Rise Up!

About 18 months ago, we began to sense change was coming. We didn't know what that meant, but it was something we just felt in our spirits. 

We set aside a period of time to focus on praying and fasting for God's voice to be clear.

God began to pour a message into my heart during that season of seeking Him.

A snippet of that I will share for now, much more to come.

Standby...Issues... and Technical Problems... 😎😁

Time.

Brain cells.

Margin.

All those things seem to have vanished when I began our journey into homeschool!

So, my struggle to research and troubleshoot why our blog, "Sharing Our Steps", became locked up over the past couple of years - was compounded by not having additional time, extra brain cells, or any margin to get it figured out! 

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However, I have finally found a workaround! The direct link (sharingoursteps.com) is somehow the problem - 

So, by going back to the root web address - (www.sharingoursteps.blogspot.com) - I have a temporary fix until the time I can find TIME to dedicate BRAIN CELLS and have MARGIN to fully figure out how to fix the problem or reboot this thing!

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HOWEVER.... UNTIL I GET THIS THING GOING AGAIN, I WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE YOU ALL ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE WITH UPDATES AND LITTLE NOTES HERE AND THERE!  MUCH LOVE TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR LOVE, SUPPORT, AND PRAYER!!!

Update on our current MISSIONS TRANSITION ! 2020

Here is an update on our current saga:

Whew. After weeks of completing transition prep - we are finally stepping ahead to our new missions assignment. Please pray for us today. We are leaving our home in MO - and a realtor friend is going to put it on the market for us. We drive away today, leaving all of our belongings there - and begin the search to find a home near our team that we will be working with in India. We must all relocate to Central Florida, where the main hub office is, and then begin the travel in and out of India throughout the year.

Even though today is not the "final" day we will drive away from this house, we have a LOT of memories here. I think we are all feeling sentimental about leaving the home we have grown in, healed in, touched heaven in, and it's all Micah has ever known.

***So please pray for all of us. That God will put blessing and opportunities and JOY before everyone of us.

Here is the latest on what we are now committed to doing in missions:

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Half of the world’s population live in villages without churches.

To plant village churches you need trained pastors.

The Oral Learners Bible Institute (OLBi) is a unique three-year video-based Bible school that trains and equips villagers to plant and pastor churches in their own communities.

41 courses; over 1500 video lessons produced in the student’s own language.

Brad will be using his gift of creative kingdom minded video production to partner with this team training church planters.

The ministry has been in a desperate need for someone to help them complete the Bible School Training courses on video for those called to plant churches to the vast peoples across Asia that still do not use a written language and are not literate.

Broken Link...

OK... so I am having major issues with our blog. Technical difficulties.  So over the past couple of years I lost total access to it, and when I do get a chance to "trouble shoot" - I have never been able to figure out what all of the problems were.

Because of that I recently let the domain go...
so www.sharingoursteps.com is no longer good.

However,  all of our content posts are still accessible at
www.sharingoursteps.blogspot.com

I know everyone probably thinks I fell off the wagon, or even the edge of the earth or something over the past looooooong WHILE here!

And that would be definitely true in some ways!


Thank you to all of you that followed our journey through the years and for the messages of support and prayer that you have sent our way.  Thank you to all of you who have been keeping up with us on Facebook since my technical issues have interrupted my blog updates!

We stand on the shoulders of all of our prayer partners and financial supporters in every work we do for the kingdom!

Your love and support mean so much!

Thank you!!

Much love.

Where have you been, McMath's!!!???

Exactly the thoughts we have been sure most of our prayer partners and supporters have been wondering!!!!!

Well, let us tell you.... we are still here!!!!  :)  

There have been a lot of challenges the past 18 months that have taken our complete focus and left us with little to no margin in time, energy, or brain cells!

More about that later down in this post!

But first!!!!!!  We must let you know that this is probably the most EXCITING time for us at Network 211 that we have had!  Not only are we continuing to reach out to many language groups and countries daily through our websites... but we just launched our BRAND NEW sister site and full-on ministry to our military families called, "The Warrior's Journey".  This project has been in the works for months now - and to see it coming to launch has been super exciting!

About 9 months ago we had a new guy join our team as our C.E.O. that is passionate about all things we are doing at N211.  But in addition to that he brought a life of experience from being in the military, and a desire to reach out to our soldier's and their families.

Brad has had the opportunity to work with a pretty amazing guy, a Hollywood film director, on many of the video shoots and interviews they have done around the US in preparation for the launch.  

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Now, as to where in the world have we disappeared to over the past 15+ months of little posting on the blog, Facebook, or emails....


There is a backstory that I feel ready to share....

Our oldest daughter, Macy,  was having tremendous struggles in public school both socially and academically.  We had noticed from a very early age that she seemed limited in her verbal skills, and then from Kindergarten on there was always a struggle.  We kept thinking it must be all of the moves and upheavals with our missions journey and/or changing schools and therefore curriculums every year of her young life.  This may have contributed some to her struggles - but we began to sense and see that it was more than that.  Much more.  And about 15-18 months ago, right after the Lord supernaturally healed me (Glenda) of my 2 1/2 year sickness with nervous system upheaval and PTSD - I jumped in and began to pour all of my energies towards finding help and healing for her. 

We had her assessed and found that she has had a Language Processing Deficit, both receptive (hearing what people/teachers/friends are saying and comprehending it) and expressive (being able to express with words what you are thinking).  The gap in her assessment scores between non-verbal skills and verbal was significant.  Severe enough that she was going to drown in a classroom, but not severe enough for the state to offer any type of therapy or support.  One school speech pathologist I met encouraged me privately, "You need to get her out of the school.  She is going to drown, and there is nothing we can do to help her b/c the state only allows us to help/give therapy to kids that are considered 'severe'.  We want to help these kids b/c they are not going to make it without therapy - but we can't do anything! Our hands are tied!"

So there was my confirmation.  I knew I had been feeling a call to home-school her.  But I'm the girl who also said I would never home-school....because I didn't think I had the skills or patience to do it!

So....I (Glenda) have spent the past 17 months pouring my days and nights into seeing her make gains with this deficit (not really a disability) through different therapies AND embracing home schooling her with the community based co-op Classical Conversations. 

The difference is night and day.  Miraculous.  The broken, insecure, shy, girl that was wilting away in 5th grade - just started her 7th grade year with our homeschool co-op as a blossoming extrovert with a smile on her face and a song in her mouth.  We praise God for the work he is doing in her and continues to do! 

But the shift for our family and my (Glenda's) time to be completing my part of our missions responsibilities has been severely limited by these changes!  I have spent literally HOURS with her everyday for the past year and a half - and at the end of the day/week - had no brain margin or time left to engage in my missions updates, much less staying on top of our reporting, blog, social media, etc.  Any time reports came due I would find myself staying up all hours of the night to file the documents and email them.  What a drastic change from when I was able to work during  the days doing ministry while the kids were in school - to never having a moment of margin for "ministry" because of the all consuming demands of time spent on this new season of ministry; complete focus on the health and healing of our children and family.

We have made HUGE strides with our 3 kids in the past 2 months towards having them ALL home for homeschooling.  FINALLY our oldest is finding herself in her studies and is able to complete most of them without mom's presence and hand-holding through every moment of the day.  (Hallelujah!!!)  It's been a long road but SO WORTH IT to see God's healing in her over every area of her life.


THANK YOU FOR STAYING WITH US!

MUCH LOVE!

BRAD, GLENDA, MACY, MIA, AND MICAH MCMATH

25 Years Later and My Adoption is Becoming FINAL!!!!

Unbelievable.... Christmas started out with my mom standing up in the living room... and beginning to read... This precious paper with red words.  We were never able to have full adoption when I was younger.  After 25 years - they surprise me with this gift.  Adoption = Beautiful = Heart of God

Hopeless

Brad just finished producing a video on "Hopeless" for our outreach websites on Network 211.  

People all over the world are searching for "Hope"… on the internet.

Pray that they will be directed to our site… and that they will find Hope in Jesus.

Please watch the short video link below and then share it with someone you know that needs hope.

http://journeyanswers.com/hopelessness

Supernatural Healing! In the blink of an eye God healed me!

Thank you so much if you have prayed for me during the past 6 months.  It has been a long journey...  -Glenda

YOU MUST READ THIS ENTIRE POST!  HEALING!

I had a terrible relapse with the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from December through March of this year.  My doctor speculates that what caused the relapse is a painful OBGYN appointment I had in late November.  The nurse practitioner kept pressing on my abdomen over and over even though I was yelping in pain.  Even though she was checking my ovaries - there was no reason to continue the aggressiveness when I was obviously in pain.  However, something happened that day… it seems my neurotransmitters went through the roof and could not stabilize again…. causing the relapse.  That seems ridiculous to me, but it was a similar situation (in a much lesser form) to laying on my back in an Operating Room in Madrid having my child ripped out of my body in a traumatic fashion.  

Another factor in it all is that I have never completely recovered in the past 3 years… but have just found ways to cope.  More on that below...

During this relapse I was incredibly sick and even confined to my bed at times.  There were days when I didn't think I was going to make it.  My body and brain had shut down.  These months were the darkest and most difficult I have experienced…just as bad as the original shut down that happened after Micah's birth while we were in Spain.  I grieved for my children.  I couldn't take care of them.  But I just could not get better.  I am so thankful for my mom and Brad's mom who both came and spent time taking care of me and our family!  

Two pivotal keys came out of this.  Keys that led me on a path towards healing.

First, the missionary women Bible study I was a part of had several women that had experience with a local brain/trauma specialist.  They were adamant that I should see him, and that he could probably help me.

He ends up being a brilliant physician, who ran tests to determine what type of medication my body would respond best to.  We began the process of switching me over to the right medication for my body and the PTSD recovery.  This brought me a 25% stability in the body and brain symptoms that were so difficult.  Not 100%, but any improvement was huge.

Second, I talked to one of my fellow missionary friends that had recently walked through the PTSD recovery process. She asked me if I had gone to counseling since the onset of the PTSD. I asked her, "why would I need to go to counseling? I already know what God's Word says... we have counseled other people through the years... how would that help me?"

She told me it would make a huge difference, and that just reprocessing the trauma with a trained counselor would help in ways that I could not understand.  

I didn't really want to, but I was DESPERATE. Desperate to be well. Desperate to be able to be a mom to my kids again.

It took me trying 3 counselors before I found the right one. Someone I could talk to and really connect with. God was leading, because this counselor grew up on the mission field and understood the layers of complexity that go with that on top of the medical trauma.

Something happened over the next 3 months of meeting with the counselor.  He walked me through all of the layers of trauma, and helped me to see that I was holding God accountable for my trauma and not attributing any of it to the fact that we live in a broken world.  We looked in Scripture at Godly people who suffered, not b/c God failed them, but b/c our world is broken since the fall. 

Joseph did not end up in the pit or the prison b/c God failed him or abandoned him. He did not end up there b/c he sinned. He ended up there b/c our world is broken, and sometimes we walk through trials. Yet, we can trust that God said he worked Joseph's situations for the ultimate good, to save many people.  Genesis 50:20.

I realized I had been devastated b/c I thought God abandoned me.  My perspective changed.  Something inside me began to shift.  Yet, I was still living with debilitating physical issues in my nervous system....

BUT THEN...


  On April 14, I was up really early praying… I was not praying for myself, but for others... I was crying... and shaking on the inside (which is what I have lived with for 3 years especially when I am praying)…  

When all of a sudden I could FEEL the Presence of God enter the room.  He was right beside me.

The crying... STOPPED.  The shaking... STOPPED.  In a milli-second.  A calm and peace flooded over my body and I was completely still.  

Something I could not have done on my own that quickly... I have served God for 25 years and experienced many great moments serving Him - but this was different.  It was a supernatural manifestation of his presence... I wasn't sure what it meant - but I knew that God had come that morning and had touched me.

BUT GOD!  Yes!  I feel compelled to shout my testimony from the rooftops!!!!

SINCE that morning - the extremely low blood pressure that made me so weak is GONE.  

The social anxiety that has limited me from being able to interact with people  - is GONE.  For 3 years I have had to gage every decision I make about social interaction by how it would affect my body.  Many times it would take me 3 days to recover from the adrenal fatigue.  In the last month I have been able to attend my brother's wedding shower, be a guest in church services, have lively conversations with people at church, meet new people,  chaperone field trips,  talk on the phone, and more! ...WITHOUT the severe nervous system shaking and 3 day crash and burn afterwards.  THIS is a MIRACLE!  

For 3 years this is the one thing that the PTSD medication could not help at all.  

God has TOUCHED ME!

I still have to take my medication while my neuro pathways and nervous system continue to heal…that has become obvious.  However, my doctor says in around 2 years my brain should form new neuro pathways and I won't need the medication anymore.

HOWEVER, God has healed me from the things that were debilitating to me that no medication was helping me with.  After 3 years of a roller coaster…. 

I. AM. HEALED.

All thanks to our mighty and wonderful God who gives us HOPE!

Our support team... Without You...

I am overcome with love and appreciation for all of the churches and individuals that support us financially each month so that we can do what we do.  Without you…. we could not fulfill this calling to reach people at the very ends of the earth.

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you for your sacrifice each month to keep us in missions.  It is not easy to leave a normal life to depend fully on missions support to fulfill your calling and to support your family.

May God abundantly bless you as you faithfully support us.
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And to those of you who PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for us.  We need it now more than ever.  

I (Glenda) am battling some physical problems connected with the PTSD and my nervous system… and need a complete and total HEALING.  We desperately need Jesus to touch me and that His virtue will make me whole!  Please have your church praying for me!

May God richly bless you all friends, family, and supporters of this great work we have dedicated ourselves to.  

Much love from the McMath Family.

Thanksgiving Update

As we approach Thanksgiving, there are SO many things our family is thankful for:

God has kept us and preserved our lives.  God has shown us his goodness and faithfulness.

God is stirring our hearts to LOVE HIM… and to LOVE PEOPLE like never before.

The Missions Ministry we are doing is powerful and has God's anointing on it.

Lost people are searching for answers and hope online using Google.  

We are there with various language websites with the TRUTH and God's Word.

This is a few of the prayer requests from people visiting our site just this week:

This week's prayer needs:

Needs from inquirers around the world:

• ON 11-10-2014 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN BOTSWANA (AFRICA)
  I great u in the name of JESUS..I am a married woman, and I am HIV positive. So this is making me to loose hope that I feel rejected sometimes. Help me with prayers that we help me to focus n forget abt the sickness.I am a born again. I really need us help. Thank u in Jesus name
• ON 11-09-2014 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN UNITED STATES (NORTH AMERICA)
  I suffer from depression sometimes thinking about suicide and there is alot of reasons for it but truthfully, I use to believe and go to church and all that but after I got married to an abusive wife and was put through the ringer so to speak, I stopped believing. [...] my whole life has been terrible and wished that I never had it [...] suicide is the only answer that can come up with, not saying I'll go through with it, I really don't have the hair to do it but it only takes that "spur of the moment" [...]
• ON 11-08-2014 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN ETHIOPIA (AFRICA)
  hi can you help me for pray
• ON 11-08-2014 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN INDIA (EURASIA)
  I have some issues regarding my marriage at home.Please pray for me. Continously. I am totally depresed. Unable to take a wise decision. Pray.. pray... pray for me please.
• ON 11-06-2014 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN NEW ZEALAND (ASIA PACIFIC)
  I am a Catholic. Have lost much through illness. Am constantly terrified into paralysis so don't get things done. Lot of pain. Want to not need pain relief & not be depressed.
• ON 11-06-2014 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN SWAZILAND (AFRICA)
  I need Him to take over my life i need Jesus to work through me and i should allow him to work.
• ON 11-05-2014 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN LIBERIA (AFRICA)
  I have accepted. Jesus as my Lord and and savior since I was a lil boy back in 1994 and I got baptized 2002 November 17. But I am far away from Christ these days...
• ON 11-05-2014 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN KENYA (AFRICA)
  AM living in fear of dying prematurely just pray for me to overcome the challenge.
• ON 11-04-2014 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN INDIA (EURASIA)
  i feel lonely and hopeless,

Please join us in praying for our ministry at Network 211… that we will shine God's light in the darkness like never before and that HOPE and TRUTH will be found, and that LIVES would be TRANSFORMED! 

Jesus strengthen us!  Fill us with wisdom and anointing and the POWER of your Spirit!

7 Ways to Bless your Pastor

I realized that October….Pastor Appreciation month came and went.  But I couldn't find words this year to communicate what my heart was feeling about blessing your Pastors.  Most everyone who knows me knows how much I love Pastoral Families… having been a Pastor's daughter and a Pastor's wife in my life!

However, when I received this email link last night… I was like "Aha"! This is what I need to share!  If you missed doing something special for your Pastor during October - it's not too late!  The month of Thanksgiving is a Wonderful time to express your love and gratitude for them and all they do to serve you and your families!!

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Who doesn’t love their pastor? Often times, pastors are just taken for granted because they are called to service for the church. I would love to encourage you, as a church goer, to bless your pastor.

Pastors are human and get discouraged, stressed and overwhelmed. They need more than just our prayers and finances. They need us, as much as we need them.

7 Ways to Bless Your Pastor

1. Invite them to Dinner – Serve your pastor a cooked meal at your home or take them out after church on a whim. The time around the table is so personal and the conversation can be incredibly encouraging to everyone. Laugh together! Our pastor is one of the funniest people I know and he loves to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine and most pastors won’t share with their congregation when they are sick or needing some encourage.
2. Send them a Card – If God has placed a scripture or word on your heart for your pastor, send it to him in a card. We all love getting cards with personal notes in them and our pastors are no different!  Even if you don’t have some purpose in writing a card, just a ‘thinking of you’ card can be the very thing your pastor may need to be joyful in his never ending duties.
3. Raise Money for a Vacation – Pastors are some of the most frugal people I know and their vacations are often connect with visiting family or even a mission trip of some sort. Going around privately to the members of your church for a donation to send your pastor and his wife on a surprise get away just for themselves to be refreshed, I would encouraged you to do so. Even Jesus went away for his own refreshment!
4. Do a Work Day at His House – This can be something you schedule with him or just show up. Landscaping or pressure washing the outside of the house or painting some shutters isn’t invading on what is going on inside and will be a quick way to let his neighbors know that good people live in that house and will uplift the spirits of the family inside.
5. Drop a Gift Card in His Bible – Gift cards are a great way to express your love and allow them to have a time with their family at one of their favorite restaurants, fill up their car with fuel or buy the tool of his choice.  The gifting without being seen is one of the best ways to encourage a servant of the Lord!
6. Throw a Church Wide Appreciation Dinner – Get everyone involved in celebrating the pastors of your church by coming together with an appreciation dinner. Special music, a powerpoint presentation highlighting their lives and sacrifices to His kingdom and even a table for thoughtful gifts can be a few elements to give your pastors a time of appreciation and love as a whole congregation.
7. Inspiration Item to Use Often – I love to give a coffee cup with an encouraging scripture or a plater with a strong message that when it is used will remind my pastors how much they mean to our family time and time again.

If you are interested in the origin of this post, just click on this link:  www.teachersofgoodthings.com

Blessings to everyone that loves, prays, gives, and supports our family so we can do the work God has called us to do in International Missions!

Celebrating July 4th. What a journey the past 2 years brought...

First and foremost - these 3 give us great reason to celebrate TODAY!


























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Two years ago on July 4th we took my mom and sister to Toledo, Spain, for sightseeing.  Even though I (Glenda) was still in incredible pain from my c-section 5 weeks earlier - I didn't want my mom and sister to go back to the US without ever getting out of our house in Spain!!!!  Sadly we spent the day at the police station filing a report on Mackenzie's backpack that was stolen as soon as we got to Toledo.  It was an #epicfailday.

Two years later.  So. Much. Has. Happened. Since. Then.

Pain.  Sickness.  Loss.  Grief.  Pressure.  Confusion.  Anger. Acceptance.  Healing.  Renewal.  Trust.  Revival.  Balance.  Growth.  Depth.  Health.  Stability.  Peace.  Joy.

That is a LOT of seasons.  It has been a long journey to recover from the effects of PTSD and understanding why God would allow such a thing to happen when you have left everything to follow His leading.

Yet do I know and understand Romans 8:28 like never before.  Even in the squeezing - God is working in and for us.  I found that so hard to believe during this difficult season… but I clung to it… I hoped.  I trusted.  SOMEHOW God you are going to WORK ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD.

I am still not 100% whole in the healing of my nervous system…. but the past 3 months have brought the greatest strides towards that goal than the entire 2 years since Micah's birth.  AMAZING.  ALL GLORY BE TO  GOD!

Today I celebrate the great heritage God has given us as Americans… in spite of all America's blemishes and failings… I am so thankful for those who gave their lives so that we could be FREE. There are so many around the world that would give anything for the freedoms that we have.  Freedom to choose Jesus first and foremost.
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The ministry that we are working with continues to grow in INFLUENCE in so many nations around the world.  In just the past 3 months we have added websites with videos/content for searching people to learn about the TRUTH of JESUS….  in Russian, Japanese, and next week Korean.

This is a live - as of RIGHT now map of all of the people responding to the TRUTH of JESUS in the past hour or so:

Can anyone say - "Thank you God for Network 211 taking the TRUTH to the world through the internet??!!"   My soul rejoices at lives touched.  I am one who was forever changed by the saving power of Jesus who took the empty shell of who I was and filled me up with REAL LIFE.

Until next time…..  Love to ALL of our friends, family, supporters, and PRAYER WARRIORS!  You are what keeps us going!  You are the feet we stand on as we work for the goal that God has called us to!!!!  THANK YOU!!!!!

Lost Treasures

After setting out on our journey into the "unknown" almost 6 years ago now… we are unpacking boxes that have been tucked in corners, attics, closets, basements…

And finding LOST TREASURES!

To my great surprise - after opening this box from the corner of the garage…. I found Mia's special zebra blanket… and MY GUITAR!  I had not been able to find these since we have been back in the states!  We had a celebration!

Video Update

Here is the video update recorded during the start of the new year...

God is able to do MORE than all we ask or imagine, according to HIS power that is at work within us…  Ephesians 3:20

Click here for our Awesome Video Update!!!

News Article Highlights Our Ministry

The weekly Magazine "The Pentecostal Evangel" is highlighting our ministry, Network 211 in this Sunday's edition, Feb 9, 2014!

See it here first!!

People We Are Reaching

In these last days God is using and REDEEMING technology…. to take the message of HOPE and the TRUTH about Jesus across the world faster than ever before.  We are so  humbled that God allows us to serve him with this missions team.

This is just a few of the emails we received in our office last week that funneled through our outreach websites:  THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!  (Remember that English is a 2nd language to most of these cultures….so many people write us with broken English or we have to translate it.)

Needs from inquirers around the world:

• ON 12-08-2013 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN SOUTH AFRICA (AFRICA)
  I'm not that much into bible,so I don't have much information about Jesus and Gods. How will can I put my faith,trust and hope into Jesus and Gods while I'm struggling to gain a better life even if I pray my answers doesn't answerd? How to get a better way to overcome my struggles and become a good person?
• ON 12-08-2013 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN NIGERIA (AFRICA)
  Life is a journey.As i walk day in and out, i made mistakes and i commit sins.Iam burden and guilty often times.It is my wish to make heaven but my guilt.Pls how can i live a sin free life.I need your help. Thanks
• ON 12-08-2013 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN INDIA (EURASIA)
  i love jesus i now him but still i am not on good path have problem in my spiritual life
• ON 12-08-2013 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN BAHAMAS (LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN)
  I would appreciate your prayers for my mother and myself for our total healing and deliverance. We are both in dire need of God's healing power in our bodies and our lives. We both have terminal illnesses. Thank you and God bless!
• ON 12-07-2013 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN UNITED KINGDOM (EUROPE)
  I am 35 years old and I have no one asking for my hand for marriage . I need prayer so that by early next year . God will see me through
• ON 12-07-2013 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN SAUDI ARABIA (EURASIA)
  Please I need an urgent help, please pray for me am afraid to be imprisoned because of my debts plus my job is sinking I need your urgent help. God bless!
• ON 12-07-2013 A REQUEST FROM A WOMAN IN SOUTH AFRICA (AFRICA)
  I don't no how much longer I can stand the confusion loneliness lack of esentials in my life. Pls pray with me. As my life is fading away. There is only chaos misery I tHink I have thrown. In the towel. I pray God bless you thank you very much
• ON 12-06-2013 A REQUEST FROM A MAN IN UNITED STATES (NORTH AMERICA)
  1,R THE REMOVAL OF ANY EVIL AND DEMON INSIDE MY HOUSE AND MY BODY BECAUSE J LIVE IN THE SAME CPMPLEXE WITH A SUPERINTANT AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY THEY WORSHIP ONLY EVIL AND THEY THRONE EVIL POWDER TO PEOPLE ,TO SCARE THEM NEED YOUR HELP THEIR NAME [...] 2/ MY DESIRE TO FOUND A WIFE IS MY PRIME OBJECTIF BY NOW SEND PRAY AND BLESSING THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU

Needs at Network211

• Pray for the enlarging of Project10Million to Project100Million
• Please pray the Lord will provide a heavenly "firewall" which will protect Network211's evangelism sites from malicious computer hackers.
• Pray for Network211's "Connectors" that interact with people from all over the world. Pray that God will give them wisdom and insight as they often address difficult questions and issues from multiple cultures.

WHY should we honor our Pastors?

Something that is so close to my heart is Pastors and their families.  Having been a pastor's daughter and a pastor's wife.... I understand the inside world of the pressures that pastors face daily.

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.  1 Timothy 5:17

 Some people ask the questions, "WHY should we honor our Pastors?  We pay them to do their job... how are their needs or circumstances any different from mine?"  

That may seem shocking to you - but in reality there are many people out there who really still do not understand the pressures that Pastors face.  IT IS A JOB LIKE NO OTHER.

*  Do you have any idea what it is like to have someone "mad" at you every other week because something at the church isn't how they like it?

*   Do you have any idea what it is like to have people that you love warring against one another and you about how the music is "terrible" (every church seems to have this battle!)

*  Do you carry the WEIGHT of counseling and praying with people you love whose lives are falling apart, marriages are disintegrating, are having to file bankruptcy, are battling addictions and the pull of falling away from God?

*  Do you have to figure out how to make sure there is enough tithes and offering to pay the building payment, the utility bills, the salaries, to support missions, and all of the other MANY things the church does?  Do you have the heaviness of knowing that if everyone would just do their part and tithe - that the church would be able to be all that God wants it to be in the community?

*  Do you have any idea how PERSONAL the job of being a Pastor is?  That every person who leaves the church or who doesn't like something can attack you PERSONALLY?  

*  Do you know what it is like to POUR yourself into people and them still walk away from church over the smallest things?

*  Do you know what it is like to live in a fish bowl?  Where everyone watches everything you do and feels they have the right to criticize you or have unrealistic expectations?

* Do you know what it is like to pour every drop of your life into a church - and when pastor appreciation rolls around you just get a few handshakes and pats on the back... and maybe a check from the church.... which is good and all - but it doesn't SPEAK and SHOUT Appreciation the way it could and should?

I could go on.  But that should give you a taste.  :)

October is Pastor Appreciation Month (aka Clergy Appreciation Month).  I know that many churches have a plan to express their love to their pastors, but I also know that many churches "ASSUME" that their pastor "KNOWS that we love Him".... therefore we don't really need to do anything other than shake his hand, pat him on the back, and say "we appreciate you pastor."

I see it a little like the relationship in a marriage.  Imagine that a husband marries his wife and tells her that day how much he loves her.  However, over the next 10 years they just co-exist and and the husband does not continue to express his love to his wife in tangible ways.  Will the wife really KNOW how much her husband loves her?  Or will his ongoing and sometimes surprise and unexpected acts of love and service PROVE that that love is still alive and true?

Many of us have studied the book, "The 5 Love Languages".  These concepts have helped us with our marriages, our parenting, our work relationships... to understand how others "feel" love and to "speak" their love language.

Might I ask.... during this month of Pastor Appreciation - how are you as a church expressing your love and appreciation to your pastor and his family? Let's just look at the 5 love languages to get our ideas going:

* Words of Affirmation

• Host a banquet or dinner at the church and have an open mic testimony time for people to express to the pastor just how much they have meant to them... Be sure and ask specific people to prepare something (just in case no one is brave enough to get up and talk....that could bomb the whole party!)
• Submit an open letter to your local newspaper appreciating the love and sacrifice that your pastor lives out for your church
• Film a video scrapbook - interviewing as many people as possible in the church about how the pastor has made a difference in their lives and in the church. Your young people should have the technology know-how to help with this project!

* Receiving Gifts

• Present your pastor with a Gifts of Service coupon book.  Have different people in the congregation offer to do special tasks for them through out the year.
• Give them gift cards to their favorite restaurant.
• Send them on a 2-3 day get a way at a nice resort.

* Acts of Service

• Look at what is in YOUR hand.  What do you have expertise in that you could offer to bless them with?  
• Many times pastors do not have the expertise, funds, or time to take care of their personal things like their home or cars...
• If you are a mechanic- offer some type of free service to your pastor's car.
• If you are a handy-man - offer to fix some things at their house that need attention.
• If you are a good cook - offer to bring them a meal once a month.
• If you are a beautician - offer free haircuts for the family for the year. 
• What can you do?  Ask God to show you a way you can serve...

* Personal Contact (Physical Touch)

• When is the last time you personally shook the Pastor's hand and TOLD HIM how much you have been challenged from a sermon?  
• Greet your pastor with a smile and an encouraging word - not just a handshake and a hello.  Pause to express something more than the generic.

*Quality Time

• Take your pastor and his family out to dinner
• Ask you pastor over for dinner
• Ask your pastor and wife to join you and your spouse for a double date or a movie

Please feel free to share this post with others in your church.  Even if you have already "celebrated" pastor appreciation... maybe you could do more?  :)

We love our Pastors, their families, and the churches that are being lighthouses in our communities all across our nation.

Love your missionaries,

Brad & Glenda McMath

Macy, Mia, & Micah

Just WHAT is it you guys are doing again?

I know it may seem that every update I posted so far this year has been more about our family,  our crisis, overcoming trials, regaining health, etc

But you know - even though our ministry was "going on"... it was our FAMILY that was fighting tooth and nail to find normalcy and health again!  And I knew that the prayers of our FAITHFUL friends and support team were so important to sustain us by God's hand as we walked through this season.  The past 2 months have proven to be the greatest steps forward for both our family and my health.

HOWEVER, I am WAYYYYYYYY overdue in sharing with you how God is using Brad and the missions ministry team we work with!!!  Brad now works with International Ministries under the AGWM umbrella.  He actually went to Holland in May for a week for some strategic meetings on using media to reach, to teach, to tell the story, and so much more... but I will save that for another blog post! (Spoiler Alert: Corrie ten Boom house...)

There is SO much to share!

1.  For example: Did you know that we are now working with the missions team we started out to work with in the beginning of our missions journey?  Over 5 years ago?  Our path took us on a detour - but now God has brought us back to where we started!

2.  Did you know that a little over 5 years ago - this missions team - Network 211 - had a vision to reach 10 million people online in 10 years?

3.  Did you know that is has only been 5 years... and we are about to hit our 9 MILLIONTH visitor to our evangelism sites?

4.  Have you guessed that we have recently had to re-up our vision??  We have done it in 5 years - NOT 10!

5.  Did you know we are now talking about instead of Project 10 Million - going to Project 100 Million?

6.  Did you know that  our evangelism web sites are offered in English, Farsi, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Spanish?

7.  Did you know that you can go to www.project10million.com and see REAL TIME results as people around the world visit our evangelism websites?  We spend a lot of time using google ads to drive "seekers" and "hurting/needs based searchers" to the sites.

I REALLY believe that in these last days God is going to REDEEM technology and use it to bring the transforming hope and knowledge of the Gospel to those who have not heard....

...so excited that He has allowed us to be a part of the Harvest of souls Internationally.

Thank you for praying for our family. Please continue to do so!

And please be praying for this media ministry.  It is not about just "doing" media.  But it is about evangelism.  REACHING people with the transforming power of Jesus and helping them find a REAL relationship with God.  This is a HUGE task.  The Holy Spirit is already drawing people in these last days...  and we are doing our best to be "there" -aka - our "location/field" is ... ONLINE.  

8.  Did you know that the amount of people now ONLINE constitute the official LARGEST language group?  Who will speak to the nations?  Who will tell them of His love?  Who will give up a normal life to make this mission your life work?

We will.  But we can not do it alone. The prayer and support of our friends and team sustain us...and sustain this work.

Thank you Jesus for people and churches who believe in us.  And in this calling. 

We LOVE you!

Authentic Relationship with the One True God

Wow. Just wow.  Just started this book.  

It's been on my shelf for a long time.  I didn't expect the pages to be so rich with God-searching... so stirring... so... TIMELY.

....love this.... "I want more than just spiritual life but spiritual health - whereby my soul is not just renewed and restored but becomes a source of refreshment for others.  God-infused lifestyle...  ...I want my love for Him to come alive again so that my heart dances at the very thought of him.  I want a REAL relationship with Him...  

I want a relationship that is real, authentic, and life-giving even when it hurts.  I want to know God stripped of as many false perceptions as possible.  Such a journey risks exposure, honesty, and even pain, but I'm hungry and desperate enough to go there.   I want to know the Organic God." -Margaret Feinberg

Here is the link to buy it on Amazon... Just in case this stirred your soul like it did mine this morning!  

The Organic God by Margaret Feinberg  (60 customer reviews)   94 used & new from$2.92

One Year Ago Today - Life Spun Out of Control!

One year ago today... we went for a special ultrasound with a specialist in Madrid.  The day before we had a special test done at the OB's office that is typically not done in the states... "fetal monitoring"... where the doctor said "something" isn't right.

After our specialized ultrasound we had to wait 20 minutes for our doctor to call the office and translate the results to us since no one in the office spoke English.  He said, "Meet me at the hospital as soon as possible. We may have to take the baby"... in his broken English.  I was like.... "say what"...????  So I called my friend Gladys Rodriguez and had her call him to verify.... I was sure I had misunderstood.  I am always the optimist - and was sure that he meant let's just do another test...

But sure enough - he was NOT joking.  The cord was wrapped around his body and diminishing his oxygen.  Within minutes of arriving at the hospital and a flurry of tubes and needles, and monitors.... he said "we must go to surgery.... caesarean is necessary to save the baby's life..."

I was in SHOCK.  Say what?  Surely not.

Then they gave me a shot of some kind of adrenaline to make my heart race... "in order to get the baby's heart rate up".  From that point on things were CrAzY.  My heart was pounding... they were racing me to O.R.  Gladys and Gil walked in mere minutes before they rushed me off.  Macy and Mia were able to stay in the room with them.  I thank God for their quick desire to meet us at the hospital for support!  Because of them our girls were not traumatized!!

Brad was still checking me in...  In the OR they began to crazily open sterile instruments and throw them on the table while rapid fire speaking in Spanish... the anesthesiologist was pushing me over trying to get an epidural in all the while speaking to me in Spanish... (which I had no idea what he was saying :( ... and my heart was RACING)...

I kept asking the one nurse that knew a little English - "where is my husband?"  Brad eventually was brought back after they found him at the check in desk.

They immediately started the c-section - and it was.... violent... if that could be used to describe it...  NOT at all like those pretty little calm ones you see on the discovery channel.  Brad said he thought they were going to thrash me off the table in the process of getting him out.  It was CrAzY.  I was crying.  Brad was praying in the Spirit.  That gave me peace in the midst of the storm. I was still in shock.

Micah came and then was whisked away.  Immediately to NICU.  Ventilators and tubes.  His lungs were not ready and he was in distress.

It would be 24 hours before we could see him, and several days before we could touch him. Only one nurse in the NICU spoke English - and she was only there for a few hours a day.

3 days later, on May 27, starting at 9 AM (Arkansas time) (4 PM Spain time) - Micah was able to go without his ventilator and oxygen....

It stayed off all day!  And wow at the progress!  We got to see his face for the first time without the tubes!  The pediatrician was in shock at this progress! We told her that we had hundreds of people and churches praying this day - it was a Sunday - and she said "....it's working."  Which is shocking to hear from a Spaniard - in a nation where God mostly represents only their religious roots or many do not believe in God at all.

Six days later they told me I could finally hold him.  I cried in disbelief.  It had felt like an eternity!  I realize we are blessed b/c many people have to wait much longer before holding their NICU babies...and many others have lost their children.    

The doctor later told us that if he had not taken him that day - Micah would have died in utero within a few days.  We realize we hold a miracle today.  Happy 1st birthday to the happiest, healthiest baby boy I know!  You are a miracle.  Being born in Spain may have saved your life.

And here is my little birthday stinker.  Precious.

And it started quite the journey for ME.  After enduring crazy things with my body and mind, being diagnosed with PTSD, and returning to the states, I have made great strides in recovery - but am still not 100%.  But I thank God for progress. For what He is doing IN me, both body and spirit.

One thing God has given me through all of this is a new lens through which to look at life with.  I understand pain more than ever before.  And every time I turn around - I am meeting people going through trials and pain.  And they see in my eyes that I get it.  I really get it.  I understand.  I don't just pat them on the back and give them cliche answers.  I hurt with them.  I don't understand with them.  I am walking the path of CHOOSING to trust God as I walk this journey.  And what beautiful opportunities he has given me to share that faith... the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful.  And to share the hope of his redeeming this mess.