much in other peoples lives.  Many Many young people came to know the Lord in such a real and powerful way so much so that they gave up many things to follow the Lord.  That first trip was the first of many.  I was able to go on more trips to Switzerland, France, Holland, Italy, England and finally Canada where I met my wife!

We have been married almost 11 years now and still love the Lord, each other and our six children.

We have so much to be thankful for today.  We hope you do too!

God Bless from The Good News Bus!
  

5 comments:

Sfaith said...

When I found your video on YouTube, I thought you might be a brother in Christ. After all, who else would name their vehicle the Good News Bus?

All I can say after reading this is what a powerful testimony!

May the Lord continue to bless you and your family.

Bus Project said...

Thank you very much!

TRATONE said...

I bought a 96 ward senator fe and am in the process of installing the rv door, but want to say that I like the way you did the interior what type of wood did you use

Bus Project said...

The paneling is oak plywood and the trim is pine.

The Mama said...

Awesome testimony! And what size and brand of oven do you have?