Tributary to Columbia

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: THAD JONES

Sent: Sat, February 15, 2003 8:33:31 AM
Subject: Re: The Captain of Columbia

It's always encouraging to hear testimony of God's hand in action. Thank you.

----- Original Message -----

From:

To: Thad & Nina

Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 5:00 PM

Subject: FW: The Captain of Columbia

THAD- I'M NOT SURE THIS WILL MAKE IT INTO THE GENERAL MEDIA COVERAGE.

----- Original Message -----

Sent: 2/11/2003 1:54:48 PM

Subject: The Captain of Columbia

In a message dated 2/10/03 6:47:42 PM Pacific Standard Time, ____________ writes:

I had the privilege of attending a Steve Green concert on the night of

Feb.1, just 12 hours after the loss of Columbia and her crew of

seven.

What a surprise to learn that Steve Green (a Christian artist) was a

close friend of Rick Husband's, the astronaut who was selected to be

captain for this mission. Their friendship began a number of years ago

when Rick and his wife stood in line to meet Steve after a concert in

Houston. As Rick told Steve how much he enjoyed his music, Rick's wife

whispered to Steve that Rick was an astronaut. Steve said he (Steve)

made a big deal about that and soon the people were lined up to ask

Rick for an autograph instead of Steve! Thus, their friendship began.



Steve was in attendance for Rick's first shuttle la! unch several years

ago and was also in attendance for this launch. He sang both times at

pre-launch receptions. He said the reception for the Columbia launch

was very Christ-honoring, and that there were many unbelievers in

attendance. Steve described Rick as a quiet, unassuming man who was,

however, very vocal about his faith. He said Rick did not miss an

opportunity to give glory to God and mentioned that when Mission

Control said it was a beautiful day for a launch, Rick responded with,

"The Lord has given us a perfect day!" A suit technician shared the

following story with Steve. He said that after the astronauts suit up

they walk down a hallway and then open a door to "face the press!"

Rick stopped the crew before they opened the door and said he wanted to

pray for them. Later the technicians talked about this and one said

that in all his! years he had never heard of a captain praying for and

with his crew.



The spouses of the crew each get to pick a song for them to wake up to

one of the mornings they're in space. Rick's wife selected "God of

Wonders" by Steve Green. Steve played a tape for us of Rick

communicating with Mission Control after the song was played. The

conversation went something like this: Mission Control - "Good

morning. That song was for Rick. It was 'God of Wonders' by Steve

Green." Rick - "Good morning. Thank you. We can really appreciate

the lyrics of that song up here. We look out the window and see that

God truly is a God of wonders!" (Unfortunately, we probably won't hear

that one on the news.) Steve also shared part of an e-mail he received

from Rick, transmitted from outer space! Did you know that was

possible? I did! n't! Anyway, Rick wrote about how overwhelming it was

to see God's vast creation from space. He said he had never cried

while exercising before, but peddling on the bike and looking out the

window at God's incredible creation brought tears to his eyes.



Steve also shared that he had been in Texas for a concert about a week

before coming here. While there, Steve and his "crew" spent the day

with Rick's wife, Evelyn, and their two children and also Mike

Anderson's family. Mike was also aboard Columbia. During the concert

that evening, Steve had the two women stand and he asked the audience

to pray with him for these women while their husbands were in space.

It was encouraging to hear Steve say that there were at least three

astronauts (including Rick and Mike) aboard the Columbia who were

believers in Jesus.



It was a moving concert and a welc! ome surprise to learn all these

things. What a blessing to know that at least three of these

astronauts loved Jesus! Steve did not name the third person or mention

if there was a family left behind. But two of the families, at least,

will be relying on God to carry them through this and will have

opportunity to share God's love with families/friends of the other

astronauts. Steve mentioned that before President Bush talked to the

families, they had formed a circle and were praying.



Steve was even able to share with us pictures of Rick at different

stages of his life, his career and family. He and Rick's wife had put

this together to be set to one of Steve's songs. They had done it

awhile back for some special event. Steve had it with him and shared

it with us. He also gave us all a challenge from Rick's life. He said

that as! tronauts lead extremely busy lives, and he (Steve) had been

impressed with Rick's commitment to discipling his two children. Steve

asked us to think about if our lives were to end tomorrow and there

would be no more opportunity for us to disciple our kids. Would we be

happy with what we had done, or would we have regrets?



I'm guessing, from the pictures Steve showed, that Rick's son was

around 5 years old and his daughter 10. I may be off, but that gives

you an idea. They certainly are not close to adulthood. Rick made 34

devotionals, by video, before he left on the Columbia. There were 17

for his daughter and 17 for his son, one for each day he was to be

gone. So each day his daughter and son had their own "devotion with

Dad" by video. What treasures they will be to his children! Thank

you, God, for leading Rick to do that!


Well, I think I've given you every bit of information Steve gave us.

It was certainly an encouragement and comfort to hear these things. I

wanted to pass it on to bless others and to help you know how to pray

for these families in the days ahead. God IS at work in His world! To

Him belongs all glory!

Thanks for reading. Feel free to pass this along to others.

Singing God's Praise by C.H. Spurgeon
	"And these are the singers . . . they were employed in that work day and night." --1 Chronicles 9:33 Well was it so ordered in the temple that the sacred chant never ceased: for evermore did the singers praise the Lord, whose mercy endureth for ever. As mercy did not cease to rule either by day or by night, so neither did music hush its holy ministry. My heart, there is a lesson sweetly taught to thee in the ceaseless song of Zion's temple, thou too art a constant debtor, and see thou to it that thy gratitude, like charity, never faileth. God's praise is constant in heaven, which is to be thy final dwelling-place, learn thou to practise the eternal hallelujah. Around the earth as the sun scatters his light, his beams awaken grateful believers to tune their morning hymn, so that by the priesthood of the saints perpetual praise is kept up at all hours, they swathe our globe in a mantle of thanksgiving, and girdle it with a golden belt of song. The Lord always deserves to be praised for what He is in Himself, for His works of creation and providence, for His goodness towards His creatures, and especially for the transcendent act of redemption, and all the marvellous blessing flowing therefrom. It is always beneficial to praise the Lord; it cheers the day and brightens the night; it lightens toil and softens sorrow; and over earthly gladness it sheds a sanctifying radiance which makes it less liable to blind us with its glare.Have we not something to sing about at this moment? Can we not weave a song out of our present joys, or our past deliverances, or our future hopes? Earth yields her summer fruits: the hay is housed, the golden grain invites the sickle, and the sun tarrying long to shine upon a fruitful earth, shortens the interval of shade that we may lengthen the hours of devout worship. By the love of Jesus, let us be stirred up to close the day with a psalm of sanctified gladness.

The Grandeur of God's love.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

The Lord led me to this blog page because I wanted to comment on a post by Donald W. Mitchell that God used to minister comfort and assurance to me.http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/The presence of His Spirit was so precious, especially at this time, because my circumstances are teetering on the brink of financial catastrophe and all I've got is faith and hope that God will preserve my home and marriage. Bill Keller's devotional was from my long parted son's 18th birthday and included the comforting exhortation to cast my cares on the Lord. Our wall calendar's scripture for today is Matthew 11:28. It's Jesus invitation for the heavy laden to come to Him for rest. When my son was an infant, I flew with him to visit my paternal grandfather, who was dying of cancer. The most memorable part was the flight back from Phoenix, Az. to the San Francisco Bay Area, which took us directly over the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. Mr. Mitchell mentions flying over it twice in his blog. He also mentions Niagara Falls, which also has significance in things that I hope for from the Lord regarding Buffalo,N.Y. and O.J. Simpson's appearance in a prophetic passage in the book of Proverbs, chapter 7. I'm expecting the Lord to pull the curtain back on these revelations and turn American Christians back to Jesus Christ, and away from empty churchianity and the service of mammon. I have suffered much loss at the hands of such false Christians and I have been waiting, not always very patiently, for the Lord to turn my captivity. I can see some pieces moving, but I've been very disappointed when I assumed what would happen. But through it all, God has been working in me, and I must concur that the sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed. I'm seeing His image more clearly in me than I thought possible, although there remains a long way to go. I urge those of you who know what it means to count the cost of following Jesus, and reckon it worthwhile, and who know the pain of loving Him more than life itself. He is worthy and faithful, and though the road be long and harsh, He is with us always, even to the end of the age, and He knows the way that we take. He reminded me of this today. Blessed be His holy name!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005

Bill Keller's Devotional on Freeing Yourself from Your Past
Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning?
I certainly hope so.

I shared the good news about this new
blog with Bill Keller who writes the
Daily Devotional from www.LivePrayer.com/.
He kindly offered to let me repeat his
past devotionals that I thought you might
enjoy.  Here's one of my favorites from
August 18, 2005.

If you are not interested in Christian
messages, you may not wish to read this
entry.  But if you want to hear an
inspiring devotional, please do read on.

Bill Keller's devotional begins here:

YOU can be free from your past,TODAY!  This
message applies to every single person who
is reading this right now.  It doesn't
matter how old you are, whether you are a
man or a woman, what your skin color is,
what nationality you are, how much money
you have or don't have, this is a universal
message that is applicable to everyone.
You see, nobody that has lived very long in
this sin-filled and evil world has escaped
the trials and tribulations of this life
and not experienced some sort of pain.
EVERYONE reading this Devotional knows the
pain that comes from time to time during
this journey we are on.

For some, that pain was experienced in your
childhood through mental, physical, or
sexual abuse.  Some have experienced that
pain later in life through failed
relationships, many through being divorced.
Everyone has lived through the pain of the
death of a loved one.  Many of you have
experienced the pain of financial
hardships.  Others have lived through the
pain of losing your job or other employment
and career issues.  Sadly, some have lived
through the experience of being a crime
victim.  Everyone has experienced the pain
from making poor choices at some point in
their life.  Most have had to experience
the pain of some bondage such as alcohol,
drugs, gambling, sex, food, money, shopping,
lying, or a myriad of other bondages that
people get caught up in.

NOT ONE PERSON READING THIS HAS NOT HAD TO
LIVE THROUGH THE PAIN THAT COMES FROM LIVING
THIS LIFE HERE ON EARTH.

Today, I want to share a word with you that
could be one of the most important things
anyone has ever told you.  YOU DO NOT HAVE
TO KEEP LIVING WITH WHATEVER PAIN YOU HAVE
FROM YOUR PAST.  Let me repeat that,
because I really want you to hear these
words clear.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KEEP
LIVING WITH WHATEVER PAIN YOU HAVE FROM
YOUR PAST.  If you are, that is only
because you have CHOSEN to live with that
pain!

The fact is, God has made a way through
faith in His Son for you to put the pain of
your past behind you and live your life in
freedom.  Jesus has told us to give Him our
burdens, that He would carry them for us.
The Bible tells us to cast our cares on Him,
because He cares for us.  You see, God
doesn't expect you to carry the pain of
your past with you each day.  He wants you
to live FREE from your past so that you can
enjoy the abundance that this life has to
offer.

Just hours before going to the cross, Jesus
told His disciples that in this world, they
would experience trials and tribulations.
But He told them to "be of good cheer"
because HE has overcome this world.  You see
my friend, trials and tribulations are part
of this human experience, but God has made
a way through His Son for us to still enjoy
the abundance that this life can offer
despite those trials and tribulations.

The only reason you are carrying the pain
of your past with you today is because you
have chosen to believe the LIE instead of
the TRUTH.  Jesus tells us in John 8:44 that
satan is a liar.  He is the "father of
lies."  When he speaks, he speaks his
native language, lying!  God on the other
hand is TRUTH.  The Word of God is TRUTH.
The lie of satan is that you have to carry
the pain of your past around with you each
day like a 1,000 pound anchor around your
neck.  The truth from God is that you can
take that pain of your past and give it to
Jesus.  HE WILL GLADLY TAKE THAT 1,000
POUND ANCHOR FROM YOU TODAY!!!

I love you and care about you so much.
Everyone reading this Devotional today has
experienced some of the pain that this life
offers.  So many of you have never let go
of that pain and have simply learned how
to live your life each day with that pain.
Because of that, you are missing the
fullness of the joy, peace, and abundance
that this life can offer.  Because of that,
you are not completely fulfilling your
purpose in this life which is to serve and
glorify God with your life.  Because of
that, you are not living in total freedom
and victory each day.

Right now, this very moment, I want you to
stop whatever you are doing.  If you are at
home, at work, at school, it doesn't matter.
Stop whatever you are doing right now and
pray this prayer.

"Dear Father, I thank you for this day.
I know that today was not promised to me,
but it is a gift from You.  Dear God, You
know the pain I have today from what has
happened in my life.  I am tired of
carrying this pain with me day after day.
It is robbing me of my joy, of my peace,
of knowing the abundance that this life can
offer.  I trust Your Word today that tells
me that I can give this burden to You, that
You will take it from me.  I trust Your
Word today that tells me to cast my cares
on You, because You care for me.  In the
name of Jesus, I give You the pain of my
past today.  In the name of Jesus, I
surrender it to You.  Take it from me, and
fill me right now with Your joy, with Your
peace, and let me live from this day
forward in FREEDOM FROM MY PAST!  In Jesus
name I pray, AMEN!"

I will be praying for you today my friend.
God loves you SO MUCH!  He cares about you
SO MUCH!  We live in an evil and sin-filled
world.  Because of that, we all will
experience pain in this life, but God has
made a way so that we do not  have to carry
that pain around with us for the rest of
our days.  He has offered to carry it for
us, to take it from us.  I pray today that
you will trust Him and give Him the pain of
your past and live in FREEDOM from this day
forward!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can
contact me through my personal email at
bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL
SPEND ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die
one day.  At that moment, you will either
spend eternity with the Lord or be cast
into everlasting darkness forever separated
from God your creator.  To know for certain
you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT!  Never
miss receiving your Daily Devotional again.
LPeMail is an effective email SPAM f
iltering application that most ISP's charge
$10/mo, for FREE!  Get your LPeMail account
now at: www.lpemail.com .

***I am excited to let you know that the
Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now
available via AUDIO each day.  Simply go to
http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html
Also, you can now listen to the Daily
Devotional by phone by calling 727-856-7055,
or access it on your wireless device by
going to:  http://wapdd.com

(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved.


May God bless you and yours today!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell


Lay Up Spiritual Experiences for Your Soul's Delight
Good morning, Happy Souls!

Let me first share a little background about my perspective. I am a practicing Protestant who had several life-changing experiences in my youth when God touched me and assured me of His presence and support. From that perspective, I've always been interested in having even closer communion with God. And I've wanted to learn to follow His commandments with a glad heart.

In my Bible reading, I've always been sensitive to the teaching of Jesus about how a rich person can fall in love with her or his possessions and miss the Kingdom of Heaven. To help counter that risk, I have sought to find places and ways to feel God's presence more often.

Let me share with you some of the happiest and most moving of those experiences -- ones that I hope you can duplicate.

Nature can provide a great sense of the Divine. Three places in nature have proven to be most powerful for me. One is the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I have been visiting that remarkable hole in the ground since I was a child. I have flown over it, flown through it, gazed down from the rim and hiked from the top to the bottom and back up again. It's that last experience that was the most profound. While I did my hike on a hot summer day, I recommend that you try this during the cooler spring and fall seasons. If you pick the right trail, there's water and shade every one thousand feet of elevation. Be sure to carry some plastic water bottles or canteens to refill. You'll need a lot of water and food to make this arduous journey. I also recommend that you do some hiking to get into shape before taking this trip. Be sure to take the hike with someone, just in case one of you needs help. There is no charge beyond entry into the park for such a hike. If you decide you want to stay overnight before climbing back up, be sure to make your reservations with the Park Service well in advance. Space at the bottom is in high demand.

As you proceed down the canyon, you gradually leave most people behind. Before you are done, there will be times when you see and hear nothing beyond your own breath and footsteps except an occasional bird or deer. This relative silence and solitude provide a sort of walking meditation. Also, you're working pretty hard so you fall into a patient pace while your body is flooded with endorphins which lift your mood. The deeper you go, the more you begin to appreciate how tiny we and our day-to-day concerns are. That feeling is ultimately replaced with a sense of awe and appreciation for this great natural wonder that lifts your heart and mind. Be sure to take some photographs of your journey, and you will be able to recreate the experience emotionally whenever you want. It's well worth it to carry a camera all of that distance. Even today, when I fly over the canyon different formations seem to greet me from the ground . . . reminding me of the great communion I shared in their midst.

The second awe-inspiring sight is found in a place that is more accessible by air and car, Yosemite in California. In the south of the park, you can walk among trees that are hundreds of feet high and centuries old on misty mornings that seem like the Creation is brand new. In the main valley, you have amazing cliffs, waterfalls and intriguing trails to explore. While I have never hiked to the top of the valley, I'm sure the experience is well worth the effort and provides many of the same rewards as the Grand Canyon hike. Everywhere there is dense silence even though the park receives great numbers of visitors. All you have to do is walk at least a hundred years away from a road, and you will feel like you've gone back a million years in time.

The third place in nature where I have felt the same spiritual uplift is in whale-watching, something that less than one percent of the people in the world have done. In the United States, great whale-watching sites are located off of Boston Harbor during the late spring, summer and early fall, off the California coast in spring and fall, in Alaska during the summer and between Maui and Lanai in the winter in the Hawaiian Islands. During such visits, you will find yourself out with graceful sea mammals whose length may be as great as your boat's. If you have the good fortune to contact humpbacks, you can expect a show. Humpbacks may stick their heads out of the water to get a better look at you, take great leaps from the water, flap their fins hard against the water or dive gracefully to give you a beautiful view of their tail flippers. No two trips are the same. Such a trip will usually cost around $40 for an adult and last 4-5 hours. I like to go on hot days when the offshore breezes provide natural air conditioning over the colder ocean waters.

But I've felt much of the same spiritual connection and tranquility in other places such as the Zen garden in Seattle, watching the sun rise over Haleakala's crater on Maui, driving through the Painted Desert in the Southwest, and spending the night in a hotel overlooking Niagara Falls from the Canadian side.

While you may not have visited all of these places, I hope you will seek them out if you have the opportunity to be in the vicinity. In the meantime, do go to those places that have already provided you with a spiritual connection to our Creator. Sunday's a great day to do this . . . or pick the day of your Sabbath if you do not observe on Sundays.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell
POSTED BY DONALD MITCHELL AT 11:50 AM 1 COMMENTS
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2005

Introduction to This Blog
Good morning, Happy Souls!

Many people see all the beauties of life being tied up in having lots of money. For those who strongly believe this way, they may spend decades working in every possible way to accumulate wealth.

But instead, each of us can choose to nurture our souls first. With God behind us, our material needs will be met and we will prepare both better for this world and the next.

In this blog, I will begin by reprinting entries from my popular blog, Live Better than a Billionaire on Five Dollars Extra a Day (http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/) so they can be accessed more easily. I will also write special blog entries from time to time for those who are interested in spiritual more than material matters for life improvement.

Please send me your suggestions for this blog.

May God bless you!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Isaiah 54

¹Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
²Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
³For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
⁴Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
⁵For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
⁶For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
⁷For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
⁸In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
⁹For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
¹⁰For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
¹¹O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
¹²And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
¹³And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
¹⁴In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
¹⁵Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
¹⁶Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
¹⁷No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.


How about some Roman myth? Vulcan = Tubal-cain. 



Genesis 4 
22And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.


The Forge of Vulcan, by Diego Velázquez. 

August 12

Click Here to Read the Morning Devotional

"The bow shall be seen in the cloud." --Genesis 9:14 

The rainbow, the symbol of the covenant with Noah, is typical of our Lord Jesus, who is the Lord's witness to the people. When may we expect to see the token of the covenant? The rainbow is only to be seen painted upon a cloud. When the sinner's conscience is dark with clouds, when he remembers his past sin, and mourneth and lamenteth before God, Jesus Christ is revealed to him as the covenant Rainbow, displaying all the glorious hues of the divine character and betokening peace. To the believer, when his trials and temptations surround him, it is sweet to behold the person of our Lord Jesus Christ--to see Him bleeding, living, rising, and pleading for us. God's rainbow is hung over the cloud of our sins, our sorrows, and our woes, to prophesy deliverance. Nor does a cloud alone give a rainbow, there must be the crystal drops to reflect the light of the sun. So, our sorrows must not only threaten, but they must really fall upon us. There had been no Christ for us if the vengeance of God had been merely a threatening cloud: punishment must fall in terrible drops upon the Surety. Until there is a real anguish in the sinner's conscience, there is no Christ for him; until the chastisement which he feels becomes grievous, he cannot see Jesus. But there must also be a sun; for clouds and drops of rain make not rainbows unless the sun shineth. Beloved, our God, who is as the sun to us, always shines, but we do not always see Him--clouds hide His face; but no matter what drops may be falling, or what clouds may be threatening, if He does but shine there will be a rainbow at once. It is said that when we see the rainbow the shower is over. Certain it is, that when Christ comes, our troubles remove; when we behold Jesus, our sins vanish, and our doubts and fears subside. When Jesus walks the waters of the sea, how profound the calm!