Another Casualty...

We had some good meetings at a church near McConnel AFB. It is a blessing that these past three churches we’ve been in by military bases all want us to come back to help them establish ministries to reach the airmen. One of the main purposes for this trip through here has been to help establish a relationship with the churches, and present them with their options for reaching their local bases. Then, once they understand the possibilities and options, they can pray about it, and the Lord can touch the heart of someone in the church to work the base. It seems like a long, drawn out procedure, but it is necessary to establish a ministry that will last.

Meanwhile, there has been another casualty from the power surge we experienced the other week. Our back air conditioner bit the dust, which is very sad, because it for our bedroom. Our room is about eight feet wide, seven feet long, and the distance from floor to ceiling is about six feet, two inches, so it’s easy to feel claustrophobic. I don’t mind when the air is nice and cool, but when it gets stuffy and hot, it is virtually unbearable. This past Sunday, when it was time for the regularly scheduled Sunday afternoon nap, it had to have been at least one hundred degrees in there! I decided to move, and got into Lydia’s little cubbyhole, after setting up a myriad of fans to direct cool air back to the bedroom. Awhile later, after it had cooled down quite a bit, I checked to temperature, and it read, “90 degrees!”

Thankfully, on Monday, My Beloved took the front a/c, which we don’t use much but still works, and switched it with the back a/c. Whew! I was finally able to sleep Monday night!

Today, we are driving across Kansas. With the heat index somewhere around 105 degrees, I am praying that our generator and air conditioners keep up!

Verse for today: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 We will always have hard times, setbacks, and trials, but our God is stronger than them all! It is not whether we can handle it, but can God handle it. I know He can!

Could It Be Sacrifice?

We had an uneventful drive up to Wichita, Kansas, yesterday. Those are the kinds of trips I like! I'm thankful to the Lord that the engine did not overheat, and the generator, though it still ran hot, didn't overheat either, largely due to my husband's opening of a bay door while we drove. It's not the prettiest setup, but it works!

Here, we're close to McConnell Air Force Base, and Lord willing, we will be able to ascertain what is going on as far as ministry-wise on the base. Please pray that the Lord will continue to open doors, and that whatever He has in mind for us here would be accomplished. Our desire is to find what God has for us in every situation and fit into His puzzle, in His perfect Will.

As I was laying in bed this morning, a privilege reserved for Saturday mornings, I had this thought:

Serving God without a vibrant relationship with Him is basically sheer slavery. It is a constant drudgery, a painful sacrifice, the endless chore of grinding round and round on the big gerbil wheel of life. There is no light, only a mere dull gray.

However, serving God with a vibrant love relationship with Him is like a wonderful marraige. It is a dream come true in which I am loved for who I am, provided for with the utmost care (even spoiled at times!), and secure in my relationship.

I respond with love, working side-by-side with my soul-mate, the desire of my life. I love what He loves, I want what He wants, and I seek His goals, not my own. It is no sacrifice, only a great desire to be what He wants me to be.

Instead of the rock-hard altar, I lay my soul down the softness of the fragrance of His love.

Could there be any better life than that? Could it be called sacrifice, when I receive all my heart desires, all my life's wishes, and a peace which flows over my being as I serve Him? No, it could not be called sacrifice, it could not be called duty; it is pure delight.

Loved with everlasting love,

Led by grace that love to know;

Spirit, breathing from above,

Thou hast taught me it is so.

Oh, this full and perfect peace!

Oh, this transport all divine!

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine.

How wonderful that I am His, and He is mine!

It's not always trials and tribulations

...driving down the road toward Kansas

Here we are, in the Wild West...

The Lord allowed us to enjoy a Vacation Bible School this week! They had Bible Man and the Deceiver! Pictured here is the Deceiver...uh, oh, look out! The very best part is that one of the young boys got saved. Praise the Lord!

It was a beautiful ending to a great day - sunset on the prairie.

"When I consider Thy Heavens, oh, Lord, the works of Thy fingers...what is man, that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?"

The Parable of the Prodigal Mother

A certain mother had two daughters and the younger of them said to her mother, "Mother, give me the portion of thy time and thy attention and thy companionship and they counsel and guidance which falleth to me." And she divided unto her her living, in that she sent her off to music lessons, soccer practice, preparatory school and a fine college, and tried to believe she was doing her full duty to her daughter.

And not many days after, the mother gathered all her interests and aspirations and ambitions and took her journey into a far country, into a land of hobbies, books, crafts, computers, facebook, and other things which do not interest a girl, and there she wasted her precious opportunity of being a friend to her daughter. And when she had spent the very best of her life and had gained popularity but had failed to find any satisfaction, there arose a mighty famine in her heart and she began to be in want of sympathy and real friendship.

And she went and joined herself to one of the clubs in that country, and they elected her chairperson of the house committee and president of the club and sent her to the national conferences. And she would fain have satisfied herself with the husks that other women did eat, and no one gave her any real friendship.

But when she came to herself, she said, "How many ladies of my acquaintance have girls whom they understand and who understand them, who talk about their girls and associate with their girls and seem perfectly happy in the friendship of their girls, while I perish here with heart hunger? I will arise and go to my daughter and will say into her, "Daughter, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight. I have not been a mother to you and I am no more worthy to be called thy mother. Forgive me now, and let me be thy friend."

But the daughter said, "not so, for it is too late. There was a time when I wanted your companionship, but you were too busy. I got the information and the companionship I needed, but I got the wrong kind, and now, alas, I am wretched in soul and body. It is too late - too late - too late!"

- adapted from a story in Streams in the Desert, Volume 2

Driving in the rain...

The Lord graciously provided, through the pastor of the church which had the errant wiring, a new printer and a CPAP machine for my hubby. Now the only thing that needs replaced is the battery charger, which we'll take care of in the next few days. We have determined that, praise God, the air conditioner and refrigerator are both OK! Thanks to those who prayed for us!

We arrived safely in OKC (Oklahoma City) last night, but not without blowing a tire on the trailer. The rain from Alex kinda dampened the tire rescue effort, so eventually it was determined that I would just drive the truck the rest of the way in to lighten the load on the trailer, since it still had three more good tires. Today, we will get a tire and a spare, too.

Strangely enough, when we arrived at the campground, we were unable to shut off the bus engine! We had heard of that happening, and it is not good - I guess these engines can take a fit of "running away" if the situation is just right. My Beloved pulled the battery cable, the fuel lines, and shut off every switch he could think of, and finally the engine starved of fuel and died. Whew! I have a saying, "If it's not one thing, it's another!" I guess that goes for our travels, for sure.

After we get these things squared away, we are heading out for Coffeyville, Kansas, where My Beloved is teaching Sunday School tomorrow morning, and preaching in the evening. Thanks for praying!

It's always interesting and encouraging to see how God will work out every situation we come across as we seek to serve Him. One thing's for sure: (Here's today's verse, folks) "...He is, and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him!" (Hebrews 11:6) Praise Him in the sunshine, and in the rain as well!

Travel Day!

Today, we are driving to Oklahoma City, on our way to Coffeyville, Kansas. Next week, we hope to arrive at McConnell AFB, but in the meantime, there are some meetings on the way. Today we have about a 3 hour drive, which I'm sure we will stretch out...thankfully, we have everything we need right on board! (I'm always thankful to have water, food, electricity, and a bathroom with us wherever we go!)

Last night, My Beloved went out soulwinning on Shepherd AFB with two very nervous men. They had apparently never done anything like that before, so they had no idea what to expect. My hubby told me that he found out later that one of the men thought they were going to street preach right there on the base! Naturally, he was nervous! (Of course, that would not be a wise way of working on the base...it's a fast ticket to be kicked off!) The mass of humanity was simply amazing, so, they were able to pass our about a hundred gospel flyers within a short period of time. What a blessing! We are praying that the folks we have worked with here will see the opportunity as it really is - a huge, open door, and that they will do whatever it takes to reach the servicemen here.

As for me, today will find me doing the usual: laundry, cleaning, meals, tickling the kids, and trying to work on my latest book project, which is monstrously huge.

Verse for today: "he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

A quote from the famous missionary, Milton Martin, "If we don't spend a quiet time with God each day, every decision we make will be in error, so that by the time we are 30 or 40 years old, it will be impossible to serve God!" You young folks, remember that a life is not ruined by one big bad decision, but by many little bad decisions. You don't ruin your life by marrying a jerk, you ruin your life by deciding to even befriend a jerk, because you will never marry someone you barely know. Decide early in life that you will spend time with God daily, and it will set your direction for life!

With Opportunity Comes...

The Lord has so kindly blessed us with several open doors at some military bases already. There are folks burdened to reach the military, ready and trained at Dyess AFB in Abilene, as well as some near Shepherd AFB. (Shepherd is a training base, where approximately 1/2 of the Air Force comes through at some point in their career, so it's a very strategic location.) I am very thankful for these open doors!

But, with opportunity always comes adversity. Though our engine and generator did ok during the leg of the journey to Wichita Falls (a special thanks to those who prayed for us - it's not "healed" yet that we know of), we had some trouble when we plugged in to our destination. Apparently the church was wired incorrectly, and we ended up frying some of our appliances! :0 Our printer blew fire (didn't catch, though), and my husband's CPAP machine blew out. Our central air conditioner is not cooling very well, and our refrigerator may not be cooling well, either. Please continue to pray for us as we deal with this new "dilemma!"

Today's verse: "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength..." (Isaiah 30:15) May the Lord give us the strength to do His Will, not our own, and to do it with confidence, knowing we are perfectly in the center of His Will!

A few more pics...

Here are a few more pictures of the beginning of our trip. We passed a huge oversized load, which was being carried on about 5 trucks. Kids sure did like it! When we finally arrived at our campground and set up camp, the kiddos had to blow off some steam...

A Few Photos...

Here are a few pics to help you get a feel of what it's like with "Raubs getting on the Road."

Jon is taking pictures of the kids with his new Blackberry before he leaves for work.

Jonathan going to his car...it was really sad to see him drive away, and know that when he came back from work, we would be gone...

I will try to post some more pictures later. At this point, I'm not good at posting pictures, and I don't really have time to do more right now. It's time to make dinner, and the natives are getting restless! :)

"How do you do it?"

We have safely arrived here by Dyess Air Force Base, setting up camp, getting ready to execute Operation Naaman here. Our drive was relatively uneventful, but the engine and the generator were both running very hot, so we had to go slowly. We successfully stretched a 2 1/2 hour drive to about 4 hours. Pray that we can get this situation resolved before too many more miles.

I am often asked, "How do you do it? How do you go travel like you do, and remain sane?" Well, there are several different ways to answer those questions, ( like...maybe I'm not really sane! Lol!) but Ive been thinking a lot about my two main guiding principles. They may not sound like much, but they have been given me by God and have guided me through my Christian life so far. I know, by God's grace, they will lead me on the rest of the way...

1. My husband and I decided a long time ago, perhaps before we were married, that we would not be so attached to any location that we were not willing to go somewhere else if that's what the Lord wanted.

2. I married my husband, not my house or even my children. I enjoy my home, and I love my children, but where God leads my husband, He leads me (and the children still living at home). I love my grandkids, but it would be better for them to have grandparents that are in God's Will than close by and out of God's Will.

So, really, it's not so hard after all. It's simply following what the Lord has shown me so many years ago, and I'm very thankful for God's guidance.

Today's verse: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord..."